Into the Christmas season

Local schools start tomorrow but we two are already into the Christmas spirit.  You may recall that the Christmas season includes gift-giving.  If you are a local potter, the calendar is such that you need to get cracking with ceramic gifts for the season.  You need to fashion appropriate figurines and vases and objects that would make a nice gift for Uncle Harry and Grandma.  Such art doesn’t make itself. There is working with clay, drying clay, firing the object to harden it, glazing the object, firing it again.  Every firing requires baking in the kiln at a high temperature which takes time to reach.  There is cooling involved, transporting to the gallery, adding it to your inventory, printing a label.  Better get started!