Full Moon

Last night was a beautiful full moon to celebrate the Summer Solstice.  I planned on photographing it early this morning, because I like the way the moon hangs over the trees.  Alas!  A thunder storm put an end to that plan!

Here is the little teapot/ cruet that I was working on last winter.  I'm reasonably happy with it, but I haven't checked how it pours yet!

I have an eye doc exam this afternoon.  I'm hoping I will have time to stop at one of my favorite nurseries after.

Meanwhile, I need to put some laundry out.  I've been using my indoor drying racks outside in the garden as my lines are under trees which means I would have caterpillars and their poop all over my clean clothes if I hung them on the line.

And so it goes!

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

Finished

Finished the little teapot/cruet and put it in the kiln.

These are shots I took for my own records so they are not the best.  Some of the colors look dark  because they are waxed.

I'm almost finished with glazing.  Now I want to make mugs and stuff to bisque.  

We are expecting weather tonight and tomorrow.  By the weekend I'm going to start opening the pool.  Not for swimming, obviously, but do enjoy looking out my window at the pool area ready for swimming!

The daffodils are up and showing buds.  They look a little shocked due to the variegated winter weather, but they should be fine!

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

Glaze Daze

I've been spending a lot of time catching up on glazing.  I'm trying to dig out all the bisqued stuff I have and get it fired.  Some stuff I'm not happy with I'll save for tests.  They are going into a special bin so I can find them when I need them.

I'm doing a slow but steady studio reorganization and clean up; after all it's spring!

The teapot should be posted tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday but I could easily forget so here it is.  The bottom is glazed with a Spectrum Metallic.  I waxed it so I would not have to worry about getting other glazes and colorants on it.  The rest of the pot is glazed with Spectrum #251 Satin White.  There are three brushed coats.  The colors are Mason Stains.  The green is mixed 50/50 with frit 3124.  The red is a Mason encapsulated cadmium mixed with frit 3124 and gerstley borate 50:25:25.  I find that the gertsley borate adds a better density to the cadmiums.  I did thin this quite a bit with water to get more of a water color effect. 

It's going to be interesting to see how this comes through the firing.

As I mentioned on my Facebook page Woodrow has returned.  He's living under the shed again.  I took this on Saturday when he was out relaxing in the sun.  If we can get him to stay by the shed, we'll let him stay.  I am hoping he is Woodrow and not Woodrina.  What we don't need is a ton of babies.  That's when the have-a-heart traps will come out with relocation to a spot in the bordering state forest.

It may not be warm enough to grow much outside, but that doesn't mean plants don't stop trying.  This is a strawberry plant that I had in a hanging planter last year.  I wintered it over and it started fruiting a few weeks ago.  This is the first ripe berry.  I have no idea what it will taste like, but I like it for its prettiness and tenacity!

Finally it's acting more like spring.  It's supposed to be in the high seventies all week.  A nice change from weather that has felt more like March than May!

Here's to sunny days!

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

YES! Melting Snow!

This is a teapot (surprise!) surrounded by various shot glass experiments and Li'l Sebastion!  The teapot is one I made a few weeks ago and then sort of forgot about over several days when it was too cold to work in my studio.

Clay Buddies on Facebook is doing a shot glass exchange at NCECA, which happens in two weeks or so in Providence.  These are all handbuilt, but I am going to throw a bunch tomorrow.  They are so easy to make that I am doing far more than I need for the exchange.  They could easily hold a used teabag, safety pins or any little thing that tends to get lost.  They will also make neat little test pots.

I am not generally good a large groups of people but since this one is in my back yard, as it were, I am going to give it a try.  I'm driving up every day so I don't have to worry about the expense of a hotel room if I decide to opt out.

Li'l Sebastion is what I call all miniature horses after Parks and Recreation.  This little guy is being glazed in wrought iron and moon light.....the names of the glazes, but it does sound whimsical doesn't it?

 I lost the first week of March!  We had six inches of snow at the beginning of the week and then on Thursday another eight inches.  That's more than we have in an entire winter some years!

It's been in the high forties and fifties since Monday.  It's almost hard to believe after last week.  We've had doors open.  Last night Proge did his first dinner on the grill.

This was last Friday morning.  Picture card pretty, but cold!   The only good thing was that there was no wind so the snow on the trees stayed for a while!

This is the same shot taken early yesterday morning.  It was forty plus.  The warm air and the cold snow made for a misty, woodland scene.   I'm reminded of North Of The Wall in Game Of Thrones!  If you look at the lower right those pink spots are the flamingoes poking up through the snow.  It's not groundhogs here; it's flamingoes that predict spring!

Toes crossed that we are through the worst of it.  Here's to sunny days ahead!

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

Well It's Tuesday.....So....

It's TIME FOR TEAPOTS!

This came out of the kiln about a month ago.  It's two sides of the same teapot.  When I tried it out the pour was terrible with water running down the spout to the foot.  Not optimal for tea!  Upon closer inspection I saw that a blob of glaze just was inside and spilling onto the outside of the pouring lip.  I had already decided that it would be a keeper, so I said "Why not?" and took my trusty Dremel to it.  I ground down the inside and reshaped the lip, et voila!!  It's not perfect; it still has an occasional drip, but it's definitely usable.  It holds about 16 oz. which is a perfect size for my afternoon tea.

I decided to keep it as I am not happy with my brushwork!  It just isn't right for this pot.  Also, when using commercial glazes you still have to be careful about getting them too thick, particularly in the little nooks and crannies.  There are several small crawls where the glaze collected.

What I do like about it is the handle and the spout.  The handle was deliberate after I bashed the spout while I was attaching it.  I like the way the dent in the spout gives it a more fluid feeling. For me this is a pretty funky handle on a thrown pot.  I generally save the funkiness for handbuilding.

We've had many birds coming to the feeders since the snow started.  The goldfinches have been abundant in their dull winter coats.  Today I have been very happy to see what is either a purple or house finch visiting us.  I haven't been able to get a good view of its back to make a better identification.  Purple finches are rosier with color going down their backs to the tail.  Just got a look, definitely a purple finch, although I am not convinced that they are truly two distinct species.  They have become quite rare in this area.  We used to have masses of them so it's nice to see a comeback.

It's a warm sixteen degrees out so of course it's snowing!  There is not supposed to be too much accumulation and the wind has finally stopped after what feels like weeks of it.

It's a day for staying inside.  My studio is warm enough for me to work today.  It feels like forever since I've been in it, actually three days!

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

Yes! It's Tuesday! Time for a Teapot!

We changed our shopping day from Friday to Monday this week.  Consequently I have spent the better part of the day thinking it's Saturday!

At least I realized the correct day today rather than tomorrow.

The teapot below is one that I bought at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen at Sunnapee.  I fell in love with the glaze and the form particularly its perky little spout.

Unfortunately I lost the maker's card.  On the bottom there is a signature.  The first letter is G.  If I can find one of my old programs I might be able to track the name down.

Not remembering who made it does not take away any of the delight of using the teapot.

Perhaps there are a few other Teapot Tuesday people out in blogland.

Today was gorgeous.  The pool water was up to 72 F. by this afternoon.  I just have to do some vacuuming so we should be swimming by this week end.  Providing the weather cooperates!

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

Workshops and......

I made another quickie pot yesterday.  I'm not really happy with it; I think because the form is way outside my comfort zone.  I added the various elements because I got to thinking about Steampunk.  The original form was made around a large plastic glass.  I think it looks sort of like 'modern' pots from the 1950's.  At any rate I'll keep it.  I will bisque it and probably stare at it for a few months before doing anything else. 

 Lori Buff posted Paul Mathieu's introduction to Art of the Future in which he states his dislike for clay workshops. Well, he seems to think they are ridiculous and a detriment to the professional clay community.  Only serious artists need apply!  

Why he singles out clay is sort of beyond me.  There is a long tradition of amateur education in the arts.  Workshops, classes, community art centers are the lifeblood of the arts.  How can you get support for anything if you make it an exclusive club?  No, not everyone is going to be a (name your favorite) and innovate and push the medium to new places, but if taking a class makes a person look at a pot, or a painting in a new light, see the need for programs in our schools, that's a good thing. (Side note:  Why are students and, yes, employees, encouraged to think creatively or outside the box, yet arts programs which are the very thing that teach creative thinking are the first to go in any budget cutting?)

There is a certain joy that can happen in a workshop when the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. The rhythm and knowledge that comes from a concentrated learning environment can't be beat.  Creative energy will crackle in the air and amazing things happen.  Having taught and having spoken with a lot of art teachers I can say the take home value is enormous.

And in the end....the love you take is equal to the love you make. (Paul McCartney)

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

P.S.  I may edit and add to this one.