Sometimes it is just too cold to work in the studio! Here in Vermont our Winters are long and cold and I do my best to keep warm in the studio but when it is -18 outside that tends be impossible. Instead of getting frustrated and annoyed by not being able to work in the studio I try one of the ideas listed below instead. Why not try one or two of these for yourself I know it will help!
January is brutally cold and so I usually take a few weeks off from the studio and use this time at the beginning of the year to come up with a studio plan. I think about all the pots I want to make or techniques I want to try and make a list. If you are not sure where to start check out Pinterest and look for pottery pins. This will get you thinking about what you want to do when you get back to the studio. Make notes or drawings and refer to it throughout the year when you need new ideas or projects for the studio.
I love to Bake! I find that cold days naturally lend them selves to baking. A cup of tea, fresh baked gingerbread cake and I’m a happy (and warm) girl!. Being gluten-free there are only a few pre-packaged options so I do a lot of baking from scratch. If you don’t like baking from scratch then go ahead and use a mix. If you think about it there are a lot of similarities between pottery and baking.
Plus I love using my own pieces to serve my baked treats on! Here I used a stoneware cake stand that is glazed with Amaco Celadon Glaze in lavender. I made the top from a slab of clay I draped over a large bowl mold and the bottom is a thrown hollow cylinder that I attached to the slab top. Of course you could make the bottom from a slab like I did in my Cake Stand Class.
Nothing pairs quite as well with tea and baked goods as a good book! My must-have, top-three for potters has a little something for everyone! For the hand builder there is Mastering Hand Building by Sunshine Cobb. I just received my copy yesterday and couldn’t put it down! This is a great book for all levels of hand building but is especially helpful for beginners. Sunshine covers not only the basics of hand building but talks about body posture and taking care of yourself. There are some great step-by-step projects in this book along with profiles of other potters who hand build. Mastering the Potters wheel by Ben Carter is a must for anyone who throws pottery or wants to learn how. The format is similar to Mastering Hand Building and both include lots of color photographs and detailed explanations. The Complete Guide to Mid-Range Glazes is the perfect introduction to understanding and making your own glazes. John Britt is a glaze master and this book is clearly written and easy to follow! Any one of these books would be a great read on a cold winters day but together they make up my pottery handbook Trifecta!
Drawing is such a great way to spend time being creative when you can’t be in the pottery studio. You can draw pots you want to make, draw patterns to put on your ceramic surfaces, draw designs to carve into your pots or just draw for the fun of it. I draw everyday even if it is just a quick 5 minute sketch or doodle while having my morning tea. This gets my creativity flowing and leads to some wonderful things. My drawing style is very different from my pottery. I love that I can express myself differently in multiple mediums yet they are both uniquely mine! If you just don’t like to draw then why not try painting you might discover an untapped talent you didn’t know you had.
Need more ideas about being creative checkout my class on Being More Creative!
Plan a garden.
I love to garden and Vermont summers are short so I like to spend the Winter planning out my garden. That way as soon as we are frost free I can get to work planting. I can spend hours looking a garden and seed catalogs. Picking out my favorites and making lists of what I want to plant. I often will draw out my plans for new flower beds so I can get an idea on how they will flow. Pinterest is also a great source for images of plants and flowers (and pottery). You can create boards by plant type: annuals, perennials, bushes, flowering trees, vegetables, etc.. You can also plan what pots, planters or sculptures you will make for your garden too!
Visit a museum.
Museums are a great experience regardless of the weather. Since I am usually busiest in the Summer I like to visit all my local Museums during Winter. For museums further away I will plan trip and make a weekend of it. Of course my favorite Museum is the Louvre but that is a bit far so instead I like to visit the MFA in Boston. They have a large collection of pottery and if you are a fan of ancient Greek pottery you will love this museum. They recently renovated and expanded their collection so be sure to check out their website and plan a visit.
Plan a Vacation.
If you are like me and live in a region where Winter lasts for almost half the year then you may want to think about planning a vacation during this time. If you can’t get away for the winter you can at least makes plans for a future trip now. I took my daughter to Paris last May and we spent many hours planning out what we would see, do and eat! Having this trip to look forward to helped me to stay upbeat and positive when the Winter blues threatened to set in. Also having a good well thought out itinerary made for a stress free vacation!
I know it can seem endless when your studio is frozen and you are counting down till Spring but take heart it wont last forever. Soon you’ll be back in your studio again with lots of fresh new ideas and possibly some new skills or hobbies!