2017-10-25 - Wednesday - Scummy

While the glazed pots sat on the shelf overnight the soluble salts surfaced in the shino glaze in what we call "scumming up". The salt crystals trap the carbon during the reduction firing making the shinos work, so scumming up is a good thing.

We finished loading the kiln and started candling it for tomorrow's firing. When I left it was up to 573 F with a long way to go.

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2017-10-07 - Saturday - Muddy Fun and stuff

Saturday was Muddy Fun Saturday! We had our usual class of eager students and helpful volunteers.

Ralph's kiln was finished cooling so I sneaked a peek to see how it went. Everything looked good and my mugs were no exception.

I was pleased with the shino.

Later I threw some more butter dishes and a couple of jars.

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2017-05-25 - Thursday - New pots

Thursday I got some of my pots back from the kiln. Kimberly fires it beautifully with lots of reduction in our shino-centric firing schedule.

I'll get better photos taken soon. Until then, here are some snaps.

A cart full.

One side of the snorkel pot...

...and the other.

This guy.

Abstract.

Tea bowls.

Mugs.

Detail of the bottom of the snorkel pot.

Different detail of the snorkel pot.

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2016-10-01 - Saturday - More glazing

I came back Saturday to finish the job, which included more dipping, pouring, trailing, spraying, and painting. I keep adding more treatments and layers to my glaze work.

Jeff Pender and I were feverishly glazing for the fall shows and firing the kiln on Monday.

These pots dried in front of the fan from last night
and look quite a bit different.

I love the way this shino looks when it dries.

I really do.

Still glazing...

Finally!

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2016-09-27 - Tuesday - Binkley plaque and shino crystals

Tuesday we got a wonderful surprise. My parents had a commemorative made for Binkley. It's very well done and it means a lot to us.

Tuesday night when I was at Clayworks I noticed the crystals growing in the orange carbon trap shino we use. The lid has been off this bucket for a while now since the glaze was too thin and we're waiting for some of the water to evaporate. There are soluble salts in the glaze and when they are exposed to the air they grow impressive crystals.

No flash.

The flash really makes the strands visible.

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2016-07-06 - Wednesday - Glazing 2

Wednesday I finally got to the glazing part. Lots of shino, lots of dipping, pouring, trailing, painting, and spraying. My glaze work has really gotten more complicated over time. Layers on layers.

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2015-08-10 - Monday - Unloading the kiln

On Monday Kim, Becky, and I unloaded the kiln. As always there were some surprises, but overall I was happy with my haul. It's like Christmas in August.

The only problem I had was some of the new woo yellow I mixed "shivering" off of my garlic pots. I am going to get some help "loosening up" that glaze.

Some of the glaze popped off the bottom curve.

A closer look.

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2015-05-12 - Tuesday- Pots

Tuesday I slipped two pots that I made in April. These will get shino and various other surface treatments.

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2015-04-25 - Saturday - Pots and plants

Saturday I went to Clayworks and threw two very round pots. I like it when the pot is very round and the opening becomes triangular as it's a nice combination. I will glaze these with some nice shino and they'll be warm and rich.

It rained on and off during the day and while I was out in the yard with the dog I noticed a spider web with rain droplets on it. Pretty nice, even with just the cell phone camera.

Beauty is all around us.

Don't miss it.

It can be easy to overlook.

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2013-11-13 - Wednesday - Glaze-a-thon

Wednesday I glazed several pieces because the gas kiln is going to be fired on Monday.  I spent five hours glazing.  It always takes me longer than I expect, especially now since I am using more layers.  I dip, pour, brush, spray, and have a lot of fun.  There's usually some jumping around and dancing involved too.  I really get into the groove sometimes.

I use the fan to quick-dry between layers, but I also love the way it makes the shino scum.  Scumming makes the shino grow crystals on the surface.  You can get scumming if the weather is rainy before the firing or to a lesser degree by using a fan.

Sometimes when one of our shino glazes has not been disturbed for a while we find heavy crystalline growth on the inside of the bucket.  I usually try to get those crystals on my pots.  I'll try to remember to get a photo of the crystals in the bucket next time.

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August 22 - Wednesday textured pots

Wednesday I made two textured pots at Clayworks.  I will be glazing them with shino and decorating them heavily.  I'm looking forward to it.

On the way home I stopped at the supermarket for some milk.  When I came back to the car I noticed the footprints I left on the way into the store.  My crocs pick up a lot of clay dust at the studio and I always leave footprints.

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2009-04-21 Tuesday New Pots

I have finally taken some pictures of some finished pots. These pots were fired in the last two ^10 gas firings. I will try to post some of the others as time permits.

This is the pot with the sutures
that I sprayed with oxides:
iron, copper, rutile, and cobalt
(alfred blue glaze).

Spotted shino with alfred blue.

Spotted shino with alfred blue on rim.

Detail on rim and neck.

Yunomi with spotted shino and alfred blue.
Sprayed with some oxides.

Yunomi with spotted shino and alfred blue.
Sprayed with some oxides.

Spotted shino with oribe on rim
and yanagahara accents.

Tuesday 2009-03-10

Ron offered to let us put some of our pots in his recent salt firing. I jumped at the chance and gave him one of my craggy crunch pots. I lined it with shino and decorated it with a little bit of red and yellow underglazes. The rest is the salt. I was VERY pleased. Thanks Ron!

I love the finish on this pot.

Proof of the salt firing --wadding marks!

2008 in the rear view mirror

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.

Another fired pot and a photography rant

Here is another piece from the last firing of the previous class session. It's an orangestone pot 2 1/2 inches high by 4 1/4 inches wide, glazed with spotted shino and decorated with some glazes that I neglected to record, fired to cone 10. It's got a nice, wide rim and feels good in my hands.

While trying to capture an image of it I found some interesting ways to do it.

First, the inside.

Here's what I used.
I put a piece of Meredith's old artwork
face down on my keyboard,
turned on the macro button,
moved back, and zoomed in to the pot.

I tried the same thing for the outside, but it was blurry.
(and a bit crooked!)

I returned the zoom to "normal", moved the camera closer
and now the flash was too much at that distance.

Finally, I placed my finger over about half
of the flash to cut down the blast.
Much better, but since I'm not zoomed in,
the limitations of my improvised backdrop are obvious.

I read a lot of clay blogs and I feel bad for people who make beautiful pieces and post blurry photos of them. It can definitely be a challenge, especially with a little point-and-shoot camera like I use, but if you keep trying you can usually find a way to make it work. I continually re-take shots using different combinations of options until I get what I want. I think we all need a class in digital photography just to make "everyday" pictures of our pots.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled rant.