Broken

Jeff brought one of his large wood fired pots into the house to be photographed. It was in the kitchen, standing next to the center island. I was cooking dinner and he asked me to pass one of the bar stools over to him. When I picked up the stool, the leg hit the vase.

It seemed like it rolled over in slow motion, with me not being able to do anything about it. It hit the floor and shattered.

I cried.

I try not to cry when favorite (or very expensive) things get broken, because objects shouldn't be anything to cry over. Looking at the broken vase on the floor, all I could think of was the time and talent it took to create this giant beauty, and then the labor of a five day wood firing. Yes, I did think of the $1200 that it would sell for.

Jeff hugged me tight and said, "Just be glad it wasn't a sink".

I still had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw the shards out on the porch this morning.

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

Making it Big

 Jeff's been in the studio making big pots. We are excited to put some pots in David Stuempfle's wood kiln this week. Jeff also made a few large cache pots that I didn't get photos of before they left for the kiln. David fires slow and long and most of the pots will not be bisque fired.

I spent the weekend throwing some small bowls off the hump and then moved on to making rattle orbs. I am taking advantage of the Japanese maple tree while there are still leaves on it.
When I get the chance to wood fire, I make things for me. Not meaning that I will keep them, but rather I make things that I love to make with no worries about whether or not they will sell.
... but they usually do.

Together We're Better

Jeff threw this large 22" vase over the weekend so that I could carve my ginkgo leaf design onto it.

I am always nervous to start carving into his pots! I have to talk myself into making that first mark. Thankfully I can lightly draw the design in pencil before digging in.

It took me about 5-6 hours to complete. At one point we turned it upside down, resting the rim on a bat, so that I could get to the bottom third without killing my wrist. I had to be careful not to exert too much pressure on the shoulder. Jeff and I are both pretty happy with the end result.

This is one of the many collaborative pots we will be working on this summer for a show in September at Campbell House Gallery in Southern Pines, NC. Stay tuned for some large platters.

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!