New SIte/New Blog

Just in case you haven't updated your feed for my new site...check it out:

• http://kreegerpottery.com/blog/

I've been blogging away as I've been working away in the studio.

And...I know you know that you can find me on The Facebook and The Twitter.

Enjoy!

New Site, New Blog, New Address

And, just like that the new site is live! I hope you'll check it out and keep following the blog which now exists within the new site. Click on over and let me know what you think!

You can always follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Finally...

No, I haven’t disappeared from the internet completely. I have been reading and following the pottery world. I’ve just been hiding from Blogger by spending my computer time on the Kreeger Pottery Facebook page and Twitter. Over the past few weeks I’ve also been working on my new website with, gasp, a web designer. I also recently completed a photo shoot with an incredible photographer here in Austin, Raychel Deppe from Applebox Imaging. She took the photo on the right and a lot of the images on my new site were part of that shoot.

We also recently finished another successful year of the Art of the Pot Studio Tour and we are already onto planning the next one. This marked the culmination a lot of hard work while creating my new body of work. The move to Austin back in 2009 brought with it many challenges but mostly, it was working in a new studio, a new city, a new firing method and with new materials.

This year’s Art of the Pot felt like the official unveiling of my new work. I’ve been showing and selling work the past 2 years at some craft shows and other events throughout Texas. Images of the new work have also been floating around the internet on my Twitter feed and Facebook page. Unlike your traditional craft show or gallery exhibit, Art of the Pot brings a highly educated and eager crowd out to see only clay. In addition, the work is surrounded by 15 other top quality artists who have brought their newest wares to town. My friend and AotP partner Lisa Orr likes to say our guests are the rock stars of the ceramics world. Looking at our guests this year, it’s easy to see why she says that. With all that work in town, it is daunting to see how ones own work holds up among the crowd of beautiful objects.

I was very proud of my work and I truly felt as though it was the most solid body of work I’ve had since our move to Austin back in 2009. It’s close to where I want it to be...not quite there yet but very, very close. I’m in the editing stage in my creative process. I will start subtracting the elements that don’t work and will be left with only the objects that make sense, both on their own as well as with the work around it. This next step is a difficult one and I almost feel like it’s a break with how I’ve worked as a potter for the last 15 years.

I’ve always put my body of work together by creating a series of one form, leading to the next; a run of pitchers, then a run of vases, then some mugs and so on. At some point I realize I’m low on larger forms so I try to scale something up. Then I remember the small cups I wanted to make or that I’ve forgotten the small plates that I wanted to have at the show. I’m realizing that I’ve always approached a show or deadline as a potter trying to fill a kiln. It’s a noble approach and may work for some but with the direction my work has been heading, I’m not sure if it’s the right way for my work to keep evolving.

It’s time for me to change how I look at an object. I need to look more closely at it’s purpose, it’s design and how it relates to the other objects I want to make. I think this simplifying of my work even more will allow even more subtle complexities to be exposed. It’s another big change but I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops within my studio.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be filling orders, finishing the build-out on my new website, shipping work off to galleries and try to get a head start on some ideas that have been percolating for quite some time. In the meantime, I’ll let you know when the new website is ready...it’s going to be pretty amazing...and I’ll be back to blogging within the new site. And hey, for a final blog post on Blogger, this wasn’t too bad, right?

In the meantime, click over to the Kreeger Pottery Facebook page or my Twitter Feed to stay up to date....and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter to get news and promos for the new website.

New Pots Online!

I'm still fighting with the internets and my webstore version 2.0.  

This beautiful bowl and other new pots are available on my current website here.  

I haven't uploaded everything yet but I'm working hard to get it done.  In the meantime, enjoy what's up there now.

UPDATE:

I forgot to mention earlier...FREE SHIPPING on everything from the webstore until June 1st!

Wish I Knew

I'm going to add this to the list of things I wish I knew:

I wish I knew that I would be receiving an email with Webstore 2.01 today.  

I have spent the greater part of yesterday and today uploading files, editing css and trying to figure out how it all works.  Now, I get to ftp new files up to the server and figure out how to do all of that all over again.  I guess this has just been a little practice run. 

Perhaps, along with my future apprentice I should hire an IT guy.

random image from betternetworker.com  

Behind the Scenes

I'm still trying to finish up photographing the new pots.  It's taking a little longer than I expected because I'm also trying to update my site.  I'm really close to getting the Webstore 2.0 up and running but if I can' get it done tonight I have a tech support call scheduled at 1pm tomorrow to get it all figured out.  

In the meantime I'm busy entering all of the new pots into the system so that when the store is a go, it should be a quick upload of all the new work.  I think I mentioned earlier that the new Webstore is going to have customer registration as well as wishlists.  It's got a lot of other great features that I'm excited to see put into action. 

As I struggle with the store I do keep thinking about how easy it was to set up my Etsy Shop.  Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way?  We'll see soon enough.

Free Shipping!

Today is the last day for FREE SHIPPING from the Kreeger Pottery Online Store.

Things to do...

It's been raining for a day and a half so even with the heat on a little bit nothing seems to be drying to quickly.  My studio shelves are fast being filled up with bowls and mugs waiting for the next step.  So, I'll finish coffee #2 and see how things have dried since my 7am check.  If they're not ready to work on I guess I'll have to find some space and throw a few more things....I'm thinking oval vases today but I need to make a few more mugs as well.

I also need to update some stuff on the blog and website.  I need to update a bunch of sidebar stuff here to more accurately portray the blogs that I read coming through my google reader account.  It's a great way to stay on top of what's going on with all of the pottery blogs that I have become addicted to.  My website just needs some tweaking about my upcoming schedule and what-not.  Well....off to work....pics later.

I'm still having the Holiday Sale over at my Webstore and it's still Free Shipping on everything until Monday.  

New Pots Online!

I've spent the majority of the last week getting my website tweaked.  I hadn't really paid much attention to it recently and it was getting stale.  

Not anymore.  I wasn't going to upload pots until after Thanksgiving but I couldn't help myself.  I still have some more photos to take and more pots to put up but I'll work on that the rest of the week.  

So, check out the new pots...and the best part is...Free Shipping on everything thru December 15th.  I'll be sending out an email newsletter after I get the rest of the new work online later this week.  

It's a little early but we're heading out of town tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping to beat the traffic down to NY by leaving when the kids get finished up with school tomorrow. Javi's school has a big Thanksgiving Luncheon over at the Chatham Bars Inn. So, he's off to school in his nice slacks, a dress shirt and a blazer. I can't wait to see it all covered with gravy in the afternoon.

Behind the Scenes Work

I've spent this week doing the unseen parts of being a potter.  Not the studio part of the job but the part where I photograph everything, start updating the website, sending out mailings and getting email newsletters out for our upcoming Holiday Trunk Show.

I was going to upload the new pots to the webstore after Thanksgiving but I found myself with some time this week so I'm almost done with pictures.  I'm doing a mix of pots on a backdrop and pots in a home setting.  I think it should help with the context of viewing functional pots on a website.  I want to have everything ready to go together instead of uploading things piecemeal.  If I can figure out the php code for a couple more changes to the site I should have it up by Monday.  

Javi had a friend over after school today who asked a question that I had trouble answering with a straight face.  I was in the dining room photographing some of the work and he walked over, looked at the setup and said, "Why are you taking pictures of a coffee cup?"  My only answer was, "Because I made it."  I'm not sure if the answer was good enough for Henry.

I wish I had this setup for photographing my work.  Perhaps with that setup and some actual photography skills, my pics would look better.

I'll let you all know when the site is ready.  

Coming Up

This is what's next on the agenda.

 

We'll be hosting a Trunk Show down in Rye, NY the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Along with my newest work, Randall Darwall & Brian Murphy will have their work and Michael McCarthy will have his most recent pots.  All of the details are on the Kreeger Pottery Website.

Randall Darwall makes truly amazing work.  His scarves, shawls and clothing are known all over the world.  The colors that he finds in those dye buckets of his are unbelievable.  

Michael McCarthy just fired the woodkiln out at Stonepool Pottery so he'll have some beautiful pots with him. 

Until then, I'll be spending my time catching up on office work and photographing my newest work.  I'll be uploading all of the new work onto our website right after Thanksgiving.  

We'll be announcing some awesome Web Specials in the Online Store for those of you who live too far to make it to the show.