2018-02-10 - Saturday - Bisque kiln

Saturday I loaded some cone 5 tea bowls into my kiln for a bisque firing. I loaded another level on top of this one, but didn't take a photo.

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2017-11-15 - Wednesday - Kilns and pots

On Wednesday the gas kiln was being loaded, so we should be firing soon.

I bisque fired some pots in my own kiln for the gas kiln firing.

Bottom level.

Top level.

In the evening I trimmed some tea bowls and put handles on some other pots. I've been trying some new cuts on my tea bowls lately and I like where they're going.

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2017-10-11 - Wednesday - Kilns and pots

I had a bit of a set back on Wednesday when I opened the bisque kiln and saw the destruction inside it.

Note to self: Always preheat.

I lost five out of seven butter dish lids. I was pleased with them because they felt substantial, like crockery and that's what did them in. Well, that and the fact that I didn't use the preheat function.

Live and learn...

I glazed the surviving pots way into the wee hours of the morning.

And loaded the glaze kiln.

...and I was off to the races again.


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2017-08-16 - Wednesday - Bisque kiln

Wednesday I loaded a bisque kiln. I had quite a bit of work going all the way back to my first set of fish for the totem.

I also bisque fired the three-face pot. I've decided the bottom guy looks a bit stoned and it was even more pronounced when he was reclining in the kiln. Well he is made out of stoneware...

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2016-12-13 - Tuesday - Food and bisque

While I've recently been cutting back to lose weight, I sometimes still eat a large breakfast. Most days I skip lunch or have a small supper, so splurging once in a while at breakfast is not such a big deal. Today was migas with spinach and cheese, half an avocado, leftover baked beans, and an English muffin --a truly international breakfast. This was followed by a skipped lunch and a small supper. Currently down 15 pounds over two months with a ways more to go.

I unloaded the bisque kiln on Tuesday evening. It was full of mine, Judith's, Ju-Ian's, and student work. It's nice to share.

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2016-12-11 - Sunday - Fungus, mold, and bisque

Sunday I was clearing some leaves in the flower bed and thought I saw a bunch of acorn caps, but it turned out to be a type of birds nest fungus. It's all over the flower beds growing in the wood chip mulch. It's pretty darn cool. The mycelium, the part that grows under the ground attaches all of them together like a mat. I had to really work to break one off for closer examination.

I believe this to be a slime mold in another part of the flower bed --or it might just be mold, but it's awfully defined and contained to be a regular mold. I'll let the experts decide. Do you know any mold experts?

Sunday afternoon I helped load a bisque kiln.

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2016-11-18 - Friday - Bisque kiln and autumn

Friday afternoon I helped Susan Meadows load a bisque kiln we were sharing. We had some of her faces, some of mine, and several other pieces in there.

This bush in the courtyard was draped in it's autumn best. I didn't realize the photo was a bit blurry, but I think it is still worth including. Beautiful color change.

2016-10-17 - Monday - Glazing and kiln

While I was busy this weekend, I left my latest face pot crash-drying on a chair in front of a fan on Friday evening. Saturday my friend Grace loaded it into a bisque kiln for me and Monday night I glazed it, put it in the gas kiln, and started the kiln candling so Kimberly could fire it on Tuesday.

Phew! Talk about last minute!

It's good to have friends.

Glazing is such a lonely business when
you're the only pot being decorated.

He's in the kiln.

It was already at 457 when I left.

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2016-08-10 - Wednesday - Bisque kiln

Wednesday I loaded another bisque kiln with raku and cone 10 pots. I've been throwing a lot of pots and not glaze firing any of them. I need to relieve the log jam.

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2016-07-09 - Saturday - Bisque kiln and more pots

Saturday I loaded a bisque kiln and made some new pots. I'm on a roll.

Bottom layer.

Top layer.

New pots. Raku in the back, cone 10 gas in the front.

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2016-03-03 - Thursday - Bisque kiln and more

Thursday night I was settling in for the night and ready to skip going to Clayworks when I suddenly remembered I needed to unload the bisque kiln. Oh well, back out into the world I went. It didn't take long to unload the kiln and I spent some time catching up with some of the students, instructors, and studio artists. The evening quickly flipped from a chore errand to a nice visit with friends.

I find that kind of flip often happens if I let it. I start out dreading a task and there is usually a way to turn it to a positive thing if I just give it a chance. Flip it on it's head: I don't have to go to the studio for some menial chore; I get to go to the studio and see who's there and what my friends are creating.

I am constantly amazed at the creative energy that flows through the people at Clayworks. It's both familiar and disrupting. It makes you stretch your parameters to embrace the breadth of the ideas in process. It's so many creative people going in so many different directions at once, and they're all starting from the one thing they have in common: clay. After that starting point all bets are off because they will continue to surprise you at every turn.

If you're a creative person, a maker, I hope you have the opportunity sometime to be in a creative incubator like I am.





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2016-03-01 - Tuesday - Clay

Tuesday I ran by Clayworks after lunch and loaded a bisque kiln. Work has been piling up on my shelf since before the holidays and it's time to push ahead.

Bottom layer.

Top layer.

I went back later in the evening to work on pots.

My friend Vince found another of my Empty Bowls on the shelf that hadn't been glazed so I finished that up last week and it magically appeared on the finished shelf after firing.

Keeping an eye on you.

I trimmed up the tea bowls from last week. I was going to throw some more, but it was late and I cleaned up and left. Tomorrow's another day.

Trimmed and signed.

This is my signature on tea bowls and has been for several years. I like it since it's a bit different, and it allows me to glaze inside the foot ring.

My signature on tea bowls.

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2015-10-26 - Monday - Bisque kiln

Monday I started a bisque kiln since I have a bunch of pieces to get moving.

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2015-09-19 - Saturday - Full day

Saturday was a big day at Clayworks. We had the Arts & Science Council's Connect with Culture program. Events were happening all over town and for us it meant three Muddy Fun style classes from 9 to 3 and four children's classes from 1:30 to 5.

To say things were hopping at the studio would be an understatement. The classes were great fun and the students were naturals at the wheel.

In between classes I unloaded the bisque kiln and after the last class I started waxing and getting a first coat of glaze on a lot of the pots.

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2015-09-16 - Wednesday - Pots, bisque, and kilns

Wednesday I put some faces on some of the pencil holders and started loading a bisque kiln. Unfortunately I reserved a 7 cubic foot kiln and my pots wouldn't fit so I had to request a 10 cubic foot kiln. There were also some other pots that needed to be loaded so we ended up choosing the larger, oval kiln that would fit everything. I will be loading that with Kimberly, our studio manager in the morning.

I'm trying to get everything glazed so we can load the gas kiln on Sunday. If we start the bisque kiln on Thursday morning I should be able to unload it on Saturday afternoon.

Pencil holders.

Pots ready to bisque.

I tried laying these tall pots down in the bottom of the
7 cubic foot kiln, but I couldn't fit everything in it.

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