One of my favorite potters is Micki Schloessingk. Micki lives and works in Swansea on the coast of Wales. I was delighted to find today that she has updated her website. I hope you'll visit to see her wonderful saltglazed pottery. www.mickisaltglaze.co.uk
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New Day, New Week
Quick Monday morning post before I get going. I had a good day of rest on Sunday. Today looks like it is going to be a beautiful day, I plan to do some yard work and some last minute work on pots in the studio. I will be firing soon. Either over the weekend or in a week from today. My next show is with the Claymatters Guild in Charlotte on May 12th, so I want to fire before then. I have some platters that are made to hang as well as a few new teapots, jars, and bowls. All the clay I mixed came out of the racks over the weekend. So I am all set on that end. My first pots of May will be a dinnerware order that is to be delivered in October. I want to get it knocked out now so I won't be stressed at the last minute.
Have a good start to the week. Check back for more later.
Have a good start to the week. Check back for more later.
18 Hour Day
Yesterday was long. I got up at 6:15 am and headed out shortly thereafter to set up for the art show in town. We had to be set up by 8:30 which is early I think. The show started at 9, again too early, should have been more like 10. Anyhow, it was a beautiful day and the show looked lovely all set around the historic courthouse square in Shelby. I wish I had taken my camera. We do have one of the best courtsquares I've ever seen. Anyway, I saw lots of friends and had fun visiting. Unfortunately sales weren't too grand. And the show ran until 5 (too long, should have ended at 4). Sarah and her mom came out for a while and let me take a break for lunch.
After breaking down my booth, I came home for a quick shower and then drove 1 hr to Charlotte to participate in 'All Fired Up', the fundraising event for Clayworks, where I teach once a week. It was a good party, my part was to help in the 'extreme throwing' demo. Five instructors, including myself, threw parts for a large basket sculpture which we assembled at the end of the night. By 9 o'clock I felt like I might fall over, (I only had one and a half beers), and we still had an hour and a half to go. Honestly I didn't feel like myself most of the night, maybe it was exhaustion, or just being up in front of a group of people. When I crawled into bed at 12:30 I was out like a light. I had dreams of big slabs of clay, and of rolling out sheets of tofu (I have no idea what that's about). Anyhow it was fun to hang out with friends, I just wish I'd had more energy.
Today I plan to do as little as possible.
After breaking down my booth, I came home for a quick shower and then drove 1 hr to Charlotte to participate in 'All Fired Up', the fundraising event for Clayworks, where I teach once a week. It was a good party, my part was to help in the 'extreme throwing' demo. Five instructors, including myself, threw parts for a large basket sculpture which we assembled at the end of the night. By 9 o'clock I felt like I might fall over, (I only had one and a half beers), and we still had an hour and a half to go. Honestly I didn't feel like myself most of the night, maybe it was exhaustion, or just being up in front of a group of people. When I crawled into bed at 12:30 I was out like a light. I had dreams of big slabs of clay, and of rolling out sheets of tofu (I have no idea what that's about). Anyhow it was fun to hang out with friends, I just wish I'd had more energy.
Today I plan to do as little as possible.
Long Bottle
I finished these bottles up today. It's a new shape for me. I like this long skinny neck. The handles were the hardest part.
Tomorrow, Saturday, I will be at Art on the Square in uptown Shelby. This is a first year event and is coinciding with two other events happening uptown. Honestly, I have never done well that this kind of venue. I'm going to give it a shot again tomorrow. I will try to have postive thoughts between now and then, maybe that will attract some sales or interest.
Tomorrow, Saturday, I will be at Art on the Square in uptown Shelby. This is a first year event and is coinciding with two other events happening uptown. Honestly, I have never done well that this kind of venue. I'm going to give it a shot again tomorrow. I will try to have postive thoughts between now and then, maybe that will attract some sales or interest.
More Studio Pics
This is the corner of my studio where I sit and clickity-clack on the treadle and make pots. The window looks out toward the wooded area and creek behind the studio.
A big stack of batts that need to be scraped off.
Six bowls I made yesterday and got slipped today. It's a new open shape that is slightly altered.
A few tankards with the Toyko pattern.
A big stack of batts that need to be scraped off.
Six bowls I made yesterday and got slipped today. It's a new open shape that is slightly altered.
A few tankards with the Toyko pattern.
Where I Live and Work
My dad and I build the house (which was originally the pottery shop) and tractor shed in the early 90's. It's the structure to the far right. I had the pottery workshop in the downstairs with the upstairs mainly unfinished but with plans on living there. I worked there for several years and when Sarah and I decided to get married in 2000 we finished the upstairs and took over a third of the tractor shed for a kitchen and bathroom. I continued to work in the pottery up until last year when we built the new studio (just to the left). It's nice to have all the clay dust out of the house and we are working on converting that area into living space.
The new studio sits where the kiln shed was originally. That shed was 16 ft square. We added onto the concrete slab to make it 20 by 36 and built the studio and showroom. The kiln was moved to a new shed (far left).
The new studio sits where the kiln shed was originally. That shed was 16 ft square. We added onto the concrete slab to make it 20 by 36 and built the studio and showroom. The kiln was moved to a new shed (far left).
We sit about 400 ft off the road which is nice. To the east is a large field that is farmed, usually corn or wheat. Behind us to the north is a creek (where I played as a child) and a large pasture. It often has cows in it but seems to be vacant right now. To the west is my dad's house, about 300 ft away and then a small cemetery and church yard.
I am very fortunate to have such a beautiful place to live and work. I am thankful to my father for giving us this land and for all his hard work with me in building what is here now. Of course there were others too who helped with later projects.
(Just in case you are wondering...I LOVE to mow grass!)
Pictures from the Studio
I took some pictures while working in the studio today. I thought some of you may enjoy seeing things in progress as well as some shots of the studio interior. I realized while loading these that I didn't get too many of the latter so check back as the week goes on and I'll try to put some up.
These two little birds got slipped today. They will be blue when fired.
The last thing I made today was some squared mugs. These will get turned over tomorrow and the bottoms will get pushed on and squared. They will get handles then too.
Here is my handy pug mill. I love this machine. When I first set up my studio Tom Gray told me I should get a pug mill as soon as I could. I saved up some money and bought a brand new Bluebird 440. It saves me from wedging most of my clay. It's also great for reclaiming scrap by mixing it in with new clay. It is by far one of the best investments I've made.
The last thing I made today was some squared mugs. These will get turned over tomorrow and the bottoms will get pushed on and squared. They will get handles then too.
Here is my handy pug mill. I love this machine. When I first set up my studio Tom Gray told me I should get a pug mill as soon as I could. I saved up some money and bought a brand new Bluebird 440. It saves me from wedging most of my clay. It's also great for reclaiming scrap by mixing it in with new clay. It is by far one of the best investments I've made.
Cups
Here are the cups. They were made yesterday and have been drying. I usually turn them upside down as soon as I can to help even out the drying. They are ready for their handles.
And here they are. I love to make cups. It took me along time to really like them. Seven years. I remember when it all came together for me and my cups. Learning to make a good handle was a big part of it, and paying attention to the volume and gesture. I still make some not so great ones but I strive to be a good cup maker. Hopefully the rest of my pots are following suit.
Circle Spring Sale
We had a great day for our Circle of Eight Sale on Saturday. The turnout was good and we all sold some pots. It was good to hang out with the pottery crew. Our guest artist, Kelly O'Briant brought a nice selection of pots and we all enjoyed having her there. She fit right in with all of us and I enjoyed getting to know more about her and her work.
Below is a shot of my booth.
Here is a partial shot of all the booths, I didn't get Jen Mecca and Sandy Singletary's booth in this picture. (Sorry girls).
Greg Scott, below with customers.
I wish I would have gotten more shots of everyone's work. Here is a quick shot of Kelly's work. For more images visit Jen Mecca's blog.
I'll be back to work in the shop tomorrow. I have another show this weekend here in Shelby. Check back this week for more.
Here is a partial shot of all the booths, I didn't get Jen Mecca and Sandy Singletary's booth in this picture. (Sorry girls).
Greg Scott, below with customers.
I wish I would have gotten more shots of everyone's work. Here is a quick shot of Kelly's work. For more images visit Jen Mecca's blog.
I'll be back to work in the shop tomorrow. I have another show this weekend here in Shelby. Check back this week for more.Pots. Show.
I am getting all my things together and will be leaving shortly for Charlotte to set up for the Circle of Eight show which is tomorrow. See post below. I have all the pots and my display loaded in the truck.
I finished up a few pots this morning. Below are a few spouted mixers. I really like these pots a lot; we have two in our kitchen. They are great for scrambling eggs or mixing up dressings.
Here are some cups with incised star pattern. I haven't done this in awhile. Sarah's mother has a cup like this and I was looking at it when I was over there recently. It was so nice I decided to make a few more. These have the yellow slip so the contrast should be good.
And here are a few honey jars. These are good sellers, I use ours every day.
And here are a few honey jars. These are good sellers, I use ours every day.
I'll have some images from the Sale going up later in the weekend. If you are in the area please come by. Lots of great pots to choose from.
Process
Today I'll be finishing up the pots that I made on Tuesday and some plates that were made earlier that have finally decided to dry to the point of turning. I want to get all my pots boxed up to take to the Circle of Eight Sale also. We are setting up on Friday afternoon. I am excited about our Sale, we should have a good turnout and the weather looks like it will be nice.
My clay is drying in the racks and will be ready to come in in a few days. As it dries I will cut it into blocks. This allows me to bring in the blocks that dry sooner (the ones closer to the edge of the rack). I will store the soft clay in large, lidded trash bins. When I am ready to use it I will run the clay through the pug mill.
I am challenging myself to think of ways to change some of my more generic pots to give them some character. I think this will mainly involve paying attention to parts of pots like feet and rims and details like handles and maybe some little add ons. I could make some bowls with taller feet, or bottles and vases composed of parts. It's hard to put into words but I'm doing some sketches. I noticed in my last kiln load that I had some baskets that were really boring, not even worth firing really, and I had some small jars I felt the same way about. I guess I learned from that. It's easy just to 'make stuff ' , making interesting pots is harder. I think also for me it's learning to cut out certain things and go deeper with others. That's what I think I should do, 'go deeper' , explore, have fun, and see where that takes me.
Heaven
Last night I made a couple pizzas. This one was made with the Italian sausage that Tom gave me. Boy was it delicious. I made another with spinach, goat cheese and onions for Sarah. It was tasty too. Pizza is my favorite food by far and I can pretty much make a better pizza than any chain resturant. We do have a good pizzeria in Shelby, Doc's. They make a great pie.
I am feeling very off schedule this month. I am getting pots made but it seems I should be firing already. I will fire on the 30th probably. The thing that is throwing me off is that I have 2 shows this month and another in early May. I feel like I need to be firing before each show. That can't happen...well it could but it isn't. So things are on schedule after all. I have a load almost made except for some cups and a few other things I'd like to get in.
Circle of Eight Spring Sale
The Circle of Eight Spring Sale is this Saturday from 10 am until 4pm. The location is 1225 Dade St. in Charlotte. We will all have a good selection of work to choose from. We have invited Kelly O'Briant from the Raleigh area to show with us. If you need any information or directions call Amy at 704 650 5662. 
Lunch with Randy
Today I had lunch with the potter Randy Johnston. Well, I had lunch while Randy made pots and talked on this dvd that I got called The Nourishable Accident. I just got it today. I have seen Randy make pots in person years ago at a conference, but it was good to see his methods again. It really reminded me that I needed to slow down. Really, slow down my wheel. I throw on a treadle wheel and it doesn't go very fast to begin with. The video shows RJ throwing on a Korean kickwheel and a treadle. The slow wheels and soft, sandy clay give his pots a beauty that cannot be had with any other methods.
After lunch I went out and made some 2 lb jars with lids and mixing bowls. Nice and slow. It's hard for me to remember to go slow. My 'monkey mind' gets going and before I know it I'm kicking up a storm. Maybe I'll put up a sign on my wheel or something. What could it say? 'Go Slow, Pots Ahead'?
Anyhow that was a good lesson for my day. Once my clay is out of the racks...my favorite body, the one with sand, and grog, and fireclay...I'll be sure to slow down and enjoy it. It is my hope that the pots will reflect this enjoyment.
After lunch I went out and made some 2 lb jars with lids and mixing bowls. Nice and slow. It's hard for me to remember to go slow. My 'monkey mind' gets going and before I know it I'm kicking up a storm. Maybe I'll put up a sign on my wheel or something. What could it say? 'Go Slow, Pots Ahead'?
Anyhow that was a good lesson for my day. Once my clay is out of the racks...my favorite body, the one with sand, and grog, and fireclay...I'll be sure to slow down and enjoy it. It is my hope that the pots will reflect this enjoyment.
Technical difficulties
I tried scanning in a drawing this morning but I am having problems getting it to post. Maybe later I'll figure it out.
Not too much to say just yet, I think my brain is on vacation and I am on automatic at the moment. The pots I left uncovered in the studio last night are still too wet to cut feet on or to handle. I'll be making some pots today including jars to take into class tonight to demo for my students. Covered pots are the focus this session.
It is sunny out today and not so windy so I'll take the tin off the racks so my clay can dry. It was too windy to do so yesterday, I'd have had bits of everything blowing in.
Okay, so that's a pretty lame post for now, I'll get something better up soon. Thanks for checking in.
Not too much to say just yet, I think my brain is on vacation and I am on automatic at the moment. The pots I left uncovered in the studio last night are still too wet to cut feet on or to handle. I'll be making some pots today including jars to take into class tonight to demo for my students. Covered pots are the focus this session.
It is sunny out today and not so windy so I'll take the tin off the racks so my clay can dry. It was too windy to do so yesterday, I'd have had bits of everything blowing in.
Okay, so that's a pretty lame post for now, I'll get something better up soon. Thanks for checking in.
Monday. Work.
Here is the pot I bought at Will and Douglass'. I love this tall foot.
I had a productive day back in the studio after playing all weekend. I got 2 boards of luncheon plates made, some mugs, and some shallow dishes that will get birds attached to them tomorrow. Also a few yunomi and shot glasses from my test clay. I am looking forward to my clay coming out of the racks next week. It will be a good change from the very smooth body I have been using for the past while.
It's incredibly windy here today. Gusts up around 50 mph. The sun is out and it's warm. I am ready for the weather to level out around here.
Circle of Eight is having our Spring Pottery Sale this Saturday in Charlotte. I am very excited. We are hoping for a good turnout. We have invited a guest potter to join us this time, her name is Kelly O'briant and she lives near Raleigh. I'll post more info. soon.
Weekend
I had a great weekend. Sarah and I went to see David Sedaris on Saturday. This was the first time I had seen him in person. We have all his books and I catch him on NPR from time to time. All of the material on Saturday was new as far as I could tell. He had the whole place laughing out loud only minutes after taking the stage. He talked about living in Normandy, and about a 3 month stay in Japan. The language barrier and cultural differences both present good material for him. He also told stories about his family, mainly his brother, and read a few passages from his diary. At the end he fielded some questions from the audience and then went to lobby to sign books. There's no new book out at this time but I hope for one soon. We'll definitely go see him again if the opportunity arises.
Sunday was a full blown pottery day. Julie and Adrienne from Clayworks were heading up to the Penland area to pick up some donated pots for Clayworks' upcoming fundraising event. We all knew that Will and Douglass at Rock Creek had recently fired their kiln so we worked it into the schedule that we would go there first and get some pots and hopefully have a visit. I was disappointed that we didn't get an earlier start and we didn't arrive until lunchtime. Will and Douglass had some guests visiting from Virgina, Warren Fredrick and Catherine White. I was really excited about meeting them. What was even better was that they had brought some of their pots down so we got to see them too. The highlight for me though was getting to see some of Catherine's journals, drawings, and collages. I could have stayed for several more hours and asked her questions but we needed to move on to our next stop. We did all get some great pots from Will and Douglass' showroom in the barn. I choose a nice tall footed jar.
Our next stop was at Suze Lindsey's and Kent Mclaughlin's pottery and home. Suze had us lunch ready but I was jacked up from having two cups of strong green tea at Rock Creek. This combined with all the pots in Suze and Kent's house had me very over stimulated. I get really distracted visually anyhow, especially with pots. So Suze told me to go look around. There were pots everywhere, many of theirs, but mostly of other potters from all over the country, many of my favorites. After I settled down a bit we all had lunch and a good visit. It was getting on in the day and starting to snow. Adrienne needed to get back home as she had lined up the babysitter for a certain time and we were already behind schedule. We made two more quick stops to get pots and by that time the snow was coming down in big flakes and accumulating on the ground.
We made it off the mountain and they dropped me off at my truck where we had met earlier in the day. Adrienne and Julie still had over an hour to get home, where as I only had about 40 minutes. It was an awesome day. Seeing everyone was great, the thing that is sticking with me right now are Catherine's journals. I told Sarah just the other night that I need to be spending my free time more creatively. I get my pottery time in every day just fine. What I'd like to do is take more time to draw and play in some medium other than clay. Seeing Catherine's work has made that desire more strong and I feel like I'll act on it, as a matter of fact I did a drawing this morning.
Sunday was a full blown pottery day. Julie and Adrienne from Clayworks were heading up to the Penland area to pick up some donated pots for Clayworks' upcoming fundraising event. We all knew that Will and Douglass at Rock Creek had recently fired their kiln so we worked it into the schedule that we would go there first and get some pots and hopefully have a visit. I was disappointed that we didn't get an earlier start and we didn't arrive until lunchtime. Will and Douglass had some guests visiting from Virgina, Warren Fredrick and Catherine White. I was really excited about meeting them. What was even better was that they had brought some of their pots down so we got to see them too. The highlight for me though was getting to see some of Catherine's journals, drawings, and collages. I could have stayed for several more hours and asked her questions but we needed to move on to our next stop. We did all get some great pots from Will and Douglass' showroom in the barn. I choose a nice tall footed jar.
Our next stop was at Suze Lindsey's and Kent Mclaughlin's pottery and home. Suze had us lunch ready but I was jacked up from having two cups of strong green tea at Rock Creek. This combined with all the pots in Suze and Kent's house had me very over stimulated. I get really distracted visually anyhow, especially with pots. So Suze told me to go look around. There were pots everywhere, many of theirs, but mostly of other potters from all over the country, many of my favorites. After I settled down a bit we all had lunch and a good visit. It was getting on in the day and starting to snow. Adrienne needed to get back home as she had lined up the babysitter for a certain time and we were already behind schedule. We made two more quick stops to get pots and by that time the snow was coming down in big flakes and accumulating on the ground.
We made it off the mountain and they dropped me off at my truck where we had met earlier in the day. Adrienne and Julie still had over an hour to get home, where as I only had about 40 minutes. It was an awesome day. Seeing everyone was great, the thing that is sticking with me right now are Catherine's journals. I told Sarah just the other night that I need to be spending my free time more creatively. I get my pottery time in every day just fine. What I'd like to do is take more time to draw and play in some medium other than clay. Seeing Catherine's work has made that desire more strong and I feel like I'll act on it, as a matter of fact I did a drawing this morning.
It smells funny around here.
I have had a good day of doing things around the house. I just had a nice shower and I think I'll call it a day. I got my pots slipped and the yard mowed and 2 racks of clay mixed. I also made a much needed trip to the landfill. It's been nice to be outside today...with one drawback. The man who rents the pastureland behind our house is putting out fertlizer today. Not just any fertilizer but 100% chicken manure. He's been at it all day. I guess someone cleaned out their chicken houses and he got the manure. So there's a wonderful smell enveloping my surroundings. It's fine indoors. I have the windows all shut up. Anyhow, it's not so bad, just part of living out in the country. I grew up on a farm so I am used to cow manure and the like. (Chicken s*#t is the worse smelling stuff there is though). I am glad that he is using something natural, he could be spreading chemical fertilizer instead which would definitely run off into our creek.
Tomorrow I have to teach a beginner class at Clayworks and then Sarah and I are going to see David Sedaris!!!!! Yea!!! I can't wait. Sarah got the tickets for me for my birthday. I am totally excited.
Tomorrow I have to teach a beginner class at Clayworks and then Sarah and I are going to see David Sedaris!!!!! Yea!!! I can't wait. Sarah got the tickets for me for my birthday. I am totally excited.
Thursday Mixing
I spent yesterday finishing up these jars and getting them slipped and I also cut the feet on 6 plates and two 16 inch bowls. I got them slipped later in the day and will put some pours on them today. I also mixed up a new bucket of white slip and my blue/black slip. I have been putting that off for months. My big 20 gallon buckets of slip needed screening too because little dry flakes have been falling off the sides into the mix. So getting all of that sieved and taken care of should do me for a while. Today I am going to mix two racks of clay. I am not committing to more than that right now because I want to test this clay with some silica added to it or a combination of silica and sand. I mixed up a 5 lb test batch yesterday with silica added. I'll get that test in the next kiln load.
It is amazing how much time is taken up doing things other than making pots. Lots of things have to happen before a pot can actually be finished. Glazes and slips have to be weighed out, mixed and sieved, clay mixed or pugged or wedged, shelves scraped. Making pots is a small part of what we potters do. I bet many people think we just sit around and throw pots all day. Wouldn't that be nice. 
Working. Playing.
I finished my taxes yesterday. I always wait until the last week. It's not that it's really complicated, it's just the dread of it. I am glad it's finished, they will go in the mail today. We'll be getting a bit of a refund which is nice.
I have made very little work this week. I have a good stock for now. I am planning on firing towards the end of the month. I do need to mix up some slip and mix clay. It was very rainy yesterday. I may mix tomorrow or over the weekend.
I liked reading about how Michael approached getting in the studio to work. All the information is in there, you just have to make yourself go in there and work, go in and get it. He said he'd set a goal to make a dozen pots, then finish them the next day. If he wanted to make more than 12 he would, but 12 was the goal. For someone more production oriented it may be more, or less for someone else. I think having that discipline is great, and it's okay to know you can't meet it sometimes. I usually have a 'make list' for each kiln load. I work from it, adding or subtracting as I go. I would like to set aside some time each week or a month each year to just play or experiment. I try to pay attention as I work on my standard ware for anything new that will come up. If something does I'll set it aside or do a drawing so I can pursue it later. I realize that play is important, but I don't do it nearly enough. This past weekend I played with Sarah's niece for about an hour or more making things out of Play Dough. We had a blast and I felt creatively charged when we finished, and lighthearted.
I know another potter who says she makes 4 cups everyday. That's her start, it's a warm up and a place to play and try some new ideas on a pot that only takes a few minutes to make.
I want to spend some time really looking at what my strengths are and what it is I really enjoy doing. I like to make pots on the wheel. I like soft clay and the gesture I get from working on my treadle wheel. I like movement and volume. I want to pots to come out of the kiln looking wet, covered in the thin salt and soda glaze. Sometimes it's nice for them to be a bit dryer too though, with variations in color of the slip. I like handles and feet and torn clay and rough edges. I like the character of the clay to be there. I want to think about this stuff and really start to own it, push it, exploit it, move it around and play with it. It's all out there waiting for me in my studio.
I have made very little work this week. I have a good stock for now. I am planning on firing towards the end of the month. I do need to mix up some slip and mix clay. It was very rainy yesterday. I may mix tomorrow or over the weekend.
I liked reading about how Michael approached getting in the studio to work. All the information is in there, you just have to make yourself go in there and work, go in and get it. He said he'd set a goal to make a dozen pots, then finish them the next day. If he wanted to make more than 12 he would, but 12 was the goal. For someone more production oriented it may be more, or less for someone else. I think having that discipline is great, and it's okay to know you can't meet it sometimes. I usually have a 'make list' for each kiln load. I work from it, adding or subtracting as I go. I would like to set aside some time each week or a month each year to just play or experiment. I try to pay attention as I work on my standard ware for anything new that will come up. If something does I'll set it aside or do a drawing so I can pursue it later. I realize that play is important, but I don't do it nearly enough. This past weekend I played with Sarah's niece for about an hour or more making things out of Play Dough. We had a blast and I felt creatively charged when we finished, and lighthearted.
I know another potter who says she makes 4 cups everyday. That's her start, it's a warm up and a place to play and try some new ideas on a pot that only takes a few minutes to make.
I want to spend some time really looking at what my strengths are and what it is I really enjoy doing. I like to make pots on the wheel. I like soft clay and the gesture I get from working on my treadle wheel. I like movement and volume. I want to pots to come out of the kiln looking wet, covered in the thin salt and soda glaze. Sometimes it's nice for them to be a bit dryer too though, with variations in color of the slip. I like handles and feet and torn clay and rough edges. I like the character of the clay to be there. I want to think about this stuff and really start to own it, push it, exploit it, move it around and play with it. It's all out there waiting for me in my studio.