Looking back on 2008 I feel truly blessed. Not only do I have a wonderful and loving family, but our health is good, we have a roof over our heads and food on our table. Those last two things mean even more than usual given the state of the economy in 2008.
I made many new friends this year. I made a lot of acquaintances too, but I'm talking friends here. These are the people that make a difference in your life. 2008 has been a banner year for making friends. You know who you are.
It has also been an amazing year for keeping in touch with old and new friends. Between this blog (thanks again, Becky!) and facebook (thanks Elaine!) I have kept in touch with many friends and reconnected with several 'lost' ones.
2008 has been a big year for me in clay. I have completed my 100 pots journey (thanks again, Elaine!), which you might have heard about. If you asked me six months ago if I thought I could throw one hundred pots in ten weeks, well you know...
I have worked with stoneware and earthenware. Made terra sigillata from the parking lot at Clayworks, and made yellow spotted shino. I have pinched and thrown pots, decorated pots with slips, glazes, and stains. Worked out a new (for me) type of hollow, flanged lid that is thrown right-side up off the hump. I have fired cone 10 reduction, cone 5 oxidation, raku, saggar, and fired in a barrel. I have thrown some small pots, some large pots, and all the sizes in between. I have attended my first three workshops (Peter Rose, Peter Lenzo, and Tomoo Kitamura) and they were wonderful.
One of the biggest accomplishments I made this year in clay was to get serious about it. After sixteen years I have started really paying attention to what I am doing and why I am doing it. I have looked at more great pottery online and in person in 2008 than I have probably seen in the last decade. The blogosphere has made a huge impact on that. If you'd like to know where I get a lot of my inspiration, check out the blog roll on the right. These folks are for lack of a better, more dramatic term, amazing.
A lot of thanks go to my good friend and teacher, Greg. He has shared some of his wonderful insights on the nature of art and pottery that have kick-started my journey of discovery. I am seeing lines and forms and gestures in a way I never realized was possible. I am thinking about things around me in a whole different light. I'm noticing things.
It has truly been an inspiring year. In 2009 I am looking forward to pushing my pottery to new and different places. I am hoping to do more raku, concentrate on form and decorating more, and even slip a couple of pieces into a salt kiln. I'm hoping that 2009 will take my journey ever onward and upward to new heights I currently don't even know exist.
Here's hoping that 2008 was good to you and 2009 challenges you and takes you to places you never thought possible. May we all continue to live in interesting times.
Showing posts with label pinched. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pinched. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Barrel Firing # 3
Barrel Firing # 3 roared (literally) through on Sunday.
Most of the "regulars" were there and they came to burn stuff. Elaine, Becky, Minke, Cindy, and I got to play with dirt in the fire once again.
First, the preparations.
Copper sulfate, carbonate,
and iron --oh my.
Loading and laughing.
Work, work, work.
The pots piled in.
Elaine strikes the match.
It's catching.
Too hot to be next to it.
A conflagration.
Now we stoke, watch, and wait.
While we let the magic happen inside the barrel, we worked on other projects. Elaine pinched some pots, Minke worked on a sculpture, Becky and Cindy threw parts for animals, and I worked on our light box for taking photos of our pots. After several hours, it's time to check our firing progress.
Becky and Elaine check to see if
everything is finished burning.
Looks pretty good.
There's a lot of nice color on
the visible pots.
Elaine says it's still too hot to unload.
Becky the blogger hard at work.
Treasures cooling on the concrete.
More wonderful pieces made with fire.
Minke's ladies got some great color.
Elaine had the largest piece in
the firing and it came out great.
Cindy's cat liked the heat.
Elaine showing one of her
beautiful pots.
The pot I decorated with my
"parking lot sigillata".
One of Becky's wonderful birds.
Elaine gets great results with her
Chore Boys.
Most of the "regulars" were there and they came to burn stuff. Elaine, Becky, Minke, Cindy, and I got to play with dirt in the fire once again.
First, the preparations.
Copper sulfate, carbonate,
and iron --oh my.
Loading and laughing.
Work, work, work.
The pots piled in.
Elaine strikes the match.
It's catching.
Too hot to be next to it.
A conflagration.
Now we stoke, watch, and wait.
While we let the magic happen inside the barrel, we worked on other projects. Elaine pinched some pots, Minke worked on a sculpture, Becky and Cindy threw parts for animals, and I worked on our light box for taking photos of our pots. After several hours, it's time to check our firing progress.
Becky and Elaine check to see if
everything is finished burning.
Looks pretty good.
There's a lot of nice color on
the visible pots.
Elaine says it's still too hot to unload.
Becky the blogger hard at work.
Treasures cooling on the concrete.
More wonderful pieces made with fire.
Minke's ladies got some great color.
Elaine had the largest piece in
the firing and it came out great.
Cindy's cat liked the heat.
Elaine showing one of her
beautiful pots.
The pot I decorated with my
"parking lot sigillata".
One of Becky's wonderful birds.
Elaine gets great results with her
Chore Boys.
"Look right here.."
Yes, it's beautiful.
It was another great firing with a lot of creativity, fellowship, and fun. I'm already looking forward to BF#4!
Thanks everyone!
As usual, you can see more pictures of BF#3 over at Becky's blog.
Yes, it's beautiful.
It was another great firing with a lot of creativity, fellowship, and fun. I'm already looking forward to BF#4!
Thanks everyone!
As usual, you can see more pictures of BF#3 over at Becky's blog.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Surprise sigillata
My green parking lot sigillata now just looks like a satiny clear coat. I think it was Dave that half-kiddingly suggested that the green color could be algae. We laughed about it, but he might be right since it appears to have all burned out at cone 010. It's usually exciting to open a kiln, sometimes even a bisque kiln.Well, off to bed. Early morning for the Peter Rose workshop.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Psyched
I am psyched about a lot of things right now.
I have signed up for the Fall session at Clayworks.
I am going to a Peter Rose workshop on Saturday at the Arts Council of York County with a bunch of my friends from Clayworks.
I am looking forward to Barrel Firing #3 (BF#3) on Sunday.
I have more work right now than I can handle (but I'll find a way).
In preparation for Barrel Firing #3 (or Son of Son of Barrel Firing) I made two pinched pots. The one on the left is decorated with my parking lot sigillata. Yep, that's the GREEN stuff on the pot. I have no idea how it's going to turn out, but that's what makes it exciting. The pot on the right is just burnished with the back of a plastic spoon.
I bisqued them to cone 010 last night and am waiting until tomorrow to open the kiln. I am anxious to see how the terra sig came out in the bisque. These are going to be fun in the barrel.
I also threw in the <insert large number here> stamps I made a few weeks ago. I was worried about firing the stamps to 010, but my friend Dave Timm (who has way more experience) assured me it would be fine. Thanks Dave! Those stamps will be fun to experiment with in the Fall in my class at Clayworks. Did I mention I signed up for class at Clayworks?
I have signed up for the Fall session at Clayworks.
I am going to a Peter Rose workshop on Saturday at the Arts Council of York County with a bunch of my friends from Clayworks.
I am looking forward to Barrel Firing #3 (BF#3) on Sunday.
I have more work right now than I can handle (but I'll find a way).
In preparation for Barrel Firing #3 (or Son of Son of Barrel Firing) I made two pinched pots. The one on the left is decorated with my parking lot sigillata. Yep, that's the GREEN stuff on the pot. I have no idea how it's going to turn out, but that's what makes it exciting. The pot on the right is just burnished with the back of a plastic spoon.
I bisqued them to cone 010 last night and am waiting until tomorrow to open the kiln. I am anxious to see how the terra sig came out in the bisque. These are going to be fun in the barrel.
I also threw in the <insert large number here> stamps I made a few weeks ago. I was worried about firing the stamps to 010, but my friend Dave Timm (who has way more experience) assured me it would be fine. Thanks Dave! Those stamps will be fun to experiment with in the Fall in my class at Clayworks. Did I mention I signed up for class at Clayworks?
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