Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
This weeks winner is sandy m, Congratulations! You have won a pair of the new Toile Charms from Skye Jewels! Marie will even let you pick your color!
This week we visit the studio of Tari Sasser at
Creative Impressions In Clay.
I had a show a few weeks ago in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I have the best spot every year, outside on the end. I love this show, A Wool Gathering, because it is low key, family friendly and just a lot of fun!
It was an absolutely beautiful weekeend, sunshine and in the 70's.
Foot traffic was great but sales were down. The economy has really been hitting everyone hard.
This is my set-up for my 10' ez-up tent.
It was very bright out and difficult to stand back and get a shot of the entire tent.
Something new I decided to try this year was to set up a table for jewelry and jewelry components.
Behind the table and gridwall is where I take transactions and wrap up sales. Showing off my new round business card that doubles as a display card.
On the left side was the wall o'buttons with shelves above. My yellow and purple theme, and thanks to my mom for sewing all the panels for me. The floor is the panel foam type that I bought in my specified colors. Very helpful when items are dropped, which happens a lot. Now you can find them. Without it, it was difficult to find buttons, earrings, etc. in the grass.
Leave a comment answering the question and you could win a pair of my recycled earrings.
Made from aluminum cans!
Feeling Sassy as usual!
Tari Sasser
Creative Impressions In Clay
It was an absolutely beautiful weekeend, sunshine and in the 70's.
Foot traffic was great but sales were down. The economy has really been hitting everyone hard.
This is my set-up for my 10' ez-up tent.
It was very bright out and difficult to stand back and get a shot of the entire tent.
Behind the table and gridwall is where I take transactions and wrap up sales. Showing off my new round business card that doubles as a display card.
The back left corner, front right corner and the front left corner.
My banners were printed by Vistaprint. Very affordable plus they did a great job!
This booth set-up is the third version since I have been making buttons. It's interesting how things morph as you try to make the flow easier in a 10' x 10' space.
The week of the show, of course I had been staying up late glazing and making last minute items.
I think there are times the gremlins of the universe know you are stressed preparing for a show.
My guess is I hadn't pay enough homage to the kiln gods. I had a total meltdown in my big kiln.
My husband got to see the horror on my face when I opened the lid. I lost three shelves and two bead racks, not to mention all the items that were being (over) fired.
The shelf is on its side to show you, nothing on it is going anywhere!
I can't tell you what these were going to be, but I know they are melted to the shelf. I also lost many of the little star stilts.
I believe what happened was the top shelf prevented the kiln sitter (see arrow) from dropping after it had reached firing temperature of cone 06. I think the kiln fired to cone 10 or close to it, for the clay to become vitreous and fuse to the shelves.
Having a mush brain in the wee hours of the morning, I forgot to check everything and also forgot how long a takes my kiln to fire off at cone 06 so I could set the limit timer to the correct time. The limit timer was the fail safe after I had gone to bed.
Sh*t happens. Roll with it, not in it.
I had not choice but to try and forget about it continue prepping for the show.
So onward and upward we go!!
My question today is:
What recent studio disaster have you experienced?
My husband got to see the horror on my face when I opened the lid. I lost three shelves and two bead racks, not to mention all the items that were being (over) fired.
The shelf is on its side to show you, nothing on it is going anywhere!
I believe what happened was the top shelf prevented the kiln sitter (see arrow) from dropping after it had reached firing temperature of cone 06. I think the kiln fired to cone 10 or close to it, for the clay to become vitreous and fuse to the shelves.
Having a mush brain in the wee hours of the morning, I forgot to check everything and also forgot how long a takes my kiln to fire off at cone 06 so I could set the limit timer to the correct time. The limit timer was the fail safe after I had gone to bed.
Sh*t happens. Roll with it, not in it.
I had not choice but to try and forget about it continue prepping for the show.
So onward and upward we go!!
My question today is:
What recent studio disaster have you experienced?
Made from aluminum cans!
Tari Sasser
Creative Impressions In Clay
20 comments:
Umm, my most recent disaster was kiln related as well. Something went wrong with a program and I reached cone 6 in 30 minutes. Sheesh this should never happen. Lost all of my kiln furniture, the elements, and the thermocouple. Sh*t happens, eh?
That is awful! I shutter to thing what it's going to cost to replace everything. I feel your pain!
Excellent! Thanks for sharing!
Im so sorry about your recent oops-ies. Is what I call them. Ive been there and I know you want to cry and scream at the same time. Sometimes that helps. Lol.
First let me say your display is fabulous. Wowow. Love it. Your work is amazing. I love working with polyner as well and after seeing your display my hubbys honey hurry up and do list just increased.
My oops-ie was my kids chasing my 4 very large dogs around the house. Forgetting that the dogs run to me when teased. They all four came at me at the same time. Tables knocked over. Glass everywhere. Ruined projects. Many creations destroyed. Clay everywhere. My poor parrots were on my shoulders and scared to death. Lets just say there was a very long pause of silence. I was to devastated to even yell or cry. i put my dogs outside and went to take a long nap so I wouldnt harm children or animal. Lol. praying elves would fix it in my sleep. No such luck. Several months later and Im still sorting.. ugh. What a mess. I do a little at a time and create in my un used dining room until I finish my studio. i hope to have it finished soon. I prefer to create than clean and sleep.. One thing I learnd. Secure tops on every storage you have. Secure furniture. :) .
Happy creating. Thanks for sharing
Kimberly www.kimisjewelryandgifts.blogspot.com
Just before I went to NL I was reheating a glass bead to modify it.. If I'm reheating a bead I take the kiln to 1200 don't use a program don't need that when I'm right there.... well I wandered off and when I went back in the studio hours later couldn't figure out why it was so hot... well a little 2000 degree block will do that... bead is now part of the floor of the kiln and will be forever... Glass hammered off of my mandrel prop quite nicely though... kiln still works...
New mantra...must use programer....
Opening that kiln and seeing that would have been heartbreaking! I've only done a tiny bit of ceramic work (when I took a class), and I was on pins and needles waiting for my stuff to come out of the kiln. It gave me a whole new respect for all you ceramic artisans!! :-)
Since I primarily work with seed beads, my only "disaster" is when I manage to spill beads. Little tiny beads sprinkled all over the place... my husband's lucky they don't show up in his food.
My studio disasters tend to involve my 5 yr old getting into something and making a huge mess! Luckily nothing too recent but there are always little trails of buttons leading away from the studio...
Sorry about the mess :( Always a bummer when we lose something <3
Oh Kim! Wow! A nap was in order.
Thanks for commenting.
Islandgirl, I did the same thing, when my daughter asked why the garage was so hot. Oops!
I'm going to assume you will need to replace the kiln brick on the bottom of the kiln one day.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mary Lou, I've often thought about the seed beaders and those type of disasters. I think I would be crying just at the thought of picking them up.
Seed beading is something I know I will never venture into trying but I have a respect for the people who do. It's like painting with 3D dots. Very cool!
Marie, my 14 year old does that! She makes a mess and walks away from it. I'm the one cleaning up the clay tools. It used to be her older sister and her friends. She and I attended college together. Mom became the provider of clay tools and not by choice.
Have a great day!
I haven't had any kiln disasters because I don't have one. Now that I have read all of the previous comments, I am now sufficiently scared of kilns and won't be getting one. I will stick to polymer clay and seed bead disasters.
Renetha, I didn't mean to scare you! With any medium there are going to be disasters. Maybe at a different level than what I had but they happen. You just can't wallow in them. I have burnt the snot out of polymer clay before and had those noxious fumes floating about. It happens.
Thanks for commenting.
When I moved from my apartment to this house, I didn't do enough testing on the new oven. Old oven baked 30 under. This oven is 75 over. I scorched a very full tray of pendants to the black and oily stage.
The other, shinier, mess was dropping a full pot of mica powder onto the carpet. The carpet gleamed for years.
I'm a calligrapher and although not a disaster, I did have a nib actually break while while I was lettering an envelope last week. Never had one break while using it, but, hey, just grab a new nib and envelope and continue.
Thanks for sharing your kiln disaster with us. It's nice to know that s*it happens to all of us.
Love your shop and wish I could have gotten to the show.
Im so sorry for your mishap! What a bummer!
My latest disaster was a torch uhoh - I was working on sterling pendants for my female family members' x-mas gifts and was having a little trouble with my solder. Needless to say several were melted in the process and ended up in the scrap box! Oh well! Such is life! Thanks for sharing!
I would love to win a pair of your beautiful earrings!
Elaine, Wow, just wow. Thats a couple great disasters.
Thanks for commenting!
Hey Jennifer!! I wish you could have made it to Yellow Springs also. It's such a fun show. Maybe next year.
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Angi, I have to say been there done that one also. I have at some point worked in most mediums. There are days solder can be very fickle and extremely frustrating.
Thanks for stopping by!
I tried out soldering a little while back and it was a total disaster! I still haven't figured out what I did wrong, but I could not get the solder to flow for anything. It was so frustrating! I even watched a video that made it look so easy, but I have yet to get the hang of it. I love your soda can tab earrings - so cute!
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