Going Under the Knife

When I decided to make some more functional work last week, I zeroed in on bowls and bottles. The bowls have proven a bit problematic. I've lost 4 to cracking so far, even though the dehumidifier is off and I've kept them covered.

The bottles are small, but a decent start. I like making little wine carafes. I tried cutting the tops of some at an angle and quickly decided that I hated them.

Rather than try to salvage them, I decided to just experiment, using some texture and paddling some, and yes, a little cutting. Most of my attempts fall short of anything worthwhile, however, some of the more daring cuts resulted in something exciting. So I threw another set of bottles/cylinders, this time with no bottom. I'm really digging some of these.

Then yesterday, I threw these 3-5 lb cylinders, which is a lot of clay for me. I'll see if I can pull the same idea off a little larger in scale.
You'll have to excuse my awkward segue here to another almost related topic. I ran across an old article entitled "Is Glaze Dead?", and although I haven't had time to reread it, just the title has me rethinking my surfaces. I've said it before. I LOVE glaze. And certain glazes really love my baskets, but will these new vases be engaging enough with glaze alone? How else can I treat the surfaces? Some of them have an interesting enough shape that almost begs for some sort of deliberate decoration, but I've never decorated my pots before.

I guess some trial and error experimenting is in order.

Help in the Studio

Not another pet post. Who wants to read about that? I decided to take a chance and let the kitties into the basement, and since there is no longer a dividing wall, into the studio as well. They pretty much behaved themselves. I can't be certain, but they are suspect in a minor crime. They like hiding under the slab roller on top of a box that contains one of my kid's birthday presents from long ago.

His friend's Mom had never met me. Ben tried "throwing" on the wheel once, but was unimpressed.

Yesterday, my friend and fellow potter Nelle Pingree came up to the Northern Territories to deliver some work that I'm firing for her. Currently, I've got cone 5 tipping and should be done by supper time.

Nelle brought a nice Pinot Noir which we enjoyed last night in my tiny cups. Jay prefers a wine glass since the mini cups hold just enough wine to piss you off. They are so adorable though.

What an Honest Critique Can Accomplish

Don Pilcher does have a point. By now, everyone has read one or both posts, and whether or not you've engaged in the controversy or lurked as a bystander, you've got to admit that he is on to something when he writes about the lack of frank, honest discussion about pottery. But are blogs the place to find that?

While Pilcher might not be interested in reading snippets about a certain potter's daily life, I am. I like seeing pictures of your kids and pets, and I like posting about my own. I like that I can rant and rave about the weather, current events and our latest home project turned nightmare. I care if you read, but I am not offended in the slightest if you pass on a post.

Honest discussion of pottery does happen here in the blogosphere but not in any linear, organized way. In recent weeks, Tracey Broome has used her blog as a sounding board for some true soul-searching and the direction her work is taking. While any critique of her work is generally positive, and accolades make us feel good, I'm not sure her point was to seek out approval or support. Maybe it was just to get it out of her head. What difference does it make?

Our Clay Club meets once a month. Last year sometime, we had a critique. Several of us novice potters brought work to be critiqued by the likes of Michael Kline and Linda McFarling, among others. I plopped the basket (pictured above) up on the banding wheel in the center of the room and stepped back. What I received was a true gift: honest, informed critique from potters who know their craft well. There were a few folks who loved the pot as is (and were appalled that anyone could find anything wrong with it), and I was grateful for the compliments. The difference was being able to view the pot on its own merits versus being able to see the potential the pot held. I returned to my studio with an armload of ideas and my work improved dramatically.

I guess what I'm tring to say is that if Potsapalooza were meant to be a manifesto on my current ceramic work, I probably would have far fewer readers. And I would have named it something more serious.

New blog to follow

A frequent commentator to Clay Club among other blogs has a new blog on Cone 6 Oxidation. Check it out!

http://www.oxidationcentral.blogspot.com/

Thanks Diane!

Electric Glaze firing

I've finally got the electric kiln loaded for a cone 6 glaze firing. These are the pots I had intended to fire in the gas kiln, but I had to lower my expectations. I just couldn't get enough pots made. I plan on kicking ass every chance I get from now on. The pot in the kiln is one of my garden pots. I use Val Cushing cone 6 VC 72 base. I can't recall how much copper is in my green. Then I sponge the same base glaze blue over the green and a rutile-red iron brown last. The resulting glaze looks almost like marble with a bit of iridescence. This has been the most exciting surface I've gotten out of my electric kiln. I'm eager to see what will happen in reduction.