We got the line up for the Empty Bowls Breakfast on Wednesday. Wow! Heather from Win House has done a great job setting this up. We will be throwing pots with the Fire Chief, Randy Wheeler, Darrell Coley from Edmonton police Services, Heather Forsyth, the Minister of Children’s Services, Senator The Honourable Dr. Thelma Chalifoux, Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, Business Persons Randall Liske of the Fife N Dekel (they’re providing breakfast!), Ian Janacek of the Sutton Place Hotel ( The September Auction is there), Three time Olympic medalist in speed skating Isabelle Charest, Edmonton Eskimos’ Representatives Joan and Allyson, Lesley Paull the president and general manager of Paull Travel, Donna Pochanec from Alberta Education School Improvement Branch, Alexandra Lapko , the Public Complaints Monitor from the Edmonton police Commission, Sandra Danco and Connie Serink from Edmonton WinHouse, and the host from The Big Breakfast, Bridget Ryan..
Needless to say the butterflies are setting in…..how to take these 16 very important people who have never potted before and in 20 minute segments lead them through creating a bowl which we can finish and they can contribute to the Empty Bowls Auction in September. As far as we know, no one has attempted this before.
We start the actual preparation around 5:30 Wednesday morning. The A Channel crew will show up at 5:45. Breakfast and preliminary instruction begins at 6:30. After that momentum sets in and come Heck or High Water the Show Must go On.
Tune in later for more details!
Yesterday I did make the 12 fish platters I had set as a goal. Cindy threw 24 "Mike" mugs for the Empty Bowls Breakfast, then trimmed pots like a crazy woman. Today she handled casseroles, souffles, beanpots….we determined the three beanpots she had thrown so far were not quite right….so they go to the retail show in December and she will re throw them. They need a bigger base…we are trying for a shape very reminiscent of the 150 year old Quebec beanpot we had in the studio earlier. Cindy is working on pulling handles different from anything she has done before. The final look is very important. We hold every piece we make up against a blank wall and examine the "negative space" it creates. It helps us refine the curve of handles, shoulders on vases etc.
Funny, we offered some tips to a potter on Clay art this week about that very thing. She took it wrong…thought we were criticising her work…we just suggested she should look at the spaces created by handles, shoulders, etc, and make sure they please her artist’s eye. She got very offended…oh well, just trying to help.
Today I handled the mugs Cindy threw yesterday, trimmed and sponged some platters and sushi sets I had been working on earlier this week and we called it a day just before 6:00. Late for a Friday.
We’ll work this weekend as the kids are working at Klondike Days through Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow we hope to load a bisque, depending on how drying goes tonite with the humidty the way it is. Must have the mugs done for Wednesday. That means they have to bisque tomorrow and glaze fire on Monday. Cindy has all the really big pieces done for the show. I’ve got some small platters to get done for bread dipping sets, plus need more sushi sets. I’ll probably do those tomorrow or Sunday at the latest.
So ends another day. I’m listening to a little Alvin Lee and Ten Years After on Rhapsody….Cindy has walked up to the corner with John to meet Kaileigh at the bus stop…she stayed late at K-Days to listen to …..wait for it…."Twisted Sister"!!!!!!!!!!…yep they are still around and why she wanted to hear them I’m not sure..but she did………Oh yeah, Avril was here tonight too…Kaileigh does not like Avril….at all….Hey, teenagers, This is my second set and I still don’t understand them….
nite