Slips and Stencils

I've been glazing this week and finally got pictures of some of the pieces.  The new work with slips and stencils are shown here.  I am mostly happy even though I was guessing at what color the slips would be.  So sometimes they were quite different from what I was imagining.   I have now made test tiles so that in the future the colors should be right.  You can see more new pieces on my Facebook page.

Next Saturday I will be at the CCM Pottery Festival in Charlotte.  These pieces and many more will be on display.

Today I sent out my Spring Newsletter.  You can see it HERE.  If you would like to receive mail from me just follow the subscribe button.

Tonight I am going to the ASC Fundraiser at Ciel Gallery.  You can see my piece HERE. and make your bid or check out all categories to see the other pieces in the Auction.

In June I will be teaching two more classes at Ciel.  You can see the details for Hanging Wall Vases  or Pitchers .

New Kiln - New Orders - New Work

Last fall I got a new/used kiln.  It is a Bailey 10cu ft.  I was so busy in the fall then too lazy in the early winter that it took until about a month ago to get it hooked up to electricity.

My biggest issue was electricians.  The first guy that came out never got back to me, so then about 3 weeks of waiting I called another guy.  His quote was higher than I wanted to pay.  So I called another guy for a quote.  He was even higher.  So I called the second guy and we decided that I would move my kiln closer to the fuse box to lower the price.  The price was good so I decided to go that route.  Well then I had to move my refrigerator to another wall.  This set off a bunch of rearranging in my studio and it's still not perfect because an old desk that I didn't need needs to go, but my son wants it for his apartment when he goes off to college this fall, so it's still in my way but I can see the light.

I number of things going on in the studio this week.  I received a new wholesale order for The Mind Gift Shop in Portland Maine.  Then I got a call from Our State Magazine.  They want to place two of my custom items in there online shop and catalog.  Today I made two butter dishes and two appetizer trays for a sample.  Once they give the OK I will make a large quantity ready for the August issue.

In a few weeks is the CCM Pottery Festival so I have been busy making pieces for the sale.  The bisque load shown in my new kiln is filled with new work and old favorites.  Next week I will glaze at least two loads for the show.  In these loads will include my first pieces done with the colored slips and I am excited to see them finished.

Oh and also my son helped me put out 5 yards of mulch in our flower beds around our house.  It took two afternoons. whew.

Pottery class update and new work

Today I unloaded the kiln and here are a few of my students pieces.  I can't wait for them to see how they turned out.

These 5 classes were my first time teaching and wow: so many lessons learned.  First add time because we never finished in the two hours allotted.  Three and a half was the average time.  Also, boy was I exhausted at the end of each class.

I will probably teach more classes in June or July using the slip technique mentioned below.

Other items in the kiln were the rest of the teapots I am considering for the Teapot exhibition in Florida next month.  The photo to the right are the teapots I have ready.  I put them on Facebook for voting this morning and the votes are all over the place and there is no clear winner so I am letting the head of the show decide.    The rest of the teapots will either go to Ciel gallery next month or to the CCM Pottery Festival on May 9th.

After going to the Susan Feagin workshop a few months ago I have been wanting to apply the techniques to my work.  I finally purchased a few Mason Stains and mixed up my slips.  (more on order)  I also went to Michaels and got a few more stencils.  My test piece came out of the kiln today and it gave me some pointers, like putting two coats of slip so that there are not paint brush marks.  Yesterday I made the pieces on the left and today I made three more pieces.  I hope they turn out because I am not testing.

A month or ago I made this vase and did not calculate the size, so it was too big for my kiln.  Another potter offered to fire it for me.  It's been bisqued and sometime this next week (when it's not raining) I need to go back to glaze it.  I really need to decide what colors I should do it.

At the end of this month there is a fundraiser and preview at Ciel Gallery that I need to pick a silent auction piece (might be one of the teapots)  If you would like to attend on April 30th let me know and I will send you the info.  RSVP by April 15th.   Next months show is Skewing the Masters.  More on that later.

Against my better judgement I have applied for a few shows this year.  I will update my calender as I am notified.