Lately, in the Studio…

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. Several months, actually. I could tell you I’ve been too busy, which is partly true, but mostly life and pottery have simply been moving along at a pretty good clip.

So I thought it was time for a little catch-up from the studio.

Summer means markets and art shows for me, which means pottery leaves the quiet and chaotic shelves of my studio and goes out into the world. And every year, I’m reminded that I really have no idea what people are going to fall in love with.

I can spend weeks making something I’m convinced everyone will want…and people walk right past it.

Then there are the pieces I’m not quite sure about, and suddenly everyone is picking them up.

This summer, one of those surprises has been Frosted Forest. Apparently, even when it’s 90 degrees outside, people are perfectly willing to stand in my booth holding a mug covered in snowy trees. And now... customers are ordering big soup bowls in preparation for cold weather!

I love that. Maybe we’re all secretly ready for sweater weather.  It has been extremely smoky due to the many fires surrounding our part of the world - cold clean air is very appealing to this snow lover.

I’ve also been reminded that there really is no such thing as the “right” size when it comes to pottery.

I tend to make generous mugs because, well…coffee.

But at the very same time, the itty-bitties seem to fly away. Those little 2½-ounce espresso cups barely get settled onto the shelf before someone decides they need one—or two.

So apparently there’s room in this world for a giant cup of coffee and one that’s gone in two sips.

That’s one of my favorite things about selling pottery face-to-face.

I get to watch.

I see what you pick up. What you turn over in your hands. What makes you call your husband over to look. What you put down…and then come back for ten minutes later.

And yes, I notice when you pick something up, look at the price, and very carefully put it back down. Ha!

All of that comes home with me and eventually finds its way back to the wheel.

There have been some wonderful moments this summer, too. Returning customers have stopped by to say hello and add to their collections. Pieces have headed home with people from near and far (even Romania!!!). And I’ve had conversations with complete strangers who simply wanted to know how something was made.

Those conversations matter to me.

Because this little pottery business has never been just about making a lot of things and selling them. I want the pieces I make to feel like they belong somewhere—to become the mug someone reaches for every morning, the bowl that always holds berries from the garden, or the piece that reminds someone of the mountains, forests and wild places they love.

Meanwhile, back in the studio, things are beginning to shift.

I’m working on my Homestead Collection—simple white pottery made for everyday living—and preparing pieces for SmallTown Giddy Up Farmstore opening very soon. I’m continuing to make some of the collections you already know, while also giving myself permission to simplify, experiment and follow a few new ideas.

And somehow, even though it’s August, I’m already thinking about Christmas.

That’s the slightly crazy calendar of a potter. While the garden is producing, the days are still hot, and most normal people are thinking about summer, I’m thinking about snowy forests, big soup bowls, woodland mugs and what people might want to put under the Christmas tree.

My studio currently looks exactly like you might expect.

There are pots drying on every available surface, pieces waiting for the kiln, things I need to glaze, things I forgot I made, and scraps of paper with ideas I was absolutely certain I would remember without writing down.

I wouldn’t.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, there’s usually a cup of coffee.

The funny thing is, after all these years of working with clay, I still get excited about what comes next. There’s always another shape I want to try, another glaze combination I’m curious about, or an idea that sounds brilliant in my head and may—or may not—survive its first trip through the kiln.

That’s pottery.

So that’s lately, in the studio.

A little messy. A little unpredictable. Very busy.

And still one of my favorite places to be.

Thanks for following along. I have a feeling there’s quite a bit more coming.

— Kathy
Swan River Creations