Squished pots

2014 is off to a busy start, with many orders to fill. In between, I had to squeeze in a few "I just want to make them" pots.

 It felt like forever since I made a covered oval. I am going to fire it in the gas kiln with green and shino glaze. Since I only did one, I was happy as a clam that the lid fit well. I tend to have more trouble with the lids rocking on the more elongated ovals. There is less fussing with them when it's a gentle curve.

Sometimes these small bakers are a curse. I hope they won't be this time, because I made quite a few, only committing three to carving. This is a shape I haven't made in a few years. They are done by cutting a crescent out of the bottom, then squishing them into the oval shape and filling and compressing the spot where the crescent was removed. The perfect scenario for a bottom crack. I was extra diligent with these and I am keeping my fingers crossed for nice bottoms. When they were done I decided that making them in two pieces is probably quicker and less problematic.
Sometimes I have to learn the hard way.

Ta-Da!

This was the only lidded oval that survived the wood firing. The lid on the other one had warped a little in the bisque firing and the wood firing just made it worse. I sort of expected that to happen so I wasn't too disappointed.
Today is a carving day in the studio. I have a bunch of bowls to finish. This week I finally made four dinner plates for my brother and sister-in-law. I say finally, because they are a wedding present and they have been married over a year! They want them to match some pieces they already have so they will be glazed in tenmoku. It was really hard to see those nice big plates and  not carve some flowers or leaves in the center!

P.S. The fire ant bites are starting to heal... I just have the ugliest legs in Seagrove right now. On the bright side, I didn't have nearly as much swelling as my encounter with the little buggers last year.

CCM Pottery Festival

Our last outdoor show of the year is behind us. I am happy to report that it was a good one. The Carolina Claymatters Pottery Festival, was well organized, in a nice setting, and brought out a good crowd that was there to buy pottery. The fact that we had a BEAUTIFUL fall day didn't hurt us either. 

The festival started at 10 am and ended at 4 pm... perfect hours. Our booth set up consisted of the EZ-up tent, two covered tables, and our abstracta unit. Easily set up and broken down. I didn't get any photos of our booth or the festival in general because we were too busy wrapping pots! 

The show is open to members of Carolina Claymatters, which we joined about two years ago. We wish we could attend more meetings and hope to in the future.  All who participate in the festival agrees to volunteer to help in some way. It could be as simple as picking up balloons on your way in on the morning of the show, to cleaning up any trash left in the park at the end of the day.  There are of course a core group that does big time volunteer work to organize this show, and to them I send a great big thank you for a job well done! 

Jeff and I enjoyed being involved with the NH Potters Guild (and still are from afar!) and hope that we can forge some new pottery friendships with members of this guild and so far everyone we have met has been warm and welcoming.

My wood fired ovals made their debut at the show yesterday! Jeff helped me get the wads ground off the lids before we left. They got lots of oohs and aahs, but did not sell. I was sort of glad because I think I want to spend a little more time with them.

Remember all those sponge holders I was making last week? I fired half of them and we unloaded the kiln on Friday night before the festival. I sold all but three.  They covered our booth fee, gas, and then some... glad I listened to Jeff.

October is here...

and I am happy to welcome it! September was a really slow sales month for us and I am hoping that things will pick up now. At the end of the month we are heading to New Hampshire with our traveling raku kiln to do a few workshops. One at Hillsboro High School and two more at Sally Cornwall's studio in Wolfeboro. My sister lives in Wolfeboro so we will spend most of the week with her. As I have mentioned before, my sister and I share the same birthday - October 27th, so we will be together to celebrate!

Here we are in '62, on my first birthday and her 5th

On another good note, this piece sold from our gallery yesterday...

When I made this covered dish I wasn't happy with it. I had to really fuss with the lid to get it to fit right. I wasn't going to fire it but Jeff said he liked and thought that I should. Even when it first came out the kiln I wasn't excited about it, but it sort of grew on me. I didn't put it in the gallery until last week and it already has a new home.

I'll leave you with a small ginkgo leaf cup that came out of the wood firing at David Stuempfle's last month...

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!

keeping busy

Friday I decided to clean up my act and throw some porcelain again. I have three lidded boxes in progress. They are so time consuming to make. Throw the pieces, alter and assemble, then add attachments and decorate. Each process requires some drying time in between. Today I completed this one...

 In between I threw a few cups and those were completed yesterday...

Yesterday fellow potter, Kate Waltman stopped in and we talked about throwing standing up. She said when she moved to Seagrove she made the switch. That was my plan but it never happened. She suggested that I give Jeff's throwing area a try while he was gone. So for the last two days I threw a few pots on his wheel...

Why didn't I think of that earlier in the week? It's definitely easier on the back. I had a little trouble with adjusting speed. This wheel is a Brent and I have a newer Shimpo. I also like the free-spinning wheel head on my Shimpo. I think that I am going to make the switch to standing, it's definitely better for your body.

On another note... Jeff was invited to participate in a Korean kick-wheel throwing competition at the festival in MunGyeong. They don't typically ask the international potters to participate, but this year they asked three of them (+/-?) to join in. Jeff was one of the winners... 300,000 won, which is equal to about $260. He said it covered the cost of the gifts he bought to come home with him.

When we Skyped this morning he was exhausted and ready to come home. He has tons of photos and videos. I miss him bunches and can't wait to see him!