Wednesday, June 17, 2020

The Reluctant Potter

I have really struggled with clay during the pandemic. I am not really sure why but I have been drawn to working with paper, paint, and ink. That being said, I have been making pigs. Lots of pigs. The orders are still coming in. There have been a couple orders that excited me. Requests that made me think a little outside the box.


A woman that lives on the coast of North Carolina contacted me and asked if I could do a piggy bank with salt glaze. Since we don't have a salt kiln, I suggested a pig made with STARwork's East Fork clay and finished with a sprayed ash glaze. I sent her examples of mugs and bowls, she loved the look and placed her order. I ended up making three and firing two last week. She decided she wanted both of them!


I had one piggy bank that wasn't spoken for when we fired the gas kiln last week. I decided to give him a dip in the matte black glaze.


I really like this glaze and I am curious to see if it becomes popular with the piggy bank buying public.


The other fun order I had was to make a salt pig to look like the buyers pug dog!


The shino glaze got lots of reduction in this firing and the caramel color is perfect. I also dipped the opening in temnoku to mimic the shading on her dog's face. He is now on his way to Australia. I hope that she loves it as much as I do!
Our gallery is still closed during the pandemic. We probably won't even think about opening until July. Even then it's iffy. There is a studio tour in Seagrove the weekend of July 11th. We plan to participate but will set up our pots outside, on tables, and under our canopy. We will require masks. If there is rain, we will probably cancel. If numbers continue to climb, who knows if this tour will even happen. I am really concerned about this event moving forward. It's not worth risking our health for a few extra bucks.

2 comments:

  1. Love these glazes, especially the ash glaze. It is hard to make any plans now, so we focus on day to day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do what you can, when you can. It's not a typical year...there what is coming for next year. Haha

    ReplyDelete

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