The Lazy Potter

I will admit that deep down inside, I can be a lazy potter. Especially when it comes to glazing. It took me some time to realize that shortcuts usually don't work and in the end cause frustration and then extra work.

Now I tell myself, "Do it right the first time!".

I used to try and glaze everything in a five gallon bucket. The thought of pouring the glaze into another container, then pouring it back in, cleaning the container, made the lazy side of me say, "I think this plate will fit in the bucket". I can guarantee you that 9 times out of 10 it didn't! Either the glaze wasn't deep enough to cover the piece, or it scraped against the sides, creating a mess.

That's when the frustration kicked in.
Then the extra work of trying fix the glaze or washing it all off.

My other cop-out for large pieces was, "It's going to be shino". Why shino? Because we mix shino in a large trash can... you can glaze almost anything in there!
I have nothing against shino (I actually love it very much) but not every plate or large bowl I make is suited for it.

So I have learned to embrace the pouring out the glaze into a proper container, dipping pots without stress, and cleaning the container afterwards.

Over the years we have collected a variety of big bowls and tubs to pour glaze into, to accommodate different sizes and shapes of pots. My favorite for plates is the big plastic bowl in the top photo.  A great place to find big plastic containers is at an Asian market. The Korean's make kimchee in big quantities, therefore you will usually find a good assortment there.

Glazing day this week went quickly. Two colors, nuka and celadon. I fought my lazy side and there were no catastrophes.

This is what's happening outside. No matter how long I live in North Carolina, flowers in winter will never cease to amaze me!

Not Piggy Banks

After a the holiday craziness, I have been given a very short reprieve from making pigs. Along with the dinnerware order I made some porcelain bowls and this shallow bowl/plate. It felt good to get back to carving those ginkgo leaves.

Since this is porcelain, and no slip, I will glaze them in celadon. I like it when I have pots planned from start to finish. It makes glazing less of a chore.

It's always something

What a week it has been. We are trying to keep up with studio work and complete our kitchen rehab so that we can move by the end of next week. Wednesday, I got a call from my sister. Dad fell and broke a hip. He had partial hip replacement surgery late in the day Thursday. Friday morning he had a stroke. His right side is week and his speech is slurred. It's a wait and see thing now. This is when I really hate being so far away. I just want to pack my suitcase and buy a plane ticket to New Hampshire. 

Enough of the depressing side of things, how about some cheery celadon?

 Two different Highwater porcelains with the same glaze. Notice how much darker the cup is? I think that must be the P-10. The plate is Helios.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, I hope the weather where you are, is as nice as it is here Seagrove, NC.

and now for something completely different...

After two posts about brown pots, I thought you might be ready for some Spring green!

Have a great weekend!

New Tools

I try to throw on bats as little as possible. Between us, Jeff and I have a large number of bats both big and small. The problem with bats is that when you throw on them they take up a lot of room. Small bats are a pain because there is the extra step of throwing a pad of clay to adhere them to. A couple of months ago Jeff bought a set of bats with a remove-able center. We have both been giving a them a go.

The bats are really thick and I hope that will prevent warping in the future. Only time will tell. The space saving feature is a big plus. I am not thrilled with the way I can feel the "finger" notches when I am centering. While it bothers me, Jeff doesn't mind it. If they hold up, we will invest in some more center pieces.
I haven't done a whole lot of studio work in the past week, it seems paperwork, and shipping have been at the top of the "must do" list. What little wheel work I have done has been in porcelain. Bowls, plates, and mugs. Stamped with flowers and destined for black underglaze and finished with celadon.

Geesh, do I hate pulling handles with porcelain. The constant battle with cracking :-/.

We Celebrated Spring in Seagrove...

We had a really great turnout for the Celebration of Spring Studio Tour last weekend and lots of pots went to new homes. The weather was absolutely perfect and I am sure that helped bring people out to wander the country roads of Seagrove. We unloaded the kiln on Friday evening. It was great firing. There was only one order that has to be a do-over. It's not scheduled to be shipped until the end of May so we have plenty of time. Here are a few pics of the new pots.

I am loving this celadon on porcelain. It feels so good in in your hands. I had one with a cracked rim so I am keeping that one for me.

I fired four ovals and not a single one cracked... hurray!

There were a few of the mugs with underglaze in this firing. This one is my favorite. It's a wee little mug, about 8oz. The one finger handle, down low, is a first for me. Clicking on the photo will take you to Etsy. I will be adding some of the new pots to the shop over the next few days.

Tomorrow I am flying to New Hampshire to say good bye to my Mom. She is receiving hospice care in the nursing home and they tell us it's just a matter of days before she is gone. I hope that she hangs on until I arrive. We are all very thankful that she hasn't been in pain. My mother has a big family. She is the third oldest of ten kids. Her much younger brothers are taking shifts to stay with her overnight, so that she isn't alone and my Dad can go home and get some rest. I think that's the sweetest thing.