2018-03-23 - Friday - Empty Bowls!

Friday we attended the Empty Bowls event for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. It gets bigger every year and we are always glad to be there. I'm honored to be asked to do wheel demos at the event.

Bowls!

More and more bowls!

Kimberly and Susan at lunch.

After the event was over we took the equipment back to Clayworks and I ran into Lee Zimmerley glazing her pots.

Gorgeous painting.

Lots of work to glaze.

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2018-03-09 - Friday - Empty Bowls and loading kiln

Friday we unloaded some bowls for Empty Bowls. I was pleased with the slip transfers.

Later I went out to Lawndale to load Hal's kiln for the next day's firing.

Hal in his kiln.

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2018-03-07 - Wednesday - Mint, yard, Empty Bowls

When I walked out on Wednesday I was struck by how nice the heuchera looked. It seems to be liking its home.

Wednesday night I went to hear Denny Gerwin speak at The Mint Museum. He covered his education and career so far by reading short stories he wrote about the people and events in his life and how they related to his work. It was nice.

To find out more about Denny Gerwin go here, here, here, or here.


Later I went to Clayworks to glaze more Empty Bowls.

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2018-03-06 - Tuesday - Empty Bowls glazing

Tuesday night I glazed a batch of empty bowls. Onward and upward.

Waxed...

...and glazed.

When I got home I noticed a glow in the sky to the south.

It was intriguing.

Really intriguing.

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2018-02-28 - Wednesday - Many things

The May Apples are starting to pop up. I'm always pleased to see that they like it in our yard.

Wednesday night I went to Clayworks and did the slip transfer on the cut rim bowls. Not too bad. I may have to do more of this in the future.

On the way out I noticed that tree again. I checked; it is a Bradford Pear. I'm not a fan, but it sure did bloom nicely this year.

I stopped at the store on the way home and was completely grossed out (again) by the latest Oreo flavors. Please make it stop!

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2018-02-27 - Tuesday - Josh Copus workshop, day 2

I wasn't planning on attending the second day of the Josh Copus workshop, but I couldn't resist going back.

Tuesday was more of the same high energy presentation with lots of fun stories thrown in --and pizza!

I want to thank Josh for the workshop, Denny Gerwin for the program at Queens and Molly Bloomer for heading up the art club and inviting me to the workshop.

Josh demonstrating decorating bricks.
(Molly is taking photos, top left.)

Denny manning the pizza oven.

Lots of goodies.

Denny's got the dough.

Josh is going strong with a new group of students.

That evening I went to Clayworks and made some larger Empty Bowls with cut rims. I'm planning on doing some slip transfer on the rims.

When I was leaving I noticed this tree out back. I'm not sure what kind it is; it could be a Bradford Pear volunteer, but it was striking in the artificial light.

I mean, just look at it.

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2018-02-13 - Tuesday - Small batch

On Tuesday I did some slip transfers on a very small batch of Empty Bowls. One of them was my first attempt at a cut rim bowl. I need to explore that further.

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2018-02-07 - Wednesday - Empty Bowls process

Wednesday I got the first batch of Empty Bowls back from the kiln. I thought they came out pretty well. Now to get the rest of them done.

I also did some slip transfer work on another batch.

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2018-02-06 - Tuesday - Slip transfer painting

Tuesday I did some more painting of slip transfer designs in underglaze. I will use slip to transfer the design to my Empty Bowls.

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2018-02-01 - Thursday - Slip transfer

Thursday I used some of the new designs on the Empty Bowls. I really like the way the designs pop when I pull the paper off the bowl.

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2018-01-31 - Wednesday - Slip transfer

Wednesday I worked on some more slip transfer designs for Empty Bowls using underglazes. I am really enjoying the slip transfer process.

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2018-01-30 - Tuesday - Empty Bowls and crazy

Still working on Empty Bowls, I trimmed some more feet.

Someone said, "You have to be crazy enough." I liked it so much I wrote it on the white board in the members area. Someone else added the response. True enough.

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2018-01-28 - Sunday - My Other Self and the Empty Bowls

I noticed that the other me that Ju-Ian made was contemplating the Empty Bowls I had on my shelf. He's really interested in them. What can I say? He's obviously got good taste.

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2018-01-21 - Sunday - Slip transfers

Sunday I went in to work on more Empty Bowls and start playing with slip transfers. I've watched Greg Scott work with the process for quite a while and decided to try out what I'd learned from him.

There was a whole lot of glazing going on when I got there.

Students glazing their work.

I settled into the third classroom to try out some slip transfers with underglaze designs I made. I was immediately taken with the process as the designs really popped when I applied them to the bowls.

Let me back up and give you a bit of the process.

First I paint designs on newsprint paper. I start with the black as an outline and apply color afterwards. Since the images will be reversed, the black is on top when applied to the bowl.

Next I cut the designs into strips and apply slip to the bowl and the strip of paper. I then place the paper, slip-side-down on the slip that's on the bowl, and burnish it with a soft rib.

 Finally, I peel the paper off the bowl and the underglaze design is transferred with the slip. As you can see, I played with applying the design to raw clay, to a fully-slipped bowl, and to a half-slipped bowl, using the transferred design to delineate the sections.

I see more experimentation in my future...

Speaking of Empty Bowls, tickets are on sale NOW. If you'd like to attend this wonderful event, please hurry to the website and get your tickets before they are sold out. I'll be there, and you should, too.


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2018-01-20 - Saturday - Empty bowls gather no moss

I was out in the yard on Saturday and was struck once again by the beauty of the moss on our driveway. You can still see a little bit of snow on the part of the driveway that stays in the shade.

Later, I went to Clayworks and threw some more Empty Bowls.

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2018-01-18 - Thursday - Trimming

Thursday I trimmed some of the Empty Bowls. After a conversation with Kira a while back, I am putting a more substantial, architectural foot on my bowls. I think they look much better.

Thanks Kira.

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