before and after the fire

Some of the little tests that were not so satisfying:

a tale of woe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

my country

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

inspired/discouraged

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

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

Randy Johnston workshop

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

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

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...

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

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

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...

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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'.