Another Week

Still cleaning up past work and rearranging my studio so I will be able to survive a winter there, if it doesn't go on forever!  Meanwhile we have had sunny days and no rain; although we did have about one-half inch last night.  It wasn't enough to do much for the water table but it did give the garden a nice bath and refreshed the plants.  Ponds and rivers are lower than they have been for years, but all we can do it wait and conserve water where we can.

Below are two more pufferfish whistles.  I am having fun painting all the unglazed stuff I have found.  I keep thinking that it's tons of stuff.  In reality it's no more than two kiln shelves.  I'm using stuff I had set aside for one reason or another for glaze experiments and tests.  Gosh at some point I may have to make more test bowls!

We are definitely entering autumn weather with warm days and cool nights.  I am hoping that the dahlias that I put in so late will have time to bloom.  They are budding up nicely.  Woody is still around, my he does love a tasty petunia.  I've moved the pots up close to the house for their own good.

Proge's father has a woodchuck that only eats the weeds in their garden.  If they figure out how to get others to be so discriminating they will be in the money!

Enjoy the coming week.  As always, thanks for stopping by..........*s*

Majolica Monday

I see Mugshot Monday and other Monday pots on Facebook.  Since I do majolica I've decide to try to post something about majolica.

This is a cookie jar I made for a show I did last year.  I love nursery and nonsense rhymes, so of course the Egg came to mind.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the King's horses,

And all the King's men

Could not put Humpty together again.

As with so many early nursery rhymes this one has political over/under tones.

This is bisqued and glaze fired to ^04.  The interior is glazed with Spectrum clear with a little Mason Iron stirred in which I brushed onto the unfired clay.  (Spectrum glazes in particular once fire very well.)  I find that just a bit of iron gets rid of the milkiness that can happen with clear over terra cotta.

 It's glazed In either Linda Arbuckle's Majolica or Spectrum's Majolica White.  I do add a little rutile to my whites to take away the over-whiteness and get a slightly creamy quality to the glaze.

I paint mostly with Mason Stains mixed 50/50with Frit 3124.  This gives me a watercolor look which I can blend with my fingers when dry.  Before I do my outlining I spray the whole thing with super hold hair spray.  The colors are just a little bit more stable and make outlining much easier.  I always use a black underglaze for my outlining.  If I want my color to be more opaque I mix my stains with a gerstley borate and frit mix.  This gives them a flatness comparable to gouache.  This mix also works well as an underglaze.

I've begun planting some of the big planters.  I potted up eight small dahlias yesterday and a bunch of moonflower seedlings.  I saw them in the greenhouse and decided to go with seedling this year.  I ended up buying large moonflower plants last year because rain kept washing out and rotting seeds.  I feel a bit ahead of the game.

It's cloudy now.  I would like to be out planting, but unfortunately we have to go out for a bit!  It's supposed to get sunny and warm later on......toes crossed.

Have a fine Memorial Day.....drink to The Lost.

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

Some Say The World Will

END IN FIRE.....

But for potters fire is the end that results in something new and unique.  So our worlds do not end in fire, but rather are a step along a sometimes tortuous path to finishing.  

As you may have guessed, I am getting ready to fire the kiln.  I was going to fire tonight, but it's supposed to be in the mid seventies all week end.  Sun but in the fifties by Monday so I think I'll wait.

A dragon and toes crossed to insure that all goes well.

Meanwhile we are going to put the leaf mesh on the pond, plant a few more day lilies and bulbs.  Sunday, which predicts rain I am going to be cleaning out the back storage area so the electrician and kiln repair guys can help me figure out how to get Little Sister ( 3 1/2 cu. ft. kiln) up and running again.

May all of you who are doing shows, open studios etc. have happy, profitable week ends, and everyone else.....ENJOY AUTUMN!

This post is also over at Mud Colony.  If you follow the link you will find many interesting potters there.

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