Preview

Here's just a sampling of the pieces that will be in the art show this weekend.  Hope you can join us!

Ash glazed teapot

Ash glazed teapot and mugs

Serving dish with transparent ash glaze over slip

Temmoku oil bottles with salt flashes

Temmoku serving dish

Faceted temmoku bowl

Butter dish with transparent ash glaze over slip

Ash glazed faceted bowls

Ash glazed faceted bowl

Ash glazed pouring bowl

Annual Winter Art Show

It's that time again!  If you are in our area, please join us for a fine display of pots and paintings on November 22 & 23, 2014 at Rotacrest Hall from 9:30 -5:00 on Saturday and 10:00 to 5:00 on Sunday.

Some Pots

Here are some pots from the last firing.  There's a bit of a rush on now to get another firing, quick, before the middle of November.  It always feels a bit pressured this time of year, trying to get as many pots ready as possible for Christmas/Holiday sales and the annual art show at the end of the month.  Just 3 or 4 days left to make stuff, then I have to grind the sad kiln shelves covered in ash glaze runs.  Yuck.

Temmoku butter dish

Teadust Temmoku oil bottle with a big salt flash

Another teadust with salt flash

Refired shino with wild flame marks

Temmoku colander

Teadust Temmoku bowl

Kind of Rock-Like

Really, the matte ash glaze does look quite rock-like.  Sort of.

Best Ever Post-Firing Rest

We fired the kiln on the 13th after a most excellent Thanksgiving dinner with family and friend on Saturday.  The firing went very smoothly until the last few hours when it stalled a bit and took an extra hour or so to reach temperature at the back - which meant that the heat work was really cooking the front.  So with some anxiety about bloating and glaze runs, we just left the kiln and went camping for three days.  What a good idea!  We had a wonderful time walking and reading and fishing and playing Scrabble.  Didn't think about the kiln once.  It was so beautiful and soooo relaxing.

Then we came home.

Cone 12 was puddled at the front and almost all the pots at the front were bloated.  The big guy and the soap dishes survived.  Some of the losses were my fault.  The clever guard bricks at the right got knocked into the pot behind which tipped onto the pot beside it.  Ah, well, you learn.  In spite of losses at the front, the back made up for it with some gorgeous temmokus and ash glazes.  Photos to follow.

All loaded 

 The rocks are from our camping trip.  The colours and surfaces are so beautiful.  I'd love to make glazes that look like that.

Even the garbage was beautiful.

2nd stack from the front with some bloating and a few runny glazes

Large temmoku vase

Ash glazed teapot

Shino butter dish

End of The Season

We had the last outdoor Farmers' Market yesterday.  Beautiful weather, so much gorgeous, fresh produce.  Starting next week we'll be indoors at Morris Nursery on Erickson Rd until Dec. 20th.

Fingers to the Bone

The blog's been idling for awhile but I've been bustling.  Between harvesting the abundance that is our garden this year, having visitors, and dealing with some minor renovations there just hasn't been time and not much on the pottery front to report.  But now it's full on clay with a firing in the next few weeks if I could just stop throwing.  Everyday I think "that's it, no more" and then there's the thing I've forgotten that's been promised for the next firing and I'm off again.  But Sunday is really the very last day to throw before the shelf grinding starts.

Trying oval bakers again.  Hopefully these won't crack.

Never seem to have enough oil bottles.

My favourite mug size with the single finger handle.

Really big jugs.

They say you should always have a detail shot.

More butter dishes.