That Decision

I last wrote on Wednesday and I was writing about a decision I had made. I didn't disclose what the decision was, all I could say was I didn't take the making of this decision lightly and that it was making me feel ill. I also wrote that the next time I wrote a post would be when my decision had come into effect.

So here I am, ready to spill the beans. As some of you know I purchased a retail business a while back. Prior to purchasing this business I was planing on starting my own ceramics business. Anyway the business I purchased came up for sale just prior to me starting my ceramics business. At the time I thought I could combine the two and create my ceramic pieces in the theme of the store. However the store is open 7 days a week, which leaves very little time to do anything else. So I have decided to sell the retail business for a couple of reasons.

I wrote a post on 12th August:- A Couple Of Outings. It was about my wife and I going out for lunch. I started using a calendar on my PC in February where I note down everything that we do, need to go, appointments, etc. We went out for lunch because when I looked at the calendar I noticed that we hadn't been out together since I started the calendar! Every bit of 'free time' when we're both home together was dedicated to the store. Running a business that's open 7 days a week, plus having an online store, plus managing staffing and then paperwork is incredibly time consuming, draining and stressful. All of these elements equal no life. I've always believed that you should work to live, not live to work.

So the lack of personal time is one reason I'm selling, the second reason I'm selling is that my heart is in ceramics. It's something I have always wanted to do, I started working on this business years back while working a regular 9-5 job before my Aunt became ill - it isn't a new idea. I put the business on hold to care for her, then when she was well again I went back to starting the business. Then sadly her illness returned and it was terminal. I ceased working on my ceramics business again to stay with her, which was my choice and one I will never regret. In my Aunts last days she actually said to my wife 'Make sure Alex keeps doing his ceramics'. She also said this to me a day or two after she said it to my wife. So I guess part of me wants to forge on ahead with my ceramics for her. 

Running my own ceramics business from home will be less stressful for me and better for my health, some might say how is running one small business going to be different from another? It'll be different because I'll be able to choose when I want to work, I won't have the stress of finding replacement staff if someone is sick, I won't have to worry about shoplifters as my ceramics business will be online only, if I want to go on a holiday I won't have the worry of if the store is ok, there are so many reasons. The bottom line is that I won't be responsible for anyone but me.

The reason this choice to sell made me feel ill was that I had to tell my staff that I was selling. This is why I didn't disclose my reason the other day, because I hadn't yet spoken to them. I have a great team and we all work very well together. In my time owning this business I have hired and fired - with good reason, I'm not a nazi. In fact my staff refer to me as a softie lol It was a hard choice to make in selling this business because I do like it, I like the feel of it, I like the reputation it has, I like just about everything about it - except it takes up all of my time. It also takes up a lot of my wife's time as she does the books.

I don't feel that owning this business was a mistake, I believe everything happens for a reason and I have learnt a lot in owning it. However it's time to move on. So I have put the business up for sale, now it's just a waiting game to see who wants to buy it. 

I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life, I kind of feel that I'm starting from scratch again, in a sense I am, but in a sense I'm not. I'm not the kind of person that's scared of the unknown. My father used to tell me that he was proud of me, because I was always trying things that other people would be too scared to do. 

I'm sure there's loads of people out there with business ideas, but it's the fear that holds them back. What's the worst thing that could happen? The business fails..... So you get up, dust yourself off and try something else. You only live once, I don't want to be an old person one day with the regret of 'I wish I had tried this or I wish I had done that'. If my ceramics doesn't take off, I'll have no shame or regret. Because I tried.

So onwards and upwards! No regrets, no fear, take life by the horns head on and enjoy the ride! If you follow your heart you'll never know where life will take you and the journey you'll be on. So sit back and take in the scenery!

A Bit Of Painting

It's been a while since I've been able to do any work on my ceramics. However I had a day last week and I was able to work on two pieces. Excuse the bad photos lol I didn't take them for this post, I take photos of my work as I go so I can later document the colours I've used or mixed, in the event that I want to recreate a colour, style or method. All of these pieces have only been underglazed, once they've been clear glazed and fired the colours will be really bright and pop!

                 

This is a strawberry themed oil burner that I started previously, but ran out of time and was unable to get finished. Because of the dullness of underglazes, you can't really tell that the background colour is yellow. I've since finished it and it just needs to be clear glazed and fired.

            

After finishing the oil burner I started on a mug that's in the theme of The Mexican Day Of The Dead or Dia de Muertos. I have only just started this piece and it's very rough lol so no judgments please lol Ceramics and the glazes are a weird medium to work with..... The colours are very deceiving and because the pieces are often painted in a layering style, in the early stages - especially if you're a beginner, you might be tempted to look at it and think 'This looks like crap! Or What on earth have I painted?!?!?'. It isn't until it all comes together after multiple firings, underglazes and glazes that it actually takes shape and starts to resemble what you have in your minds eye. Understanding the way they work, getting used to the process just takes time, trial and yes... Error! lol

So with this mug, I have painted a bold red heart on the opposite side to the handle and on either side of the mug is a sugar skull. I've only partially painted their faces, the outline that you can see is just lead pencil to assist me with keeping them roughly the same size. Thankfully the lead pencil burns off during the firing process lol Some pieces can get quite messy with all the scribble lol As you can see there's quite a few scribble and doodle lines on this mug, some will be painted on, some will be ignored and left to fire off. I just draw on the piece as ideas come to me, some ideas get trumped by others lol

This Dia de Muertos mug will also have have product called French Dimensions by Duncan Ceramics applied. It's basically an underglaze that works the same way puffy paints do. I'll use them to create bright swirls of colour and accents. When the mug is being fired the French Dimensions will puff up giving a raised textural effect. I really like them, they're easy to use and give a great effect!

While on the topic of The Mexican Day Of The Dead, I'm wanting to paint a plate in a similar style. Due to plates being flat I'm wanting more symmetrical looking skulls, so I spent a good chunk of a day trying to create 'the perfectly' shaped skull template lol I've not created a template before, so I'll see how it goes lol

This is another piece I finished before the oil burner, it just needs to be clear glazed and fired. It's a goblet/cocktail style piece, again this photo wasn't taken to be inserted into a blog post! If it was I would have cleaned up my desk a bit! lol

Okkie dokie ! I'll be off! I'll catch you next time! :) 

Psychic Medium Reading

I guess we've all had one of 'those dodgy tarot/psychic readings' in our life, I know I've had my fair share! Anyway, my wife gave me a gift voucher for my birthday to see a psychic. The psychic has been trained by Lisa Williams - so I knew she was the real deal as Lisa doesn't just churn out 1000's of 'psychics'. I was very much looking forward to booking my appointment and seeing this psychic!

Lisa Williams

So before I start, I know there are a lot of skeptics out there... When my wife bought the voucher, the psychic knew the voucher was for my birthday, she didn't know the date of my birthday, she only knew my first name, she did not have my email address and my wife paid via paypal which is still in her maiden name. So if the psychic tried to look me up, she wouldn't have found a thing about me if she used my first name and my wife's maiden name.

Okay, so I arrive for my appointment. The Psychic lives on a rural block and she has a very long driveway - Yes, the driveway has something to do with my reading lol. The psychic came out and met me outside in her beautiful environment. We go inside and she asks if I would like a psychic reading or a mediumship reading? My voucher was for 1 hour so I asked if I could have half/half.

She started with the psychic reading. The other thing I should quickly add, is that I recently bought an older Ford F150 for carrying around stock for my business. My everyday car has advertising on the rear windscreen, so I deliberately drove the truck to the appointment as I had not as yet had any signage put on it. I didn't want.... "Ohhh you own your own business etc".

So the reading began - no cards, hand holding or asking me questions about what I did etc, she just closed her eyes and said that she was going to contact her guides. The first thing she said was that she could see that I had been cleaning up and throwing away a lot of items. (The 2 weeks before I saw her I did have a big clean up at home! We had booked 2 council rubbish collections.) 

She described that I was in a high up position in my field of work - that I was on the top rung of the ladder. She said that a lot of people were surprised when I entered this field as it's not something anyone saw me doing and that I had a clerical position. (I have never owned, run a business or worked in retail. Although my business is retail, I don't 'work' in the shop. I run the website and take care of stock etc.) She also went into detail about how much things had improved in all aspects since I started there.

She went on to say that prior to me working where I currently was, she could see that I had been working on some kind of enterprise at home to generate an income, but it stopped abruptly. (Before I bought the retail store, I was working on starting my own ceramics business from home. I stopped abruptly because my Aunt got ill.) She told me so many more things which I cannot remember right now. But she blew me away!

After the psychic reading, she said that she was glad that I wanted a mediumship reading.... She said because it was such a hot day, she went to her office to open the windows and when she walked out she saw a woman standing in her driveway looking towards the road. She couldn't get the woman's attention and the woman kept looking at her watch and then back down the driveway. The psychic said that she didn't know who the woman was waiting for or belonged to because she couldn't connect with her. She said that she could feel a very strong maternal connection, but that she wasn't anyone's mother - that she was probably an Aunt. (I started crying. I knew before she went any further, it was my Aunt as she was always early and obsessed with time!) 

The psychic described her appearance to me perfectly and asked if I knew who she was? I told her she was my Aunt. The psychic said that she was no longer here but she would try and make contact with her. After a few minutes she started telling me some of the most amazing things! One of them being that my Aunt puts her hands on my shoulders when I'm stressed (She used to do this to me when she was alive) and that she speaks to me, but believes that I have only heard her once! (In the post below I mentioned that I heard her one night say 'Hi Love'.) 

The psychic told me that my Aunt was very proud of the way in which I carried out her funeral - however one person in the will did not get what they were supposed to get. This made me feel ill! I told the psychic that everyone received what was in my Aunt's will. The psychic kept talking to my Aunt and my Aunt told her a bed didn't go where it was supposed to go.... I had forgotten all about the bed! A friend of my Aunts was supposed to have her bed (It was a wiz bang electric bed lol), but the woman's sons wouldn't come and collect it, so it went elsewhere. The psychic explained this to my Aunt and all was good lol 

The psychic told me that my Aunt was now riding her old bike that I had found in the roof and she described a jungle that she like to spend time in that had little pathways everywhere. (When I was a child I found a old bike in the roof of my Grandparents stable, I asked my Dad to get it down for me and my Aunt was there at the time.... She said 'That's my old bike!'. The jungle that the psychic described with the pathways is exactly what my Aunt had in her backyard. She had a section that had little paths running all over the place!)

The psychic then said my Aunt was saying that I had lost my spark since she left me and that I needed to get back to what I was doing and get that ute! The psychic did look a little confused at this point lol because why would I need a ute when I drove up in a truck?!?! lol (In the post below I said that I sometimes feel like she's left me - not dead, deceased or passed away - but left me, the exact words the psychic used. My Aunt knew I was starting my own business before she became ill, and she said to my wife and I that I should buy a ute to carry around stock in case I attend markets with my ceramic items). The psychic also said that my aunt will always be with me, she will never leave me and that when it's my time she will be there waiting for me.

Again, so many more things were said...... After the reading I explained that I had been cleaning up so that I could start my ceramics again and needed to make room in the garage - which was my work from home enterprise that she could see in the psychic reading. I told her this was what I was doing before my Aunt became ill and that's why I stopped abruptly. That I was going to sell some of my ceramic items in the store and some online, and that I had also just bought the truck for events/markets. 

The psychic talked to me about mediumship and that she felt that with some practice I would be able to speak with my Aunt without the use of a medium since I had already heard my Aunt once. She also told me that she could feel that I had seen/sensed spirits/ghosts before. She blew me away. She told me so many things that very few people know about and none of it was 'wishy washy one size fits all' stuff. 

After I came home and told my wife about it, I went online and started reading more about the psychic and discovered that she now teaches. I have since enrolled in one of her courses that starts next year! lol Like running a business and trying to get a 2nd one off the ground doesn't take up enough of my time lol!

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Woo Hoo for me! lol I've finished having all of my dental work done for this year! I thought I may have needed more visits, but after my trip this week, I don't have to go back until early January. That's when I'll have one wisdom tooth removed, and a couple of implants put in. I've never had anything drilled into my skull/jaw..... So I'm just going to stay optimistic that it wont hurt too much :o) But I can see the finish line in sight and that makes me happy!! 

So now that I wont be spending every 2-3 weeks in pain, what on earth am I going to do with myself? Well, I still have two rooms to paint and then I'm done. OMG! Done.... The painting was put on hold because of the dental work and the pain... If I had climbed a ladder taking pain medication, I can guarantee I would have fallen right off and landed on my backside lol

My old paint tray has seen better days lol

So starting next week - providing that it isn't too hot, I will paint the last two rooms:- one spare room and the laundry. The laundry is going to be a royal pain in the butt!!! Our laundry is soooo small, you couldn't swing a cat - so to speak. Plus I have to pull the washing machine out, and take the dryer off the wall, and they both weigh a ton! The spare room will be easy as we don't use it and it's empty. I'm hoping to get both rooms done in one week. As you would have gathered, from reading my previous posts regarding me painting the house... I dislike house painting with an absolute passion, so I really want those rooms done and dusted, it's been an epic job.

As I've been painting, we've been having a spring clean as I go, we've given away a lot of stuff to charity and a lot of junk has been put into the garage for council collection. As I will be running my small business from the garage, I am looking forward to finishing the house, as there is one last cupboard in the laundry which is being thrown out. At the moment, my garage is an absolute mess!! Prior to when I started painting and we started piling the junk in there, my garage was always tidy as it diminished the prospects of my ceramic stock being damaged. Plus I just didn't like it looking like a dumping ground....Which is what it resembles now.

Some of my work:- cat themed drink coasters, a knitting bowl and various condiment dipping bowls.

So bring on next week! Fingers and toes crossed that I can get it done in one week, and have the junk taken away. Then I can start my business.... It's been a long time in the planning and there have been a number of starts and stops along the way, but now it's my time.  

My Other Busy Bits

So apart from painting the house, what else have I been doing that's kept me so busy? Well, since my wife was on holidays I didn't spend everyday painting, simply because some days it would rain or it was too hot... Plus she was on holidays, so we used these non-painting days for outings.

We went out for lunch a couple of times, this particular photo was taken at our favourite place called Gnostic Mana Cafe at Woy Woy. These two ducks just wandered up to where we were sitting lol they were quite friendly. It was strange that we had never seen them there before.

                                 

I also purchased some greenware on a day that was just ridiculously too hot to paint. I also stocked up on some more underglazes and glazes for when I start my small business, which I mentioned in this post.

I also had some dental work done.... Ouch! For about 18 months I have been researching dental work... I have shocking teeth. Infact, everyone on my Mums side of the family have dental issues - except my sister, she got Dad's teeth, thanks Dad! lol. My teeth are chalky and break constantly, I have had sooo much work done in the past and I simply got to a point where I wanted all of my teeth ripped out.

I knew it was going to cost a small fortune to sort my mouth out, but I have put up with dental pain for so long, something had to be done. Some people my wife works with, recommended getting the work done in Thailand. So I did some research and spoke to the recommended clinic in Thailand regarding what I wanted done.... After weighing up the costs of two separate trips, plus accommodation x 2, plus the dental work, I came to the conclusion that it would cost around the same to have the work done in Australia..... Plus I could be in pain in my own home afterwards lol

So I went and saw a local dentist who had a look at my mouth and listened to what I wanted done, he suggested that I go to another dental clinic in Sydney where they could offer me the same treatment, but at a lower cost than he could because it was their specialty. How wonderfully honest was he? He joked that he would make a rubbish car salesman for sending work away lol

So off to Sydney we went! We met with the dentist... The downside to him to be quite honest, was that he was a completely arrogant piece of work! At one point I thought to myself "If I hadn't driven so far to see you, I would get up and walk out!!". The upside was that he believed that I didn't need all of my teeth taken out. You see what I wanted was for all of my teeth to be removed and to be replaced with what is called an All-On-Four implant.

I know it sounds drastic, but after years of pain and spending money having broken teeth repaired constantly, I really just wanted them all gone. Anyway, the dentist inspected my mouth and drew up a plan of attack. He advised me that I would need 3-4 sessions, where he would begin to extract teeth that were too damaged to repair and that he would work from right to left. He would also fill any teeth that needed fillings, then after a three month healing period he would insert implants into the extraction sites and crowns on the other teeth. 

Two weeks ago I had my first session of extractions, it took 1.5 hours.... When I was at home and the anesthetic wore off.... Man did it hurt!!! I have my next session in 2 weeks and it will take 2.5 hours. I am dreading the anesthetic wearing off that day!! But I know that in the end it will be worth the pain. I won't be self conscious of smiling, I won't have to worry about what I eat - as I am always so worried that food might be too hard and I'll chip or break another tooth. 

                           

Both of the dentists that I saw explained that I had a high acid level in my mouth, which is what has caused the damage. When you have bad teeth, you're constantly thinking that other people will think your teeth are bad because you don't brush... So I'm glad that I know why my teeth are the way they are.... I just don't know why any previous dentists haven't told me this? The reason I ask this is because, even though I can't stop the amount of acid being produced in my mouth, a treatment plan of special toothpaste which is only available from either a dentist or the pharmacy and surprisingly, a special type of dental chewing gum can counteract this.

Anyway, I'll catch you all again soon :o)

I Need A Clone!!

Yes I do need a clone! I have to finish painting the house, I have to sort out the jungle in the backyard and I need to get my small business up and running! Plus..... Just do all the other regular things that we all have to do! My brain isn't content with organising itself like a normal brain, it likes to grab a whole bunch of ideas and then it says "let do this!" When it isn't physically possible! Okay, so for the sanity of both myself and my wife, the painting will be finished first. If it isn't, horrible things may happen to me.... lol The garden, I am figuring can be done intermittently between sorting out my small work from home business.

When I was a kid I used to attend hobby ceramics classes, I just loved it! The other kids would attend the class, like me one afternoon a week after school. The only difference between me and the other kids was that, I would work on my pieces on the weekends. I constantly had more than one piece on the go at any given time. Then I got older, moved out of home and had 'grown up' things to do.

My brand spanking new studio size kiln.

Anyway about two years ago, I decided that I wanted to get back into ceramics and I took some more classes. Unfortunately my work roster changed and I could no longer attend the classes, as they were held during the day. I was stuck.... I wanted to continue working with ceramics, but I was unable to do so due to work. So I looked into buying my own kiln.... the second hand ones were appealing - simply due to cost. But there was no guarantee that the previous owner hadn't fired lead based glazes in them. So I started looking at new kilns.... holy moley they were expensive!!!! 

The kiln being loaded.

The other issue I had was, that I had actually never fired a kiln before! I actually knew nothing about them. So my research begun..... Everything I read stated that if you're going to buy a kiln, buy one bigger than what you think you need. So I looked at new kilns and picked the one I thought would suit me, and then did as I was told and looked at the next size up. This was getting dearer by the minute lol How on earth could I justify spending thousands of dollars on a kiln for a hobby? Plus, I would have to take out a loan, as I just didn't have that kind of money lying around. It was also around this time I was becoming increasingly miserable at work.

A Merlin/wizard tile - trivet.

In the past people had requested particular items, which I made and sold to them. Other friends had also told me that they believed that there was a market out there for my work, as it was a little bit different to the usual ceramic ware available. So this - combined with my unhappiness at work got me thinking.... What if I could earn a living from doing this? I spoke to my wife about my idea, she knew how I was feeling at work and she also knew that I wanted to continue with my ceramic work. So we looked at the prices of the kilns and decided to purchase one. When you purchase a kiln they are made to order, so you need to be prepared to join a waiting list.

Some Halloween coasters.

When it was my turn for my kiln to be built, my Aunt was diagnosed with cancer, so I requested that I be dropped back down the list. Then my Aunt's treatment seemed to be working, so I advised the kiln builders I was ready. This scenario actually happened three times..... Then one day I was able to take possession of the kiln. I started buying stock, and building up a collection that I could sell. I had almost gotten to a point where I had enough stock, until one day I noticed that most of my pieces had cracked!!!

A platter of four condiment bowls.

I had no idea what had happened, as I inspect all of the pieces when I take them out of the kiln. After doing some research online, I discovered that there could only be two reasons for this happening. The first was the temperature in the kiln and the second was the glaze. I checked the kiln temperature and it was correct. So I spoke to a company who sells glazes, and before I had finished explaining what had happened, the guy knew what was wrong. I had been sold a glaze that was not compatible with Australian clay, yet it was widely distributed.... I was told that the glaze doesn't crack immediately and that it actually takes a couple of weeks for the cracks to appear.

An experimental four-way glazes vase.

So where did that leave me? Well I am now pretty much starting from scratch. I still have a lot of stock that I have not painted, but all of the stock that I had painted, needs to be broken and put into the garbage as it is no longer food safe. I also purchased new glaze that is compatible with Australian clay. I guess the up side to this incident is that, these items weren't sold. As the glaze would've cracked after the sale, leaving the owner with an inferior product and me with a bad reputation.

A collection from my last firing with the new glaze.

As my wife is on holidays in a couple of weeks, the house painting will be finished (thank god!) and then I will be able to get back to my ceramics and start building up enough items to sell. I already have a domain name, however the website isn't live yet - due to not having enough stock to list. I do however have a Facebook page set up:- Crack Pot Ceramics. Once my website is live, it will also be connected to this Facebook page. 

My Crack Pot Ceramics Facebook page.

It's all very exciting, but quite daunting at the same time! I am very much looking forward to being able to spend my time time doing what I love, and that is to paint. I'm just not really looking forward to the 'business' side of things as I don't have a 'business head' lol This is where a clone would come in handy, I could paint and he could take care of the stock, marketing, money, ordering etc lol