Out and Off

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My Obamaware came out of the kiln this morning and was promptly packed up and taken to the post office. Above is one of 4 luncheon plates that I sent. I also sent 4 mugs.

Ayumi will have the preview up on the 13th and the pots go on sale the 15th at noon. Be sure to sign up to be reminded. Tell your friends!!!

Feet!

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Man, I just had a great 2 hours in the studio!! KEXP is rocking this morning. Even though it's the fund drive John and Cheryl are having a blast and playing some killer, killer music. Tune in, it will make your day. I pledged on Monday to support the station.

So I've been cutting feet on pots. Got some jars, bowls, and diamond dishes footed and even some handles on those guys.

Time for lunch!!!!


Oh, and the kiln just shut off. Yeah, Obamaware out tomorrow!!!!!

Rough Day

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Just finished glazing a load of pots including all my Obamaware. I fired my last bisque a bit too hot so it took forever for the glaze to dry. On top of that I dropped 2 pots today! Yes they were plates for Obama...good thing I made extras. Anyhow the kiln is on now thank goodness.

Now time to get cleaned up and have a bit of rest before I head out to teach my class tonight. Guess I'll be listening to the debate on NPR on the drive home.

Obamaware

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Unloaded a bisque this morning. Here are a couple plates that came out along with several others and some cups that will go up on the Obamaware site on the 13th. Remember to go sign up here, to be notified of the sale. I'll be glazing these today along with the others and getting the kiln going. I'm cutting the deadline pretty close, looks like I'll be overnighting my work to Ayumi at the end of the week.
Go sign up. And tell your friends!

Salt glaze

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I've had several people ask me why I'm not making salt glazed pots now or why I made the switch to slipware so I thought I'd talk about that a bit.

I made salt glazed pots beginning in 1994 when I built my kiln here at the pottery. Those sorts of surfaces were my first love and so it was only natural that I pursue that work. Most of my early influences made work of this sort. Those influences being Michael Simon, Ruggles and Rankin, Mary Law, Joe Bennion, Linda Christianson and Linda McFarling. Other potters I liked were, of course, Warren Mackenzie, Clary Illian, and here's the one that plays into this post.....Ron Meyers.

Everyone mentioned above is a stoneware potter except Ron M. He makes earthenware pots that are painted on and glazed or that are salt glazed. I love Ron's work almost more than anyones. He and Michael Simon worked together in Athens, Ga, and we used to go down and buy pots. (A trip to their pottery sale was mine and Sarah's first out of town date, and where we drunkenly declared our love for each other).

Anyhow, for many years I wanted to try to make pots in the spirit that Ron did. His casual style of throwing and moving clay, along with his skilled hand at decoration was certainly something that stuck with me and entered my mind when I made pots. For years I said I was going to take an 'earthenware holiday' and make some pots like that for fun.

If you know my salt glazed work you'll know it was hardly ever decorated. If so, then minimally. I never had much confidence in my brush skills or using color in any way. So thinking about decorating in any way was something that made me break out in a sweat.

Well several things came together at the end of 2007 that led me into earthenware. In no particular order they were: meeting Douglas Fitch online and being influenced by his pots, my friend Amy Sanders taking a class at Penland with Gail Kendall, my salt kiln was not performing very well and I was unhappy with the surfaces of that work, I had begun drawing again a year before and keeping a more visual daily journal, my propane bill in Nov. of 2007 was close to $900.00, it was costing $200 to fire my hard brick kiln and I wasn't happy with the pots. And all along I had this desire to do something different, to make those pots like Ron Meyer's.

So in early 2008, with help from Amy's glaze notes from Penland, I worked up a clay body, slips and glazes that I could use to make earthenware. Kari Radasch's technical page on her website was very informative too.

That's pretty much how it started. I do miss my salt work. I see it in most everyone's home we visit and of course folks ask about it. My slipware has been very well received by most of my long term customers and by new comers. I do have an order for some salt glazed dishes that I need to get fired before Christmas, so I will be getting back into stoneware for a brief time soon.

For now, I am really having fun making my slipware and exploring my drawing. I have struggles with this work, and with the direction it has taken me. In some ways I feel I have diverged from my early belief of simple pots for everyday use. I'm still working that out and so that's for another post.

I hope that answers some questions. I'm really happy making pots right now. I think breaking some of my old habits, rules, and beliefs about certain things have made me a better potter.

Circle of Eight at Lark and Key

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Sarah and I headed out to Charlotte last night for the Circle of Eight opening at Lark and Key. We had a great time and all the pots looked fantastic. Thanks to Sandy and Duy for having us in the gallery.

Below you can see a platter of mine hanging above some pots by Adrienne Dellinger and Greg Scott.
Below is a shot showing Julie Wiggin's pots on the left, some of Amy Sanders in the center, Jen Mecca and then my pots there on the right.

More by Adrienne and Greg.
Diana Fayt from San Fran. was our guest for this show. I really like Diana's work and it was great to be able to see these pieces in person and to pick them up and handle them. I really loved the yellow bowl with the red interior.
Below a couple bottles and some tiles by Jen, and some cups made by Julie.

One Plate

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Here's a teaser of my Obamaware. It was a long afternoon in the studio working up to decorating. I didn't like any of the three cups I etched so I thought I'd move on to plates. The first two were pretty stiff and controlled. I decided to got back and do some drawings on newsprint and told myself, "play, have fun, it's just paper, do what you want." That helped and things changed from what I had been planning for the last day. I ended up with 7 plates decorated and 5 left under plastic. I didn't try to tackle any more cups. Now that I've got a little confidence I will finish what I have tomorrow and probably even make a few more plates to toy around with.

I know this may seem a bit silly to some, but I have to admit that I put myself in the situation of being part of this show to push myself. This morning I was almost regretting it b/c I thought, "What if my pots aren't good enough, or as good as everyone elses?" Well I knew that kind of thinking was no good so I tried to let that go and I turned to a couple people for support. That helped too. Thanks Sarah and Amy.

Here's something else that came up. I asked myself, " Do I do what I normally do, you know my regular shapes and marks, and glazes or do I try to make it look really 'campainy' or 'political colors' etc.? After thinking about it (and trying to think what would such and such do) I figured it was best just to stick to my usual stuff. It's good, why change? There's a bit more to that, but I have to run, time for supper and the v.p. debate.

Doug at Hatfield

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This photo was brought back to me by my friend Fredia (third from left). Fredia lives in London part of the time and here in the big, bustling metropolis of Shelby when she's in the US. Fredia has been to Hatfield 3 or 4 years running, she's a big pottery fan.
Slipping , slipping, slipping. That's what I did today, and put some handles on mugs. Tomorrow will be a decorating spree.

Obamaware Site

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The Obamaware Site is up and running. Images of the pots will go up on Oct. 13th and the pots go onsale at noon on Oct. 15th. Please sign up to be automatically notified. Please visit the site and forward the link on to fellow Obama supporters. Remember that half of the proceeds raised from this sale will go to the Obama/Biden campain.

I'm very excited to be part of this campain and look forward to seeing what the 26 artists all come up with. I have made my pots and will slipping them today and getting started on the deco.

Go sign up!

Thanks!

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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Fall Sale this weekend. It was a good sale and nice to catch up with folks who I hadn't seen in several months. I didn't know what to expect with the current financial crisis, the gas shortage in the southeast and the biggest county fair in the state happening just a few miles up the highway.

Many pots went off to new homes and I was pleased at the end of the day today when I added up my receipts. I hope everyone will enjoy their new pots.

This week I'll be working on my Obamaware as well as some other things I'm behind on.
Check in to see what I'm up too.

Getting Ready Still

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I've been cleaning again all day today. Almost finished, just gotta mop the showroom and that's it. Here are a few pots, I'll put up some overall shots of the showroom later. I'm hoping for a good turnout this weekend. I have no shortage of good pottery. The teapot above was one of my favorites from the last firing.


Blogger is doing that stupid sideways thing again, so you'll have to lay down to get the proper view of these cereal/soup bowls.


It's fun to see all this new work out. (Yes I'm still calling it that, Ha.) Anyhow, it's new to me still and I suspect I'll have some customers who are taken aback by it when they come. Hopefully in a good way.

I'm gonna try and freshen up my Etsy site next week. It's getting stale, same old pots on there.

Okay, well check in again later for more images.

A Favorite

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What makes something your favorite? I'm having tea this morning out of a favorite mug of mine that was made by Linda Christianson. I come back to this mug and certain other ones over and over again.

There are many reasons I love this cup. One of the main ones is that it functions well, I really like the wide handle that I can get two fingers in. I like the squareness of the top (I like drinking out of the corner).

I also enjoy the subtle throwing lines, wavy rim and softness of the slip surface. Those splotchy parts down at the base are nice too.

This pot is special to me also because I know Linda and I was visiting her when I bought it. Linda is just one of those wonderful people that God put here on earth and anyone who knows her will attest to that.

I spent the night out in her studio and before tucking in I went out with my flashlight to scan all the pots on the table. It was a cool September night and the sky in rural Minnesota was bursting with stars. The next morning I made my picks and this cup was one of them. When I use it I think of my trip and of that night and of visiting with Linda and her family.

That's the story with this pot. The Story...yes, the story can make something a favorite. I think our stories and telling them is very important in what we do. More on that later.....

Cleaning. And Sneezing

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Trying to get the studio and showroom all tidied up for this weekend.

Swept the studio yesterday without my respirator on and paid for it dearly last night with fits of sneezing and runny nose. Sarah finally had enough of me blowing my nose like an elephant and made me take a pill.

Some pottery pics coming later....

A Few New Pots

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I am working towards getting the studio and showroom clean and all the pots set out for my upcoming Home Sale which is this Saturday and Sunday. I unloaded my kiln this morning and was happy to find some good pots in there. I'll have some seconds at this sale, mostly plates that have minor glaze issues but all in all I have a really nice selection of pots.

The dish above is 16" in diameter. I have 3 or 4 nice sized bowls like this one, they can be wired to hang.

I liked the deco on this cereal bowl...

I'll put up some more images later as I get the showroom in order.