Jan 3 2013

Starting the New Year

Hello to the friends I cannot see—-a new year, a new blog. Makes sense–right? Finally the holidays are over. All of our children, their children & now their girlfriends, babies, ect came home for Christmas week. I had wall to wall people which I absolutely love. I cleaned the house for a week before they came & now am cleaning after they have gone home. I gave myself this week to get back to normal, then I am heading to the rock house. The clay is past calling my name, it is SHOUTING my name. Get back over here & get busy. But let’s back up just a little, the week before christmas (during the cleaning) I had a phone call from a girl saying she & 5 of her friends wanted to come the next night for a birthday clay workshop party. I said “I’m sorry, when did you want to come” Response “tomorrow night”. My brain said No Way but my heart said Why Not. My heart won that short debate with myself & I immediately said “of course, what time will you be here?” They came after school, put on aprons, turned off cell phones, & got busy creating thier own masterpiece. What a great time we had & I sure enjoyed it more than cleaning the house. After 2 weeks of drying, I loaded the kiln Monday for the bisque firing. I will call the mother in charge tomorrow to set up a glazing time. Creating in clay is the easy part, glazing to most potters is harder. Mostly because the glaze sometimes is not predictable. Unlike painting a picture & the color you put on the canvas is what you get as an end result—glazing can be very tricky & hardly ever what you get out of the kiln is what you thought it was going to be. It is like christmas at every kiln opening. I hope the girls & I like the surprise we get when we open the kiln next week. I will let you know———————–
Stay Centered until we visit again
bobbi

Nov 6 2012

My Wanderlust Satisfied

Hello to the friends I cannot see—-I think the last blog was forever ago. At least it feels that way. Yes, I did pack my car with pots & headed out on a journey that I have wanted to do for years.
daughter Carmen & I drove to Melbourne, Fla Sept 30th. Stayed a week & did an art festival. It was so hot. I met a lot of interesting people, many who now have my work in their homes. Then daughter Jill flew in to Melbourne & traveled with me to Biloxi Miss. She stayed a week & we enjoyed an event called Cruising the Coast. That was amazing— 6,149 antique cars filled 30+ miles cruising hwy 90 from daylight to daylight again. RV’s lined the curbs with people sitting in their chairs, cooking on their grills–I even saw a popcorn machine like in the movie house sitting on one of their tables. PARTY TIME for sure. Then I was alone for a week sitting on the porch of son Mike’s house making pots. Yes, I made pots even on vacation. Every day for 3 weeks I sat on the beach soaking up those rays. Walked the beach for miles & miles every day. Week 4 clay friend Sharon flew in to explore the area with me & take advantage of the beach, sun, waves & fun. Then son Mike came in & we headed to Dallas Texas. Finally drove myself home yesterday. All in all, I did 3 art festivals, met incredible people who invited me to their homes, ate a lot of really good food & thanked Harry each day for watching over me. Now I have another kiln load of pots to fire tomorrow to get ready for the holiday season. And, of course, this is a condensed version of a packed 5 weeks, but if you want to hear more details, just give me a call. I can talk for hours on this amazing journey. So until we visit again—STAY CENTERED.
bobbi kemna

Aug 18 2012

Playing in the mud

Hello to the friends I cannot see—finally I had a load of pots to fill the kiln. Got all of my glazing done (sprayed some till the sprayer decided to quit working) dipped some & poured some & even brushed on some glaze this time. I prefer spraying so when mine failed to work I called the neighbor & he brought his over so I could finish the job. Neighbors are wonderful people to have close when either you have a problem that needs fixed OR you have cooked too much food & need a place to unload it. Anyway, this load fired in the elect kiln actually turned out pretty darn good. In fact, there were none that needed to be placed in the closet for time out. All of these will make it to the next art festival. Which brings me to the next topic of discussion—I made application to a big festival in Melbourne Fla which takes place in the fall. It is a juried event which means if the juror doesn’t happen to like your style you don’t get invited to come. I AM PLEASED TO SAY THAT I DID GET THE INVITATION TO COME–I am so excited. Actually wasn’t sure if I would fit in with the Florida venue & had prepared myself for “we are sorry to inform you—“. Instead they said “send us the money & drive on down”. Well not exactly in those words but the same meaning:) So this potter will be in the rock house spending long hours in the mud to create those masterpieces to set on the table at the Melbourne festival. The rest of the story to be continued—-till then my friends STAY CENTERED
bobbi kemna

Jul 19 2012

Bourbon County Fair

Hello to my friends that I cannot see—-yes, it’s still hot as heck here in Ks but the county fair started on time this Monday. The parking lot was filled with excited young people ready to show off their hard work & had high hopes that the judges would like what they had picked to enter in the fair & award them with the grand prize–in both ribbons & money. I hurried out early on Tuesday to see how the young people had done with their clay creations. I am just like a proud mama with her newborn child—-TWO of the kids won GRAND CHAMPION (big ribbons & money) the rest boasted the 1st prize ribbons (purple). When I got home there were messages on my machine telling me of their wins. Their excited voices were priceless (as the commercial goes). So now it is time to get back in the studio for “bobbi” time. I feel ready & hope the creative juices start to flow & the next masterpiece is only a slab away. So congrats to the fair winners & thank you for helping me get through this most difficult time. Till the next story—stay centered.
bobbi kemna

Jul 7 2012

Life continues—–

Good Morning To The Friends I cannot see—-got up early & set my wares out at our local farmers market today. Made a sale to a lady from Dallas, Texas. Go Texas!!!!! Saw a young 4-H man who is coming to glaze his work next Tues. I had to break the news to him that one of his masterpieces blew up in the bisque kiln this week. He had made a double pinch pot with a handle & pouring spout. It really was cool but he had not pinched it thin enough & it was way too thick, thus the explosion in the kiln. He took the news quite well with a smile (remember my words to all students–it is what it is–we have no control on the kiln when we shut the lid). HOWEVER, I had already thought of ways to salvage the piece so we will see how it turns out so STAY TUNED for the outcome. It has been just too blasted hot to do much in the studio but the weather man promises cooler temps for next week. I have a few large pieces to spray glaze also, so hope to get those done before the glaze firing on Wed. The newspaper came out for an interview on my journey with the clay & that article aired this week. The lady did a really good job of taking my words & making the story very enjoyable to read. I have had several compliments already & an inquiry on a husband/wife workshop. So life is going forward but there is an emptiness around me without husband Harry. Thank goodness for the clay–it keeps me centered. So till next time–you stay centered too.
bobbi kemna

Jun 13 2012

Hello from Bobbi

Hello to my friends that I cannot see—yes I fibbed somewhat when I said I would be back soon at the end of my last blog. Life has thumped me on the side of the head. Husband Harry passed away on April 14th. That has become a journey different from any other I have taken & is a story to tell at a later date. It is still to fresh to reflect on the past 2 months. This blog on the journey of the clay is supposed to make you feel better, not sad. Today I had booked another workshop with the family featured in the last blog. I kept asking myself if I could really do the job in my current frame of mind. So last night I said “bobbi, pull up your big girl panties & get on with life”. I must say I am so glad they came. It pulled me out of my sad state of mind, made me smile, made me think, made me so glad that I have a gift to offer others. What creations came to life in my studio today—-a mama whale + her baby, plates to adorn the dinner table, wall hangings to hold treasures, decorated pinch pots to hold most anything, another animal but I forget what it was called but always laughter & happiness. So thank you my clay family for coming. Now the masterpieces are drying, waiting to be bisqued fired. Then glazed in time to enter them in the upcoming fair in July.
I attended the Olathe Art Festival over the week end. Another already planned event before Harry died. I am happy to report that now many families are enjoying my work in their homes. The invitation is always on the table to visit my studio & play house. Several ladies said they were coming to Ft. Scott. Yeah——–our town is unique & worth the trip to explore it. So until next time—stay centered.
bobbi

Feb 27 2012

Good Morning to the friends I cannot see–

Every day I find myself in the studio with my hands in the clay & my mind racing with new ideas. Time for a glaze firing so I loaded the kiln with pots of all sizes & shapes, programmed in the correct cone setting, pushed the start button & went on with my day. Knowing that in the morning I would open the kiln lid to the magic. A couple of hours into the firing a voice in my head said “better go check the kiln & make sure the temperature is going up”. So I listened, walked to the kiln shed, looked at the temperature & it said FAILED TC2. “Darn It!” I thought. So I called my teacher to see what that meant. He told me to punch another number & with any luck the stalled tempture reading would continue to rise. I did–it did & the glaze firing ended on a positive note. However, I still have to address the problem because I have a whole room of pots drying that will need to be bisque fired & glaze fired. Would it be proper to say “Now I need to sell some pots so I can fix my kiln?” Probably not but I said it anyway. So if you are wanting to spruce up you space, come see what I have in the gallery. Each piece is sure to make you feel better & be happy. Stay tuned for more drama in the world of clay————–

Feb 8 2012

Some wonderful new items 2012

What makes me happy? Playing in the mud. I am featuring some of my new pieces on Etsy. Click on the link and it will take you directly to my Etsy shop.

Feb 5 2012

Follow up on family workshop

Hello to my friends I cannot see—remember the clay workshop that I told you about a couple of weeks ago? I am happy to report that the bisque (first) firing was a success. No handles fell off, no major cracks in the bottoms–I was happy. Students were asked to come back to glaze. Ahhh, glazing. What a frustrating endeavor that can be cause,you see, most of the time the color of the glaze in the jar is nothing like the color it turns out to be on an actual piece of pottery. I always explain this to my clay buddies (yes we are buddies by the time to glaze) & having been forewarned, they accept what they get with a big smile. Ok, glazing is done, glaze firing is done–now for the grand finale–the kiln opening. Three young people & their mother all gather around the kiln to see what is under the lid. Excitement, nervousness, & finally lots of smiles of joy to see what they worked so hard on has turned into their very own masterpieces. A kiln opening is like Christmas & the gift is one that you made for yourself. Except I did hear Mom say “oh that is beautiful, it would look very nice setting on the table or bathroom for soap, ect” Then I hear from all of the young people “not happening mom, this goes in my room” Making memories———stay tuned for more to come.

Jan 24 2012

Magic in the rock house

Good afternoon to friends I cannot see—oh my gosh (OMG in today’s language) or maybe that means something else. Anyway, just wanted to share with you what a wonderful, creative day it has been in the magical rock house. I had a choice this morning of cleaning the house or playing in the mud. That wasn’t a difficult decision & off to the mud I went. So many ideas in my head it was hard to keep up with them. I now have 6 delicious pieces in varing stages of completition waiting for my approval as to if they get to advance to the next step of becoming a beautiful pot. I am betting that all do. However, I must confess, some do not. Many have been put “in time out” before the bisque (first) firing–some have made it to the glaze firing only to be stuffed in a closet & deemed unworthy. Some have stayed in the closet weeks, some months before seeing daylight again. Some have made it to the art festivals, others on the “orphan” bench at my holiday open house. Orphans are shared with the guests & the sign above them says “please take me home. I am FREE” They all disappear quickly. So you see, what is perfect to one person may not be perfect to another. Life is like that—never perfect–but we all have a special something to give joy to another. My gift to you–the beauty of mud as seen through my eyes. Stay tuned—more to come———
bobbi

BOBBI KEMNA POTTERY

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