The AltaredArtist is branching out...but that should come as no surprise to just about anyone!  I've been decorating cakes for quite awhile, and am now being paid as a "professional".  My best works are always those where I am free to express my creativity, so while I do get paid regularly by a corporation to produce delightful cakes, I also get paid privately to create amazing cakes!  I will be posting some of those creations here, on my site.  Please enjoy looking at them--and certainly feel free to commission one of these fun (and delicious!) hand crafted pieces of art!

Wow. What a rollercoaster ride!  My studio has now been moved for the 3rd (and hopefully final for at least a year) time this year.  We aren't even finished unpacking everything, but I hope to have new pieces in the works within just a couple more days.

My kiln officially set a new record.  It took 8ish hours to fire--normal--and 24 hours to cool down enough to open.  A 32 hour total fire.  Wow.  It was indeed hot here.

Fired the kiln.  No trouble with the firing, but.....DUH!!!  It's going to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to cool down!!

I went out to start the kiln last night, and when it knocked the breath out of me how hot it was at 9pm, I decided.....maybe tomorrow!  
It's tomorrow, and if you can believe it, it's supposed to be as hot--but with a higher heat index--117--today! I think I'm going to try to find a space helmet so I can breath!  JK.  I am going to start my kiln today.  I am interested to see how the heat affects the firing.  I've never had to give much thought to how the heat affects a firing!  Conversely, I've given A LOT of thought to how the extreme cold affects it.  (It's actually more of an issue for the computer on the kiln than the kiln.)  BTW, the pieces I made two days ago have not even begun to dry.  I think they--like most people--are refusing to do any work, and are simply conserving energy until the heat breaks!  (The break comes on Thursday!! Yea!!)

I think I will begin to pack up my studio today.  That is going to be a huge challenge!  Since I have done quite a bit of teaching, I have a number of kids pieces on my shelves!  Each one of them is precious but space is becoming a premium!!  (If you've ever been in my studio, I know you are probably saying, "Becoming?!!  You've been out of space for years!!")  I have rented a storage space just for Altaredartist, so even though I won't know where anything specific is, at least I'll know where it generally is!

If you can fry an egg on the sidewalk, I wonder if you can bisque clay on my patio?  It's hot.  Really hot.  Really, Really, Really hot.  lest you think I'm complaining, let me clarify:  I'm whining and being ungrateful.  I'm whining along with everyone else here.  Let's face it--when the heat index exceeds 110, even the most staunch "Minnesota nice" melts!  I'm being ungrateful (even though I have an air conditioner), because my clay won't dry.  Many people up here don't even have an air conditioner.  In the deep winter, I fuss that my clay won't dry because the cold inhibits the evaporation of moisture from my work.  Right now the work won't dry because of the absurdly high humidity level!  I moved up here to get away from that weather junk!  It found me this week.

I loaded the kiln yesterday for a bisque fire.  I also created several new pieces, so in theory I should be able to turn around and do a second bisque fire immediately.  The theory then says that I should be able to do back to back glaze fires before I have to load up my studio and kiln and move to my new home location.  Yep.  I'm moving.  In a couple of weeks.  To a Yurt, on a farm.  Sound Artsy enough for ya?!  Like I said in the title, Never a dull moment!