GEP

Elephants!

I use terry cloth towels. Mostly hand towels while throwing. I wash my hands in the throwing water bucket, dry off with a throwing towel. Then finish washing my hands in the sink, drying off on a “clean” towel next to the sink.
When glazing, I wrap a bath towel around my waist. Because like @LeeU I cannot resist wiping my hands on my pants. Glazing seems to require much more hand wiping than anything else.
When pulling handles, I wear a terry cloth wrist band to stop water dripping down to my elbow. I tried @Callie Beller Diesel‘s method but it didn’t help. For me, the water doesn’t drip down my arm during the pulling phase. It drips during the phase when I shape the handle and attach the bottom end. Because for that move I hold the mug up at eye level > arms now angled upward > water runs down arm rather than off the hands into bucket.
All of my studio towels and wristbands get taken down to a neighborhood laundromat, rather than my home laundry machines. It’s one of those big ones that is open 24/7. I figure their drains can handle a lot more than my house can. 

In the photo of my hands, you can see in the lower right corner, the coffee grinder that my iPad was perched atop. 

Ok here are my hands. They are dirty this morning from yardwork, not pottery. Gnarly cuticles, bulging veins, and I’m always nursing some cuts and scrapes. 

In the photo of my hands, you can see in the lower right corner, the coffee grinder that my iPad was perched atop. 

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Speaking of hands, has anyone else here ever had to be fingerprinted? I had to give fingerprints when I was hired to teach at a community center. The person doing it had a terrible time getting prints from my worn down fingertips. I have a potter friend who has a high security job. Her company is trying to install electronic fingerprint readers in their office, and she’s having a tough time using them.
Just think of the crimes we potters could get away with. 

Speaking of hands, has anyone else here ever had to be fingerprinted? I had to give fingerprints when I was hired to teach at a community center. The person doing it had a terrible time getting prints from my worn down fingertips. I have a potter friend who has a high security job. Her company is trying to install electronic fingerprint readers in their office, and she’s having a tough time using them.
Just think of the crimes we potters could get away with. 

This is my favorite and most important scheduling tool: a wall calendar that displays the entire year at a glance, and can be written on with a dry erase pen. I plan out about 2 months worth of days in advance, then stick to my plan as close as possible. It takes an emergency to make me ignore my plan. If I don’t stick to it, I will arrive at shows feeling underprepared, and I hate that! The shorthand you see (1a thru 1d, 2a thru 2d) refers to to-do lists that I keep in a notebook. Each to-do list produces about $1250 worth of pots. So when I apply for and get accepted into a show, before I commit to it I will make sure I have enough days to produce the necessary amount of inventory. If yes, then I will commit to the show and schedule the days of production. This way, I am always fully stocked. But I avoid overstocking myself which I consider wasted energy.
As you can see, I give myself regular days off, usually two in a row but sometimes three. I need these days out of the studio to let my sore muscles recover. Often, one of those off days will be spent working, just not in the studio. This is when I get my computer stuff done (bookkeeping, bill paying, writing blog posts, writing email campaigns, making hang tags, photographing my work, website updates, etc.) So that means I get one day “off” but that’s enough. 

Today 6/26 which is a day off. Tomorrow I start another round of glazing. And then I reach the end of my currently scheduled days. I have a completely unscheduled week 7/1 thru 7/7. Weird feeling! I will probably schedule those days as “video days” because I don’t need more pots for the three shows coming up in July. When I get near the end of my July shows, I will plan out all the days until my three October shows. Then follow the plan. 

This is my favorite and most important scheduling tool: a wall calendar that displays the entire year at a glance, and can be written on with a dry erase pen. I plan out about 2 months worth of days in advance, then stick to my plan as close as possible. It takes an emergency to make me ignore my plan. If I don’t stick to it, I will arrive at shows feeling underprepared, and I hate that! The shorthand you see (1a thru 1d, 2a thru 2d) refers to to-do lists that I keep in a notebook. Each to-do list produces about $1250 worth of pots. So when I apply for and get accepted into a show, before I commit to it I will make sure I have enough days to produce the necessary amount of inventory. If yes, then I will commit to the show and schedule the days of production. This way, I am always fully stocked. But I avoid overstocking myself which I consider wasted energy.
As you can see, I give myself regular days off, usually two in a row but sometimes three. I need these days out of the studio to let my sore muscles recover. Often, one of those off days will be spent working, just not in the studio. This is when I get my computer stuff done (bookkeeping, bill paying, writing blog posts, writing email campaigns, making hang tags, photographing my work, website updates, etc.) So that means I get one day “off” but that’s enough. 

Today 6/26 which is a day off. Tomorrow I start another round of glazing. And then I reach the end of my currently scheduled days. I have a completely unscheduled week 7/1 thru 7/7. Weird feeling! I will probably schedule those days as “video days” because I don’t need more pots for the three shows coming up in July. When I get near the end of my July shows, I will plan out all the days until my three October shows. Then follow the plan. 

This is my favorite and most important scheduling tool: a wall calendar that displays the entire year at a glance, and can be written on with a dry erase pen. I plan out about 2 months worth of days in advance, then stick to my plan as close as possible. It takes an emergency to make me ignore my plan. If I don’t stick to it, I will arrive at shows feeling underprepared, and I hate that! The shorthand you see (1a thru 1d, 2a thru 2d) refers to to-do lists that I keep in a notebook. Each to-do list produces about $1250 worth of pots. So when I apply for and get accepted into a show, before I commit to it I will make sure I have enough days to produce the necessary amount of inventory. If yes, then I will commit to the show and schedule the days of production. This way, I am always fully stocked. But I avoid overstocking myself which I consider wasted energy.
As you can see, I give myself regular days off, usually two in a row but sometimes three. I need these days out of the studio to let my sore muscles recover. Often, one of those off days will be spent working, just not in the studio. This is when I get my computer stuff done (bookkeeping, bill paying, writing blog posts, writing email campaigns, making hang tags, photographing my work, website updates, etc.) So that means I get one day “off” but that’s enough. 

Today 6/26 which is a day off. Tomorrow I start another round of glazing. And then I reach the end of my currently scheduled days. I have a completely unscheduled week 7/1 thru 7/7. Weird feeling! I will probably schedule those days as “video days” because I don’t need more pots for the three shows coming up in July. When I get near the end of my July shows, I will plan out all the days until my three October shows. Then follow the plan. 

This is my favorite and most important scheduling tool: a wall calendar that displays the entire year at a glance, and can be written on with a dry erase pen. I plan out about 2 months worth of days in advance, then stick to my plan as close as possible. It takes an emergency to make me ignore my plan. If I don’t stick to it, I will arrive at shows feeling underprepared, and I hate that! The shorthand you see (1a thru 1d, 2a thru 2d) refers to to-do lists that I keep in a notebook. Each to-do list produces about $1250 worth of pots. So when I apply for and get accepted into a show, before I commit to it I will make sure I have enough days to produce the necessary amount of inventory. If yes, then I will commit to the show and schedule the days of production. This way, I am always fully stocked. But I avoid overstocking myself which I consider wasted energy.
As you can see, I give myself regular days off, usually two in a row but sometimes three. I need these days out of the studio to let my sore muscles recover. Often, one of those off days will be spent working, just not in the studio. This is when I get my computer stuff done (bookkeeping, bill paying, writing blog posts, writing email campaigns, making hang tags, photographing my work, website updates, etc.) So that means I get one day “off” but that’s enough. 

Today 6/26 which is a day off. Tomorrow I start another round of glazing. And then I reach the end of my currently scheduled days. I have a completely unscheduled week 7/1 thru 7/7. Weird feeling! I will probably schedule those days as “video days” because I don’t need more pots for the three shows coming up in July. When I get near the end of my July shows, I will plan out all the days until my three October shows. Then follow the plan. 

This is my favorite and most important scheduling tool: a wall calendar that displays the entire year at a glance, and can be written on with a dry erase pen. I plan out about 2 months worth of days in advance, then stick to my plan as close as possible. It takes an emergency to make me ignore my plan. If I don’t stick to it, I will arrive at shows feeling underprepared, and I hate that! The shorthand you see (1a thru 1d, 2a thru 2d) refers to to-do lists that I keep in a notebook. Each to-do list produces about $1250 worth of pots. So when I apply for and get accepted into a show, before I commit to it I will make sure I have enough days to produce the necessary amount of inventory. If yes, then I will commit to the show and schedule the days of production. This way, I am always fully stocked. But I avoid overstocking myself which I consider wasted energy.
As you can see, I give myself regular days off, usually two in a row but sometimes three. I need these days out of the studio to let my sore muscles recover. Often, one of those off days will be spent working, just not in the studio. This is when I get my computer stuff done (bookkeeping, bill paying, writing blog posts, writing email campaigns, making hang tags, photographing my work, website updates, etc.) So that means I get one day “off” but that’s enough. 

Today 6/26 which is a day off. Tomorrow I start another round of glazing. And then I reach the end of my currently scheduled days. I have a completely unscheduled week 7/1 thru 7/7. Weird feeling! I will probably schedule those days as “video days” because I don’t need more pots for the three shows coming up in July. When I get near the end of my July shows, I will plan out all the days until my three October shows. Then follow the plan. 

Workbench results this week: tea strainers, tea cups and dishies. 
 

A lesson learned...
The last weekend in February was the last time I touched a kiln load of pots ready for single-fire glazing. Around June 6th is when I started to glaze. I pour the liners on mugs and pitchers. Then begin to spray the exteriors. 2 days after pouring a thin crack appeared in 2 pieces. I looked in the Hamer book and found out the crack is from readsorption. We had a very rainy spring with periods of extreme dry weather. The pottery shop had the windows open during this time. I took me about 2 weeks to glaze the pieces and 29 test glazes. Kiln was fired June 17.
I have always d processed the pottery this way. Throw a kiln load, then when all pieces dry, begin to pour and spray. I have never waited this long between the making and the glazing. Lost 5 pieces due to this readsorption. 
Never in my wildest dreams, in order to make decent pots, did I consider being a physicist, chemist, geologist, and any other ...ist I may have left out.
Picture of the hairline crack and a picture of the survivors. At least all were not lost. Also, I finally figured out how to properly load the kiln. This firing had the most even firing across the whole kiln. All cone 6 were bent exactly the same. 
  

Only working in my studio  for a couple of hours a day recently.   My husband has been using up some vacation time so we have been on the go.     When I am out there I am working on intricate stain designs,  coiling a pot or trying to throw on my new wheel.   It is hard to teach a old dog new tricks.    Denice

I've got a very busy week ahead of me. I currently have 101 pots under plastic that I will have to start trimming and decorating tomorrow, including 2/3 of a dinnerware set, a bunch of mugs, cups, tumblers, oil bottles, and soap pump bottles. I've got a show on Saturday, so my goal is to have it all done by lunchtime Friday so I'm ready to fire for the next show, when I'll need all of this work. Wish me luck!
                

Yes.
Being disciplined doesn’t mean stifling creativity. If you simply wait around for some mysterious inspiriation fairy to hit you upside the head with a magic “I will now make awesome art” stick, you’re not going to make a lot of art. You must be disciplined to create reliably, but how you go about that discipline is important.
If you’re applying discipline to produce creativity, it means doing all that you can to create the headspace in which idea generation occurs, and doing those things diligently. It means protecting that space once you have it, too. Some of this discipline  is self care, and looks like messing around to the outside observer. It’s not. A burnt out mind can’t generate good ideas. 
Most of it is showing up and doing the mundane tasks, even if you don’t feel like it. Practicing skills is also critical. Musicians play scales, painters and drawers sketch and do colour studies, potters throw cylinders. Discipline in this instance  does not mean being harsh with yourself. It means showing up and being receptive. It helps to also be in motion, and not thinking too hard about it. Hence all the cleaning or pugging.

I stand and stare in that exact pose. When i need a kick in the butt, I read, start a home improvement project like shelves in the laundry room to raised garden beds, or clean and rearrange the studio. Take hikes, research natural objects, etc. I often get the AHA moments in my dreams.  I just finished some surprise deadlines AFTER I delivered work to a gallery for an Invitational on May 11. I was a featured artist at 2 more galleries this past weekend. Now I am just relaxing a little bit. Fired new work this weekend using a hybrid technique of aluminum foil saggar chemicals in ceramic saggars. Discovered this technique may 5 so the first gallery didn't get any for their show. The second gallery is taking all the larger pots to the potential buyers house to see how they look on the built in shelves. This client purchased 4 $5000 paintings at the opening. Must be a HUGE house. These were large paintings.
I find pressure to produce to be a stimulus to get the creative juices flowing. I am heading off to a wood firing at the end of next week. Plus an exhibition of our work afterwards.
 
Marcia

I found that energy begets energy occurs in the classroom also. The more energy I put into demonstrating, getting around to the kids, excitement on my part about projects was returned to me and bounced back and forth by the students. If I was in a slump for some reason, they were too. In the end I found that even if I had a fever, cold and chills that pushing that energy out there made my day. . . and theirs. Of course I slept well at night!

It is a priority for me to surround and indulge myself with items/activities that bring me pleasure (other than people)----be it fresh flowers, great music,  little collectables,  making great mushroom soup-whatever. Usually "working" in any capacity is quite satisfying, but sometimes I go inert and the "juices" seem to dry up. Metaphorically, that indicates a lack of hydration & a need to overcome the perverse, self-defeating struggle to resist the intake of sufficient water.  When it's hard to force it down, it's important to sip slowly until the self begins to reopen.  
 So, I have this posted on my studio wall, and I just do what it says. I then get some meditative breathing (energy work/heart breaths) going.  A few sessions of staring at the wall (over days, weeks, whatever it takes)  and eventually I'll get  twitchy/thirsty enough to start doing something-anything--in the studio, as other people have mentioned--ex. cleaning, organizing, reclaiming clay.  That will lead fairly quickly to picking up a hunk of clay and getting back in gear.
I guess that is a ritual. It clears my mind---calms the static--- and eventually gooses the neurotransmitters to squash the inertia and reboot the "get on with it" system. Who knows? Works for me, strange as it may seem.  I think it's in the vein of "energy breeds energy", as GEP/Mea sez, or "You can act your way into right thinking, but you can't think your way into right acting".  "Act as if." "Walk the talk." "Easy does it, but do it." , and so forth. 

The phrase I learned in college is “energy breeds energy.” This is along the lines of what Magnolia and Callie are saying. Such a short phrase but it made a huge difference for me going forward out of college. I still say it to myself all the time. Creative work requires an immense amount of energy. So many acts of initiative. Many people underestimate that, thinking something so “fun” shouldn’t require effort. 
Putting energy into any task creates momentum that makes it easier to generate energy the next day.  Putting practice into skills makes those skills easier, which then require less energy, giving you free energy to spend on new initiatives. It multiplies over time. On the other hand, sitting around doing nothing leads to more sitting around doing nothing. This also multiplies over time.
I guess the important crux of “energy breeds energy” is that the fuel needs to come from yourself, and shows you how to generate fuel.

The phrase I learned in college is “energy breeds energy.” This is along the lines of what Magnolia and Callie are saying. Such a short phrase but it made a huge difference for me going forward out of college. I still say it to myself all the time. Creative work requires an immense amount of energy. So many acts of initiative. Many people underestimate that, thinking something so “fun” shouldn’t require effort. 
Putting energy into any task creates momentum that makes it easier to generate energy the next day.  Putting practice into skills makes those skills easier, which then require less energy, giving you free energy to spend on new initiatives. It multiplies over time. On the other hand, sitting around doing nothing leads to more sitting around doing nothing. This also multiplies over time.
I guess the important crux of “energy breeds energy” is that the fuel needs to come from yourself, and shows you how to generate fuel.

The phrase I learned in college is “energy breeds energy.” This is along the lines of what Magnolia and Callie are saying. Such a short phrase but it made a huge difference for me going forward out of college. I still say it to myself all the time. Creative work requires an immense amount of energy. So many acts of initiative. Many people underestimate that, thinking something so “fun” shouldn’t require effort. 
Putting energy into any task creates momentum that makes it easier to generate energy the next day.  Putting practice into skills makes those skills easier, which then require less energy, giving you free energy to spend on new initiatives. It multiplies over time. On the other hand, sitting around doing nothing leads to more sitting around doing nothing. This also multiplies over time.
I guess the important crux of “energy breeds energy” is that the fuel needs to come from yourself, and shows you how to generate fuel.

On that same theme, work begets more work. 
There's a theme here of doing tedious, mindless chores, things that encourage your brain into a delta wave state. That's where the magic happens.  Keep your hands busy and let your mind wander. It allows you to rest while being restless.