Preparing to Glaze

Yesterday I finished up throwing the plates for Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen order and today I trimmed.  The original order was 150 plates but it ended up being for 155 plates (80 round plates and 75 rectangular plates)  Today it is very windy so I decided to put kiln wash on my kiln shelves.  I have already put 2 layers on and will probably do another layer on the two newest shelves.  Later I will mix up the glazes I am going to use.  Tomorrow I may glaze but the forecast calls for lingering wind and I will be spraying outside so that may not happen.  It looks like the next week or so will have mostly nice weather so I am hopeful that I will make a dent in glazing.  I am estimating 13 glaze loads, hopefully less and I have a month to finish.  Within those loads I hope to test some more glazes for my new line.  I am hopeful that I can have something to show at the Claymatters Festival in May.

Over the next few days I will be listing new items on my online shop.  I am starting to stock up on items for Mothers Day.

Dinnerware Order

This past weekend I went to the Clay Matters Winter Workshop.  The presenter was Ellen Shankin.  She was a very interesting woman, telling great stories.  Her love of clay was very obvious.  The photo shows Ellen and I with the pitcher I purchased.  In a few days I will post photos on the Clay Matters website of the workshop.

This week I started an order for 150 plates, 75 round and 75 rectangular for a restaurant in Memphis.

The deadline is the beginning of April and I knew that I would be working fast and firing often with my 7 cu. ft. kiln but I didn't think about the space issue.  There are plates everywhere and I am only two days into a week of throwing.

Because I haven't been throwing lately my body wasn't ready for long days. My hands are like sandpaper, my shoulders and back are aching and I do not have time for other things.  Once all the throwing is done I will have more time for other things.

Finally got my new glaze scale

Over the past five years I have been using commercial glazes.  This happened because the classes I took at a local studio did not teach us how to formulate glazes and when I decided to make pottery full time I was still learning other aspects of the business that I guess I was afraid to mess things up.  There was also a space issue since I only had a one car garage space and didn't feel that there was room for a shelving unit dedicated to glaze materials.  Well since then the space has doubled (and sometimes tripled when I am super busy, which means all four cars are outside)

Anyway, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and give it a try.  First I attended a basic glaze class given by Sylvia Coppola.  Next I ordered the scale and chemicals.  They came in this week so I purchased a small book case from Walmart ($15)  The scale goes on top and the chemicals down below.  The photo shows the test buckets and test tiles but they won't stay there.  My large glaze buckets go under my glazing table in the middle of the space, so once I have settled on 5 or 6 favorites there shouldn't be small containers laying all over the place.  Below are the first five colors I tried.  The white one was Red Iron Oxide which should be brown, but guess I didn't use enough.  I am not keen on the dark green in the middle but the other colors have possibilities.  Over the next month or so I will test some more colors.  I am exited about glazing the pieces I have been making lately but will have to do more testing on smaller pieces before I am ready to trust my formulas.

Meanwhile there was a full load of pots with the commercial glazes so once my good cameras battery charges there will be new pots added to the Etsy store.  If you want one of my current pieces, now is the time to get it, because in a few months they will be fazed out and I am not sure what direction I will be going in the future.

Twitter and yarn bowls

Today I decided to join twitter.  According to my son, Twitter just got good.  Whatever that means?  Anyway you can find me at www.twitter.com/newdaypottery

Last week I made these yarn bowls and today I glazed them. They are made with the Speckled Brownstone clay.  I am thinking of changing back to this clay.  In a few days I hope to do some test tiles for some new glazes and it will all be fired later in the week.

Lately the weather has been cold on and off, so I have not been working as much.  Even though I have a space heater, when it's below 50 degrees the space heater just doesn't quite do it.

I have not signed up for any shows yet this year since I am planning a huge change in my work. More hand building and new glazes with an emphasis on high-end pieces.  This is a scary prospect since most customers seem to want functional and affordable.  I found that I was getting very bored with doing hundreds of the same item and my creative soul was dying.  Once I have a new body of work I will start applying for some shows, but most of the good shows have already hit the deadline for this year.

Claymatters Holiday Party

Saturday I went to the Carolina Clay Matters Guild holiday party.  I had a great time catching up with everyone. They always have a gift exchange and I went away with this beautiful vase made by Linda Dalton. Then later I won this Dolan tool during the raffle.  If you are interested in the guild, check out the website. HERE.

Yesterday I threw yarn bowls using Speckled Brownstone clay.  Today I will make the cutouts.  This week I need to make gift items for Valentines Day.  I also need to get some supplies since I plan on testing some new glazes next week.

Fun Pitchers

Today I assembled two pitchers that were started yesterday.  I like the one on the left the best.  I also finished trimming the cracker trays I threw a few days ago.  With the rainy days it's been taking longer to finish items.

Next week I need to take some items to a few galleries in town.  Inventories are low due to the holidays and I haven't been out since November.

Pedestal Bowl

Today I finished this pedestal bowl.  I rolled out the slab a few days ago and finally got around to throwing the pedestal part of the piece.  I went out yesterday to throw it plus the cracker trays and found that the clay was way too cold to work with, so I brought it into the house to warm up.  There are a few tweaks with the design but I am pretty happy with this piece.

Another piece looked great but broke when I went to take a photo.  I have decided that I need to roll the slabs a little thicker.

Slab roller has arrived

This week I finally received my Christmas gift.  A table top slab roller.  Yippee.  Yesterday I rolled out and stamped some slabs to make a few items.  One item completely got messed up but the rest looked alright.  The vase was the hardest because it wanted to flop and I hope the seams are going to stay.  The teapot was time consuming but not too bad.  The handle and spouts were the trouble spots.

I have all kinds of ideas that I want to try so the next few weeks will be experimental.  Check back for progress.

Be sure to check out my Facebook page and "like" it if you want to be updated on what's happening.  I try to have different content on the blog and Facebook page.

Berry Bowls

Back in the studio and throwing for the first time in a month.  After my week at the Folk School I decided to take some time off to re energize.  I was also waiting for my new slab roller, which hasn't arrived yet, to get going on some exciting new items.

Alas, I needed to get back in the studio to make some of my better sellers. This year I have decided that I need to focus more on my surface designs, so today I messed around with my berry bowls and tried out some new ideas around the rims.  Tomorrow I need to make some cracker trays, since I am all out and a customer wants one of the full round trays.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and have a happy new year.