Suddenly I’m busy, busy! It’s amazing what deadlines will encourage. The airport wants their order right now and as many jugbirds as I have on hand. On Tuesday I had 10 completed but unpainted.

On Wednesday the first of two ‘Painting Raids’ took place, when 3 of a planned 8 artists painted my oval plates for a Western Front fund-raiser in March.

That evening we had Port Moody Ceramics Artist-in-Residence James Kemp speak to the monthly meeting of TriCity Potters. A local sculptor, Kwantlen and Emily Carr U graduate, James has now applied to Alfred U for grad studies. Our members were intrigued by his sculptures in ceramics and found materials. It made a complete change from the usual talk on functional wheelthrown, handbuilt or moulded pottery.

Yesterday, Thursday, while Al took the ferry to drive to Lake Cowichan to make a presentation  to the chief and council on research he has done, I scrambled to paint the remaining seven jug birds, an exhausting record for me! I had painted three while Eric Metcalfe, Monique Fouquet and newcomer to my studio, Katie Lyle painted their plates on Wednesday. When Al got back from the island I was at a Port Moody meeting about future development plans for Moody Centre.

So this morning, after drying all jugbirds in my convection oven, on ‘warm’, I terra sigged the bases and loaded them and the plates into my kiln and turned on the bisque firing. With any luck I can glaze them on Sunday, remove them from the kiln on Tuesday and deliver them to YVR on Wednesday. That’s the best I can do.

Today’s photos are of the artists working here on Wednesday. Once their work emerges from the kiln you’ll see how much brighter they will be. Early in February we’ll have another group here to paint their plates, and I’ll have to paint one too.