Now that we are moving toward the end of the year and therefore the holiday season, the studio will be getting busier and busier. While we all have deadlines and projects we are wanting to complete within the next few weeks, it is vital to remember to clean up the equipment you have used and leave it better than you found it. As you might have experienced, coming to a dirty work station is a bummer, and having to clean a table of the history of someone else's project can be irritating to say the least. So, this season, remember there is no I in team and no dirt in clean. Clean up after yourself, and if you spot some areas that have been left a mess, pitch in and clean those up too.
Things that are routinely left unclean:

• The wedging table
• Ware boards
• Glaze paddles/lids
• Hand building tables
• Sponges (filled with clay)
• plastic left on shelves unused
• dishes in the sink

On November 7th, we will hold our last critique club of the year. We will pick them up again at the end of January. These meetings have been created and run by what will be known as Burnished Clay Artists Collective, an organization created to fund and support the Burnish Studio Grant Fund. Going forward, the group will also train any interested artists to run their own critiques so that they might teach others of the value and power of constructive critical feedback.

As a person who attempts to teach people hand skills so that they might create art, it is my first priority to create a space where everyone can feel like they can play. Fear and doubt are the biggest killers of creative drive and curiosity, so providing an environment where improvement, and not perfection, is valued is vital in coaching people to feel free enough to take risks. I encourage people to cheer each other on. I help people to stop negative self-talk. I teach them the physics of clay. But I do not teach art. This is because art and creativity lives within each one of us in a different expression of human energy and vitality. Everyone has it, but not everyone is encouraged to search for and harness it. This is because it is scary. Most people are afraid of what they will see in themselves if they search too deeply. We have been taught to fear ourselves. This is why real creativity is a mystery to most people; most people are a mystery to themselves. 
When a person makes something that is not "accurate", "perfect", or in some way or other short of their expectations, it is because their vision of themselves is what they have been taught they are supposed to be, and not who they are, which is much more beautiful, raw, and frankly, relatable.

Humanity is flawed. There is no denying that in this time, and wanting or expecting perfection from the human hand is part of the brain washing we have endured as we attempt to grow to maturity in this society, one which is sick with addiction, violence, and greed. 

Allow yourself your flaws, your humanity. Leave room in your day to consider that you might be much more than anyone around you has led you to believe. Your hands know your heart, so please trust them to translate what is lying deep inside you, waiting to come out. We need this stuff in you, all of us. We need your inspiration, your struggle, your beauty and your humanity. 

There are a million ways to trim your pots, and if you are trimming them on the wheel, it is just fine to use the Giffin Grip if you have no trouble centering. If you are still struggling with centering on occasion, I suggest you practice tapping your pots into center to trim them. This will give you practice moving clay into the center of your wheel and help you improve in every stage of the throwing process.

Bonus: When glazing your mugs, if you are looking for variation between your handle and the body of your mug, dip you handle in water before dipping your mug in glaze. The handle will take on less of the glaze and will look different than the body of the mug while still be visually related to it.

The soda firing process has been updated, so too has the soda fire page on the website, and it's so good that I even signed up for the cone 10 soda firing in November. 
If you want to check out the cool new page and get all the details, just follow this link and prepare to be AMAZED.
As I said, there is a cone 10 firing in November and there is also a cone 6 soda firing in December, so, yeah, it's so hot, it's cool.

While this image might appear to be one of a pink chicken sitting on a toilet, in actuality, it's a goose. Which reminds me to remind you that the last Critique Club of the year will be held on November 7, in the throwing area of the studio, at 6:15 pm. We were going to have it on the 31st of October, but we figured that requiring everyone to show up in costume might be a deal breaker. This way, you can come dressed up as yourself, and bring whatever work for which you might want to get some feedback.

I know what you're thinking...."how can one place have so many amazing stickers?!?!" Well, wake up and believe it. What's more, Burnish is using 100% of the profits from the sales of these babies to fund the Burnish Studio Grant Fund, which goes to LGBTQ and BIPOC artists who want access to Burnish classes and workshops but might not have the funding. Burnish has teamed up with Burnished Clay Artist Collective to do all kinds of events and sales to fund this Grant, so stay tuned for more opportunities to help people get access to clay! You can buy these groovy stickers in the studio any time.

On Sunday, October 22, the studio will open late, at 12:30 pm, to accommodate the sculpture class doing a segment on figure sculpting.

No one will be allowed in the studio, including members and staff, between 10 am-12:30 pm due to the need for privacy required to conduct a figure sculpting class, which requires a live nude model.  A lot like the dude in the pic.

If you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE Lord of the Rings. I love this trilogy for many reasons, but mostly, it's for the wisdom its many characters spew as they are running from one battle to the next. The quote I have been ruminating on lately, "War will make corpses of us all", said to Sam by Faramir soon after he captures the Hobbit and his companions, has been repeating in my mind ever since news broke about the crisis in Gaza. There are many hard things going on in the world right now, wars that have lasted for thousands of years have a way of bubbling up and wreaking havoc on the lives of all they touch. Being sensitive to the people around us as we live through these "evil days" is important, as we must share the studio space in harmony. Be kind and take care of each other. Tread softly and remember that each of us carries an entire lifetime of experiences around inside, and we are in the studio in large part to ameliorate the pains that cannot be seen. We are a community, after all.

Are you getting into clay? Are you REALLY LOVING it to a point where you can't stop thinking of all the cool things you want to make, all the excellent glaze combinations you want to try, and all the crazy firing techniques you want to use? 
Then I gently suggest that you start taking notes and planning your projects in a notebook of some sort. I carry a sketchbook with me most days, and start each day "doodling" about the work I want to make in the weeks ahead. I will tell you why this is a good idea, the best reason in the world, really: it saves you time. Working things out on paper, (no matter how bad your drawing skills), will be infinitely faster than trying to build and rebuild clay projects in real time while you work out all the kinks. As an example, I recently sketched out a mug design I want to start making, complete with color composition. I nailed the shape pretty much immediately, but I have been working and re-working the glaze combinations so that I can get to a place where I feel satisfied with my piece. This would have taken me at least twice as long had I not sketched it out first. When I ask most people if they are using a sketchbook, a majority of them say no, but I tell you, it is a good practice to have, simply because you will waste much less time working on stuff that does not work.

In the last few months, I have applied to five different artist opportunities and gotten into three, that I know of. I don't apply thinking I will get into all of them, or even most of them. I apply to keep myself sharp. I apply to keep myself motivated. I apply so that people all over the world will see my work. Yes. That's right. When I apply to international invitationals, people all over the world see my work. 
How about you?

CALLS FOR ENTRY

THERE IS STILL TIME to sign up for the Stephen Robison surface design workshop. Stephen will focus on surface and form. The main demonstrations will focus on using bisque and 3-d printed stamps. They will also address working with slips. It will be applicable for both wheel and hand built forms.
​Experience level: This class is for people who are actively working with clay already, having taken at least 1 wheel or hand building class in the recent past. It is not appropriate for new people who are looking to try out playing with clay.

• Materials & Firings: Slabs made from our studio reclaim will be provided to you to practice on for day 1.
• Participants should bring 3-4 soft leather-hard forms using the clay of your choice and at least 1/4 of a bag of the same clay.
• If you are not a current student or member at Burnish, we will bisque fire your completed pieces for you as a part of the class. Access to glaze firing pieces made during this workshop would follow our standard firing process and rates for external participants.

There is a new round of kids classes starting on October 19th that runs through November 16th. Kids will make projects guided by their own interests and curiosities with personal assistance by the instructor.  The class goes from 3:00 to 4:30 every Thursday. Sign your kids up today as there are still a few spots left in this class. 

The next Cone 10 community soda firing lead by Zoe Petersen will be loaded Mon 10/9.

• All pots must be delivered and glazed by Sun 10/8
• Pots that will be bisqued at Burnish must be delivered & DRY by Tues 10/3
• Kiln will be loaded Mon 10/9, Fired Tues 10/10, unloaded (most likely) Fri 10/13.  

If you have not gotten your pots in by Sunday the 8th, you can wait until the next soda firings that will happen after the first of the year, (2024).

Around the holiday season, it is important to remember that a lot of people will be attempting to push gift items through our firing system in order to give clay magic for gifts. If this is your goal, please remember that waiting until the last minute will not work, so plan ahead and make your gifts as soon as possible, (now), so there is no added pressure on the staff during an already stressful time in the studio. The techs priority is classes and studio work, not holiday gifts or sales, so please plan accordingly to do the work you need to do in a timely manner. Thanks!

It is very easy to take yourself seriously, easy to get so caught up in the expectation of what you want that you lose sight of what is, no matter how spectacular it might be. 

With clay, the opportunity for play is always close. This week, I encourage you to let go of your goals, let go of your expectations, and let go of what you think you have to do and allow yourself to slow down and just see what happens. There is so much fun in clay, so much it can tell you about what is possible, that if you move in to your projects believing that the unexpected is a problem and not an opportunity, you might miss something truly great. I know you have plans and ideas, but really, this week is the perfect time to maybe let that go a little bit and just find something in the clay that might be waiting for you.

Respect the timing of clay.
Dude, slow down.
Homey, speed up. 

Depending on what you are making, there is a way to treat the clay so that you will get the best results. When you are throwing on the wheel, it is best to touch the clay as little and as quickly as possible in order to get it to the place you want it to be. Conversely, after it has been trimmed and a handle or some other appendage has been added, it is smart to slow down, cover your piece in plastic and let the clay have a bit of time to dry.  Depending on how you are using the clay and the phase your piece is in, it is important to respect the physical limits of the clay so that your piece has the best chance of turning out well. 
Getting to know what the clay needs is a matter of practice. Knowing something is one thing, practicing it until you are good at it is a whole other thing entirely.

​The more you work with clay, the more you will understand its limits and know when you can push them.

HERE are a few places to look for opportunities. There are many more. All you have to do is look up places that have clay classes and workshops, go to their websites, and find opportunities to which you can apply.

Good Luck.

TransArtists – Worldwide Residency Search
Res Artis – Worldwide Residency Search
Call for….. – Worldwide Open Calls
Callforentry – Open calls with a management system for applying
Center for Emerging Visual Artists – Artist Services, Open Calls
Art Insight – Artist Services, Open Calls, Opportunities, Directory

The next Critique Club will take place on November 7th, as the last Tuesday in October is Halloween, and well, chances are good that attendance might be low. It will also be the last critique club of the year as the end of November and December are very busy times for most people. I know that personally I am usually deep into my annual viewing of  the Lord of The Rings trilogy, eating pie, and hanging out in my jammie jams. I am sure other people have their traditional fall events to attend as well.

Critique Club will resume in 2024 at the end of January.

The next 5 week kids clay class starts Mid-October, so if your kid has ever expressed any interest in clay, now is the time to sign up as we have five slots still open for next session. 

I teach a lot of throwing classes, and one of the more common but surprising things that most beginning potters forget to do is breathe. I know, it sounds funny, but it's true. There are so many things a new potter is trying to keep track of that breathing becomes somewhat of an afterthought. People just starting on the wheel are so intent on getting it right that they forget to breathe. This can lead to a lot of mistakes, including moving your hands faster than the wheel is going, pinching the clay instead of pulling the clay, or applying uneven or unsteady pressure as you move from the bottom to the top of your clay.

Breathing regularly greatly improves your throwing skills, just like good posture, water regulation, or speed modulation, breathing is part of a healthy throwing practice. If you are one of those people wondering why you are struggling, make sure that the next time you sit down at the wheel, you remember to breathe. It real is a game changer.

“If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.”
                                                              -Lao Tzu

CaFe is a website you can upload recent pics of your work, create a portfolio complete with a bio and artist statement, then look up calls for entry and enter in a efficient and non-excruciating way. 

It is a great way to get your work in front of a wider audience and maybe have the excitement of telling your friends and family that you're "huge in Germany, just like David Hasselhoff."