Thursday, August 26, 2010

a trip to STARworks = new clay

yesterday we decided to close the gallery for a couple of hours and head to STARworks, in Star, to get a few hundred pounds of clay... aside from mixing their own claybodies with local clay, they are also a distributor for Highwater Clays.  i really wanted a few boxes of orangestone but the were out... they are expecting a delivery next week, so another trip is in our near future.
  since we were at STARworks in march they have developed a few more of their own clays so we decided to give them a try.  i have been experimenting with a darker clay and applying slips... so we came home with a few bags of this...



you gotta love the name... Grogwemee! i threw some platters and a couple of bowls with it... still have not settled on wether i like it or not.  i may not decide until after the work is fired.
we also purchased a few boxes of Aurora and Phoenix by Highwater.  i made a few pots with the Aurora today and really liked the way it threw.  tomorrow i will give the Phoenix a try.

it is 9pm and jeff is still out in the studio finishing pots...

hopefully he will come in soon and cook me some dinner :-)

3 comments:

  1. You sound like me trying out all those different clay bodies, have fun. cool bugs you posted.

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  2. i used only two clay bodies for years... sheffield clay - T3 and a white stoneware (20231) and occasionally their porcelain. this past year i have had so many more opportunities to experiment... and i am having fun with it!

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  3. Been there myself. I currently have about six different clays that were in a stack given to me. I have used four of them in previous works, but still haven't slaked down the others yet. I couldn't find your email on the page, so I will post this request here. I apologize for that.

    I have a question for all of the artists that I follow on my blog list – and any others who may read this through other bloggers.
    As you know from my blog, I have started the new ceramics program at a local high school. One of the projects that I have assigned the students is a ceramic artist research paper. It is a chance for them to see the works of many different potters, with many different styles and types of clay works – from different parts of the world. They have to download 2 pictures of the artists’ work, and email the artist to ask several questions about their work, what influenced their style, the medium they work in, the glazes they used on a particular piece, etc. They only need to write 250 words, but I’m hoping they will end up with much more. Their final project is to create a piece in the same style and construction technique as the artist they choose for their report (in their own personal interpretation of course).
    May I have your permission to steer them to your blog and website to obtain information, and to contact you by email? I would appreciate it immensely, and you would be able to influence this new generation of students in their search for new outlets in the world of art.
    Thanks in advance for reading this post, and for your quick replies.
    Happy Mudding!

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