It’s a wonderfully sunny and cool (59 deg) autumnal day this Saturday! I’ve had a slower week since doing two art festivals in a row. I got my finances in order and finished glazing and reglazing pots which are now in the kiln firing. Today I’m going to start making more work. I’ll first begin the bases for some large vessels. While those are drying I’ll throw some large bowls. I’m excited to have my hands back in the clay!

Oh it’s been too long since I’ve visited the internet and shared with y’all about my life as a potter! I took a vacation and haven’t been the same since!
I’m back at work making vases and bowls for the numerous upcoming shows for 2010. I’ll post photos as I process the work I make.
Vacation was excellent! We rented a boat in St. Augustine and spent the day boating the channel watching all the dolphins swim around us. Such an inspiring vacation!
I’m preparing to check out an exhibition space for an exhibition I’ll be having in March 2011. I’ll take some photos of the space and show you.
I’ve lots to do and lots to share with you so stay tuned!

We’re leaving tomorrow morning for Orlando for a week of vacation. I may not get to the blog until I return. However, I could surprise y’all and post something while I’m in the Orange State!

I just uploaded new images of work completed these past two weeks. I’ve lots more work awaiting to be glazed and I’m very excited to be working on them. I’ll be going out of town for a week and will be getting them up once I return!

Today and tomorrow I’ll be getting the website updated…It may take me a day more but hopefully not…I’ve been wanting to get photos changed out and this week I’ve devoted the time for that.

So I’ve been so busy glazing and getting work completed I totally forgot to go online and keep you all updated! Here are a few glaze tests I’ve been playing with. These tests are two color runs. The two on the left are colored with Manganese Dioxide. The two on the right are with Iron Oxide. Now the difference is the tile on the left in each group was fired at a hotter temperature and the top temperature was held for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The tile on the right in each group was fired at a lower temperature and fast cooled. I don’t know if you are able to see the difference in the photo but in person it’s evident and the feel of the texture is very different! So I’ll be posting some more photos of glazed work, tomorrow!!!!

I’ve been working on getting my crater glazes perfected. I had been firing them with my satin matt glazes and holding the kiln temperature to allow the matt glazes to develop their silky sensual surface. However, while this is great for the satin matt glazes it melts the crater glaze a bit too much. I am trying a lower temperature for the crater glazes and I will not hold the temperature. I’ll let the kiln cool naturally and hopefully that is going to solve the problem. Here is a photo of what the glaze looks like on the vessel before it’s fired. I make this glaze very thick. As you can see, the brush is able to stand on its own in the bucket of glaze. I put about 1/4 to 1/2″ of glaze onto the top third of the piece so it will flow nicely on the pot. More photos to come!

I started glazing today. It’s such a long and slow process for me. I am not sure why it takes me so long but it does. I used to brush on all my glazes because I couldn’t get the formula to not crack when drying on the pot. After much testing I found a combination of materials addedto my formulas allowed for a more smoothly flowing glaze that I can pour and it doesn’t crack when drying on the pot. Even though pouring is quicker it still takes me more time to glaze than it does to make and trim a vessel. This weekend I’ll be firing a few glaze loads with various temperature adjustments per load. I’m excited about seeing how some of these turn out. That excitement helps keep me going!!!!

I’ve so much work to glaze! I’ve been putting it off because I’ve not wanted to take the time out from making the vessels. I still have so many forms I want to finish. It’s challenging to put off making them. However, we need our priorities and these pieces aren’t going to glaze themselves! I’ve the tare beam (the scale) because I’m going to test some variations I’m making to my formulas as well as try more color runs with the existing formulas. While it’s time consuming it’s also quite exciting to see what develops!!!!

I’ve slowly been working back into my original mid-century inspired aesthetic by playing with my crater glazes. Now I’m making larger forms that are reminiscent of the forms I made prior to taking a three year hiatus from ceramics. These are all large 15-20″ tall vessels that I’m going to glaze with the crater glaze. A few of these may not work with crater glazes but I haven’t made the decision yet….