It's As If It's Christmas on May 30

Second post of the day. The waiting is over! It felt like Christmas today to open the kiln. It always does. The suspense and wonder always is there for me as I anticipate what's inside.
Once the kiln cooled down to 180 degrees or so, the door was opened and we let it cool some more. More waiting..... (and picture taking!)

I continue to love hearing the ping ping of the pieces cooling down.
I'm excited. In this pic, you can see several of my yunomi.

Here are some close-ups. The variation in color is interesting. Same glazes (spotted shino and alfred's blue). The two on the bottom of this pic got less reduction (meaning, more oxygen stayed with them instead of escaping during the reduction time). I like the two on the bottom better; rich iron spots, but one can't control this. Actually, all of the pieces turned out great.

More rich shino colors. I'm at the point where I'm ready to try some different, new things with the surface design. I hope to take Greg's surface design class this summer and learn alot!

More yunomis on the kiln shelves.

This bowl of mine has great color. It's lighter in that spot because I sprinkled some soda ash onto the side of it. The tumbler looks good too; the alfred's blue can be dark blue sometimes.

The cone pack with a yunomi on the front, bottom right of the kiln shelf.

All these are mine. The variation in color on the one on the left is due to extra drips of spotted shino on the cup from when I dipped it.

Some of the yunomis have shades of purple on the rim. I really like that! It all just depends what the kiln gives.

Julie, the studio manager, has an upcoming exhibition at Lark & Key that opens this upcoming Friday and continuing through June 28. Some of the pieces from this firing will be in it.

Here's a bunch all together.

The tumblers aren't mine. The one in the way back is; it got less reduction and half of it is white. Unusual, because the pieces on the brick usually end up with lots of color. I'm confident though that this one will find a home somewhere.

My first jar!!

Two of Becky's birds 'kissed' three of Julie's pieces... all in a row. This was amazing! On the left in the back is one of the tiers for Julie's wedding cake too for her upcoming exhibition.
Here are Becky's birds... great colors.
All in all, quite a firing.

Can you see Julie BEHIND her wedding cakes? These are gorgeous. Come to Lark & Key if you are in the Charlotte area to see more of her work.

She wasn't hiding, only explaining more about the cake.

A sea of pottery! So, I had lots of pieces in the kiln. I'll take a few more close-up pictures soon. What an adventure life is in this pottery world.

Oh, and if you're in the Charlotte area, you'll be able to find these at an upcoming show.

Arts & Crafts at University Place.

Saturday June 13 (10 am- 8 pm)

Sunday June 14 (11 am- 5 pm)

Waiting and Days Ahead

I'm waiting for the pots to cool down while in the gas kiln so it can be unloaded. That'll happen this afternoon. :) So, during the waiting I've decided some things. First of all, this is a beautiful place to wait, on the swing outside in Davidson, where I live. Lunch today by the way was two kinds of spreads on multigrain bread, one of which has lavender in it. It's delicious, Linda. Check out her blog if you haven't already. She grows lavender and sells it, I think. Wow! Wish CA was adjacent to NC.

Okay, back to what I've decided. In addition to my show which is in mid-June (June 13-14; Arts and Crafts at University Place, Charlotte, NC), I also have a new job that begins in early July. With that said, I'm traveling in June before work starts.

My big news is that I'm traveling to Bolivia to see my extended family. My father's entire family is from Bolivia and it will be a joy to see them all. My grandparents are still alive in their 90's and they are among my favorite people in the world. I miss my whole family there LOTS, and it's been several years since I've visited. This will be INCREDIBLE! I will take pottery with me to share. Above is an ahuayo blanket, a traditional Bolivian blanket that is often used to carry babies on one's back or goods, or just about anything. My dad gave this to me recently and it has some traditional Bolivian symbols on it. While I'm in Bolivia, I'll learn much more about Bolivian symbols to use on my future pottery.

Ahuayos are sometimes more colorful. My favorite ones are the brown ones with detailed designs. I have several ahuayos, which makes sense because I am part Aymara. You can learn more about them here. (And they really aren't that expensive when you buy them there, even the older ones).

Well, I"m going to a place like the one above in August too for my annual visit to Holden Village. It's gorgeous there beyond words and it's fun to gather there during the Latino week, where everything is in Spanish. Hiking, delicious food, and dancing outside one night under the Cascade Mountains--- it is always incredible. I'll fly into Seattle and make sure to get some good Seattle coffee and visit Pike's Place Market. If I have time, I'll go to Bainbridge Island too, another one of my favorite places with some neat galleries!

Walked to the Davidson Farmer's Market this morning. Farmer's Markets are fun and many of the stands were sold out of what they brought. It was fun to talk with Susan who is beginning to sell some of her mugs there at her stand: Artisan Breads by Lucille, her daughter.

The baskets were empty! The Davidson Farmer's Market runs every Saturday morning during the summer and these breads are made with spelt and are organic. If you're anywhere near Davidson, NC stop by! It's so worth it.

A closer look at Susan's mugs, which are beautiful! Earthen red clay. My yunomi with coffee in it is on the bottom left.

Off to the studio to help unload the latest gas kiln firing!

While the Kiln is Firing

I made a new form. One of my aunts is interested in this one, so I took a pic of the one she had from Austria (I think that's right), and set it next to the wheel and made this. It still needs a bit of trimming at the bottom.

Then I decided to experiment and make two others. The one in the back is a vase in a sense, and is modeled after the small pic in Clary Illian's book on the bottom.... I'm working on bigger forms these days. After being away from the wheel, that takes time though. Precious time.

Meanwhile, I learned a bit about kiln firing. I need a kiln firing 101 course. Julie is a great teacher for starters though and here's the log she's been making. Firing started at 10 pm last night. I think the kiln will be shut off tonight at 9 pm or so. Reduction is early because there are shinos, I'm told. By 3:15 pm, Cone 012, 010, 06 and 1 have all fallen. Top temperature to reach is about 2300 degrees. I have MUCH more to learn about this.

The top number shows the actual temp. Bottom number is the maximum temp allowed, as a safety measure of sorts. It's still humid outside and there were some storms today, which provides a good atmosphere for kiln firings, I'm told.

Still tired. Gotta sleep.

Kiln unloading is Saturday afternoon. Can hardly wait.

Kiln Loading

Here it is..... the latest kiln loaded! How many of my yunomi teacups are in this pic? Answer at the end...

Let's back up a bit.... First, Julie, the studio manager, is the master kiln loader. She has a gift for finding the right spaces for pots. In this pic, my jar is in the middle right under her elbow.

As she was loading the kiln with other helpers nearby, I glazed two big bowls. Phoenix clay. Glazes: Spotted shino base with alfred's blue and tom's clear on top.

Here are two yunomi teacups that made it on the side. In the past, these ended up with GREAT colors. Time will tell this round....

There were so many pieces go in; I was amazed that all but a few made the cut and ended up inside.

Three, no four, no five of my yunomis. About 30 in all....There's a sale coming up on June 13 and 14 at University Place where these will hopefully find new homes.

Julie made a wedding cake. Here are several tiers of it. I wonder what flavor it is!

More yunomis.... with a bit of soda ash on them... Simple is good in my pottery world.

Finally at the end, candling began as Julie started up the kiln. In all, about thirty of my pieces made it into the kiln. Unloading is Saturday afternoon.

Answer to the question at the beginning of this post: At least ten. :)

Glazin' Glazin'

Glazed all these this afternoon and tonight. I have a bunch more to glaze for the gas kiln too, which will be loaded tomorrow night. All these are phoenix clay with spotted shino and accents and the rim dipped in alfred's blue. A few have some rick's shino on them in accents and some others have a few brushstrokes of red iron oxide wash too. Several have soda ash sprinkled onto the spotted shino.

I brought two of my yunomi teacups to cheer the others on as I glazed. Glazing is often tedious for me. The studio was busy, so this helped the time to go by faster.

Here's a bunch of them all lined up. Different forms and all....

They started off pretty boring-looking. In the left bottom of this pic you can see some of the tools I used: handmade brushes, a syringe, and soda ash.

Tonight was also class night. Ron did several demo's one being a plate which can be a tray when turned upside down. Good for appetizers.... He used a wire cutter to cut those indentations on the sides that can serve as handles.

Next, he made a cake stand, or whateve it's called. Notice the brand new apron, which was totally white at the beginning of the class.

Here he's trimming some of the outside of the cake stand. Jen Mecca's blog shows some other cake stands. Ron always has us thinking....

I left the studio with this vase. Is that what it's called... a vase? It's gorgeous. Artist: Jen Mecca. In the background you can see the big bird that Becky is working on too. Great night in all.

Glazing Tuesday

I'll be glazing a bunch of yunomi teacups on Tuesday. Base of them will be spotted shino. Any ideas for other colors to use? Lately, most have been glazed in spotted shino with alfred's blue on the rim. Have really liked the results those two glazes bring.
The gas kiln will be loaded on Wednesday evening. It's humid here, so the timing is great to fire up the kiln.
Oh, all of my pieces are made with cone 10 phoenix clay.

Back

It's wonderful to be back home which also means back in the studio.

There's a gas kiln loading on Wednesday night so this weekend, I had some time to get some pieces ready. I'd like for them to get into and out of the bisque kiln before Wednesday afternoon. Time will tell. They're not even dry yet..... so they may not make the cut. :(

I set these in one of the kilns that was still a bit warm from another unloading, all to help the pieces dry.

Of course, I didn't get as much done this weekend because of catching up with friends (sorry no pictures), which was way worth it.

I'm reminded that trying to get things to happen quickly in pottery is not helpful or a good thing. Looks like at least three in this pic will be ready for the bisque firing. It's humid outside, so it makes it harder for pieces to dry.

Gotta go rest. How I love the pottery world!

More tomorrow.

Away and Time at Signature Shop

So I was here today... briefly at the Signature Shop and Gallery in Atlanta, Ga. It was an interesting experience. I wish the gallery was at least twice as big. Lots of pieces; little space. Not all were marked with the artist's name. These pics aren't the best. Can you tell I need a new camera? I stayed only a short while as I was exhausted. Still fun to see so much work and some from artists that are familiar to me. Here are a few....

Peter Lenzo.

My favorite from Judith Duff's pieces.

More of Judith Duff's work. Gorgeous wood fired pieces. (Yes, I need to start a camera fund!)

On the TOP shelf of a display. Can you guess who? (answer at the end of the post). One of my favorite artists. I love the simplicity in these.

More teacups. My favorite form these days.

Great shapes and glazes. Keiko Coughlin, I think.

Becky, I remembered you when I saw these. Matt Kelleher. Pit-fired, I think.

Back in Charlotte, several pots have been paitently waiting on my shelf to be glazed. I've really missed being at the studio this past week while I've been in Atlanta.

Before I left, I etched some words into a print that Lily, my niece made. :) She's starting early as an artist, making her mark on the world. It'll be great to see how this turns out.
She had a little help. At times, she didn't seem to interested, but willing. Here's her mom, Vanessa and I. Lily looks quite happy through it all though.

Gosh, it's so good to be back.

Oh... and it's Warren MacKenzie whose work is on the top shelf. It was hard to see. :(