Burning the Candle at Both Ends?

No coffee and no music, but 2-3/4 projects written up yesterday. It is amazing I got that much done considering the rest of the day. Unfortunately I was not able to hook up with my photographer so I still don't have pics to post. Tomorrow. I started the day at the dentist. When I got back to the studio I had an email waiting from the Art Institute. They want 50 more platters as soon as possible. The catalog just came out two weeks ago and they originally ordered 70. Yeee, yeee, yeee.

I don't have quite enough glass or frit to do them. I had been meaning to get another order in to Bullseye but hadn't gotten around to it yet. So I frantically put together an order and called my rep to see if she could 2-day me a 5-lb jar of one of the colors I am almost out of so I can at least get started while I wait for the bulk of the order to arrive by truck (they don't ship 113 sheets of glass and 250 lbs of frit via UPS...). I had to leave her a message and wait for her to call me back. When the phone rang a few minutes later I thought she was calling me back, but no, my day was about to get even more surreal.

The caller was a woman I met at the February Buyer's Market, she's the assistant to some apparently famous chef . At least that's who I think it was as she never identified herself and I was so frazzled trying to pull together the AI order that I never got around to asking. Anyway she wanted to know if I could do *300* of the paisley sushi plates for a new restaurant the chef is opening in NYC or DC or somesuch. They want to use them as little charger plates for the opening reception... in about two weeks. I couldn't commit to schedule without planning everything out and she couldn't commit to purchase without an ok from the chef so we ended the call with no definite plan, but I have become Roy Scheider: I think we need a bigger boat.

The Art Institute pieces are going to take 15 sheets of glass, 62 lbs of frit, and 6 days in the kiln (9 firings) including 3 days of 2 firings per day 12 hours apart. The first 30 of the 60 sushi sets are going to take 26 sheets of glass, 5,400 little circles, and 8 days in the kiln including 4 days of 2 firings per day 12 hours apart. The 300 new plates would take 28 sheets of glass, 7500 little circles, and 12 days in the kiln (18 firings) including 6 days of 2 firings per day 12 hours apart to do them. And of course there is nothing in that estimate about the time it takes to cut and prep the pieces for the kiln. Hours without measure there. But for what I can count, by my estimation that takes me through October 10 if I fire every day and NOTHING GOES WRONG. Hmm. That actually leaves me enough time to do the three other gallery orders I have due November 1...

But then there is that pesky book. Maybe if I spend an hour in the studio in the morning before the morning blog, then I write for 8 hours, then I get J from school and do another hour in the studio, then dinner with the family and finish up with another 3 hours in the studio. That *might* be enough to get everything done... And I *might* be able to do it IF I WERE A 20 YEAR-OLD ON SPEED. There is only so much caffeine can do for you when you are 45. I find I can either do early morning or night, but not both. And in the early morning I can either work in the studio or write, but at night I can only work in the studio--I don't have enough left to string two coherent sentences together. So my candle is going to stay lit on only one end. I am just going to have to say "sorry, no can do". Or maybe I could hire someone...