"the untitled post" (I just couldn't think of one)

I haven't been very productive in clay for the last three days. Actually the correct wording should be that I have been NON-PRODUCTIVE in clay. My time has been spent  working three consecutive days at the Co-op in town. I prefer to split up my days there, three in a row wears on me. On a good note I did get some online work done for two organizations that I volunteer for... as well as some of the angel ornaments. After a day at the Co-op I just don't feel like coming home and working in the studio so I opted for cooking dinner, photographing work, and getting some reading in.

Remember the cake stands?

 I finally glazed and fired one. They are a pain to glaze, but I am happy to report that they didn't warp in the glaze firing. I think bisque firing them upside down helped as well.

I have one more ready to be glazed and fired and if I don't experience any warping I am willing to commit to making more. I have this one listed on Etsy and clicking on the second photo will take you there. I struggled with pricing... of course on Etsy they are priced all over the place. Really nice ones, over a $100, some fairly nice ones for $30 +/-... and crappy ones from $25 - $100!
I settled on $75.

Happy Sunday, I hope everyone is doing exactly what they want to. I am going to get my hands on some clay!

I can't believe it but...

it's true.

I am making Christmas ornaments this year. Jeff and I talked about this last year but didn't get around to it. Many years ago he made a press mold of an angel ornament he created in clay. I decided that these were something I could make while working my shifts at the Co-op. Yesterday I gave it a try but was having some trouble with getting the hands and nose coming out clean and crisp, and then there was the problem of cracking necks. After all, I hadn't used a press mold since my play dough days. When I got home Jeff gave me a lesson on the best way to get a good impression with a press mold... he said be sure to press it in really hard.

but probably not this hard...

 Yep, he broke the mold. I can still use the other half, but that one needs the wings attached separately which is a little more work.

Here are some in progress...

I will have to experiment with glazing. I might try using some Amaco velvet underglazes with my Temple White glaze over it. Jeff also mention trying just the underglaze and leaving the rest bare clay.
The one in the center is bisqued already, Jeff did that one this summer when we came across the mold. She is a footless angel (he forgot to add them) so she will be the first glaze test.

... I wonder if I have any cookie cutters in the kitchen? :o)

recovering...

Jeff and I have survived another outdoor show. I wanted to post some photos sooner, but I woke up with a stomach bug on Monday and spent the day napping on the sofa. Tuesday, I took things slow.

We had great weather for Festival in the Park, bright sunny days and not too warm. 

 Our booth location was shady and we backed up to the trees, which meant we could store boxes and stock behind us without anyone seeing the clutter. Our booth walls are set up so we have space to exit from the rear and reach shelving that we have for extra stock. The booth to our left was a no show, so it was nice to have the extra space when setting up and breaking down.

When we were in NH in August, our host Lou, gave us four empty oxygen cylinders (he is a respiratory therapist). Jeff filled them with sand and screwed an eye bolt into the top. A great alternative to the cement blocks we were using. They blend in with the tent and tuck in out of the way.

Freedom Park in Charlotte is beautiful. The booths are set up along a walkway that goes around the small lake.

 The crowds were thick everyday. Sometimes it was hard to even walk around. Jeff forewarned me that the last time he did this show people were not buying on Friday night. He was right... we had one sale.

 Sales were slow on Saturday and I was starting to get really irritated with the festival goers questions. I lost count of how many people asked, "Did you make this stuff?", or the best one... "What do you call this?". If we got a dollar for every "nice work" or ""nice booth" comment we would have needed suitcase to take our money home in.

 As you can see in the photo above, our neighbor was a "make a candle" guy, and next to him was face painting. Unfortunately, on our side of the lake they mixed these types of vendors in with the craftsmen. The candle guy's booth was busy all weekend with kids waiting in line to make a candle in a jar or wine glass. We also had the kettle corn guy a few booths down. Sometimes the line snaked all the way down to us. Jeff has a friend in NH who is a glass artist and a few years ago he bought a kettle corn set up and started doing fairs. He said when he opens up for the day everyone says "Yay, the kettle corn guy is here!". In all his years selling his glass art, no one ever said "Yay, the glass guy is here!".
The food vendors make way more money than the artists.

Thankfully, Sunday redeemed itself. Many of the people who visited on Saturday, returned and bought something. We actually came home with money in our pocket. The next show we do will be an easier, one day show and we will be using a simple booth set up with covered tables and my abstracta unit. I sometimes question whether a fancy booth makes a difference in sales or not. I would like to know other artists thoughts on this.

A well deserved treat after a tiring weekend... good sake, Asian dumplings and spring rolls

... and now it's time to get back to work.

Festival in the Park, Freedom Park - Charlotte, NC

The gas kiln was fired on Sunday and for the most part with good results. I am really happy with how the ginkgo leaf bowls in the green glaze and shino came out.

 I was afraid after seeing the pattern fired in wood and salt, that the green glaze wouldn't live up to my expectations! I didn't commit all them to this firing, but I will glaze the rest for the next firing along with the mugs I have finished.

Photographing shiny glazes is so hard. I tried the spraying with hairspray trick once but didn't think it made much difference... and then you had sticky pot that needed to be washed! If anyone has any suggestion or hints, I would love to hear them.

This firing had a lot of new piggy banks. This is a new color combination - nuka and shino with copper red over the shino. 

He is available in my Etsy shop, clicking the photo will take you there.

Jeff and I have a busy day ahead. We will be loading pots and our booth into the trailer. Tomorrow we head to Charlotte for the Festival in the Park, at Freedom Park. This is a three day show and the weather is looking good. If your in the Charlotte area, stop in and say hello.

while waiting for the kiln to cool...

Finished some mugs...

Even the pigs have become victims of a Dolan carving tool...

oops!

a wood fired vase that was left behind at the kiln and found it's way home today...

Find it on Etsy later this evening.

Keeping up the momentum...

We had to work like mad men during the hottest July that I have ever experienced. The show at Mt. Sunapee Resort was looming and there wasn't a choice. We vowed that upon our return we would keep up the pace. After unpacking, I will have to admit, we were in fog for a week. That fog needed to lift because September through December is the most important sales quarter for the year.

Thankfully it did lift and we are back in full swing. We finished glazing yesterday and Jeff loaded the kiln, which was a nice break for me because I was the kiln loader for the month of July. At 9:30 last night the door was bricked and we sat down to a nice meal. I am still on the cooking kick and tried another new recipe...

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops with Pears

Jeff really liked the pork chops but not the pears so much. I thought it was yummy all the way around. It was also easy and quick to make. I think my cooking kick has come about for two reasons.

1. Cooler temperatures

2. Pinterest

I have seen and pinned so many  new recipes from Pinterest and they inspire me to get in the kitchen. I think Jeff is enjoying the break because for a long time he was the chef in this house. I was burnt out and was glad to let him take over.

back to pottery...

I listed this mug and bowl in the Etsy shop this weekend. This is the new glaze combination of shino, copper red, and nuka. We glazed some piggy banks in this combo and they are in the kiln today. They should look pretty darn cute, who wouldn't love a purple piggy?

After Jeff mixed the nuka glaze in July, he remembered that it's extremely thixotropic, and settles like a rock on the bottom of the bucket. Bentonite should have been added to eliminate the problem when the glaze was mixed. It was a total pain in the ass to mix every time we used it. He was talking to a potter friend in NH about it and she said to add a cupful capful of muriatic acid to the glaze and it will stay mixed.

Muriatic acid, who knew? Not us, that's for sure. We bought some this week and sure enough it does the trick. Almost like magic.

So that's my tip of the week, add one capful of muriatic acid to a 5 gallon pail of glaze and voila! 

(Just be careful when handling acid)

Strictly Functional 2012

The 2012 Strictly Functional Pottery National is now online, click here if you haven't seen it yet. Jeff is in good company, a couple of New England potter friends are also in the show... Maureen Mills and David Orser.

Jeff based his entries on knowing that Jack Troy was the juror and he definitely made the right call. A large number of the pots in the show are wood fired.

wood fired tray by Jeff Brown

Today is day two of glazing and then on to loading the gas kiln. Our goal is to fire tomorrow. Next weekend we will be in Charlotte for Festival in the Park. This is a first for me, Jeff did it 12 years ago. I hope it's a good show, it's long... Friday evening, Saturday till 9:30 pm, and all day Sunday. If you are in the Charlotte area come out to the park!

Firing #2!

and now for the pots from Fred Johnston's kiln...

 Jeff's big pot... 2' tall. I love this one and have a feeling it won't be around long.

 One of my gingko vases. I really wish I had been able to fire more of these in this kiln. The light salting makes it sparkle. The surfaces feels really nice.

 What's a salt firing without a pig?

 This bowl was supposed has robins egg blue on the interior... the reduction was heavy and it went pink. There were a couple of other pink things, I can live with this one, not sure about the others.

  Small rattle with maple leaf... I don't know what my attraction is to little baubles like this. I always want to keep them.

Jeff's large platter with textured rim.

I will get some good photos once bottoms are ground and sanded. We'll be taking most of these pots to Art in the Park in Charlotte a week from tomorrow. If you missed the post of firing #1 go back to the previous post from earlier today.

Kiln #1 unloaded

Jeff arrived with our pots from David's kiln late this afternoon...

 I am really happy with how these lids look "antiqued". These are made with Highwater porcelain 

(P-10)

 Wadding on the lids still need to be ground

 Very happy with the tumblers... I made these over a year ago. Some are regular B-mix, some are B-mix for wood. I actually prefer the regular. 

 Not a great photo, but Jeff's vase is gorgeous. 

 Seed pod rattle

and the first ginkgo cup is fired!

Fred Johnston just called to say he already unloaded his kiln so Jeff is off to get those next. How exiting, new pots from two different kilns in one day! Fred adds a little salt to his kiln and it's a much shorter firing. Jeff's BIG pots were in kiln #2, stay tuned for more photos!

RZ mask update

Remember when I reviewed the RZ mask?

A potter friend of mine bought one and sent me an e-mail stating that his mask came with a warning that it didn't filter silica... the main hazard in pottery. I looked through the packaging that came with my mask and didn't see anything with that type of warning.  Before my review I e-mailed the company and asked what size micron it would filter and they said .1.

Potter Emily Murphy was also contacted by the RZ Mask and asked to give a review, which she did. Since that time she also was made aware of the company's new warning label and you can read the update to her review here.

I find it unfortunate that the RZ Mask has been unresponsive to her, and other potters questions. I plan to e-mail the company to see if I can get a response. If the mask isn't suitable for ceramics just say so! I felt it was important to share this new information with readers.

Drummer Hoff fired it off...

Here is little peek inside Fred Johnston's wood kiln yesterday...

 I like his method of loading on either side, then filling the center with shelves. The side shelves are really big. It kind of reminds me of a walk in closet!

Jeff's big pots are on the top shelf near the back. They are firing today. Fred started early this morning and they expect to be done some time after midnight.

Fall is in the air and I am feeling productive!

I was happy with the ginkgo leaf carvings on cylindrical vases so I decided to give it a go on the interiors of small bowls. I spent a couple hours one afternoon last week throwing two boards of bowls. The next morning I looked at them and wasn't happy at all. At least ten ended up in the scrap bucket. I started over and I think I am much happier with the shape of these. I have 11 completed and another 10 to finish today. In between carving bowls  I am still assembling piggy banks. I need to break it up for fear I will get tired of looking at those cute little faces.

On the firing front, Jeff worked two shifts firing David's wood kiln last week and then got a call from Fred Johnston that he had some space in his kiln and could use some help with loading and firing. The downside of having a gallery at your studio is that someone (meaning me!) needs to be here for potential customers. I miss out on the excitement of the firing, but I am still psyched about seeing our pots finished. We had a quite a few pots that had been hanging around for more that a year, just waiting for a wood firing opportunity. David's kiln will get unloaded this week, Fred's will be fired tomorrow and opened before the weekend. It's like a birthday and Christmas all in one week!

recipes and a little glazing (pots not food)

Here are a couple of the recipes from the last post...

I don't have a clue where this apple brownie recipe came from, but it's been in my recipe box for years. It's really easy and quick to throw together and I like that it makes a 9 x 9 pan... if it's only the two of us we don't need a big dessert recipe.

5 tblsp. butter or margerine (I use butter)
1 cup of sugar - I cut back on the sugar slightly
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups peeled and chopped apples
1 cup raisins & nuts (optional) I don't care for raisins or most nuts in baked things so I leave them out
1/3 tsp. baking powder (1/3 tsp. is odd, I take a guess on this measurement)
1/3 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I always sprinkle more on top before it goes in the oven)

Cream butter, sugar, and egg. Mix in remaining ingredients. Spread in a greased  9 x 9 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 -35 min.
Good warm or cold!


Hummus

I have been making hummus using a combination of two recipes. One is from Charan Sachar who writes the blog Creative With Clay and this recipe for real hummus that I found online.
To one can of drained chick peas I add a little more than 2 tbsp. tahini, 1-2 cloves of chopped garlic (depending on size), the juice of almost a whole lemon, a few grinds of himilayan salt & fresh ground pepper, and coarsely ground cumin seeds. I add reserved liquid from the chick peas until it's the consistency that I want. We tend to like it more on the dry side. I don't measure the olive oil either. Once it's all pureed to the desired consistency, I put it in a bowl and stir in some chopped sundried tomatoes in oil. I add some of the oil from the tomatoes to the mix as well. I have added a little sour cream as Charan suggested (didn't have any plain yogurt) and I am not sure I noticed much difference.

Barbecue

I know very little about how Jeff smokes a pork shoulder! He has a smoker with a firebox and I know he uses a mix of Cowboy chunk charcoal and oak from our wood pile. He says the key to a good smokey flavor is to not let it flare up. It seems like it takes about 12 hours to get the job done.

on the pottery front...

A potter in town has some space in his salt kiln and needs some help firing. Which meant Jeff's big pot needed to get glazed.

Not a great picture, there was too much sun... Jeff poured Albany slip into the pot using a big watering can. That way he could direct the glaze under the rim. Once that was done I cradled the pot in my arms as he turned it and poured the glaze into the large red bucket. Next we quickly dipped the rim into the slip that is in the trash can lid, resting on the gray bucket. Both of us watching to see that entire rim on all sides was covered with slip.

We did a fairly decent job. The edge needed only a little clean up. I can't wait to see this fired, although I will miss it keeping me company on the porch.

Cooking up a storm...

Lately we have been on a cooking spree. I think in part it may be because we were away for most of August and didn't have our own kitchen to spend time in.

 Our own version of chili made with chicken... really yummy and invented with things we had on hand.

Sundried tomato and garlic hummus

 I have been on a hummus making kick. So much better and less expensive than store bought. Jeff said he never cared for hummus until he had mine :-). We have been eating it on a variety of toasted breads. I think it's our new lunch favorite.

Apple Brownies

We have soooo many apples that I have needed to do some baking as well.

VEGAN WARNING! If you don't like to look at large hunks of meat, click away now...

Jeff spent labor day, laboring over the smoker. He smoked two pork shoulders and we enjoyed some fabulous pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw...

What's a holiday in the south without barbecue?