Global Warming?????

I heard yesterday on the news that 49 of the 50 states in the U.S. received measurable snow in the last 24 hours. Washington, D.C. has had more snow than Buffalo, NY. And, I have already had three days out of school and a late opening because of snow here in Eastern NC (and it snowed again last night, leaving another 2 inches). It has been quite a winter and it is only the middle of February. Other than making it hard to get much pottery done because the area where my wheel is does not have regular heat, I have enjoyed the snow. It makes me homesick for Virginia.
I have not posted much lately because I have not had much to report. Dan Finch and a group took a trip to Nicaragua which meant the firings of ware - both bisque and glaze - were delayed. In fact, last week I did not have any work to glaze at the studio and ended up buying a bag of clay, borrowing a couple of throwing tools, and worked at a wheel in the shop - first time in probably a year that I worked at a wheel other than my own. It really made me realize how comfortable I was with my own equipment. But, it was a good experience.

All the work shown in this post is from wares I was able to pick up this week. The large "2010" urn is something I had planned on showing from stage one - making it on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - to glazing, to the final product. However, my camera was misplaced for a period of about two weeks and I was not able to get the pictures I wanted. I am very happy with how it came out, at least on the outside. The inside glazing did not turn out so well and there was a lot of shivering, probably from the glaze drying too thick on the inside surface. I may refire it later to try and correct the inside surface.










The blue pieces are where I once again tried using Alfred Blue glaze. In the past, this glaze also separated on pieces leaving large areas of bare clay. I tried spraying the glaze this time to control the thickness of the glaze coat a little better and it seems to have helped control glaze defects. I really like this shade of blue and hope to use it more in the future.


The large bowl and the green casserole are the result of using Finch Green with an ash over-spray. I had gotten away from using ash, only because I am usually pressed for time and it is one more step in the glazing process. But, I am trying to make the time to use it more because it really does add an nice dimension to the surfaces of finished pieces.



I was hoping to work in moving equipment to the new shop today, but I think the new snow is going to put a halt to that right now. It may be closer to spring before I can really get in there. So, I guess I will clean up the current space and try to make some room for new work this weekend.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Snow Monday - 80 Degrees Today!

Well, we finally got some real snow! Apparently, this was the first time in a number of years that school was actually canceled due to snow. I thought I would be able to spend most of the day working at the wheel, but Susan talked me into hanging a door on a stall which took up most of the afternoon. However, I was still able to get quite a bit done and took a load in Thursday night to be bisque fired.

I picked up a load of finished ware and was pleased with the outcome of the larger pieces which I hope will end up in the Seagrove show. I have found that it really is more of a challenge to dip large pieces and have decided that I need to get a spray gun and learn how to apply glaze in this way. In the meantime, I am going to order the ingredients I need to mix up some glazes that I wish to try out that the studio does not have at this time. I lean towards earth tones and especially like Shino glazes. I believe I will try to mix some Redart Shino and some Shino with Ash glaze.


Since Thursday, I have thrown a couple of medium size bowls, a pie plate, and some pie-birds. I'm not quite sure how they are going to turn out, but I like to use one when I cook a pie to keep it from spilling out in the oven (I use a lot of fruit in my pies and they tend to be pretty juicy). Anyway, here is a picture of my little army of pie-birds drying out. I hope to throw some spoon rests and maybe work on an oval piece. I tried to create an oval casserole once before and the bottom ended up cracking badly while drying for bisque firing. It's about time I get "back on that horse" and try it again. Hopefully, this evening I will have a block of time I can devote to the wheel - I have completed all my paper grading and tomorrow is a field trip day to Sylvan Heights (an incredible place to go if you like waterfowl and other birds) so I have no lesson planning hanging over me. I would like to have another full load to take in Thursday night to build up my inventory for the sale in April.

Chance of Snow

Although it's not much, I was able to put aside some time to throw a few pieces on Sunday. It seems that there are just too many other things that must be done - I can only put off grading quiz papers so long! I started making small face jugs early on as a way to recover something from battles I had with a portion of clay and in which the clay was winning. The little guy here is the result of having a hard time with what started out as a two pound bowl. Nothing was going right and I kept trimming away bits and pieces until there was just enough left for a small jug about 4 inches tall!

I did accomplish getting my corner straightened up and started the process of reclaiming about 40 to 50 pounds of scraps that I have been saving over the last few months. So, I guess the weekend was productive to a point. The forecast is calling for a 30 to 40 percent chance of snow tonight and tomorrow morning - a pretty good chance for this part of North Carolina. I, like my students, am hoping for at least enough to have a delayed opening. A full day off would be wonderful and I could spend a good part of it on the wheel. Teachers like snow days as much as the kids!

A couple of average size bowls, a pie plate, a tumbler, a vase, and the face jug is the product of a few hours at the wheel. Besides working on size and lighter weighing pieces, I probably should also be working quicker. But, since this is not my main means of income, I would rather work on quality instead of quantity. I have a "order" for a set of bowls and a pie plate that I am trying to fill for a friend. The other pieces are just me trying some different things or, lately, making things for myself, like the tumbler. Thursday nights are my regular pottery nights at Finch's Pottery and I spend my time there glazing pieces that have been bisque fired the previous week. The glazed pieces will then usually be fired the following week in Dan's gas kiln - so the whole process from beginning to end takes about two weeks on the average for me to see the final work. Maybe I will have something to show after this Thursday.

One last picture. I had cleaned my little corner studio (even cleaned all my tools) and after working with the scraps for reclaiming, I left a muddy tub under my workbench because it was really cold outside and I didn't feel like messing with the hose and cold water in the dark. The next morning when I checked on the pots I had thrown, I was greeted with this sight of muddy paw prints all over the floor. Apparently one or more of the cats (we have four) decided to walk around in the tub and then leave the room, leaving their tracks as evidence of their presence. Back to cleaning!

I hear ungraded quiz papers calling to me. I sure hope it snows!!!

cmj