Are We There yet?

It has been a while since I have posted an actual post with anything worth saying. I've been busy, tired and burned out. That big fall show did me in. But now that spring has arrived on the prairies, I am feeling more and more energized to make new and interesting pots. The creative itch needs scratching, so it was a well timed e-mail from the Medalta events coordinator telling me about a couple of workshops that are coming up this summer. Robin Dupont is leading an atmospheric firing workshop with the focus on salt, soda and wood from July 14th to the 24th and I signed up for it that day. I have not been to Medalta to fire a kiln since July of 2013, so this is a perfect opportunity to spend more time down there that isn't spent frantically prepping and loading pots (my feet will thank me). In the past when I have been down there, I would arrive around noon on Thursday, glaze and load all that afternoon/evening and start the firing first thing Friday morning. That would usually only leave 1 day to "relax" on Saturday and then on Sunday the kilns would be unloaded and the kiln area cleaned up and I'd be out of there and back on the road to Calgary by noon. Ten whole days there with 24 hour studio access will be a treat. The only trick with taking a workshop of this length is accommodations. Medalta is currently working on building a place for visiting artists to stay, but for now, they have a network of people in Medicine Hat that rent rooms, or there are the local motels and hotels. I found a place to stay through a friend who has a relative in Medicine Hat and is willing to rent her basement for 10 days. It's close and cheap so not too much of an added burden. Once Medalta finishes the residences, it will be much easier and hopefully more affordable, to plan an extended stay down there. So for now I will be making a few pots to put into the first firing down there. I have some Babu porcelain coming and from past experience, this body should work beautifully in the salt and soda kilns and is somewhat translucent if thin enough. It has been so long since I have taken an actual holiday longer than 4 days, I might not know what to do with myself If you want to sign up, here's the link: http://medalta.org/atmospheric-firing-medalta