I was finally able to get back out to the studio today. I am waiting for knee surgery to be done in a few weeks. In the meantime I have learned that being in pain greatly diminishes my creativity. I can force myself to make pots, but creativity cannot be forced. Two artist friends have recently shared that they have been experiencing the same thing. One of the ironies of getting older is that we tend to have more time, but aging bodies are not always able to keep up. I am looking forward to being able to resume physical exercise like walking and yoga, things that allow me to enjoy long hours in the studio.

Yesterday I attended the annual Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival. Daniel Johnston http://danieljohnstonpottery.com showed a video about his Large Jar Project and demonstrated skills he learned in Thailand. I was not planning to buy anything at the show, but I fell in love with Charlie Tefft's work and brought home one of his pieces, a lovely platter with two Carolina Wrens, my favorite bird. http://ctpottery.com/. One reason I went to Catawba was to pick up some inspiration for my own work. Having a studio at home can be isolating, so I have to make time to stay in touch with other potters and their work. I am grateful to live in a community with so many extraordinary artists.

Today I started a fountain inspired by one I recently saw. Making a fountain which works correctly is a feat of engineering. I want this one to make enough noise that I can hear it in several rooms, but not splash enough to make a mess. The design I am working on requires at least five pots which are then assembled into the finished product. Halfway through today's work, I wondered why I did not just buy a ready-made fountain and spend my studio time making something else. Stubbornness, I suppose.

The only drawback in having a tiny studio with lots of windows is lack of storage space. I have pottery tools hanging from the window frames and sitting on the sills. I am considering ways to hang things from the rafters, especially since reaching up high to grab something is a good way to stretch out a body which has spent hours hunched over the wheel.

This week's unseasonably warm weather allowed me to open all the windows, transforming the studio from a closed, cozy space to merely a holder of clay and tools as I seemingly potted in the woods. The birdhouses have been cleaned and are ready for the many possible residents who have been checking out available homes. The gardens think spring is here, and everything is sprouting new leaves and even some flowers. There is something about potting in the midst of nature that feels very right, as if the beauty and enthusiasm of nature feed my creative energy in a way nothing else can. 


This area is full of artists of all kinds, many of whom say nature is their inspiration. We have a beautiful sculpture, "Welcome to the Mountains" created Ed Byers http://www.edbyers.com/. Sitting in our kitchen is a ceramic rooster salt shaker made by Cindy Trisler http://www.mudlusciouspottery.com/ . Cindy and her husband also raise food and are a source of terrific chicken-friendly eggs. We enjoy sharing our home with art which reflects the beauty of this area. Those creations are even more special when we know the artists.

Help the economy. Buy something created by a local artist. You really will be glad you did!

I had meant to post at least twice a week. A severely sprained knee kept me out of the studio until yesterday when I was able to play in clay for a couple hours.

Some lidded jars are drying and almost ready for the kiln.

I added terra sig to another piece to see how it would work on something so highly-textured.

As for today, it is pouring rain, but the Downton Abbey marathon is on PBS, and a big pot of soup is simmering on the stove.

Terra Sigillata

I love the way terra sigillata looks, rich and buttery, almost like leather. I recently made my first batch of terra sig. This platter just came out of the kiln. It is 14" in diameter, Newman's Red terra sig over Brownstone clay, cone 6 oxidation, NFS.

Luminary, 4", cone 6 oxidation, multiple firings, 2011.

These photos and the one below were taken by Joy Tanner in a photography workshop taught by Joy Tanner and John Britt. It was an excellent workshop. Creating a photography setup of my own is on my agenda. Thankfully, my husband Larry is a photographer and has all the expensive equipment.

Vase, 7.5 ", salt & soda, cone 10, 2011.

Glaze Drama

Swept Up Off the Studio Floor Glaze

This past summer I took John Britt’s week-long glaze class, aka Glaze Chemistry Boot Camp for Masochists. It was fun and inspiring, leaving us determined to create our own glazes. Upon returning to my studio, I decided to make some of the semi-matte glazes found in Hesselberth and Roy’s Mastering Cone 6 Glazes. The three glazes have the same base glaze and different colorants.

Lesson 1 - If something seems like a dumb idea, check it out before doing it.
John had said that, when mixing dry glaze, to lay it all out on a sheet of paper. John of course meant to write out the recipe, but my brain had imploded from all the discussion of chemistry, so I translated his remark to mean laying the dry chemicals on a sheet of paper. It seemed like an asinine idea to me, but I was determined to follow directions and lay out each 5000-gram batch on a sheet of newsprint.

My intuition told me the paper would tear on the way from the counter to the bucket, and it did. The entire 5000 grams of dry chemicals ended up on the floor of my studio. Thankfully, I had not yet added the colorants, so the mess was not as toxic as it could have been. Keeping on my respirator and gloves, I swept up the mess into a glaze bucket. I figured I had nothing to lose by going ahead and mixing it up as a glaze, so I did.

Lesson 2 – Pay attention to the details.
The recipe for Field Mouse Brown called for manganese dioxide as a colorant. I did not realize it came in two different size grits, and I purchased the 80/100. Maybe 5% of it made it through my 80-mesh sieve. After consulting with several more-experienced potters, I decided to add 200-grit in the amount called for.

Lesson 3 – Do not try to test new glazes in a brand new kiln, and don’t make assumptions.
My test tiles looked fine, so I decided to try the glazes on actual pots. In addition to bisque ware I had been hoarding, I had a set of very small, thin bowls. The one in the photo is about 3 inches across at the rim. The cone 5 test cone which had come with my new kiln had come out perfectly in a previous firing, so I assumed the kiln was firing correctly. In reality, it was not even close. The small bowls came out fine, but the larger pieces fired way too hot, and the glaze ran a lot. Thankfully, I had listened to my intuition this time and used extra bisque ware to catch drips.

The new kiln is a whole other story, but it took numerous firings to correctly calibrate the thermocouples. They are now set to 45 degrees more than the factory-set 18 degrees. The cone 6 firing was actually 7+. I like the glaze on this bowl, but only thin, small pieces can be fired with this glaze at 7+. The bowl has some nice striations running vertically, I think from the larger grit manganese dioxide. To get any of these three glazes to look as they do in Hessberth and Roy’s book, I have fired them to cone 5 with a 2-minute soak. They would probably look better fired to cone 5 ½ or with a longer soak .They all run off pots if fired to cone 6. I have not yet figured out why and am open to suggestions.

Lesson 3 – Keep your sense of humor. It is the only thing standing between you and insanity.