Forms

No this is not a tiny igloo!  I've been making forms so I can handbuild some bowls.  If I use tissue paper as a separator I can use them unfired.  I will fire them in my next kiln load.

The one below is much smaller.  It may become an egg.  I had a dream about majolica eggs so I may give it a go!

This is a shot of a hazy full moon I took early Saturday morning.  At one point there was a rainbow halo around it that only lasted for a few minutes.

After several days of forty and fifty degree sunny weather with the woodstove off and doors open temps have dropped again.  This is not unique in this area.  We are about five miles inland from the Atlantic and just on the very edge of the upland plateau.  Microclimates abound here.

Toes crossed that all are warm and dry, or cool and dry, depending on location.

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

My! That Was Fun!

No...not Dragonwyck, who landed last night! 

We got up this morning to a wet floor around the washing machine.  The floor is a concrete slab so there was no danger of flooring damage.  But we spent a good half hour trying to track the leak.  It turned out to be a connection from the near by pressure tank. So there was mopping and hooking up a heat lamp.  When we dry things out we will mend it with plumber's epoxy which, toes crossed, will hold until warm weather when we can replace the lines and make sure all is water tight.

The kicker was that when I went into my studio, which is blocked off from the rest of the downstairs but not really walled, there was water spread over the floor.  It looked like more than we had already mopped.  Finally I realized that my wonderful kittehs had knocked over a water jug and pooped the cap.  Fortunately it was not full, but it is amazing how much ground three cups of water can cover.
More mopping, pulling stuff out from under shelves, hooking up another heat lamp, and putting all my studio towels in the laundry.

As I said, it was a fun time had by all!

After two days of bitter cold and wind it has warmed up to the fifties!  Perhaps everything will have time to dry before it gets cold again.  We have had too many winters that start with snow, turn to rain and then get cold to turn the world into a skating rink.  When we lived in the back house on the very crown of the hill we engaged in the sport of rut running, which was not for the faint of heart.

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

Thursday Things

These are some way-to-small testers.  I only painted these five; as I was working I realized that they are way-too-small to really work designs in detail!  

I have a bunch more that are bisque fired (Of course they are!) so they can't be recycled.  They would make nice teabag holders or perhaps salt dishes.  

We'll see, grasshopper........

The weather is definitely changing.  I had to close my bedroom windows last night.  Next thing you know I will be getting out my duvet.   

We are expecting several days of rain.  Although every little bit helps we could use some steady showers.

Toes crossed that we don't have any frost for a while!

Enjoy the coming weekend.....there might be a rabbit lurking around here.

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

April has THIRTY Days!

I'm not sure why I thought April had thirty-one days; I probably wasn't thinking at all!

Here is an old shot of two bunny whistles to wish you a Belated Hares and Rabbits and a joyful May!

Cindy Bracker posted a photo of her Linda Arbuckle mug filled with coffee, so of course, I have to post mine filled with tea.  Your can see lots more mugs for Mugshot Monday over on Clay Buddies on Facebook.

I always enjoy drinking my tea from mugs made by potters, particularly those I have met and bought from in person.

The weather is being its usual cranky New England self!  Beautiful and warm last week; cool, cloudy and rainy for the next few days.  I had looked forward to getting more stuff outside, but it can wait for sunny days.

Enjoy the coming week no matter what part of the globe you inhabit.  I may hibernate until the sun come out in a few days!

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

Sometimes.....

You have to consider what may be best for you, rather than what you want to do.

To that end I decided to withdraw from the one holiday sale that I still do.  This bout of Lyme is taking its time in clearing up.  I still tire easily and can only work for short periods of time before I need to rest.

I could have put a few things in for the Thanksgiving week end and gotten a kiln fired to provide work for the rest of the sale, but when it felt completely overwhelming I decided that the best thing would be to withdraw for this year.

I am working a bit on things that please me.  Below is a small spoon rest.  The little dishes are really for me to use for practice.  I do sell the ones I really like, but most of them are for me to look at.

These are going into the kiln tomorrow when they are fully dry.  I use Mason colors which will look pretty much the way they do now/  The y will be a little stronger and shinier.  Sometimes I spray dry designs with hairspray to get more of an idea of what the fired colors will look like.

We had clouds and rain overnight with clear skies today.  It looked like the kind of sky that means cold temps.  Instead it has been in the fifties.  It's supposed to be good all week end.   No complaints here!  It's lovely to work outside without needed layers and layers of clothes to stay warm.

Enjoy the week end wherever you are.  My thoughts sympathies are with those who are experiencing flooding rains and other difficulties.

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

(Late) Whistling Wednesday

sd

My new camera arrived.  Needless to say I am enjoying finding out everything it can do.  These are two of the shoe whistles I made several years ago.  The whistle on the clog is in the back.  The one on the slide is in the toe.  The puff in the opening on the slide is meant to be the tissue paper often used for fill in shoe displays.

They are based on footwear that I have worn.  Did I  really wear clog sandals?  Indeed I did!  The slide was red, white, and blue canvas.  I wore them every summer until they fell apart.

More cold weather.  I won't say it's coming.  It's here in a very February sort of way!  It's odd to think that, unless we have truly freakish weather, most of the snow will be gone.  A lot of gardeners think of March 1 as the time to plant the first crop of peas.  The ground here is usually either too solid or too muddy to any sort of planting.  If we are lucky we can plant on St. Patrick's Day......we'll see, grasshopper.....

Enjoy the day in whatever way floats your boat.

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

Monday

I do enjoy handbuilding over and around balloons.  I think I have shown this mug in many guises, but here it's as finished as it is going to be.

I'm trying different handles and feet.  I have some clay rolled out to try some mugs with small feet.  I will probably make three.  Three feet good, (easier to stabilize) four feet not so much!  There also needs to be some sort of stabilizer at the handle base.  Otherwise the cup tends to fall onto the handle when filled with liquid.  NOT a great selling point!  I like the idea of this handle but not the execution.  Practice!

I used Spectrum 799 Majolica white, three coasts brushed on.  In the second picture there is a detail of what happens when the glaze is applied too thickly.  Because the glaze is so stabile I could repair and refire.  I'm not going to bother as this is a test mug.

The dark green is a mix of Mason Hemlock and Florentine mixed with paste to give it an opaque look.  The rest of the design is mason stains mixed with frit.

The interior is glazed with a clear that is not really clear.  I mix a little Mason red-brown into the clear glaze.  It's just enough color to prevent the milky quality clears tend to have over terra cotta.

It's a bit warmer today, supposed to reach the forties today!  Wow!  The studio will  be warm enough to work in,,,,,HURRAH!  If it's cold and the sun is out, or if the temp is fortyish, with my extra heater it's quite nice to work there.  Anything over 62F. inside is entirely workable.  Grey and cold forget about it.  Pottery is supposed to be enjoyable not martyrdom.

Enjoy the week ahead.  The sun seems to be coming up a bit earlier; spring and summer will happen!

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

Potpourri

HAPPY PIE DAY!

This is a Banaffee Pie, a recipe I discovered last summer.  I haven't quite decided what today's pie will be, but I'm leaning toward Shoo Fly Pie.  

The pie dish is one that my sister gave me many years ago.  She bought it somewhere in Maine.  It's salt glazed and a perfect size for pies.

WEATHER?!

We spent last several days outside, enjoying sunny weather in the fifties.  Proge has been barbecuing since Saturday.  Yesterday we woke up to twenty degrees, wind and snow.  Today is still going to be cold.  I take comfort that I don't live further north. Go to the weather site to see snow in the north in March.  I imagine ski areas are ecstatic!

  

THANKS

Last, but certainly not least, I huge thank you for all the kind thoughts and comments on the death of my brother, Bob.  In some ways it feels like he's off on one of his cruises.  Indeed, if he were still going strong he would be on his long planned round the world cruise.

It does feel strange to be the oldest in the family.  Does that make me the Matriarch?  Hmmmmm......we'll see, grasshopper; we'll see.....

Enjoy the week end.  It's supposed to start warming up. Yay!

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

Tea and Bread

Yesterday it was 56 F. in the afternoon.  It was so nice to work in my studio without waiting for everything to warm up. Today at 7 A.M. it was 8F.  with wind chill....ah the benefits of a good wood stove in the house!  The sun is still cold but shining brightly into my studio.  I have the heater on so I should be able to work in an hour or so.

I have started a project that has been rattling around in my brain.  I am challenging myself to handbuild a teapot a week.  Most of my teapots are thrown, but last summer or so there was this post in Ceramic Arts Daily; Handbuilt Teapots.  I made a couple of teapots and put the idea aside.  Now, in winter, when I need something to explore and give me a January kick in the seat of the pants I have been thinking about doing a series.

This one is still in its early stage.  I need to clean it up a bit and put a knob on the lid.  The neat thing about working this quickly is that it can become very gestural.

I started it over a bowl, added the spout, handle and cut the lid; then I took it out of the form and added the bottom.  I didn't quite do it in half an hour, but I came close!  I was also doing laundry!  (Always there seems to be laundry to do!)

I was thinking about glazing them and doing a once fire.  On second thought I've rejected that idea.  Some of my best designs have come from having a group of pots to consider.  I do like the idea of a family of terra cotta teapots waiting for glaze.

I'm not sure that I will manage a full year of fifty-two teapots.  It would be great if I could end up with such a result, but I have to consider that my studio may be too cold to work in, or life getting in the way, or being drawn down a different path to explore.  The idea is to keep making and not beat myself up if I don't meet my stated goal.  It's an enjoyable clay experience not boot camp!

Before Christmas I started making small clocks.  This one is about seven inches across.  The flowers are waxed with resist.  I have been doing a sponge style pattern for background.  The plain backgrounds weren't doing it for me anymore!  This still need the numbers added.  I want to figure our a simple stand so they can either be wall mounted or placed on a table.

I have been baking my Cuban Bread or Italian Feather Bread lately.  They are quick and tasty, but I wanted to do another slow rise loaf.  I made my started with 1 Cup White Whole Wheat and 1 Cup APB White Flour;  1 Tbsp. honey; 1/4 tsp dry yeast and 2 Cups water.  I mixed it all together and let it sit for a couple of days, stirring it down occasionally.  I used half of it with another 1/2 tsp yeast and 2 Cups Water.  I made a soft dough that I let rise over a day or so.  I folded the dough on itself every time it got big.  The final rising was in a large warm bowl in a cotton napkin dusted with oat flour.  I preheated the oven to 450 F. with my cast iron dutch oven in it.  I quickly greased the pan, dumped the bread in and covered it.  I reduced the heat to 400 and did not disturb it for about forty minutes.  I checked the temp and continued to bake until the interior temp of the loaf was 220F.  I let it cool for half an hour before cutting it.  I probably should have waited longer but I am a notorious heel stealer!

It's a tasty loaf which I will probably do again.

Enjoy the day with hot (or cold for those of you south of the equator) drink and stay warm (or cool)

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

More Stuff

I've been sorting more boxes and found these two whistles.....I call them whistle weights because they are great for keeping papers from sliding off my desk.

I have no idea what they are glazed with...it's ^05/04;  I'm sure of that but that's about all.  I decided to use the flamingo and manatee images.  Lately I have been trying for more of a watercolor wash effect.  We'll see, Grasshopper.....we'll see.  The blue and green scarf thing was done years ago.

I guess more rain is one the way. Family in New Hampshire is expecting a lot more snow.  Which is good for them as it keeps the ski resorts going etc.  The dog sled races in Laconia have been postponed to the first week end in March, due to weather.  No, I am not going.  Deliberately going to a colder and snowier place is not my cup of tea.

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

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*

Everybody Needs......

A helper cat!

I was photographing a dragon and a fish when Aloysius decided that he would be my assistant.  I have just about finished glazing the dragon some may remember from last summer.  I've started painting the fish.  I'm trying to keep a better record of what my process is.  However, when I get caught in the moment I forget to stop and take pictures.

I sort of think of glazing as the necessary evil of majolica.  The glaze has to be applied evenly without drips and/or brush marks.  I usually scrape any imperfections off with a matte knife or a flexible metal rib.  I then spray the whole thing with hair spray.  Low fire glazes tend to powder and cause brush drag when decorating.  If it's a particularly powdery glaze I will even go so far as to mix a little acrylic medium in the glaze..  I try to be very logical about this but most of the time I just wing it.

There are two important thing to remember:

1. That the bisque has to be absolutely free of dust and grease before glazing.  If stuff has been sitting uncovered I spray it hard with a vinegar and water mix.

2.  Any imperfections that are in the glaze and decoration before firing will be there after firing.  I have had brush hairs show up as thin lines after firing.  

My amaryllis have started blooming.  They are a richer red in the pot.   My camera tend to make reds go a little orange or a little violet.  Most likely it's because I am not terribly camera savvy.

They were supposed to be apple blossom which is a white with pink highlights.  I bought these at Job Lot.  I have a feeling they were there because the boxes were mislabeled.  I can't complain about the price and bulbs were in great shape.  Someday I'll get some other colors.

The weather has warmed up considerably with lots of sun expected over the next week.  Predictions are for mid forties to low fifties, going dow into the mid twenties at night.  The snow is melting and it's quite pleasant when the wind isn't blowing.  I love being in my studio when it's like this.

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

It's Always Sumthin'......again

This is what happens when low fire glaze goes on a terra cotta plate that has been sitting around for a while.  All those little brown spots are glaze crawls where there was grease or some other scuz in the surface.  I did this a few years ago; found it during a clean-up.  A fine lesson in reminding me to cover stuff as soon as it comes out of the kiln if I can't glaze it right away.  A good hard spray with vinegar and water is also a good idea.

If you click on the picture you can get a better idea of what I am talking about.

 Our Christmas sale at the South County Art Association started Friday.  I did not go over until four o'clock, when it was really slow.  Things were busy and crowded earlier, with people waiting to get in when it opened.  I haven't sold much, but then, due to the hurricane and then the well pump giving us a jolly time, I don't have anywhere near the stock I was planning on.

I'm going to fire on Monday-Tuesday, so I will have a lot more stuff when we start up again on Wednesday.  We are rethinking our hours for next year.

If we are going to open Thanksgiving week end I would like to see us do something to connect customers to Small Business Saturday....... not sure what we could do..... perhaps a give away item that day only.

Despite pump problems we had a great very low key Thanksgiving.  Below are turnips and part of a sausage roasting on the grill.  Potatoes and squash were done earlier.  Roasting the vegetables gives them a wonderful, earthy flavor.  I generally boil a few potatoes too....it makes them easier to mash.

Here is the turkey, almost ready to come off the grill.  I stuffed it with herbed bread, apples, cranberries, dried cherries and blueberries, sausage, onion, mushrooms, pecans and walnuts.  Everything was precooked and went into the brined bird just before it went over the coals.

Today is turkey soup day.....a good thing to make in the slow cooker as I am thinking mostly about pottery and glazing.

Thanks to all those who commented on my Thanksgiving Day post.  That has always been a great favorite of mine.  I love the idea of other pairings!

High cirrus clouds today are making the sunshine look cold today.  When I was out with Winter at 5:30 AM in heavy sweats, I was looking at the stars and thinking, "Three and a half months ago I was out here in the sun wearing a tee shirt and sandals."   Sometimes it's hard to believe it's the same planet!

I managed to miss the post time on Mud Colony, but go take a look anyway.  There are lots of cool posts up this week.

Have a happy, productive and/or lazy day.

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

WHY NOT?

Visit Whynot Pottery HERE......they are celebrating thirty years of potting at their studio in...you guessed it....in Why Not, NC.

Below is the sweet little pot Meredith sent when I was the first to respond to her blog post.  A photograph cannot capture the depth and vibrancy of the glaze.  I love the sense of scale...it's a big little pot.

A Little Pot from Whynot 

Goldfish in the pond inspired the goldfish whistles.  They are still swimming in their little school.  The water is warmer than the air this morning.  All these little guys whistle.  I am thinking of using paper clay to make them as Christmas ornaments.  I hang my favorite ornaments year round from plants; perhaps others would do the same.

The balloon pitcher came through nicely and even pours!  I need to do a lot more work on the design, especially the feet.  I just stuck them on; they need to be incorporated into the body of the pot.  I'm not even going to show the interior.  When I was started sewing one of the things I learned was that the inside of the garment should be as finished as the outside.  The same is true of pots.  Of course with pottery we are making vessels so the interior has to be functional, and not have lethal bits of clay to cause injury to the user, but it needs to be pleasing too.

It was cold this morning, but not the killing frost that was predicted for most of the area.  I think it was 30 at 5:30 AM.  We finished getting the plants in yesterday afternoon.  I covered the outdoor dahlias because they are blooming and pretty.  I think it was down in the mid 20's in other parts of New England.  BRRRRR!!!

It's warming up.  Rain is coming, which is not a bad thing.  Meanwhile we have beautiful, clear skies with bright sun.  The sun is shining into my studio.  This afternoon we will do more work outside.  There is always something to do.

Winter is doing her deer chasing job.  As soon as she goes out on the deck or her run they run away to the other side of the stone wall.  There's plenty of stuff to eat in the woods, so she is not causing any great deer deprivations.

Enjoy the weekend.  If you are having a sale or doing a show may you have sunny skies and sell many pots.

This post is also on Mud Colony and Artists in Blogland.  Take a peek...there's always something new to see.

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

Firing

This is the top shelf of my kiln.  It's not really apparent in the photo but the top four inches is a blank ring.  As long as I have at least one round of elements above the shelf it goes up to temp.  I will put a half shelf over the area with glazed ware to help keep the heat in.

The plate is a refire.  I was extremely unhappy with the way it fired originally...too many crawls and thin spots.  I filled in all the bare and thin spots with glaze and repainted the areas where needed.  I use a thick mix of paste (gerstley borate and frit 3124) with mason stain.  Of course, it being a plate, it's entirely possible that I will open the kiln to find it has massive cracks or even in two pieces.  If this were part of a set for sale I would not even think of refiring it.

We'll see, Grasshopper......we'll see.............

We put the leaf mesh on the pond yesterday.  It's easy to open on one edge to feed the fish who are still actively swimming around.  The six black fish become almost impossible to see.

The trees aren't really changing yet.  Some of the swamp maples are changing, but it hasn't been cold enough to get real color.  We often don't get a lot until late October.  There is more color down along the river a couple of miles away.  Perhaps I'll remember to put my camera in the car.  Yeah!

It rained off and on all night and early this morning.  Now we have sun with high thin clouds.  More cool weather is on the way.

It will probably warm up enough this afternoon to get stuff done.  I'm bringing in my more fragile plants today.

Right now I'm off get the papers and do a little marketing.  Enjoy the day and tomorrow, Columbus day.  I think RI is the only state that celebrates it as a legal holiday!

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

Don't Forget The Fish!

Last week all the baby fish decided to surface.  They aren't easy to photograph due to waterfall and how quickly they move.  There are somewhere between one and a half to two dozen fingerlings.  I never knew that they could come in all colors.  I thought you needed black ones to get black ones etc....not the case.  We have a bunch of all black and many bi-and-tri-colored ones.  It's so enjoyable to go our and feed them and watch them eat.  I never thought a few ten cent fish from a fish store could provide so much pleasure.

Of course I had to do my own little homage to fish and make a bunch of whistles.  I did all these in white low-fire and glazed them with commercial Speedball glazes.  I mostly use commercial glazes when I am experimenting as I can once-fire them successfully.  As a rule I don't like white clay as I think it gives a stark, dead look to work.  It's subtle but terra cotta gives a warmth to white glazes that gives more depth to the work. If I am glazing a big piece on white clay I put a little rutile in it to warm it up a little.

The weather has been strange today....mostly cloudy  and breezy.  It feels almost like hurricane weather, but I don't think there are any hurricanes in the North Atlantic.

This post can also be found on Mud Colony and Artists in Blogland.  Go check them out; there is always interesting stuff to be found.

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