Hanging Out

I've been trying something different with this post.  Rather than writing the whole thing at once, I've been making notes here and saving them.  Before I post I will be doing some  editing....a lot of editing!

I've been thinking about 'hang-around' pots.  These are the ones that I finished but didn't sell or destroy.  Now I am asking myself "Why do I keep these?"  The three pourers/sauceboats were prototypes that I never carried though on.  They started out as bowls. I then slashed and altered for the spout and added to foot and rim.  I got the initial idea from an old Penland book on clay.  I don't want my work to be a copy but to be informed by what I have looked at.  I made a few notes, then returned the book to the library and started on my own.

The top one is glazed with Linda Arbuckle's majolica white.  I always go back to this one, so obviously it's a great favorite.  In it's raw state it's pleasant to work on.  Fired it feels good in the hand and against my lips.

The next one is Spectrum 251-Satin White.  I like the way it looks and feels but have mixed feelings about decorating on it.  Designs smear easily.

The third one is obviously unglazed....it has too many structural problem to survive another firing.  When I do an experimental series I like to leave one unglazed.  I like, but am not thrilled with the handles on the two below.  The pulled handle on the first one doesn't feel like it fits the altered state of the pot.

The little teapot I use as my gravitar is made much the same way.

Three, rarely five, is what I do for a so-called series.  If I do make more I generally decorate in groups of three.  Too much of a good thing makes me crazed.

How do you get rid of unwanted pots?  I have a special sledge hammer that I use for smashing them to bits.  I use it for the base of driveway fill.  There's one area to the side of the parking area that I want to fill in.  Eventually there will be enough pottery bits to make good drainage, then I'll bring in a load of fill to finish it off.

More weather is coming.  Supposedly it will be mostly rain here, but Hollis could get socked again.  If we do get snow it will be wet and heavy with the potential for tree limbs and wires coming down.....so what else is new?

I'm hoping the second season of Game of Thrones will arrive today. (Oh, is that why you have dragons on the brain, Suzi?)  Which leads me to Ocarina Dragons.  Which means research in Mud to Music,  getting out my recorder to look at the holes, and tuning my guitar.  All of which sounds far more technical than I really am.  I generally try to get a lot of info and then go by the seat of my pants.

This post is also over on Mud Colony, and (late addition) Artists in Blogland.  I hope everyone will hit the links and take a look at what is going on around the world of clay and arty stuff!

Enjoy the week end and stay dry!

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

Many Things

I'm leading off with a new cup I bought at the Christmas Sale at the South County Art Association..It's by Jason Fong the new gallery manager at SCAA.  The interior is called ice blue.  I wish my photography could properly show the subtlety of the glaze.  It looks wonderful with tea, with or without milk, in it.  

It was fired in The Glauworm Kiln that Thomas Ladd (click on Process) developed.  There's also a Youtube video that has been very iffy about downloading.  It's a fascinating process, that almost makes me want to try wood firing.

This is the low fire glaze, Taffe.  In the top photo the pot was fired to a low ^05.  The glaze application is a little thin, but it has always had this smooth matte surface.

Below is the same glaze fired to ^04.  It's much shinier, not glaringly so but definitely shiny.  The white is a little colder than I like, but a little rutile should warm it up.  Very old low fire glazes had a warm, yellowish color due to the lead in them.

It seems to work equally well whether it's brushed or dipped.  Of course these are all small test bowls.  Things don't always work out on larger pots, but I am definitely going to do more testing with this one.

BAH HUMBUG!

It turns out that I lost the filling I mentioned in my last post because the tooth has broken in half.  Nothing for it but to pull it!  It's in the back of my mouth and will not cost anything near what a root canal and crown would cost.  Monday morning will see me at the oral surgeon....whoopee!

I'm not anticipating any problems....we'll see, grasshopper, we'll see.

I'm starting to think about what I want to explore and experiment with in the dull days of January and February.  I want to try some larger shoe whistles and of course the Taffe glaze.....maybe more as ideas come.

This posting will be on Mud Colony and Artists In Blogland.  Click the links and see what's going on.  There's always something interesting to see and read.

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

GHOSTS!

There's something about the ghostly look that my animal whistles have after I've glazed them but before  I have started the decorating.  They have a blank look with only the large gesture being apparent.  I find that this frees me to design as I wish without becoming a slave to the original image.

They change so much after I have done with decorating sometimes it's hard to realize that they are the same work.  This challenge is another part of what I love about majolica.

Yesterday was so humid that I spent the whole day waiting for the glaze to dry.  For me it is better to let the glaze dry slowly.  If I put object under a heat lamp I often get uneven drying.  It's most disconcerting to be working on a hard surface and then suddenly find it's not.

Everything has dried very nicely, so I get to spend studio time today.  I don't think it's going to rain until much later so I will also put some reprocessed clay out to dry a bit.  It's such a sloppy process that I like to do it outside.  I'm going to prepare for the winter winds this year and get ahead in my clay.

In spite of everything, I managed to stay busy.  Proge and I spent the morning readjusting the pond filter and pump.  He was the one wading around in thigh deep water, but I still managed to get soaked.  If you are going to have water features in your garden you have got to enjoy messing about in water.

I made buns so we could have hamburgers.  The bread is from the other half of the recipe.  It's just my plain old Cuban bread, but the loaf is so handsome that I have to show it off a little.  The recipe is quick and easy so I have been trying herb additions.  Rosemary & Dill is especially tasty.

I am a fool for love (of plants).  Our pond guy is selling most of his plants at 25% off.  I bought three day lilies.  This peachy pink is my favorite today.  I also got a small rosy pink and a deep purple and gold.

Of course I need more plants!  I like to keep adding them until winter (the season) stops me.

And lastly here is Winter, totally mystified by how she got herself into this tangle.  Most of the time she gets herself out of twists and turns, but she needed some help with this one.

After a day of hot-stickies we had a heavy thunder storm yesterday evening which dumped almost an inch of rain in about half an hour.  No complaints here!  It dropped the humidity and added water to pool, pond, and well.

This post can be seen at  Mud Colony and Artists In Blogland.  Everyone should drop by and see what is going on; there are lots of new people to discover, plus old friends.

Did anyone watch the opening of the Olympics?  I was absolutely thrilled when Sir Paul led Hey Jude ...and opened with...."And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." 

Have a bountiful, happy weekend, and, as always, thanks for stopping by..........*s*