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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2018-02-26 - Monday - Josh Copus workshop

This might actually be the furthest behind I've ever been on this blog. Major catch-up. I hope I'm up to date by the holidays...

Monday I attended the Josh Copus workshop at Queens University. I really like Josh's work and his philosophy and his energy. This man has an unending supply. It's great to be around that positive attitude whenever possible. He's also a great story teller and I love good stories.

During the workshop he showed us the brick factory. He made waterstruck bricks and asked people to decorate them for a project he's doing. We all had a chance to make some bricks and decorate some others.

He also brought the wild clay petting zoo. He has samples of ~10 wild clays with a fired bowl made from each. Though he made each bowl from the same amount of clay, they are all different sizes due to the material's properties. One of my favorites is called "butterfat". It's fascinating but not very structural.

He also worked on one of his large sculptural pieces.

Good times.

Josh with his brick mold.

Bricks are waterstruck.

Participants participating.

A sign his nephew(?) made.

Throwing the base for one of his sculpture pieces.

Denny Gerwin working on some bricks.

The decorated bricks.

Mine.

A view of the table.

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2018-02-24 - Saturday - Justin Rothshank workshop

Saturday was the first day of the Justin Rothshank workshop. Justin produces unique work with decals, glazes, and many firings. It was fascinating to hear about his work philosophy and about his part in creating the Union Project in Pittsburgh. Quite an accomplished person for being under 40.

Justin Rothshank demoing.

My friend Sue always brings the best chocolate.

Bumper sticker in the parking lot.

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2017-02-12 - Sunday - Fong Choo workshop, day 2

Sunday was the second day of the Fong Choo workshop. It was a good day with lots of information, demonstrations, and discussions.

Making spouts.

Working with the spray booth.

Some of the work he made during the workshop.

Mugs.

Teapots.

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2016-08-27 - Saturday - Kevin Crowe workshop

Saturday was the first day of the Kevin Crowe workshop. Like so many potters, Kevin is very talented and an extremely nice person. He is quite a potter and shares his knowledge and skills freely. He showed us so many tips and tricks to make our pots better and make it easier to do things.

Kevin wood-fires his pots in a three-chamber kiln. In the first chamber he relies on the wood ash to become a glaze on his pots during the four day firing. In the second chamber he puts his regular glazed pots and in the third chamber he uses salt to glaze the ware.

Demoing a tall cylinder.

The base for a large pot.

Break time.

Some of Kevin's work.

More of the room.

Adding coils to the thrown base to make a larger pot.

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2016-02-28 - Sunday - Second day of Nick Joerling workshop

Sunday was the second day of the Nick Joerling workshop and it was just as good as the first. I learned a great deal and I had several "breakthrough" moments. Thank you to Nick for sharing all his knowledge and skills with us. I'm inspired.

The workshop was sponsored by the Carolina Clay Matters Pottery Guild and was held at Central Piedmont Community College.

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2016-02-27 - Saturday - Nick Joerling workshop and sunshine

Saturday was day one of the Nick Joerling workshop. It was great. I've admired Nick's work for quite a while and it was very interesting to see his process. He gave us lots of information and quite a few laughs.

On the way home I noticed the sunlight on some overhead wires but I had to zoom in with my phone to get them. The phone lens normally pushes everything back.

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2016-01-31 - Sunday - John Britt Workshop Day 2

After day one when I thought my head couldn't hold any more information, there was day two. I wish I had a whole semester to learn this stuff because it's very dense (like me). I took lots of notes and John gave us some great handouts. I won't be sharing any of those, but I highly recommend attending one of his workshops to get your own.

I'm of two minds after the workshop: I feel empowered by new knowledge and I realize how little I know. The dichotomy of learning.

I have included photos of some of my favorite groups below. As you can tell, I'm big on variations of texture and color.

Leading on.

Three on the left, different clay bodies in reduction.
Four on the right, different clay bodies in oxidation.

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2016-01-30 - Saturday - John Britt Workshop

Saturday was the first of a two-day workshop at Clayworks with John Britt. I have been looking forward to this workshop since it was announced.

John knows glazes.

He can talk in elemental notation and explain things to everyone, including beginners. He's also quite funny. He approaches glaze formulation with a lot of knowledge and a lot of humor. The combination keeps us non-chemists from getting information overload.

The last time I attended a John Britt workshop it was only a one-day lecture and it was centered on high-fire glazes (cone 10). This time it was based on mid-range firing (cone 6).

You can get both of his glaze books here:

The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes, Glazing & Firing at Cone 10

The Complete Guide to Mid-Range Glazes: Glazing and Firing at Cones 4-7

Leading the class.

Some of the almost 3000 test tiles he brought with him.

Discussing options.

Did I mention how many test tiles there were?

Sunset out the back door of Clayworks.

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