artistic way

Things are up and running.  I acquired a kiln.  It's older but the price could not be beat so I went for it.  It's old school, manual knobs to turn up every hour, but that's okay.  It's what I'm used to at school.
I had to replace the cone sitter tube assembly, pin in some of the elements, and patch some cracks on the bottom.
My friend at the local ceramic supply store talked me through it.  Deanna and Daphne at Atlanta Clay are so knowledgeable.  They can answer just about any issue I throw at them.  And if they can't, they always know who to refer me to.

 We also had to replace the electric cord and plug so that I could plug it into the same outlet that the dryer uses. Thankfully my beau is very handy and was able to do the electrical wiring for me after we consulted my electrician uncle.

We are in the midst of winter break and I've spent some time throwing pots to fill the kiln for it's maiden firing.  I purchased two new shelves and a few posts.  I found an artist on Craigslist selling her pottery studio so I was able to get a few half shelves and posts at a discounted rate.  Kiln washed everything and now I'm all set!  I've got tow wait for these last few pots to completely dry and then I'll be ready to load and fire.  Cannot wait!

I start my wintertime "please keep me sane" jewelery class on the 11th.  Very much looking forward to it.  I took the class last year when the winter blahs and second semester craziness had set in.  It really helped me mentally to have that class to focus on.  Some days it was difficult to muster up the motivation to get myself there after a long day at work .But once I'm there, and the other students are in the room and all of the tools and materials are laid out, I really start to get excited and before I know it it's 9:30 and the class is over.

I'm also going to talk to the instructor, who is also a professor at the Art Institute, about my plans for grad school.  I'd really like to get my MFA and the options here in Atlanta are pretty slim pick ins.  I'm thinking instead of trying to find a Ceramics MFA program, I'm going to check out SCAD's Sculpture program.  They offer some financial assistance for full time art teachers, which is a plus.  Also, I figure having more of a general degree like sculpture might enable me to find more opportunities for employment at the college level.

One day at a time.  I feel like I'm waiting for my real life to begin.  This life I live now is someone else's that I'm borrowing.  I feel like my job is really dragging me down.  I don't look for ward at all to going back after a vacation or a weekend.  I want so badly to jump out of bed with such excitement that I cant wait to get to work.  Will it ever happen?