And the Stirring Continues....

The clay's not at the right consistency yet.  =/

I shared my last post on one of my FB groups and several fellow potters said they use a paint mixer with a drill to mix their reclaimed clay.  Genius!  I've seen glaze mixed with one but it never occurred to me that it would work with clay.  When I asked Craig if we had one he came up with this baby -

Perfect!

...or so I thought.  I believe this is designed for mixing dry wall compound.  But it didn't fit in our corded drill and the cordless drill just didn't have enough oomph.

Look, Ma!  No hands!  It's stuck.

I also realized I probably didn't add enough water.  Not to worry.  I detached the drill, added more water and used the mixer with good old fashioned elbow grease.  Clean up was much easier!  Thank you Peeps!

I don't know about other types of artisans but potters seem to be a pretty ingenious bunch and very willing to share ideas, techniques and tricks.  No matter what barriers rise up before me there's always someone out there who's already figured out how to overcome it and posted it on YouTube or in a forum or blog somewhere.  Maybe it's because our craft isn't easy or inexpensive to pursue and out of necessity and financial constraints we have to come up with shortcuts and innovative ways to get her done.

If all I had to invest in were brushes, paints and canvas I'd have taken that trip to Italy by now and wouldn't have to take over half of the garage with my "stuff". Don't get me wrong.  I've tried painting but I'm mediocre at best and truly envy anyone who can create art in that medium.

I love my craft.  It's my therapy.  And though I feel like I'm just "mud-dling" through at times (very punny!) I have very supportive family, friends and cyber community to bolster me up and push me forward into uncharted (for me) territories.  Thank you all very much!  =D