A week in the life of preparing for the Artists’ Open House Weekend Tour
The Build-Up
Preparing for fall shows while working full-time at the paper factory meant using every bit of vacation time for pottery. There was something thrilling about the pressure, even though I found myself working right up until the last possible moment. Before I had larger gas kilns, the process moved slower and left no room for error. Even with better equipment, I still found myself racing against time.
As I worked, a quiet worry surfaced: what if everyone already owned enough mugs and bowls? What if they were looking for larger serving pieces this year? But I realized this worry might have been protective in its own way. Focusing on pots kept me out of the endless scroll of social media’s fear and outrage. How fortunate I was to have the luxury of worrying about pottery instead of being consumed by the rage machine that dominated so much of modern life.
The Kiln Work
One night I sat writing in front of the kiln as it fired, grateful to be working a night shift for myself rather than at the factory. Over 40 pieces needed to go through, and I wanted to maximize every inch of kiln space. I didn’t use a pyrometer – just witness cones in the peephole to tell me when the correct work heat was reached.
The choices facing me were endless. Should I send the kiln into heavy reduction at the end? Close off the damper and starve it of air to create dramatic effects on the glaze? Or pull the peepholes for more oxygen and brighter colors? I could try a slow cool with pilot burners left on for a temperature soak – something I’d never attempted in my updraft gas kiln. With the show starting the next morning, practical considerations won out. The kiln went down around 2 AM, and I stumbled to bed.
Show Days at the Brewery
At 6:30 AM I was loading the truck – treadle wheel, vendor tent, shelving, and crates of pots. Frost covered the grass in the cold fall air. This was my third year on the Artists’ Open House Weekend Tour for Susquehanna County, and I set up at Country Trails Brewing Co, stop #27 on the trail.
The brewery turned out to be an ideal location, second only to a bakery. I could sip cider between throwing demonstrations while customers wandered through. What surprised me most was how many visitors had taken pottery classes and understood the processes. I probably sounded like an excited nerd, launching into detailed explanations whenever someone asked questions. Spending so much time alone in the studio, I was rarely asked about my work, so when the opportunity came, I might have gone on too long. But that enthusiasm translated into sales and meaningful conversations.
Knowing When Enough Is Enough
Looking at my inventory before the show, I realized something important: I had enough. I could have glazed another kiln load, fired more pieces, pushed harder. I was always competing with myself, always trying to make the good better. But sometimes making the good better meant recognizing when to stop. Good enough didn’t need to be perfect.
This realization extended beyond pottery. We often exhaust ourselves trying to please everyone – attending pointless meetings, jumping through hoops for countless bosses and demands. In the studio, there were no meetings. I could change direction completely, read a book, take a nap. I worked for the world’s worst boss – myself – both too demanding and too lenient. But at least I could choose to be kinder to that one boss.
Creation as Resistance
Throughout this process, I kept thinking about how creation serves as resistance against the rage machines built throughout human history. Social media had perfected the art of algorithmic outrage, feeding us exactly the type of anger we found most satisfying, always positioning us against “the other.” If no enemy existed, the machine would create one.
But creation was the sand in those gears. When we chose to make something with our hands instead of attending the daily Two Minutes Hate, we were building a different future. Small solutions to big problems emerged when each person chose differently, day by day. The act of making pots and sharing them with a few people who cared became its own form of communion and resistance.
Reflections from the Trail
By the end of the three-day show, I had thrown demonstrations for curious onlookers, made small pieces for interested children, and sat with my finished work long enough to notice new things about it. The glaze combinations that emerged from this particular firing schedule pleased me. Spending time with completed work, seeing it arranged on shelves that weren’t kiln shelves for once, revealed possibilities I wanted to explore further.
The weekend reminded me why I did this work. Not for everyone – that was impossible and exhausting. But for the few who cared, who asked questions, who might be inspired to start creating themselves. Life was too short not to make things. And if my presence at that brewery on a cold fall weekend gave even one person permission to begin their own creative journey, then the 2 AM kiln shutdown and the frost-covered morning setup had been worth every moment.
Until next time,
Alford Wayman
Artist/ Owner
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KilnMaster Pro
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