Kiln Fillers and Happy Birthdays

Our kiln is 99.9% completed, which means we have to get busy making pots to fill it. While Jeff made large pots, I made some kiln fillers. It's always good to have little things that can tuck under vessel sinks or fit on the bag wall, utilizing space that might otherwise be wasted.

The kiln fillers always sell quickly, which is the BEST reason to make them!

and of greater significance today...

Happy Birthday to my movie star daughter Danielle! 

She's still rockin' the sunglasses 30+ years later.

P.S. This guy also had a birthday over weekend...

Vessel Sink Making

Jeff has started off the new year with a couple of orders for vessel sinks. I was in the studio and with my phone so I decided to take some photos of him in action.

The studio has a small area near the back door that is lower then the rest of the room. It's sort of an awkward space and it's where we keep our glaze buckets. Jeff has made the two levels work to his advantage for throwing sinks. He moves one of the wheels to the edge of the higher level, putting the wheel at a good height for him.  The stand up wheel that he uses everyday is higher than this. He uses his whole body to center this large amount of clay, which means his clothes have to be hosed down outside before going into the washer!

Jeff uses a torch to stiffen the clay while making sinks. It allows him to finish throwing them at one sitting. You'll notice that he throws them on a large plaster bat, attached to the wheel head. They are ready for trimming in one to two days. They take forever to dry so he usually loads them into the electric kiln and keeps it under 200 degrees for a few hours. The next morning they are ready to bisque fire, but still going very slow at the beginning.

If you'd like to take a look at some finished sinks, this link will take you to Jeff's Etsy shop:

Jeff Brown Pottery

Super size me

Jeff and I are really getting into making and carving big stuff. We moved from the vase to big bowls. This one is about 21". 

I am used to carving bowls by cradling them on my lap and tilting them on an angle. I had to carve this one on my work table, nestled on foam.

I wonder how many pounds of pasta salad this bowl will hold...

Most of the big pots we are working on are for an exhibition at Campbell House Gallery in Southern Pines this coming September. We have a lot of pots to make between now and then!

I have added this post to Sunday Ceramics. Head on over there to see what's happening this week!

and where do I begin...

I guess this story starts on Friday...
We left for Charlotte mid-morning, arriving in plenty of time to set up our booth and be ready for the opening of the Festival in the Park at 4:00 pm. Friday night sales were slow and we weren't surprised, it was the same last year. Saturday brought overcast skies in the morning, drizzle mid-day, and steady rain by 7:00pm. The show closed an hour early and we were at Mac's Speed Shop enjoying barbecue and beer by 9:00pm. We weren't too disheartened, last year Sunday was our best day. Sunday we awoke to blues skies and perfect temps. After draining the water off of our tent roof, emptying out the pots that filled with water, and hanging our wet shopping bags out to dry, we were open for business. The festival was packed with people, but not our people! When all was said and done, we covered our booth fee and expenses, and made a little money... but not the kind of money for the amount of work and time put into this show.
We won't be going back next year.

We got back to Seagrove around midnight. I was driving, towing the trailer behind us. Jeff said "Pull into the driveway as close to the big wood fired pot... that's not there".

Yep, that's right. The pot was gone.

This one right here:

By midday we found out that Johnston and Gentithes, down the road from us, also had one of Fred Johnston's big pots stolen from the front of their gallery. These are pots valued at 1000 plus dollars each. We both reported the thefts. The pots will probably turn up at a flea market or consignment shop somewhere. I hope the thief is stupid enough to try to fence them locally. We have posted the photo on our FB pages, hoping that someone will recognize the pot if it turns up somewhere.
Jeff and I are keeping our spirits up and trying to find the humor in our not so fortunate weekend.
Sometimes all you can do is laugh.
And then go back to the studio and make more pots.

The Rush is Over

It sure has been a busy week. Our good friend Rob spent a long weekend with us and we had a great time. He did have to spend Friday watching us box up Etsy orders, but he seemed to enjoy relaxing on the sofa while we worked. He is a college professor and this is winter break, I am sure he needed some down time. Like a typical visit with Rob, we ate lots of good food and drank some good bottles of wine... and maybe a couple of not so good bottles!

What I think could be the last of the Christmas Etsy orders were shipped yesterday, along with a few gifts to each of our kids in New England. It feels like the pressure to meet a deadline is over and I might sleep a little better for a bit.

Rob posted some photos on facebook when he got home on Monday. He also said some really nice things about Jeff and me and our mission to get this pottery business off the ground. I took the liberty of downloading a few, so today's photos are by Rob Buller.

Jeff is the master at finding 4 leaf clovers. This one was growing next to Rob's truck as they were unloading some clay. I think it's a sign of good things to come in 2013.

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.

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.

big pot bisque

today we set one of Jeff's big pots into the electric kiln to be bisque fired. we made a sling out of a drop cloth to carry it and drop it in... Jeff learned this method when he helped Daniel Johnston with the last firing of his large jar project. no pics of the carrying method since it took the two of us to do it, but here is the pot, safe and sound in the kiln...

the pot is a little taller than the kiln, so we use this method for the lid...

a layer of soft brick with ceramic wool in between and the cover from another electric kiln (it's always a good idea to have spare parts on hand!)
tomorrow i should be able to get the gas kiln loaded and ready to be fired by Friday the latest... then one more gas firing along with a raku before the Celebration of Seagrove Potters... i am trying to not be stressed about being ready for this show... i don't know why i am, it's only two days!

work in progress...

in between talking with credit card processing reps and reading fine print, we managed to get some work done in the studio...

jeff has been working on large pots. he is making these to fit in our gas kiln.

i have been working on platters. half will be the japanese maple leaf design the other have will be slip trailed. we have reserved the ground hog kiln at the pottery center next month, so these will probably be fired then. all of our efforts right now are focused on having great new pots for the Celebration in November.
tonight we are off to the Zoo-to-Do, an annual fundraising event for the NC zoo. it's held outside, in the zoo and it should be a pleasant evening for it... no rain in the forecast! last year we go rained on during dinner, but we still had a great time.

Large Pots

the newest big guy is done!  jeff has plans to salt glaze this one... eventually we will get the front window position in the new co-op gallery and won't this look great there?

it's been a weird week, jeff's been knocked down by a doozy of cold and which means he hasn't slept much at night and my sleep pattern is now a little off... our days have not been too productive.  we were supposed to be firing the gas kiln today, but that has been put off until tomorrow.  my glazing is done, jeff is working on his now.  shortly i will start loading.
on the bright side... traffic is picking up here in Seagrove and people have been buying pots!  we also have both had some good etsy sales in the last few weeks.
i am feeling upbeat about spring and the weather at the end of the week is supposed to be in the 70's!

still in a funk...

what the hell needs to happen for me to snap out of it?  today i got done only what was absolutely needed (and that isn't saying much).  yesterday i was at least motivated by the gorgeous weather.  jeff and i spent the day on the porch unpacking boxes and generally cleaning up the mess we had made in October and November when we utilized it as a glazing area.  we were pleased with ourselves at the end of the day and it was a treat for this new england girl to be outside working in 60 degree weather on January 19th!!!

 a couple of random pics for your viewing pleasure...

jeff's BIG POT

this wheel is located near the door and jeff had this big guy spinning all day so that it would firm up enough to work on.  when i came through the door i thought someone was standing in the corner, moving about... gave me quite a startle!

here is a little pot that sits in front of the kitchen window:

a sweet little covered jar that has john's stamp (JZ on the right) and bill van Gilder's on the left.  i have few pots around the cabin that came from the time the two of them worked together.  definitely can see the Byron Temple influence.

BIG pots!

jeff is going to fire his big pots in daniel johnston's wood kiln.  these pots will be single fired, the interiors glazed with albany slip. i used a watering can to pour the slip into the pots while jeff held and turned them... we had to work quickly...

the first one is a success!  and now on to #2...

oh no! the pot absorbed too much of the slip and the bottom popped off...

as jeff went to set it down the whole pot fell apart :-(  
the albany slip is a rich brown color and as i picked up all the pieces the smooth creaminess of the shards made me think of chocolate bark...

it was sad to lose such a nice big pot.  thankfully the first survived along with some large pitchers.

the monster pots are taking over the studio...

nice job jeff!  wish i could make pots that big.

happy to be in the 'grove and still thinking of what to do with all those apples!

jeff and i were sitting on the porch swing this morning enjoying the fabulous weather... he looked at me and said "i am so glad we are here in seagrove, we made the right decision to come here".
about an hour or so later a really nice couple from pennsylvania came in bought TWO of jeff's really BIG pots! one of them looked awesome in the gardens outside but the goal was for it to find a new home... yeah, we made the right decision to come here.

...and remember all those apples?  i am still thinking of ways to use them...

today's choice was apple brownies... we are having guests tomorrow and if they don't help us eat this it is going home with them!

oink...

jeff loaded the bisque kiln yesterday and since i wasn't working real estate today i fired it off.  the good thing about firing one of the kilns is that you need to stay at the studio and tend to it.  albeit the bisque doesn't need the tending that the gas kiln does, but i still like to be there while it's firing.  never totally trust a kiln sitter ('specially mine, because it isn't working right now!).
after the last trip to seagrove, nc and being totally amazed at the huge pots i saw i decided to throw some larger pots.  typically i make smallish work.  throwing 5-6lbs of clay is a lot for me.  i made some planters and some vases... not sure what i will keep.

this cylinder was about a foot tall...

when i was done throwing i got busy assembling some piggy banks.  john taught me how to make pigs a few years back.  if you scroll to the bottom of the blog you will see a pic of a finished pig with shino glaze.  john made lots of pigs.  he always sold as many as he made.  john told me the story of how he met gary rith while they were both working shop at the fair at the league of nh craftsmen's annual show at mt. sunapee... they both made pigs and they both had their own style.  john thought gary was a cool guy who made great pots with a sense of humor.
below are the pigs i assembled today...

wouldn't they be great in a wood firing?  ROAST PIG!

super-size me!

on our last visit to David Stuempfle's studio it was raining cats and dogs and i was only able to take some interior photos... when we were there on sunday the weather was cooperating.  david makes BIG pots.  david has BIG kilns to fire those pots... 

hey jeff... watcha doin' inside that kiln?!