Ideas, ideas

We went to Uptown Market Saturday, which didn't go as well as some Saturdays, but that's okay. It's always fun to talk to people and watch the parade of pooches prance by. A few people stopped to admire certain pieces, and while they visited, they made some suggestions of items they would like to see on my tables. I'll try my hand at yarn bowls, honey pots, bacon cookers, and yazamashi pots (Japanese water cooling vessels for delicate teas) this week in the studio.

Attempt #3 in French butter crocks

Hopefully my attempts at the above pieces will be easier than--or rather, more fruitful than my attempts at someone's suggestion that I make French butter crocks. About two weeks ago I sat down and threw three crocks as a first attempt. The first crock never made it to bisque as the inner cylinder was too big around and split the base when I tried forcing it apart. The second crock has been bisqued, but it's just too long to work properly, I think, and will probably end up in the garbage.


So here is the third one, which I think will be good enough for me to try out. I certainly have to think of a way to jazz these babies up--so boring as is. The lid is also a wonky fit because I couldn't get the groove quite right. The tube was a bit long while in greenware stage, so I tried cutting it down with my fettling knife. It fits but has a rather ragged edge. As I said, this will be good enough for me to test.

I may throw a few more of these this week to try and get it right.

My thanks to all who gave me new tasks to try. I really have enough berry bowls and sponge holders, so this gives me a break from some of the normal pieces I throw. Whenever I try something new, whether a new form or new decoration, it's like play time for me!

Still Superstitious

Last month I wrote about breaking with superstition, but I'm afraid I'm still superstitious. In that post I wrote about my fear of photographing pieces before they complete the process; however, I was going to dare to break that superstitious thinking by posting a pair of carved candle lanterns-the third in the set was not available to photograph at the time.

Candle lantern with carved dogwoods and texture

The lantern that wasn't photographed came out beautifully and sold the very next market day. These are time-consuming but so much fun to make!

Another lantern carved in dogwood leaves somehow cracked in several places during bisque-firing. The studio director apologized, saying it was her fault, but in the back of my mind I thought, "I didn't expect this piece to make it." I tried to fix it during glazing, but there was not hope--it just fell apart in my hands; too many cracks. I can't imagine what she could have done that would've caused so much damage.

What should have been an easy fix in glaze firing wasn't.

The other lantern photographed at that same time was also damaged in the bisque fire, but it suffered only minor damage. The handle had broken from the saucer, but it appeared an easy fix. I "glued" it with glaze and sent it back. Still, I wasn't getting my hopes up; after all, I had photographed it in its raw stage. Sure enough, either in placement or during firing, the top shifted just a bit.

It's still a keeper!

That's okay, though. I love candles, and it's still a pretty piece despite its imperfection. Though it isn't fit for the market, it looks just fine on the bookshelf in our dining room. Maybe one day I'll have more than the imperfect pieces, but for now these will do.

I need to get busy making more of these as they seem to be popular!

Simply Fun

As I struggle to juggle work I must do and work I love (pottery), I often forget to have fun. Now, don't get me wrong; I only make what I enjoy making such as garlic pots and candle holders and teapots (why, I don't know), etc., but I don't often spend my time to just have fun doing something in clay. Today, I had fun three times (makes me think I was unproductive today!).

This face pot was the most fun I had today--I'm planning to plant tarragon in him IF he makes it through the process. I explained my superstition in an earlier post, which has proven partially true in that one of the candle holders broke beyond repair, and the fate of the other is yet to be known. Perhaps Friday it will come from the kiln.

After throwing the form for pot man, I threw some clay that was a bit more than this guy. I made the tallest piece yet, though I'm not divulging measurements since it's still nothing to brag about. I also practiced slip trailing for the first time today on a covered pot. As Anthony (my husband) would say, the result was fairly adequate. Not a bad first attempt but not spectacular.

I plan to make more face pots for the season, and I would like to try to recreate, in some fashion, small pots my grandmother had of women with dangling earrings and stylish dresses--at least they looked stylish from the bust view, anyway. It seems comedy may be easier to attain than elegance; we shall see.

All in all, it was a good day in the studio.

It's Been An Interesting Week

After my first experience with Uptown Market in Columbus, Ga., I was thinking, "How can I go more often?" Anthony came with me, and in between our little conversations, we talked to people, listened to live music, and watched the many dogs of all shapes and sizes. When the noon whistle sounded, we packed up and went to the brew pub down the street. A good Saturday. We're going back this Saturday for certain!

The week has been punctuated with fun and frustration! It seems I've angered the clay gods. Last week I repugged my scrap clay only to find it was short when I threw it days later. On advice from fellow studio potters, I added a bag of fresh clay and repugged again. Now four hours of wasted time (time away from the wheel). Yesterday it seemed no better despite wedging ball clay into it and sprinkling vinegar on it--I must have been missing the magic incantation because it didn't really help. So, I threw berry bowls but not nearly enough. The clay kept tearing on the first pull. Now I'm wondering if the greenware will make it through bisque fire. If it does, I may keep using it for berry bowls and buy fresh clay for teapots and mugs--or anything else that needs a handle.

Jasmine is starting to scent the evening air.

Thank heaven for cool evenings on the deck with my hubby and the dogs. Tuesday night I smelled just a hint of Madison Jasmine, and the next morning I went out to see if it was my imagination or if we had jasmine blooming. Voila! Two or three little clusters like this were in bloom. I can't wait until the deck explodes with the scent of jasmine.

Yesterday's frustration of the clay was followed by the frustration of knowing I would not be in the studio at all today. I suppose I'll use what little free time I have today to run errands--I need bags and stickers for Saturday's Uptown Market. I'm crossing my fingers that the teapot I want to take Saturday comes out of the kiln in one piece. I won't get excited until then because the last time I was excited about a teapot, the glaze ran, and the piece cracked while cooling. How does that happen? Especially after I ran a test piece through first. Grrr.

The first veggie baby appears!

But, fortunately, there are other gifts from spring that help relieve the frustration. Every morning I have to go out into the garden and check on plants. This morning I found the first tomato on the vine. I am sooo excited. It's only a tiny green bump, and like clay, you can't count on it until it goes through the process. So far, we have onions, garlic, tomatoes, eggplant, two bean plants (the only seeds that germinated from the dozen planted), and random volunteers from last year's cucumbers and squash.

The sole survivor.

My other favorite thing about spring is berry bowls! I've been playing with different shapes and colors from last year. Of the four thrown, only one has come out as it should. Two are going back to bisque fire with the hopes their little strawberry feet will fuse with the glaze "glue" I used. The fourth is probably going to Debbie so that she can smash it and use it for a mosaic.

I hope I have a photo of said teapot to publish Friday before packing up for the market.

Breaking with Superstition

Last year, I took a picture of a piece I was really excited about, a piece I was trying a new technique with that seemed to be going perfectly. So, in my excitement, I posted a picture of the work in progress.

The curves and the lines in the piece were so beautiful to me that I just couldn't wait until it was finished to show it off. Hmm. It now holds acorns because the bottom seam came apart in the final firing and it will not hold liquid. From that day forward, I decided that it was bad luck to post work before it went through the final firing. Today, I hope to prove to myself that such superstitious thinking is absurd!

I've been working on what I call candle lanterns. Two are finished and ready for the Old 280 Boogie, but I was hoping the three I threw earlier in the week would be finished in time--they won't. But, I'm having so much fun making them, and there is now this blog to fill, that I'm breaking with that old superstition and posting a photo of the two I carved last night after work.

It's officially spring in Opelika, Ala., which means the dogwood, azaleas, tulips, and daffodils are in full bloom. I had sketched some designs in my little brown book and, while at the studio, I set to work carving one of the lanterns with dogwoods. As I ran out of time before work, I brought the untouched pieces home to carve in the evening. The left piece has a ring of dogwood leaves, and the piece on the right has tulip forms. Today there is much to do as well, but isn't that always the case. Glazing is a priority if I'm to have anything to add to my crate for the Boogie, but there's more carving and trimming to do as well. I love it!