Kiln Loaded

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I got the kiln loaded today. I got a late start and finished up just as it was getting dark. I will light the burners tonight and fire tomorrow, hopefully finishing up fairly early. I forgot to take a picture of the front stack, but here's the back. I had lots of smaller pots, cups, bowls, trays. bottles and such. It was sort of a weird load, but I got everything in I wanted to. I'll have pics up on Thursday (I hope) of the unloading.
That's it for now.

Postcards

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The announcement postcard for my Holiday Sale went out today. Finally! I have never been this late getting them out. They look great. UPS delivered them before noon and I had them labeled and stamped within an hour. I took over 500 to the post office and slid them down the chute.

I have my shelves all scraped and the kiln all ready to load. I will finish this bisque in a few hours. I am looking forward to this firing. I look forward to all my firings really. Salt glazing is something that is never exactly the same twice. Each pot is an individual and the surfaces are my favorite of all the kinds of pots out there. I love the orange peel texture and shiny surface on the clay. I like the way the slips flash, and how stacking the kiln has a huge say in how the pots look. I look forward to making the next load of pots although it will be the first of January before I really get back to it. I am also thinking I'll be rebuilding my kiln in the next year or so. I'd like for it to be just a little bigger, I want to make some bigger bowls and get more plates and wider pots in every load.

I hope you all have a good weekend. I may get in a post or two before Monday, so check in and see.

Getting ready to bisque

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Today I cut feet on some cups and also got them slipped. I will load a bisque tomorrow and clean kiln shelves and get the salt kiln all set up to fire.
The photos are the cut feet, the slipped yunomi, and a couple boards of pots that will go in the bisque with many others.

Thursday Morning

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Today will cut feet on some cups and get them slipped and I will be all finished with the pots for next weeks firing. I will get the last bisque fired tomorrow. It feels good to be at the end of my making cycle. I had to force myself to stop making pots yesterday. It's hard to quit once I get going sometimes and I kept thinking, "I should make just a few of these."

My Holiday Pottery Sale is next week. I hope to have a good turnout. Here are the dates and times.
Nov. 24th 10 till 5
Nov. 25th 10 till 5
Nov. 26th Noon till 4
It will also be the following weekend:
Dec. 2 10 till 5
Dec. 3 Noon till 4

I'll post some pics tonight. Sarah has been taking the laptop to work everyday so I have no access to the internet during the day. I have written Saint Nick asking for my own computer for Christmas this year. Maybe he'll bring it early. That's it for now. Have a great day!

What a day.

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Oh boy am I glad the day is over. It's past 11 pm and I am going to bed soon, I just wanted to get in a quick post.

I have had a doosey of a day. First of all I have been pulling what little hair I have left out worrying about getting my announcements printed for my upcoming Holiday Sale. I have been trying to get this done since last Thursday. Today, with help from a friend, I got my postcards designed, uploaded, and ordered. They are going out late but it will be fine. Last night I thought I was going to throw myself out the window.

Today was super busy from the get go. I had pots to finish, a board meeting at the Arts Council, a customer who came by for a special order, spinach dip to make, the trip to my friend's house in Charlotte for help with the postcards, and then on to teach from 7 until 9:30. Whew. This was the last class of the session. We had a potluck supper and some folks finished up some pots and I gave feedback on handles and a couple other things. I have enjoyed teaching and will be back when the next session begins in January. I had a good group of students and most of them signed up to take from me again.

Well that's it for now. I will sleep better tonight for sure.

Back at it.

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I had no day of rest today even though it was Sunday. I got back in the studio around noon and worked till 4:30 making a few boards of plates, some mugs, small bowls, two sets of owl candle stick holders, and a couple sugar jars. And a few yunomi. A good day. Then Sarah and I went to her parents for supper, chicken and dumplings. Yum.

Yesterday was very good. I had a great show at the Carolina Pottery Festival. I sold lots of pots, mostly nice higher priced items. It felt great to be out seeing lots of folks I know and talking to them about my work. It was a high energy day, and I came away feeling very good about my pottery and knowing that much of it had gone to new homes to be loved and appreciated. Thank you to everyone who came out and visited me in my booth.

Friday night I went to Wooden Stone in Davidson, NC to the opening of Circle of Eight's show. The show looked fantastic. Jen Mecca rode up with Sarah and I. Seven of the eight were there in person at the show. The Lake Norman Art League had an opening that night too, so the gallery was very full. We sold several pots and I feel like we will sell more as the show is up. Thanks to Drew and everyone at the gallery and all who attended. I forgot to take my camera but hopefully I'll get some pics from someone to put up here soon.

Well that's it for my weekend update. Tomorrow, Monday, I will be in the studio finishing up pots and making some slab trays that will get drawings. It's going to be another busy week. I will try and post often so keep checking in. Thanks, and have a great week!!!

Walking down a hill, humming a song

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I got right back in the studio on Monday making pots for one more firing before my Holiday Sale here at home. I tried a new technique of faceting with a twisted wire on some cups. They came out okay but I am not sure if this is my thing. It will be fun to see them after they are fired. Yesterday I made some of my type of mugs, thrown loosely with dimples and some square ones with dimples and another set of square ones that will have slip pours. I also made some bakers and oval envelope vases. Those vases were good sellers at ACC. I love when I am making things and I just know/feel that it is good and mine. Natural. Hamada said making pots should be like walking down a hill in a gentle breeze. (or something like that). I felt that yesterday. I had the R.E.M. song 'We Walk' from the Mumur album stuck in my head all day and it was nice to hum along as I made my pots.

So today I'll handle my cups and finish my bakers and load up all my stuff to go set up at the Carolina Pottery Festival tomorrow. The show is Saturday from 10 until 4 at the Cleveland Co. Fairgrounds.

Circle of Eight has an opening Friday night at Wooden Stone in Davidson NC from 5:30 until 9pm. I am excited about this. I hope we have a good turnout.

What I liked at ACC

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My friend Tom asked what I liked at ACC. Here are some links to exhibitors whose work I enjoyed. There were more, but I couldn't find a website for all of them.
http://www.maryandlouann.com/ I love this jewelry. They actually have a new line coming out that I like even better than what is on the website. And I think this is one of the coolest websites I've ever seen.
http://www.pieperglass.com/ Awesome.
http://www.carmengrier.com/ I fell in love with a few of Carmen's pieces.
http://www.blackmorepottery.net/ These pots are amazing.
http://www.pierglass.net/ Mary Ellen was set up across the asile from me. She had great energy and the glass sculpture she and her husband make is amazing.
http://www.davinandkesler.com/ Mary Kesler was set up beside me and she was lots of fun too.
http://www.jennymendes.com/ I love Jenny's work.
http://www.marileehallceramics.com/index.php Marilee had some really cool ceramic art. Much of what I saw at the show isn't on this website I am afraid.
I also want to mention Greg Roche from California who was set up across from me selling leather handbags. He was great and contributed highly to the fun on our corner of the show.

Home

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I am home from the show. It went well. I sold a good number of pots and got to see many of my friends and fellow potters. I met some new artists whose work I really liked too. It's draining to be inside the Convention Center for 3 long days but I enjoyed interacting with everyone and I was lucky this time to be surrounded by other exhibitors who had good postive energy.

I'll try to post a little more later, it's a bit early and my brain isn't quite awake. Thanks to everyone who came to the show and visited my booth.

Relief

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I set my booth up at the American Craft Council show yesterday. This is at the Convention Center in Charlotte and the show is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am so relieved that that part is over. Getting everything ready, packed, packed into the truck, driving to the show, unloading, unpacking, setting up lights, display, and arranging pots is a daunting task. But that is over for now and I have today to rest a bit and get my things together as I will be spending the weekend at fellow potter Amy Sanders' house in Charlotte. I am looking forward to all the crowds of people who come to this show. I love to interact with folks who love art and craft. It will be fun and at the end of each day I will be tired and ready for a good meal and relaxing with friends.
That's not a very good picture of my booth, the lighting is harsh, it will all look better on Friday when I get some flowers in some vases and the house lights are turned down. The pots look great though and I got some nice comments yesterday from some of my fellow exhibitors.
I don't expect I'll be posting much over the weekend. If you are in the area come on out to the show, it's well worth the $10 to get in. There are artists from all over the country in a wide range of media. I hope to see you there. My booth number is 209.

Packing

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I have my pots, display, carpet, lights, business stuff, etc all packed up and piled high in front of the studio door. Tomorrow I will load up the truck and head to the Convention Center to set up for the American Craft Council show. I have to say I have been stressed out and a bit nauseous thinking about this show. I need to relax and take it one step at a time. I will feel much better once my booth is all set up tomorrow evening. Then I'll go back on Friday for the first day of the show. I'll try and get another post up before the weekend. Check back.
Thanks.

Unloaded

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I got the kiln unloaded today. I was happy with the results. Lots of good work. I still had some oxidation happening down front and up the left side. I don't know what's up with that. It's okay, I'll keep looking for ways to fix it, the pots in those areas are just lighter in color and not so bright. Here are some general group shots, scroll down for individual pots. I was happy with my owl candle holders, I had some good bowls, mugs, tankards, tea cups, and well basically everything. Yea! My test glazes were a little less than acceptable. The green was sort of Irish Springy, the blue was lavender (yikes) and the yellow was too yellow. I think the yellow stands a chance if I tone it down a percent or two. I'll show these later.

What to do today?

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My kiln is cooling. I am going to resist the urge to peek in until tonight when it is very dark outside. I can never really tell anyhow, I always say "they look too brown". I will unload tomorrow around lunchtime I hope.

I have decided not to stain my display. I did some spot tests this morning and the stain didn't take well on my upright side units. I think I will have to do some sanding and preping to get it to look uniform. So that's out for now.

I have been reading The Morning News. Recommended by Danny Gregory.

Let's see what else? Well I better go do something. I need to run out and get some office supplies and a track light unit for next week. In other words go spend more money on this show before I begin to make any.

Today's firing

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Here are two photos showing the loading of the kiln. That happened yesterday. Today I fired and all went well. The new burners really made a difference. The kiln fired faster and with less gas pressure than it had been. It's funny how things slowly changed and I just accepted them and went on instead of trying seek out why they were different. Of course I am saying this before I have even seen the results of this firing. I am hoping that my funny reduction/oxidation problem is solved. I will unload on Saturday and have some pics up then. I am testing some new glazes for the insides of my pots in this load too. I am hopeful I will get a good one or two.

Tomorrow will be rainy all day. I will probably work on my display some. I am thinking of staining it black. I don't know if I am asking for trouble or not doing this less than a week before I have to set up. ?? I will probably chicken out.


On another note, I talked to my pal Tom Gray today. He is doing well. Yesterday I was happy to see the mailman coming down the drive. This always means a package is on the way. This one was from Tom and contained two awesome cups and some olive tapanade. The cups are great, one is a shino with some nice crawling on the inside. The other is Tom's new yellow glaze combined with his blue ash. It has some nice reddish color on the inside and over the trailed slip. I'll try and get some images of these up tomorrow.

I was thinking today after my firing was over that it was in October of 1994 that I fired my salt kiln for the first time. Tom came down from Seagrove to help me fire. I'd never even lit a gas burner before. He walked me through the firing and I unloaded a couple days later to my first salt glazed pots. It was a good firing and it's fun to think about what all I have done since then, all the pots I've made and how Tom and I have become close friends. He still helps me out a lot and I am able to help or inspire him every now and then too.

Well that's it for now.

Monday...later

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Everything that gets glaze got it today. I didn't do much else today which was nice.

I have been checking out potters on the Web and I have found some new folks I like a lot. The most recent is Diana Fayt. I emailed her earlier today and we had a short exchange. I like the drawings on her pots and the color aspects. It's very cool. I also looked up her blog. I think it's interesting that I have become drawn to more colorful work of late as well as white pots. This from a guy who has done brown earth tones for years.

I'll get some pictures of pots up here tomorrow.

Slow Monday Morning

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I got up early and unloaded and loaded a bisque. Got it going and let the dogs out for a while. Since then I haven't done much except have tea and breakfast. It's cold in the house, cooler than outside probably, a warm shower helped and I have been stuck in front of this machine for a while wasting time. Today I plan to glaze pots so I can load on Wednesday and fire Thursday.

I'm obviously not in a 'go get 'em' mood this morning. Which is fine considering I've been hard at it for a couple of weeks. I think I'll go sit out in the sun for a little while and then get started on my glazing before lunch. It shouldn't take too long, it's nice only having two glazes to choose from.

Maybe I'll have more to report later.