Clayton Hill Studio

Posted on February 14, 2012 by claytonhill

Ahhh– I like …

Tonight marks the first time I’ve been in the studio for a week. The upside – we had a great, all-be-it just a tad late Christmas with my dad, my house is CLEAN, and I have the next 3 days for nothing but studio time! Oh, I like that!

Made some mugs for the family:

Wrapped up my night lights:

Have blanks ready for pendant lamps:

And am working on loading the coffin kiln with some stamping experiments … time to see what 1500+ degrees does to this …

And – DH is making progress on his ‘Pool’ stained glass window. During my non-studio down time, I’ve started knitting a bag that I will felt once complete. Here’s the progress so far:

And … we’ll be heading to Jamaica in a few weeks … Ohhh, how I LOVE that!!!!

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Posted on February 9, 2012 by claytonhill

Cold studio … But

… I am ready for Christmas II (with my dad’s side of the family) … Yep, the house is in order, presents made and wrapped (I can FINALLY put away my wrapping paper for the year), laundry ALL caught up (no small feat with a family our size), puppy photo-shoot/correspondence complete for the week … just a little baking to be done tonight and I am ready to enjoy the festivities …Whew! Another deadline met!

Next week – I will spend some much needed time in the studio and … slowly begin the monumental task of organizing our taxes. But for now – a much deserved family fun day! Bring it!! Smile

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Posted on February 3, 2012 by claytonhill

Productive … but not with glass

Darn it! But – I did just pay the bills. “The house is ours for another 30 days, honey” – I yelled out to DH, as I do every month. And, I saw my primary care physician today … I get to enjoy reduced premiums for another year. Plus – I’ve lost a couple of pounds (bonus!) … I’ll be heading out for my last appointment of the week in just a few minutes. So good to get these chores done …

I hope to have some studio time tonight, but in the meantime, I’ll leave with my Valentine’s rose from last week …

And cute puppy pic! The babies are 5 wks old now – so much fun to play with … Smile

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Posted on January 31, 2012 by claytonhill

Postponed …

Christmas (with my dad) has been pushed back – his household has ‘the crud’ (URI). And while I love him very much, I would prefer he keep that to himself (and my uncle is immuno-compromised due to transplant). So … another week of playing in the studio! Smile

WWU – Steady but not painfully so. Lots of the flu (‘tis the season) and extremity injuries … the ski slopes are most definitely open. Our closest (named Mount Brighton) is lovingly referred to by our department as ‘Mount Broken’ – and seemed to be running a special on ankle/arm injuries this past weekend … But with 47 degree temperatures today – all the snow is going/gone, and we’re back to our mud-bog look at the house. What a strange winter Michigan is having …

I wrapped up a knitting project: It’s a blanket (throw), 4’x6’ made of recycled silk (sari) yarn. I love it, it’s surprisingly heavy and will be perfect for snuggling on the couch! It’s my largest knitting project to date, and while it has some 25+ skeins – I kinda want to make another …

While I was working, DH was sending me quick pics from home. Here’s a picture of our daughter hugging Sienna (one of our Neapolitan Mastiffs) … lending Sienna some blond hair! Smile

I’ll be running some blanks for pendant lamps, plugging away at my experiments and (hopefully) wrapping up a custom order this week … so both kilns will be running. Love that! With the extra time gained this week, I think I’ll play with dye-sub and mugs – Oh, and maybe some soy candles …

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Posted on January 28, 2012 by claytonhill

Wow – Mother Nature is not happy …

As I look outside, seeing the snow blowing sideways across our yard … Brrrr! I’d much rather stay in the studio today – but my other (real) job beckons … I do hope folks stay inside tonight!

I continue with my successes, failures and experiments in the studio … Here’s an update: I ran the coffin kiln for new bowls, night light and vase/pendant lamp. Oops – the pendant lamp (metal mold) ran too hot and the mold is now fused inside the vase. Gonna have to bust it to get it out of there, darn it!

New bowls and night light:

My stamping experiment (success!); Here’s DH working on his ‘Pool’ window – disregard the messy studio behind him, please …; Spoon rests cut and waiting for firing.

Here’s what’s cookin’ in the kiln as I type – night lights/sun-catchers and that ornament (finally fit and glued together … amazingly tedious work for such a small thing, and CROOKED to boot! Oh well – if it were perfect, it wouldn’t be mine) …

Once I get through the weekend, I won’t have much studio time next week. As it’s February, it’s time to have Christmas with my dad … will spend the week preparing, with just a few hours stolen for the studio … Smile

Time to get ready for work …

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Posted on January 27, 2012 by claytonhill

Did I mention …

I love my studio!! It’s true – I do. Even when experiments don’t come out as planned … it’s not as painful. Smile

I just moved on to other projects, letting the set-backs ruminate for a bit … They’re almost cute – darn it! Here’s the other stuff we’ve been working on this week: Wine bottle ornaments; future Christmas tree ornaments (you’d think I was working towards Christmas …???); mini embossed frames; a new night light/sun-catcher project; and DH’s latest stained glass window design (which will hang in our family room – ummm, by the pool table) … I do wish he’d move along, as I have so many other ideas for him! Winking smile

I’m gradually working on photos for uploading to the shops … not my favorite activity!

Had some success in the kitchen, though – tried out a new recipe and the Fam gave it their ‘thumbs up’ (spaghetti casserole with cream cheese). Oh yeah, it’s totally winter comfort food! But, I doubled up on the vegetable side – to allow for the rice pudding finale … Gotta get through the winter somehow … Disappointed smile

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Posted on January 25, 2012 by claytonhill

Happy Birthday Old Guy …

WWU: Lots of feast to famine this weekend. Sunday night started as SRO in my little ER – I don’t think I stopped running (ok, ‘walking briskly’) until 1130-12mn … infant IV’s, conscious sedation for dislocations, cellulitis requiring admission, kidney stones, arrhythmias – along with all the other standards – flu, strep throat, ‘is it chest pain or gas?’, etc. Strange weekend …

DH turned 45 years old this week … We celebrated at our favorite family restaurant last night – great food and good family time. I was playing with some stamps and made him a little card of sorts … and he’s loving his new (acoustic) guitar – to add to his growing collection! He’s still having issues with his back, which has him to the chiropractor today, poor guy!

Stamping on glass has me intrigued, so I have some experiments going, along with some small ornament projects. Later today, I plan to work up some other experiments … Love my studio time!

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Posted on January 20, 2012 by claytonhill

A good week …

This week was just what I needed … although too short, as we’re already to Friday. But, I have my weekly chores done, so I can play in the studio all day!

Had a great night out with friends last night … dinner and drinks and a few hours to catch up on each other’s lives. Someone is going to Italy in a few days, and I am incredibly jealous (!), but also hope she will bring back an Italian wine bottle or two … empty, of course! Smile Went to a Moose Lodge for the first time … as we were driving there, all I could think of was the Flintstones lodge, with the goofy hats and a ‘Grand Poobah’ waiting to greet us at the door. Fortunately, no such luck. Just a neat bar with fun people and inexpensive drinks.

Had some productive time in the studio … I have pictures. Working out some design element issues with fused glass ideas. Hope to figure this one out, as it could look stunning if it matches what I have pictured in my head. DH completed another stained glass window. I’ve been embossing metal frames … and I made a larger ‘tree of life’. I don’t like it in this frame, so I’ve asked DH if he will use it as a focal in a window … we’ll see.

Little Miss, AKA Rose Bug, who has been renamed Angel (Bug) is moving on to her new home next week. Sad smile I will miss her and her silly puppy antics …

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Posted on January 16, 2012 by claytonhill

WWU – Nurse needs healing

I spent a little time last week working on an embossed metal frame. Unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures to share yet, as I worked with spray adhesive for the first time. There is definitely a learned technique involved – as I managed to get gummy/gooey/never-let-go glue all over EVERYWHERE(!) … my project (both desired and undesired areas), my clothes, my arms … What a mess! I’ll work with my piece to see if I can clean/save it – but I’m not looking forward to it.

My (ER) ‘work-week’ ended on a sour note for me. I’m feeling bad about a delayed diagnosis … What could I have done to catch it sooner? What subtle clue did I miss? How to make sure it doesn’t happen again … I was chasing vital signs and pain, but the patient was complex, with lots of factors – including a tremendous level of stoicism muddying up the case … While the patient is getting the required care now – it was delayed (unnecessarily???) and I’m questioning my skills …

I’m taking the next several days for me … Dedicated time to get the creative energies working to fix this defunct mood I’m in – cabin fever (now that the cold has really hit), middle-aged blahs, and personal/professional blues … Time to get my head on straight for my next work tour … Hope to have lots of cool photos to share later …

Image by: photosteve101

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Posted on January 13, 2012 by claytonhill

Workin’ it out …

I’ve got all sorts of mixed media ideas … so now begins the trial phase. Between embossing and painting, metal and glass (stained and fused) … Wow! I’m eager to try my own spin on this print:

In the meantime, I decided to frame/hang my tree of life experiment. I plan to make another – this time with some adjustments for a night light. But I like this hanging in my studio … And here’s something I’m trying on a slumped bottle … we’ll see how it fires:

My coral bowl didn’t fair well … the mold is all wrong – too shallow and I think a drape is the way to go … next time. But, my beaded slumped bottles are photographing nicely:

Now it’s time to go make dinner (squash soup! on this cold winter day) … while DH is picking up some glass supplies. Smile Here are a few pictures of the pups – too cute!!