Studio Sale and Home Tour, December 3, 10, & 17

That's right. We are finally back in our house after more than six months. There have been so many times that I've wished I could update my blog, but in the past six months, I have not had even one day, except Sundays, that I have not worked less than 14 hours, and usually fell into my bed, exhausted. But the work has finally paid off and I want to show you all. So, come to one of the open houses. Consider this your invitation. But if you would like to receive the newsletter, just click on my email and drop me a line, just letting me know you would like to be added to the email list.

So, here's the deal.

Wild Rooster Studio Sale and Home Tour

December 3, 10, 17

9am-5pm

1150 East 800 South

Salt Lake City, Utah

For the past ten years, I have been holding an annual studio sale here at my studio.

This year, we decided to try something we have never done before and open our home to those

who come to look at the pots. One of the coolest new features in our home is the 500 square feet

of handmade tile that I have just installed. It includes tiles made over the past ten year--quite

literally thousands of pieces. It took me nearly a month to lay all the tile in our home. Why, you

might ask would I do such a thing? Well, I'm an artist. I'm crazy and I really love it when people

spend a little extra time making the otherwise mundane, beautiful. The picture above is one of the

back splashes in the kitchen, but I have also made tile for the fireplace and hearth, the showers

the floors, the stairs, an entire bathroom we call the "Potter's Potty", the laundry, etc, etc. There

are lots of people who live with art, but not many people get to live in the middle of art. Taking

my inspiration from artists like Hundertwasser, Gaudi, and Rodier, and such places as Watts Towers

and Gilgal Gardens, I have turned my home into a living piece of art that I hope will inspire creative

children.

Since we have never done such an open house before, we don't know how it will go and don't

know if this is a good idea or not, so we are going to go for it and see if we need to change plans

in the future. Our purpose for doing this is to try to inspire people to be a bit more creative and

imaginative. You may not be able to do what we have done, but we are all capable of doing

something that will add charm to this old world. I feel that the creation of beauty is one of the

most important things we can do in this life.

Our project has taken six months of labor, several years of planning and a decent amount

of money, and though it took us longer than we thought it would, we are still under budget.

This would definitely not be the case had I not done much of the work myself. The project is still

not complete. Some of this will take place in the next week. Much more of it will have to take

place in the next year, but the house is livable and we have been living here for just over a week.

I am falling asleep and will finish this tomorrow, which is really today, just later. Remind me

about the big announcement I've been dying to make.

Napoleon Dynamite, here I come.

Some people are big in Hollywood. I am not an actor and never will be, but I might just be big in Preston, Idaho. I will be speaking at the Oakwood School in Preston on Wednesday night at 7 if any of you care to attend. Preston is, of course, the setting for the cult film, Napoleon Dynamite, so while you're there, you can also say hi the Tina, Napoleon's fat lard llama. Or you might be lucky enough to run into Uncle Rico. I am thinking about wearing my Vote for Pedro t-shirt.

All kidding aside, the nice folks in Preston have invited me to come and tell my story because, as they say, probably half the county has read my books. One woman, whom I affectionately call the "the bookrunner of Preston", has purchased close to 200 books for people in her community. Thanks, Candy. A few months ago when I went to Panguitch to speak to the high school and then the larger community that evening, I had several people tell me they felt I had written about their town. I get the feeling many people in Preston feel the same way about Niederbipp. It makes me feel like I might just bump into Mayor Jim or Sam the baker while I am up there. I hope I do. To the nice people in Preston, thanks for spreading Niederbipp. I look forward to meeting you.

Just an update on the house...I am tiling, the painter is painting...when he shows up. The trim is mostly done, the hardwood has been installed, the cabinets are a month late, we are slightly ahead of schedule and still under budget. The stone mason showed up today and began his work on the rock veneer. We should have electricity this week. I fired the last of my tiles, I think, today. Within a couple of weeks, I ought to have something to show you and I am very anxious to get back to my writing. I can't wait. See you in Preston!

The Last of the Concrete

Today was a glorious day! It was the last concrete pour for our remodel in which we created the front steps and walks. It was also the last day of drywall work. The project-the last four months- has kicked my butt. I have lost 20 lbs and spent every night in my dreams either pounding nails or walking the aisles of Home Depot looking for lumber, tools, etc. I am hoping to be done soon. I actually spent a significant amount of time in the studio this week and it was awesome to have my hands back in the mud. I feel like I am centered again.

This house project has been a great learning experience for me, one that I should never like to repeat...at least not for a long, long time. I have gained a great deal of respect for those who work construction. I have really missed the autonomy I have enjoyed in working alone over the past 10+ years. Having to rely on others to get things done has been a real bear. I am at least a month behind where I could have been because I have had to wait on inspectors, contractors and friends to do their part so I could move forward with mine. The fun part is yet to come--the mosaics and tiles I have been planning for years. I can hardly wait. Their will be tile throughout our home, about 500 square feet of tile that I have been making over the past ten years. I am very excited about putting it all together in a meaningful way. I am excited to be able to share it with all of you at my open house in December. I am excited to get this project done so I can sleep better and so I can get back to my writing. I am anxious to continue my writing. My mind has been filled with great stories as I have worked and I am anxious to share them with all of you.

So, the house still looks like it might be a ghetto house and there are still a million and one things to do before we're finished, but today was a good day. I never have to build another concrete form for my house. I can start cleaning up the drywall mess. I can start the finish work and paint and the house might start looking like a home again. I can't wait!

Confessions of a tired potter

I can't sleep. That is unusual considering that I have been spending far too many hours at work on the house. It is taking shape. The shake siding is up, I finished most of the electrical tonight, the plumbing should be done tomorrow and the HVAC will be done by the weekend. Oh, and the insulation begins tomorrow as soon as the inspection is taken care of. A lot has happened in the past few weeks, considering that my house was flooded on Father's Day due to my lack of any roof. I am excited to have it done so I can get back to my clay work.

I'm pretty sure this is a project I will never do again, at least not the way I am doing it. It may not be so bad if I subbed out more of the work or if it wasn't my house, or if I wasn't living with my awesome in-laws. But as it is, I am beat. I am tired. I have lost 20 pounds. I dream about pulling electrical wires, nailing stubborn nails, framing the houses, etc, etc. I would rather be dreaming about other things. So, after this is done, I plan to hang up the tool belt and get working again on that next book and spend more time with my kids and just make pots. I have a lot to do, but it is great to have something to look forward to. The chaos is decreasing and you are always welcome to stop by. I still have visitors everyday. I will look forward to seeing you. Cheers.

Ode to Fire!

The virgin firing of the new kiln took place ten days ago. It was a bisque firing. That was followed two days later with another bisque firing. Today, I completed my sixth firing and my fourth glaze firings and to my great relief, it is firing amazingly well. The glazes look great. The pots are turning out beautifully. I have fire again, and it is wonderful.

I went a whole 6 weeks without electricity in the studio. It has made me appreciate the little things in life. This remodel thing has been anything but convenient, but I have enjoyed nearly every aspect of it. It has been a long time since I have worked less than 14 hours in a day, except Sundays, which are always a welcome relief from the week's work. The house is really beginning to take shape. I was promised shingles would be on the roof by Friday. We won't make it. But we do have 3 walls on the third floor and it is beginning to be a little easier to imagine what this is going to look like when it is all done. Already I am a bit in shock by how tall it is, but the finishes and the roofing will hopefully make it look a little squattier. is that a word?

Normally, this week every year, I am stressed out of my mind, frantically trying to get ready for the Utah Arts Festival. This year, I decided to do the best I could and let things happen. I just returned from setting up for this years show and I am feeling calm, easy and peaceful. I have done my best and I can't stress over what I don't have. This house project has forced me to find times of meditation among the chaos, and it has been good medicine. Who knew that sweeping the floor could be such great meditation? I have sought and found a spiritual aspect of all my daily activities and that feels good.

This Sunday, we stopped by the house after church to check on the house and were shocked to find our basement full of water and the the ceiling leaking badly from all the rain. We had covered the floors with tarps, but that doesn't mean much when you receive a months worth of rain in 16 hours. We made a couple of calls and within a half hours had nearly two dozen people come to help clean up the mess and throw a makeshift roof on our house. So the drywall ceiling was a total loss, but we got most of our stuff out of harms way and all was well. And now we have easier access to the stuff in the ceiling. This has been a blessing in many ways and all is well.

So, the Arts Festival runs all weekend downtown Salt Lake City at Library Square. I am in booth 126. Hours are from noon to 11pm, starting tomorrow. Hope to see you this weekend. Keep your chin up-- above the clouds, the sun is always shining.

Living on reds, vitamin C and Rogaine

The title of this blog is kind of a twist on some lyrics from a Grateful Dead song. The reds, in this case would refer to my gatorade, which I really prefer lemon lime. The vitamin C is self explanatory and the Rogaine is necessary for all the hair I've been pulling out.

Have you ever pulled off the roof of your house and then wondered if you might be stupid. I have. Tuesday, my roof came off and the last of it left for the city dump yesterday--all 4 layers of shingles (2 wooden shake layers and 2 layers of asphalt shingles). Needless to say, the load was very heavy. It took 3 dump trucks loaded to the gills to haul it all off. The dump said it weighed in at 11 tons! Its crazy how much stuff weighs. I don't think my addition will weigh anything close to that--at least not anything above the concrete.

I have learned to enjoy the meditation of hard, physical labor. Pottery is hard work too, but these past 4 1/2 weeks have really been the hardest I have ever worked in my life. I have bruises and scratches over my whole body to prove it. A friend of mine is out of work and so I have hired him to help me with this project. We have spent the last three weeks building concrete forms, moving dirt, digging holes, grading dirt, ripping the roof off, making lots of mistakes, working on basic plumbing, etc, etc. I'm glad he has come to help me because I have been able to have someone to blame for most of my mistakes. Things are moving along. Framing begins Monday if all goes as planned. Tomorrow will be consumed with finishing the kiln, stripping concrete forms and making new ones for the bond beam on top of our walls. As it turns out, this project is kicking my butt. Today was the first day that I wondered what the heck I was thinking. I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

Throughout all of this chaos, people have continued to drop by and visit the studio. It has been nice to have so many visitors that have both questioned my sanity and insured me that the worst is over. I'm not entirely sure that is true. A portion of the roof fell off on Tuesday and hit the gas meter, breaking the pipes in a couple of locations. But a nice, unemployed plumber came over today and put it all back together, better than before. It only cost money, right. Over all, we are still under budget, which is exciting, but I find myself bracing for disaster. Rains yesterday were a little scary. This morning found me trying to avoid the puddles on top of the blue tarps we nailed to the hardwood floors. It will get better. Hopefully we will have some better cover by the time the the rains come again. The art festival starts in less than two weeks and I am freaking out. Pickins this year may be slim, depending on how this weekends firing goes. This is the fourth Kiln I have built, but the first on with these configurations. I worked on the floor tonight until I could not longer see my tools in the darkness. Tomorrow I will organize the chimney stack. Saturday I hope to do a bisque fire. I have said a lot of very earnest and sincere prayers and hope all will be well. Wish me luck.

Past the Point of No Return

No, I'm not in Hell, but there have been days where I have felt like I might be. After ten years of planning, scrimping and saving all our pennies, we have finally done it. We have ripped apart our house and are in the midst of putting it all back together. The kiln--gone. The front porch--gone. The back porch--gone, gone, gone. We poured 26 cubic yards of concrete on Saturday to form the new footings for the addition. Lynnette, my very patient wife, will finally get the new kitchen I promised her eleven years ago when we bought the place. Since that time, we have dug out the basement, built the studio, mosaiced the gazeebo, and now, we are doing the mother of all overhauls. It is mostly exciting, except when it rains 17 days in a row. I've been wondering lately why I don't just move to Seattle--there certainly wouldn't be any less rain.

In the midst of my complaints last week about the weather and the delays it was forcing upon my project, I was hit in the head with a big slice of perspective. I realized I'm a wuss. I have a house, and though it is rather in a strange state at the present time, at least it and its contents aren't scattered across the state after tornado force winds. I am tired of the rain, but if that is all I have to deal with, I am happy for it, no matter the delays. Perspective seems to change a lot of things and most of these are lessons I find myself revisiting often and I tend to forget.

I have not been writing, but I have been thinking about writing and in many ways, at least for me, that is equally important. I have found that in the quiet of the jack hammer and skill saw, I am finding the answers that I need for the story that is coming together in my head--if not on the paper. But I am taking notes and I am anxious to get this project done so I can get back to my writing. Pottery has also been on hold for the past three weeks, but after a weekend show at the Cottonwood Club, I realized the stock I thought I had set aside for the Utah Arts Festival next month will not last until then, so I got back to work today, making more garden art and platter. I also picked up the ceramic fiber for the new kiln which I hope to install tomorrow, bringing me one step closer to having a kiln again.

I am not sure why I waited so long to finish this kiln. I built it last fall, at least the frame for it, and it has done little but collect dust since then. Perhaps I am still dealing with fear of the flame--something no potter should have. I built my last kiln over ten years ago and it took me almost a full year to get it to fire the way I wanted it to. I know more now, but each kiln in different and this new one will be significantly smaller than my last one, enabling me to fire more frequently and do more test fires and more glass--or so the plan goes. So, here's to fear, and trying to overcome it. It seems my life is a never ending battle with the fear mongers inside my soul. Somedays I think I'm winning, but you never know.

As in the past, I enjoy having people visit the studio, but because of the chaos that is my current life, please call ahead to make sure I am around. 801-883-0146. I can't wait to show you the finished product. Cheers and Viva Niederbipp!

Mother's Day Comes but once a year, but the open house continues

It was great to see so many of you this last weekend at the studio. Thanks for coming to visit Niederbipp and take some treasures home to your house, or mom's. Many have been emailing and calling to see if I will be around this week so they might continue to shop. The simple answer is yes and no.

We are moving out of our house this week so we can begin our long awaited house remodel. So, I will for sure be around every morning as I have one more firing to complete before we move the kiln and I need to be glazing and firing in the a.m. But I will also be around much of afternoon as well, though likely not as regularly, as I will be moving things to the in-laws where we will be living. The long story short, Call Me! especially if you are coming from any distance. I still have lots of flowers and flower pots and garden art and bowls, mugs, platters, tiles, etc, so give me a call and we can see what we can do about being at the same place at the right time. Oh, and I also have all three books in stock. 801-883-0146. Leave a message as we will be checking our messages several times a day so we don't miss you. Viva Niederbipp! and Happy Mother's Day.

Mother's Day Open House Coming Soon!

So, it might be kind of hard to see, but I am writing this blog to announce the upcoming Mother's Day Open House and Sale,

April 28, 29, 30

9 am to 5 pm

At my studio, 1150 East 800 South

Salt Lake City, Utah 84102

I have not updated my blog for several weeks because, in part, I have been crazy busy getting ready for this open house. I will have lots of pottery including bowls, mugs, journey jars, planters, lots of garden art and lots of other fun things.

Eleven years ago, when we purchased our home, I promised Lynnette we would remodel the old kitchen. For years we scrimped and saved to set aside funds to do this. Well, instead of getting a kitchen, two years ago, I spent our savings on printing the first 1500 copies of Remembering Isaac, hoping the money would someday be returned so we could do the kitchen project. There were many days that I wondered if the books weren't the stupidest financial decision I ever made. But slowly, the money began to come back in. I have learned the lessons of casting one's bread upon the waters. We are in need of a new roof, too, so we have reasoned that if we are going to go to the expense of taking off the four layers of shingles that are up there, we might as well finish the house like we would like, so the roof is coming off and a master bedroom/ office is going up on top. We will be chopping into the house right after Mother's Day if all goes as planned. We will be living with Lynnette's folks while this construction is going on--something we anticipate taking several months to compete. When we are done, we will be having an open house to show you all the tile work I have been working on for years.

I say this now because after Mother's Day weekend, I will not be working in the studio regularly until the project is complete. I will still be here everyday and will likely be working with clay every day too, but I am the general contractor for my house project and the thought of living with the in-laws has given me a lot of motivation to get things rolling as quickly as we can. So, I will still be available by appointment, but for at least the first two months, the house will be the priority. I have been working hard to get a lot of pottery made and set aside for the arts festival which will take place at the end of June, but this summer is going to be an adventure. Come and see the "before" so you can appreciate the "after."

Call me if you would like to come before or after the normal show hours. Otherwise, I will hope to see you in two weeks. Cheers 801-883-0146

The Horror! The Horror! Free shards!

I had a total Jake moment today, and most of yesterday, and a big part of Tuesday. I suppose it all started on Tuesday night. I went out to the kiln to turn it off after the firing had been going for 11 hours. I had just checked it 45 minutes before and cone 9 was falling nicely. (Potters use pyrometric cones to determine duration of temperature. The cones are made of the same ingredients as the glazes and therefore melt and bend over when the temperature has been reached. These are viewed through a small hole in the door called the Peep Hole. ) Anyway, I anticipated that cone 10 or 11 would be down, but as I checked the peep hole, I saw nothing but the back of the kiln. My heart sunk. This meant that something went terribly wrong because just 45 minutes earlier I could see the cones and a bunch of the pots through the same hole. This is the kind of thing that conjures up all the swear words I know and a few more that get made up out of desperation.

I went around to the back side of the kiln to where the burner ports are and looked into the kiln to see bricks, potshards and broken shelves everywhere. I turned off the kiln and walked away, so stunned I couldn't even cuss. My mind began to review everything that was in there--the hours--the pots--the waste. The worst thing was not knowing what, if anything, might make it through. Besides the pottery, there were also the shelves--every kiln shelf I owned was in that kiln because I had was firing a lot of tiles and tiles take up a lot of shelf space.

I had been working on tiles for my home remodel. I must have spent close to a hundred hours over the last two months working on those tiles. Over 100 6" tiles were my biggest concern. I had spent more than 20 hours glazing these and they were going to be amazing--lots of color, with glass, very cool. You can't open a hot kiln, so I had to wait and wait and wait for the kiln to cool down. I finally cracked it open last night before I headed to Scouts. The front row of shelves was leaning against the door and I had to place a barrel in front of the door to keep all the stuff from spilling out because it was still too hot for me to touch, even with leather gloves.

This morning, my mom came over to help me with the unload. It was devastating. All of the glass on the tiles ran terribly, sealing the tiles to the kiln shelves and pouring onto other pieces. I lost 50 bowls, many of which had been a special order that was supposed to ship out tomorrow. I lost thousands of dollars worth of tiles and every shelf was either destroyed or badly damaged. In all, I figure it was close to a $5ooo disaster. I spent the day grinding off the shelves I think I can salvage. The rest of it went to the dumpster.

So, here's the good news! I had two bowls survive and they were at the very bottom. Also, I have a lot of really beautiful shards, so if any of you are working on a mosaic project and would like some lovely shards, my garbage day isn't till Monday, so if you want them, come on over before then. I think I might take some and stick them in my rock tumbler to see what I can come up with. Maybe I can invent a new line of jewelry.

Why did this happen? I have no idea. It couldn't have happened at a worse possible time in the firing process. This has happened a couple of times before over the years, each of them nearly as devastating. I have made a smaller kiln which I hope to complete soon so if this happens again, I will only lose have as much stuff.

On days like this, I have to remember, it's only dirt. I still have my health and a beautiful family, and I have more clay. I feel awful about the waste, but it could have been worse--it could have torn the kiln apart. Tonight I feel like maybe the universe is trying to tell me that I need to be writing more. It's been tough lately. When I make pottery, I feel like I should be writing. When I write, I feel guilty that I am stepping into the dark again with a new story that may never work out. I feel like I should be making pottery--something that is safe and pays the bills and provides for my family. Man, I really need to find an agent. I feel like if I had an agent, it would give me something sure to hold onto--to somehow legitimize the time I spend writing--as if the 18,000+ books I've sold isn't enough. Faith is a difficult journey, isn't it? My fear of failure, the same fears I have faced since I was a boy, they tend to try to swallow me at times like this. I don't like that. I feel like I have enough ideas for books to keep me busy for the next five years, but I am insecure and weak and faithless. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is so terribly weak sometimes. I wish I had answers, but since I don't, I will carry on, one way or the other, anxious to grasp onto any and every sunbeam that breaks through the clouds of doubt.