Kiln Time

Time seems to go by really fast these days. I also don't have internet access where I'm living so it makes posting on my blog really challenging. Anyway, here are some of the pieces I glazed on Wednesday evening, just before the kiln was loaded. More about that later in the post.

Susan and Becky were busy making all sorts of things. Susan's bowls were getting 'feet' added to them.... in this case....

webbed feet!

Nearby were some other feet waiting to find their new home on a different bowl.

Meanwhile, Julie loaded the back stack of the community kiln. It was a humid day with storms in the evening, which means EXCELLENT firing weather!

At the bottom of this pic, you can see my chalice in the center. I took most of the upcoming pictures to remind myself just where these pots of mine ended up in the kiln.

For this round of pots, I put granulated rutile and soda ash on most of them.

All were dipped in spotted shino as a base glaze and then some had alfred's blue glaze on the rim and also as an accent. These six yunomis made it into the kiln and most had some granulated rutile or soda ash sprinkled on them in various places. I learned quickly that for either of those to stick, they must be applied quickly!

These days, I love simplicity, so I'm experimenting with simple decorating. With this jar I did just that... and then-

did the same with the lid.

and then lastly, dipped some rick's shino on two sides of the jar. I'm interested to see how this one turns out...

Here's some of what was used to load the kiln... cone stacks, gosh I forget if they're really called that.

My jar ended up in the front stack on the left... right next to Becky's big goose. That is a good thing; good luck being next to her beautiful piece.

Some yunomis ended up on the left stack about halfway up.

Both on either side of this bowl.... I wonder how much reduction will take place... I learned that for good reduction to take place, it helps to stack the shelves at varying places to make it harder for the air to travel from one spot to another.

So, yunomis on the left side. This will be interesting to see how the pieces turn out...

Loading the kiln is like a puzzle. Greg was doing his best to put as many pots into the kiln as he could.

Kiln will be opened and unloaded on Sunday... Gosh, how I love the pottery world!

Birds in my Office

Second post of the day because.... some birds arrived in my office yesterday. Yes, it's true! They didn't cause any trouble though and quickly found their new home.

A bit hard to see at first, but at closer look.... How gorgeous! Check out Becky's blog to find more! Thanks, Becky.

Some More

Made some more pots this past weekend... and my first colander. I think this may have too many holes. Still it will serve its purpose, I think.

These pics are blurry... not sure why. Guess I need a camera 101 class. Still they show the kinds of yunomi forms I'm making.

The smaller one in the back is my favorite. I thought I had about 1 lb of clay and it turned out that the ball of clay was smaller. Yunomis continue to be my favorite form.

It was so good to be back at the wheel. How peaceful!

Gas kiln will be loaded and fired beginning on Wednesday evening. I don't think these will be ready in time as they're in the bisque kiln now, but I have a few others that will hopefully be included. How refreshing it is to have my hands in clay!

Some Favorites

First, my abuelos. My grandparents. Of course, pictures can never capture it all. How I love them! They are among my most favorite people on this earth.
My nieces, Marisol and Carolina. I remember holding them when they were babies. They are the daughters of one of my cousins, Luci. They remind me of God's joy.

My abuelos are Aymaran people. They grew up on the Altiplano, which is on the shores of Lake Titicaca, just outside La Paz, Bolivia, at an elevation of 12,500 feet. Their first language was Aymara which has this beautiful rhythm to it and lots of consonants! This means I am Aymaran also. They have taught me more than I can say. I miss them more than I can say.

I will never forget these girls and my family in Bolivia. How I wish they all were closer! Marisol is 11. Carolina is 10.

Here is my abuelo with my tio Enrique. Bolivians don't tend to smile for pictures, but abuelo was happy when he was talking with Tio Enrique in Aymara.

Marisol knew I am a potter and showed me this piece of pottery she made in school. It's a replica of an Incan piece as she is learning about her heritage and the indigenous people groups in Bolivia. More pictures later. This is a good start. Thankfully, God too remains there with them. Such holy days there.

Last Firing Pics

Here are some of my favorite pots. I made the one on the top left. The one of the right is from Tiwanaku, just outside La Paz, Bolivia. It has symbols etched onto it. One of those Incan symbols I used in some of the pots that came out of the gas kiln recently. The one on the bottom has been painted on... This post shows some of the pots from the last kiln load. I focused more on surface design. I've been so busy recently, adjusting to new work as a priest here in Charlotte, so that means less time.... :( . I am excited that I will get some time in the studio this weekend. :)

All these are phoenix clay with spotted shino glaze and also with some alfred's blue glaze. Some have spotted shino on them, such as this tumbler on the right.

The one on the left is handbuilt and half of it was dipped in Rick's Shino. The spiral was made with rick's shino and then sprinkled with granulated rutile.

On the one on the right, I used some wax resist. Also sprinkled some granulated rutile, soda ash, and also a few spots of alfred's blue on the spiral on the left which is the other side of the handbuilt cup.

The tumbler on the right has a good amount of soda ash showing. I like that.

Random thought: In the next post, I'll show a few pictures of family from my trip to Bolivia. :)

Only one yunomi in the last firing. I think that yunomis are still my favorite form to make. This one didn't have as much shino reduction color as I like... oh well! Still beautiful. Onto trip pictures....

A Few Kiln Pics

What follows are some pics taken as the kiln was cooling down earlier today. Wish I could have been there for the unloading... but that just didn't work out. The pictures only reflect part of the front stack of the kiln as it was still hot inside!
As I took these, I thought to myself...gosh, each firing is so different and unique.
This handbuilt piece was one of mine, just made a few days after I returned from Bolivia. I wanted to get back at the wheel then, but it was too early, so I made this pinchpot.
The tumbler is mine. I experimented with some new surface designs. This one has soda ash in the center of it. In the front of the pictures is Julie's plate and next to my tumbler is Ro's piece.
Another closeup of two tumblers.
One of Becky's birds at the bottom right of the front stack, next to Julie's pots. Can't see if the birds 'kissed' any of Julie's pots surrounding it, meaning where a roseish color ended up on Julie's pots.
The cones after many hours of hard work. These are indicators of the temperature in the kiln... one stack is usually placed at the bottom and another at the top. One of Becky's birds in the back watched the cones throughout the firing.
Will show some pics of the finished pots later. I'm pleased with them for the most part as I tried some new surface designs. More about why I chose what I chose later.
Oh, and I hope to post some about my recent trip this weekend. Gotta look through all those pics first!

Still ?

With all the change and busyness of life these days, I was wondering if I could still center a piece of clay and make something I liked.
Plus, I've been away from the wheel for at least two weeks....
It took a bit longer, but I was happy that I made this tonight. A yunomi in the making. Will trim it this weekend. This is a very good thing. Whew!
:) Plus, more to come.

Back in the Studio... Finally!

This past weekend marked my return to the studio after my long trip.
It always takes awhile to adjust to life back in the States.
We have running water that is safe to drink.
We have hot water coming out of the faucet.
We can wash our clothes quite easily.
We have lots of food that is safe to eat so closeby!
For these reasons and more, it always takes me awhile to adjust back to life here.
It was fun to return to the studio, talk with friends, and glaze a few pots in time for the gas kiln firing. The kiln was loaded tonight.
Above are three pots. The one with the blue rim is mine; the other two are from Bolivia. The tall one is from Tiwanaku, an old ruin located outside La Paz, Bolivia. I purchased it in Cochabamba, Bolivia though and the vendor says it was from Tiwanaku. Maybe it is not. At least it has that Bolivian look with lots of little traditional Incan symbols inscribed in it. Will do some research and a post about that later.
The small plate is typical of one that can be found in the artesania outdoor markets with the designs on it. I gave it to a friend at the studio.
Somehow, my pictures here in the U.S. are blurry. Maybe my camera doesn't like being back. :( Gotta figure that out.
This is another plate.. a saucer actually, that is from Bolivia. I like the symbols and painting on it.
Here's its match. The staircase symbols remind me of the Andean cross.
I finally had my first glass of wine about a week after I returned. Thanks, Becky! how thoughtful. Her pot on the right is a cave art one. Gorgeous!
I decided to branch out and try a little new glazing design. This swirly design is from that tall Bolivian piece from Tiwanaku. Will do some research later to find out what it means as I'm still quite tired now. Time and the kiln.... will show how these turn out.
Clay: Phoenix stoneware
Glaze: spotted shino with the rims dipped in alfred's blue. Accents in Alfred's blue. Some soda ash sprinkled onto the sides as well.
I used a little wax resist too on some, like the one in the center and on the left. These aren't my favorite forms, so I don't mind testing the surface design of them a bit. It'll be interesting to see how they turn out.
Saturday was a great one to be in the studio even though it was hot and humid. Gosh, time goes by fast once you enter Clayworks.