The Oval, revisited.

I mentioned in my last post that I was feeling good about the clay again. I figured I better post some photos to back up the words. These ovals are a little smaller than the ones I usually make. The stamped pieces in the foreground will get some slip applied for mishima technique. Once the slip has dried I will scrape it off to reveal the pattern below.

A few of the ovals got the ginkgo pattern. I am doing it a little different this time, placing a few leaves within panels. There is white slip in the panel, but it's hard to see in this light. My glaze plan is sprayed ash, foregoing the usual green and shino. I have been really digging the brown lately. The interiors might be lined with shino. I will make that decision later.

My work this week is a good jumping off point to get more creative in between making pigs. Today it's back to the pigs. I am feeling ready for them!

Batten Down The Hatches

We are expecting a weather event! It's been really cold here, 27 degrees at 2pm. Snow and freezing rain are in the forecast for late this afternoon and into tomorrow. We are prepared for the worse, hoping that it won't really happen. Last night I roasted a chicken, and today I am making chicken stock with the bones. If we lose power overnight, I can make a soup on the wood stove.

The studio is a little harder to heat than the house, so I have to admit that I have been a little slow with the clay work. I finished a litter of pigs and moved on to baking/serving dishes.

Along with ovals I created a few squared off dishes. Rather than make them in two sections I decided to try cutting a crescent out of the edge of two sides and squishing it together, a la the B Van Gilder technique. I am still concerned with cracking on the two seams so I also experimented with pushing the sides with a board to created the square. I did this right after throwing, and before cutting it off the bat.

The first two were a little wonky, but I think I finally got the hang of it. This method does leave a little ripple in the clay where it was pushed in, but I sort of like the effect... once I learned how to work with it. I am waiting for the squares to firm up enough to finish the undersides and then I will attach some handles and give them some flower stamps. I guess it's time to put on some layers, get out there, and go to work.
Stay warm!

Baby It's Cold Outside...

especially for North Carolina. Friday night was down into the twenties and we were OUT of firewood. We have a gas heater in the living room, electric heat in the bathroom, and typically that would be fine. When it gets down to the twenties, those heat sources alone just don't cut it! Our bedroom was rather chilly overnight. Jeff ordered wood a couple of weeks ago and we were still waiting on the delivery. Can I even begin to tell you how happy I was yesterday, to see the dump truck arrive with a load of wood?

We wasted no time building a fire in both the house and the gallery. I even simmered our chicken chili on the wood stove. While attempting to keep warm, we unloaded the gas kiln. It's hard to believe that when we loaded it it was 70 degrees outside.

 I really like the shino with splashy glaze on this cheese stone. 

I am sure I will be doing more in this glaze combination. I keep going back and forth between calling these cheese boards and cheese stones. When I think of boards I think wood, so I am leaning towards "stone". I would be happy for input from readers on what to call them.

 There were four oval bakers in the "nuka" white glaze. I had one that cracked at the interior seam. 

I won't bore you with the piggy bank photos and I will save the fishy banks for another day. Have an awesome Sunday and stay warm.

Autumn Love

 This really is my favorite time of the year. I love everything about it, especially Halloween.

Thursday night I carved my jack-o-lantern and roasted the seeds. This pumpkin head has traveled all over our little pottery compound. He has spent time on the steps of the gallery, inside the gallery, on the porch of the log cabin we live in, and lit up in the living room during the evenings. I guess I really want to get the most enjoyment from my carving efforts!

Last night was a Halloween party at a pottery down the road. Jeff and I threw together last minute costumes, not our best efforts, but we had a great time. I searched for Halloween appetizers on Pinterest and found this recipe for a spider cheese ball. I had as much fun making him as I did carving the pumpkin.

Despite the holiday fun, pots were still getting made, although not as many as there should have been. Today it's back to assembling pigs. 

the unexpected phone call

What a week it has been. I was feeling lazy on Monday, since it was a holiday, and wasn't very productive. Tuesday I kicked my butt into gear and became productive, which continued into Wednesday. Then it all came to a screeching halt with a phone call on Wednesday evening.

My 87 year old parents had an accident with the car. Mom and Dad had returned home from a morning errand. Dad pulled up to the entrance to their building to let Mom off on the sidewalk so she wouldn't have to step over a snow bank to get out of the car. They live in New Hampshire where it has been one snow storm after another. From what I understand, when my Dad started to pull away, the car was stuck in a snow rut. He gave it some gas, the car lurched free, jumped the sidewalk and hit my mother. She has hospitalized with a severely torn up leg, but thankfully no broken bones. She had surgery to clean up the wound and will need skin grafts over the next few weeks. They sent her home last night with a wound-vac to aid in healing. A nurse will come a few times a week to change that and a physical therapist will start coming today. Thankfully, my sister, who teaches middle school, is on February break will be able to stay with them until we feel comfortable leaving them overnight. 

Right now I can't even wrap my head around how my father is dealing with this accident. I am surprised he didn't go into cardiac arrest when it happened. He was really shook up when he called my sister. They don't have a cell phone and he had trouble finding the address book with all of our numbers... my mother does the phone talking for the two of them. I haven't slept well for the past three nights. My brain won't shut down and it keeps running this event over and over.

My siblings and I are glad that the parents are no longer in their house and are in a senior living apartment. They made that decision on their own, two years ago. I am not looking forward to the next conversation with them... perhaps it's time to stop driving. My Dad had a minor accident last winter too.  We are hoping that this decision will come from them as well.

Dealing with aging parents can be so difficult and complex. Being 800+ miles away doesn't make it any easier.


P.S. The lidded oval was from the last firing, it doesn't have anything to with this post aside from taking the edge off of the "omg that's terrible" factor!