Congratulations - Peyton & Rachelle

Susan conducting the marriage of Peyton and Rachelle

Something wonderful happened in Washington, DC, Saturday night - bet you don't hear that too often!  I watched my wife, Susan, conduct the marriage of our oldest son, Peyton, and his long-time girl friend, Rachelle.  It was a beautiful service - very different and very unique, but classy and memorable.  I did have a small part in the wedding.  They did not want the traditional bride and groom figures on the wedding cake and had asked me to make some face jugs that looked like them to use instead.  So, . . . I worked at it and gave them a few to consider, but told them that I felt bad because it really is hard to make any kind of female face jug that looks flattering!  They seemed to like the final products, anyway, including the very small jug I made to represent their dog.

One set of Groom and Bride jugs with dog

Crepe Wedding Cake with the jugs

Since my last post, a lot has happened - the end of the school year, a Pig-Picking for Peyton and Rachelle, a show with my pottery buddy Danny for the Halifax Arts Council, and all my pottery efforts being "in-house" because I have not been able to get to the studio.  This last part has really pushed me to grow more as I learn more about using my kiln and glazing with cone 5/6 glazes.  I had started out using Amaco Potter's Choice glazes, which work well.  But, this time, I bought some Coyote glazes to try and was very pleased with the results.  One of them is so close to the cone 10 Turquoise glaze we use at Dan Finch's that I think I will be able to replace a defective lid on a casserole with almost a perfect match!

The show for the Halifax Arts Council, a "Sip and See" held at their center in Roanoke Rapids, was successful in a number of ways, but, most importantly, almost every piece of mine had been made, fired, and glazed in my own shop at home.  It was validating to know that, even though I miss the weekly camaraderie of the studio and the learning input of working around others, I could be completely self-sufficient in keeping up my inventory, if need be.

Table at Sip and See

Table at Sip and See 2

What I have liked about these cone 5 and 6 glazes is that I can get close to a reduction look with the electric kiln.  After reading an article about the logic of lengthening the glazing time and, more importantly, slowing down the cooling time to mimic how a gas reduction kiln works, I have decided that the next load will take about an extra eight hours to fire.  Below is a few samples from the last firing.  These are using Coyote brand Mottled Blue, Pistachio Shino, Matte Green, and Eggshell glazes, as well as Amaco Potter's Choice Firebrick and Salt Buff glazes.

Mottled Blue with Salt Buff carvings

Matte Green

Pistachio Shino

Pistachio Shino center with Salt Buff rim

Matte Green, Mottled Blue, Firebrick, Pistachio Shino bases with Eggshell top

A final note - my inventory of face jugs has been depleted due to the demand for these pieces at Riverside Mill in Weldon.  So, I have started rebuilding the inventory and am adding more of the "animal themed" face jugs.  These have sold well at Riverside and at the last couple of shows I have done.  When Susan saw the lion jug I had just worked on, she immediately suggested "Wizard of Oz" jugs!  Maybe I will give that a try! If you have any suggestions for pottery ideas, send me an email and let me know.

Snarl!

Lion

Spring Break = Break My Back!

Apple Blossoms

First, I want to say how blessed I feel to have escaped the tornadoes that were all around us last Saturday.  After a six hour trip from the D.C. area, which should have usually taken only about three hours, we ran right into the string of storms heading east and were able to get home before the worst hit.  Our hearts and prayers go out to those who were affected by the tornadoes, especially in North Carolina where over 60 tornadoes were documented.

Rainbow after the storms Saturday the 16th

This is my week of Spring Break and although it is a break from my usual work, it has been filled with other tasks that have tested all those muscles I never use.  We were finally able to move our two storage sheds from the parsonage to our new location (about 1.5 miles down the road) with the help of our neighbor and his workers.  One shed is 8 X 12 and the other is 12 X 12.  Quite a job over the last two days!  As a result, I have not really had much time this week to sit down at the wheel, but spent a good deal of time preparing for the Halifax Arts Council "Sip and See" program on Monday the 25th.  Danny Hinnant and I are the featured artists for this month and today we set up our pots at Ernies on King Street in Halifax, North Carolina.  The program is from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Monday evening for anyone in the area.  Check out http://www.halifaxarts.org/sipseefeaturedartist.html for more information.  The pictures are from setting up this afternoon.

Starting point - "empty" store

The plate at the top is Danny's

Center Shelves

Have to display some Face Jugs

Some smaller pieces

Some smaller face jugs - the one of the right is less than 2 inches tall.

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday.

Buckling Down

It has been a rainy day in eastern North Carolina - a good time to search out information about summer festivals and plan for shows.  Right now, I am considering a couple of big shows and already have a couple smaller things in the works.  But, this means that I have to have a pretty healthy inventory of pots, so I have been trying to buckle down and be more intentional about working throughout the week.  The picture at the top of this post is from the last two firings.  Not bad considering I have been fighting a cold and congestion for the last two weeks (I really need to get some decent heat in the shop)!  When it is freezing or below outside, my shop stays at 60 degrees or below - and the hot water I bring out cools down within about 45 minutes.

I was going to call this post "Super Bowl" because I finally got back the bowl I made at New Year's with the date 2011 in large numerals.  This the second piece in a two year tradition!  You can see it in the middle of all the pots.  I had never centered 15 pounds of clay before, but did for this bowl.

Face Jugs and Salsa Bowls

French Butter Dishes

To get ready for these shows, I have composed a list of pottery I feel I need to have on the shelves and have been working through the list.  The face jugs are an obvious item, as well as bowls and vases.  I have started on some French butter dishes and a series of jars in a variety of shapes for scented oil and diffusers.  Another item I have been working on is a small bowl for salsa or sauces.  It seems like there are more and more people who like to use side dishes because they do not like their foods mixing together.  I started with a set of four bowls for the house and at first Susan wanted to know what they were for.  Now, she uses them all the time for quick ice cream snacks, peanuts, or other small snacks.  So, I am making more.

Jars for oil and diffusers

Small Carved Bowl

Next post, I will have information about the "Sip and See" that Danny Hinnant and I are doing for the Halifax County Arts Council in April.  I was also interviewed and photographed by the North Carolina Folklife Institute for an online article on traditional crafts in Halifax and Warren counties.  I may have some information on that by the next post as well.

Jug Pitchers

Quick Update

It is late and I had a long day - parent conferences for the next two days at school.  But I wanted to post a quick update on the Finch Pottery Open House.  It couldn't have been a more perfect day!  Great weather.  Great crowd. Good sales.  As usual, I should have had more face jugs.  I only had about eight and they all sold.  In fact, I had three different people lined up to buy the last one!  Every year I vow to bring in a whole three tier shelf of face jugs, but always get sidetracked trying to do something new.  Next year . . . .

This year I shared a space with Danny, who I had taught with in Roanoke Rapids.  It was a good mix of wares.  He does almost exclusively hand-built pottery and mine is almost all thrown, so we had a little bit of everything.  Danny already has us lined up to do a "Sip and See" for the arts council in Roanoke Rapids early next year.

It is hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving.  I have poured the slab for the kiln and hope to move it within the week.  The nights have cooled down enough that I have had a small oil-filled radiator on in the shop at night to keep the temperature bearable.  Time to focus on some Christmas gifts and special projects - and to determine what my New Year's pot will be this year.


Hope all have a wonderful Thanksgiving - I know that I am looking forward to all the turkey and fixin's!

Firing Update - Jugs and Bowls

Just a quick post to display some of the ware I picked up last Thursday. I was very pleased with the results of some of the glazing. I sprayed most of the pieces because of time and have to admit that the sprayed pieces did much better with some of the more "finicky" glazes. The bowl with the turquoise outside and iron yellow inside is one of my favorites. I like how the green fades to the bottom of the bowl. I am also pleased with the results of the star blue glaze on the inside of another carved bowl.














The army of "jug-heads" is growing. I have really worked at increasing my inventory of face jugs so that I will have plenty for the upcoming shows. Also, Riverside Mill has shown more interest in these pieces and feel that they can sell all I bring to them. So, my challenge now is to try to make all the faces look a little different!



I have also tried to add some smaller pieces each week to add a wider range of function and price to my inventory. Bud vases always seem popular, especially in the spring when flowers begin blooming in earnest.

I found an article on making juicers and thought I would try making a few. I have been very pleased with the results - I really like how the turquoise juicer turned out. There is something about the depth of this green glaze that just really appeals to me. Another example of this glaze is on the simple cylinder vase I made at the request of a friend. She likes how the band of iron oxide stained clay compliments/is complimented by the deep green color of the turquoise.













This Thursday, if the glaze kiln was fired, I should be able to pick up about seven more face jugs and hope to get a chance to glaze a cake pedestal, along with (you guessed it) more face jugs. I am taking in a couple more jugs, a couple bowls, and a half dozen tea bowls.

As the weather begins to warm up, and now that we have more daylight on the evening-side of the day, I hope to be able to get things set up at the new house. I am really looking forward to setting up the kiln and trying some cone 6 glazing.
More later.

"Voltron" - one of the original "straycats" from Virginia.

Ring Around the Moon

The latest forecast for this part of North Carolina is calling for winter weather - a lot of winter weather this weekend. I have heard predictions from 3 to 4 inches of snow and ice to 12 inches of snow by Sunday! When I got home from the studio tonight, I got out my camera to take a picture of the ring around the moon while I was out walking the dogs. I have always heard that if snow if coming there would be a visible ring around the moon and it was easy to see tonight with the close to full moon. It is hard to believe with the current temperature being around 55 degrees!

The pictures in this post show some of the latest work I have been able to bring home. I have been experimenting with a new glaze to the shop called Iron Yellow. It is a very light yellow - almost white - but very stable and opaque. I have tried overspraying with turquoise glaze and with ash, but it seems to absorb these without any affect. Still, it is a nice looking glaze and one I will probably be using more of in the future.



I also experimented with the cave art design on a piece made with Loafer's Glory. Because this porcelain like glaze takes glazes differently, it was easier to be more defined in the design.

And, of course, I have started to build up my inventory of face jugs. It really does amaze me how these whimsical pieces are so popular and how they will sell so quickly at shows. But they are sort of fun to make and I am getting them down to a system where they do not take a lot of time to make. I need to find a new slant on face jugs to make them even more unique.

Time to make sure everything is ready for the BIG SNOW!

Chance to Catch My Breath!

WARNING: I AM STARTING OUT ON A "SOAPBOX".

First, what is wrong with all these people who are upset with the idea of Obama speaking to school children??? As a teacher, I think everyone should be encouraging kids to stay in school and to earn a diploma. And, for the President of United States to make a special point of addressing students seems to me to be the type of role model we have needed in Washington for a long time. Even though I grew up in the Washington, DC area, I can honestly say that I have no interest in politics or "party platforms". I am more interested in leaders who act in appropriate ways and demonstrate true leadership qualities. For people to threaten keeping their children at home on Tuesday so they won't have to listen to a leader who is trying to promote education because they are afraid it is a ploy to "indoctrinate" young minds just shows me how absurd the whole political party system has become. People need to think less about party politics and more about what is going to promote the common good of this country.

(Excuse me while I get down off the soapbox.)

Second, as far as education goes, let me say that I am thoroughly enjoying where I am teaching this year. Although it is a public charter school, it really has a private school feel and takes me back to my prior experiences in Virginia. But, like all job changes, there is a learning curve in trying to determine how things are done, so I have had little time to devote to pottery the last three weeks! I am looking forward to this long weekend to get back in the groove.

The first thing I need to do is to get some pots wrapped and ready to ship in the mail - sorry, Dora, Christie, and Patterson. Your pots are ready and will be on route early next week. I have got a couple of special orders that I need to get done, so that will be the next thing on the list. I have been getting more interest in my work lately - partially from past sales and partially from the different places where my work is being shown.

One of the latest orders was for a large face jug - at least larger than I am used to making. Face jugs started out as a special piece for Justin, my middle son, when he was living in Japan. He would draw these demonic looking figures, so I thought I would turn one of his drawings into a jug, but it needed to be small for sending overseas. After that, face jugs became an after-thought for me - a way to use up scraps at the end of a throwing session. When I took my collection of face jugs to a show, they were the first things to sell ("Oh, I need to buy that. It looks just like my uncle Frank!"). So now, I am pretty intentional about making a few jugs each week to have for shows. This latest order is for a face jug smoking a cigar, so I did spend some time last week creating what was beginning to look like Groucho Marx, but I think will do the job. It will be bisque-fired this week and hopefully glazed and finished by the end of the month.

The other orders have been primarily for bowls - lots of bowls - and chip and dip platters. I have purchased a larger bat so I can try and throw even larger platters (for bigger appetites). I want to try some majolica style glazing and think the platters would be a good "canvas" to work on. More on that later. As for now, I have plenty to do with the little bit of extra time I have this weekend.