In progress// First draft for nose, lips, cheeks and ready to move onto those eyes. The finicky work of moving and building up clay is bananas (this is 5x speed!!) but oh so rewarding. These eyes are on the sculpting table first thing tomorrow. 👁️👁️ . . #humansculpture #pinchpot #sculpture #potteryprocess #ceramics #potteryvideo #sculpting #facepot #facesculpting

No Easy Button // My head said “this clay isn’t made for this bashy work, WHAT ARE YOU DOING” and my heart said “PFFFT” and some quote about getting to success faster if you steam through the failures. Or something. My head wasn’t really listening. Pinch pots from super soft porcelain, this could be really cool. Or a learning experience. . We’ll find out later which was right: ️ or 🧠 once these firm up a bit for sculpting faces. . Happy 2023! May your heart’s desires guide you (isn’t the journey the most important part anyway?) . . #pinchpots #headpots #handbuiltpottery #potteryprocess

Pillar / in progress, stack o’ heads. I have no idea if this will work, if they will be stable at completion, if they will work functionally or artistically. Yet I can only imagine what fun treasures each will eventually hold and what you will trust each to contain. I’ve been working with a different set of reference models for these three wee pots (they are VERY small) and I am loving the wide smiles and softer cheeks. . . . [image text: a set of three small white clay pinch pots, each stacked on top of each other although you can only see a small bit of the top pot as it is mostly out of frame. They sit on a dark charcoal work surface, littered with sculpting tools and surrounded with clear plastic in the background. Each of the bottom two pinch pots has a serene human face sculpted into it with open eyes, a nose, and lips.] . . #pinchpots #yyc #sculpture #facesculpture #humansculpture #facepot #headpot #pillar #ceramics #pottery #ceramik #ceramicprocess

Making // fine, make more of us but can we watch something OTHER than “90 Day Fiance” while you work??? No, no we may not. #TrashTv #PotteryProcess #Sculpture #ceramics #clay #pottery #keramika #pinchpottery #facesculpture #humansculpture #pinchpot

Watch me start the eyes and plump some cheeks – 8x speed 👁️👁️ White ceramic clay sculpting of my latest face pot friend. My reference photo has beautiful plump cheeks and large eyes. I’m excited to flesh out the kids. #potteryvideos #sculpture #ceramics #pottery #ceramicsprocess #facesculpt #keramik #pinchpot

Very much in progress // I haven’t been sitting with clay for at least a couple of weeks as we battle the ‘Vid. From throats coated with brambles to heads full of rocks and chests on fire, we’ve been consumed with naptime and Neocitran, our pre-trained immune systems battling this Omicron as it invades. My system is more invested in destroying itself so I’m behind the others in the household in recovery, my cough still too impressive to take into public. Today I haven’t slept for 18 of 24 hours so I sat at the clay bench instead and formed the beginnings of a mighty schnoz and mouth and eyes before finding that I needed a rest. I’ll continue tomorrow or the next day because these eyes still need focus. . . . #pinchpots #faces #facesculpting #sculpture #clay #ceramics #pottery #humansculpture [Image description: White clay, grey in colour, sculpture of a humanoid face with lips, nose and eyes with no pupils taking up a third of the screen, looking towards the right. A scrap of clay lays off to the right on the black table top. ]

Stages // New gamer steins in progress! Far left are handled, medallioned, and drying. Middle are just trimmed, waiting for handles and medallions. Far right are in line for trimming as I wait for the clay to reach perfect balance of consistency. Next when bone dry, they will be into the first kiln firing, then glazed and into their final firing. All the while, hoping these new experiments work out after all the stages come to pass. The process cycles on and on. Do you have a project that keeps you humble? . . . #ceramics #potteryprocess #wheelthrown #pottery #artpractice #d20mug #calgaryexpo

Breakfast with a friend // Adding final touches to this face pot this morning, created with guidance of @artgolban during his Sculpture Facial Elements class. This was an incredibly rewarding and challenging class through the University of Saskatchewan, and I highly recommend. 👁️🏼🏼 #LifelongLearning #ceramics #handbuilding #pinchpot #facialelements #facialsculpting #facesculpture #pottery #facepots #yyc . . [Image description: Large white clay pinch pot with realistic face sculpted onto the surface. Face is looking slightly up to the right with a neutral expression and sits on a dark brown table, with pottery tools scattered in the background ]

Learnin’ // I’m taking a sculpture course through the University of Saskatchewan and my first challenge was an ear. In class we have moved on to nose & mouth but I’m refining some details on this ear before allowing it to slowly dry for firing. 🏻 I’m enjoying learning something completely new to me as I’ve always worked on ceramic functional pieces. The new advent of video online learning has brought Adrian Golban’s instruction and direct critique into my kitchen! 🏻 [Image description: A large ear sculpted out of grey clay on a black and plywood surface, surrounded by thin plastic.] . . . #sculpture #ceramics #humansculpture #facesculpture #pottery #UofS #EarSculpt

Faces // I worked on more small pinch pot faces during our brief hot weather spike this past weekend. Now as the weather chills as May long approaches, I’m cleaning up these cheeks and pondering the sizes of the pots. This larger one is significantly larger than the two in the last set, which I like for larger plants. I adore the unruly hair that plants add to give these pots their real finishing touches.#canadianceramics #sculpture #pinchpots #pottery Posted by Intagrate Lite

Testing // Jason made a new bat system for me because our beloved supplier Ceramics Canada is out of stock. We had a box of bisque tiles laying about, so we're making due with those as the bats. So far, it's working great although it will take more practice for me to pull the clay up from the tile that is so close to the bat that holds it. And to remember to keep the bisque wet enough so my mug doesn't SURPRISE! pop off while I'm throwing. I'll call the first run using these small bats a success and I'm looking forward to trying more this weekend. …#batsystem #throwingbats #bisquetiles #canadianceramicsstudio #albertapotters #testing #neverstoplearning.[image description: A line of five freshly throwing pottery mugs made of white clay, each on a square bisque tile.] Posted by Intagrate Lite

Tools // We talk so much about tools in studio, in our videos, with other artists and ceramic artists and potters. We all have our favourite ride-or-die BFF tools. Jason and I regularly hoard red ribs (the red rubbery tool with a hole in the middle of it, seen in photo). I have a metal bit from a disassembled scotch tape dispenser glued to a chopstick that makes my heart flutter. As a family, the bin of round sponges at our supplier, Ceramics Canada, is a joy – our son once ended up face down and feet up in that barrel as he yearned to reach the bottom through the thousands of sponges. We do like the things that we like. 🖌These days of glazing and painting, we have favourite brushes and chairs as we work through the backlog of pots. The chill in the air is reminding us that we should appreciate every warm day we have, so we are achingly behind our own schedule. Lucky for us, our priority to enjoy these moments outside the studio before the snow flies is something we can take without guilt. Our tools will wait. They are wonderful that way.🖌What are your priorities this week?…[Image description: a charcoal black work surface with clay dust, covered in a variety of pottery tools: ball tools, brushes, a round yellow sponge, a red rib, a silver carving tool, and a small piece of clay.]..#creativeprocess #creativelife #handmademovement #artisanmade #makersmovement #makersgonnamake #etsyartist #ceramics #pottery #AlbertaMade #yycarts #canadianceramics #ipreview via @preview.app Posted by Intagrate Lite

Faces // The final results of the first two face pots for my wee plants …[Image description: two clay pinch pots with faces, side by side with excessively moody lighting.].#creativeprocess #creativelife #handmademovement #artisanmade #buyhandmade #makersmovement #makersgonnamake #etsyartist #ceramics #pottery #AlbertaMade #yycarts #pinchpot #handbuilt #canadianceramics #kiln #kilnfired #kilnfolk #ceramicprocess #handmadeceramic #shoplocalyyc #handmadeyyc #handcrafted #studiopottery Posted by Intagrate Lite

Pinch Pinch // Pinching technique to make a pinch pot with face in today's igTV video. I'm still refining the features on this sweet little planter, and I have some holes to poke in his bottom, but he is well on his way to being a loving home for a wee spider plant that I picked up this week. Check out the igTV video to watch me create this pot from a ball of clay using my hands and some simple tools. ..#pinchpot #planter #facepot #sculpture #handbuilding Posted by Intagrate Lite

The Schedule // Spoiler: it's changed twice already since this photo was taken (my dates for activities were wayyyy off and Jason has items to add to the first August bisque so… revamp!) However, we have an outline, a checklist, a guide of sorts to take us into mid-October. It may change wildly depending on what "Digital School" looks like for our son, what repairs are needed around our home before the snow flies, and if anyone in our community/cohort needs support. Or if we get sick. Plan A is in place but we don't mind having other plans in the wings, just in case.How are you organizing your weeks? Are you still creating with the robust strength as you did pre-Covid Times? Do you need strong calendar organization or can you wing it with ease? 🦁🤡 Our circus would love to hear how you manage!#studioplanning #artpractice #studioorganization #productivity Posted by Intagrate Lite