A Rainy Day

I’m not quite sure what it’s doing in other parts of the country, but if you live in Massachusetts, you know first hand that we’ve only had about 4 sunny days the entire month of June. Negatives: The kids are getting restless, the air is damp and musty, the bed sheets feel clammy, the flowers in the garden are drooping, my boots are continuously soppy, and the clay in my studio takes twice as long to dry. Today I was grateful to be able to squeeze in a walk with my dog in between bouts of the wet stuff. Getting outdoors was all that it took to completely change my mood. If it’s not the rain we complain about, it’s not enough of it, or the heat or the cold, etc. etc. It’s best to be happy with what we have in the moment. At least now I know a little about what it would be like to live in a rain forest. I have to admit too, that the fog that comes with this weather is absolutely eerily beautiful.

The Beauty of Fine Craft

Not that these bowls live up to it, but I do think about the aspects of what’s considered a fine craft whenever I’m at work in the clay studio – and which is described so beautifully by the following quote:

Fine craft is a matter of equilibrium. To produce an object that is pleasurable and practical, all forces must strike a balance. A form that expresses its function, a beauty that is conveyed through use, a process that understands the nature of materials: these are the traditional standards of fine craft. In day-to-day living, well crafted objects lend grace to simple actions. To sip coffee or tea from a cup that is good to hold, to choose fruit from a bowl that is a delight to see, to arrange flowers in a vase that inspires but does not intrude, appeals to the eye as well as the soul. Well crafted objects serve and please. But, more than that, they encourage us to hold the moment, elevating daily rituals to sensory experiences. – Charles Jahn

New Work

Wheel-thrown aqua and white glazed bowls with cut rims, made out of porcelain and fired to Cone 6 in my electric kiln. They remind me of summer at the beach, the rolling white-capped waves and a clear blue ocean – dreamy!

My New Booth

I’ve just begun my third season on the craft fair circuit and every year I try to  make some improvements to my booth set-up. I do well enough with the makings of pots and glazes, but when it comes to arranging my work – well, let’s just say that pottery display isn’t my strong suit. I’d be embarrassed to show a photo of what I put together my first year – I used drab beige tablecloths to begin with, and arranged the tables and shelves in a way that only 1 person could fit within the confines of my tent. Last year was a little better – I switched to black tablecloths and rearranged so that I could accommodate more people and easier browsing, but the shelving I used (I found them at a yard sale) were tall and rickety and swayed with the slightest brush of the wind. I’m very lucky I avoided any disasters – I had a fellow colleague lose a whole wall of pottery that way and believe me, it’s the worst sight and sound to a potter’s eyes and ears you could imagine.

So, this year I did some internet research and found a display company that I liked well enough and bit the bullet and ordered two new shelving units and a display/check out counter. When it arrived last week, I set up everything in my basement to make sure I knew how it went together and that it would fit within a 10′x10′ space, then had a talented friend who owns a local art gallery come by and arrange my pottery in a way that looked a whole lot better than anything I had ever done. I also designed an outdoor banner that Staples printed for me which added a touch of professionalism that was truly lacking before. Yesterday was the first day I used the new configuration and looking around at the other booths, I felt for the first time that I had one of the nicest set-ups of the bunch. I had a great selling day too – it did help that it was the day before Mother’s Day and there were a lot of eager buyers looking for those last minute gifts. Now I’m not quite as intimidated to approach what will be my busiest craft fair season yet. All I have to worry about is creating enough work to last me through all of the shows I’ve signed up for between now and xmas – geez, what was I thinking?

Spring Vases

Here’s a sampling of some of the vases I’ve been making for the shows I’ve lined up for this Spring. The three on the right were extruded, using a small square hollow die. I then either impressed them with a texture, or slip-trailed the design. The vase on the left was wheel-thrown and carved. I’m enjoying the idea that these vases may be in someone’s home holding fresh flowers from the garden someday. Visualizing their use makes the process of creating them even that much more fun. Springtime is such a glorious time.

Spring Artisan’s Day

If you’re in the neighborhood, come visit me at the Spring Artisan’s Day at Weston Nurseries. I haven’t done this show before, but I like the woman who is running it and by the looks of the advertisement she sent out, it appears well run with nice vendors. It will be my first outdoor show of the year, so hopefully we’ll get a sunny day – finally!

Custom Mug

This is a porcelain mug I made especially for my 14-year-old daughter. Mint green and pink are two of her favorite colors, and the carved out feet, polka dots and swirls add a whimsy and playfulness that I still see in her, even though in many ways, she’s not a kid anymore. Children grow up so fast these days, but hopefully my daughter will enjoy this cup for years to come – that is, if she doesn’t break it in the meanwhile.

Basement Tour

Here’s something other than pottery for a change – a tour of my basement. As a potter, I probably spend 1/2 my time in the basement. I throw and hand-build upstairs in my studio, and make glazes, glaze the pots, and fire down below. At this point in time, I’m getting a little anxious for Spring. It can get quite chilly in the basement during the winter months and it’s hard to work when my fingers and toes are so cold. I’ve learned to schedule around the kiln firing though, which certainly warms things up considerably. Too bad I can’t figure out a way to steal some of that heat for the rest of the house – we’d save a lot on our heating bill.

This is the area where I store my glaze chemicals, all labeled and safely tucked away in plastic containers. Glaze chemicals are quite toxic if not handled properly and a heavy duty respirator is required when working with them. I also store my clay and some of my inventory here. The third shelf over towards the right was given to me by a good friend who somehow always knows when and where to get stuff that is being given away free. This particular find came from a college library in Boston. It’s perfect for storing pottery because it’s narrow in depth and I can add and move the shelves up and down easily. Plus it is made of metal and quite sturdy. As you can see though, I’m running out of room. That’s why those 3 bowls are on the floor – there’s nowhere else to put them! Thank goodness the craft fair season is almost here. It’s definitely time to sell some pottery and make space for more.

This photo was taken outside the entrance to the “kiln room”. The kiln room is completely encased in plastic sheeting, including the ceiling. Before I put up the plastic, I could smell the fumes when the kiln was firing clear up on the 3rd floor of the house – not a good thing. With the advice of an engineering friend, I surrounded the area with plastic and put in a second ventilation system (a fan that blows air out another window) in addition to the one that is hooked up to the kiln. Now I can stand right outside the plastic room when the kiln is going and not smell a thing – a good solution without having to build walls, and much less costly too.

This photo was taken inside the kiln room. My kiln is actually quite small. Someday I’d like to get a bigger one, but for now this one will have to do. Luckily it works like a champ. Being small just means it has to be fired more often. All of the 5 gallon buckets you see are filled with glazes. I have more than 40 buckets stored in this room – way too many glazes for one person. Eventually I’d like to whittle them down to 12 or so of my favorites – a much more manageable collection. On the back wall is a board where I hang up my glaze test tiles – the ones that are worth keeping anyway – and on the table is a load of bisque ware ready for glazing. Which reminds me, I better get to work soon. My basement isn’t the loveliest place in the world, but it fills the bill for what I need to do. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

New Mugs

I’ve been terribly neglectful of my blog lately. It’s not a bad thing really – it means that I’ve been preoccupied in my studio, working on new ideas and building up inventory in anticipation of a great craft show season that for me, starts in April.

Some of the things I’ve been working on are bowls and platters with cut rims and new mug shapes, including the one on the left above. This particular shape was inspired by a friend who received a mug (the one on the right) made by a student as a thank-you gift for a project she worked on at Mass College of Art. Because she loved it so much, she asked me to recreate one for her husband for Christmas. My version is bigger and fatter at the bottom and the rim is thinner, but the shape is pretty close to what she was looking for. It’s virtually impossible and not exactly desirable to copy someone else’s work, so it felt a little funny using hers as model. I do have to say that I love the thumb-hold idea and plan to use it again on some other mugs I have in mind. And the glaze on my mug looks nothing like my friend’s, one big difference being that mine was electric-fired versus gas-fired and I used a wax-resist technique on the bare clay for the pattern. All in all my friend was quite pleased with the result. I’m now back to the drawing board experimenting with some new shapes and designs along this line that will hopefully appeal to the craft-goers this Spring.

Red Shino Platter

This is one of my favorite pieces that came out of the gas kiln at the Harvard studio this fall. I love this glaze – it’s called “Malcom’s Red Shino” and when mixed with “fire”, it develops fantastic results with just one application and a little wax resist here and there: carbon trapping (the blackish areas), various tones of red and orange, and a luminous sheen around the edges. It makes me long for a gas kiln of my own, something that won’t happen anytime soon though. There’s just no place to put it. I’d have to build an outdoor shed and have either a gas line or a propane tank installed. And if the truth be told, I’m a little afraid of gas. I mean, I cringe every time I turn on the stove. Still, the thought of all the incredible glaze effects that only a gas reduction kiln can produce nags at me every once in a while. Maybe someday the time and place will be right.

In the meantime, I keep plugging away at refining my electric glazes and continue to take classes to keep up with all that is going on in the world of ceramics. This winter I’ve switched studios and am taking a class at “Purple Sage Pottery”, to try someplace new and to be closer to home. My teacher is great and the group is small and intimate – some of the students I already know. Last but not least, I have access to a gas kiln and look forward to experimenting with the studio’s glazes and making some new discoveries.