April 27th Firing

I unloaded last Tuesday's firing and found a few good pieces and a couple losers. Unlike the last firing, which was slightly under fired, I made sure to reach a solid cone 10 temperature before turning off the gas and heading to bed. This longer firing didn't suit one of my green glazes and I had three pots who's glaze melted onto the shelf and will require some grinding to remove the remnants.

The Supervisor

I have noticed from reading other potters' blogs that they enjoy the company of pets, usually cats, in the studio and I am no exception. Our Bob does not like to be petted, picked up or do lap duty but he does enjoy keeping an eye on the activity in the house, yard and studio.

Here are some photos of our Bob-cat performing his watch.

Casseroles, Casseroles, Casseroles!

Casseroles (and serving dishes) are about the only thing I want to make these days. And thanks to my slab roller - bought off Craig's List - I can make non-round pieces.

First, a well wedged piece of clay is cubed and tossed onto the table until is it flat enough to go through the rollers.

I have found that the slabs of clay need to shrink and firm up before being attached to the bottomless sides to keep them from separating later in the process.

In the third photo you can see where my fingers pushed against the sides as I rolled the texturizing cylinder around the outside.

When the slab is ready, bring out the Magic Water. (What a wonderful name for water with some sodium silicate to aid in adhesion. It is a recipe from Lana Wilson I got from a pottery magazine. It works like magic!)

Score and slip (photo 4) then add a coil to reinforce the joint. In the 5th photo I haven't smoothed out the coil. Again, apply liberal amounts of Magic Water.

After a period of rest another slab is draped over the top and coaxed into a domed shape. After it is very firm a surform is used to gently shape the edges so they fit in the galley of the piece.

The photos at the top are pieces slowly drying and getting ready for a bisque firing. I'm anxious to see how they turn out but it will be several

more weeks before they can be glazed and fired in the big gas kiln.

Patience, Patience.

Anderson Island Gift Shop is Open

Anderson Island is situated in south Puget Sound and, like other islands in the area, has it's own special history. The Anderson Island Historical Society was formed to preserve this history and part of their mission is to operate the gift shop in an old chicken coop that was part of the Johnson Farm. (For more information about the farm see http://andersonislandhs.org/)

This Saturday the gift shop will be opened after it's usual winter break and I will again have some of my pottery for sale. I have several baking/serving pieces that are new as well as some bowls and mugs. For such a small shop there is a wide variety of merchandise at all price points. If you are on the island during a weekend, stop by for a visit. The shop is open 12pm to 4pm Saturdays and Sundays.

Here is some of my work.

Bottoms Up

Well, bottoms are not up but they are on the pieces I threw last weekend. I also have attached lug handles on all the casseroles and for the three pieces with a galley rim, I have started working on a slab lid - a process I'm not very skilled at yet.

The white powder on some of the pieces is cornstarch which keeps the damp lid from sticking to the pot while being worked on.

The one urn from the weekend is progressing nicely though I need to cut the foot rim so it has "feet". Notice that the rectangular dish next to it hasn't had its bottom slab shaved to fit the walls.

A Productive Weekend

Our weekend house on Anderson Island has a potters' wheel in the basement and nothing else in the way of pottery equipment. Water must be brought downstairs and after throwing for a few hours, the resulting slurry is pitched outside to avoid clogging the plumbing.

But the advantage of working in the basement (huddled close to the wood burning stove) is that there are few distractions and I get lots of throwing done. This weekend was no exception.

At the end of the weekend I leave the wet pieces attached to bats and remarkably they make it back to town without incident in the back of our old VW camper. Except for the mugs and one urn, everything I threw this Saturday was without a bottom. I'm still enjoying the process of making altered casseroles.

The other photo shows a couple pieces after the sides have been decorated with texture and the walls moved into oval or rectangular shapes. The next step will be to attach a slab bottom once the clay is more firm.

Ovals

For the first time since November, I have gotten around to firing my gas kiln. With the winter holidays, company and entertaining, pottery making took a backseat to the pleasures of the season.

But now it is back to the pleasures of clay. I have been having fun making pots that have been altered into ovals. I throw the sides without a bottom and then once the clay is somewhat firm, it is manipulated into another shape. Add a slab of clay for the bottom, some lugs for handles and, voila!, a casserole.

Here is some recent work in different stages. The dish with the leaf stamp is waiting to be glaze fired, the large casserole with lid is drying and the other photos are of finished pieces.