Teapot Tuesday #3

This is a teapot I made about twelve years ago.  It has had a doomed history.  I hated the first lid I made for it as it had nothing to do with the rest of the pot.  That lid broke so I made a few more.  What I did not realize at the time was that I was using a different clay body a friend had given me.  It was low fire but not the warm terra cotta I like for majolica.  The first one of that series was just right; unfortunately the cats I had at the time knocked it off a shelf and broke the lid.  This is a second choice. It fits fine but is a little too big for the teapot.  If you look closely you should be able to see the cracks where I glued it after another disaster.

I glazed it with Linda Arbuckle's majolica at (I think) ^04.  The designs are done with mason stains.  I mixed the strawberry color; the green is Florentine, a great favorite of mine.

Now that I have a safer place to store work in progress I may try a few more.....someday!

It was about 39 F. and cloudy when I got up this morning.  We have actually started up the woodstove again.  This is almost May for pity's sake.  Give me a break.  I'm just glad we are having longer days and that I don't live any further north!

Stay warm or cool as the case may be.

As always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

Wordless Wednesday

Teapot Tuesday #2

Two views of another experiment.  This little guy holds one generous cup of tea, or it could be used as a cruet of some sort.

I like the shape and the spout half of the glazing, not so much the handle half.  I was trying to break out of the overall decoration I usually do.  I like the idea of the green stripe but it should have more of the flow the flower decoration.

This is also a good example of why it's important to keep track of what you are doing.  Don't answer the phone without making a note of the colors you are using.  The stems and leaves are in Mason's Celadon; the stripe is Mason's Florentine.  It's easy to see the difference in the final product, but difficult  when the stains are unfired.

PRESENCE OF MIND IS IMPORTANT!!!

I will add links to other potters as they post.

Meanwhile visit Gary, (our fearless instigator of  Teapot Tuesday!)  and Lori.

Happy Earth Day!

Is spring really sprung or are Mother Nature and Grandfather Frost preparing for one final, cosmic joke?  Toes crossed.

I hope everyone is enjoying sun and good spirits.

As always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

Mermaid Mug

I've been going over stuff I have made in the last year or so.  This 10 oz. mug has the handle on the corner opposite the one shown, which forces the user to drink from the corner.  My handles are very plain and utilitarian.  There's nothing wrong with them, but nothing that adds to the mug either.  I originally left the terra cotta exposed to represent the earth when I was working with plants designs about a zillion years ago.  I think I am going to experiment with taking the glaze down the bottom.  One of the benefits of working in low fire is that the glazes are so stable that i can go down to within a hair line of the base.

I posted this one on Facebook/ Mugshot Mondays.  There are lots of terrific mugs and cups there.  The only problem I have is the strange way Facebook posts, which seems to be completely random.  

We have had several days of real spring weather.  The pool is almost full;  I'll probably set up the pump and filter tomorrow.  Of course it's way too cold to even think of swimming, but it always makes me feel like summer is coming when I open the pool.  This also gives me time to work on it so I don't go nuts when the weather gets warm.

Enjoy the day and, as always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

Spring!

Time to bring out the bunnies and birds.  Spring appears to be truly here at last!

For those of you celebrate, a Happy and Joyous Easter to you!

For the rest of us a wish for a sunny and peace filled spring.

As always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

Wordless? Wednesday

April 16, 2014 at 7:30 AM for Pete's sake!

Stopping by woods on a snowy morning?!

Teapot Tuesday

Last week Gary said he was thinking about  Teapot Tuesdays.  Being a tea drinker to the point of addiction I think this is a great idea.  Lori Buff has also posted a pretty fine teapot on her blog.

I make a pot of tea in the morning.  If I want more later in the day, I use a smaller pot or brew with a tea basket in a cup.  I only use loose tea so I have a number of devices to make tea in the cup.

This little pot is about the size of a grapefruit.  It holds one very generous cup of brewed tea.  It's made of white earth.  The blue background was put on the green pot and fired.  I then glazed it in Spectrum Clear, painted the decoration on the raw glaze and fired it to ^04.  

I'm fairly pleased with the final product.  I'll probably make some more this summer.

Everyone should hit the links and visit to see more teapots
 Gary;  Lori;  Mark & Meredith

 I just had a doc appointment cancelled.  She, fortunate woman, is on call this week and will be spending her day at the hospital.  Gosh, I'm glad I don't have the hassle of a day job anymore!

Today has been rainy and windy with dropping temps later in the day.  The cancelled appointment and the lousy weather have given me the gift of time to spend in the studio.

Enjoy your day and, as always, thanks for stopping by........*s*

Spring may Finally Be Here

Mind you, I am not saying it is spring, but KikiLaSois has taken to sitting on the plant shelves, something she only does when it gets warm.  Who knows why.

The photo below is Kiki lounging in one of my bird baths/serving dishes.  I took it last year.  This is a cat that loves sitting in my bowls.  If I don't cover them I can be sure of finding a cat in it.

Nothing, however, will match the day I walked into my old studio and found my five Siamese cats each sitting in a freshly trimmed bowl in a row on a table by the window.

Lots of daffodils are in bloom,but this little guy showed up by the pond this year.  I have no idea where it came from but it sure is cute!

We've been seeing lots of frog eggs in in the pond.  This big guy just showed up today

Sadly we seem to be missing our biggest white fish, Moby.  We are hoping she is hiding in the weeds, as mating season is starting  The males chase the females to the point of harassment.  They hide in weeds and roots to rest.

I haven't been doing a lot with clay as I have been trying to get my studio into a semblance of working order.  There's something about a clean studio that just calls to me.

Enjoy the week end and, as always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

OOPS!

I just realized that I never connected this to Sunday Ceramics 14.  Go ever and take a look at the potters who meet up at Kim's.

Studio work has mostly been limited to cleaning and straightening my studio and chasing cats out of bowls.  This is a daily occurrence.  Part of the cleaning is making some covers for the front of my shelves.   It always amazes me how junk accumulates over the winter.

Enjoy the week ahead and again, thanks for stopping by..........*s*

Wordless Wednesday

click on image to enlarge

Sunday Ceramics

It has finally warmed up enough to be able to work in my studio for more that thirty minutes at a time.  When I was up in New Hampshire in January, it was long enough without heat for the cement slab to cool way down!  Needless to say winter has gone for entirely too long.

I have a bunch of small clocks that I've been making.  I just barely sketched in the numbers; obviously they need better placement.  The flower design is waxed so I could do the background without smearing the colors.  I always enjoy getting back to painting and decorating.  After all, it is the reason why I work in majolica.

We actually have crocuses (crocusi?) in bloom!  A month late but finally here.  Hooray!

Proge put in the pond filter a couple of days ago, after five inches of rain in a day and a half!  Below is a rather blurry picture of one of the fish babies.  We've counted six so far.  They're just about the size of the photo.

This will be posted on Sunday Ceramics 13.  I'll also put a link up on Mud Colony on Facebook.

Have a great week ahead and as always....thanks for stopping by........*s*

Wordless Wednesday

RIBBIT!

Frog Whistles