China cats and Jack

Here I am minding my own business with Mr. Jack-o-lantern ...

I used to be wild, and the Panther name (called Painter in North Carolina by the old folks) is about my true nature.

But the elder queen of calico-hood in this residence (Muffin) has something to say about that...

We quickly change places, and without any claws coming out this time.

What a dull little thing, nothing edible here!

But now we have correct decoration for the holiday at least!

Planning for studio stroll

Nov 16-17. My home/studio will be open for visitors, demonstrations, and I think I signed up to have a door prize drawing too.

What do I do next?

First I'll share this post with MudColony.  Come see what other potters around the globe are up to.

volunteer work

Instead of reading blogs, and posting new blogs, I've been doing the business of volunteer work.

Now I just read one of my favorite artists, Katy Gilmore, and she posted this link, Glasser's Secrets of Art.

Now I feel like my life has direction again.
I'm off.

See you in the studio, that's me in the corner covered in clay!

To market

To market to market to buy a fat pig...
that's how Sat. morning awakened me from such a dream!  Three children, all under 7, not mine, but in my care while their father cared for their dying mother.  Boy was I glad to wake up and leave that worrisome situation.  I felt such compassion.  In a dream!
So now I go set up tent, tables, put out the wares with my Mudbuddies for the Tailgate market.  We shall see if there is any place for customers to park.
Build it they will come - doesn't include no parking in visible range.

the larger pitchers are done

Remember a few weeks ago I showed you a couple of pitchers before they even had handles applied?

They have been finished, and ta-da, here they are!

Sharing this post with http://mudcolony.blogspot.com/.  Come on over to see what other potters are doing!

Autumn pottery

Ah, the influence of squash and pumpkin and acorns...these jars are glazed much more patterned than I anticipated.

My home

Driving up Beech Street, the butterfly bush blocks any view of the front door and it's porch, with my studio right there.

Lots of driveway next to the street.  To the right is neighbor's shed and my huge marigold flowers.

 

If I were to go back in time to when this house was built (50s I've heard) would I have ever imagined I'd retire and be comfortable living here?

Well when I was a teen I probably dreamed I'd be living in a castle with Prince Charming.  I've got my feet (and my hands) more grounded in the clay of reality these days!

more mugs (what else is new?)

Clay: Speckled brownstone stoneware from Highwater Clay
All glazes are available to students at the Clay Studio of The Black Mountain Center for the Arts

Glaze: tree is painted with red iron oxide, then waxed.
inside Eggshell glaze is poured
upper half outside: dipped in Mexico
lower half: dipped in Shiney Green thinly applied
the waxed areas have all glaze removed from them with a wet brush after mugs have been dipped in glaze vats.

Leaf Imprinted Mugs 2

Bigger mug.
Different glaze.
Different leaves.
No writing.
What do you think?

For sale at the Tailgate Market in Black Mountain this morning...MudBuddies Booth.

warning note, the parking lot at the First Baptist Church is being worked on, so you need to park in the lot south of the church (before you get to it) and walk around the back to the grassy field where the Market is held.  Sorry about the inconvenience...but just think of the delicious goodies and low overhead prices for locally grown and made products!

It opens at 9, goes till 12, and I think the weather will hold off raining till after we're all packed up.  Fingers crossed anyway!

Salt comes out

Salt or pepper work well in either style, the top are Panda heads, which obviously are minimalized.  The lower green ones have a stamp with Venus blessing the salt.  Easy to fill with top corks.

The little baskets hold the salt shakers, or would be fine on a dresser to collect hair ties, earrings, etc.  I think taking candid pictures is a hoot, because there in the top right corner goes one of the cats!

GREENER dragon jar

Well, I continue to have problems taking photos of this jar.  Maybe one of these days I'll just sell it and won't worry any more. 

Crazy tray

I've been trying out the phone camera, and it has some limitations.  If I've already posted the pots, these are mainly just new attempts at photos that aren't in a light box.  I kind of like the blue reflection that shows up only in the photo here.  Probably it's from sky.  That is just window lighting, and it's pretty white.

Big pitchers

While Gary Rith is busy making his tiny pitchers, I've tried some more big ones.  But I am still finding after they are off the wheel they are too bottom heavy.  Yep, my opinion and it leads me to carving away in attempts to lighten the load.  But shape is done pretty much, so I need to figure out how to really pull that extra weight of clay off the bottom walls before finishing throwing.  The one thing I learned and never do, is to let the pot set up a bit after it's pretty much finished, then after that drying off time, pull more clay up.  I've seen that that does extend the walls easily.

So back to the drawing board, er, potters wheel, for this "hobbiest" potter.

Coffee filter cones

An old idea, which I'm working to develop into a nice gift idea...combine a mug and the cone, and you invite someone to enjoy good joe.

 

 So far I've got a navy (not displayed) and this coffee colored cone finished.  These are for one cup at at time.

The paper cones are available wherever coffee is sold, OR you can use the same paper basket that you use in a regular drip coffee pot, just folded in a bit. Pour hot water over fresh ground coffee, and you will be enjoying a delicious cuppa.

Candle stick holders

There is a matching pair of these (the second was still in the kiln when pictures were being shot)

A simple stand with handle, for carrying up the stairs while wearing your long white cotton gown and perhaps a night cap.  Oh you mean to drink the night cap first?  Good thinking.

Just a bit different shape, same idea.

candle stands

Here is a nice ceramic candle stand, which I gave to friends when I visited them last week.  You know, when people open up their house for a church meeting, someone should offer them a little something.  It now has a white 3 inch pillar candle sitting on it.

For large pillar candles

I also have some candle stick holders...the usual shape.  More tomorrow!

The fun of these holders is that they work so well with a gift of candles included!

Blog for whom?

I usually read this blog HERE, Art Biz Blog, and find something new to ponder.  Here today is the post about why bloggers put the effort out, and what we hope to get back (and sometimes do) from our readers.

She's the one who told me to "just show up in my studio" when I had no motivation.

That still happens, and the voice in my head says...you can go drink your coffee in there, after all.

Leaf imprinted mugs

I admit I these are my first attempt to press leaves into wet clay right after the mug is thrown.  Then wait till leather hard and carve the name in.  And of course at that point I add the handles.  Next comes bisque firing...then put some detail on the leaves and words with Red Iron Oxide (RIO we call it) then some wax over that, then dip each mug into glaze, then fire it to cone 5.  I will keep trying.  And I think I'll skip Chrysanthemums...just too hard to write!

But they are for sale (pretty low prices) tomorrow at the TailGate market here in Black Mountain.  Unfortunately I won't be there in person tomorrow...got a retreat to go to.

Hope you have a happy Labor Day Weekend (if you're in the US).  I understand it's Father's Day in Austrailia (or was it New Zealand?)

Ice Cream Dishes

Yes, you may ask, there was a fourth one.  It didn't get into the bisque kiln before being damaged while waiting for several weeks, being moved about as other students brought their wares in and put them on same shelf...so it cracked where it was joined at the base.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't a structural crack, just accidental bump as it waited to fire, when it was in it's most fragile bone dry condition.  Anyway, I tried gluing it together and then glazing it, and it stayed together, but isn't such that I could sell it...the crack still shows where the glue was.

These dishes are so pretty, but mean throwing a base separately after they are trimmed, and that's a lot of extra work.

I'm linking to the MudColony blog down under...come see what others are doing...

Matt bronze green pot

Now there are 2, big planters for the Lantanas...ready for on the porch.  Potting will happen soon.  Not the kind where my hands are in clay, but where I can take dirt and a plant and bring them together inside a pot.