interrupting the flow

 Although I do not have the habits of a production potter, I find it works best to make a run of one type of pot at a time to get into the rhythm of that form, work out the bugs, and possibly discover ways to improve it..  But, I also know I have commissions to glaze and fire, not to mention  already having enough dry pots for a bisque firing.  Sometimes I don't know when to stop one thing and start the next. Or, in this case, I just don't want to but kind of have to.

I finished the lids for these last night.  Got them trimmed, then formed and attached the knobs. The knobs are a trap-  Once I started  "putting a bird on it" a lot of my customers expect all knobs to be birds.  It's true- birds sell pots!  It takes some extra time for me to form the birds compared to the time it takes to throw a knob on the wheel. I'll compromise with some birds and some regular knobs.  At this point, though, I need to interrupt the flow of honey pot making to get ready for a glaze firing.

a mug in Alaska

Nice to know one of my mugs is having a little adventure.
Dan wanted a large mug (20 oz) with a large handle to take to Alaska for the summer.  This one wasn't quite 20 oz.  I had never made a mug that large and wasn't sure how big to go, but he bought it anyway.  I am getting ready to fire a few mugs now that ought to make the size requirement.

This guy left Marietta, Ohio to fly a plane in Alaska!  He just sent these pictures from his iphone.  He didn't say, but I'm sure the one at right is from his plane.

shipping, oh boy!

It's just amusing to see the level of interest Red takes in the packing process.

He's there in the basement to make sure the right size box is chosen.  He's in the living room where I do the actual packing because I have room to work there.  He's in an upstairs bedroom when I wanted the bright colored tissue paper I keep in an armoire to wrap around lids so they'd be more visible through the bubble wrap.  (He knows the sound of the armoire opening- there are RIBBONS in there!!!)





This packing was for an Etsy sale.  It's been a few weeks since my last one, but I've actually been surprised at the sales I've had since Christmas has been over, given the huge number of potters on Etsy. 

There's a lot of time that goes into getting things ready to ship.  I remember when a customer at the farmer's market was telling me about Etsy.  She has a shop on Etsy where she sells knit things- cowls, headbands..etc.  "Oh, you just put them into a padded flat rate envelope."  After a couple of seconds, during which I'm sure I was looking at her sideways, she admitted it might be a little more involved for me.

  It took a while to get going on Etsy.  Once I got the shop up I left it unpopulated for an entire year- I was so intimidated by the process.  I don't know if it's going to be a long term thing, but right now it can be gratifying to send my work all over the country (and one to England).  It's been a learning experience too, in many ways.  Photography, especially, being a big hurdle to overcome.  Still working on that.  

hedgeapples for inspiration

Around late October, early November I had an idea for using these hedge apples.  I wanted to create a mold and press clay into it to make bowls with that hedge apple texture on the outside. With Christmas coming up, there was little time to experiment, so I put the idea aside. 

Now I have no hedge apples to work with because, of course, they will have rotted. I haven't given up on the original idea- maybe try again next fall, but sometimes ideas morph. 

The texture on these bowls really has little to do with hedge apples, but was inspired by them.  I have a glaze with a light chartreuse tint I plan to use on these.

mystery albany slip

I made some more mugs in this plum glaze I like.  Some are for a customer, the rest will go either to the market or etsy.  There's something very attractive to me about this glaze.  At first glance, you think it's black, but then you notice the warm plum tone it has.  I mentioned this glaze in a former post, plum.  Now I'm trying to decide whether or not to mix it in larger quantities and how I'd like to use it.

 I find it difficult to capture the true color of this glaze with my camera, so here's two of my attempts. 

I found this glaze on a Clayart thread:  

Plum Gloss (cone 6)

Albany Slip     70

Yellow Ochre  10

Frit 3134          20

Isn't it great to only have three ingredients to weigh?  One problem- I no longer have the recipe for the Albany Slip substitute I used in this glaze.  I used to rely heavily on Albany Slip based glazes.  The real Albany Slip, that is.  When it got mined out I turned to making substitutes, trying to find one that would work with my glazes. I also tried a couple of commercially made Albany subs. The only one of my glazes that worked with the substitutes was a gunmetal color.  Eventually I gave up and started testing new glazes to replace the old.  About a year ago I cleaned out some stuff in my work space. One of the things I tossed was some Albany Slip sub recipes.  I figured I'd use up the sub I had left, then rely on commercially prepared ones if I ran across a recipe that calls for it.  Problem is, when I tested a Laguna Albany Slip in this Plum recipe it looks quite a bit different from my mystery mix.  

 These test tiles are (1)Licorice Black,  (2)Plum with my mystery Albany sub, and (3)Plum with Laguna's Albany sub.  It's very difficult to distinguish the first and second test tiles in this picture. Laguna's is slightly transparent and more glossy. These tiles all have a brush stroke of white slip going across the middle.  You can see that white slip through the Laguna tile.  I brushed Rutile Green from Bill Van Gilder over the Plum on the mugs and across one corner of the Licorice.  The Licorice (Ron Roy's) is a nice glossy black.  There's a swipe of white glaze under it- barely visible. I tested it because I wanted a good black glaze.  Another reason for testing it is I may be talking myself out of widely using the plum. When someone picks up a piece glazed with this plum I feel I have to tell them it's not black.  I know if they happen to have black granite counter tops, they might be in for a surprise when they set their new pottery piece down. 

I had this test tile in a previous firing. This is Graces yellow under Plum (top) then swiped across the middle over Plum.  I thought the interaction of the two glazes on the top was interesting.

Since that test looked promising I thought I'd try it with a couple of other Grace's based glazes.  Not the results I hoped for.  Something about Grace's yellow being high in rutile?

renew or switch?

This is my wheel up on blocks. 

I throw standing up because a few years ago I had a problem with lower back pain.  I don't know when I would have finally made the connection between the back pain and throwing sitting down if it hadn't been for an article in Clay Times.  I don't remember the author, but he said that many potters start experiencing this around the time they turn fifty.  This article came out around my 50th birthday.  At the time I dismissed it- won't happen to me.  Six months later I was flipping through old Clay Times magazines trying to find that article.  It gave instructions on how high your wheel needs to be in relation to your waist, or maybe it was belly button. There have been other good tips I've used from this magazine.  And, I enjoy seeing what the masters are doing.  I may search for information online, but there's something about having paper in hand that can't be replaced.  At this point, though, I wonder if it's time to shop around.  The issues seem anemic compared to what they once were.  Coming out only four times a year, sometimes the entrance deadlines to shows they list are past by the time I receive it. My subscription is up for renewal.  Time for a change?     

ice

It's pretty, but...

 Last night we got hit with freezing rain.  My son went out at midnight to rescue a friend who slid into a ditch.  Before he got there another guy stopped to help the friend and he ended up in the ditch too.  Christopher got both of them out. Then this morning he went out to give his manager a ride to work.  She has a steep driveway and knew she wouldn't make it down.  Unscathed, that is.

Because of the driving conditions I decided not to go to the farmer's market this morning.  Not because I didn't think I could make it- I have 4 wheel, but because I didn't think there would be much business.  However, when I checked etsy I saw I had an order for this acorn finial and the customer asked if I had more.  Well, yes, but they were down at the market and I didn't want to wait until next Saturday to get into the building.  I was getting ready to go when I found out I was blocked in by a large shrub that fell over.  This is (was) a tall firethorn growing beside the house.  I thought I could move it but it was actually stuck to the driveway.  So I persuaded sleep deprived son, just back from manager delivery, to give me a ride.  Just so you know, in case you ever need to, nineteen year- old plus male plus truck plus ice equals a certain amount of purposeful driving thrills.  We managed a side trip to a parking lot adjacent to the Indian Acres boat ramp.  I reminded him that the river was straight ahead. 

Bird's nest in the dogwood in front of our house.

Maple tree.

Dogwood again.  Not well focused, but like the color.

slow start

I've been working with some slip stencil designs lately. Here's a few utensil holders/wine coolers I've made recently using slips or engobes and stencils: 

It's been a slow start to the new year for me.  I always have a difficult time getting back in the flow of work after a break.  This year, after Christmas, we passed around something or other- worse than a regular cold, that's all I know.  Still dragging a little, but doing a lot better.

This is a link to a picture of one of the pendants I made after Kate, the jewelry person at the market, did some magic with it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67885530@N03/6544375309/
I had no experience with making jewelry items, but had some fun messing around with ideas.  I was glad she suggested the pendant idea.  We'll see what happens.

making mugs

A customer at the market wanted a couple of mugs in a certain glaze for a gift and asked how long it would take.  I said four weeks.  I think she was surprised.  Most people are.  I've had people ask, "Will it be ready next week?" (hysterical laughing in the little bubble above my head)  So, I thought of taking step by step pictures of the process of making mugs along with a timeline and explanation . I think some people might be interested, but I'm also thinking of how it might help me.

Christmas is when this time lag situation gets to be a problem.  Actually four weeks from start to finish is faster than what I usually would quote.  It just happens this time I almost had a kiln load's worth of pots waiting to bisque fire.  I don't fire up the kiln just for a couple of mugs.  I want it to be as packed as possible so I can get optimal use out of the electricity. If I have very few pots ready to fire it could be an additional couple of weeks added to that timeline.

 I'm not sure how I'll present this "making mugs" write-up yet.  I hope it can be a kind of educational tool to understand the process and the time involved.  And why it costs more than a Walmart mug! We'll see.  And those mugs?  Almost ready to fire.  They are loaded in the kiln but I detect slight dampness still.  I have decided not to be an idiot and rush it.- Will wait another 24 hours to fire.