Gak!!! No Title!

That's because I am having a holiday. Yes, you heard right. No potting. No puttering, very little plotting. Just resting, cleaning house, a little shoppin', a little, actually a lot, of getting caught up on the computer. It always seems that whatever I work on, everything else falls behind. If I work hard in the Studio, the house falls apart. If I work on the house and other personal responsibilities, then the pottery doesn't get made. Why can't I be well-balanced like other people?

Come to think of it, I was told I wasn't well balanced back in my school days. Oops.

On the other hand, a maid would solve a lot of problems and nobody would notice that I'm not well-balanced, so it's not my fault.

More seriously, I'm doing some re-evaluating of my work. It's been a tough year for selling handmade pots. People didn't want to spend much, so I more and more made small items. That worked to some extent, but I had to make a lot of them to earn my pay! It takes a lot of $5-$10 items to buy groceries. Not to mention that they are B O R I N G! My Red Fox Watching designs didn't sell. My Pansy designs didn't sell. Oddly enough, plain blue spongeware sold well , as did my new Bird line.

Red Fox Watching

Pansy Design on a plate

Bird design plates, bowl and mug

Guess I'll downscale Red Fox and Elisabeth's Wild Garden (which the Pansies are part of), make more Birds and try a few new ideas I have......

And plan on making a lot of magnets, spoonrests, small mugs, soap dishes and other small things.

How have you found it this year? I'd love to hear how you other potters did in 2011. Did your selling patterns change? What did you find worked, what did not? Any ideas for 2012 that you are willing to share?