With the crazy schedule I have had the last couple of weeks, I have been sneaking down to the studio in the wee hours, trying to find some zen, working out some new forms . . . enjoying the still quiet of night. My hook to get back is weighing out a bunch of clay and during the day, then I leave it, so I will return later. . . . except last night was so tired, I did not keep up my end . . . I knew it was there sitting out . . . drying out . . . . but decided to just let it go, recycle it today.
In the morning light . . . it was a lot more clay than I remembered. . . . hard as a lacrosse ball. My usual method of recycling clay with moisture left in it is to:
slice the volume into slabs- lay out slices on a wet towel
- roll the the towel up, one end to the other, including slabs
- place the bundle in a plastic bin with a lid that seals/snaps . . .
- let sit in the box for a week or so . . . and re-wedge.
I think this restores the clay to a nice, even moisture level for throwing or hand building – soft and easy to wedge.
So to recycle my mess, I was slicing and slicing . . . after a long while, I looked down and my hand was bleeding 
. Next time . . . . I am going to cover the clay with plastic, or make it down to the studio, tired or not.
Wondering if you have any tips about recycling clay like this?
Got the handles on those mugs.. . . . second surgery tomorrow so I will be playing Nurse Ratchet the rest of the week . . . . . . . . “If Mr. McMurphy doesn’t want to take his medication orally, I’m sure we can arrange that he can have it some other way. But I don’t think that he would like it.” 
Sorry, for the cheesy Nurse Ratchet quote . . . but at this point, a sense of humor is required . . . 10 mugs is better than nothing!
After spending a good solid week clearing my shelves of pots I hated, cleaning the studio, unpacking from the last show, recycling clay . . . adding a few more shelves (always need shelves, right?) . . . I realized that I was doing anything I could to just not get started again.
Daylight bulb. I never would have thought it . . . I was unaware even of the brand. It was not the top pick in the poll, so maybe you have learned a little along the way with me. 
A few folks have sent me questions about how I photographed the pottery in the galleries to look like it had no background. First I made a booth, of sorts, out of foam core. I just used the basic size sold at the local craft store and then assembled a box. 4 boards were used: 1 for the bottom, 1 for the back, 1 board cut in half and shared for the short sides, and the 4th board is just resting on top of the lights, serving to bounce a little light, I hope. I used clear packing tape to secure the edges on just the outside of the booth. I also bought some white drawing paper (no sheen) that I taped onto the back wall with some white “low tack” artist tape. This way, the back bottom corner of the box would not show in any of the photos. Then, I used standard clip-on utility lights from the hardware store (got mine at Home Depot) and some daylight light bulbs. 
