Tea Bowls, Mugs, & a Cat House

The other day I was reading Lori Buff's blog, Future Relics, where she said you've got to make mugs. I haven't made any mugs in eons so I decided to make a few. Yesterday I made a couple of slap built tea bowls. Would you believe I cut out the pieces for both the same size. One of them is taller than the other. Oh well. I can't take credit for this tea bowl design, I found the pattern on a clay teaching site years ago.

I can take credit for the design of this mug made with stacked strips of clay. The handle is made with the same method. After making the piece I brushed stripes of terra cotta colored slip between the seams. Not sure how comfortable the handle will be; this will be a slow drinking mug.

Which reminds me, in Tony Clennell;s book, Stuck in the Mud, he writes about a mug sent to him by Linda Christianson who picked it out for him from a Mark Pharis firing. When he got the mug he couldn't believe she picked that particular mug out for him. But he trusted Linda's opinion so he started using the mug. Long story short over the years Tony said he has come to appreciate the mug.

Tony learned to hold the mug in a particular way because the handle is too small to get  his hand through, the bottom is rough and so on. Tony said he has to look at the mug to pick it up. The mug was not a mug he could use without thinking about it. So using this mug over the years Tony has grown to appreciate the maker's idea surrounding the design.

Here's the interior of my stacked mug so you can see the seams. Maybe some day someone will recognize this mug as one of mine without looking at the signature.

Barney and Butter don't get along (Barney wants to mark his territory inside) so Barney has to stay outside from now on. Yesterday afternoon we made a cat house of thick styrofoam (insulation) sheets. Now I can't get Barney to go inside. I put some scrumptious cat food in the back to coax him in. He stretched in as far as he could and took a bite of food and brought it out to eat. He kept his back feet out for a quick escape. I think he's afraid to get trapped inside since it's all enclosed. Maybe he'll get used to it slowly if I keep putting the special food inside. I'll be working at the ArtWorks Artisan Center today so I'll catch you later. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

More Driftwood Handled Baskets

After cleaning my studio the other day I found some dark red terra cotta colored slip I got in California. I decided to add it to the exterior of one of my driftwood handled baskets. I love the combination of the red clay with the black slip (it looks almost blue; if too little black stain is added it may turn out blue but that will be OK with me). I'll leave the exterior unglazed to hopefully keep the reddish color. The interior will probably be glazed with a dark brown. Since I'm using a different clay body, little loafers, I hope this slip is compatible. We shall see.

Here's a close up of the multiple layers of slip I've applied. With the undercuts of overlapped clay it took me forever to get all the crevices coated with the slip. Hope all that work is worth it in the end.

Here's another driftwood handled basket. I think I might glaze this one a white or an oatmeal color. Doesn't the driftwood look like a snake with it's mouth open?

This basket is 13 x 10 inches. I finally used my hair dryer so this one didn't collapse on me. I don't know why I've resisted using it in the past. I'm taking some work up to the fairgrounds in Hiawassee for the Georgia Mountain Fall Festival today. The festival runs from the 10th to the 18th. We're in booth #15. There's arts and crafts and music each day and the festival ends with a fiddler's contest. I work at the festival on Monday and Tuesday the 13 and 14th. This Saturday and two other days this month I work at ArtWorks Artisan Center. So it's going to be a whorl wind of activity this month. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

North Georgia Candy Roaster

Look what I got at the farmer's market, a North Georgia Candy Roaster (winter squash). It's over two feet long and weighs about ten pounds. It's supposed to make a better pie than a pumpkin because it's real sweet and has a smooth texture. I'm going to cook it like a winter squash in the oven. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Since Mountain Regional Arts and Crafts Guild moved to their new location ArtWorks Artisan Center in Hiawassee they sold more art works than any previous month. I sold three pieces including Green Muse above which found a new home. Looks like I better get busy in the studio.

Today I'm going to take a short trip to the John C. Campbell Folk School to check out their Fall Festival. It's gone from a high of 80 yesterday to a high of 56 expected for today, yikes I better bundle up. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Driftwood Basket, New Gallery, Fall Show

Basket with Driftwood Handle

12 h x 9 w x 5 w inches

While packing some of my work to take to a couple of galleries I noticed I'd previously made this tall vase with holes on either side. I decided to add a driftwood handle. This time I've used linen cord and added a couple of glass beads. Linen cord is much easier to work with than the metal wire. I have some other basket making material in my stash which I'll be trying on other pieces. I've been leaving the driftwood natural but wondered if I should coat it with a clear varnish or some wax. What do you think? What would you recommend I use?

Sea Basket

7 h x 11 w x 6 w inches

The Fall Show is on at the Helen Arts Center and runs through October and I have three pieces in the show including my green driftwood handled basket, or sea basket. Also I was juried into the Mountain Regional Arts and Crafts Guild and their ArtWorks Artisan Center is carrying my work. The Guild's ArtWorks Artisan Center recently moved to a new, closer to downtown, location on Chatuge Street in Hiawassee, GA.

Coming up a winter squash recipe and another home improvement project. Yesterday morning there were eight turkeys in our yard but when I went outside to take their photo they all flew away. If you've ever seen a wild turkey fly they are a sight since they are so heavy it's hard for them to get any height. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.