shibui

Robert Genn, a Canadian painter, emails out a newsletter twice a week on subjects related to art. I especially enjoyed the one I received today so I am posting it here in its entirety.

"Shibui is a broad term that can mean irregularity of form, openness to nature, roughness of texture, and the naturalness of daily life. Also known as Shibusa, it refers as well to the Japanese "Seven aspects of being," which are simplicity, implicitness, modesty, silence, naturalness, roughness and normalcy. It's seen in raku pottery, architecture, folk crafts, haiku, gardens and painting. Shibui is worth thinking about no matter where you are or what your art.

Fact is, perfection is boring. Shibui allows viewer participation in the artist's art. It's particularly valuable in an age of highly finished and sophisticated machine-manufactured products. Shibui comes naturally, shows the hand of the maker, and triumphs gesture and the vagaries of process. While there are hundreds of ways to bring shibui into your life, if you think you might include the idea in your painting, here are seven:

Use the whole brush--right down to the ferrule.
Have more than one colour on the brush at one time.
Hold the brush well up on the handle.
Work freshly and let intuition be your guide.
Feel the energy and direction of your subject.
Be not uptight, but relaxed.
Quit when you've connected and while the going is good.

In a way, the making of raku pottery is a good metaphor. In the fiery arms of the kiln god, work takes on a form of its own. Think of yourself as a kiln rather than a labouring artisan. Under the smoking straw of passion, work shapes itself and becomes its own statement. Shibui is all about trust--trust in your materials, trust in your instincts, trust in yourself, trust in the kiln. Shibui transforms frantic work into calm joy and subdues the creator with relative contentment. As well, viewers get a strong feeling they are looking at art.

In shibui, sheer ease is a virtue. Hours fly by as the creator becomes lost in process and the gentle curiosity of outcome. You never know what you're going to pull out of that kiln.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Austere, subdued and restrained are some of the English words that come closest. Etymologically, shibui means 'astringent,' and is used to describe a profound, unassuming and quiet feeling." (Bernard Leach, "A Potter's Book" 1940)"

You can subscribe to Robert's newsletters by visiting his web site:
http://www.painterskeys.com

oh, my gosh

I am having a blast. Last night Ben, my youngest son, mentioned a library cataloguing program for the Apple computer: Delicious Library. Jim and I have said we would like to catalog our books so today I looked for the program on line, found it, and downloaded it. It is 'delicious'! So fancy--and so easy! You can scan in the ISBN number or type in the name and the program goes on line to download all the information about the book--all the technical data--and book reviews. It creates a record of the book with a image of the book cover on the book's icon! It lets you make a record of books you loan out--with the borrower's name from your address book and marks the book's icon with a tab, "OUT", stretched across the upper right had corner . I've spent a couple hours scanning in my pottery book collection! Maybe I am just a frustrated, wanna-be librarian, but this is too much fun!

Next week I AM going to do a bisque firing. Then I am going to get serious about glazing! I have really been out of it lately. But I AM, I AM going to get focused on my pottery work. I AM.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

And he said, "I know you'll treasure it a long time."
Kenneth Zachry Karcher

time flies

I don't know where, exactly, but I look up and it has been quite a while since I have posted.
I guess I've been distracted. Jim is fine and the car should be ready this weekend. The insurance is paying for the repair (~8,000).
Kenny has had several falls, nothing serious--but, since it is such a challenge for 'us' to get him back up on his feet, he and I both stay anxious over the next fall. The last was at 1:30 am night before last. 'We' (the we is Kenny and me since Jim is out of town) tried our best to get him up off the floor onto the bed but could not do it. So I called EMS. The firemen were here in minutes--and always so gracious--but I hate calling for their help. This morning Kenny called from the shower where he was desperately hanging onto the grab bar trying not to slip down to the floor before I got there to grab onto him. We made it! When 'we' make it sucessfully, he usually ends up laughing (out of relief, I'm sure) and then tells me how much he loves me!
Each morning, after breakfast, we go out to the studio. That might be 9:30 or 10:00 before we get there. Then Kenny is through for the day at noon and ready for lunch. I intend to return after lunch to do some more concentrated work--but frequently don't get out there again that day. Good thing I'm not trying to make a living out of my clay work!!
This house had extensive plantings when we moved in. And, fortunately, it had a water system. Unfortunately, it is not working properly. I called for repair work but it seems it may be cheaper--and better--to put in a new system instead of trying to repair this very old system. I have been waiting for an ‘estimator’ to come see what I need and what it will cost—but he has been unavailable. In the meantime, I am spending a good deal of time watering by hand as I don't want to loose the plants that are dependent on the system. To make things worse, because of the installed sprinkler system, there are NO hose outlets anywhere near all these lush plants.

The terrace plants seen from the studio door.


The terrace plants seen from inside the living room (see my computer on the table in front of the window--no wonder I spend so much time browsing the web.)

I am NOT whinning or complaining--I am just reporting in!

an interesting week

Monday I did a glaze firing. Nothing very exciting in it--mostly bowls for Empty Bowls--but the 'plate/bowl' that I made for Kenny turned out well. It is hard to tell that it is not a pie plate! But he used it last night and gave it a thumbs-up! So that was good.



Wednesday night our little Cone 6 group met here for the first time. It is such a nice group of people and I really enjoy getting to spend a whole evening talking about pots and glazes with fellow potters. The evening seemed much too short. I wished for more time with the group. We meet once a month and alternate meeting in the home or studio of one of the group.

Thursday Ben and I had a date to visit the ceramic collection of a friend of mine. Ben is my youngest son and the one with the most interest in ceramics--mine and the greater ceramic world at large. I had heard about my friend's wonderful collection of ceramics and had asked if Ben and I could view his collection sometime. What a collection! I think he has pieces (not just one) of every well-known potter I know anything about--and many I was not yet acquainted with. He really is serious collector and has wonderful taste in his selections. That was a real treat to see 'up close' those wonderful pots but even more special to get to pick them up and feel the weight and balance of each piece! We also got a tour of his own studio. Both Ben and I came home with beautiful pots made by our host! Wow, what a great experience.

Friday Jim was driving home from his week in Santa Fe. We knew he would be getting in late, expected to arrive around 9:30 pm, so we did not wait dinner for him but did have dinner waiting for him. At about 8:30 I got a call from Jim which began, "First, I'm OK." Well, I knew that was not the opening to a good news message! He then described the accident he had when a deer landed on the windshield of his new car while he was driving about 70 miles and hour! He was just west of Junction, about 110 miles from home, and needed a ride! I drove to Junction to pick up Jim and his paraphernalia from the trip. We got home about 1:30. He had not eaten since breakfast so a light dinner was in order before we turned in for the night a little after 2 am.



What a week!

studio work

as opposed to clay work.

My style of settling in here has been to set up one room at a time by moving all the boxes and furniture that do not belong there into the next vacant space. Well, I did that big time in the studio--pushing buckets, boxes of fired ware, and boxes and packing materials into the room next to the studio--Jim's workroom. So I got the studio set-up to the extent that we could move around and work in there. This weekend Jim began to tackle that space and pushed all the pottery overflow back into the studio! So much so that Kenny could not walk through HIS space with his walker! So yesterday Kenny stayed in his room setting up an area to draw in while I worked at getting the studio ordered again.

Now that I have the kiln wired and working--one bisque firing under my belt--it is time to glaze. But the glaze room is a jumble of glaze chemicals and tools. The glaze room is really just a closet with 2 doors--it is also the hallway between Jim's workroom and our studio. I am going to have a small--table-top--spray booth with strong vent and a little counter space for mixing up my glazes. Most of my glaze chemicals are stored in plastic shoe boxes and fill a tall shelf. I have a few large containers (pet food)under the counter for the chemicals I buy in bulk . It is really tight but I think it is going to work well. As I am looking for "my style" in my pottery work, I am also searching for 'my palette of glazes'. The result of those searches is that I am drawn to every style of pottery making and every kind and color of glaze--and have at hand everything I need for that search. I imagine that when I finally get there I can eliminate all the excess and focus on just what I love to do. But the truth of the matter is probably that I will always be searching and experimenting--and stuffing more stuff into our little studio--because that is what I love to do!

for Andrew

When I was in Japan I met someone who had worked with Shimaoka. My acquaintance had acquired some shards from Shimaoka's BIG pots that Shimaoka thought not of the quality he wanted and so had destroyed. My acquaintance gave me one of the shards which has the classic rope inlay design. I've tried to make photos of the work to show you--but the quality is not great (my camera or my skills with the camera?) The shard measures 3" X 2".


I turned off the flash in the following because of the reflection, but it did not help much.



The shard is very thick--it measures a full 3/8 inch. But then he was making BIG pots!


There is no texture from the rope inlay--there is a lot of texture to the piece but it is from the clay not the design.

I have these lovely orange lilies in the living room that lift my spirits each time I walk through the room. The pleasure these flowers give me stimulated me to make a tall, heavy bottom vase to hold an arrangement of tall flowers without toppling over. After the vase was thrown, I decided I would try using the punch'ong stamps I bought at NCECA last year. I love the work made with these stamps but so far I have not mastered the use of these stamps. The stamps are of small flowers--like little daises. Slip is applied over the stamped area and after the slip has firmed up a bit it is scraped off the high areas leaving the slip only in the recessed area formed by the stamp. My clay fires to a very light grey so I used a red oxide slip. After I had painted the slip over the stamped area I thought I might use leave it that way--the trouble I've had using the stamps int he past is in trying to remove the slip from around the stamps.



Then I realized that I was treating this project as "too precious" for not wanting to follow through on the process. So I have gone back scraped away slip between the flowers. So we'll see how this works after it is bisqued and glaze fired.



With the help of a friend, I did get new elements into my kiln so it is ready to fire and I have a batch of dried pieces ready to be fired. Feels good to be back in the swing of the studio.

no more boxes

in my living room! Yeah! It has taken 2 months and lots of intermediate steps but we finally got the last of the boxes out of the living room. Not that we don't still have boxes (mostly books now) but they are not piled up in the living room. I can see now how depressing that was for me. I feel like shouting every time I walk through the living room--it is so wonderful!

I was planning to spend the morning replacing the elements in my kiln today with the help of a friend--but at the last minute she had to change our get-together to next Thursday. I have an accumulation of bowls to fire--but really no rush to do so. Some of them are for the Empty Bowls project of the guild which will be held in May. Others are just for playing around with glazes. The studio is working very well for us. It is a pleasant place to be in. Kenny functions very independently there--we are still working on improving his easel set-up but he manages with it as it is. I am beginning to remember where I put things in the studio--takes a while and sometimes lots of searching.

This move has been so arduous that I have a HUGE repulsion against saving anything that I don't have an immediate use for--which is very much against this family's standard-operating-procedure. I got an email from Sarah Susanka's "The Not So Big Life" that really fits the situation:
"The questions we need to ask ourselves today are: 'When do we know we have enough?' and 'What could we do with our lives if we weren't so focused on acquiring more?' Or in my case, 'What could I do with my life if I weren't spending so much time searching for where I put it?'

in the studio

with Kenny. We had a little set-back last week which kept us out of the studio till today. Our time in the studio today was pretty brief but at least we got out there and got some work done. Kenny is working on a painting of cars from the movie, "Cars". His first show was a series of cars from his childhood--which I thought were terrific. He has always had an unrequited love affair with cars!


In the photo you see Kenny in his corner of the studio. His easel is not working well for him--it was made for someone to stand at but he has to sit--there is no room for his feet under the easel so he is back too far from the canvas. Back to the drawing board for that one!

Other views of the studio:


This is my little nest (my wheel surrounded by tools) looking out onto the terrace.


This is a wonderful worktable that the contractor made for us out of a cabinet that we had removed from one of the bedrooms. One side (this) is low for Kenny to sit and draw--or for me to sit and draw!


The other side is high for me to work at standing. I can wedge clay at one end and have lots of handbuilding tools and paraphernalia at hand. In the cabinets below, just behind my chair at the wheel, are my bats, trimming equipment and wareboards. I am loving this work space!

Watching Kenny struggle to get his food on his fork or spoon I imagined making a plate with a 'pusher' side. But when I tried to make something like that I ended up with a plate with a standing rim that makes a nice pasta bowl! It might be a bit small for him--or for a real pasta bowl but it is a beginning point. I've made good notes on the amount of clay used and size of the plate/bowl wet so I will know where to start from when I decide how I need to adjust it. The bowl here is ~9 inches wide and 1 1/4 inches high at rim. The picture does not show the depth of the plate/bowl.

a leap-year-day baby

My new grandson, Jack, was born smack in the middle of February 29! So for 3 years out of every 4 he will celebrate his birthday with his dad on the 28th. Just think, he could graduate from college when he is just 5 1/2 years old. But I guess he would have to forfeit all those between-leap-years birthday parties!

Oh, and BTW, I did work in the studio over the weekend and have it pretty much ready to start back to work there. I need to call for help to replace the elements before I can fire--But I am eager to get back at the wheel and it is ready to go! I am not ready to post a video tour of our studio--Have you seen Ron's tour?--but may put up some snap shots soon.

PS

My son Ben has an interesting post today on his blog, "I claim this as a pot". I think you will enjoy it.

life with Kenny

What a great greeting to start the day, Ron, thanks! (see Ron's comment to last post) I really miss being active in the pottery-blog exchange and hate the thought of people going to my blog and finding no activity--perhaps it will change soon. Ron is such a conscientious blogger, I'm seldom disappointed when I check into his blog. Ron's current exploration of new clay, glaze, slip and firing temperature is very inspiring. It is hard for an artist who has achieved success to venture out into new realms--I think it great (and healthy) that he is doing that.

I've thought of changing from a pottery blog to "Life with Kenny" since that is the defining activity of my life right now. Not that he is demanding, but it is an adjustment having someone to look after a bit and prepare meals for and such. But more to the point, living with Kenny again after 25 or so years is an incredible experience. Of course, I've stayed in touch with him all these years but I have not been close enough to know what living his life is like. He is amazing. Everything he does, must do, is a challenge, is very hard to do physically. Yet, he does it. He has an incredible drive to be independent in spite of his dependence. And never complains. An amazing person. (See comment section February 11 for a little of Kenny's background.) I could write a whole book about him! But I won't!

Today is dedicated to putting the studio in order. We have basic order in the house--though there are still boxes to unpack but they don't dominate the scene. I hope to stay in the studio all day and to have basic order there by the end of the day. It will be a landmark day when I turn the wheel back on and slap a chunk of clay down on it and pull something up!

I belong to a small group of potters here who meet once a month to share/compare experiences around Cone 6 glazes and firings. We meet tonight and I look forward to going--I have missed the last 3 meetings--maybe 4.

So, all and all, it seems that I am getting close to getting back on track! Seems it has been a long detour. I remember when the windows went into the studio and I was excited about my new studio home--that seems a very long time ago. I had no idea then how far away that new studio really was.

routine vs spontaneity

Today, as I was helping Kenny up the ramp to the (soon-to-be) studio, I experienced a wave of 'well-being'. It is the first such experience I've had in quite a while. Earlier in the day I had been thinking that I am going to have to very disciplined in my daily schedule if I am going to get to have much time in the studio--there is going to be a lot of housekeeping and caretaking required around here. But it seems to me that discipline (routine) is deadening. It seems that those sparks of well-being come when I step out of the familiar. How can I maintain a routine and still allow or promote some spontaneity in my days? These days are very irregular--being still in the setting-up-of-the-household stage. Perhaps I am moving from being overwhelmed by the move to fear of losing my self in my responsibilities. Looks like I am getting addicted to worrying and feeling overwhelmed. Gotta do something about that!

on the other hand

"Future shock [is] the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time." - Alvin Toffler

finding my way

I've read that a powerful personal development tool is to give up/change habitual patterns. (I first encountered that idea when reading the work of an Italian psychologist and then found it again recently in "The Not So Big Life.") The goal is to keep oneself more alert, more alive in the present moment. Well, let me tell you I am in the midst of one heck of a big change--and I am sure counting on it to pay off! It is not the amount of work that has to be done--it is the trying to figure it all out that is killing me--or waking me up! I had imagined putting things into boxes (big job), moving them to the new home, and taking things out of boxes and putting them into their place. What I did not realize is that NOTHING has a place until I figure it out. Nothing here corresponds to what we had before. I remember when we moved into our new home in 1979 being amazed at all the storage space we had--especially in the kitchen. I thought I'd never need all that space. Well, of course, I filled it all up and then some. Now here in 2008 there is not nearly enough space and I am stymied trying to figure out where to put each thing. I'm dreaming of a huge garage sale in the near future--though I hate putting my belongings out for public review.

Kenny arrived with all his boxes last Tuesday. By Thursday he had unpacked and put into place everything he brought with him. I was impressed! And once he was settled in I've felt more inspired to get myself settled in also. Jim and I got some planning done over the weekend while he was home (recovered mostly from his bout with the flu) and that seems to have opened things a bit for me to move forward. The contractor is trying to finish up the 'details'--though his list of things still to do looks a lot more significant to me than 'details'. The longer he takes finishing up, the more we find for him to do extra!

I am so eager to set up the studio and get some clay on the wheel. I am not there yet--but getting closer every day! Our guild is having its annual juried exhibition this month--I probably won't even get to the opening. But soon...

making connections

The mailman brought me a special package yesterday. It contained a catalog from an art exhibition in Austraila. The exhibition was a collection of the work of the Japanese artist, Rengetsu (1791-1875). She was raised in an well endowed family and received an exceptional education--especially in all the arts. Yet her life presented many hardships for her to overcome. Rengetsu was married twice and gave birth to several children--none of which survived infancy. When finally she found herself totally alone she became a Buddhist nun.

Here is the connection I am leading up to. To earn a little money she began making pottery--mostly for the tea ceremony--which became very popular. She was also a well respected poet, calligrapher and artist. She wrote her poems on her pottery in her unique calligraphic style. Her work reminds me of Elaine Spallone's grieving vessels. The work of both these artists is very inspiring to me. I am certain I will try my own version of this when I finally get back into my studio.



The catalog is lovely with several essays about Rengetsu and her life and photographs of her work.

working hard

We have been sleeping in the 'new' house for week and a half. I can't believe how hard I've worked trying to 'settle in" yet it still looks like our first day here. My sister-in-law stopped by today and was amazed to learn that we had been here for a week and a half and still were in such disarray. I try to blame it on our contractor who has not finished his part of the work. But it seems to be more than that. I was slow getting ready for the move because I was trying to be very organized about my packing: eliminate every thing that we don't need to keep and have everything clearly marked so I know exactly where it goes. Yet it did not go like that. There is a pile of boxes in the living room with designations of every sort. Each room is filled to capacity with furniture and boxes in great disarray. I don't understand why. We tell ourselves that it is because the contractor has not finished his projects so we can't finish ours. We had hoped that he could be finished with the floors before we had to move but that did not work out. So there are areas we can not use for sorting out and unloading into. On the other hand, each day I think...today I can sort out one room or another...but as soon as I start there I am led into another room that needs the same attention. In the end none of them are checked off my list. If I could just clone myself into 5 parts and each part could attack one area we would get there. As it is I am not sure we will ever get settled in.

Our contractor is great. He is working as fast as he can and is so responsive to our needs. For example, the refrigerator did not fit in the space designed for a refrigerator so it was sitting in front of the window looking out to the street. Jim's solution was to take out a small, dumpy desk area and put the refrigerator there. He asked our contractor about that and immediately the desk area was gone and refrigerator was put in place and leveled! In the space designed for the refrigerator we will build shelves to overcome the inadequate cabinet space. We keep telling ourselves that it will bel great--but it is an act in process--and in the meantime we live in chaos.

The studio looks great on the outside. But on the inside it is a pile of studio paraphernalia next to lots of equipment belonging to the contractor. I tried to sort it out today but made no headway. I did clean the windows of dirt, grim and paint residue. Seems insignificant in view of all that must be done. But you gotta start somewhere! And today was a great day to do outside work--75 degrees and sunny. Starting tomorrow it will be cold and rainy and I will be happy to be inside sorting boxes. Maybe..

a vocabulary conundrum

When we were packing and I was trying to eliminate the non-essentials Jim would want to keep something because of its 'story'. I told him everything in our house had a story and some of which must be sacrificed anyway. Among the things we packed for our move with a story are these JUGS Jim and his grandfather found in an old still in an abandoned shack many years ago. They had been fishing and took a break to walk in the woods where they came upon the shack and found in it a large number of these jugs. They had been used for "moonshine" during the days of prohibition. These are three of the many (27?) 'little brown jugs' they brought back from their fishing trip. This is what comes to my mind when I hear someone speak of a 'jug' so I am always set back a bit when Doug Fitch calls one of his beautiful slip-ware pitchers a 'jug'. I think these simple jugs have great integrity. Their simple, strong form is very appealing. There are no markings on any of the jugs. The two in back are the same size and hold EXACTLY the same amount--just over 2 liters. The jug in the front holds about 1.5 liters. The picture does not show the size variance very well.



I thought about going through the house with my camera for this post to show you the incredible mess I have created. But it would be too depressing for you and too embarrassing for me. We are sort of stymied while waiting for the floors to be renewed and the storage area to be completed so that we can begin unpacking all that we did not eliminate. I can't set up the studio until construction is over because it is full of the worker's tools. I do have my bed set up and it is very welcoming at the end of a long day of hauling everything around. I know there is an important lesson here--hope I can learn it--Jim hopes I can learn it as well. I am amazed and grateful at how well my body has held up to the stress I have put it through.

It took us a week to move after all the packing was done. I have thought about the families that were given an hour or so to evacuate their homes ahead of fire or flood. I have wondered how I would manage if I was given only a few hours to evacuate my home! I guess it shows the extent of my attachments.

My fingers are itching to get hold of a ball of clay!

thoughts while packing

I am sure I've already told you that I think this packing is for the birds--or maybe I said something stronger--well it was not strong enough! But I'll let it go at that. A friend came to help me pack today. She left saying, "Oh, poor Gay." I told her it was karma at work--I bought it/collected it so now I have to pack it!

I had some other thoughts too. I have been an enthusiastic practitioner of several crafts through my life. The first was sewing--I've made most of my clothes since I was in high school. Then after marriage I got into cooking--a necessity but for me it became a creative expression. Then I tried my hand at several arts for brief periods until I encountered clay, which became an almost overwhelming passion. In each of these endeavors I've enjoyed collecting all the paraphernalia. Sometimes I wonder if it is the equipment and tools of the trade that attract me more than the craft. Well, you see that is what I am having to deal with now. I have everything you could use in the kitchen, I have all the sewing equipment and supplies one could imagine. And I have left-over collections of pens, inks and papers from my calligraphy affair. I have more dishes that some restaurants. And the tragedy is that I don't want to give any of up. So here I am packing up all this stuff--you would not believe how many trips I've made to buy boxes! It seems to be too late to change--so I'm stuck packing, storing, finding space for it all.

I am excited about my 'new' studio. But it is only a 2 car garage and I don't think it is going to hold all of my pottery equipment, tools and materials. I'll report in after we are settled and we can see how it is all going to fit.

windows for Gay

I did not realize how discouraged I had become until yesterday when I got excited about the windows going into the garage-becoming-studio. It gave me such a lift I suddenly saw how low I had fallen. This packing business is a very tedious job. In the first place it is hard work and makes a mess of our home while we are still trying to live here. And furthermore, it is discouraging to see the result of a life time of acquiring 'stuff'--mostly books. Now I have to handle each book or other 'stuff', decide if it is a keeper or not and where it is to go in either case. Too many decisions, too much physical work and too much emotional stress!

But the windows are going to be wonderful! From the outside--even from the living room--it makes the studio look like an inviting and interesting place--no longer a garage!


Pardon our mess while we are constructing!

From the inside it is even more exciting. My wheel will be sitting right in front of the window, so that I look out on the wonderful terrace while I am throwing. I can even see into the living room directly across the terrace from the studio. Today a mess, tomorrow (almost) a dream come true!



I recall seeing Japanese potters sitting where they are facing out the window--the wheel set up right next to the window. That seemed like such a luxury. What a lucky lady I am!


This is where Hamada sat to throw pots at his home studio in Mashiko.

The other potters in his studio also sat in front of a window. Keep in mind that these potters are sitting cross legged at the same level as their wheel. Oh, the aching back and legs!

on practicing your art

Ben has a thought provoking post on his blog that I think some of my potting friends might find interesting. In fact, I'd love to hear reactions from those who would be willing to share.

Justin, son number 3, sent me a photo of myself taken at the Christmas gathering at his home last week. He suggested that I exchange it for the one I was currently using on my blog--he thought it a better picture. Ben agreed that it would be an improvement! So you have it--an updated photo for my blog! A new me for the new year.

Merry Christmas

We've been trying for years to cut back on the commercial side of our Christmas celebrations. We have made some headway in that direction over the years, but this move, happening right in the middle of the holidays, has given our quest a real push forward. Traditionally, we gather our children, my sister and her family together on Christmas Eve for a Mexican-food dinner. This year that was out of the question. The only decorations in the house are the lovely cards from family and friends that line the mantel. One daughter-in-law, Sara, jumped in to fill the gap and had us all together at their home last night. A lovely evening with all my children and their children. We have moved from drawing names to "Chinese Gift Exchange" and finally, last night, to no gifts at all--just a wonderful celebration of the season and what a great family we are!

Today Jim and I are pushing each other to pack boxes--books mostly--since that is mostly what we own to pack! Years ago, when Ben was 5 or 6, someone broke into our home and took every electronic thing we owned. When the policeman was here taking inventory of what was stolen, Ben expressed his surprise that they had not taken any of our books--our real treasure! The policeman said to Ben, "Kid, those guys don't know how to read!"

We don't have a moving date yet--it depends on the completion of the work at the house. We are thinking we may actually move on January 11--a day after my birthday. But in the meantime we will be putting our household goods into cardboard boxes! I probably will not have much to write about in the coming days.

In the meantime, I send wishes for your joyful, peaceful, healthy and happy holidays!

my RED bowl

Well, here is my red berry bowl. The only really nice piece to come out of the last 2 firings!


The refire did change the other bowls, but did not transform them. They are still ugly ducklings. The kiln is reaching the target temperature on the top but the bottom shelf is underfiring. I probably won't try to fire again before we move. Time to pack up the studio.

on second thought

After the firing reflections. I had loaded only the top two sections, leaving the lower 2 sections empty hoping to get this one last firing to ^6. I made cone packs with ^4, 5, 6, 7 so I could see exactly how the firing went. ALL the cones were flat in both of the top sections. I had four glazes in that firing: Tenmoku, Gay’s Green, Floating Blue, and Rusty Bronze Satin Matt. I GOT RED. But, I did not get anything else! All except the Tenmoku suffered from over-firing. Gay’s Green and Blue Hare’s Fur have been such dependable, successful glazes it was a huge surprise to see what a sorry mess they came out. Quite a learning lesson. One other time I was very disappointed in some pieces with Blue Hare’s Fur and did not understand why. Now I am sure it was from over-firing.

I got the over-firing because, in my determination to get one more good glaze firing from the almost spent elements, I set the top temperature a bit higher than usual, soaked at the top a bit longer than usual and then soaked again on the way down—as for a red firing. It just got too hot for everything except the Tenmoku.

So, lessons learned: 1) when I want red I should have a whole kiln full of pieces glazed with the same glaze; 2) when I want glossy, I need to let the kiln cool naturally without a hold on the way down; 3) I have got to know my glazes better than I do now. I have been firing all the glazes in pretty much the same way—and always pretty slow.

It was great to get such a nice red bowl! But a great disappointment that the other pieces are unusable. I feel like I understand the glazes a bit better now and that I can probably get the red again when I want it again.

As we reviewed the bowls just out of the kiln Jim suggested that I refire them--they are nicely formed pieces. I said, "NO". My last attempt at refiring was totally unsuccessful, I'm not going to do that again. Well, on second thought I AM going to try to refire! There was a suggestion that if you heat the pots before applying the glaze you can get the glaze to adhere. So I will test out that suggestion. Well, what do I have to lose? Can't (won't) use the pots as they are. And after all, the mantra of the potter is, "Test, test, test", or "experiment, experiment, experiment" and keep good records! Think I can get 'one more firing' out of these elements? Yeah, I think so.