This would be post #199.

Hidy-ho, neighbors! Just briefly (previously spelled: breifly, breifely, and brefily. It's not a spelling issue; it's a "my right hand types at a different speed than my left hand, and my brain can only keep up with one or the other" problem. Happens all the time. Other than that, I tend to type effectively at upwards of 70 wpm. Thought I'd share.) a post for y'all. More pictures, less talk-tures. Probably. Got something planned for what proves to be post #200. Sometime. Later. I hope. Here's hoping.

Before I get rolling too much further, I wanted to share (shoutout!) that I got my own mention (shoutout!) at my good friend Jon's blog, Farmboy to Foodie. I was commissioned to make a tea set for his 1st wedding anniversary last summer and my work was featured in his recent post on tea.  The glazing on that set was unique - misbehaving glazes and all that. But funky and unexpected is not always a bad thing. Always nice to get some positive feedback. You can read about it here.

And here's what happened in the studio last week/this weekend. For your enjoyment.

Asphyxiated bowls. Two more under the white wrap behind.

Mugs and mugs and mugs. With handles and everything. I'm not sure I've been feeling alright, making mugs and all.

Part of my workspace - trimmings and leftover bits and pieces from the mug handle-ing process. And my not-so-shiny, not-so-new scale. But I'm very pleased with this table. It's a good solid working surface for wedging and kneading and such.

Plates happened. There's a fourth floating around somewhere. Just not in the picture.

The Two Towers! Some recycled clay, airing out and firming up just a bit before being kneaded and bagged. In anticipation of Part 1 of The Hobbit coming out this summer I thought I'd recycle my clay in a Tolkein fashion.

More mugs! Wet mugs! Hope you're not distressed by my non-linear treatment of time in the displaying of these photos!

So that's been it. Lots of music in the studio, of course. This week I gave another good listen to David Crowder Band's epic finale - truly a phenomenal effort and I think it might be hard to displace it over the course of the year as my favorite album of 2012. Also getting into some new artists, including the debut(ish) release from Pioneer - sort of a pop-punk/alt-rock sound reminiscent of MAE or Relient K, with their own spin. I've embedded the "trailer" for their album release party below to give you a taste:

Pioneer recently signed to Davy Baysinger's (of the band Bleach) Slospeak Records. Now, it's not a hard and fast rule - plenty of exceptions out there - but I think it's fair to say that the musicians you love often sometimes occasionally can point you in the direction of more music you'll like. It's not foolproof, you know, and sometimes people love listening to music that is not of their style or whatnot. Like hip-hop artists who cite Bob Dylan as an influence. (Really?) In any event, Bleach is one of my favorite bands, their self-titled 2000 release is my anytime-anyplace go-to album, and the last time I saw them live (2004 - before they hiatused for 7 years) ranks at-or-near the top of my list of best live music experiences. So I'm not surprised that my interest has been piqued now by multiple artists on this small, indie label.

Here's the sneak-peak at the upcoming release from the band SONS:

If you like the sound of that, you can listen to a full track of the new album here. I'm excited about these prospects for new music this year, especially from new artists, because it honestly doesn't look like there's going to be a whole lot else coming out this year, at least suiting my tastes. Exceptions and disclaimers, et cetera, ad nauseum. Music and stuff.

So that's all for now. Gotta keep throwing, gotta keep trimming, gotta keep sgraffito-ing. Kiln won't fill itself, you know. Later.