Sister Creek Pottery

my wonderful new kitchen

2011-10-19T09:11:00.007-05:00

I've been holding off posting pictures of the kitchen--the special part of the new kitchen--till my pottery friends could see it live. They were here last night so here we go.

Besides the new cabinets and applicances--which we've known we must replace since we bought this house 4 years ago--the most exciting part is the 'backsplash' behind the range. My teacher, Diana Kersey, does wonderful architectural ceramic work. She has had contracts with the city to install her work on bridges here in San Antonio (see some of her work here.)

Welcome to my kitchen:

It is so hard to show the 3D effect.

And there is a bit of it over the sink.

In the photos the cabinets and counter tops look white but they are a pale yellow and the walls an old gold--perfect backdrop for the wonderful sunflowers Diana built.

My kitchen is now the happiest place to be in our home!

the function of bookcases

2011-10-18T16:51:00.007-05:00

We had the ceiling and one wall in the library painted. The painter came on Monday, said he could do the work that day. He had to patch and paint the ceiling and one wall. He finished on Tuesday at 4 pm. We are expecting friends over at 6:30! To get to the wall we needed to empty 2 bookcases so we could move them away from the wall.

We quickly stacked the books on the dining table.

On the buffet.

AND on the sofa.

Can you believe that those books all fit on the 2 bookcases? And if so, where did all those other books come from? And Jim wants to paint behind the white bookcases--where do we empty those shelves to?

Tomorrow pictures of the new kitchen!

the new kitchen

2011-09-27T08:38:00.006-05:00

It is all finished now except for the back splash--which will be very special--so there will be one more round of kitchen pictures!

After the counters were installed the kitchen had such an ethereal look--I loved it! But then I moved all my 'stuff' in and added handles to the cabinets and lost the ethereal look.

The shuttered area is a pass-through to the dining room. Door on the far right is a walk in pantry.

The colors don't show up very well. The cabinets are a very pale yellow--almost a parchment color. The walls are an old gold. The counters are almost exactly the same color as the cabinets--hard to believe they are so close. Counters are made of an acrylic material a little over an inch thick. It feels great to run your hand over the counters.

As you can see from comparing the before pictures to these we have not changed the layout of the kitchen. We did gut the whole kitchen--except the floors--so considered ways to make major changes. But in the end, we could not find a way to make major improvements. The refrigerator is too far from the sink and I really wanted to correct that but there just was not a satisfactory alternative. Taking out the wall oven opened up the look and feel of the kitchen a lot. The range has a double oven: small one on top and larger (turkey) oven below. I've only used the top oven so far and am really happy with it. I love having a gas range top.

The next pictures will be the back splash! Till then, off to the studio.

the old kitchen

2011-08-25T11:17:00.004-05:00

From the day we first toured the house we knew we wanted/needed to re-do it! I think the house was built in the '60s and I don't think anything had been done to it since that time. There was a live-in maid who may have done all the cooking--the homeowner/housewife was a professional (doctor or lawyer, can't remember) and a single parent for a time so she needed the help. But maybe if you are NOT the one in there everyday preparing the meals you don't much care about the kitchen. So here are some snapshots of it:

On the wall separating the kitchen and the dining room

Nice window over the sink.

Our refrigerator did not fit in the space allotted for it so we had to rip out the "kitchen office" area and put the refrigerator there. Another nice window on the end wall.

What you don't see except for a tiny piece of it is the wallpaper that was on the fur down over the range and over the sink areas. So happy to have that out!

Everything worked so that made it harder to make the commitment to tear it all out. But we did!

You have to wait to see the 'after' pictures until it is really finished! Currently the cabinets are installed and the walls painted. The range (gas, yeah) is in and fires! The refrigerator is in but not connected to the (new) water line. No counters yet--they come next Wednesday. Getting close--but close does not win in sports or war or kitchens! Stay tuned!

I've been working in the studio this morning but came in to greet the A/C repair man! Our A/C was not cooling yesterday afternoon--but by morning it was holding its own. None-the-less, we called for help--expecting 108° on Saturday. I don't think we've ever had temperatures that high as long as I've lived here (all my life.) I'll get a bite to eat then go back out and see how much I can get done before the studio gets too hot for me.

2011-08-24T16:43:00.003-05:00

I've had so many wonderful ceramic adventures this year: NCECA in March; Ron Philbeck's workshop featuring Doug Fintch and Hannah McAndrew in April; walking Austin's "Art of the Pot" in May; a great time with Tony Clennell when he returned to Texas in June; and this month I got to meet and attend John Britt's glaze chemistry workshop--a long wished for opportunity. So many stimulating experiences, I should be cranking out the work. But I'm not. It is HOT here and even with a small A/C unit in the garagio it is still way too hot around here--57 days OVER 100° already--and 110° predicted for Saturday. And, as announced earlier, we have a new grand baby! Sweet, beautiful baby girl, Caroline. Then to top it all off we are having the kitchen remodeled! What a time-sink and head-ache that is! Today is the 15th day without a kitchen--and we won't get the counters and sink in until a week from tomorrow.

Somewhere along the way I lost my steam. Tony had me fired up about making several compotes with different aspects to mix and match. I was excited about that--but the fire dwindled. I have glazed two and have one in need of glaze--but there is nothing exciting enough to photograph.

In spite of the heat, the workshop with John Britt last weekend was great. I came away with a long 'to-do' list for exploring a favorite glaze. I will do those…but will probably wait for a break in the weather. It is so bad here that we were wishing Irene would head our way--foolish, I know. I guess some of the North & South Carolina folk are wishing we had gotten our wish.

On a brighter note: the kitchen is looking great! I was overwhelmed by all the decisions I had to make--the hardest was paint color for the walls! I anxied over that for a week or two. I brought 5 different sample cans of wall paint home(each an independent trip to the paint store!) and had splotches all over the kitchen. I kept running out to beg to bring home the cabinet sample to hold up next to the newest test paint again! But now that the walls are painted and the cabinets are in I am convinced that I made the very best choice. Jim and I both are very pleased with the result. I am remembering watching (via her blog) Sandy Miller re-do her kitchen herself! It was amazing even then--more so now that I know more about what all is involved that we are having done for us!

Pray for rain.

the good grandmother

2011-06-30T20:25:00.004-05:00

NOT a studio day today--planning that for tomorrow!

This afternoon/evening our grandchildren, Reed and Jack, came for a visit while their mom and dad had dinner out. So here is a picture of the good grandmother:

That's me behind the camera with a glass of wine in her other hand! Seriously, Jim is a grand grandfather! He is wonderful with the boys--they bring out the best in him! Fun watching 'all the boys" at play!

These little guys are expecting a baby sister in August--though their mom is not sure she will make it till then! We are excited about the coming of this little girl. She will be the 5th grandchild and second girl since the very first grandchild, Lauren, 17 years ago. I always expected and wanted a daughter--I had 5 sons! Me who grew up in a house full of females! So Lauren was a very special delivery as will be this little girl. Not to disparage our three dear grandsons--what fun they are, what energy they have and what boundless enthusiasm!

not a studio day

2011-06-27T21:07:00.009-05:00

Jim and I spent today trying to define our wishes for the kitchen renovation. Lots of details to address--and agree on. Jim is really a champ. He has said that he wants me to have what I want in the new kitchen. He has said it over and over again--so I know he really means it. Yet he can't help bringing up points I have overlooked or not thought through very well or for which he has a better (different) idea. Of course, my first reaction is defensive. But usually he has observed something that I do need to consider or reconsider! I have gotten a bid for the cabinets from a 'big box' and we have contacted a custom cabinet maker to get a bid from also. So we have a pretty firm plan for the overall project.

Today we had Diana Kersey, my ceramics teacher, over to discuss having her do a ceramic 'back splash' on the wall behind the range--and maybe behind the sink too, if funds stretch that far. Diana does architectural ceramic work and has created some some wonderful work. Most recently she put up her first public work on a bridge here in San Antonio. We are really excited about having her create something great for our new kitchen. We did do our homework and had a proposal for the image theme for the work that I am very enthusiastic about.

I did go out to the studio for a little while today. I trimmed the 3rd bowl and played around with the 3 bowls on the the 4 pedestal bases. I'm trying to keep them moist so I can add more sprigs, attach bowls to bases and cover with slip. I shot a few photos but they were not great and will do better tomorrow or the next day. Diana asked to see the studio and I showed her my "Tony assignment" work. She had a good suggestion: she said I should measure the width of the bowls and compare to the width of the top of the bases and do the same for the height of the bowl compared to the height of the bowl. I was surprised when I was playing around with the various combinations that the shortest base looked really good with the bowls--which I never expected! I thought it was much too short to work with any of the bases. That was what prompted Diana's suggestion that I make those measurement comparisons. So a little addendum to Tony's assignments.

The photo does not do justice to the differences. Better later!

another day

2011-06-26T21:40:00.004-05:00

Another bowl.

And four bases.

And another 16 test tiles. I was hoping someone might have a suggestion for an easier way to produce 200 test tiles! Sixteen a day will take 11 days to make 200. And I'm sure I won't be able to be in the studio for 11 consecutive days. In fact, I've decided I need to dedicate 2 or 3 days a week to 'studio days' and try to honor that and let the other 4 or 5 days be 'family' days. It does not work to go out for a short time. When I get back things have 'over dried' and have to be recycled. So planning on a couple studio days with no work 'left over' for later is how I need to think about it. The other days I need to focus on family and household activities.

I was touched by Jen Mecca's post today. She is a strong lady to be able to meet her children's special needs, enjoy family life and still make time to pursue her art. Lovely lady, lovely art!

progress

2011-06-25T19:56:00.004-05:00

"Sometimes our flame goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being." - Albert Schweitzer

Wednesday and Thursday were devoted to helping Kenny get a new TV and getting it installed and running. Nothing of that was simple or easy! Seemed like we do one part and get it running only to have another problem pop up. Finally after a second visit from our "Time Warner" repair guy today all is well and Kenny has a big smile on his face!

Friday I had a doctor's appointment and then went downtown to get clay (low fire, red) and look for a die to make test tiles from my extruder. No die.

And each afternoon through yesterday, Lauren (my granddaughter) came over for help making her little-bitty bikini!

Yesterday I tried to figure out how I would make 200 test tiles....And I threw 2 compote bowls (4 pounds each). I let the rims get too dry while having supper so I covered with a wet cloth and plastic.

Today they were ready to put sprigs on. I put sprigs on the inside and outside. On one bowl I put sprigs in 5 spots on the rim, on the other I put them in 3 spots. This afternoon I trimmed the bottoms.

I pushed the sprig spots in a bit on the 3-sprig piece--but because it was already so dry I did not push it too far!

I also made 16 test tiles. It might faster and easier to throw them but I am extruding a 2 3/4" wide strip of clay, cutting into 5 1/2" lengths. Cutting out a wedge of the clay at the 3" mark, rolling a MKM design across the upper portion of the piece, then folding at that cut part to make an 'L'. I am marking each piece with "LR" (for Longhorn Red clay) and GJ. (I'm marking the tiles because I will also make some in ^6.)

Tomorrow I plan to throw the bases for these 2 compotes; make another set of tiles; and, maybe make a couple more compote bowls.

I have not mixed up the glaze tests yet, nor the slip.

assignments

2011-06-22T10:09:00.005-05:00

On my way out to the studio, but first I want to respond to Ron's comment (uh oh, that is how it all goes bad, "before I go out to the studio I will…" But I WILL go out as soon as I finish this short post! : )

Tony is studying low fire these days. They may move into an urban setting for their retirement years and that precludes wood firing! And he says he is becoming attracted to the glazes and color opportunities of low fire. So we did a lot of looking at earthenware pieces in the Asian collection. I've been doing a bit of earthenware work lately (focused on baking pieces for my own kitchen) but thinking I'd get back into ^6 soon. After the visits with Tony I'm thinking of doing a bit more investigation of the low-fire work.

Of my work that is around the house Tony was most attracted to and complimentary of this piece:

So he outlined some explorations for me to pursue based on it. This was done in ^6 but he is suggesting I work in ^04 for now. First assignment was to make the same bowl--same size--but change the height of the pedestal base: taller, shorter. Make 5 of these variations.

Then he suggested playing around with the placement of the sprigs:

The split rim should be opened up more. Then try sprigs on the outside also; then only on the outside; then push the rim in toward the center at the sprig points to form a scalloped or flower shape.

The same changes with the sprigs on the base. But also try putting the sprigs high up on the pedestal, not at the base.

He also gave me some glazes to test and he proposed that I cover the test bowls with white slip and then 'load' the sprigs with colored glaze that runs down the inside of the bowl, same idea with the sprigs placed high on the pedestal.

Well, that is the short version of my assignment list! So I'm off to the studio to get started--I picked up another box of low fire clay yesterday so I'm ready to get to work.

Note: Apologies for the poor quality photos. I'm using my iPhone for these--not wanting to take the time to get out a real camera and set up for better photos. Sorry.

AWOL

2011-06-21T20:14:00.002-05:00

That's me--Absent With Out Leave. For a long time. Lots of quilt feelings. I'm going to give it another try at becoming again a regular blogger.

For some reason, unknown to me, I've not been potting. So if I'm not potting what is there to blog about? But I want to pot (and blog) but just can't make myself get out to the studio and stay there long enough to accomplish any work. I've tried all the tried and try 'tricks' to get back to work: clean the studio; look through all my wonderful ceramic books; visit our wonderful museum's collection of Asian ceramics. I have also availed myself of wonderfully stimulating events: NCECA in Tampa Bay, Florida with my friend Rachelle, which is very stimulating; then I went to Shelby, NC, to meet Ron Philbeck, Doug Fintch, and Hannah MacAndrews--long time blogging buddies who I loved getting to meet (and see their secrets demonstrated); and this last weekend I attended a workshop with Tony Clennell. These were all wonderful experiences. But they did not lead me back to the studio. But I think I have finally found the key back to the studio.

At the workshop Tony shared an analysis of the work of several of the students. He used those pieces to help us see the strengths and weaknesses of the pieces and how to make them more successful. This was a powerful lesson--and very stimulating. Later, when he talked about my pieces, he also suggested some exercises I might do to improve my work. He gave me quite a list of things to do! I have prepared a list of the work he assigned me and I intend to begin tomorrow working through that list! So I have a direction and a challenge!

While Tony was in town I arranged for us to visit the studio of my teacher, Diana Kersey, and to see a wonderful 'public works' project she had just installed on the bridge on Mulberry. It was a real treat for Tony and me to see her work and hear her description of the process she followed to make the work.

The next post will report my success in getting on to the path Tony laid out for me to lead me back into my ceramic work--or there will be no more posts. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

2011-04-07T17:52:00.003-05:00

Well, guess the first thing is to say "Hi, there" to anyone who might drop by after my 2 month silence. I'm still wondering why I've been avoiding my blog. It was such a pleasure once. But now it feels like an unpleasant obligation. I've dreamed up lots of possible explanations: I'm dispirited, I have no studio work to discuss, I've become self-conscious about the hubris of having this blog in the first place.

I daily read the blogs of friends I have made through the blog world--so I feel like I am still in touch with them. But…I'm not!

So, whats going on? I went to NCECA--don't deserve it, I know, but I hope that it lights a fire under me! I did really enjoy it. I had not considered going until I got an invitation I could not refuse: my roommate from a former NCECA wrote and invited me to join her for NCECA. I had not seen her since that trip and could not resist the chance to be with her again. So off I went. And it was great. So many pots! Such wonderful exhibits. Pete Pinnell's talk was a treat. La Mesa is always very special--Santa Fe Clay does an incredible job putting that together each year. And I really enjoyed the exhibition at the Craft House--my kind of pottery. It does seem that 'sculptural ceramics' is eclipsing 'functional pottery' these days. Sculptural = art, functional = craft. Well, that is my own personal observation/opinion.

A favorite piece from La Mesa is by Betsy Williams of New Mexico:

Isn't that lovely!

I have spent a bit of time in the studio since my return--but no great news from there yet.

Today I spent the couple hours it took to watch the video that Brandon Phillips posted a link to today: panel discussion of Michael Simon's show there at U of Minnesota. I felt properly chastised for not putting in my studio time!

I think my BIG block is glazing. I could sit and throw bowls all day, all week. Or hand build little Japanese hermit huts. But then when I think of how to decorate/glaze I freeze up. I think this is partially the result of going off in two directions: low-fire earthenware and ^6 stoneware. I had done a lot of glaze testing at ^6 but now it has been almost a year since I've done anything with those glazes. Since then I've been working with earthenware and making minimal tests of glazes and terra sigillata. Feeling very insecure in both areas now.

baby steps

2011-02-02T18:30:00.004-06:00

Thanks for the comments and encouragement! I'm enjoying dipping my toe into the studio these days even if only for little bits of time. The videos help me over the hump of returning to the studio and facing the "what do I do now" questions! Yesterday I talked Kenny into giving me an old belt of his that is nicely woven, making great impressions in the clay--as demonstrated by Sandi on her DVD. I used it to make a band to go around the rim of a box I'm making.

The box (for my recipes) will be a bit of a sampler. Each side is impressed with a different texture design. Have not yet decided if I will paint with colored slips before I bisque it. Or I may just cover with a colored glaze (^04) to see the reaction to the texture.

We are not experiencing the snow and wet freezing conditions that so much of the country is suffering right now but it IS cold here. The low last night was 18 degrees and the high today was in the low 20s--that is COLD for us! It is expected to stay like that for the next 3 or 4 days--we may even get a bit of snow tonight. Significant for me because when I went out to the studio today--after keeping heaters running over night--it was too cold to stay out there. Stimulated by Judy's most recent posts, I brought in my watercolors and rice paper and spent a while practicing my brush work. I am too tight, really want to have those graceful, loose strokes that I so admire--but not there yet.

bits and pieces

2011-01-30T15:52:00.006-06:00

During the holidays I treated myself to two new DVDs: Nan Rothwell's Throwing demonstrations and Sandi Pierantozzi's Slab and Texture work. Both are very inspiring--they each do such wonderful work and so different! It has inspired me to get started back in the studio a bit. Supporting that urge, the weather here has been wonderful--today it got up to the height 70s--so it is not daunting to be out in a cold studio!

This week I started by impressing some slabs with texture--some just to fire and use in the future for texture sources, and some on a small pitcher and others on a recipe box I'm trying to make for my collection. I'm not crazy about slab work--even with a slab roller--it just seems so boring. But adding texture as I go makes it more fun and more interesting.

This little pitcher began as a slab that I impressed texture on, then rounded into a cylinder and pinched the tripod feet. In the past I had thrown baseless cylinders the pinched the tripod feet onto. Not sure which I like to do better but I do like getting to impress texture on the slabs.

Last year I make a jug from a video that Nan Rothwell demonstrated on her web page. The jug (she made a pitcher, I made an amphora) was one of the more popular pieces I made all year! And I've intended to make another ever since. So now I have thrown one and I want to do another before I bisque the first so I can work on them both.

In the category of failed projects--and serious discouragements--is a pierced pot I was working on. I worked on it over an extended period of time so was keeping it covered and moist. One evening I over wetting it so that in the morning, when I first touched it, half the pot fell apart. I want to get another started before I totally loose touch with the impulse. This the end phase of that sad tale.

now, after the holidays

2011-01-17T12:27:00.007-06:00

We've had a longer holiday season than most. Ours began with the celebration of Kenny's 50th birthday the week before Thanksgiving. Then there came Thanksgiving and then Christmas and finally my 74th birthday celebrated last Monday with a visit from my sister Catherine and her husband Wayne who live in Maine. Tomorrow Catherine returns home to Kennebunkport and I plan to be in the studio for the first time since these holidays began so long ago!

I have not touched clay in so long it will be like starting all over. And I am really not sure where or how to begin again. I've spent a lot of time before this break working with earthenware clay but I think I am about to return to my BlackJack clay which I fire to ^6. It is sold as a ^6 to ^10 clay--which I know does not exist! I have considered firing it a little higher--it is not vitrified at ^6 and vases do weep if left standing with water for a length of time. But to change the firing temperature will also require adjusting the glazes I've used--or be willing to accept the change the higher temperature will cause in the glazes. Actually, my vases weep that were fired to ^10 at the craft center when I was taking classes there. So maybe I should just give up making vases! I am not satisfied with what I've been able to do painting designs on my pots and that might be best done in the majolica style--which is low fire again. I think I need to satisfy that quest before moving on. So you see I'm not at all clear about what I am going to do nor what I want to do.

The most exciting thing in my ceramics life right now is a new book I bought for myself--as a birthday present.

I heard Robert Piepenburg speak at NCECA several years ago and was very moved by his presentation. I have another book he wrote--a very small book that left me wanting more. When I saw the ad for this new book I was very eager to get it. Because it was written by him but also because I've been wishing for some instruction about 'ceramic design'. I expected this to be something of a 'how-to' book, but it isn't. I'm half way through reading it and have just come to the discussion of the 'elements of design'. The book is very inspirational, just as his talk was years ago. For me, it is a treasure. But it has not been easy reading. He is dealing with intangibles: design, spirit, and love. The essentials of life and art. But not easy to define and I have to re-read parts to be sure I am understanding his words in the way he is using them. It does make me eager to get back into the studio and see how reading the book may affect what I do with the clay.

When Jim and I were in Oaxaca for my niece's wedding last August we saw a rug/tapestry on the wall of a small shop and fell in love with it. After much discussion, consideration, and some haggling we bought the rug. Not until this January did we manage to get it up on the wall. We are delighted.

And so my new year begins!

Christmas came early

2010-12-10T15:24:00.007-06:00

Oh, my gosh! Santa (in the form of 2 very dear friends) really did it up BIG this year.

One of my favorite blogging friends had me on her 'generosity' list--and she went overboard in the generosity department:

Isn't it the most wonderful piece? It sits on the window sill in our kitchen so that each time I'm washing dishes I see it, smile, think of Tracey and find myself in a quiet, peaceful place. What a gift! It takes me back to my mother's hometown in East Texas--the place I love most in the world. Don't know that I ever saw a house like this there but it comes from there. Thanks, Tracey.

Today I got an email from another friend telling me that he had made the ceramic easel I was describing (and wishing for) at his house last Saturday. I wanted something that would hold a pot--greenware or bisqued--at an angle so I could paint a design on it comfortably--without having to stand on my head to get to it or destroy it by mishandling. A few years ago I had seen a photo, with measurements, of a ceramic easel made by Scott Creek once long ago but no longer available. I had printed out the information because I thought I might want one someday. So my dear friend Herb looked at the photos and made a version of it for me. What a friend! My husband had said he'd make it for me--but that was not going to really happen! So here is the easel holding a cylindrical pot covered with a celadon slip that I plan to paint on.

The height of the pot holder can be adjusted, as can the angle that the pot is held. How cool is that? I really have not been that good of a girl this year! But Santa sure has been nice to me.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

finally, out of the kiln

2010-11-14T09:16:00.014-06:00

For taking such a long time to produce anything, I have very little to show. It was a very light load because after waiting so long to get this far I did not want to wait longer to get a full load. I was trying to move into a new direction with the earthenware clay. I got started with it to make some bake ware--some glazed or partially glazed, some with no glaze at all. I've liked using these pots and like the earthenware clay for its ease of throwing and the shorter firing time. But now I want to do some glazed work and some work that I can decorate with some painting. And that is the scary part. I'm not an artist, have never painted anything but want to! So here I am going in too many new directions--testing new glazes, learning to paint what and how I dream of doing it. Too much. So I've been frozen mid-stream.

So here are the first tests. As I told Jim, "Well, its not a disaster, but there are lots of lessons."

On several pieces I had applied slip before the bisque and then painted a design--some with Mason stain mixed with frit and gerstley borate after the bisque, others with colored slip before the bisque. I was also testing clear glazes.

These were slipped, bisqued and then painted with the Mason stain mixture.

On the left the clear glaze had a dulling effect, not so glossy and a bit buff tinted. On the right the glaze is clearer and more glossy. Slip was very coarse after the bisque. My friend said it was the brush I applied the slip with. It did not smooth out under the glaze though the one on the right is a bit smoother. I was using Pete Pennell's slip--I think I need to try to smooth it out somehow before applying it. Both are shallow bowls about 8" across the rim (they are the same size though the photos do not show that).

I was also testing 2 Majolica glazes and working on those. The biggest surprise was this plate:

I would not have been surprised if the RED pointsettia's had come out pink...but GREY?

The yellow chrysthanthemums came out as expected.

I painted the Majolica on the underside and sprayed it on the topside. The undersides are streaked, pinholed and have runs. The sprayed surface did well. (The pointsettia plate is 10" across, the chrysthanthemum plate is 11" across.)

But the biggest surprise was the second (white) Majolica glaze--though it is no reflection on the glaze. There are two of these little plates (8" across) and both reacted the same to the Majolica glaze.

The cause of this freakish reaction to the Majolica glaze was that I had covered these little plates with terra sig before the bisque firing--but did not see that when I was glazing. I guess the terra sig just ate up the Majolica glaze! There is a faint cloud left behind--and it did craze. Wish I had a photo of the expression on my face with I first picked these up out of the kiln! So I have to do another test of the second Majolica glaze.

The test tiles all have the Pete Pinnell slip. Two had been painted before the bisque firing (top). Two were painted after the bisque (bottom). One was painted with colored slips (Rhodes on right) and the others with the Mason stain mixtures. Because I was trying for a very thin coat of clear glaze the rough texture of the slip is very evident.

So lots of lessons--learned and to be learned.

PS Apologies for the photos--all taken with my cell phone because I would not take the time to set up for photos and get out a 'real' camera this morning! Nothing worth a great photo anyway!

yes!

2010-11-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

"Inspiration is for amateurs.

The rest of us go to the studio and just get on with it."

Chuck Close

(Thanks, Chris!)

Have a Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T10:47:00.002-05:00

From Kenny

wow, two months

2010-10-28T19:17:00.003-05:00

I can't believe (don't want it to be true) that it has been two months since I last posted to my blog. I've anguished over that a lot. But the anguish has not stimulated me to correct that extended absence. I'm really having to push myself to try to make amends now. I have taken a little comfort from how many of my favorite blogging friends seem to be in a similar muddle.

So, what's been going on? It's so hard to figure that out. Part of the problem is that I have put myself out on a limb and don't know how to get back to solid ground. I got into working with earthenware very innocently. I did not intend to CHANGE to earthenware. I just wanted to make some pots for me to use in my explorations of "slow cooking". So I picked up a box of earthenware clay and made a few pots. I loved working with that clay. And I loved all the pots I had to cook in and how great they worked for me in the kitchen. Then I mixed up a batch of terra siglata and that was a challenge because of my insecurity delving into a new area but it came out great. I had taken a class in Majolica a while ago so I got back into that. Meanwhile I was buying more boxes of earthenware clay. Last January I signed up for a class in "Asian Art" something I've long be interested in and wished to be able to apply to ceramic work. So, now while delving into so many unknowns, I want to put some of my Asian art on my pots...but how? So when I go out to the studio I am faced with more unknowns than confidence. And that is NOT something I want to write to the world about! Once, long ago, Emily Murphy wrote about my blog that I wrote about 'the problems as well as the successes'. But I'm embarrassed to write over and over again about the problems and insecurities. So, it's been two months since my last post.

I am about to load the kiln with a bunch of experiments. Using slips for the first time, variations with terra sig, trying my hand with my "Asian Art" work, testing clear glazes on the earthenware clay and testing some ideas on a couple majolica glazes. Surely SOMETHING with be successful!

This bowl is waiting for application of a clear glaze (yet untested).

big day with books

2010-09-02T19:14:00.003-05:00

Today I got my copy of this book I ordered a while back and have been looking forward to receiving. I am wanting to get into doing some slip work on my earthenware pottery and thought this might offer the help I was wanting. But the BIG SURPRISE and SPECIAL TREAT was finding two of my blogging friends featured in the book: RON PHILBECK and DOUG FITCH! How much fun is that! I have enjoyed exchanging notes with Ron and Doug for several years in and outside our blogs. I am so thrilled for each of them.

Another book that I am enjoying and which Jim (my husband) is also excited about is "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" which was suggested to me by Ron sometime back. It is not an easy read but a very stimulating one.

birthing a pot

2010-08-23T10:31:00.003-05:00

On Clayart I read a quote of Hamada (from Susan Peterson's book "Hamada") that really spoke to me. "Great pots are not made, they are born." Wow. I'm going out to the studio now to recycle the pots made by me and see if I can assist in the birth of a great pot! That does sound like I'm setting myself up for a sure-fire disappointment! But that's what I'm gonna do!

Travel/family pictures

2010-08-21T16:14:00.002-05:00

On the right, under special links, I've added a link to my mobile me gallery where I have posted pictures from my trip to Spain and now from my neice's wedding in Oaxaca.

finally in the studio, then what

2010-08-20T10:44:00.005-05:00

Seems that when I've been out of the studio for a while it is hard to get back in the groove. Usually I can't even come up with a project/plan. So just start throwing to warm up. I prepared 4 balls of clay and threw 4 small bowls--good warm up. But then what? Three of them were the same size/shape, really! The fourth a tiny bit larger. So, having just seen a video of this, I pinched the three together and added a handle--another version of condiment server.

The fourth just got a handle to match.

They are small, that is a 7 inch ruler.

I am reminded of something I read in the comments section of Michael Kline's blog today:

Norm Schulman changed my life in one sentence, "So much pottery, so little poetry."

Sometimes I make a piece that speaks to me like poetry--but that is few and far between! Thinking about poetry in pottery, I feel that way about my pagoda and Tracey's barns. Yet what I make is functional table ware. Can't think of a piece of my functional work that said poetry to me--well maybe a piece or two. : )

the Mexican connection

2010-08-14T16:02:00.006-05:00

We've just returned from a most fantastic experience in Mexico. My niece, who grew up in Maine, just married a young man from Mexico. Currently they are living in Madrid--she was our divine hostess in Madrid last March. Joel was born and grew up in Mexico City but his parents and extended family are from a village outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. Emily and Joel chose to have a traditional Oaxacan wedding in the family's home village of San Antonino, about an hours drive outside of Oaxaca. It was such a treat to be part of their very traditional peasant-style wedding. The wedding was in the courtyard of the home of Joel's aunt. We left the hotel in Oaxaca at 6:30 am and most of the group did not return to the hotel until around 11:00 pm (a few of us fell by the wayside mid-afternoon.) Every minute of the day was orchestrated to follow the traditional wedding-ceremony format.

Emily wore the traditional Oaxacan wedding dress that many of us have bought over the years to bring home because of the beauty of the embroidered dresses--though ours were embroidered in bright colors whereas Emily's was all white. My son, Justin, took wonderful pictures but I don't have them yet--this I took with my iPhone! Two of my four sons went to the wedding also. Besides being part of such a unique (to us) experience it was so much fun being there with my sister and her family who live in Maine and my sister who lives here. An unusual get together of us all.

I may write more about this lovely event when I get Justin's pictures--or not. Probably depending on how soon I get back into the studio and have some pots to write about!

out of the kiln

2010-07-26T16:40:00.004-05:00

The firing went well. I was disappointed in the glaze cover--as I expected to be. It was just too thin a coat which has become standard operating procedure for me. I gotta figure it out. I might refire--it worked last time. In the meantime, they don't look bad--just not what I wanted.

The inside, which I poured and used the white majolica glaze, is fine. I sprayed the outside. I could see that the coat was too thin, yet it had begun running down the sides (which you can see on the little bowl on the tray) and I did not want that. I am missing something!

a very tardy post

2010-07-22T18:09:00.006-05:00

My work is so sporadic I don't have much to write about. But here I am, rather horrified to see that I have not posted in over a month and a half. Mea Copa.

I have done a little potting. And was pleased that I would have something to share with my friends who share accomplishments on an occasional basis. But that was jumping the gun. My bisque firing ended before completing the schedule. The breaker tripped. I have not yet determined the cause--am going to try re-firing before calling in the professionals to sniff out the problem. (I have relatively new elements, relays, and breaker!) Here are some of the things I was hoping to get bisqued and then glaze fired this week.

The idea was to make a 'set of things'. I was thinking of a Condiments Tray.

Then I thought well, not all the condiments need a covered pot, some want an open bowl.

Some may even want a pitcher for pouring...

So the 'set' is 9 pieces in all. I am enjoying them now--fearing that I will be disappointed once they are glazed.
These are all low-fire earthenware clay. I put terra sig on the bottoms and inside the lids and on the galleries. I want to glaze the rest of the pots. And that is another bump in the road. I have not developed glazes for low-fire but now I need some tested glazes to use. Oh, heck, if it is not one thing, it is another.

I have been really enjoying cooking in the earthen-ware pieces I made earlier in the spring. I have searched out recipes that require long, slow cooking in the oven. I love pulling my lovely pots out of the oven and putting them on the table after the long, slow bake. Joy! One of the first things I 'learned' when I got into my first pottery classes was that the women there did not cook dinner daily. Took me a while but over the years I had pretty much incorporated that philosophy into my daily practice. This spring i began trying to break out of that 'entitlement'. Have not worked my way back to daily hot dinners--but I'm doing better. And Jim has taken up the slack so we share in the food-responsibility department. Nice! Our fig tree is producing LOTS of figs! When we bought the house 2 years ago I was thrilled that there was a big fig tree in the back. Imagine how disappointed I was last year when there was ONE fig on the tree--for the whole season. This year, after record rains here, we have a bumper crop--we bring in a dozen or more figs each day--discounting the ones that the critters beat us to! So, I've been making fig preserves, just like my mom did! Yum!

And I've been reading a lot. Got back into the habit of ending the day with a book in my hand before falling off to sleep during my trip to Spain. I have read some wonderful books lately. One of the most inspiring, ceramics wise, is "Following the The Rhythms of Life: The Ceramic Art of David Shaner". A book I ordered on line after reading a mention of it in Clayart. I feel like I just met a wonderful person whom I'd love to know better.

happy face!

2010-06-01T09:20:00.002-05:00

It worked! Looks great--no problems detected.

risking it all

2010-05-31T18:27:00.006-05:00

I fired the little cazuelas, covered baking dish and deep pie plate. These are pieces that I had applied terra sig to the outside but left the inside surface plain because I wanted glaze there. Since I have not been working in low-fire except for the Majolica class I took a couple years ago, I don't have known/tested glazes. I wanted yellow--or really old gold--inside the pots. So I whipped up a glaze that called for yellow stain and went for it!
However the yellow glaze was not at all yellow after I mixed it up--more like flesh colored. I know about how the colors are not true--wet to fired--but I thought that using 10% yellow stain it would look yellow. I don't have a small test kiln and I'm not intending to stick with earthenware clay so I was not wanting to wait for a test run.
Here is the glaze after it was mixed and had sat around for a couple days:

That was risk #1.

I was delighted with the color I got. But very disappointed in the (my) glaze application. I had sprayed the glaze inside the pots but it was too thin. The rough texture (gritty) of the clay came through the thin coat of glaze and in some places it was so uneven that a thin area was next to a thick area. Very unsatisfactory.

So risk #2.
Today I reglazed all the pots--with the same glaze--and they are now firing for the 3rd time--counting the bisque firing as the first. Some good clayarter (forgot his name) suggested a way to get the glaze to stick to the slick surface of an already glazed pot was to heat the pots to about 400° before spraying a second layer of glaze onto the pots. So that is what I did. I heated the pots in the turkey roaster (that is stored in the studio) to 400° and took them out one by one, put into the spray booth and sprayed on a second coat. Hmmmm...we'll see what tomorrow brings!

earthenware clay

2010-05-17T10:48:00.008-05:00

I had just wanted to make a couple baking pieces out of earthenware clay to try out in my kitchen (I've been bit by the "Slow Cooking" bug.) Just a couple pieces. But then there was another something I wanted. And then when I was in Spain I fell in love with all the wonderful terracotta cooking ware there. Of course I could not bring all that I wanted home--did bring a couple pieces!! But came home wanting to make some of the things I had seen in Spain. So another bag of earthen red clay, and then another. And of course that got me into terra siglata.
Over the weekend I divided up the last of my red clay into 10 pieces and made 10 small cazuelas.

They are currently (not yet dry) about 6 3/8" across and 1 78" deep. Sorry I did not have enough clay to make a dozen as my sister also wanted some of these little cazuelas--she'll get some of these but not as many as she was wishing for. So I may not have come to the end of my earthen-ware-clay days yet!
Some of the pieces I made earlier: A casserole--still drying.
And these that have been bisqued:
French butter keeper.

A small tagine with terra sig.

A baking dish with terra sig.

friends and mentors...via web

2010-04-20T09:19:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking I should close my blog since I have been so unfaithful to posting...but it is my passport to such a great country! I don't know exactly why I began this blog. I was keeping a journal of my work in the studio and it seemed more interesting to put it into a blog. Through it I've met some of the grandest people--potters, all. I'd never have known them except through my blog and theirs. That has made it--blogging--a real treasure for me. Beside the pleasure of these friendships, the help and stimulus they've given so freely has been tremendously valuable.

Today a blogging friend, Linda Starr, wrote about receiving the "Silver Lining Award" which she was passing on to some of her blogging friends and asked us to pass it on to our silver liners. So that is the impulse behind this post. [When I opened this post and put in the title--which would be 'friends'--from somewhere else, "and mentors...via web" was added without my participation. At first I erased the extra words but then I realized that was exactly what I was intending to post about. Still don't know where the extra came from. PS I just discovered that I had used that title in August '09--so it was remembering what I did not remember! Not so unusual around here at home!]

I met Linda first through some comments she added to my blog and stimulated me to look at her blog which led to following her and her husband's motor-home trip across the southern US looking for a new home--which they found in Florida. What brave souls they must be! I loved reading about her potting experiences during that journey! Had even hoped to meet them as they drove through San Antonio but weather and circumstances denied us that encounter.

I think my first blogging friend was Ron Philbeck. His was the first blog I found and followed when I discovered there were blogging potters. I suppose we made contact through comments on his posts. I loved his work and how he wrote about what he was doing. I remember seeing pictures of him pouring glaze over plates and platters ala Japanese pottery style and then reading about his drawing explorations in his journal--long before they appeared on his pottery. Ron has always been so supportive and generous of my struggles. He is a real friend that I'd love to meet for real!

Through Ron I met three English friends that I'd love to meet someday outside of my daily readings in their blogs: Doug Fitch, an incredibly hard working potter who, like Ron, takes the time to maintain a steady flow of blogging in spite of a very busy schedule. Another Englishman I followed regularly, Andrew Douglas, seems to have given up on his blogging--though I keep checking to see if it might just be a snag in the system. And through Ron I encountered Hannah McAndrew who might be the brightest blogger around--bright in the sense of sunny, cheerful. Ron, Doug and Hannah are all 'slipware' potters from whom I've learned about that long and rich tradition.

Two other bloggers that I consider real friends and mentors are Tracey Broome and Judy Shreve. I've not met either but feel as if they are real friends--like next door neighbors that you can run to for an extra cup of flour when needed! And each has always generously responded when I've asked for a bit of help.

I have a long list of blogs that I read most every day and am enriched by so doing. But these few mentioned I consider very special friends. You know the old saw, "If you could have dinner with anyone from any place or any time, who would you choose?" Well, these folk are ones I'd want to be sitting with if only I could!

in Madrid

2010-03-27T14:06:00.006-05:00

We had a fabulous location for our home base. Emily had found a "studio" apartment for us to rent for the 2 weeks of our visit. Besides being right next to her office--so she could drop in with croissants each morning, we could meet her for lunch and take off from there after her work was ended--it was in the most incredible location for our tourist wanderings. We were in walking distance (did I tell you we walked 1000s of miles?) of 3 great museums: the Prado, Museo Reina Sofia, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, the train station, a hard working everyday market, the fabulous new Mercado San Miguel, and Plaza Mayor (below).

There is no way to describe the collection at the Prado--everything for everyone. We spent one day there mostly focused on Goya--seemed a good idea to have a focus because there was no way to take it all in. The Reina Sofia had a wonderful collection of the great Spanish painters--Picasso, Miro, Salvador Dali, Jean DuBuffet, and, new to me, Lucio Fontana. I was very surprised to see some art work by the poet Fernando Garcia Lorca. The work of Dubuffet and, to a greater extent, that of Fontana (see a piece of his work below) were stimulating to me in relation to my ceramic work--I look forward to seeing how that might find expressing in my work (when I get back into the studio!)

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza had a wonderful special exhibition, "Monet and Abstraction". In the show Monet's work was displayed in chronological order accompanied by the work of artists who were influenced by Monet's work--leading to Abstract Expressionism. Very interesting and thought provoking.

We loved walking through the "old" section of Madrid--narrow streets, tapas bars, many small plazas with welcoming places to rest and have a cup of coffee or glass of wine, and those incredible, beautiful old-world buildings. The architecture of those buildings is so majestic--why don't we build like that any more? Maybe because there is no longer royalty who can order the work and pay for it by taxation!

In the old working mercado we found wonderful cheese and ham for our first evening nibble with wine in our apartment--after a late lunch of Spanish tortilla made for us by Emily's partner, Joel. At the new market, Mercado San Miguel, we saw the most beautifully arranged stalls with elegant foods--foie gras, caviar and champagne, wonderful cheeses, shellfish, wines, and beautiful desserts. All this elegant (and expensive) food is eaten in the market, out of hand, standing around the stalls. There are tall tables with bar stools--but not nearly enough for the crowd. Very surprising situation--it would not succeed here in San Antonio--perhaps in the capitol cities, but i wonder if it would make it anywhere here.

This gentleman is eating his cavier, with his champagne, at the cavier stall (above.)

An arrangement of dried fruits and nuts.

We loved shopping in the little speciality shops and at the huge Sunday Market--where my sister's new iPhone was picked from her pocket while we browsed the treasures there for sale! Very sad experience.

The last Sunday, just before our departure on Tuesday, we had raosted-suckling-pig dinner at a lovely old restaurant (in operation since 1725). That evening we attended a most wonderful performance of flamingo dance built around Lorka's popular poem, "Llanto Por Ignacio Sanchez Mejias." Most impresive and memorable experience--a perfect 'tapa' for our trip!

cooking as in Spain

2010-03-25T21:38:00.009-05:00

As you may remember from earlier posts I have become very interested in making some bakeware for our use here at home. So, of course, I searched for some traditional cazuelas in Spain and also for tagines. I had made a couple tagines a few months ago--still not fired--and I wanted to compare mine to the "real" ones! The cazuelas were every where and pretty consistent in form and finish though I found one that I thought especially interesting--which I bought and then had to struggle with getting it home safely.

My cazuela measures 9"X2.5" inside. The cazuela weights 3 lb 7 oz. It is finished in traditional style inside but the bottom and sides had been covered with a dark slip that contrasts with the clear glaze on the red clay. I like that a lot.

It might not have been so hard to get the cazuela home safely if I had not also found a tagine that I wanted to bring back! We looked high and low for tagines and found nothing until we asked in a restaurant where we could by a tagine (pot) and were directed to the Arab quarter. There we found a few in each of several small shops.

It was amazing how heavy both these are. The walls are very thick--5/16", fired and glazed! I was making my bakeware thick--I thought--but they are not that thick at all and are not yet fired!.
I looked for and chose a non-traditional style I had seen in an article somewhere, my sister bought the traditional one.

My tagine measures about the same inside only it is not so deep, it is pie plate shaped inside. It weighs 6 pounds--top and bottom.

I bought some saffron, too. I like it in a favorite tomato/rice dish and of course in paella. Since getting home I have made only one tagine dish (vegetable) which I cooked in the cazuela--the tagine was not large enough for what I wanted to cook. Before I went on my trip I had made a lamb tagine that we really liked so I'll be doing more of that now.

End of cooking talk!

PS I also bougt and brought home a paella pan....

home again, home again

2010-03-22T14:25:00.005-05:00

Always great to be home again--but that does not diminish what a treasure the trip was. As I look through my photos I get to be in touch again what a wonderful experience it all was. And it brings me to realize how impossible it will be to describe the experience.

The trip was initiated by my sister (right) and hosted by her daughter, Emily (left). It would not have happened or been the incredible experience it was without their generosity. Each morning Emily came to our room with croissants and delicious coffee! Not so indulgent but most significant to the success of our brief stay was her role as guide and itinerary planner!
Each of our 14 day trip offered some very special treat. Our very first day, still in Boston, we visited the Pucker Gallery. Bernie Pucker, owner of the gallery, is a major promoter of ceramic art. He first promoted the work of Brother Thomas and has expanded to display and offer for sale work by many of my favorite potters: Phil Rogers, Randy Johnston, the Hamada potters, Ken Matsuzaki, Tatsuzo Shimaoka, among many others. The current show is The Ceramics of Onda--Japanese folk pottery. The exciting thing about the Pucker Gallery is their four floors of works by the artists they represent which they graciously and generously take their visitors through. We were ushered through all 4 floors and allowed to handle any of the work and take photos of any of the work. It was a fantastic experience that I have long wished for.

on my way

2010-02-28T10:34:00.002-06:00

to Madrid! I will be out of touch for a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to my visit there with my sister and her daughter--one of my lovely and beloved nieces!

Expect to come home eager to be in the studio and on the blog.

Till then, adios!

not getting there

2010-02-08T08:49:00.003-06:00

I am having trouble getting into the studio these days. Good thing I'm not trying to support myself off my pottery production. I have just a few pieces of earthenware that I am eager to fire--but not enough for a kiln load. I am distracted by the upcoming big events here: Kenny is having surgery--to implant a little baclofen pump which we hope help calm the tremors he is having in his legs and arms that really interferes with his functioning; and 3 days later I leave for a 2 week trip to Madrid, Spain with my sister to visit her daughter who lives there. Kenny will be in the rehab hospital while I'm gone--good planning, I hope!
A blogging friend, Linda Starr, is passing through San Antonio soon and we may load the kiln with her work and mine for the bisque firing. Her mobile studio adventure is quite impressive--and a bit scary, too.
If you have suggestions for my Madrid (and perhaps Lisbon) visit do let me know!

new year, new projects

2010-01-20T16:16:00.006-06:00

Finally back in the studio this week. It has warmed up here--not just in the studio--it is in the 70's all week with mostly sunny sky and some rain. We must never turn our noses up at rain!
After spending so much of the holiday season (Thanksgiving to New Years) in the kitchen I am thinking terms of ovenware--for slow cooking, a new enthusiasm! I made a butternut squash last week that had you roast the squash, onions and apples for an hour in the oven. The soup was fabulous and I think it was the roasting in the oven that brought out the flavors so well.
I had a nice chat with Tracey Broome over the holidays and she got me fired up about jumping in and trying out some ovenware. I am going to experiment with earthenware--that seems to be the classic body--and glaze a few pieces but leave some unglazed and see what fits best (me esthetically and the pots functionally).
Here are the first of the experiments--still drying under wraps:
An oval baker--perhaps a bit too big. I always have trouble judging shrinkage. It is 15.5 inches long and 11 inches wide at the widest point and 3 1/2 inches tall. I threw a bottomless pot and then moved the ring onto a slab. Probably i should have added handles. I guess I'll know more once I've fired the piece and tried cooking in it.

Then a baking bowl that I squared a bit and added handles to. It measures about 8 1/2 inches across the rim and is 3 1/4 inches tall. The base has a 7" diameter. The picture makes the bowl seem a little out of kilter but I think the piece is squared well.

Then I have 2 round baking dishes--like pie plates, I guess. One is 10 1/2 " across rim and 1 1/2 " high. The other is 9 1/2 " across and 2 1/4" high. Maybe one is for pies and one for quiches!

I'd love suggestions from my readers' experiences in this area. I am very uncertain about the glaze--to glaze or not to glaze. In looking through the web I see many pieces that are glazed with a clear glaze only on the inside (for ease of cleaning perhaps) but I worry about the stress of having only one side glazed. Any thoughts out there?

what to do

2010-01-11T18:55:00.002-06:00

when it is too cold to work in the studio? (Disclaimer: I know that other potters, more ambitious than I, would be out there cold or not, sick or not. But not I!)
I've gone through my collection of test tiles--tossing a bunch out and organizing others so they are more workable as a tool for me. But that is about all I could figure out to bring inside to do.
So I've decided to try to develop a sourdough starter. I've read tens of recipes/directions from the web. Amazing how many variations there can be to one project! I think I've finally gotten it started--not ready for making a loaf yet but it is bubbling up and expanding--not quite doubling itself yet. Jim asks eagerly each morning if it is ready to make bread! It does seem like an endless but that is nice now since it seems like the cold weather is hanging on endlessly! And the great thing about this endless project is that it only requires about 5 minutes of involvement each day!
Being in the kitchen more these days I've become interested in making pots for slow cooking in the oven. I know that we say our stoneware pots are oven safe provided proper care. But I think I want to have earthenware, unglazed pots for my slow cooking. If anyone out there has suggestions, guidance, experience to offer I'd love to hear from you.
Warm days are ahead, I believe, to be followed by another round of this atypical weather here. But spring will follow eventually!

too much celebration

2010-01-05T09:18:00.005-06:00

The holidays, Thanksgiving to January 2, wore me out. My niece married January 2 and is moving to Georgia. So all the holidays were 'big deals' since they would be her last here....too much! But the wedding was lovely and everything is settling down. I've slept in late the last couple mornings and am beginning to get myself back together.

I had the strangest thing happen in my last firing--before the celebrations began! I mentioned making some dinner plates as a test to see if I could make a set that was at least similar. Well, they looked similar when I put them into the kiln--but not when they came out! There were 3 that were very much alike and one that was more bowl-like. I glazed all 4 with the same glaze and in the same manner. But, of course, they were in different spots in the kiln: one on the very bottom shelf, two on the shelf above that and one on the next to the top shelf. Each shelf produced a different product. The photos don't show the differences as well as the eye--but you can see what I got, this is the piece that was the lowest in the kiln.

I don't have a good photo of the two what were in the middle of the kiln but they were the darkest--and were almost identical.

This plate was the highest in the kiln (though not on the top shelf).

The cone packs show the variation in the heat-work. The top shelf is on the left and the bottom pack is on the right. I've been using this glaze for a long time. I never realized how heat-work sensitive it is. I had seen variations in the fired pieces but attributed it to glaze application (or thickness) but that is not the explanation this time!

I am not so confident about making 'sets' now!

holiday party

2009-12-21T12:10:00.005-06:00

We had family members--Jim's brothers with mates, his parents and my boys with mates--over yesterday afternoon. I did a bit of cooking--just hors d'oeuvres--for the party and we were inspired to do a bit of holiday decorating outside as well as inside. We have not put up a tree for several years but do have some other decorations to pull out of storage. And we use lots of candles, too.

As I was putting out food yesterday in various of my ceramic wares I thought of taking some pictures--but got busy and forgot to do so once the food was in the 'pots'. It really was fun seeing the tables set with my own work--food and pots! That really is what drives me: making it myself. Just like a two-year old! I never out grew my "I want to do it myself" stage!

Happy Holidays!

in working condition

2009-12-13T21:02:00.005-06:00

The last couple firings have not gone so well. One clearly my fault as I made a mistake as I programed the kiln. But still not firing well. I discussed the problem with a guy at Armadillo Clay in Austin last week. As I described the history--I had only fired the new elements 32 times--he suggested that it might be a faulty relay instead of bad elements. I called a repair person I had not used before--Tony, our trusted and capable repair person had retired--and she came over and checked the kiln and agreed that it probably was the relays. We ordered relays from Austin--none available in San Antonio--and she replaced the relays on Friday evening. Today I loaded a bisque firing and it is climbing right on up the scale!

I watched over Linda's shoulder as she replaced the relays and I think I could do it next time. Of course the secret is knowing what the problem is--more than knowing how to replace parts! So far I have participated in replacing the elements and now overseen replacing the relays. Sometime back Jim and I replaced the thermocouple. Maybe I am on my way to a new career. NOT. I'd rather make pots than fix kilns!

Yesterday Jim brought in an old kitchen cabinet to install the used extruder I bought sometime back. The extruder came on a nice metal stand--but it needed to be attached to the floor as it wanted to topple over whenever I pulled down on the extruder level. Now it is happily installed on the cabinet and very secure when I pull the lever down to extrude from a big pug of clay.

PS The bisque firing has completed without a flaw. So now I face a day--or more--of glazing--my least favorite part of potting!

Hey, Tracey...

2009-12-12T16:06:00.004-06:00

I think these candlesticks, made by Suze Lindsay, look like they came right off the stage of "Lion King"! Can't imagine getting any closer to recreating the spirit of LK in clay. In a way, it is a shame that I have them and can see the relation to the stage production because now my mind is locked on these pieces as best shot.

They live on the dining room table next to the wonderful Chupicuaro (circa 100 BC) my father-in-law gave us which he collected years ago in Mexico--when it was still legal to bring this work into the US. I love the pairing of these pieces--separated by 2000 years in age yet with the same spirit. Or so it seems to me.

Unfortunately, not the best picture.

what a day this has been...

2009-12-10T19:32:00.003-06:00

Up at 5 am to get Kenny to the clinic by 6:00. He was having a 'test run' of the effectiveness of baclofen injections into his spinal column to relieve his extreme spasticity. This has become so bad that he suffers muscular convulsions whenever he tires to use his legs (standing and walking) and lately even in his hands. So that is a long story but hopefully there is some help on the horizon. That was the beginning of the day.

Then I had a long-ago-established date with my 5 years old grandson, Reed, to attend the local stage performance of Disney's 'Lion King'. I looked forward to it because I knew that Reed was very fond of the 'Lion King' DVD and it would be fun to take him to that. I was not prepared for how much I enjoyed the program. It is so attractive! I wanted all my loved ones to get to see it, too!

As I sat with Kenny at the clinic this morning I was reading a ceramic book I had just purchased: "Ceramic Design Course" by AnthonyQuinn. An interesting book--pushing me to take a broader look at my 'creations'. He talks about collecting pictures and text that appeal and creating 'mood scenes' from those collections and, from that, developing an idea(s) for ceramic creations. He also pushes sketching your ideas for new projects--which I am trying to due currently. (Of course, I've left out way too much of the book to be fair to it.) BUT, here is the connecting link, during "LIon King" I kept thinking how I might incorporate or take inspiration from the performance for a piece from the scenes I was was watching! It was so beautiful and so incredibly creative! Hats off to Disney!

a good day in the studio

2009-12-08T11:21:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was a good day in the studio--except for the backache I went to bed with! Probably too good a day after a while out of the studio! But it felt really good to get some work done.

I started off working on a dinner plate that I have been asked to make a set of for a friend. I want to make one (or some) to show her before I get too far into the project. And I want to see if I can really make a set (~16) that are similar in size, design, weight, etc! The first one I made I added slip on the rim to make it into a sort of test tile. I painted slip onto the rim--two different colored slips--and left a section unslipped. Then I will apply the glaze that she thinks she wants and see the effect of the slip.

I made 4 more of the same plate--and will do that again today--to see how similar I can make them, After that, when I was tired of throwing plates, I made a vase that I like a lot.

what a difference a day makes

2009-12-06T10:26:00.004-06:00

Today Kenny got up on his own and into the shower. That is great news! I was afraid he had taken a big backward step--but it looks like I was just trying to go too fast! A great feeling of relief--you may feel it all the way over there!

Yesterday it was still colder in the studio than I wanted it to be. So I gathered up my brush collection and a sketch pad and played with brushes for a while. I want to be able to 'make marks' on some of my work but need a lot of practice first. I've collected some brushes--some made for me by a friend, some I bought for a majolica class, some I just bought with this project in mind.

I just played around with the brushes, making marks on coarse paper. I took a brush and 'doodled' with it making different kinds of strokes then made a note of which brush produced those marks. I went through my whole collection--now I have a reference for which brush does the best job of which kind of marks.

Then I tried copying a painting from a China painting book I have. Lots of fun. Maybe even helpful in moving me along the path of 'making marks'!

that's the way it is

2009-12-04T15:16:00.003-06:00

Kenny has been sick since the night before Thanksgiving. He is feeling better now but his poor body is not functioning very well. He is very stiff--hard to raise his head, stretch out his arms, or take even a step or two. Very rigid spasticity has always been a problem for him (from his cerebral palsy) but this is so much worse. Next week he will undergo a test to see if injections into his spinal cord might help reduce the spasticity. If not, his life and ours are in for a big change. He is in his wheel-chair all the time now, not able to walk at all even with help.

On Thursday, a couple friends and I drove to Austin to attend a 3 hour lecture on working with ^6 glazes. We were very disappointed. It was really just a 3 hour presentation on a new line of commercial ^6 glazes--for which we paid $20 to attend, not to mention the 3 hour drive over and back.

This morning I went out early to the studio to turn on the heater. I am eager to get back to work. But when I went out again in a couple hours it was still too cold to work out there. We were told we might get snow today--crazy since most of our days lately have been in the 70's and it was not expected to freeze today. But apparently the snow missed us and hit Houston instead. I was not sorry about missing the snow--but I was sorry I could not work today. Maybe tomorrow.

Pretty gloomy post--sorry--but that is the way it is right now!

just a pointer

2009-11-25T08:02:00.002-06:00

I was not going to post again until after the holiday but...
I just have to tell you about a wonderful blog post this morning.
I met Euan Craig when I was in Japan with a group of potters. We were invited to his home studio where we met his lovely family, watched him throwing pots for an upcoming show and admired his kiln. I have enjoyed reading his blog regularly since then. In today's post he tells a charming story about his just-turned-13-year-old daughter. I think you'll like it, too.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving.

today it begins

2009-11-24T08:26:00.002-06:00

..the race to Thanksgiving. Wish it did not have to be such an intense push to get there. But since I am a committed member of the "don't do today what you can put off till tomorrow" group, that is the way it is and always has been! I'll be in the kitchen cooking up a feast with the help of lots of great chefs--the guests! Everyone will bring some wonderful something to offer to the feast. Just the way it all began, or so the story goes! I'll do turkey, gravy, dressing and rolls. Plus linens ironed and tables set. Today I'll make a couple desserts to add to what others are bringing. We are having our largest group this year--18 or 20 plus more just for dessert! It is my favorite holiday--our great family gathered for a day together. So much to be thankful for. Now off to the kitchen.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

education...

2009-11-20T16:44:00.010-06:00

The visit to the museum led me to want to place my 'amphora' in the historical line. I feel a connection to a potter in the 7th century BC who made this wonderful amphora--very similar to mine except he decorated his with geometric motifs in red and black on a terracotta clay.:

While looking through the catalog (for the collection at SAMA that Roy loaned me) I found interesting differences and likenesses. I'm probably not a keen observer and this little exercise has really been an eye opener.

The book led to a serious web search of 'amphora' and turned up some wonderful pieces.

I can see now how I would like to make my next 'amphora'--with some subtle but significant changes. I don't want to copy the examples I've found but I think I will see mine differently as I am making it.

The education of Gay, the potter-in-the-making!

another rich experience

2009-11-19T14:04:00.002-06:00

Today my friend Lani extended an invitation from her son Roy to visit the San Antonio Museum Of Art (SAMA). Roy focused on Art History in his college work and has worked at SAMA setting up some of the exhibits. At the guild sale a week and a half ago he and I were looking a the form of the large vase I had there. That prompted his invitation to look at similar forms in the Greek collection.

At her workshop last weekend, Suze Lindsay spent a lot of time taking us through slide presentations of work she admired--ancient and current. She really encouraged us to study various traditions of forms and decoration.
It is always interesting to see art through another's eyes. I enjoy visiting SAMA but always spend most of my time there in the Asian Wing--looking at Japanese and Chinese ceramics. I have ignored the Greek collection because I am not going to paint designs on my work--the Asian collection is focused more on the glazes. Both, of course, feature form. It was a very rich experience--seeing the collections through his eyes. I came home inspired with lots of new ideas! So many ideas and so little time!

what a special weekend

2009-11-15T17:48:00.002-06:00

I took part in a workshop here at Southwest School of Art and Craft (San Antonio) given by Suze Lindsay. She was great! It was a small group--3 days, hands-on--and so very rich! Just what I needed right now: very stimulating and pushed me in new directions. I found everything she presented to be just right for me right now! She wanted us to work in 'sets'--cream & sugar, salt & pepper, candlesticks and such. And she spent a lot of time introducing us to surface design. I made a set of 'sipping cups' with a tray. After I fire them I may post a picture of them. I am very pleased with them now. Others in the class made MANY sets of things! But I got lots more out of the class than what I made!

There was a down side to the weekend. Saturday afternoon I began to feel bad, then I was feeling awful--like getting the flu. Oh my gosh, if I get the flu I might give it to everyone else AND I'll miss the rest of the workshop. I left mid-afternoon, went home and straight to bed. I kept wondering if there might be such a thing as a 12 hour flu--because that would let me return to finish the workshop. I was running fever and felt achy and all that awful flu stuff. But I was not sneezing or coughing--those germ spreading aspects of the flu. When I woke at 7:00 am I was not sure I could go to class. But 8:30 I thought I could--maybe not for the whole day. I felt better and my fever was just about gone. So I loaded up my pain killers and vitamin C and got to class. Did not have much energy but could stay all day. Did not DO much but was able to take a lot in.

Eva's photos

2009-11-12T09:42:00.004-06:00

Thanks, Linda. When I re-read your instructions I found the step I was missing--now it works!

a nice showing

2009-11-12T07:15:00.004-06:00

The guild's sale was very nice. There was a great collection of work--mostly ceramics but a bit of textiles and some jewelry, too. My friend, Eva, and I shared a booth. She took pictures of our booth and sent them to me but I don't know how to take the pictures from an email and get them into the blog. I took these snapshots here before I packed the pieces to take to the show. We both had 2 shelves--one tall and one short.
I enjoyed seeing potter friends that I don't get to see very often and got to see the work they are doing now--beautiful work. I met a potter, not from San Antonio, whose work I've seen on the web before. Wonderful work. You can see her work at Linda Nowell Pottery
I guess the best part was being fired up to get busy in the studio again. I was flattered that some of my work sold and honored that some of the purchasers were artists whose work I greatly admire!
As I was preparing for the show, I put in more concentrated time in the studio and realized how badly I need to do that consistently. I want to spend lots of time experimenting and exploring. Bur first I've gotta get the studio back into working order!

some of the fruits of the fire

2009-11-06T12:58:00.006-06:00

I did not have a packed kiln. Here are a few of the pieces from the long, slow firing.
A compote--about 6+" high and 10" wide

A serving plate: about 10 1/2" wide

A gravy boat: about 4" high and 5" wide

A small pitcher: about 7" tall

well, the firing was fine

2009-11-06T11:19:00.004-06:00

Here are the cone packs from the 3 lower shelves (the stand alone was on the top shelf that was very shallow). BTW, I had only one ^7 cone--so what you see are ^5. ^6, and only one ^7 on the middle shelf. Bottom pack on the right:

None-the-less, I will check the lower elements this afternoon. I guess this is an interesting example of 'heatwork=time and temperature'.
The pieces in this firing are fine--I am grateful and very relieved!

PS after the firing

2009-11-06T08:57:00.003-06:00

which took 29 hours and 23 minutes, I 'reviewed' the schedule (kiln still too hot to unload). I found that I had made a slight error when I entered the firing schedule...I thought I was telling the kiln to advance from 250F to 2000F at a rate of 300F/hr at which time it would advance at the rate of 108F to 2185F. But, unfortunately, I really told it to advance to 200F at a rate of 300F and then to advance to 2185F at a rate of 108F. Get it? The kiln crawled from 200F to 2185F at a rate of 108F per hour. Well, that does make for a long, slow firing! Once the kiln is empty I will fire it up again so I can see what the bottom element is doing. Hopefully, there is no problem with the elements--which are pretty new--and the whole problem was my careless mistake. Usually I 'review' the schedule if I change it--but not this time! I peeked in and saw that on the top shelf the self-supporting ^6 cone was bent to about 2:00. So I have yet to know what the rest of the kiln achieved. Stay tuned.

if its not one thing...

2009-11-05T17:36:00.006-06:00

...its another! A favorite saying between Jim and Kenny--they break into peals of laughter as they chant that over some new challenge. For me, today, it is the kiln. It has been firing for over 24 hours and has not reached ^6 yet. I am wondering if is because I made a mistake entering the schedule or if the kiln has developed a new problem. At ~2140 F there was a bright, glowing yellow light coming out around the rim of the lid and out of each of the peeps EXCEPT the bottom peep--it is dark.

(I did not think to take a photo until the kiln was on the way down--about 1945 F--but it still shows. There are 6 peeps--but only 5 show. And the photo shows that the top 2 peeps are not as bright as the middle two and that the next to the bottom peep is very dull. I do have element problems. Drat...)
Didn't want it to be the elements--they are so expensive. I am so sorry that I don't know enough about electric machines and their care to be able to take care of my kiln. I am totally ignorant in that area (not just that area, unfortunately!)

I had a funny thing happen in the last (bisque) firing. I always put cone packs into the kiln--usually 3, sometimes 4. I have never had the fallen cones break except if I carelessly put then on the table when emptying the kiln--I line them up on the edge of the table to take a photo of the cones to put with the record of that firing. When I was emptying the kiln, I found that the top cone pack had a broken ^5 when I picked it up from the shelf. Curious. The cone was placed near the edge of the 1/2 shelf in the middle of the kiln so the fallen cone melts down over the edge of the shelf. When I removed that shelf I found the broken piece on the shelf below. Strange. Then the next cone pack had done exactly the same thing--^5 broken and sitting on the lower shelf. Very strange. Then I got to the bottom shelf and the ^5 was also broken off--but it was not sitting on the edge of a shelf and there was no broken piece near it on the shelf. Then I saw the broken end sticking out of a element grove. Very strange--so the broken piece had flown across the shelf--inches--to land in the grove. Perhaps that burned out the lower element. But what would cause those cones to break? The ^6 cones were all flat but none were broken. The broken ends of the ^5's were not melted, they looked as if they had just been snapped in two.

Sunday is the San Antonio Potters Guild show/sale. I am participating--sharing a booth with a friend. I don't have much work to show and not enough time to make a lot. So I've been working pretty steadily since early October. (t won't be the end of the world if I don't get anything from this long, strange firing--but I'd like to have this work to add to what I do have.) As I've been working for this deadline I've been very aware of how much I need to be spending time experimenting and exploring in the studio. Maybe I feel guilty spending a lot of time there and neglecting family things--with the show coming up I could justify to myself (and family) disappearing into the studio for most of the days, most of the past month. But I see so clearly that if I want to 'be a potter' I've got to commit to it on a more regular basis. Having the show as a deadline is a great excuse/motivator to be working away. But to really grow in my work I've got to work at it more consistently--without the deadline. I loved the line in the new issue of "Pottery Making Illustrated" on the editors page: "If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done." That is my story, for sure!

what do you do?

2009-11-01T16:52:00.004-06:00

It seems like each piece I fire has a lesson to teach me...that is great...but I was hoping to have something I could be really proud of. The really bad part of that is that the problems can't be attributed to the firing! They are all 'hand made' by the potter!

I like the teapot...but I messed up the foot: wax mess and too shallow a foot so the glaze touched the shelf and made an ugly mark.

A pretty little sauce boat...but I think the glaze was too thin and I mended a crack with paper clay and it left an ugly scar that the glaze accentuated. I'm going to remake this one because I do like the idea.

Three compotes that work alone or stacked up. Nice. But I learned why it is not a great idea to get the stoneware pots too thin. Two of the three sagged a bit in the firing so they do not have a nice bowl shape. The largest one did well--probably not so thin.

I am not happy with the cane handle. I can cut it off and remake it. I have not mastered the skill yet! So the answer is to make lots of cane handles till I have mastered the skill--and might as well take advantage of this opportunity make another cane handle! And maybe redo the one on the teapot which I'm not so happy with either!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T19:17:00.002-05:00

Kenny has been sitting (in his wheelchair) by the front door for a couple hours waiting to serve little visitors their treats--but so far no callers. I just spoke with my daughter-in-law who lives just a couple blocks away to see if they have had any callers yet. She said they had just turned on the lights. So we were a bit early over here! I thought perhaps with all the scary stories these days that perhaps the trickers would come around earlier. Do hope we get come trickers--Kenny will be so disappointed if he has sat by the door all evening with no callers AND then we will have all that candy left over that I am sure to get into!

Besides waiting for the trickers, I am waiting for the kiln to get cool enough to open and empty. This is the second glaze firing in a little over a week. Our guild has its annual sale/show November 8 and I foolishly thought I'd have some work by then--but it has been a big push to try to get some things to offer. What I learn from this last minute push is that it is NOT the way to work with pottery-making. I need to have lots of experience behind me to crank out work on such short notice. I need to do lots of exploring and experimenting in a more leisurely fashion. There are so many 'tests' I want and need to do. I have one week to get another bisque and glaze firing done. I have greenware drying out right now. Just a bit disappointed that I am not able to do some more interesting work. Guess that comes later--I hope it does come later!

Well, I hope you are having a nice evening with family and friends. Boooo.

what's up?

2009-10-13T17:09:00.006-05:00

First, I blamed my failure to post to my blog regularly on my inactivity in the studio. (I can't believe it has been 2 months since my last post!) I blamed my inactivity in the studio on other things--but that is another story!
Then, I have blamed my failure to post to my blog on being so busy in the studio that I haven't had time to post!
Then I thought it was because I was not doing anything interesting in the studio.
Come on, girl. What's up? Maybe I just got out of the habit. Maybe I'm just a bit lethargic emotionally. Maybe it was too hot, too long. Maybe because once it started raining it has not stopped. And now the mosquitoes have moved into the studio and taken over...

Our guild, San Antonio Potters Guild, is holding is annual sale on November 8th. Months ago I was sure I would be back in the studio soon and would want to have a booth. Well, I was not back in the studio soon and I have almost nothing to put out in the booth. So now I am in frantic, around the clock frenzy of making, glazing, firing. After a few days of throwing, I went into clean up mode before I began a round of glaze mixing. I washed all the tools I'd been using and laid them out on a towel to dry. I was astonished at how many tools I'd used. I know I am a tool junky but was rather pleased to see that at least I use the tools I've collected--not all of them, mind you, but enough to justify the collection to myself, at least. I am always impressed when a potter says he/she only uses 4 tools to make all the wonderful pots he/she produces. Well, I'm on the other side of the spectrum.

You see my name on those tools--because I was carrying them back and forth from the community studio for a couple years. Just like in school, everyone had the same tools and it was too easy to get them mixed up, so mine are marked!

I had fun the other day blowing up some of my closed pots. It was the first time I had tried that and it was amazing. I used a straw to blow into the almost closed pot and it expanded so easily. I had weighted out several balls of clay the same weight and was making similar closed pots. After I had made the first one I tried blowing into the next. The difference in the pots was amazing. In the photo, the first pot (not blown into) is in the middle of two pots I did expand by blowing.

Well, it looks like once I get started I can't stop. Nice of you to drop in after such a long dry spell!

just a test

2009-09-03T20:33:00.003-05:00

I made some dogwood flower drawer pulls. Originally, I thought of them to replace what is in the kitchen. Then I realized that my bathroom has the same drawer pulls as the ones in the kitchen and would make a great place to test the pulls--not sure how Jim is going to like them in the kitchen. So I made some have put them up in the bathroom so I can test to see if they are going to hold--they are--and to see if I am going to like them--I do. Now the test is to see if Jim likes them--so far he seems not to have noticed--or is he just playing dumb?

I do see some adjustments I might make to the ones I might make for the kitchen. Mostly I'm not too happy with the long stems. We'll see.

a strange thing happened

2009-09-01T11:32:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I pulled a handle on a small sauce bowl. I thought it was one of the best I've done--I'm still trying to accomplish this basic task! I covered it, loosely with a soft cloth and then with laundry-bag plastic to ensure slow drying. This morning when I uncovered the pot I found that the handle had broken in two. Not at one of the attachment points--they were in good shape--but about three-quarters of the way down the handle. The upper portion looked like it had sprung up away from the lower section. Wish I had taken a photo before I cut the two pieces off the the still leather hard pot. This is an approximate positioning of the two pieces but in reality the upper part had more of an upward spring.

The line I drew on the table is an outline of the side of the bowl. You get a sense of the 'spring' of the upper portion.
The break is slightly ragged but you could match the pieces for a perfect repair--but not while attached to the pot! The pot is still moist enough to attach a new handle....which I will now do!

friends and mentors...via web

2009-08-31T09:48:00.005-05:00

It is so amazing the relationships that are developed via the web--primarily, in my case, through our blogs. I have friends I feel very close to that I have never met--may never meet face-to-face--yet they are closer to me than friends I see frequently. Part of it is the shared passion--clay--but it is so much more. My blogging buddies are the ones who encourage me when I am discouraged and who celebrate my successes. They are also the ones who mentor me--though they may never know that. The comments section of this blog has so many examples of support through dry times. It is amazing how significant that support is to my work.

Not so easy to see is the mentoring I receive. In several instances, blogging friends have read of my struggle with some problem and sent me solutions--glazes or techniques that might solve the current impasse. In other cases, something someone wrote about or showed in photos inspired some activity in my own studio. Thinking about this so many instances came to mind--too many to mention in this post. Maybe I need to write a series of posts on my blogging mentors. Today, just one--who does not even know me or my blog! June Perry recently described and photographed her "command Center". I liked that idea so much that I set up my own version:

My "command center" is on the side of a rolling cart. When I'm not throwing, it is rolled up close to the wheel--out of the way. When I am throwing, it moves to an easily accessible position.

I have long felt myself to be in June's debt for her incredible study of ^6 glazes. I've tested several and one is my favorite glaze that I use over and over again. That site is a gold mine of information on glazes.

June has also inspired me to join in the search for the perfect pizza dough. I have not actually begun the search but every time I read about her pizza supper I am encouraged again to start the search!

Thank you dear friends and mentors!

change is in the air

2009-08-28T08:06:00.003-05:00

Today is the first day in a LONG time that the weather prediction is under 100 degrees--it is to be 99 degrees today. Moreover, we got a little rain last night. When I stepped outside after dark and it was cool--for the first time in a long time I thought of sitting outside for a bit. Oh, gosh, we are eager for autumn! What a long HOT, DRY summer it has been.

I like to tell myself that is why I have been in such a funk lately. I threw a couple pots last weekend and have not done anything since. My studio is air conditioned and I have running water there--I know how lucky I am. But I just can't seem to make myself get out there and stay out there long enough to get some work done. Besides, I'm not trying to make a living, this is supposed to be fun. So my hope is that it is the hot, dry days that have taken their toll on my spirit and with the coming of more accommodating weather I'll regain my enthusiasm for my clay work.

As I leafed through the new Ceramics Monthly yesterday, I began imagining work I WANTED to make! That is a good sign. I even got out my studio log book and began sketching some of those images so I would not forget them. I don't sketch my plans for work--or anything else! So it was quite remarkable that I was doing that. Don't you think that portends a renewed enthusiasm for studio work? Stay tuned!

clear glaze

2009-08-16T17:37:00.005-05:00

On to the less successful products of the last firing!
I have become interested in working with slips. But when I put my clear liner glaze over a piece that had been slipped before the bisque, it became cloudy where thick--as in corners. So I mixed up 3 new 'clear' glazes and fired them over slipped pieces in the last firing. Only one of the four clear glazes gave a really clear cover--Kate the Younger from Lana Wilson's book. The others were cloudy and made the colored slip look pastel--or changed the color completely. The really clear (Kate) was very high gloss and it did the most amazing thing to the slip. I had covered the piece (bowl and platter) with an iron slip--painted on in 3 coats, in 3 different directions. Under 'Kate' the iron slip became bright yellow with dark brown streaks. This striation did not occur with the clear glazes that became cloudy. I guess I am looking for an explanation AND for a clear (^6 electric) glaze that does not go cloudy and reveals the true color of the slip. Any ideas?

These are the glazes that clouded over. There is a stripe of red iron oxide on the right side of test tile.

Here is the test tile for "Kate'.

And here is the bowl:

at long last

2009-08-13T16:33:00.009-05:00

The pagoda is fired. And it is nice! Whew.

The kiln was about as full as I can get it--but I have not much to show. That's OK since I am happy with the way the pagoda came out. There is a small pagoda, also, but it is not as nice--I may refire it, not much color. Funny because the small one gave me all kinds of trouble from start to finish. Had that been the experience with the original I'm sure I'd have thrown in the towel long ago.

It is just the top section of the taller one--the bottom section collapsed while drying. The top part was still intact so I just went ahead with it!

I've made some dogwood flower drawer pulls for my bathroom. Hope I can figure how to attach them to the drawers! (I want them for the kitchen, but I have to go slowly there!)

Otherwise, the kiln was full of tests: testing 3 different 'clear' glazes--not all clear glazes are clear! And a new slip with various colorants--under the new clear glazes--not all clear glazes are clear. And 3 variations on a new black glaze. So lots to study now.

BTW, the firing was much more even top to bottom. It did over-fire a bit--but only one of the clear glazes screamed about that (by way of lots of pin holes).

All in all a good firing.

Oh, and one more thing. I also made a small batch of John Britt's new glaze, Gnu Blue (http://ncclayclub.blogspot.com/). It is nice--almost a satin glaze, nice feel and great variation. It does not look much like his--but that is the way of pottery, right?

now I know

2009-07-03T09:42:00.006-05:00

Just how I will finish my pagoda. The little test pagodas came out just fine and show clearly how I might get the results I want on the pagoda. I tested 2 glazes, one over a red iron slip, and 2 overglazes. The results are similar but there is a clear winner in my opinion.

On the front of the little pagodas I used Pete Pinnell's "Weathered Bronze" and on the backs I used "AA Cooper" attributed to Val Cushing. In the pagodas on the left in both images I painted Clennell's red iron oxide slip overall before the bisque firing. My preference is the Weathered Bronze over the rio slip. I also dabbed on "Soft Gloss" over the glazes on the roof (front on the WB and back on the AAC. I like the variegated look the Soft Gloss gave to both glazes.
So now I am off to put the slip on the original pagoda. Then I have to get busy on the wheel to have wares to bisque with the pagoda!

working at it

2009-07-01T11:43:00.003-05:00

I just got the kiln started. It is loaded mostly with tests. Test pagodas and lots of test tiles. I am working at learning about my glaze materials. therefore have lots of 'buttons' of materials in little dishes, a long line-blend of a glaze with lithium from 0 to 20 gms, and lots of glaze test tiles to enrich my empirical knowledge database! The last time I fired the kiln (bisque) I got very erratic results--underfired on top, overfired on bottom. I think it was because the kiln was very unevenly loaded--lots of empty space at the top. So I worked very hard to try to load the kiln more evenly. We'll see how that goes, too. In this kiln load, I am refiring 2 pieces that were very disappointing from the last firing. Wonder what luck I will have. Others have commented that it is not a sure thing--works sometimes, not worth the effort other times. Guess I am just curious to see if I can save them before I throw them away.

I'm discovering that I don't want all the glazes in the world--but just a couple that I really like. And one that is especially nice and takes various colorants well. Right now I have lots of large and small buckets of lots of glazes and glaze tests. Yet when I get ready to glaze pots there are only a couple that I am comfortable using.

I had my air compressor repaired recently--and I can't get it (or me) to work well. It had preformed so well until it didn't! And now I am struggling with trying to get the regulator set properly (never had to fool with it much before) and also all the controls on the spray gun seem to be off. Maybe I messed them up trying to use the compressor when it was not functioning well. Any way it is very frustrating!

slowly

2009-06-29T08:44:00.004-05:00

I am glazing now, trying to get to fire all my tests. Because glazing is the part of the process that I am least comfortable with, least successful at and most dislike doing--I get there very slowly. My temptation is to rush through it all--just pour/paint/spray some glazes on the pots as quickly as I can and get everything into the kiln. But then I always regret it when I open the kiln! Of course!
Besides the little pagoda tests I have lots of test tiles I am eager to see. I am engaged in a glaze chemistry study that I am very excited about getting to do. I've wished for this opportunity for several years and tried to get a small group together to study glazes with and share the testing part of the process, but could not find anyone wanting to pursue the study with me. I have all the books, have read lots but it just has not worked till now. Now I have a programmed study and it is making all the difference! I am suddenly able to look at glazes in a totally new way. Suddenly what is in a glaze has some meaning for me. I have a load of tests related to that study and I am so eager to see what they will show me. I am almost more excited to see those tests than the little pagodas that are also going to tell me a lot--I hope!
For the pagodas I have 2 glazes to test, one pagoda has a rio slip bisqued on all over the other is plain, then I have two overglazes that I am testing over the two glazes. So the pagodas will look like patch-work quilts when fired--each side of each building will have a different variation on one of the two glazes!
So I am off to the studio to see what I can get done today before I fold up from the heat. We are having a terrible heat wave--over 100F everyday for a week. Perhaps we will get a bit of a break tomorrow with a little rain--fingers crossed. Our studio has a little air conditioner unit, which runs constantly when we are there (off when we are not) but it does not get the studio temperature much below 85F. It is great that it does that--but I wish it got a bit cooler!

a brief detour

2009-06-19T10:29:00.004-05:00

So many questions and decisions about how to glaze my pagoda led me to make two 'test' buildings.

I was not as careful as with the 'real' pagoda and I had my patterns from the original, so these went together quickly. I really did not want to take the time to make them or to fire and glaze them before getting to finish the original. But I want to test a couple glazes and also am considering applying a stain or engobe to the pagoda before bisquing it. In spite of how dark the clay appears when wet, it dries very light--not white but a light buff. So this seemed the way to go.
Now I've got to get busy and get a kiln load of ware made so I can do the bisque firing and then glaze these 'tests'.

a good day

2009-06-16T16:43:00.003-05:00

The first of the month, Jim and I went to Maine to visit my sister and her husband. We had a wonderful, restive, restorative week with them. I came home resolved to get back into a regular routine in the studio. Yesterday was my first 'working' day. I threw a couple bowls, some small vases off the hump and a small pitcher to warm up and get back into the swing of things.
Today I decided to tackle a project that I have long wanted to do but did not have the psychic energy to attempt. I am enthralled with a couple 'pagodas' that are in San Antonio Museum of Art's fabulous collection of Asian arts. I have longed to make one similar. So that was today's work--and I am very happy with it so far. Just hope I can be this happy with it after it is glazed and fired!

I worked on it from about 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, am dog tired--but it feels so good to be back in the groove again!

brighter

2009-04-03T09:58:00.003-05:00

Things are looking up for me these days. I did do a bit of re-organization in the studio and some clean-up. That was good! But the most helpful thing I did was clear out a lot of pottery that I was not proud of but was hanging on to 'just because'. About half of what was on the shelves 'got the hammer' and the other half was boxed up and sent off to GoodWill. The empty shelves look GREAT! Don't know why it is so hard to give up the stuff that feels so good to be rid of! It feels a bit like the start of school in the fall--clean slate and new beginnings. And so, back to the potter's wheel.

Dale Neese, local potter, brought his Chinese friend, Jiansheng Li (alias Jackson Li), to San Antonio this past week. J Li offered us three opportunities to learn something of the heritage of Chinese ceramics. Tuesday evening he showed a film he made of men working in traditional (ancient) methods making and firing huge storage jars. J Li is dedicated to preserving the traditional crafts that China is know for both through a school he has established in Jingdezhan and tours he offers to visit other craft sites in China. ( If I were younger I'd be on my way to join one of his tours!) On Thursday he led a group from our potters guild through the Asian collection at San Antonio Museum of Art. The museum has a wonderful collection of Asian art--Mr. Li was very complimentary of the collection. I have spent a good deal of time wandering through the collection and I found J Li's remarks were very enriching. He also offered a workshop at University of Texas at San Antonio on Saturday which I was not able to attend. All and all a very stimulating week.

blue?

2009-03-28T17:34:00.006-05:00

I am a little bit. Friend and fellow blogger, Judy Shreve, asked if we like the color blue and wondered why is has such a bad reputation among potters. I do like blue--one of my favorite glazes is blue and some of my favorite pots are blue. It is said that if you paint it blue it will sell. Not sure that is really the case.

Well, back on topic. I am a bit discouraged from the last firings. I am pretty sure I have figured out the problem and that should mean I don't have to suffer that failure again. But for some reason that does not lift my spirits any. Guess I just need to roll up my sleeves and get busy filling the kiln again. Maybe I can lift myself out of the dumps by making some great stuff!

I spent a couple hours Thursday and again today at SAMA (our art museum). We have a terrific collection of Asian art--lots of ceramics, ancient and more recent. For the first time I sketched pots that I particularly liked. I am not a 'drawer' and do not keep a sketch book of ideas as so many other potters do. I found it very agreeable. I look much closer, see much more when I am trying to draw the object. I suspect that it might have a significant influence on my potting--possibly in ways I won't be able to recognize. I am very attracted to the older, more primitive pieces-- pieces that depend on form and glaze for their success. I am not so attracted to the more refined work with intricately drawn/painted designs.

One of the pieces that I am happy about from the last firing is a salt & pepper set:

They fit into the tray like this:

I am pleased with this serving bowl:

It is nicely squared and seems to fit the red/black color combination.

So, back to the wheel. Happy Spring--we are buried in leaves! And it is so windy, they fly everywhere and in any opened door.

Oh, my gosh

2009-03-14T09:40:00.007-05:00

I've been very reclusive lately. Not just with this blog. Let's see if I can't get back in touch with life!

Kenny is doing very well. He functioning as independently as he was when he first moved in here last year. Around Thanksgiving he discovered Legos and the little box sets they have for building vehicles--his life long love. He has put in thousands of hours working on his Lego projects. We are all amazed at his enthusiasm for constructing with the tiny blocks because of the restricted use he has of his hands--especially his right hand. He spends his mornings in the studio (week days only!) and the afternoons and some evenings working with the Legos. His TV watching is greatly diminished--a good thing!

On the pottery side of the studio, I just completed a glaze firing--first since my last post. I was so disappointed in the last firing it was hard to generate enough enthusiasm to get started again. Unfortunately, this was not very successful either. At least I understand what happened--something I caused and can control next time. I made a mistake in the firing schedule--something I thought I had read but maybe I dreamed it up all on my own! Anyway, on one glaze in particular, but to a lesser degree almost everything had a 'gritty' feeling surface. It was not grit but tiny craters with rough edges on my glazes. Everything with the new black glaze was covered with this 'grit'.

My 'red' glaze held up the best through the bad firing. I am particularly fond of the compote.

I made another of the gratin dishes with a bit higher side (deeper dish). But really messed up the inside. I thought I'd like the inside colored--not white like the last one--so I painted on a slip at the leather hard stage. The slip was supposed to be a medium green. After the bisque it looked black but it was supposed to be medium green so I put a green glaze on the outside and a clear liner glaze on the inside. Weill the slip came out BLUE and clear liner glaze left a white ring around the inside edge--where the wall meets the base. Boo Hoo.

Well, back to the studio. I am going to try refiring the black glazed pieces to see if they will smooth out--I don't have great expectations but do have big wishes! And I'm still trying to think of some way to save my gratin dish...

before and after the fire

2009-02-09T09:33:00.004-06:00

Some of the little tests that were not so satisfying:

a tale of woe

2009-02-06T14:01:00.008-06:00

So much for new year's resolutions. I guess it has been about 3 weeks since my last post. I was disappointed in the fruit of my last glaze firing and did not want to talk about it! There were a couple of pieces that I am happy with but mostly it was diappointing.
I like the 3 pieces that were made on wooden drape molds:

The smallest (6.5X2.5X1") accomodates a package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese or a stick of butter.

The middle sized one (9.75X5.5X1.25) is a nice size baking dish for the three of us.

The largest (11.5X9X1.25) holds just under 2 quarts. I filled it with a wonderful "Zucchini & Summer Squash Gratin" last night. I should have photographed it before we dug in--it was picture perfect! I wish these two casseroles were a little deeper. I want to figure out how to extend the sides of the mold so I can make them deeper.

The biggest disappointment was this small yellow bowl. The glaze crawled badly on the outside and the inside was unevenly colored. I had painted the glaze onto the bowl because I had very little of the glaze--not enough to dip the bowl into the glaze.

My attempt at adjusting my claybody was unsuccessful--there was no change in the rate of absorbency. I'll just keep experimenting with that for a while.

Meanwhile, I'm back at the wheel working on another kiln load of greenware. I have several bisqued pieces that need to be glazed and fired--but not a kiln load yet.

tortoise here

2009-01-28T19:03:00.005-06:00

Glad there is no race! I'm slow--but hopefully I'll get there finally! I have just started a glaze firing--first in a long time! It is full of 'tests'--squares of clay to see if I can improve the vitrification of my clay by the addition of some material to lower the maturing temperature; also several small pieces with some glazes I mixed up a while back and had tested on tiles.

I also painted some designs on the small test pieces to see how the stain mixture I have will work on the glazes. Hope there is some success in this firing--I was not happy with much of anything in the last glaze firing. In the photos below the test tile shows the underlying glaze and the design I applied.

The lesson I am trying to accept and work with is that I am not going to have lots of time to be in the studio. My work is going to be piece-mill. I just have to find a way to work within the constraints I have here. I just have to be more disciplined about my time that I really want to be!

I wish I could get a handle on my glazes. I wish i had a palette of glazes that I am comfortable with, that I know how to combine/overlap. Right now I have about a dozen large tubs of glazes and about 2 dozen small tubs (2 cups) of test glazes. But there are very few of these that I feel attached to. It seems that I am a glaze junkie--always looking forward to the next great, perfect glaze!

Well, so much for apologetics!

clay work

2009-01-07T17:16:00.002-06:00

I have spent a few hours each day in the studio--no long blocks of time--but enough to feel like I am back! Did some trimming on pieces I made Monday and Tuesday--but I had done such a good job of covering everything that they really were not ready for trimming. After struggling with 3 pieces I just covered the rest and will get back to them tomorrow.

I have another 'project' at the same time. I have become unhappy that my clay is not vitrified at cone 6 but I am attached to the clay: Black Jack clay from East Texas. My mother was from East Texas very near the source of the BlackJack clay, I was born nearby, and spent the years my father served in WW II living with my grandparents in East Texas. I've thought "I am working with the bones of my ancestors!" And besides all that, I really like working with this clay. BUT it is sold as a "cone 6 - 10" clay--and it really is not vitrified at ^6--as one might expect--vases leave rings on the table! Another reason for my attachment is that I have a LOT of this clay on hand! So I began wondering if I could adjust the clay to increase the rate of absorbency (or decrease--not sure how to express getting it more vitrified.) I queried Clayart discussion group for some suggestions and now I am trying a couple of the suggestions. I added some Nephline Synite to see if that lowers the maturing temperature. Another suggestion was to wedge in some earthenware clay to lower the mature temperature. I am making tiles from both these experiments to run tests to see if either works--and what negative changes it might bring about at the same time.

So, really, with not so much time, I do have a lot going on!

opened, but not as imagined

2009-01-05T18:17:00.011-06:00

I did spend most of today working with clay--hooray! But it was not just as I had imagined. I went to bed especially early last night (~9:00)as I was determined to get an early start in the studio. Kenny does not get to breakfast until around 10:00 because it takes that long for him to shower and dress. So my plan is to get up early and go right out to the studio and come in for breakfast when he was ready. But last night Kenny called for help at about 10:00. He was not feeling well and was showing some baffling symptoms. We got him to bed and back in our own beds by 11:00 but then spent a bit of time worrying about him--maybe we should have called EMS?? There were a couple more calls for help during the night. So I did not hop out of bed as early or as energetically as I had planned. But I did go out while he dressed, then I came in for breakfast with him, and back out after breakfast. Kenny decided to spend the day inside "taking it easy". He did need some help mid-morning but after that he was fine. I was able to work until about 3:30--so I got some good time out there.

I made 2 slab pieces that I am optimistic about--a large oval casserole and a smaller rectangular casserole (sorry the pictures are not very clear)--from wood forms made for me by my friend and fellow potter Herb. Those are drying slowly now under cover. Then I put about 7 pounds of clay on the wheel to do some work 'off the hump'. There was no 'theme' to that work--just getting my hand back into the work. It felt good getting back to work!

Tomorrow Kenny goes out to the medical center for the first of 12 therapy sessions. That punches a hole in the middle of the day three times a week for the month of January--Jim is going to share the taxi service with me. I don't know if I go tomorrow or not yet. Then I have a doctor's appointment with my eye doctor at noon on Wednesday. Gosh, life sure gets in the way of doing what I want to do!! I'm sure I'm not alone in that experience. And I am luckier than most given the support Kenny and I have.

I have restarted my meditation practice. Jim and I began regular meditation practice and study in 2000. We had incredible experiences in that pursuit. Yet, a couple years ago, I dropped my commitment to my meditation practice. I have regretted that failure but have not had the fortitude to get back on the cushion. So I am very happy that with the new year I am back on the cushion. My experience in the past was that meditation was a very empowering practice.

on schedule

2009-01-04T18:49:00.007-06:00

I spent some time Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday getting ready to "open" the studio tomorrow. By gosh, I am ready! Took several hours on Thursday just to get the leaves swept out of the studio! (Our studio--formerly the garage--is also the laundry room and the thorough-fare for getting to the cars--now parked in the added-on carport--so that even when we are not using the studio the space is in use. Every time either of the doors is opened leaves blow in if there is any wind at all.) Then I went through my part of the studio straightening out and organizing tools and paraphernalia. I pugged clay this afternoon so the clay is ready to go and I laid out some molds that I want to use tomorrow for starters!

Last week I found some plastic 'boxes' designed for tree ornament storage that I am excited about. I've been wanting to make some 'cubby-hole boxes' to put tea bowls into. I have even wondered if I could make them. The plastic storage boxes looked just like a great substitute--but, alas, they are a little too small and, of course, not as nice as wooden boxes. I am going to use these to hold my small glaze test bowls--most of them fit in the little cubbies. But it still leaves me wishing for the wooden boxes that would hold tea bowls.

Compare that to Betsy Williams' in her studio/gallery in Dixon, New Mexico:

She built her's. I am a great fan of Betsy's work.

Resolved, studio opening January 5

2009-01-01T09:05:00.002-06:00

By hook or by crook, we will be working in the studio--on a regular basis--beginning next week!
It has been a long haul, but it seems that things are settling down now and with a bit of discipline we can be in the studio regularly again.
I am so eager to be working again. I have really missed getting to spend time with my hands on/in clay. I have so many things I want to try out--but watch me get there and not know how to begin again!
This weekend I intend to spend time getting the studio back into working order. It is pretty disordered right now and I can't work in that. It may take a couple days to get everything ready to go--but I want it ready by Monday!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY DEAR FRIENDS!

Happy Holidays, dear friends

2008-12-23T20:19:00.005-06:00

Detail from Kenny's Christmas painting 2005.
Click on picture to see full painting. In real life it measures 96" X 54".

my country

2008-11-04T23:36:00.002-06:00

I just have to tell you how proud I am of my country today!
I have great hopes for US again.

inspired/discouraged

2008-10-31T12:05:00.003-05:00

Randy's workshop was so inspiring. And probably being away from the studio this past month has also stirred up some fire. So with great enthusiasm I got into the studio on Tuesday to get my hands back into clay. The night before, Jim had commented that we need a/some platter/s for serving as we don't have any to use with the plates I've made and that we enjoy using. So that was my mission--make some platters to see if I could get one that I would be pleased with. Well, too bad. I had much trouble trying to get a plate big enough to be a platter! And of course it will shrink lots before it gets to the table--if it makes it through the rest of the process. I threw three pieces. One I tried altering into an elipse shape by cutting out a section in the middle and pushing the sides in. It does not look promising but is still on its way...
Well, the end of the story is how discouraging the whole process was/is. I've trimmed them and they are drying, slowly, under wraps but I have very low expectations--but high demands! Such is the life of this potter. I should have started my venture back into the studio by throwing 500 rice bowls--that might have warmed me up enough to tackle platters with more success.

Kenny is coming home Saturday

2008-10-29T09:56:00.001-05:00

He has such great spirit! He has remained so positive through all of this.

Randy Johnston workshop

2008-10-29T09:53:00.003-05:00

I’ve been trying to find a way to describe the Randy Johnston workshop this past weekend in Houston. I enjoyed it so much and was so impressed with Randy himself that I’d really like to share some of it with others.
Randy started both sessions with a slide show: Saturday morning he gave a broad overview of the history of ceramics in Japan and the pottery lineage from Leach/Hamada/Yanagi to current potters in the US by way of England. Randy studied under Warren MacKenzie in the 1960s and worked in the Japanese pottery of Tatsuzo Shimaoka in the 1970s. He had interesting stories to share of his work there and his acquaintance with Hamada whose pottery was next door to Shimaoka’s. Sunday morning he showed of some of his work and some of his wife’s work (Jan McKeachie Johnston) with references to the inspiration for his work and what he learned from it. Randy gives great attention to detail and keeps detailed notes that serve as reference for development of new work. He wood fires his pieces and is very attentive to variations he gets based on placement of the pieces in the kiln.
Following the slide shows Randy demonstrated techniques for making several of his best known works. These sessions were 5 and 4 hours long—which amazes me, now that I calculate the time, as we never became tired, lost attention or wished for a break. Perhaps because he was so relaxed and comfortable with what he was doing. He stressed the importance to him of drawing in preparation for new works. He demonstrated how he transformed his 2D drawing into a 3D piece, quite literally, by constructing patters, from the drawing, for a handbuilt coffee pot using geometric principles!
Here are the pieces cut from the patterns. (Sorry about the dark picture.)

And here is the coffeepot, without lid, made from the pattern pieces.

update

2008-10-25T20:47:00.003-05:00

Kenny's surgery went well. He was pleased--and surprised--to come out of it alive! He really expected that he would not 'wake up' after the surgery. He has asked several times if I have told 'so-and-so' that he came out OK. But he has experienced a serious set-back--from the anesthetic, I understand. On the thrid day he could not take even one step forward even with assistance. He could not feed himself. But he is at a rehabilitation hospital and receiving 4 sessions of therapy each day. On Thursday--8 days after surgery--he walked about 150 feet with his walker taking only one rest stop in the middle. That is a huge improvement. He is feeding himself now. I think he will be in the rehabilation hospital for another week. I am optimistic that he will be back to 'normal' by then. He looks forward to being 'normal' so he can help me when I need it!

This weekend I am in the lap of luxury. I am in Houston attending Randy Johnston's workshop here and staying in the lovely home of my friend Toni. I was planning to stay at a hotel--had made my reservations--when Toni learned of my trip and invited me to stay with her instead. Her home is so lovely and I am so fond of her and we so seldom have a chance to visit face-to-face that I could not resist the temptation to accept her hospitality. What a treat it is!

And I am really enjoying the workshop with Randy. Today he took us through a pictorial tour of the lineage of his and Warren MacKenzie's work. Randy was a student of Warren's in the 1960's. They live near one another and maintain a close relationship. I really enjoyed hearing the history of the Mengei movement and how it has come down to us. Tomorrow, before returning home, I plan to sneak in one more visit to the exhibit of Warren MacKenzie's work (and Randy Johnston's along with other of Warren's students) before driving back to San Antonio.

closed

2008-10-10T17:15:00.002-05:00

I'm hanging up the "closed" sign on the pottery door--and on this blog--for a while. Kenny is expecting to have surgery next Wednesday. And I am expecting to be very occupied with him and his care for the next month or so. I will put up the "open" sign when we are both back in the studio doing what we love to do! Thanks for your friendship and support!

out to lunch...

2008-09-28T17:48:00.002-05:00

Thanks for dropping by. I'm OK but I have not been in the studio since I unloaded the kiln a couple weeks ago. Just got too many 'homemaking' things to do. And I'm getting pretty grouchy these days--probably because there is no time for studio work. Once or twice I have (unintentionally) upset Kenny when he thought he was responsible for my grumpyness. That is not a good thing as he is the sweetest guy who would never do anything wrong or anything to hurt or upset anyone. Hope to get back on track soon--but it may take a while!

carrying on

2008-09-16T10:27:00.009-05:00

I have been working in the studio--although not producing much. I don't know why the out-put is so low, but that is the way it is.
I finally completed a glaze firing over the weekend. There is not much from that firing that I am too excited about.
Since the firing took place during the visit of IKE to Texas coast, I have named this bowl "Eye of the storm".

We are only 200 miles west of Houston but we did not get a drop of rain or a whiff of wind! David Hendley, about 300 miles north of Houston, is still without power and had huge oak trees up-rooted and tossed about in his yard! We have a friend in Syracuse New York who told of the terrible rain and wind storm they had when Ike arrived there as a tropical storm.

I am very happy with the house numbers and plaque that came out of that group.

This is not a good shot--bad angle and it does not show the texture on the plaque and mottled effect of the glaze on the numerals. You see that a bit better if you click on the photo to enlarge the view.

And I am fond of these 'serving' sushi plates (about 9" aquare) though I am having trouble being happy with the glaze. It is a combination I have layered many times in the past but this time I reversed the order of the layering and it made a BIG difference.

Below is "Kenny's bowl" that used the same glazes but in reverse order of layering--here light on top of dark glaze. On the shushi plates if is dark on top of light. The colors are true in both photos!

tagged

2008-09-07T15:21:00.003-05:00

Patricia Griffin taggedf me last week--along with some of my favorite potters/bloggers. I'm honored--but not too pleased! I am not a great game player and I worry that I may tag others who either have been tagged already OR do not want to be tagged! I do think the 'tagging' should come with a 'tag sticker' to put on your blog to protect against multiple taggings. None-the-less, here I go.

Here are the rules of the dreaded "tagging" thing:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog. (this is what you're now reading.)
3. Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them. (This is only a game.)
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Random Things About Me:

1. My sisters are both great game players and get very grumpy when I beg out of a game...
2. I made (stitched-up) my first bra because my mother said I did not need one yet.
3. I have an insatsiable sweet-tooth.
4. I studied Spanish for 4 or 5 years and still can't speak it!
5. In my pre-teen years, my favorite place was the Carnagie Library in a small east Texas town.
6. I am thinking about moving to Mexico if we loose this election.

Six People I Tag (with apologies if they've already been tagged)

1. Joy Tanner @ joytannerpottery.blogspot.com
2. Anne Webb @ annewebb.wordpress.com
3. Deborah Woods @ themudpot.blogspot.com
4. Amy Higgason @ pigeonroadpottery.blogspot.com
5. TS Broome @ tsbroome.blogspot.com
6. Michele D @ wildmagnolia-nolapotter.blogspot.com

and then the weekend...

2008-08-31T09:36:00.007-05:00

The trip to Houston Friday to see Warren MacKenzie's exhibition (traveling to 6 cities) and then to hear him speak on Saturday was a real treat! Jim had been a bit cool on the proposal originally but agreed because he knew how much I wanted to go. However, he was as enthralled as I was by the experience. The pots were beautifully displayed in an ample space but we were not allowed to pick up the pieces--which I was itching to do--nor to take pictures. But Jim cheated and took a snapshot of my brief visit with Warren.

The reception Friday was from 5:30 to 8:00 and we arrived a little after 6:30. There were a good number of people there but it was not crowded--which surprised me. There was no problem seeing everything, as close as I wanted, and for as long as I wanted to look!

The talk Saturday was very informal--planned to be more of a conversation than a talk or lecture. Again there were a surprisingly small number of people in the audience so it felt very personal and intimate. He talked, as he has written, of how important he thinks group criticism is to the development of the potter. He spoke of long conversations on form and design with Bernard Leach and Alix while they were living with Leach. And he said that was the part of teaching that he most enjoyed. He had weekly group criticism of the student's work and at the end of the semester there was a pot luck supper to which students and teacher brought a food contribution in a pot that had been made that semester--though there was not much talk of pots then, rather the focus was on the food! And he told of getting together from time to time with former students who live in the area around Warren (many do) to have those same sessions of group criticism. It made me wish that our Cone 6 Group might want to undertake group criticisms occasionally--but then I get nervous just thinking about it!

Saturday morning, before the afternoon talk, Jim and I visited the Menil Collection (art museum). That was the whipped cream topping on our perfect weekend!

Our trip coincided with concern for New Orleans under threat from Gustav. Driving over Friday afternoon on IH 10 we saw SO MANY huge, empty buses gong toward Houston--seemed very strange. While in Houston we saw many flashing highway signs announcing, "Hurricane season, keep your gas tank filled". On the return trip again so many empty huge buses going toward Houston--I think we saw more than a hundred of those buses. Finally it occurred to us that the buses were on their way to Louisiana--not Houston--to participate in the possibility of evacuation. At home last night we saw that New Orleans was ordered to evacuate by this morning. So those huge empty buses will be filled with people coming to Houston and San Antonio for safe haven. In spite of all that, we did not experience much traffic except as we were approaching Houston Friday evening--just as we always experience driving into Houston anytime, any day!

a great week

2008-08-28T19:29:00.005-05:00

I've enjoyed my mornings in the studio. Not producing rows of pots--like some of my favorite bloggers can do. My production is very modest--but now I have a kiln load ready to bisque--and that feels great! I am looking forward to doing some glaze experiments. That is new--historically I dread glazing--I hope the good feelings survive the experience.

We've spent our evenings glued to the TV watching the convention. A shameful amount of time spent in front of the TV. But I am one of the women for Obama! And don't want to miss a single moment of the excitement.

Tomorrow Jim and I will drive to Houston to attend a reception for Warren Mackenzie who is having a exhibition of his work there. On Saturday he will give a talk which I look forward to hearing. I am very fond of his work and really look forward to seeing some of it in person. It will also be a first outing for Jim and me since our move here in January.

It seems like life is settling into a nice pattern, finally!

just a recommendation

2008-08-24T19:23:00.004-05:00

The motivation for this brief post is to share a new blog with you. Russel Fouts is an American potter living in Brussels whom I had the pleasure of meeting at NCECA in Louisville, 2007. His work is great, very inspiring, but his blog is about looking at other people's pots, lovely pots. I am adding it to my morning stroll through the pottery blogs and thought you might like to look at it also.

We have had the pleasure of a visit from my brother-in-law, Wayne Adams. A rare treat, he is seldom willing to subject himself to the tortures of Texas heat but made this trip at the height of summer temperatures to celebrate my son's 49th birthday. Chris spent his 12th year living in Brussels with Wayne and my sister Catherine before they had their own children. So of course they have a close bond to this day. Wayne's visit was short so it turned into a marathon of family gatherings to make sure everyone of our Texas family got to spend time with Wayne from Maine. Not one minute in the studio over the last 4 days--but tomorrow...

Hello everybody, somebody?

2008-08-21T10:37:00.013-05:00

Can't imagine that there will be many readers of this blog after such a long absence. I have been busy, busy, busy!
Tying up loose ends: I completed the Majolica class and did get one satisfactory piece--Jim calls it my $300 batter bowl!

But it is on the home front that I have been so busy, busy, busy.
A week ago last Monday we had the new window installed in the library.

When we were shown this house last fall the realtor called this room the 'living room' and the adjoining room was called the 'family room'. We immediately recognized the 'living room' as our future 'library'.
On Wednesday of last week, Jim picked up the last of the bookcases we had made in Austin. Ben had already brought part of the bookcase order here along with the metal base we had made there for the library table--we have a SMALL truck so it took 2 trips. And then anchored the bookcases so there would be no threat of their falling over.

On Sunday Jim and Ben assembled the library table. The table top is a door that was on my grandfather's house in East Texas--it is over a hundred years old--I remember the awe I felt toward the door as a child. When we built our home in 1979 Jim and I drove to East Texas to pick up the door--no longer in use--and had it installed in our new home. Because the door would not fit this house we decided to make it into the library table with a metal base and a glass top.

The base weighs over 300 pounds and the door about that also--it measures 42" X 91" X 2.74." Don't know what the glass will add in weight!

Finally this Monday I could empty those boxes stacked in the library these last 8 months--at least 2 dozen boxes! Sorting the books in categories and alphabetizing them was a huge chore--taking 2 days. These are the new bookcases:

These are the old bookcases which were in our former home and we are reusing:

Jim wishes to have all the bookcases match--but I'm happy with what we finally have! Besides they are on different wall constructions so I think they look 'just right'!

Busy couple of weeks. Now I hope to get back into the studio for some real work....

a bit of brush work

2008-07-27T08:31:00.011-05:00

These are my little 'sushi' plates made in the Majolica class. Not what I had in mind--is it ever? But I am happy that I got a good coat of glaze--no crawling. I should give up trying to paint pictures!

I am feeling a bit frustrated at not getting much time in the studio. I am going to try to get out to the studio first thing in the morning--before tea and blog readings--while Kenny is showering and dressing. I've been pacing myself wait to have breakfast with him and then go with him to the studio. But lately that has been getting later and later--10:00 or 10:30. I could probably get 2 hours work done before he is ready for breakfast and then another couple hours with him after breakfast. I probably will not be too happy to break for breakfast mid-way through my work session--but I bet I can adjust to that! Jim will be out of town for the next 2 weeks so this should be a good time to try to create a new schedule for myself.

on footrings and hanging platters

2008-07-21T11:48:00.007-05:00

We have 2 lovely platters made by Daphne Hatcher, a potter in East Texas. They are each about 18" across and look great on the wall.

But we also enjoy using them on the table when entertaining.

Daphne has made wonderful footrings that sit well on the table and hang easily on the wall--in any direction.

The bold footring is undercut generously to hang on a hook in any direction.

being at home

2008-07-19T21:13:00.007-05:00

That is how it feels now in my (our) studio. All set up, comfy and all systems working. So now it is up to me to get working! I may have mentioned that I am taking a class at the Southwest School of Art and Craft--a night class working on Majolica. It is funny that I am in that class--I don't like night classes and I took a Majolica class some time back and was not inclined to follow up on it. But here I am again and I am enjoying the challenges. Night is an easier time for me to be away from home, but harder to have the energy and enthusiasm to get up and out after a long day. So far I have not produced much to be excited about.

I have several pieces waiting to be fired and several here waiting to be painted. I keep intending to do simple designs but in the ones now waiting to be fired I got carried away painting more detailed designs--flowers especially. I am still trying to find what works for me. Not sure how thick the paints should be, or the wash, or the glaze for that matter. As you see I have trouble with glaze coverage--too thick? or too thin? Don't know why/how I get the leaded-glass effect.

I am doing most of my work here which is much easier for me than packing up my gear and taking it downtown then having to pack up to bring it all back home. So I go for the lessons and to see what everyone is doing. I chat some to learn what I can from my classmates. Then work it out here at my own pace. A great luxury to be able to do that! I prefer working alone though I miss a lot by not being more involved with the class.

We are still in the process of settling in here in the house. We get one space nicely ordered, just right. Then in the process of setting up the next space we clutter up the just-before-settled space! Frustrating! There is progress--but I long for the day we feel that we are really 'at home'.

good newses

2008-06-30T20:39:00.003-05:00

Ron had a great sale last weekend. Doug had a great sale last weekend. Wow. So much for the bad economy. Isn't is great that good work is recognized, appreciated and supported in good times and bad.
On the home front there is good news here too. Jim got my glaze booth installed this week. I can't wait to use it. It is in a small room (closet really) with an exhaust fan to the outside. Now if I can get my air compressor to work I'll be in great shape!
And, equally important, Jim has the small air conditioner for the studio in his car to carry to the repair shop tomorrow. It was in my studio before we moved. In the move, a coil was broken and all the coolant leaked out. It has been intolerably hot in the studio the past couple weeks--in the 100s--so that even in the mornings it is too hot to work out there. I had a repairman come to fix the A/C a few weeks back but the way our contractor installed the A/C it could not be removed by the repairman. Today the contractor came over and took it out so that Jim could take it in to be repaired.
I am taking a class at the Southwest School of Art and Craft this summer. It is a Majolica class. I am a bit ambivalent about this style of ceramics. We have dishes from Mexico in this style that we have collected over the last 28 years and greatly enjoy using. So maybe it is something I will enjoy making. We'll see!
Truth to tell, I've had some big adjustments to make this year. I have a whole new schedule which is not mine to dictate. I don't like talking about it since is sounds like complaining when what I am feeling is incredible gratitude that I am in a position to make these changes that I believe make such a huge difference in Kenny's life. At earlier times in my life I could not have done this without sacrificing other parts of my life that would have been hard to do. Now it is a joy to be available to him for this time. At earlier times, Kenny was experiencing such incredible independence that had I taken on 'caring' for him it would have inhibited what he was able to do for himself. He was doing things that no one could imagine he could do. He has lived a very full life in spite of his limitations. I should start a blog just about Kenny--more appropriate that inserting it here. But then, we are sharing the studio--he is very much apart of my ceramic adventures!

slow reporting in

2008-06-27T16:31:00.007-05:00

As of Wednesday I've known that the kiln did fire successfully after Tony changed the breaker. However, I feel only partly secure that the failures are behind me. The test fire I ran after Tony worked on the kiln the first time was successful but the subsequent firings were not. So until I fire the kiln another time or two I won't be totally certain that all is well.

As to the pots that were in the successful firing...they were an awful mess! They had been in 3 or 4 unsuccessful firings. So that may have played a part in their destruction. But there may have been another more significant factor. I was so tired of loading and unloading the kiln that I decided to 'test' fire with all the pots loaded AND I decided not to program the firing as I ALWAYS do. Instead, i set it to automatically fire to cone 6 at a medium rate. In my book, it overfired. However, cone 6 is set to fire to 2236 F in this mode. I never fire higher than 2190 F--usually to 2185 F. I had 3 cone packs containing cones 5-6-7. All of the cones were down. Cone 7 was down touching cone 6--it still had a slight arch but it was riding on the back of cone 6.

So what was the effect? I had several shallow bowls in the firing. The glaze popped off the upper area of the outside and fell in pools on the (new) shelves. The glaze did not run down the side of the pots--it blew off the pot and landed a few inches away from the foot of the bowls. On the inside of the bowls it did look like it flowed down the inside of the bowls. There were probably 8 or 10 pieces that were thus affected.

On the other hand, I had about 18 test tiles in this firing. Only one or two looked like they were overfired--like they had been burned. The others look good--exciting in fact. I just hope it does not mean that these glazes have to be fired this high to be successful. This was the high point of the firing. I had mixed up 5 different base glazes and had made 3 or 4 variations of each. It is the first time I have done this and it was very interesting to see the similarities and the differences in the variations. I have not made photos of the glaze tests. I am discouraged by how hard it is to get good color reproduction from my photos.