Wednesday, March 30, 2011

It's In The Way That You Use It

In honor of today being Eric Clapton's birthday I must, of course, use one of his songs for the post title. One of my more favorite of his songs actually but not one of his more commercially popular. And I have even heard him sing it in person, many years ago.
So, yesterday I got all the forms wrecked off the concrete and cleaned up the area. That's the only crappy thing about concrete; you have to tear down all that wood you just put together! But the slab and footing came out well with very little honeycomb to be seen. After getting things cleaned up I went around and gathered up all the 6" block I had scavenged over the last little while and carried it to the area. I laid out the walls and openings to figure out just how many blocks I am going to need to buy. Looks like I'll need to purchase about 10 to finish. Not too bad.
Now, I know a lot of you are wondering why I'm going ot lay block when I have this concrete slab now to build on. Well, I'll tell you. On the right side, near the garden, the concrete is about at grade, meaning the wood framing would be close to touching dirt on that side if I just framed right on top of the slab. You need to have your framing and siding about 8 inches above grade here because of the termite scourge. Those buggers will eat everything. I don't want dirt washing up on my siding and sheathing to give those guys a starting point. Plus, I want to be able to hose the chicken coop out at times and if my framing were done on the slab I would be soaking it every time I washed. So, I elevate the framing on this block and it solves all that. I can wash up on the concrete block to my heart's content. Now, the block will be mortared and pinned to the slab with rebar and then filled to allow me a solid surface to anchor my framing to. Considering that most of the block and rebar are free, this is not an expensive detail.

It rained all last night and drizzled most of today so I didn't work on the coop any. Instead, I did what I've been needing to do for a while and that was throw some more pottery! I got a good bit made and will be firing shortly, I hope. I've got to start making a bit more of an effort to market my work if I'm going to make a living at this stuff. Since I got no comments on the new pottery page I will assume either, 1. no one looked at it 2. anybody that did look at it thought it was okay Or, 3. everybody that looked at it thought it sucked horribly but is afraid to say anything to me. LOL!! Mainly, I was wondering if the black background in the photos looks too severe or does it highlight the work nicely?

Chigger has declared herself the Official Stick Wrangler and dutifully makes it a point to gather and harass all sticks, no matter their size, when we go walkabout. She's pretty good about carrying them all the way up to the house but I need to teach her to deposit them in the burn pile or the kindling box.

16 comments:

ErinFromIowa said...

You give and give to us with your blogging so I figured I could haul my lazy ass over to your shop. We are so spoiled with the internet! How hard was that for me to click over and check out your awesome wares? I think I will post/promote it on my tumblr. Something about how I want it all. Mine. Mine. Mine!

Anonymous said...

I looked at the page when you mentioned it, but since I'm not one of your "regulars," I wasn't sure about commenting. But now that you ask....:)

1) The background is nice in that it's not distracting, but it felt a tiny bit "dead" and "flat" to me. Not sure you should take my word on aesthetics though.

2) I liked where you showed a known object for scale, even though I'm pretty good at envisioning dimensions from figures. Example would be the tea bag in the .... forget what they are called but... accessory type bowls. I wouldn't mind seeing something similar in all the photos.

3) In one of the photos (the bowls with the lemon) I wasn't sure which bowl style I was looking at, or if it was just to show glaze color.

As always, I really enjoy when you show and explain how you build something (such as the chicken coop). Thanks!

Anon-R.

PS: I sure hope this comes through; for some reason some of my comments don't seem to, and I have no idea why.

Pablo said...

Flike is an incessant stick wrangler, too.

Island Rider said...

I haven't been on the computer much. Contemplating Lent and all. But, I am home today after a very busy month, I finally have a day off and of course, it would be the day that March goes out like a lion. I got up at 6:30 to feed horses and get a bowl in the kiln before the horrendous storm that the weatherpeople are having strokes about came through. Now, the sky is blue and I could have slept late. I like the photos. Very professional looking. My favorites are the ones where the pottery is in a natural setting like the ones on the table. I think your prices might be too low for Internet sales. Compare them to Etsy. Your work is beautiful and stands out nicely.

Ed said...

I'm partially colorblind so I generally avoid aesthetic type comments. It just highlights my flaws.

MamaHen said...

Hey Erin! LOL! hey, that would be great if you put it up! thanks!

Hey Anon-R! well, i think you are one of my regulars. but I welcome all comments anyway! and thank you for your insight; I appreciate it.
I have thought about getting one of those 'graduated' backgrounds where the color varies from dark to lighter. I think that may help. thanks again!

Hey Pablo! what is it with dogs and sticks!?? :)

Hey IR! thank you very much for the advice. I did check out Etsy and yes, my stuff is way cheaper than a lot. I will take this into consideration. It amazes me on Etsy that often times, with the pottery, the godawfullest crap is the most expensive! lol!!

Hey Ed! okay! I understand!

antvee said...

I looked, I drooled and told myself I'd treat myself to bowl sometime in the future...
I like the site, but was too lazy to comment. :)
v.

Anonymous said...

Hi Edifice, I think your pottery is absolutely beautiful and If I weren't living in Singapore right now, I would be over to buy several pieces. Those mixing bowls are calling my name. Hopefully when I am back in the Florida panhandle I can make it by and make a buy. Sarah

Rusty said...

OK, I have to admit I forgot to look - can I blame it on this nasty spring cold? Anyway I had a look today. IMO, certainly first class. Black is the only background that will display the colors to advantage - as long as the subject ain't black - grin.

Personally I think it looks quite professional.

Asfor the future chicken hotel - five stars at least!

Hey it looks like we might hit 50 today. (Snow stillon the ground here though).

ATB!

Jenn said...

The black backdrop for the pottery is perfect, IMHO.

JOJO said...

OK so went over and took a look. I usually do and there hadn't been any changes. Sooooo it looks good nice and clear. Good job

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Whoops, I did look at the page yesterday and liked it and then neglected to let you know. I thought it showed your pottery in a professional way and sure some tweaking might help present some pieces better, but on the whole I liked what I saw. Sorry I didn't say so then. The chicken coop is looking good.

HermitJim said...

My friend, the pottery is beautiful and the background is perfect! Looks very professional to me!

I'm going to see if I can send a few folks over your way, if that's alright with you!

Just keep doing what you do! Seems to be working!

Woody said...

I like all your work Annie. Theresa wanted to know if you had a set of eight dinner plates in your inventory. She was really diggin your earthy red glaze.

MamaHen said...

Hey V! Ok! thanks! :)

Hey Sarah! lol! yeah, that would be great! thanks!

Hey Rusty! thanks for your opinion! I appreciate it.

Hey Jenn! ok! thanks!

Hey Jo! thanks! your little pot is getting closer!

Hey Beatrice! thanks! I appreciate the feedback!

Hey Jim! thank you very much and yes! I would appreciate any traffic you can send my way! you're a sweetie!

Hey Woody! thanks man! Tell Theresa that I only have a few at the moment but am throwing and can certainly make many more. As a matter of fact, dinnerware seems to be the hot thing right now so I think I'm going to really be putting out the plates and such. It would be no trouble to reserve some for ya'll.

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

I think you are a builder in you soul. You are one of those people who need a project on the go.

The concrete looks good. We do not have termites here. It is too cold.