Fantastic News

This teapot is getting ready to travel to the Berkshires to be part of The Ferrin Gallery's upcoming exhibition, Teapots: Interpretations. I'll get a better photograph up soon but I was just so excited to be part of the show I had to share the news. The exhibition opens July 11th and I'm humbled to be included in the show with so many amazing potters.

I'll pass more info along as it comes in.

Off To Castle Hill

Off to Castle Hill to start teaching my workshop! I'm excited and even though the weather is cold and damp, we'll figure out how to get a good bunch of work done.

I'll try to report in later today.

Happy Father's Day

This is what Alejandra brought home from school for Father's Day. I love the list!

Mini-Sidewalk Sale!

There's a little sidewalk sale in town today that I decided to take part in at the last minute.

I'm not a member of the merchants group anymore since we're moving, but one of the other members was kind enough to call and let me know about it. Thanks Janet!

I set up a table out front with what I left of my older work and a few seconds....all at very good prices.

I'll be here from 10 until about 2. That's when, if all goes according to plan, I'll be heading off Cape to Chris Gustin's place for the Watershed Benefit.

Boxing Up

I've finally started to pack up some stuff from the house and shelves are beginning to appear from under pots, sculptures and more.  Our move to Austin date is official now of August 12th but I wanted to get a head start so I'm not stressed during the entire summer.  So far, 8 boxes of pots and other things from our house collection are packed.  Most are from various rooms and shelves so these aren't even our everyday use pots.  Those are getting packed shortly as I wait for a delivery of more boxes from Uline.  

The house, even though it's overwhelming, pales in comparison to what I need to do in the studio.  I'm typically only allowed to bring certain things into the house so we don't get too cluttered.  My office and my studio are a different story.  

These two places seem to be where stuff goes when I don't know what else to do with it.  The answer to that question for a normal person would be: give it away or throw it out.  I prefer to make piles and then figure out how to maneuver around it in order to keep working.  For instance, In order to mix glazes for tests last week I had to move piles of boxes and old, old pots to create a sawhorse table to work on.  Those pots need to find a home or a hammer.  The boxes could probably use a trip to the recycling center.  

I was planning on this week being a dedicated throwing week but it doesn't seem to be working out that way.  I gave myself until the end of June to work wet, but I may extend that a little.  I have a few more things I'd like to make but I also just need to start winding down the studio operations and start cleaning and packing.  I'm intent on only bringing what's absolutely necessary to start back up again once I find a place in Austin.  I'll have plenty of time to fill up that space with useless junk...no need to bring any from the Cape.  My best pots will be heading off to some galleries later this week so that will clear up even more space.

The next couple of weeks should blow by really quickly.  My class at Castle Hill starts on Monday.  I'm really excited about it and looking forward to starting off the summer by teaching.  Watching this fantastic video about cups with Pete Pinnell gave me some good ideas for the class.

After my class, Aysha Peltz is teaching a 3 Day workshop and I signed up for it.  Her class is going to focus on covered jars.  That is a form that I never have felt too comfortable with.  Probably because I haven't made enough to let it develop as part of my vocabulary.  I haven't taken a hands-on workshop since I started my studio 12 years ago and I'm really looking forward to it.  I think taking a class will be a nice way to begin my hiatus from making new pots.  When I find a space in Austin, I'm looking forward to going in fresh with some new ideas and less clutter.

Off to Orlando

My Sister-in-Law graduates from her fellowship program tomorrow and we're going down to celebrate with Evangelina's family.  We're coming back Saturday so it will be a very quick trip.  Evangelina's grandmother is coming in from El Salvador and it should be fun as we take her to see the sites.  She is intent on going to Epcot Center so we may be doing a little bit of tourist stuff.   

Oh, and what is my surgeon sister-in-law going to practice........Colo-Rectal Surgery!  

I hope the dinner conversation topics aren't work related.

We fly out of Boston mid-day while the kids stay here with my folks...Thank you!  Hopefully it stops raining because we're in the middle of torrential rainstorms right now.  

Map from Lonely Planet

A Couple of Mugs

Fluted mug with Willy's Helix, Pinnell Clear on the inside.

I was playing around with some color on this one. I think a combo of a little dust and too thick of an application with the clear glaze caused a little crawling on the rim.

I love the white though and look forward to thinning the glaze out and using it again. Too bad I only have about 30 pounds of porcelain left. Something to look forward to in Austin I guess.

Glaze Test Results

I mixed up a few glazes and tried some basic colorants...no fancy line blends or other testing. This was a first step in playing around with the electric kiln. I think there's some stuff to work with. I'll hopefully fire again late next week and mix up a bigger batch of one of these to try out.

Staffel Semi-Matte

from Mark Burleson's The Ceramic Glaze Handbook

Ball Celadon

from Mark Burleson's The Ceramic Glaze Handbook

Coleman's Chun

from Ceramics Monthly

I don't have the recipes handy...I'll post them soon.

Dry! Please Dry!

It's incredibly damp(and cool) out here on the Cape.  I'd like to get this bisque loaded but my pots aren't drying.  I may have to wait on a few of these for another bisque and just finish loading with what I have ready.  I would like to get all of the plates through so it's going to be an awfully long soak in the kiln to dry things out....not worth the risk with the pitchers and teapots.

I posted these plate/bowls earlier but I like the way they looked stacked to dry. 

Here are some of the pitchers....

Workshop at Castle Hill

Workshop at Castle Hill

I've posted about this before but there are still a few spaces left in my summer workshop at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill.  It's a great place to make pots for the week in a great spot on the Cape. 

It will be a 5 day workshop, 6/22-6/26 that runs 9-1 so you will have the afternoon to explore Cape Cod while your work dries.  It's billed as an Intermediate Throwing Class and will also have a nice focus on altering pots in the wet and leather-hard stages.  We'll even have some time to look at different decorating techniques.  

Hope to see some of you faithful readers there!

Bowl/Plates

I'm filling out an order of sort of pasta/noodle/plate/bowls.

The first round looked good but may be a little small....

So I made another version with an extra pound and a half of clay.

They're almost ready to trim and I'll get to that as soon as I finish up my morning hanging out with Clarita...

Pitchers

I don't know why but I made a few pitchers during the last couple of days.  These squared ones are new to me.  I'm still trying to work out the details of the form but they follow a pretty straight line as they're thrown and then they're squared before forming the spout.  I'm still absorbing the form here and trying to decide what I think of them.  

Here are the first two that I made over the weekend with a couple of long handles.  I'm not sure if it's the best way to resolve the piece but we'll see tomorrow when I get some shorter handles on the new ones.

My studio is in desperate need of a cleanup and that will happen soon.  I'm going to decorate some of the other greenware and get it into the kiln for a bisque.  That will give me an opportunity to break-down my nicest steel ware-racks (2 of them) and get them ready for the journey to Texas.  I have some shoddily constructed 2x4 racks that I'll use from here on out.  It will also start clearing some space for me to clean up and continue to figure out what's coming with me.  

I have a few hundred pounds of b-mix and porcelain left and I'll finish throwing that throughout the next couple of weeks.  I'm planning on making new work until the end of June or I finish up my remaining clay...whichever comes first.  Then it's time to glaze, fire, clean and pack throughout July.  

July doesn't seem so far away anymore....neither does August....

How hot is it in Austin in August again?!?!