Ceramics – Lorena Haldeman

January 21, 2014June 19, 2022

Musings on pricing one’s work

Yesterday I drove about an hour south of where I live, to buy some supplies from a reasonably-local business (I call it “reasonably local” because it’s only about an hour drive, tops, and it’s another woman-owned ceramic supply company that started off small and is not corporate/big-box owned). Anyway. While I was there, I had a press mold in my pile of goodies that another customer saw while she was at the counter, and came back to where I was standing to ask where I had found it and had I seen another one as it was exactly what she was looking for (there wasn’t another, but it wasn’t something I needed, only wanted – so I let her buy it).

While we were chatting, she said what she was making was nature-themed trays for a fund-raiser. She described what she was making, and then casually dropped that she was hoping to get five or ten dollars for each one.

Five or ten dollars.

Five or ten dollars for her years of experience, for hours of work, for supplies and kiln firing time, for a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece.

I cried a little, inside.

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December 6, 2013June 19, 2022

Like to shop local?

I made some mugs for Broken Shelves Books & Art here in Gainesville Florida (here’s their Facebook page). These are ginormous 16-ounce mugs with the Broken Shelves logo on them. Find them locally at Broken Shelves (in the Sun Center behind the Hipp downtown, Gainesville, Florida) or give them a call at (352) 234-6356, Tuesday through Saturday, 5 PM – 11 PM. I bet he’d ship one to you!

March 2, 2013June 19, 2022

Brain! On! Fire!

I want to thank the entire Conyers (et all – I don’t think I even know *everyone’s* last names!) clan for letting me borrow Colette for the week — the last few days have been so fun, so enlightening, so amazing, and since I’ve had these ideas in my head for so many years without knowing how to make them real, the days have been so FREEING… I may never be able to replay Aunt Cetty for what she has given me this week. They may talk about “fire in the belly” but I have “fire in the brain”!

The first thing we did was slab rolling. We rolled a doily (thank you, Marie!) onto the doily, and draped it upside-down over a utensil holder and then shaped it and let it dry.

After it was leather (a drying term), we peeled the lace off (can be washed and reused! Not like the teardrop-shaped, lace-draped bowls I tried!). Because the lace was rolled in while it was wet, as it dries it retains the impression beautifully.

Next we did an enclosed form, that I decorated with coils, and then we cut the top off it in order to turn it into a box. The second photo above is actually from the next day, but you can see the finished box, and Cetty’s pinch pot.

Here are another couple shots from the lace bowl, both inside and outside. I can not WAIT to get this bisque fired and glazed! And make about a thousand more of them!

The next morning, I had an idea while I was in the shower, so got started on it before Cetty got there. She was thrilled that I took the initiative and even though this piece is a little bit not really what I had in mind, and in writing this now it has dried crookedly and is going to need the same kind of loving home that a three-legged dog would need, I LOVE IT. I used one of G-ma’s plates as size design for it, and definitely have other plans to do this again.

Seriously, like I said above, my brain is ON FIRE with ideas. I’m so excited, and am really looking forward to the next month which will see many of these ideas come to life.