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Fall Planning
It’s been a very slow summer in regards to making pottery. I had hoped to produce more, but happily traded productivity for pool time with my kids. Monday they will both be back full time, and I will then have some hours in the day to do something with, I figure about 30 hours a week. Here’s my estimated breakdown, which coincidentally does not add up to 30 hours: (8-10 hrs) My fall graduate course “Introduction to Land and Water…
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Handbuilt Gardenware – Leaf Imprints in Clay
Over the past year or two, I’ve been using vintage lace doilies to make handbuilt pieces. Before this, I used some garden herbs to make spoon rests, but had not used them in a few years and had never used them with an underglaze on white clay. With the garden booming, I’ve tried different foliage to see what turns out well. Some leaves like pumpkin and okra are huge, which is why I need a slab roller or at least…
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Progression of a Mug
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Why Did My Bowls Bust?
Today I opened the kiln after a bisque firing and saw an exploded 12″ bowl. It was a gorgeous piece, and it was disappointing to see it shattered on the top shelf. As I unloaded the rest of the kiln, I found the other large bowl and 17″ plate also shattered. A few years ago I might have cried at such an infortuitous firing, but I just inspected each piece to try and understand what caused each one’s failure. The…
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Throwing Big
Last week I drove to Durham and returned with supplies and 150 pounds of clay in three different shades. I have torn through two bags of Little Loafers and have been making large 12″ and up bowls. I’ve scrapped some of the work and have been reusing the clay for plates. I don’t have the best plate skills. It seems that maybe 30% of the ones I throw make it through the whole process. My biggest struggle is getting the…
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Out of clay!
Oh no! I’m out of clay. I used up my bag at Pullen, and the last of my bag at home. While cleaning out the garage this weekend, I found several bags of moldy and rock hard clay. It’s a sign of having taken some time off. I need to drive out to Durham for more clay, but I’m not about to make that drive in rush hour traffic. Besides, with as low as the temperature will be dropping tomorrow,…
