Some Yes Some Almost

White Feather by Linda Starr
coiled, burnished, slip, unglazed, cone 4
9.5 x 3.75 inches

All the pots came through their final firing, which is something to celebrate with this cone 4 cassius basaltic clay. Not all of them like I envisioned, some yes some almost. They have a nice ring to them when I tap them with my finger, like the sound of crystal. I love, love, love this ebony black clay. I love how it looks and I love working with it. Hey, did I say I say I love this clay. I bought the last three bags in stock. When I get where I am going I'll have to have it shipped to me.

Aside: I'm reading the James Patterson book Sundays at Tiffany's. If you read it you'll know why I put here in the middle of the post. It's not his usual murder mystery either. That's all I'll say about it.

Thai Jar by Linda Starr
pinched, unglazed, cone 4
5.5 x 4.5 inches

The unglazed clay tends to pick up dust on the surface. Does anyone know if there is such a thing as spraying a sealer on the clay to keep the dust from penetrating the unglazed surface? Ideally I would like to keep the matt look of the clay. I also wonder if I can pour some type of sealer on the inside of pots to make them water tight for flowers and perhaps keep the outside natural. Maybe I'll have to make some terra sig out of this clay and see how that does. I'll have to make test tiles of this clay when I get situated to see what I can find out.

Eggplant by Linda Starr
pinched, unglazed, cone 4
6.75 x 3 inches

Petal Bowl by Linda Starr
pinched, slip, unglazed, cone 4
3 x 4.5 inches

I rubbed green slip in the crevices of this pinched petal vase and expected it to look like weathered copper instead it looks like worn leather or suede, but I like that effect and would like to use it on a square box to simulate something made from hide.

Sun and Moon Pot by Linda Starr
pinched, slip, unglazed, cone 4
4.5 x 7 inches

The white slip contrasts very nicely on this black clay. It has a rough texture and the brush strokes can be seen but I like that. I wish I had used finer slip for this pot. Next time I'll refine and improve the quality of my slip for this pot and the others where I used slip.

Snowflake Bowl by Linda Starr
slap built, slip, unglazed, cone 4
1.25 x 6 x 7 inches

Bubbling Stream Bowl by Linda Starr
pinched, slip, cone 4
3 x 4.25 inches

Green Ring Dish by Linda Starr
pinched, slip, unglazed, cone 4
1 x 5 x 4 inches

Boat Basket by Linda Starr
slab built, unglazed, cone 4
4.75 x 9 inches

I used the same handle for this basket as I did for the other just to show what it will look like with a handle, but I will be changing this the handle for this basket when I get a chance.

Almost Moon Craters by Linda Starr
pinched, slip, glaze, cone 4
3.75 x 8.5 inches

I almost got moon craters, but not quite. Can you see a few of them developed but not like I wanted. I've determined the only way to get the craters is to pour the glaze in and let it sit for a while and then pour it out. If I brush on the glaze it doesn't soak in and won't bubble up like I want. You should have seen the pot before I fired it with the white glaze showing where the shiny triangles are, it looked great. A wonderful contrast of the white slip against the black clay. The folks who fired my work got some splatters of red glaze and debris in the bottom of some of the pots, especially this one; I really need to fire my own work. More experiments are needed but there is good potential for future pots with this clay, with and without slip and glaze. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

What's With This Pot

Is this some kind of black mold growing on my pot? Have your pots ever looked like this? Perhaps it's because I'm drying the pots in the RV cabinets. Keep reading I'm stringing you along. I know what it is, do you?


Here's one of the bowl's with underglaze painted leaves from the last firing with celadon glaze. Cone 5/6 celadon sure isn't the same as cone 10, but I do like it.


Here's one of the silly kitty plates. What do you think of that name, silly kitty. I have so many of these drawings and they are fun to put on pieces. The satin clear glaze fits like a glove with only one coat. This is the same glaze that created the moon craters on the cone 4 pieces which I hope did the same thing this time. Keep your fingers crossed on that one.


This is the large pinched casserole I did last year. The piece was rather thick, but amazingly it didn't crack. When I say thick, I am being really kind to myself. But it is a lesson in how thick the bottom of a pot can be and still not crack in the firing. Not sure I like this glaze. I think some of these cone 5/6 glazes need some texture or overlapping glazes to show variation.


The glaze on this small bowl is supposed to be melon colored. It sat next to the casserole above and the glaze from the casserole flashed on the exterior of the bowl and turned it yellow and little bumps rose up in the glaze (besides the larger bumps of my hands pinching the clay).

Gary said it should be one of the citrus series. I don't have a series. Wonder where he learned that word. Ha. I guess he is picking up something about ceramics somewhere along the way. Actually I have three series, they just aren't made yet, they're in my journal and I am doing research for them. Oh yeah, that's where Gary heard about a series I must have told him. Duh.


The underglaze on the snowflake bowl is darker than I expected; the green isn't visible any longer, but I like it. The bowl has the same satin clear glaze over the top (sorry about the flash glare).

I guess I should let you in on what's with the first pot above. I'm trying a texture experiment with coffee grounds. I rubbed coffee grounds into the pot to see what will happen. I'll probably be sorry I did this to a perfectly smooth pinch bowl, (so much smoother than the yellow bowl above), but nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. Up next my cone 4 cassius basaltic firing results, so come back soon. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Breaking My Own Rules

Why do I keep breaking my own rules? I said I was only going to make pots which can easily travel down the road in an RV while they're drying. So why did I make this pot late last night?


I started out with good intentions and made this small pinched bowl. It has a flat bottom and won't roll over and it's low and won't tip over.


Then I pinched this bowl shape and folded out the sides. I plan on adding a slip pattern to this one. Still OK for traveling in an RV. Very low and definitely won't tip over.


This one isn't too tall, but it could tip and the edges are thin and could easily break with the slightest bump. I better restrain myself.


This one is much better, again it's low and won't tip over and has a nice shape to it.


Oh no! What in the heck am I thinking putting that kind of handle on this vase. There's no way this handle will make it moving down the highway.

I notice some surfaces need smoothing in the photos, but they're at the point I have to wait to fix anything. The lighting in the RV isn't great, too many shadows. I feel like a race horse chomping at the bit; I'm really holding back and I don't like it. I have so many pieces in my mind which are too precarious to travel in RV in the green state.

We may have to drive straight to the East coast and set up a temporary studio for me to work so I can keep breaking my own rules. I mapped it out last night, we can make it in six days. I pick up my final cone 4 load tomorrow and Gary has a physical to keep his class A license up-to-date and then we're off. The weather even predicts clear skys. I know you may not believe me, but we will be leaving very shortly. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Making A Handle

Making a handle isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Perhaps you recall the basket in process post from late last year. I love how the ceramic basket fired, but the handle isn't what I envisioned for the piece. In my mind I pictured a black wire handle with a coiled spring of wire at the top of the handle. Like one of those wire egg baskets or those French wire baskets. I thought I'd get the piece fired and put on the handle quick as could be and that would be that.

Since I am living in my RV, not having many of my tools readily at hand is creating a challenge for me. If I had been at home I might have used kanthal wire and made a ceramic handle for the piece. I looked around for some wire stiff enough to stand up on it's own but pliable to bend easy enough to fit through the holes and bend back. I couldn't find any black wire except florist's wire and that wasn't a stiff enough gauge. The wire I used is 6 gauge galvanized wire. Gary happened to have some wire twisting tools in his tool box we have with us. I have to be careful twisting the wire. I want to get the wire good and tight so I can slip a bead over it but not so tight that I crack the ceramic. I didn't even think of what I would do with the ends of the wire so they would look finished.


Gary said it would be difficult to get the wire coiled and twisted at the top of the handle without crimping or distorting the wire. So I purchased a length of bamboo and then realized I needed something to cut it with. So then I got a mini hack saw. At home I would have had a chop saw and would have had the whole length of bamboo cut up in seconds. The end of the bamboo is rough, now I need some sand paper.

To me the bamboo looks a little stiff. I think an asymmetrical piece of wood would look much better, like a piece of driftwood or a found piece of wood. But then I would need a drill and a vice to hold the wood so I could drill it. So I haven't twisted the ends of the wire on the piece tight so I can easily remove this handle when I think of a better way to make one. I think my idea has potential I just need to do a little more thinking and searching for just the right materials. I also have one more of these baskets made from cassius basaltic clay being fired which I'll be putting a handle on. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Goblets

Bronze Goblets by Linda Starr
4 x 2.5 inches

Sometimes I am hopeful and then happily surprised at my glazing results. These goblets turned out just like I wanted them. I made a set of four of these. The are pinched from Texas white clay, fired in oxidation cone 6. Now I want to make taller ones with even more wavy stems.

Bronze Goblets by Linda Starr
top view

These green and black metallic goblets also fired as I hoped.

Green and Black Goblets by Linda Starr
5 x 4.5 inches

Green and Black Goblets by Linda Starr
top view

I hope you can overlook the background. I had to use a summer blouse for a backdrop since we are in our RV.

Stay tuned for more results from this firing. I'm working on the wire handle for the basket, trying to figure out what to do with the ends of the wire I plan to slide through the holes in the basket. Please come back if you know anything about bending or using wire handles. I can use all the help I can get. I'm also expecting to pick up the cone 4 pieces being fired this week.

Tangents

The natural color of clay really appeals to me, especially when I combine two different colored clays in one piece. I've tried so many different clays. I've rejected a few, but not many.


Here are a few pinched pieces I made yesterday. I used the Texas white clay which I am getting more familiar with and I inlaid the Navajo wheel clay. I can't wait to see how these turn out.


After I loaded these photos up on my blog, I said to myself, wouldn't it be fun if I made the same pieces with the Navajo wheel clay and then embedded the Texas white clay in those in the same manner. I seem to go off on so many tangents, I can't keep up with myself.




I know I said in my last post I was only going to make pieces that travel easily, but today I made a textured platter. I purposely left some portions of the white clay showing through. Then I thought it needed a handle, so I added one. How in the heck is this going to travel down the road without being broken? I have no idea.


Just so I could say to myself I made something that would travel easily in an RV, I also made this tile. See I stuck to my promise to myself. I wish I had waited a bit before I put the black slip on the tile. I wanted to add more color to this tile, I really wish I could find the other mason stains I bought. I hope the rain lets up a bit, I'd like to look through all the boxes in my car again to see if I can find them.


Today I was just warming up since I haven't had any clay for a week or so, come back again soon because I'm sure to go off on even more clay tangents.

Sketches and Plans

Everything I took to Clay Mix to be bisque fired last week came out just fine including the one sculpture which was a test piece. I wasn't sure the sculpture could survive the trip to the studio and the firing. All of the seams held. Now I feel confident to make more of this particular piece refining the design. I didn't put it through the final firing since it was a rough test example. I'll have to wait till we move to the next place in our travels because the piece is too fragile to travel in it's green state. I also took the other sculpture where I am attempting to reproduce the moon craters to Potter's Studio to be fired along with the other cone 4 work. I've got my fingers crossed hoping I get more moon craters.


While I was at Clay Mix I saw the contemporary ceramics exhibit of Tiffany Schmierer. I learned that Tiffany uses a cone 10 sculpture clay which she fires to cone 1. I was amazed to learn she fires her sculptures as one piece. Over the last several years my work has been leaning more towards sculpture and I feel I need to push myself to take more risks when working along those lines. I also ran into Una Mjurka whose sculpture work I also admire.


Two weeks ago I ran out of clay. Gary kept trying to convince me to wait to get more clay till we move to a new location. I really tried waiting. I read books about ceramics and I made lots and lots of sketches. But I realized I wasn't satisfied to just read and sketch, I need to keep working with clay. So I picked up three 25 pound bags of cone 5/6 clay yesterday. Since we are in our RV I can only work with a few bags at a time due to weight constraints. I got more Texas White stoneware, a rich red clay called Navajo Wheel, and a warm yellow/tan clay called Sculpture 50. I'd like to try sgraffito with a few of my sketches especially the cat sketch above.


Yesterday and today I was back at Clay Mix glazing my work and I ran into Craig Easter who teaches classes there. We had a nice discussion about high fire ceramics. As I was driving back I realized I miss having someone to talk with about ceramics. I look forward to finding a new place too set up my studio. I hope I can find a place where I can be close to a community studio and I can join a ceramics group or club. I am lucky to have a blog where I have connected with so many potters around the world, but I would also like to talk with folks in person too.


Since I'm in an RV I thought I'd make pieces with a low center of gravity so they won't tip over easily. I wonder if there's such a thing as a rack where tiles can be stacked to be fired? I know I've seen plate stackers but I'm not sure where. If you know where I can find such a rack, please let me know.


Today is Gary's last day at work and next week we're finally heading out on our travels. The weather predicts four inches of rain on the valley floor and more than two feet of snow in the mountains next week, so we may be delayed a bit. Needless to say we will be taking the Southern route in our travels. Come back again to see where our travels take us next. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Sunrise, Sunset

“Like a red morn that ever yet betokened,
Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field,
Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds,
Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.”

Shakespeare in Venus and Adonis

“When in evening, ye say, it will be fair weather:
For the sky is red.
And in the morning, it will be foul weather today;
for the sky is red and lowering.”

the Bible, Matthew XVI: 2-3

Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
Red sky in morning, sailor's warning.

Weather proverbs and historical quotes about red sky sunrise and sunset have a certain amount of scientific truth to them. When we see a red sky at night, this means the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

A red sunrise reflects the dust particles of a system which has just passed from the west. This indicates a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means a high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.


The first four photos are of the sunrise, the last is the sunset of the previous twenty four hours here in the RV park. No matter how I try to capture the vibrant colors of the sunrise or sunset, I find they are always so much better in person. Since I've been living in my RV I don't have a regular routine. I've fallen out of the habit of going outside every day, walking around observing nature. The beautiful sunrise and sunset reminded me I need to return to some of my old routines.

Clay and Blogs: Telling A Story

Can a person be the oldest and the youngest at the same time? I think I might be (but maybe not) the oldest potter in age and the youngest working with clay who's been invited to participate in the most wondrous ceramic show of this year. I am so proud and honored to be included in the upcoming Clay and Blogs: Telling A Story show. Here are the dates and location.

Clay and Blogs: Telling A Story
October 1 thru October 29, 2010
Arts Council of Moore County
Campbell House
432 East Connecticut Avenue
Southern Pines, NC 28388

Opening Reception Oct 1st from 6-8 pm

Clay and Blogs: Telling A Story is the brainchild of my blog friend Meredith Heywood of Whynot Pottery. Meredith has conceived of a way to further unite blogging potters from faraway places with a show of their work in one place. I met Meredith through her blog almost two years ago. I say met but we haven't actually met in person only through our blogs. And yet Meredith has been so generous with her time, supporting and encouraging me in my ceramic pursuits. Thank you so much, Meredith, for your encouragement and for including me in the show.

The line up of artists in the show is amazing. Blogging artists from Australia, England, New Zealand, Spain, United States and other locations from around the globe will display their work in the upcoming show. The show will be a great opportunity to see the work of so many artist's all in one location, so please plan to attend.

Although the artists are from faraway places, we've been united by sharing with each other about clay through our blogs. We've shared the ups and downs and the successes and challenges of working with clay. I've asked questions and advice on other blogs and artists have been very generous sharing their knowledge. My blogroll on the right side of this blog has a list of artists and blogs who have inspired, critiqued, encouraged, or mentored me. Thanks to all of you for being there.

I have a lot of ideas for the show; the challenge for me will be how to accomplish what I want to do while living and traveling in my RV, looking for a new place to live and set up my studio. But where there is a will there is a way. As time goes by I'll be posting more information about Clay and Blogs: Telling A Story, so stay tuned. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Mooney Grove Park

A pond, geese, and trees Mooney Grove Park, ahhhh...

...sending warm thoughts to all dealing with cold weather