Thinking About Handles

The new year is always a good time to take a look at what you do.   See what you like, what you don't like and make some changes.  Right now I'm thinking about handles.  I like them to be lively and fresh and interesting but then again,  I need them to be comfortable.  Always a bit of a compromise.  Some handles allow the cup to sit perfectly balanced in your hand, full or empty, while others make the cup slip to the side so you have to really concentrate (or use 2 hands) to keep it upright.  The handle also needs to fit with the character of the pot.  Small, fussy, ornate handles don't  work with my more robust forms just as chunky, pulled handles would look jarringly out of place on a delicate, porcelain teacup.   Early on my handles tended to be a bit big, springing out much farther than needed.  Now I try to keep a shallower profile.  Mugs get 1-2 finger handles, beer mugs 3-4 and jugs just enough room for a good hand grip.  And not too thin and not too thick.

Here are a few recent handles, looking not that different from the back but quite different from the side.

Two mugs on the right have handles pulled from the bottom.

regular mug handle a bit too thin at the bottom

Rounder cup handle

Regular handle but thicker

handle pulled from the bottom.

Mugs from my cupboard - Ron Vallis, Linda Christianson, Sandy Lockwood, Cathi Jefferson,  Paul Dressang.  All require a different grip.  The one on the top right - Sandy Lockwood - though looking thin is perfectly balanced and very comfortable to hold.

More mugs - Michael Kline, Willem Geben, Cameron Stewart, Mary Law, Sam  Uhlick - with handles ranging from  fingertip grip to whole hand.

Happy New Year!

Today we removed Christmas, cleaned the house and had a funeral pyre for the Christmas tree.  A little bubbly and snacks, and well, this was so great that dinner came out too.  Hope the first day of 2014 was as good for you!

Winter

It's time for a rest.  No more firings until spring.  There are still pots on the shelves so if you need one just call us or email and we can be open.  

Happy New Year!!

Pots From The Last Firing

Here are a few pots from the last firing.  Blue still not resolved.  

But first I'd like to thank everyone who came to the art show on the weekend and made it such a success.  The local support makes such a difference to those of us quietly working away in our studios all year.  We make the work in solitude but the process is completed when it's seen by you.  

For those of you unable to attend the art show, I will be at the Farmers' Market for the next 4 Saturdays and will also be having a Studio Open House on December 1, 2013 from 10 - 4.

Large vase, no glaze,  from the front of the kiln

Tea Dust oil bottles with salt flash.

Ash Glazed Bean Pot - White Stoneware

Red Shino Batter Bowl - White Stoneware

Red Shino Batter Bowl - Regular Stoneware

Ash Glazed Faceted Baking Dish

Red Shino Bakers with salt & ash streaks

Red Shino Jugs

Red Shino Oil Bottles

Tea Dust Faceted Bowl

Ash Glaze with natural ash.

Temmoku Faceted Bowl

Temmoku Soya Sauce Pourer

Quick Preview

Just a quick peek before the show.  Here are 2 ash glazed bowls, one a stoneware with sand and some iron and one a white stoneware with a fair bit of silica in it.  The white stoneware always gives me a shinier surface - satiny at the back of the kiln and fairly glossy nearer the front.   The background is my greyscale!?  Need to consult with my camera expert to see how to get it to stop looking blue.  I'll post more photos on Monday or Tuesday.

Art Show

Here's the information for the Art Show.  If you are going to be in the Creston area this weekend, please join us!  We'll have coffee, tea, baked goodies and even a door prize.

Last Firing of the Year

We fired the kiln on November 14th.  Had hoped to be organized earlier but as always, down to the wire.  The local art show is this weekend!  Am busily cleaning and pricing and sorting.  Next year I'll be organized, I swear!

This firing was slower by 2 hours, always a worry in case glazes run and pots bloat.  Had cone 12 puddled at the front and 5 or 6 pots with bloats that went directly to the shard pile.  Several more will follow.  The higher temperature and longer firing released more salt from the posts and shelves than usual which, unfortunately, washes out the colour from the shinos, so unloading was not a happy event.  The grates died, too, but thankfully we have a good friend who has provided us with enough replacements for another 20 - 25 firings.  He will be rewarded!  And the porcelain sheath on the pyrometer cracked and fell off during the firing but landed neatly against a post and not on or in any of the pots.  So not a total disaster, enough pots for the show and the remaining farmers' markets.  But next year.......

Near the end of the firing

Broken grates

Their other half