And Here They Are.... Barrel Firing #6

Here are just some of the pieces from Barrel Firing #6. This barrel firing brought more color than the others. My somewhat broken tumbler is on the left of a flock of Becky's birds. These pieces are straight out of the barrel; they haven't been cleaned at all or washed with Murphy's Oil Soap.
Some more birds. Good color variation. They have more color than this picture shows.
I like this shot. My one piece finally clean with a flock of birds in the background, waiting to be cleaned and waxed. Lots of vivid colors. This will be a pottery utensil container.
A closeup of some of Becky's birds.

And, a closeup of my one piece. Then, I spent the rest of the day making tumblers. Here's four on their way to the bisque kiln.

The barrel firing was way fun. I did miss getting good pictures with the ones that make it quite an adventure. Will do better next time. Time with Becky, John, Elaine, Minke and the others is always a good thing!

The Day After- Barrel Firing #6

Had a blessed Thanksgiving... I really think that time with incredible friends and time in the studio is the best way to spend Thanksgiving. This is as good as it gets for now. This is what I helped to make happen on the day after--what some call Black Friday. For me, it was barrel Friday. Here's how it happened....

Only had one piece to add to the Model T barrel. Ended up making 7 tumblers and trimming a few more throughout the day. I'll post pics of them soon. For now, here's the one pottery utensil jar that made its way into the barrel.

Here my piece is next to seaweed from Bainbridge Island, WA that is soaking in water. The piece got cracked and broke a bit during the bisque firing.

To prepare it, I took some copper carbonate and spread it onto wet newspaper and wrapped it around the piece. Also put it in a nest of steel wool and also different kinds of seaweed on the rim. This is how the prepped pot looked. That's seaweed and steel wool on the inside. Quite a package.
Then, I took a break and ran for 39 minutes. Gotta work off eating some delicious Thanksgiving food. We decided to wait until the next morning to unload the barrel as it was still hot with colored flames at 8 pm.
So, I went home, to rest and eat Thanksgiving leftovers. I made some cornbread stuffing from Trader Joe's. Only problem is... I think it had black pepper in it. :( Still good. Before I go, some more pictures though.
This is how the barrel looked before we stacked it with wood and set it on fire. My one pot is the one at about 8 o'clock (imagining all of it is the face of a clock). The blue stuff is miracle gro. :)

Ended up putting a bird on my pot. That brought it good luck, I'd like to think. Becky put about 30 some birds in all to the barrel.

The picture at the beginning of this blog is the same, with more birds and a few more pieces on top. Great colors.
Here, Minke, Stephanie, and Meredith (John's daughters) filled the barrel with wood and newspaper. Two young future potters? Hopefully so.
Minke set the barrel on fire. And we waited... and waited... and waited.

By 8 pm, this is how the inside of the barrel looked. Still very hot.
Another shot through the vent hole at the top. Will post the Barrel Friday results soon.

Two More

Two more pots made last night... and two more things for which to be thankful. + Good health as in...the ability to run. Went out for 40 minutes yesterday, and now my muscles remind me of that.

+ Hands that can make pottery. :)

I've decided that I need to start selling my pottery. I have way too much at home and not enough space for it all. Gotta lok into that more...

Oh... a random thought. Oprah has an entire holiday CD (Holiday Hits 2008) that is available to download for free in the next 24 hours. :) Artists such as Harry Connick, Josh Groban, Aretha Franklin, and Faith Hill are included.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Red Wine, the Sun, and Goat's Milk

I'm watching Oprah as I write, and it says that to live longer, drink 1-2 glasses of red wine in the company of someone else each day. Also, sit in the sun for 15 minutes a day, and drink goat's milk. Good to know. Maybe I need to buy goat's milk.

It was just one of those days, so I went to the studio. I trimmed these tumblers and put them on the bisque shelf. The one in the back left is a creamer. Becky was there and surprised all present by bringing a bottle of wine. So, I had my two glasses. :) It was way too quiet there, yet it was simply refreshing and wonderful to sit and talk. Thanks, Becky for the gift that you are.

Thankful...

Here's today....

Made these two today and trimmed a few others. This tumbler that is closer and fuzzy (and a crooked shot) and is a bit bigger.. the one in the back is a Christmas present- it already has someone's name in mind. So peaceful to be at a brand new wheel, especially after a long, somewhat challenging day.

As Thanksgiving Day draws near, I thought I'd share what I'm thankful for this year.

God.... without God and faith, who knows where I'd be.

Friends who understand... especially those who 'get it' without me saying.

Family-parents, siblings, and abuelos and their love.

The ability to make pottery.... and the true joy I've found in it.

Food, shelter, and clothing. I've met too many without and that still haunts me.

Freedom... and for those who have the courage to go into the most dangerous parts of the world.

Hope.... it keeps me going, even in the midst of such uncertainty.

I brought these two home tonight. They're the first sculptures I've ever owned. Thanks, Minke. I need to find a more prominent place for them, but for now, I think they sum it up well... Such strength shown in the one looking up... I see that as God with such strength and power and then that's us, resting in peace in the company of 'being' and pondering... pondering.

That's all for now.

Four Plus

It was so refreshing to be back in the studio today. Had a restful, relaxing weekend at a friend's home and then came into the studio and made several tumblers. Picked up four pieces that turned out well. All were glazed in either Rick's Shino or Spotted Shino and sprinkled with some soda ash. While I'm thinking of trying other glazes, I also think, why change if what you're doing is giving such great results? I'm so pleased.

Lots of good tumblers around and it still seems to be the easiest and best thing to make more. These are a few of the ones I made today... a bit bigger than the others, and continuing in the yunomi style. It was reassuring that I can still do this after a week away.

What a peaceful weekend, catching up with an amazing friend, chatting with friends at the studio, and listening to Peter Mayer music while at a brand new wheel, that had never been used! I'm beginning to make Christmas presents, which is fun too.

Also, here's a pic of part of my shelf. I traded a tumbler for these two ladies (the other's knees are all that's visible) with a pottery friend. GREAT trade. I'm the lucky one. They both were barrel fired.

Speaking of barrel firing... tomorrow I'll trim some pieces to get them ready for the barrel firing next Saturday. These days, it's hard to imagine life without pottery.

My next challenge: to make a set of anything but tumblers (I have enough of them).

Here are three of my favorite tumblers that aren't going anywhere. I still am amazed at times that I made these. Now onto read Three Cups of Tea.

Friday Mornings

I love Fridays! It's my day off, plus I get to read in my favorite chair and drink coffee and this is closeby.

Orange juice with soy protein mixed in this mug is the perfect beginning to a day. Yes, it is yummy, much better than meat (ugh!) as I eat little of that. A purchase from a recent sale. Thanks, Ron!

Treasures from the Kiln

Sunday night the kiln was unloaded and 23 pieces of mine came out and revealed their final colors. I was amazed at how some turned out and disappointed at a few. Here's one that I was happy to share and Becky immediately decided it had her name on it. Good news for me.

I'm thankful it found a great home. The spotted shino glaze on it was too thick. The pattern it created though is so unique and creative... What is one person's trash is another's treasure! Had some interesting results on the other ones. Here are some... Mostly tumblers. The shino glaze was too thick on some and the soda ash sprinkled on the outside of some didn't turn out. I liked this pic's angle. Now the fun adventure of finding new homes for these. I think I'll sell a few. Made a few bowls. Had some good variation. These are all glazed with shinos (spotted, rick's or gustin)... and sprinkled with a bit of soda ash.

The gas kiln was also loaded again tonight. So four more pieces are IN. Here's John taking a peek at the full shelves.

It was COLD, COLD, COLD as the kiln was being loaded and I wasn't even out there for most of the time. Scarves and hats were helpful. Julie, the studio manager has a great attention to detail and her key lime green clogs help too, I think. So, Friday at 2 pm, I'll see what the kiln brings... Here's what it looked like before the door was shut. Also got to see the 'candling' when the gas is turned on and begins to take the humidity out of the inside of the kiln. I was exhausted by this point in the evening, so it's hard to remember. Please correct me if needed. Pic is a bit blurry, but how neat!
Here's a final shot of some of my tumblers. The bigger white one (a utensil jar) in the center is for my mom. I'm pleased! :) Note to self: Always use the hydrometer in the glazes before applying them. I've decided that if I could make a living being a potter, I would. Maybe then, though it wouldn't be as fun though. I am considering selling some of these, so if interested, let me know. :) I'll post some individual pics of them soon. They really are treasures.

Editor's Note: Thanks to John for helping me out with correct terminology... :)

Part Three- The Studio and Wood Kiln

Can you tell I really enjoyed seeing the Baltimore Clayworks? Here are more pics from the gallery. I thought of Becky when I saw these birds. I like hers alot better.

I really like the texture on this wall hanging or whatever it's called. The artist is Kelly O'Briant.

Finally, here are some pictures of the studio. First, there was a wood kiln firing going on outside. Complete with wine and munchies, the stokers had signed up for shifts for the 20 hour firing, which was only 20 hours due to ordinances in the city or something like that.

This is the wood kiln in its entirety. Several were watching, helping, and busy stoking it. They said it was packed with pieces. It was closed with mud and newspaper in two chambers where the kiln was loaded.
Here's a look inside one of those holes that you can see in the pic above covered by a glove.
Then I took a self-guided tour of the studio. Here are two of the kilns inside. They were also rebuilding another kiln.

I loved this art in the women's bathroom.... wow! Such detail and color. I did not check the men's.....

Here's just part of the glaze chart... notice at the top left it also says 'first dip' and 'second dip'. It was beautiful! Some teaching space. It's a bit blurry. :( There was also resident artist space and the entire building was three levels.

A raku glaze chart. By enlarging this pic you can read the glaze names--- some interesting ones!Here's the wood kiln from a distance... it was also pouring outside too!

So, I've decided that if I move from Charlotte, I can only move to a place that has a clay studio. With that said, I'm just happy to stay here for a long while, though.

Part 2- The Gallery... continued

Here are some more of my favorite pics from the Baltimore Clayworks gallery.

Emily Murphy. The detail on these glazes is incredible. It was priced at $45, I think. Looks like glass was placed on the lid.

Jugs by Kevin Crowe...

More of his work. I really like the yunomi tumbler. Such simple pieces.

These are by Marlene Boyle and they are burnished with writing on them. The smallest ones were priced at $36. Never have seen anything like these. One had a Wendell Berry quote on it... Gotta go find the quote as I wrote it down somewhere.

More tomorrow... including pics of the Baltimore Clayworks studio.

Baltimore Clayworks Journey- Part 1

My short time at the Baltimore Clayworks this past Saturday was ABSOLUTELY inspiring and fantastic! Got lost on the way and finally made it to the gallery and then met some who were in the midst of a wood kiln firing. They invited me to look around inside at the studio. So, here are the pics.

First this is the fountain on the corner of the property. The gallery is across the street and the studio building is on this side. A closer look at the fountain. I've never seen anything like this before.

Inside the gallery there were two sections as part of the Winterfest 2008 exhibition. These first pieces could be purchased at any time in the gallery. Names of the artists are below each picture. These are the ones I was especially interested in. If I only had the $.
Matthew Hyleck

Pamela Theis. The white is porcelain. She's the guest artist for this exhibition.

Jim Dugan. I really like the shapes of these, especially the yunomi tumbler.

Some more Jim Dugan mugs.

Collette Smith. I like the glazes and designs on these.

Kevin Crowe. Another one of my favorites. These were huge. Such simple, natural, earthy designs.

Part 2 will have the ones on the other wing of the gallery. That's all for now.