Pottery from the Medford School demonstration

Hi Everyone!

In March I held a pottery demonstration at Medford School to show students how a professional potter throws on the wheel (you can quit laughing... I really do try to be professional when it comes to teaching! LOL). I think the kids enjoyed the demonstration as much as I enjoyed doing it! :D After the demonstration, I packed all the pieces I created and carted them back to my studio to see what could be done with them. It is not always easy to move freshly thrown pottery, as it tends to get bumped or deformed in the moving process. Luckily the majority of the pieces survived without any marks on them and very little deformation. During the past few weeks, I've been trimming, glazing and working those pieces into the firing schedule. All but one of them is now finished, and that last pieces should be going into the bisque kiln in the next day or two, as I trimmed and carved decorations into it this afternoon.

Here are some pics of some recently finished pieces:

The above vase isn't actually one of the demonstration pieces, but was 'reglazed' to help it look better... that means I added more glaze to the piece and refired it in the kiln. There should be a 'before' photo in my last post.

This above was one of the demonstration pieces, showing the students how the cracked-surface technique works. The photo below gives a closer look at the surface detail.

The surface of the piece gets stretched until it cracks, while the underlying clay is still pliable and resists cracking. The photo below shows another one of the demonstration pieces.

The flat 'bowl' below is actually another 'reglaze' piece, where I added some other glazes to the inside to make it much more interesting. I like the resulting 'starburst' effect of the reglaze process.

The photo below also shows one of the demonstration pieces thrown at Medford School. It was shaped into a wine tasting receptacle (also called a wine tasting spittoon), which I hear are very popular at the vineyards of California. Perhaps Arnold and Qing can confirm that sometime?

The photos below is a bowl that has been altered so that it is elongated instead of round. Also a tri-foot was carved into the bottom, and auto detailing tape was used on the sides to create the racing stripes during the glazing process. I used a variety of glazes to give it some nice colors. So what do you think?

Here's a peek at the other side.

Here is another bowl that was created during the demonstration process.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions... even criticism is fine as long as you keep it friendly! ;D

Have fun!

Carl

April 2010 Pottery

Hi Everyone!

I have certainly been lax in updating my blog lately... but hey, I'm back at it again. :D So here are a few photos of my cat who has been recovering from some breathing/lung issues and is recovering nicely, along with some photos of some recent pottery.

Large cannister made from slabs of clay.

A closer look at some of the texturing on the cannister.

With lid removed.

Cracked-surface spirals on a large globular vase.

Detailed look at some of the surface.

Another cracked-surface vase with green and black glaze drizzles.

Successes and failures

When it comes to firing pottery in the kiln, sometimes things work well, and sometimes they don't. It is easy to compare it to getting presents for Christmas or your birthday... sometimes you get something you really like, and sometimes you receive something less than ideal.

So it was that I opened the kiln today and saw some very nice pots in the first few layers.


And then came upon this large platter. Ouch! I guess it was not meant to be.

Here are some pics of things that did turn out. This large wall piece barely fits into the kiln.

And this large platter is approximately 19" in diameter, again barely fitting into the kiln due to its size. Some of the people in my class that saw it this evening said they thought it looked like the world as seen from above the pole.

This vase has a black leaf attached to the front.

This large bowl would easily serve a large amount of mashed pototoes, or anything else for that matter.

This small globe vase has many colors of glaze on the outside.

Here is a large pitcher.

And here is my large cat, probably waiting to be fed something out of the large bowl! LOL.

Back to the studio to get more pottery made. Going to be a busy year, so need to get a head-start on it.

Take care and have fun!

Carl

2010 - a year of change

Hello again. It seems that 2010 is going to be a year of changes. I'm not saying they are all good changes... but time does keep moving forward, so change is inevitable.


My beloved pet (and good friend) Tiger Cat died, leaving his brother and me to mourn our loss. In one way, Tiger has saved the life of his brother, as Hero's checkup at the vet found a hyperactive thyroid for which he now receives medication.


As for Tiger's remains, they are being kept 'on ice' until spring when he will be buried on the farm where he was born. Many of the people that do not own pets may have a difficult time understanding the loss, but I feel I've lost more than just a pet with Tiger's passing. Hopefully the same 'time' that is bringing change will also help to soften this feeling of loss.


Enough of the sad and on with the show...


We recently had one of those very strange days where ice crystals formed on everything outside... it makes for a magical-looking environment, and is always fun to enjoy.

I've been trying to spend time in my basement studio, but it seems difficult to do much there when the weather is so cold. Here is a look at the thermometer in the studio AFTER the heat has been running for several hours. No wonder that clay feels cold!

Notice I'm wearing an insulated vest and there is an electric heater on the floor next to me. Oh, and I'm also wearing long-johns. (No, I'm not going to show you a photo of that!) LOL.

I decided to make a few turtles, so the above photo shows me holding a shell previously shaped and allowed to harden a bit. Next is to make the other parts, so another slab on my roller is in order, as the photo below shows some clay about to be rolled.

The next photo shows the pieces made from the slab just rolled. They now need to 'set up' for a while so they can be attached to the shell made previously. Once attached, then the whole turtle will need to rest until moisture equalization is reached, upon which a slow drying process can be started until the piece is 'bone dry' and ready for the bisque firing.

More interesting photos of the clay works coming soon! Now to find some of that left-over stir fry and have something to eat... yummy!

Dealing with the cold, a bisque load... next up, glazing

It is so cold here lately, that I finally decided I had to do something to help keep my studio warmer. Even the clay gets too cold to handle! Since the weather outside has been below zero a lot lately, that frigid air seems to find many ways into my basement. I found a good use for some bubble wrap and sealed over the door from the basement to the stairs leading outside. The cold air was coming through the door with enough force that I could feel it with my hand. First I used duct tape to tape the joint of the door and the door frame. Then I used some calk in some areas where to door frame met the wall. Then I used screws through wooden lath to hold the bubble wrap in place over the door frame. I also pushed some bubble wrap into a window well to help insulate it. This next year, when it is warmer, I'm going to try a few more ways to keep it warmer in the studio.

I fired a bisque kiln yesterday, and removed the pieces today after it had cooled. Here's a shot showing some clay pads to be used when glaze firing.

More clay pads of various sizes.

A bowl, a basket, and a textured tray. The basket has holes drilled to hold the handle - yet to be attached once it is glazed and fired.

Here is a photo of another one of the one-hand plates for Dad. It allows one to eat one-handed by shoving the food to the edge, and it flips up onto the spoon or fork.

This large platter barely fits into the smaller kiln. If it were any bigger, I would have to fill the larger kiln in order to fire it.

Here's a pic of all the items I removed from the bisque kiln.

This next photo shows something called a Giffin Grip. It is used to hold pots on the wheel while trimming work is done. The fingers on the unit slide inward on spiral tracks as the top portion of the Grip is turned. After the Grip has the pot well held, the whole unit turns when the potters wheel is used. Pretty nifty (and convenient) way to trim in my opinion.

I've already waxed the bottoms to the bisque pots, so next up is to do the glazing and get a glaze kiln loaded and fired. Have fun everyone!

Clay handles, dry hands, frozen water well - are we having fun yet?

Since I had made (called throwing) some cups on the wheel yesterday, I needed some handles for them, so a few hours ago I pulled 17 handles that can be used on a variety of pots, but I made most of them a little thicker for the coffee/beer mugs I'm making. I wrap some short pieces of PVC pipe in a hand towel and then lay the newly pulled handle over it to help it get the correct bend. Everything gets adjusted later when it is attached to the cup or mug, of course.

I had some old handles still around from the last bunch I pulled... wrapped up in three layers of plastic so that they wouldn't dry out. They seemed in pretty good shape, but there were only four of them left, so the new handles will come in handy shortly.

It is very cold out for the past few days, so the combination of the dry air and the large number of times I put my hands in water (for throwing on the wheel, dishes, etc.), the skin on the back of my hands is getting pretty raw. I've just slathered them in lotion and will do so again later tonight before bed. Hopefully they will recover shortly and won't be as sore soon.

One of my brothers called me this past Saturday to say that the water well on the farm in Iowa where our parents live had frozen up. Since I had to look after a sick cat, I couldn't go. But several of my brothers went and they got the pipes thawed and water pressure restored. Thank goodness for brothers!!!!