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.