2017-02-24 - Friday - New tea bowl

The other night I saw John Britt holding one of these Robin Mackay tea bowls on Facebook and after I got my breath back, I clicked over to her website and ordered one. When I was ordering it I had some questions about the shipping so I called her and we had a lovely conversation. Potters are generally pretty nice people, and Robin is no exception.

I couldn't wait to get that cup in my hands and it arrived on Friday. It was everything it was in the photo and more.

Beautiful work, Robin!

Go to her website to check out the cups and while you're there look at her other work. I especially love the cairns.

.

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.

.

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.

.

2010-07-25 Sunday - John Britt workshop

Sunday was the John Britt workshop sponsored by Clay Matters.  If you are interested in high-fire ceramics and you have a chance to attend a John Britt workshop, do it, you won't be disappointed.  He kept us interested from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm in a room with no air conditioning.  How's that for a recommendation?  :8^)

John Britt explaining firing techniques.

.