Joseph Fireborn

@liambesaw Congratulations in the most happy way possible during these trying times. I wish you all the best. 

@liambesaw Congratulations in the most happy way possible during these trying times. I wish you all the best. 

Welp, got my papers today and I'm officially laid off!  
Starting tomorrow I will be a full time potter for the first time in my life.  But will I be throwing pots?
NO!
My first day as a full time Potter will be spent cleaning, organizing, and basically doing all of the things I should have been doing instead of throwing pots for the last 6 months.  I'll be setting up my studio to be a hybrid potters studio slash live streaming studio.  The racks outside next to my kiln will be cleared off, items tagged and boxed into totes, inventory taken, pictures taken, and inventory added to my store.  
It's time to get serious because I may be out of work until halfway through May.  It's time to make the best of the situation and treat this as an opportunity instead of a tribulation.
Once I get everything situated on the organizational end, it will be flushing out and producing a product line.  This is my life now.

not today but you reminded me of a breakfast in september in harpers ferry back in 2017.    my pieces plus a cream and sugar by del martin, a mug by seth cardew, and a thin waisted cup by john glick.   i made the square at a workshop with ellen currans in oregon.  marvelous time there.
the bacon looks excessive but it is paper thin and i microwave it on paper towels to take out the fat.   

@Callie Beller Diesel
I just saw this. Love! Perfect color and slip work. Very nice.

@Callie Beller Diesel
I just saw this. Love! Perfect color and slip work. Very nice.

New mugs, and a commission for tiny display dishes for a spice shop. 

Finally settling on a single glaze for all of my work.

Finally settling on a single glaze for all of my work.

Finally settling on a single glaze for all of my work.

Finally settling on a single glaze for all of my work.

Finally settling on a single glaze for all of my work.

Finally settling on a single glaze for all of my work.

Been making yunomi around the clock. I have been testing a lot of clay mixes and additions and I have some big plans for my standard white glaze work. Also been making some new marks on my work that I haven't usually made and I plan to leave the areas rawish of clay. Hopefully, once I can get what is in my head down on the pot it will be as beautiful as I imagine it. I could literally make yunomi and nothing else for the rest of my life. They are the absolute perfection of a pot.

Been making yunomi around the clock. I have been testing a lot of clay mixes and additions and I have some big plans for my standard white glaze work. Also been making some new marks on my work that I haven't usually made and I plan to leave the areas rawish of clay. Hopefully, once I can get what is in my head down on the pot it will be as beautiful as I imagine it. I could literally make yunomi and nothing else for the rest of my life. They are the absolute perfection of a pot.

off topic but  i   WANT that sofa!

I just want to be doing more pottery and making more things that I love.

I just want to be doing more pottery and making more things that I love.

This is a finished one of the oil bottles I posted a greenware photo of a few pages back, flashing slips, cone 10 soda. 

Bless all you awesome people here. The stories of your overcoming are inspirational. Keep up the hard work.

Just pulled this out of the kiln. One of my better pots with this decoration style.

Figured I would share in the joy of posting stuff on workbench! Waiting on the rest of the load to cool so I can see all the rest of it. Hopefully more as good as this one. It is nice to get a little reward before I take a long pottery break yet again to study. Hopefully I will have time to get back out in the garage and get some more work made!

Just pulled this out of the kiln. One of my better pots with this decoration style.

Figured I would share in the joy of posting stuff on workbench! Waiting on the rest of the load to cool so I can see all the rest of it. Hopefully more as good as this one. It is nice to get a little reward before I take a long pottery break yet again to study. Hopefully I will have time to get back out in the garage and get some more work made!

Just thought I would add a plug for considering a centering tool to help if needed. I had a screw  put in my shoulder when I was 18 to fix a constantly recurring shoulder dislocations stemming from an injury. A big shot sports doctor did it and I remember him telling me it was a success and I didn't need to worry about it for 30-35 years. Seemed like forever. Now 38 years later not so much. I for the most part don't worry about it and have few issues over the years but excessive centering was causing that shoulder to suddenly have soreness/pain and that gave me pause. I tried to change how I center so I didn't flex my shoulder but it just didn't seem to help.  Added a  https://www.strongarmpotterytools.com/ for big batches of throwing and it went away so love this sucker. I still always center and open several of any batch to make sure I maintain the ability to center. I don't have arthritis but it might also be helpful for that.  

Ear. The only way I like my handles. Although I want to try the kind where its an ear with a finger pulled up at the top. 
Like this, by Ayumi Horie:

Just pulled this out of the kiln. One of my better pots with this decoration style.

Figured I would share in the joy of posting stuff on workbench! Waiting on the rest of the load to cool so I can see all the rest of it. Hopefully more as good as this one. It is nice to get a little reward before I take a long pottery break yet again to study. Hopefully I will have time to get back out in the garage and get some more work made!