Ben Stark Pottery

Exhibition

2010-03-11T21:03:00.005-05:00

So, I really am going to enter my first exhibition--I promise :) I've talked about it before, but I'm really fond of my new work and I'm finally going to take the plunge. And thanks to Judy for putting me on to the 2010 Teabowl National. I also wanted to say thanks for the comments and tips on my last post! I meant to say thanks a while ago, but didn't get around to it--so, thanks!

Anyway, here's the three I'm entering. Wish me luck!

50+

2010-03-04T21:38:00.003-05:00

mmmm....glaze drippy

I've finally got over 50 items in my shop! I still have a good many small bowls I can list, but it's nice to meet a small milestone. I've been told many times that things really begin to sell well once you crest 100 items, but that will still be a while. I don't have time to keep enough inventory to fill my Etsy shop and still have enough pots for galleries and any craft shows I may do. One day, one day.

Tonight, I started something new to me--butter trays. Not butter dishes, but trays. Just a flat decorative piece with a handle. I've got them all textured up and I'll add handles tomorrow night. How do you like that grammar, huh?? :) I hope they don't curl up on me. I haven't had a whole lot of luck with flat slab pieces. Too impatient I guess.

I keep telling myself that I need to mix up some fresh batches of a couple of my glazes, but every time I go out to the studio, I pick up clay instead. Will someone come over and make me mix glazes?!

Finished pitchers

2010-03-03T21:09:00.007-05:00

I got the kiln unloaded Sunday night, but I also came down with a bad cold/stomach thing that has not been too pleasant. I hope I'm getting over it. Anyway, here's a couple of pictures of the finished products. The one I liked best of course has pinholes on the inside. I think it might have been from dust when I was cleaning up the spout before glazing. I might try to re-fire it.

The really big bowl turned out super nice. The glazes could not have turned out better. I hope it makes its way across the country safely. I packed the crap out of that thing, but I still worry because it was quite heavy and, well, you know. It totally wouldn't fit into my light tent--haha.

That egg looks kinda tiny for a 'grade A Large' huh? ;)

Mmmmm...The other white meat!

2010-02-28T10:39:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I grilled a pork loin roast, and it was AWESOME! This was the first time that I successfully grilled something 'low and slow' (don't ask about the ribs I did a little while back) and I'm finally getting the hang of it. All that I used was a dry rub and seared it, then grilled it over indirect heat for about 2-1/2 hrs. Super juicy and it melted in the mouth! Leftovers for lunch today :)

I've also got a glaze load cooling, so I'll try to get some pictures up later of those pots. This load has the pitchers and the big bowl, so I'm anxious to take a peek and see how it all turned out.

Genevieve got a little car (thanks aunt Addie!) that converts into a walk assist thing when she gets a little closer to walking. She loves it!! Just like with her crawling, she only moves backwards, but we'll keep working on it. All for now, hopefully more later :)

Handled pitcher

2010-02-16T20:38:00.003-05:00

Here is a short video of one of the pitchers after they got handles tonight. I'm really starting to like these new[ish] pitchers--particularly where the nice flowing line meets the abrupt angle near the spout. I'm still not 100% sold on the handle placement. I may try moving it down a bit, but I don't know. I think it works pretty well where it is.

I noticed when I got to work and looked at my blog on the computers there that the pitchers all looked squatty compared to what they are really. I guess wide screen monitors have their drawbacks. I wonder what kind of affect that has on online and other digitally submitted work--such as images entered into exhibitions and shows. My 'elegant' pitcher form was totally ruined when viewed in a wide screen format, and I can imagine that all other work may look different on different monitors depending on the screen resolution and aspect ratio.

Some pitchers

2010-02-15T21:33:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pitchers that I managed to get thrown tonight. I wedged (I managed to get most of the air bubbles out) five balls of clay, but only four made it through. They are five pounds and about 13" tall. I'll handle them tomorrow. All for now :)

Snow in Summerville?? And a pretty big bowl

2010-02-14T09:05:00.006-05:00

We got snow! Like, real snow!! Not that nasty wet stuff that normally falls for a little while and never sticks--this was about 5-6" of fluffy white stuff that even stuck to the roads. I attempted a feeble small snowman, but didn't get very far. We had a blast playing outside yesterday morning, even though Genevieve didn't really know what to think about it. It was all a little too cold for her.

I also finally got my bowl thrown. It did take three bags of clay and several failed attempts before I finally realized that I needed to sit down and use some softer clay. Once I did that, it was a breeze. It wasn't as big as some of the earlier attempts, but it is pretty large nonetheless. I hate to admit it, but in the process of throwing the big bowls, I made the same mistake of accidentally stepping on the wheel and spinning the bowl into oblivion--again. Fool me twice, shame on me I guess.

I also finally made a big bat for trimming wider pieces, but I still need to cut it into a circle. Right now, it is more shaped like a stop sign because I need to borrow a jigsaw from my dad to finish it up. Trimming with it was fun as I tried to keep the edges from nailing my knees while it spun around.

It was nice to get out of my comfort zone throwing the bigger bowls. I had gotten a little too comfortable working in the under five pound range. Now the only problem is that I have those three bags of ruined pots left to re-wedge. I really hate wedging. I think part of the problem is that I am really no good at it. Why is it that I can't get the damn air bubbles out no matter how much I wedge. It is supposed to be the most basic part of being a potter, and I just plain suck at it. Maybe I should really change my kiln fund into a pugmill fund. Or, maybe I'm just lazy.

Oops!

2010-02-08T20:56:00.002-05:00

So, when you accidentally hit the pedal while throwing a two pound bowl and the wheel speeds up--no big deal. When you accidentally hit it with a twelve pound bowl that is a good 24" wide--not so much. I got a custom order last night for a bowl twice as big as the last that I had made for the customer and I was really excited! I am one of the few potters that can really enjoy a custom order--especially when it pushes me to do something that I hadn't tried. Well, I had tried to make bowls that big, but not so successfully (this bowl was essentially done). Anyway, no big deal really--I'll get back to it tomorrow.

I was planning on taking some pics of work in progress, but no go. I did get 8 mug bodies thrown first, but they aren't too interesting. Maybe tomorrow you can see a bowl that dwarfs my wheel :)

No new work

2010-01-28T21:35:00.004-05:00

I haven't got anything new to show from this week--been spending a lot of time working on the house to get it presentable for the big shindig this weekend! We had to reschedule the oyster roast for Sunday due to weather, and I know it's going to be a blast!! I did get to list a couple of pots to Etsy tonight--I've got lots of those yunomi/juice cups to list--and bowls. It seems all I have are cups and bowls lately. I need to work on some other forms. I'm really wanting to throw some jars soon, so maybe I'll get to that soon.

I'm finally to the point where I don't need to take my good pain meds any more. It's nice to be able to eat somewhat normally again. I'm hoping to be totally back to normal in the next few days.

I also started a savings account for a wood kiln I WILL someday build. I plan to take half of my pottery sales and put it there so that once we get a place where I can build the kiln, I'll have the funds to do it. I wish that there would be enough money in there to get a pugmil too, but I don't see it happening. Man, I'd love the pugmil though!! :)

No more toofs!

2010-01-20T20:44:00.002-05:00

So I got my wisdom teeth out today and it wasn't terrible. Not something I would want to do on a regular basis, but all things considered it was tolerable. I don't remember falling asleep, but I woke up all kinds of screwy. I took a pic of my swollen face right after surgery with my phone, but I can't upload it here. I did get sick a little earlier tonight, but I'm feeling ok now. Really, the nausea is far worse than the pain.

Anyway, I've got a couple of days to recover and I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing. I did manage to get the kiln unloaded tonight (bending over the kiln is not a good idea by the way, but I'm just so impatient) and mostly everything turned out very well--just one bowl with some bloating. My custom bowl order came out really well, so that's exciting. I'm hoping that tomorrow I will be feeling better enough that I can get a few pots photographed and uploaded to Etsy.

And lastly, I had my trimming box featured over at the granddaddy of all pottery blogs--Emily Murphy's wonderfully informative blog. Thanks so much Emily!!

Lazy Saturday

2010-01-16T14:38:00.001-05:00

Just a lazy and rainy Saturday I guess.

Pots in use

2010-01-14T21:51:00.001-05:00

Well, really just pot in use, but that doesn't sound right.

Today is Lindsay's 25th birthday (Happy Birthday Sweetie!) and I got her these wonderful flowers and put them in one of my new vases. The kitchen is a bad place for taking pictures and I'm no flower arranger, but I think it looks nice. I'm pretty sure I had more to say tonight, but I'm exhausted and can't remember now. Oh yeah! I put up shelving at work today in my office to have somewhat of a gallery there. I should have packed up a bunch of pots tonight to bring down there, but that didn't happen. Neither did cleaning the kitchen, or laundry, or listing pots on Etsy, or pressure washing the house in preparation for Lindsay's party.

Oh, and one more thing--I keep forgetting that I have an appointment on the 20th to get all of my wisdom teeth out. I've got two that aren't too bad, but the other two are growing into the teeth in front of them. And they are moving really close to some nerve that apparently controls the feeling of my bottom jaw. Lets hope the doctor doesn't clip that little guy.

Anyway, all for now.

A couple o new pots

2010-01-11T20:26:00.004-05:00

I'm really digging these new altered forms with the small trimmed foot. It seems to work equally well for both cups and bowls and they are super fun to make--I get to use all of my fun tools, and lots of trimming (see full trimming box below after a dozen little cups--have I mentioned that I like trimming?). I guess you could call the little cups yunomis, but I like to think of them in terms of bourbon over tea, but imagine whatever use you decide ;) I'm actually looking forward to keeping a couple of these little guys for myself. I tend to just keep the crappy leftovers for myself--the ones that aren't bad enough to smash, but not good enough to sell. My cabinet is a hodge podge of really good pots from other potters and really bad pots from myself. I need to remedy that.

Why I love trimming

2010-01-10T20:54:00.002-05:00

I know a lot of potters hate trimming and I just have to say--trimming is awesome! I really think I like trimming almost as much as I like throwing--or turning--I think I want to start calling it turning now, but that's another story. Just look at the difference between these pots--and that one isn't even one of the better ones I've done recently! I know not all pots need trimming, but it really adds so much to a piece and makes it more complete. My trimming box and Griffin Grip sure help too. Anyway, just some random thoughts on a Sunday evening.

How about that crazing?

2010-01-07T20:42:00.003-05:00

Crazing seems to always be somewhat of a debated topic among potters. I have always been a fan of it whether on functional work or not. Never one for safety it seems, I never really worried about it. Now that I'm selling my pots and people are (hopefully) using them on a regular basis, I need to focus on the safety of my wares.

The way I understand it, crazing is cracks in the glaze due to poor fit that can make the pot somewhat weaker and can also harbor bacteria in these small cracks. I have also been told that if your wares are not fully vitrified, they can allow moisture to absorb into the clay body and either get hot when microwaved or even break. They can even make otherwise safe glazes leech.

With that said, I use many pots daily (both pots made by me as well as other potters--some of them very well known) that have crazing and go through the dishwasher at least weekly and make their way into the microwave on a regular basis. I've never had any trouble and I never really worried about it. But then again, it's not me that I'm worried about. The way that I see it is that my pots are fully vitrified (I use cone 5 clay and bring it to almost a full cone 7--it slumps if too large of an unsupported span is made) and the crazing seems to largely be on the outside of pots where the two glazes overlap. The only exception to this is a few new bowls that I made where the overlapping glazes crazed some on the inside as well. The weird thing is that things have been crazing more than they used to--same clay, same glazes, same application. Here's one of the heaviest crazed pieces:

I know that a lot of woodfired and atmospheric fired work crazes, particularly shinos, and these pots are used regularly. I've even seen commercial wares with crazing that are said to be food safe and such--hell, some old plates we got for wedding gifts are crazed pretty severely.

So...what should I do? Should I try some new clay bodies with my existing glazes, or try to reformulate the glaze to get it to fit my clay body. Or, should I just not worry about it and keep on doin what I'm doin? I'm finally getting some really good glaze affects and I'm not super excited about changing things up, but I know that I should get it sorted out now rather than later. Any input is really appreciated. Thanks!!!

Where's the clay??

2009-12-28T21:17:00.002-05:00

So, I ran out of clay and said to myself, 'self lets go pick up some clay this afternoon!'

Yeah--that didn't go so well. Clay supplier is closed until I believe AFTER NEW YEARS!! I have some I can reclaim, but it won't be dry enough to use until then anyways. Bah!

Oh well.

Hope everyone out there had a great Christmas! Our little family had a wonderful time!! Genevieve loved all of the attention from both sides of the family and we all scored some great stuff!

Hopefully I can have some new pictures of pots soon--I've got to get to spraying all of my tall pieces that came out of the bisque last week, but it's got to be Thursday before I'm home during daylight hours. All for now!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T19:43:00.002-05:00

Wishing everyone out there in blog land a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Hey! I'll send ya stuff!

2009-12-18T08:25:00.002-05:00

I just started a mailing list, and I may just send you something at some point--maybe--if you sign up! The link is at the right over that way------------->

Or, here's a link too :)

Selling my soul.

2009-12-14T08:47:00.002-05:00

I finally made facebook page for my pottery. I had tried my best to stay away from facebook--I barely have enough time for pots, much less facebook. But, I feel it's a necessary evil, so I took the plunge. Won't you become my fan?? ;)

Come see me here.

New Etsy shop now open!

2009-12-13T20:20:00.001-05:00

I'm opening my new Etsy shop tonight, and I'll be listing a bunch of stuff over the next several days. I changed the shop name and it will help me get away from all of my old work that doesn't accurately represent where I am now, or where I'm going. Looking at some of my old sold items makes me cringe a little bit. Oh, well.

Check it out here

New Pitcher among other things.

2009-12-10T20:23:00.003-05:00

So the show this past weekend went better than expected, but it was largely due to the fact that our very good family friend Charlie stopped by and bought pretty much all of his Christmas presents from me. Other than that though, I only sold a couple of things and got one custom order. I did get approached by a gallery on Folly Beach that I will be following up with after the holidays. But overall, I won't be doing that show again next year. Not the right market.

I've been working on lots of new forms lately, and I'm liking where they are going. I really want to get more serious about making work--really good work--and selling more as well. I'm pretty happy with much of my new work and I think that with the response from the show, particularly the glazes, it should sell well. I want to get to the point that I can have a portfolio and approach galleries with a complete body of work. Now I'm wishing I would have taken a few more formal pictures of some of the things that sold at the show.

I'm really liking the pitcher at the top of the page and can't wait to get back at making some more. I do wonder about washing. It has a very narrow neck that makes it impossible to get your hand in there. Is this something that I should worry about? Should form be more important that function in this piece? I figure you can put it in the bottom rack of the dishwasher and it'll get all cleaned in there. What do you think?

In other news, Genevieve is feeling much better now and is back to her normal happy self. Just to give you an example, here's a pic of the little one chewing on one of her favorite snacks. Look at those little monkey feet!

Sick Day

2009-12-02T13:58:00.002-05:00

Well, it's not a sick day for me, but Genevieve has another ear infection, so I get to spend the day with my little girl. She has been surprisingly good today for being so sick. She has done a whole lot of sleeping which actually has let me get some much needed housework done, and I even got all of my new pots from the last three firings priced and labeled. It seems odd not doing it the night before the show. Now if I could just get them all packed up...

Genevieve's ear infections haven't come quite frequently enough to require tubes in her ears, but if she continues to get them more regularly, it may be an option. Hopefully we won't have to worry about it.

The show this weekend will probably be pretty small--just a church show, but I figure it gave me a good reason to make some more work, and I only have to sell two mugs to make back the booth fee. Hopefully I can do that at least :)

That's all for now.

Happy Turkey Day!

2009-11-26T09:45:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone out there has a great Thanksgiving! I'm excited--I've got two big meals to attend, and I plan to take full advantage of both! Mmmmmmm....Turkey

Possible name change and logo

2009-11-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

In an effort to seem at least somewhat professional, I think I'm going to change my 'business' name. Truth is, I don't have a business 'cause I don't sell many pots. Definately don't offset costs of materials and equipment, so I don't see the point. Anyway, I think I'm going to become Ben Stark Pottery instead of Stark's Pots. My websites will all stay the same, but in my head, I'll change :)

Here is a potential new logo. The logo is the left portion and the full image is what will appear on my blog and other sites. (Like my Etsy site that I have neglected for months--I swear I'll get back to it eventually :)

I haven't decided for sure on the solid color for the left portion. I kinda like this one though.

Some finished pots

2009-11-18T21:15:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of finished pots from the last two firings.

This is one that I salvaged--had to grind it forevah!

Fight for Preemies Day

2009-11-17T18:52:00.000-05:00

This month is prematurity awareness month and today is fight for preemies day. In support of that and the March of Dimes, I'm going to tell a little bit of Genevieve's story and hopefully raise awareness for the cause.

Genevieve was born on April 5 this year--five and 1/2 weeks early. Lindsay and I were extremely fortunate that she was surprisingly healthy and did very well. She did spend her first nine days in the hospital under observation although she never required the use of breathing aides or other serious medical help. She did have several apnea episodes where she stopped breathing for more than twenty seconds, and a couple of bradycardia in which her heart rate slowed too much. After leaving the hospital, we got to take her home with a portable monitor that we kept for a month to ensure that her vitals remained in order. Fortunately, she only set off the monitor a couple of times, and continues to develop normally. She was always able to get herself back to normal during all of her 'episodes,' but the experience was not a pleasant one, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Genevieve's was a very minor case compared to many preemies out there and my heart goes out to all families affected by premature birth.

The March of Dimes supports research in preventing and treating premature birth. If this is a cause that you feel compelled to support, please head over here.

Lindsay is posting a link to give in Genevieve's name on her blog tonight and it can be found here.

Thank you all for reading and your support!

Run Glazes!! Run!!

2009-11-16T19:31:00.001-05:00

Ok, so my kiln load that I pictured in the last post came out wonderfully! No lost pots, nothing out of the ordinary. This could be largely due to the fact that I had easy stuff in it--cups, mugs, bowls. The second load was all of the harder stuff to glaze--large vases, big bowls, a casserole and a platter. Oh yeah and six cream and sugar sets.

So.

This load was not so much of a success. I sprayed my new blue glaze for the first time. My other glazes all like to be sprayed on good and thick to get the affect that I like. So what did I do? I sprayed it on good and thick. Apparently, this was a bit of a mistake. I am so fortunate that I put the pots that had glaze runs on the very few shelves that I actually have kiln wash on.

See--a while back, I said to my self, 'Self, your glazes don't run. Why are you screwing around with kiln was all of the damn time?' So I quit washing my shelves and haven't looked back. A couple still had a decent amount of wash on them and fortunately those were the ones that got the crazy ass glaze runs. I say that I had about a 75% failure rate in this firing. The worst load I've ever had since I started making pots. With some serious grinding I may be able to salvage a couple of the pots, but there are a bunch that are done. I have two of the six cream and sugar sets are saleable. And three of the vases. Everything else will be unsaleable for one reason or the other.

So.

Without further ado, here are some of the results of this wonderful firing.

This vase is gorgeous! Except for the crazy glaze drips. I'm going to grind the bottom and get it looking good again. It may not be saleable, but it is going to look good on my shelf :) Silver lining.

This one left a bit of itself with the shelf. I didn't even touch it. Just came right off like this. Bah!

Son of a bitch!

I remember thinking after my last batch of lidded pots, 'why don't you start wadding your lids like you did for soda firing so that they release ever so nicely?' But did I remember this wonderful advice to myself--Hell no!

Sorry about the blurry picture, but I'm too disgusted about this one to go back and get a better one. This shows the drips on my casserole that I would be able to grind, but the damn thing has a small crack in the bottom as well. Damn.

7 cu. ft.

2009-11-11T21:22:00.001-05:00

Here is what 7 cu. ft. of kiln space looks like. I could have maybe fit in a few shot glasses, but for the most part, the kiln is packed to the brim. And, I've got at least one more kiln full of larger stuff waiting to be glazed. I'll get to that this weekend when I can spray outside during daylight hours. Good stuff!

Best Bonus Mother in Law EVER!!

2009-11-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

I am now the lucky temporary owner of a SLAB ROLLER--like--a REAL one! How awesome is that? My 'bonus' mother-in-law as Lindsay calls her is allowing me to use her slab roller until she has enough time to get back into clay. I have been really wanting to get into some handbuilding, and now I have no good excuse not to. Thanks Jeannette!! You're awesome!

Here is a couple of pics of the new mug form I'm working on. I'm still not 100% satisfied on the handles, or the bottom finishing, but it's coming along. I'm trying to throw them quickly and a little bit more loosely. I don't know--I've always been a 'tight' potter, but I'm liking where this is taking me.

It is a ton faster to make than my other forms, so I should be able to turn them out a good bit quicker. Tell me what you think--I know the pictures are a bit crappy, but just imagine they are great :)

I had a video of my new bowls that I'm pretty proud of, but blogger is being difficult. How does it take so long to upload 30 sec. of video?? And the damn thing keeps timing out! Bah!

Anyway, have a great second half to the week!!

I've got pots!

2009-10-30T20:37:00.001-04:00

Anything not bone dry was thrown today.

I had a fantastic day today!! I started throwing at 6:30 this morning after I got Lindsay and Genevieve off to their schools, and threw pots until 2:45 only stopping for lunch.

Speaking of lunch--I got one of my favorite meals--Kyoto Express Hibachi Chicken (minus veggies). Awesome!

The pots in the first picture are all the ones that made the cut to continue drying. I started working on a new mug form (the ones on the bottom shelf). I wanted something more simple than my current mugs. I'm going to keep making both, but I think that the new one will be more appealing to a broader customer base. It's anything but original, but I hope that I can make it my own over time. No new forms, right? Hopefully tomorrow stuff will be ready to be trimmed and handled.

All for now! Happy Halloween!!

A Whole Day!

2009-10-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

Genevieve now knows how to read. Does your 6-month-old know how to read? ;)

I actually took a day off from work tomorrow to work the entire time in the studio!!! I can't tell you how excited I am! I also bought a bag of pottery plaster and some fresh clay so I'm ready to get going. I've never made a mold before, but I've seen it done once, so that should be enough, right?? I'm making a mold of a wooden serving tray to use as a slump mold. I can't remember if I'm supposed to coat the tray with anything to help it release from the plaster. I'm thinking I should. I'll go look it up in a min, but if y'all out there have any tricks, all help is welcome :) I've got so many ideas, I can't even decide what to make tomorrow. I've got like 200 lbs of clay that I want to get through.

I haven't been able to get into the studio in a little while because my father/boss took last week and the weekends on both sides to go on a much deserved cruise. That meant that I got to stay at work until 5 every day increasing my commute time by about 20-30 min on top of leaving an hour later. So, I was pretty beat in the evenings and didn't get out to work. Not to mention, Genevieve still thinks that sleeping through the night is just entirely not necessary. I know it's probably our fault for not doing something different before, but now we're really having a hard time getting her to sleep for more that about 4-5 hours without waking up to be fed. She wakes up between 11:30 to 2:30 and gets fed, then many nights she wakes up again at 3:30 to 4:00. We usually fight her to go back to sleep for about an hour, then end up feeding her so we can get back to sleep for what little bit is left. (We get up to get ready for work at 5) We would love to break her of this wonderful habit, but have been unsuccessful thus far. But, she totally makes up for it by being a totally wonderful and happy baby in all other aspects. She can now sit up for some time by herself before rolling around and making us catch her, and tonight she rolled from tummy to back for the first time! And, I was there to see it this time!! Being a parent really is the most fulfilling thing in the world!

Rolling over

2009-10-15T21:03:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to put up a quick little post to let everyone know that Genevieve rolled over for the first time yesterday. Unfortunately, I was out of town at the time, but she was kind enough to oblige today--twice! Anyway, it was pretty exciting, well, for me and Lindsay anyways :) My little girl is already growing up!

Kiln unloaded

2009-10-13T20:51:00.000-04:00

I unloaded the kiln as soon as I got home today--well, I had to say hi to Genevieve and Lindsay first, but right after that, I went out to get her unloaded. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Just before I stopped making new work, I made a big batch of a new glaze (I know, blue is like sacrilege or something) and I had only tried it out on a couple of pieces that didn't tell me a whole lot.

I put it with the rest of my glazes to see how they interacted together, and it worked pretty well with all of them, but really well with one (the first pic).

I also tried using melted glass for the first time and liked the results from that as well. I just used brown glass from a beer bottle, but I'd really like to try some better colors. It gives nice variation, and I've always loved some good crazing. Now that I'm getting back into a groove, I'm going to start throwing some more volume and more regular pieces like mugs, cereal bowls and such. I want to start experimenting with some slab built plates, platters and such. I've never made much off of the wheel, but I really hate throwing plates and would like to be able to have something as far as plates go. I want to get some pottery plaster and try some press molds as well. So much to do, and so very little time. The more I make, the more new ideas come to my head. Now, if I could just find a clone to do my day job so that I could make pots all day. Maybe I should start playing the lottery and I could win and build a huge studio and build a half dozen different kilns, and i could get a PUGMILL! Wait, I could just pay someone to wedge clay for me if I won the lottery--yeah--that's better.

Quick update

2009-10-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

I've got the kiln cookin' again for the second day in a row. I fired a small bisque last night and glazed the pots this evening and loaded 'em right back up and got the kiln going again. Normally I would wait to have a full kiln to fire, but my wonderful sister (who reads this blog ;) reminded me last week, or maybe the week before, that I had promised to donate a few pieces to her church's silent auction. Needless to say--I forgot. Like a looong time ago.

So I got to work making easy stuff--bowls, vases, bottles. Then I pushed them through super fast. I only had one piece not dry enough to load in the bisque, and I probably could have gotten it through, but I was worried about the lugs cracking off. I've got my first raw glazed piece in the kiln tonight--he got missed in the bisque load, so I figured I'd give it a go. If it works, I think that I'll do much more of it--at least for my smaller pots.

Genevieve is doing much, much better. She is back to her happy self now and remains the sweetest baby on the planet. We all had a great weekend watching football with friends (Gamecocks now 5-1!!!), and Sunday, we went to Magnolia Gardens and had a fantastic time. Genevieve LOVED riding in her stroller and taking it all in. She has to be the most observant baby in the world--a sure sign of high intelligence I am told ;)

Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow I should have some pictures of finished pots to put up. Fingers crossed that my glazes didn't magically change after sitting up for six months. Hmmm, I probably should have sieved those instead of just mixing them up with the drill...

Feeling good!

2009-10-06T21:30:00.000-04:00

I got my first chance tonight to really get back to throwing--well, I threw about 15 lbs or so. It was all that I had time to get to, but that's ok, it felt great! I'm used to having trouble after taking a break, but tonight, it all came back easily. I've got two bowls, a pitcher, a bottle and a vase to finish up later. I had already put the plastic on before I remembered to get a picture, so their appearance is a secret for now. Now, I just hope that I get to get back to them before they dry out.

In other news, Genevieve has ANOTHER ear infection--and a cold--and thrush from the last ear infection--and she's teething. All at the same time! The doctor put her on a different antibiotic that I hope works a little better this time. I don't think that her last ear infection totally healed.

Lindsay and I aren't getting a whole lot of sleep (not that we got a whole lot before anyway). Lindsay has missed two days of work this week, and I may have to take off tomorrow to take care of her if her cough and fever haven't gone away by tomorrow morning. She still tries so hard to be sweet, but she just can't keep herself happy all the time. We don't want to be the parents that send their sick kid to daycare to get all the other babies sick, so we really want to wait until she feels better before going back.

Well, that's all for now. With some luck, I'll have some pictures of finished pots tomorrow (or in the next couple days anyway).

2009-10-02T20:06:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pics of the remodeled studio. I'm not quite done yet--I still need to make my new wedging table and clean up some more, but it's getting closer to what I want. I added a bunch more shelving, got a bunch of crap out of the way, and, I hope I made it a little bit easier to work in. I do wish that I would have painted first, but it just wasn't in the cards.

Here is the only pic I could find of the old setup. Not much changed as far as basic equipment layout, but my small space doesn't leave a whole lot of options. Especially since they thought it would be nice to only put ONE outlet in my garage. I have a heavy duty extension cord running to a ten outlet power strip on the other side of the garage. Hooking up more outlets--a job for another day!

Now to find the time to throw some pots! I did add some water to a couple of bags of clay that had become a bit hard. That way, I will be ready to go as soon as the moment arrives!

This weekend my long time friend Trevor is coming into town to pick up a bass boat that my dad and I are giving him. It is really in pretty good shape except for the fact that it has been sitting up for ten years! Dad and I decided that we didn't have the time (and I had no money) to fix it up which made me slightly sad because it was to be my boat, but it just wasn't in the cards either. Hopefully Trevor will have better luck--he will also have more time to use it as well.

We've got a fun day planned tomorrow--a cookout at Charlestowne Landing for my mom's birthday. And Sunday we are going out in my mom's boat to do one last day of skiing for the summer. Hope it's not too cold ;)

Maybe there will be enough time at some point this weekend to squeeze in a few pots :) Have a great weekend everybody!!

Getting back to it

2009-09-28T21:12:00.000-04:00

I'm finally feeling like I have enough time in the evenings to get back to work in the studio. I am totally remodeling/rearranging the studio to work better for me. It's funny how one project requires another. In order to start working in the studio, Lindsay and I had to reorganize the storage shed to accommodate a lot of my tools and general crap that had accumulated in the studio. That was a half days job in itself.

I got a new (to me) work table that is built like a million times better than the one that I made for myself. The only disadvantage to it is that it has a shelf under it that prohibits some of my storage of large tools. But anyway, the remodel is coming along nicely. I'll be making my first of many trips to Lowes tomorrow night to get shelf brackets and peg board hangers among other things I'm sure. Did I mention they just built a new Lowes pretty much in my neighborhood?? Not good!

I'll try to get some pictures up of the studio in progress--now I'm wishing I had taken some before pictures because it had gotten pretty bad. When not in use, it served as a dump area for pretty much everything we couldn't find a place for. Lindsay and I had really wanted to totally paint the studio from floor to ceiling, but it is a massive job, and I wanted to start getting back to work. I have only had a few hours in the mud since Genevieve was born--and she will be SIX months old a week from today!!! That's the longest dry spell since I started in clay my senior year of high school.

Speaking of Genevieve, she is doing awesome!! Fatherhood truly is the most amazing experience of my life, and I'm loving every minute of it! Well, not EVERY minute of it--not getting a lot of sleep is not the best. She had her first ear infection and it threw her sleep cycle all out of whack, but she's getting back to it now. She is learning new things every day and is like 90% there rolling over from back to tummy. She just learned yesterday how to blow a raspberry. I never thought I would be so excited about a baby spitting everywhere, but man is it awesome!

Well, I could sit here and ramble on for days. It's like my lack of blogging has made me want to type a novel or something. I hope that happens when I get back into throwing as well. I've got so many ideas beating around in my head now that I don't really know where to start. I'll get back here soon and hopefully get back into the grove of blogging more regularly again. Heck, I may even try to reopen my Etsy shop soon.

Tea Time

2009-06-19T20:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I've never been one much for coffee. I love some caffeine and my drink of choice is usually Pepsi (with or without bourbon ;), but I can't bring myself to drink soft drinks before six a.m. Since my favorite form is the teapot, I decided that I'd like to start drinking hot tea in the mornings. I particularly like the idea of making tea in my own pots. Problem is, I have no idea what I'm doing! I wanted to make loose leaf tea, but don't know where to get it so I got a box of assorted teas. I made some Earl Grey because it was the only one that I'd really heard of. Question is, I grew up on sweet iced tea, so I put some sugar in it and I'm pretty sure I ruined it. (what do you put in hot tea anyways?) I think I need some beginner tea to start on, but I'm not sure where to start. Anyway, if there are any tea drinkers out there, I'd love some input. I'm going on a google hunt, but I'd much prefer input from friends and potters :)

Some Mud Time

2009-06-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

So, I finally got to get a little muddy on Sunday afternoon. Lindsay took Genevieve shopping and I attempted to work a little in the studio. I made ten balls of clay and got to work--I managed four cups before I got too hot to be comfortable out there. It was in the mid 90s and I was out there in the hottest part of the day. I had two fans on and it was no good--I think I've been spoiled by air conditioning. While I was already nice and toasty, I made the brilliant decision to go out and trim the hedges to get nice and super sweaty. I could only take about 20 minutes out there too.

Anyways--Sunday evening I went out to trim and found the cups already leather hard--even a little past leather hard. This was seriously only a few hours and the pots were drying ridiculously fast. I went to trimming and found three of the four had super thin bottoms and just gave up. So--I have discovered two things--that I am super rusty and it's freakin hot outside!

Genevieve had her two month checkup today and she is now in the 50th percentile for weight and height--11 lbs 10 oz. and 22-3/4" long! Ok, next time I will try to get some pictures of new pots, but for now--one more of Genevieve.

WOW! How long since I touched Clay?!

2009-05-28T20:57:00.000-04:00

Can you get any cuter than this?? Just look a those arms!

Ha!! If you don't know this blog is about pottery, that title is freakin' hilarious!

I'm sad to say that this is really the first chance that I've had to sit down and get back to my blog. Still nothing to report on the pottery front. I did manage to pick up some clay last Saturday, but it's still in the boxes. Maybe this weekend, I'll get a chance to actually get a little muddy!

I feel almost like I'm pushing my luck sitting down and giving a little report. The past week or so, Genevieve has been super colicky (sp??) at bed time. Last night she was up from 8-12:30 and it seemed nothing worked more than a couple of minutes. Needless to say, Lindsay and I were a bit tired today. Lindsay still didn't really get any sleep after I fell asleep because Genevieve kept fussing about every 15 minutes or so. I can sleep through anything, so I didn't get the pleasure of experiencing that.

I have been wondering lately how parents ever have a second child--I mean seriously--we did this to ourselves?! I knew that sleep would be hard to come by, but seriously! I do truly love her, and couldn't image not having her--just don't ask me about another one after hours of trying to get her to lay down and get to sleep. Because Lindsay and I are not rolling in the dough, it will be a while before baby number two comes along--one in childcare at a time, don't cha know?

Anyway--I've also noticed that moms want babies to stay babies forever and dad's can't wait until they grow up some. I keep thinking, just wait--she will be able to hold her head up soon! And, one day, she will be able to actually tell me what is wrong with her--and sit on the can to do her business! But, then she will just be running around getting into everything.

I am really excited about all of this though--don't think I'm not enjoying being a new parent! Holding her on my shoulder and her rocking her head over to give me a kiss (Lindsay and I are convinced that this is on purpose!) is my new favorite thing in the world. Plus--it's funny as hell hearing her burp and fart like a man! Hehe.

Ramblings of a tired new father

2009-04-24T21:03:00.000-04:00

Well, our just over one year old computer decided to no longer have a working wireless card, so I'm on my old computer from college. How is this thing still working and our fancy smancy new computer on the fritz? What sucks is that I can't post any pictures (sorry Cameron) because it doesn't have a card reader built in and I don't really feel like looking for the cord to my camera.

Anyways, Genevieve is doing wonderfully!! She is eating extremely well and gaining weight at a rapid pace. Lindsay is the best mother in the world and can't seem to be away from her for more than a few minutes. She also is kind enough to let me sleep through the majority of the night feedings (awesome!). It helps a lot that I lack milk producing boobies, hehe, he said boobies! I told you I was tired.

I seem to have reached a dilemma about my work in clay. We are now super busy at work which is great, but it means that I am very tired when I get home. I'm also tired from the aforementioned lack of sleep. It's also getting flippin hot outside and my studio lacks air conditioning. All of these things make me not want to go out and get to work. Not to mention that I like to spend some time in the evenings with Genevieve and Lindsay. Excuses seem to abound. I'm sure I'll get the itch before too long, but I already haven't touched clay in almost a month.

I've also temporarily closed my Etsy shop because I packaged all of my work for a show back a couple of weeks ago and have yet to unpack anything. Actually, I was so tired when I got home, I just unloaded the car straight into the studio. (Another reason I haven't gotten out there lately) I'm thinking of taking a bunch of the work up to Southern Pottery and letting someone else sell it for me. I had planned on making a bunch of work and doing a few more shows this season, but I don't see that happening right now. It also doesn't help that the only show I've done this year was a bust. Right about half of last year when I was totally unprepared. I think that part of the problem was that it was the day before Easter. It looked like there was maybe half the attendance of last year. I did get lots of compliments on my new work which was encouraging, but compliments don't pay the bills.

I did meet a local potter there that has a wood kiln out on Edisto, and I told her that if she needed help with the firing and filling of it I would be glad to assist. Don't know if I'll hear anything back, but it would be cool.

Maybe I should start setting goals for what I want to accomplish--I'm going to clean up/out my studio some time this weekend. That's enough. I'll be doing good to do that. And who knows, maybe it will inspire me to get out there and make some work.

Alright, that's enough nonsense for tonight. I promise to get some new pictures of Genevieve up at some point this weekend, and one day my blog will have ceramic work on it again--wouldn't that be a novel idea.

Baby Pictures

2009-04-08T14:12:00.001-04:00

Right after giving birth--Epidurals are wonderful!! Just ask Lindsay!

She just loves to sleep with her mouth open.

The whole family--minus our first born, Layla (our wonderful dog)

Thanks for all of the well-wishes everyone!! I still don't have time yet to give a full report--Genevieve is still in the hospital until at least Tuesday, but she is eating well and doing wonderfully. They just have to keep her under observation for a week without any 'episodes.' (read breathing problems) I did want to put up a few pictures. More to come soon!

Baby Genevieve is here!

2009-04-07T14:06:00.000-04:00

Baby Genevieve decided to come quite early, but she is absolutely beautiful! She was delivered at 5:27 a.m. on Sunday morning and weighed 5 lbs. 10 oz. She was 19 in. long and just perfect! Since she was so early--almost 6 weeks--she has to stay in the hospital for about another week, but I know it will fly by! She is eating well and seems really happy, but she had one episode of apnea the first night, and a couple of episodes of low oxygenation, so they have to keep her hooked up to some monitors to check her breathing and other vitals. She is now off of IV fluids and she should be eating at normal term baby levels by day five. Lindsay and I are holding and feeding her, and the hospital gave us a courtesy room so that we can be there as much as we like. I'll post a more detailed account of the exciting delivery and some pictures and videos as soon as I get time. I'm supposed to have a show this Saturday, but I haven't started preparing for it yet, so I may have to miss it. We'll see.

Another post soon to come!!

Hiatus

2009-03-24T21:01:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been slack--sort of. I haven't worked in clay in almost three weeks, I haven't commented on blogs (sorry about that--I miss commenting :( ). I got a terrible flu a few weeks back and after I got to feeling better the weather got nice so I started working in the yard in the evenings. I also started riding my bike again--found out that being in terrible shape and lots of pollen in the air are a bad combination for riding. My next door neighbor started doing triathlons last summer and I want to help him train, but so far I've just been slowing him down. My goal is to be able to keep up a good pace for about 13-15 miles without slowing down...too much :). I got about 7 or so tonight, so hopefully it won't be long. I should run with him as well, but I just don't like running--maybe once I get in better shape I'll give it a go.

Lindsay and I have also been getting the nursery ready for Genevieve--we still have the window tint and curtains to hang and then we'll be done--I think. Oh yeah, did I tell y'all the official name--Genevieve Olivia Stark. Lindsay has another shower this weekend that my sisters are putting on for her, so hopefully we'll get some more of the things that we need. Just 7 weeks left!! Flippin awesome!

Fresh from the kiln

2009-03-06T20:45:00.000-05:00

I unloaded the kiln this afternoon and it had some really, really great results! This is still my favorite of the big jars, and I'm glad that the glaze came out well. Last time I sprayed, I didn't spray thick enough--this time was a little better. I still would like to go just a bit thicker for more of the lighter red/orange.

Check out these wonderful glaze crystals!

My big boy came out ok as well. I'm just not too happy with the form, and the glaze didn't come out as well--too thin too--I really wanted some of the green to drip down a little more and give a more uneven line. Like this jar below, but even more.

The little covered jars are nice too. I have several more waiting to be bisqued.

I also had some new tests in there and I'll be mixing up three of them--two blues and a white that blushes pink. I'll finally have some more feminine friendly colors in my palette.

Tomorrow I've got to work in the morning, but I do want to see if I can get some more buckets and mix up some glazes. Then back to making pots again!

Covered Jars

2009-02-26T20:45:00.001-05:00

These are my new favorite things! I have always wanted to make a dropped lid (not sure if that's the correct term), but had never made the time to experiment. Trimming was always the part that befuddled me, but a while back fetishghost posted his technique on throwing and trimming lids and it made everything so clear! By the way, it worked really, really well!! I didn't throw the off the hump because I always screw stuff up when moving it. (I need one of those big flat saws like in the video--follow the link to fetishghost)

I made three this size--about 2 lbs of clay, three more out of about 1-1/4 lbs. of clay and two large ones with about 3-1/2 lbs. The first set is the only one that I've finished. I've still got to add handles and throw the lids for the others.

Well, I've run out of things to say! Till next time!

A decision made

2009-02-21T21:06:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Brandon's blog and I have come to an important decision--I'm going to build a wood kiln. I don't know when, where, or how I'm going to pay for it, but it will happen. I had always thought that when I got the chance to build a kiln, it would be a natural gas or propane fired soda kiln. After assisting Keith in firing his wood/soda kiln, I now have this craving for more. There is just something about firing with wood--I can't describe it--you get so involved in the entire process. From cutting the wood, wadding pots, loading, stoking, and all the rest--it's just so gratifying.

So, now what to do? I want to start stockpiling bricks--used bricks. I have just one problem: I have no idea where to find any. If anyone out there has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I don't mind going out a ways to pick them up. I know that used bricks are super hard to come by, and there is no way in the world I can afford to buy new bricks--have you seen the prices on those things lately??

I actually got half of my studio cleaned today--and I mean cleaned! I pulled stuff out and mopped under it and everything. I cleaned my wheel, all my tools, and even all of my bats! Now, I just have the other half to do! It started getting cold and I got hungry for dinner :) There's always tomorrow, right?

With Handles

2009-02-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

Since I have yet to do anything productive all week, I thought I would post a couple pics of the large pot with the handles I stuck on. I think that it adds a lot to the form, and I really like the actual handle. I particularly like the ridge in the middle.

It's kinda sad, but the biggest reason I haven't gotten anything done this week is because my studio is completely trashed and I'm too lazy to clean it. I have a ton of pictures taken and ready to list a bunch more stuff on Etsy, but there again, I don't feel like listing. One of those weeks I guess. So anyway, nothing much else going on--hopefully tomorrow I can clean up and throw a few pots!

Large Pot

2009-02-16T20:04:00.001-05:00

I have been struggling to throw some larger pots--in sections. It took four tries before I had something that I felt ok about saving. I started trying three sections and found out that I should crawl before I walk. Being so incredibly impatient doesn't help much either. I have found that I need a larger torch! First, I tried to add the second section too early and had problems with it holding up. Then, I made the second section too heavy, and the bottom bulged out. The third try I continued to mess with the piece until I destroyed it when it was ok to start with. Finally, on the fourth piece, I got something that I felt I could save. I'm not totally happy with this piece--the overall form is pretty weak, and I can get a much more fluid piece when I throw it all at one time.

I think that I have gotten off to a decent start, and want to keep making large work. But, when I think about how many pieces I could have thrown screwing around with this big fella, it's hard to justify. Plus, I don't think big work will sell particularly well in the current economic climate. Anyway, I'll definitely revisit this--my goal is to throw a piece that fills my kiln!

My Fancy Smancy Spray Setup

2009-02-11T19:09:00.001-05:00

(extravagant, huh?)

A while back, I was asked about my spray setup, so I decided to take a couple of pics today after I sprayed five big bowls. It consists of a stool, turntable, HVLP spray gun and that's about it. I was in a real rush today because rain seemed to be coming, so I started with a dust mask on, but it blew into my eyes about half way through, so it went away. I was spraying with the wind (we are having like 25 mph. gusts), so I figured I was ok.

I really love this spray gun. It came from one of my favorite places, Harbor Freight Tools. It is the perfect size for my needs--5.3 oz. It was actually like twice as expensive as the 20 oz., but it was worth it. It has a built in regulator that allows me to keep the pressure way up on the compressor so it doesn't cycle on and off as much.

One day, I'll make a real spray booth, but for now, this actually works pretty well. I would love to be able to catch the excess glaze and make a super combo glaze, and I'm sure it's not good for the environment, but I have no room or money. Story of my life, eh? ;)

Another Big Jar

2009-02-10T20:26:00.001-05:00

I am really diggin' these new big jars, and I really like this last one. I think that the shape is the most successful, and much more elegant than the previous ones. They are evolving from jars into more of a vase form, but that's ok with me. This one was a little over 13" high when I threw it. I need a bigger scale--mine maxes out at 7 lbs. so I'm estimating this one at somewhere between 8-10 lbs.

I've been trying to focus on details a little more, so when I trimmed the bottom, I made it bevel up a bit to raise it off of the table--I also mimicked the split rim on the foot as well. By the way, trimming a 13" tall piece with a fragile split rim is rather difficult. I put it on my foam bat and supported it with my left hand at the base while I trimmed with my right. I was surprised that it actually worked better to trim fairly fast--but you have to be super careful not to gouge, because the piece will rock back and forth very easily. Very light pressure and a sharp trimming tool worked pretty well.

Wood Firing

2009-02-09T16:13:00.001-05:00

Just got back this afternoon from Keith's and I had a great time firing my first wood kiln. I've gotta say, wood firing is a ton of work!! It sure is a good thing that it's basically free to fire! It really is a lot of fun though, and I still want to build my own one day, but it's nice to know what I'm getting into now.

I got up there at about 9 am yesterday morning, and Keith had only been firing for about an hour, and we finished up at a little before 7 last night. Everything went really well, except for the soda. We just could not get the sprayer to work. Keith had planned on putting a soda mix on the boards added to the fire box and sprayed straight into the kiln, but we only ended up getting the soda on the boards. Lisa and Alex LaPella also came by to help with the firing, and it is a good thing they did. They kept the kiln at temp while Keith and I were screwing around with the sprayer--and it just made it easier to fire and a whole lot more fun! I think we all had a really fantastic time!! I think Keith might post a full report on the firing over at his blog in the next few days, so I'll just post some pics and a video of the happenings. He said that he'll have a live video on his website of him opening the kiln Wednesday morning.

New Jars

2009-02-05T21:49:00.000-05:00

large jar

Here's the photos of the new jars. I don't really know what they are for except standing there looking pretty :) They could hold stuff, but unfortunately, they probably never will. But, that's ok cause they were lots of fun to make. The small narrow one is about 3 pounds, the middle size is about 5-1/2 and I didn't measure the big boy, but he is at least 9 or 10. They are all on 12" bats--I'm too lazy to walk back out and measure :)

I really like the combination of the split rim and the clover top. They are really experimental, and I'm not super fond of the narrow shaped one--I like these to be a little bulky. I don't even want to think about glazing yet--I don't see it being easy. I would love to have enough reason/space/money to make huge batches of glaze so I could just dip everything. I still haven't dragged out all of my spray stuff yet. I have a bunch of big bowls waiting to be bisqued and then I'm going to have a day of spraying. You will all really laugh at my sophisticated spray setup! I'll definitely post pictures of that!!

small

medium

large

BRRRRR!!!

2009-02-05T08:44:00.001-05:00

Just posting to say that it is incredibly cold (for here anyways!) I am so done with winter!! It is making me grouchy.

It is supposed to be nice this weekend though, and I get to go up to Keith's to help fire his new wood kiln on Sunday!! I'm super excited! I'm also going to stop by highwater on the way home--I guess I'll finally get some cobalt. I'm so cheap--I hate spending so much on such a small amount of chemical!! But, everybody want's something blue! And I need to brighten up my work anyways.

I started experimenting with some new large uncovered jars last night. I should be posting pictures of them, but I didn't finish throwing until almost 10, so I just went to bed instead. I'll get some pics up once I put handles on them.

Website is up!

2009-01-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

I finally decided to get hosting for my website. It's not complete yet, and I need to rearrange and update the galleries, but it is up!! It is a little slow to upload and I need to know if it is just my computer, so if it is slow to you too, let me know and I'll ask the host. If you go to a gallery and it is slow to upload, let it finish completely before you click a picture to see my nifty gallery feature.

Any other feedback on it is welcome too, especially the artist statement. I've never written one before and it was very hard to do.

http://starkspots.com

Long Days

2009-01-23T22:12:00.000-05:00

While my dad has been on vacation since Wednesday, I've been working til closing time at 5. I usually get off at 4 and get home in about 30-35 min. When I leave after 5, it takes about an hour or more to get home, so my evenings have been shortened and it's kinda killed my studio time. I went in there tonight and could not think of anything to throw, so I started working on my webpage. I've been trying to build it for a while, but I've pretty much neglected it for many months. I hope to approach some galleries this summer and I want to have it done so I can appear at least somewhat professional. It is really coming along nicely, especially since I finally figured out how to add my picture galleries. Actually, it's going to be quite kick ass when I'm done ;)

This is one of my bakers that came out of the kiln the other day. I'm somewhat pleased with how it came out. I added too much water to my glazes this past time I went to glazing and the iron reds came out a little dark. I'm going to let them sit up a bit and take some water off.

I took pictures of the individual shelves before and after the firing, but blogger was being a pain in the butt when I tried to upload them, and I couldn't get them to stay next to each other. After I get the website done, I may move the blog over to WordPress, mostly so I can feel all cool and fancy like so many potter bloggers out there :)

Ok, I am super sleepy and have to go to work again tomorrow morning. Only til noon though not too bad. Nite!

All healed up!

2009-01-19T20:26:00.000-05:00

Finally feeling better!! I was super sick from Tuesday to Friday, and I got to feeling a little bit better on Saturday. I was diagnosed with a 'severe respiratory infection.' I think that is just a fancy name for a really bad cold, but it still kicked my behind! I just made it back into the studio and got started glazing and waxing my bottoms. hehe--he just said 'waxing my bottoms!' Ok, enough of that. Here's a few of the pots I got glazed--still loads more to do.

I can't wait to get my kiln all loaded back up and get some finished work out. I seem to totally trash my studio when I go to glazing and it could use a thorough cleanup. And, I haven't even dragged out my spray stuff yet. Tomorrow--I really go to town making a mess!!

Under the weather

2009-01-13T10:08:00.001-05:00

I woke up today with a terrible cold, and I get the pleasure of being to only one at work today. The only upside is that it's raining and nasty outside, so we are kinda slow today. And I was introduced to the coolest thing since sliced bread!!! Pandora is this radio station that tailors music to your tastes! It is really, really cool!

I put a coat of polyurethane on the shelves yesterday and I sanded and buffed them this morning. They look really sweet! I'll take some pictures tonight when I get them back home. It's so nice to have any tool I need at my disposal. I couldn't find a high enough grit sandpaper at lowes, so I brought them to work and sanded them with some 320 grit on our dual action sander--five minutes later, I had a great surface to work with. Put on the coat of poly and put a work light on them to dry them out. Then this morning, I grabbed some 2000 grit paper, the high speed polisher and some machine glaze and buffed them out to a nice gloss. I made the satin poly into gloss. I love having the right tools!

I am now debating whether I should paint the base. Right now it is just bare light grain pine, and I kind of like it. I just don't want to get paint on them and not like the result. I've also got to get some fabric to make table cloths--totally out of my element there, but I think I can manage! Since my pots are mostly dark, Lindsay suggested that I get a lighter colored fabric for the table cloths. I want my booth to be kind of bright and vibrant. I was thinking maybe a pale yellow?? But then would that look good next to the pine? Maybe a light gray? I don't know. I would really love some input from you out there in blogger world--men are not always the best color choosers. At least not me anyways.

Well, that's it for now. Back to work--I've got some parts to receive. Talk to y'all later!

New Display Shelves

2009-01-11T20:44:00.000-05:00

I spent a good part of today building these new display shelves. They are 4 ft. wide and each shelf is 6" wide. The tables I got for Christmas are 5 ft. long, so these should fit nicely. The tops are some extra birch ply that was left over at work, the rest are one of my old 6 ft. shelves that I'm not going to use anymore, so my investment in them is zero. I've still got to sand and polyurethane them--I'll get to that tomorrow night.

I also unloaded a really full bisque load today, and everything survived except one server. It had a hairline crack in a ring on the bottom which I tried to take a picture of, but it wouldn't come out. I think it was from not compressing the bottom as well as I needed to, but I'm not certain. I haven't had a crack form in a complete ring before--it is kind of weird. Anyway, it doesn't go all the way through, so I'm going to glaze it anyway and see what happens. At worst, it will split in half and glaze will drip all over a shelf :)

Goodbye 2008 (a little late)

2009-01-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

Well, this will probably be a fairly long post. I'm in a writing mood, I've got my favorite soda fired cup full of Beam and Pepsi (way better than Coke any day of the week), and I finished off my pots needing trimming and handles. How much more content could a potter be?

This is also my first chance to somewhat reflect on 2008, and it was a really great year. Life has been really interesting with tons of changes!

We were busy at work, and had a great season. I work with my father at his business selling and servicing landscape equipment, and we had the best year to date in 2008. I really enjoy working with my father, even if the customers can be a little more difficult sometimes ;)

Lindsay and I got to go on two really great trips--a cruise to the Bahamas and our recent trip down to Mexico. Both were really amazing and some of the most restful and relaxing times of the year. We are truly fortunate to have been able to go on both of them. Especially since one was essentially free :)

I also feel that I have progressed by leaps and bounds in the quality of work that I am now making. I have found that it is so satisfying to make work that I can feel proud of--and as a bonus, I actually still like this new work after making it for a couple months. I think that my forms are improving, and I'm also creating a more cohesive body of work. I am going to start compiling a portfolio of forms and glazes so that one day I can approach a few galleries and at least appear somewhat professional.

This past year, I got my studio set up pretty much to my liking--well, except I can't make it magically triple in size. I am still missing two critical items though--a wedging table and a pugmill. I can make the wedging table as soon as I get time and materials, but the pugmill will have to wait. Too bad I can't make one of those! Anyone got an old one they want to get rid of? You know, just lying around :)

And, of course the biggest and best news! We are expecting our first little girl May 14th! As I've said, we are soooo excited and really can't wait!! So, now that we've got to start paying for child care, I am trying to make tons of pots to sell. I plan to do a few shows this spring and I am going to keep filling my Etsy shop. Now, lets all just say a little prayer that the economy will get somewhat back on track so pots will just fly off of the shelves!

Well, that's enough reflexion for now. Getting a little sleepy now--must be about time for a refill.

It's a GIRL!

2009-01-08T18:56:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Lindsay and I are having a little baby girl! The ultrasound went great today and everything was perfect! Got to see the baby yawn on the ultrasound and saw the little 'girl parts'. At first I thought we had a very well-endowed baby, but it turned out to be the umbilical cord. :)

Speaking of umbilical cords--that thing doesn't just come right off after birth!! It stays there for a couple of weeks! What's up with that???? I must admit, I'm a bit freaked out about some of the gross stuff, but I know I'll get over it once she gets here. At least she cant pee on me while I'm changing diapers ;)

Where have I been?

2009-01-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

Man it's been FOREVER since I've updated, or even really had a chance to comment on others blogs--and I have been missing it. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! Mine was nice and quite, which I needed. I also had a good amount of time off of my day job, and I put in a good many hours in the studio over the past week or so. I have been working on some new bakers and serving dishes that I am really happy with. They are split rim pieces that I had never tried before, but now I really like the outcome. I can't wait till they are glazed! I think tomorrow night, I'm going to take some better photos of one of the servers to put up on the critique blog for some honest feedback. But let me know what you think now anyway :)

I also have a new bowl form to go along with my other work that I think works fairly well. I burned through pretty much all of my clay, so now I get the joy of picking up more. I've got some good and smelly reclaim drying out, but nothing is drying again. I sometimes wonder if I've got the patience for ceramics. I bring out the torch an awful lot nowadays and still always seem to trim too wet. Oh well, whatcha gonna do?

Decal Disaster

2008-12-22T13:47:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I've had requests to show the carnage. Here they are! I talked with Keith over at Mudstuffing Pottery who has fantastic decal work and he and I decided that speed had a lot to do with it. No, I wasn't on speed and ruined a bunch of pots! I fired super fast (like 3-1/2 hours to cone 05), and we are pretty sure that's not a good thing for decals. He suggested that I toss a couple pieces in my next bisque which is a lot slower to see the affects. So, after I do that, I'll hopefully post pictures of pots all in one piece ;)

What's been going on

2008-12-20T15:17:00.000-05:00

Lidded casserole...I like it!

It seems like there is just never enough time to get everything done. I haven't made anything new since my trip, but I have to admit, the break has been nice. I am ready to get back into the studio and start a new making cycle--I have lots left unchecked on my make list. I've spent the past few days cleaning up the studio. It was a complete disaster! I can now see the floor for the first time in quite a while. I also purged my shelves of all of my old work--a couple hundred pots met their early demise by way of hammer! I had a ton of work that was bisqued and never glazed that I got rid of. It was all work that wasn't my best and didn't represent where I'm going, so I thought--'Why is this old crap taking up valuable shelf space?' Out came the hammer, and now I have room! It is wonderful! Shelves just waiting to be filled with new work!

I know the debate over wasted energy and resources, and I do feel bad when I think of how much clay and energy I wasted destroying bisqued and glazed pots, but I just couldn't feel comfortable selling, or even giving away that work. I am really bad about looking at past work and wondering what in the world I was thinking when I made it. I guess I need to get better at glazing pots more quickly, before I get the chance to find that I don't like them any more ;)

How do you all feel about trashing unwanted work?

I also tried my first toner decal firing last night, and it was a total flop. Fortunately, I used pots that I was planning on trashing anyway, because they all met Mr. Hammer in the end. I think that I may have bought the wrong decal paper because it didn't burn off! I fired to cone 05 for Pete's sake! I thought it was clear decal paper, but when I applied it, it was white. I thought oh well, it'll burn off. Wrong! I have no idea how it was still there at almost 1900 degrees, but it was! I know most decal firing is like cone 018, so how come my paper was still there? I have also heard of firing back to cone 6, but I didn't want my glazes to get another melt. They did anyways and all of my mattes looked like poo. They became super matte and felt like sandpaper. The gloss glazed pots looked ok, but decal paper was still there. The only good news was that the toner didn't burn off either, so I can keep experimenting! Any input on what the heck might have happened and why my paper was still there?

Let's all go to Mexico!

2008-12-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip! Enjoy (and be a little jealous ;)

This is of our room. Notice the two person jacuzzi in the corner. Unfortunately, Lindsay couldn't get in because of the baby. It was quite sweet though--I made sure to give it some use.

Here is our view where we spent two whole days doing a whole lot of nothing. The actual beach was really rocky, so they blasted out these neat lakes that filled with ocean water and lots of fish.

I enjoyed the snorkeling:Chichen Itza had its ups and downs, but here we are conducting our own tour--we did a way better job than the tour guide.

And here are a couple of friends we made.

Part of the view from our balcony.

We had a really wonderful time! The resort is adults only, so it has a great getaway feel. I would really love to go back, but someone else would have to foot the bill again--I don't even want to know the cost :) Back to pots tomorrow!

I'm Baaaaack!

2008-12-09T08:47:00.000-05:00

We got in late Sunday night after a delayed flight, and I've been trying to catch up on all of my online stuff. I had like 120 blog posts to go through!! I may follow a few too many blogs ;)

We had a fantastic time! It was truly wonderful! I swear I could live there! Well, I might weigh about 500 pounds and never leave the comfort of my beach chair or hammock.

I'll be getting back in the studio tomorrow night, so maybe some pots then. I'll post some photos of the trip in the next couple of days. Hope everyone is well!

VACATION TIME!

2008-12-02T12:10:00.000-05:00

Lindsay and I will be leaving out tomorrow for our vacation in Mexico. A while back, our family business won a trip for equipment sales, so we get to go to an all inclusive resort in Mexico! It will be Lindsay's first time flying in a commercial airline (her father owns a flight school with mostly single engine planes), and her first time out of the country. I'm no world traveler, having only been to Mexico once before on a mission trip, but we are sooo excited! Warm weather and white sand beaches here we come! (And the free food, drinks, and excursions don't hurt either ;)

Check it out here

Casseroles and such

2008-11-30T19:31:00.000-05:00

I have been working, I promise! My resolution to be a better blogger hasn't quite panned out. Oh well, I'll post whenever I can. This is a new casserole that I am working on. I really like the way that it turned out. I have another one just like it done, and two larger ones that need lids thrown. I have decided that casserole lids are one of the more difficult things to throw, at least for me. I had never really seen one done, so I winged it and it turned out ok. We'll see how the next couple big ones turn out. Practice makes perfect and easier I suppose. I plan on uploading this one to the critique blog after it is done to get some critical feedback.

Things are really taking forever to dry now that it's a bit cooler. I thought the low humidity would help, but no. I may never get a bisque done at this rate. I actually made a pretty lengthy make list that I have been steadily checking work off of. It really is amazing how much it helps to have something to go by. When I would just head out and sit at the wheel I would make stuff, but I was never really productive. Now I know when I go to the wheel I'm making a dozen mugs, or three nesting bowl sets, etc. My greenware really seems to stack up a whole lot faster this way.

I've pretty much missed the whole shopping season again this year--I didn't do any shows, and my Etsy stuff isn't flying off the shelves. I did bring a batch of pots up to Southern Pottery, so maybe I'll pick up a few sales there. I really want to stock up over the winter for the spring show season. I'm also going to redo my booth setup to display my work more professionally. I am leaning toward covered tables with small shelving units and crates. Any input on where to score some inexpensive small tables? They need to be able to fit in the back of my wifes Rav4, so something under six feet.

I am still trying to create a more unified line within my work, and my next step is going to be place settings. I want to come up with two, maybe three different ones, and try to make them match the rest of my work. This is when I really wish I had a slab roller! I am not a huge fan of throwing plates and I think I may look for an alternative to thrown plates. What does everyone think about slump molds? I've never really done much with plaster molds, but I think I somewhat know how to make them. I would like to be able to have a few of them so that I could make plates pretty efficiently. Of course that would mean that I need to make a better table for rolling out slabs. It's funny how one project turns into another!

Well, my video is finally finished uploading! It's amazing how much I can ramble during a video upload! Sorry for the long winded rambling.

More of my dog--sorry, no pots

2008-11-11T19:08:00.000-05:00

Ok, this has nothing to do with pottery, but I thought you might get a kick out of it anyway. My dog is so stubborn, but she still cracks me up!! I figure we got all of the spoiling out of the way with her so hopefully our kids won't talk back so much--she is completely rotten!

My Layla!

2008-11-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

I caught my crazy little dog in the middle of a yawn and I just had to share her mug with everyone! Who couldn't love that face??

My First Exhibition

2008-11-08T09:39:00.000-05:00

I've finally decided to take the plunge and enter my first exhibition. I have already decided to not worry whether I make it in or not, but I can't get past the fact that I have no idea what I'm doing. I want to enter a mug and I know I need to mail the application along with a CD of photos, but how many photos? Am I allowed to only submit one photo with a straight on perspective, or can I submit several at different angles? Should I call the gallery and ask them? I am allowed one entry for one fee and two for another, but I think I'm only going to submit one. I get the impression that this is something that I should already know, and I'm reluctant to call the gallery for fear of making a fool of myself. Some wise advise would be much appreciated :)

It Starts! Critique My Pot

2008-11-07T13:06:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I got it started! If you want to become a poster, email me at starkspots@yahoo.com and I'll set you up to be able to post. I will make it look a little better when I get home tonight, right now it's pretty much just blank. I really think this could be helpful--especially if we upload videos. I know you still can't pick the pot up, but we can comment on form and whatnot.

http://critiquemypot.blogspot.com/

Critique blog?

2008-11-06T20:14:00.000-05:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the biggest thing I miss since leaving school is open class critiques. So today, I had this idea! Why not create a critique blog? If anyone that reads this blog thinks this is a good idea, leave a comment and I'll get it started! It would be open to any body, but I think it would be good to limit it to ceramics, at least at the beginning.

I'm not sure how to get a blog with multiple posters, but I know it's possible. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think it would be neat to be able to post images and videos and get honest critical feedback.

Let me know what you think!

New photo tent

2008-11-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

I got my new photo tent the other day, and I've been a photo taking fiend! The other wonderful thing I got was a awesome new camera for my birthday! Thanks Lindsay!

Yay for good pictures! (well, good for me anyway ;)

Look Mom! No mess!

2008-11-01T10:07:00.001-04:00

I got to try out my new trimming box last night, and may I just say, it worked fantastically! I had a great day working in the studio, even if it was only a half day. I got some glaze mixed up, cleaned up a little, made ten mugs to completion, and threw a couple of bakers. It was my first attempt at these, and I'm pretty sure I made them too thin. I was told that they needed to be a little chunky, and mine are really not. We'll see. Tomorrow I might get some pics up of the finished pieces.
That's all for now. Here is a picture of the mug handles all lined up.

Well, now that's a box.

2008-10-30T20:43:00.001-04:00

So, I really love my new Griffin Grip, but it really did make quite a mess of my studio. I decided to make a bigger splash pan that would catch all of the trimmings and keep them off of the floor. Basically, it is just a plywood box with slots cut out for the wheel. I made the box and cut out the slot for the base of the wheel head in the bottom of the pan first. I went to put it on the wheel and found that, yes, the wheelhead exists as well, so I had to cut slots into the side wall as well. That would be why my little flap wall has two gaps in it. I made the flap before I discovered my critical flaw :) I also ran out of plywood at the same time, so little gaps get to stay. Just call me Lazy!

I would love to one day make a better one, but this will work for now. I want to have the flap incorporate both the side and base in it so that there are no more gaps.

I just wish I had some stuff to trim.

On that note, I get to take a half day at work tomorrow so to the studio I go, during the day and everything!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-10-27T21:19:00.000-04:00

( Before)

Yay! My parents got me a shiny new Griffin Grip for my birthday (not really til Nov. 2) and I got to try it out tonight. It is really quite sweet and really makes trimming easy. There is only one problem that I have found. It makes a total mess! Because it sits higher than my wheelhead, it slings trimmings all over the place. I'm going to make a box to go around the wheel and collect all of the flying clay.

(After)

Whatcha think?

2008-10-22T19:45:00.000-04:00

Here is a new vase form I've been playing around with. I may have gone overboard on the decoration, I don't know. I feel like I'm being influenced by all of you bloggers out there, and I think this pot has a lot of qualities of some other's pots. I always have this fear that I will make a pot just like something that I saw online and not even know it. (I haven't yet, have I?)

What do you think of it?

The glaze load that I did last weekend was half good, half bad. Mostly because I only had two glazes in there, and I knew I liked one and it turned out the other sucked. It was a clear with copper added for a green, but it has about zero interest. A couple of pots came out nice where the glaze was really thick and the slow cool got some nice crystals, but overall, it sucked. Ah well, whats a couple dozen pots? It wasn't too bad on some smaller pots. I still think I might use it for a liner, but it just isn't interesting enough to carry a whole pot. I'm going to let it thicken up some too and see if that helps.

Holy Organization Batman!

2008-10-16T21:30:00.000-04:00

I brought home a leftover shelf from work today and put most of my glaze materials on it. It won't fit my 50 lb containers, but everything else fits. See the empty box of silica? Yeah, that sucks. I have 50 lbs. on its way along with some much needed F-4 Feldspar. I really did a crappy job of estimating what I would need when I started mixing up glazes. Live and learn I guess.

I also made my first trimming tool yesterday! It was fun, and if it works, I'm going to make a few more with different shaped cutters. This is a fancy version. I haven't been in the wet clay except to throw the one cup to try out my cutoff tool. Maybe tomorrow. Anyways, fun today spent organizing the shelf and separating all of my bisque work to be glazed. I got maybe about 1/5 of it glazed tonight and found out that for some reason, I can no longer glaze bowls. I dropped two in the bucket and two more dripped all down the sides. Nothing the hose can't fix. Maybe I'll give those another go tomorrow. Once I get all of the work set aside for the two glazes I have mixed up done, I'm kinda at a stopping point until my silica and feldspar come in.

How wavy is your bottom?

2008-10-15T19:57:00.001-04:00

Here is a cup I threw quickly last night to try out my new cutoff tool. I think it turned out pretty nicely! Sorry the picture is a little blurry.

I also fired a really small glaze load--mainly to test out some new glazes. I had 7 tests in there, and I'm going to mix up three, maybe four. I also threw in a couple dozen pots glazed in Randy's Red, the only glaze I have mixed up in any quantity. Man! This glaze is awesome! I really, really like it, and I have a crap ton of it, so all the better! It really accents carving and has tons of variation. It is also really stable and fits my clay body very well. I'm going to do a test and change the colorant and see if anything works.

I've got to set up my real picture taking set up to get some better pics, but right now my studio is completely trashed. I really need more space. I have completely outgrown my tiny one car studio. One day...

New cutoff tools

2008-10-14T19:36:00.000-04:00

I have always really liked cups and such that were cut off the wheel with spiraled wire. I have always had access at work to the little springs that are used to do said cutting, but I just got around to making a couple tools. I wish that I made more of my tools, and I really want to make some trimming tools next--you know--those simple angled things that basically look like a flat piece of metal bent at the end. (really technical, huh?) Any suggestions on the metal to use?

General Loathing.

2008-10-13T12:15:00.000-04:00

Fair warning: This post is going to be basically a bitch fest over our current political situation.

I find that this whole election is going into the crapper. I consider myself an independent that leans a little to the right. I hold many conservative values, but I would never define myself with the republican party. I am very religious, believe in family, a small government, and a free market economy. Sounds like a republican, huh? Well here is my problem--the current republican running for president just plain sucks. What can I say? He supported the bailout and wants to spend another $300 million bailing out people who made bad decisions and got screwed by the housing market and credit crunch. Don't get me wrong, I all for helping out the needy, but seriously, what the hell happened to personal responsibility.

I also see health care going to crap if it is run by the government. McCain makes a good point when he asks why you would put the government in control of health care when it has screwed so much other stuff up. And, is NO ONE concerned about the national debt any more??? How is the fed going to pay for this stuff without raising taxes. Oh yeah, tax the wealthy, they've got the money! People seem to forget that the politicians that make these laws are the wealthy and they tend to look out for their own wallets.

I think my biggest issue with this election is that I see it as the lesser of two evils. I don't want to vote for either candidate, and I just can't decide who I want to vote against. I think my solution is to not vote at all because, well lets face it, I live in SC, also known as the reddest state in the country.

Anyway, another issue I have this election season is the ridiculous partisanship--people are genuinely mad at others for being a republican or democrat. Why is it that we feel it is our place to tell people what to think, or how to vote. It's all so disgusting. There's nothing wrong with civilized debate and discussion, but it is just so personal this election. It feels like people are being plain hurtful to each other for no reason at all.

I just hope that after this election things calm down, and our government can actually be productive and get things done that will really help people. I feel better now. If you made it this far kudos! I hope that's my only political post and I can get back to something that makes me happy--pottery!! Ahhhhh....pottery.

Untitled

2008-10-09T20:43:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been an interesting week. I had a dealer meeting to go to on Wednesday in Welcome, NC (that's outside of Lexington somewhere), and I had to pick up a trailer at my uncle's in Winston Salem Tuesday night. I figured that while I was in NC, I would make the trip to Highwater Clays to pick up a bunch of glaze chemicals. (By the way, Asheville is in no way on the way to Winston Salem from Charleston, and I spent much of the past few days driving.)

I had a great time in Asheville. I hit Highwater around 10:30 and left about an hour later loaded down. I did manage to forget the 50 lb bag of silica that I needed. But anyways, after Highwater, I walked around downtown and went to a few galleries. I particularly enjoyed Blue Spiral, and seeing Kenneth Baskin's work was great. Ken was one of my favorite teachers in college and really got me making decent functional work in college. I think he had more influence on me than anybody else. Tom Turner's porcelain was absolutely beautiful, and another of my favorite Southeast potters, Jim Connell had some nice work on display.

I had lunch at a great pizza place--I can't remember the name now, but I sat at the bar and had some great dark beer and talked politics with a salesman in town for business. It was really funny, because he makes furniture on the side and had some really great retro inspired work that he showed me on his phone. Isn't technology great! I need to move some pictures to my phone :) It is really interesting how many people have the need for a creative outlet, and meeting this guy was a real treat--tailored suit, clean shaven, and much the opposite of me :) But, we both shared the need to create, and surprisingly, very similar political views.

So tonight I finally got to get back to mixing glazes. I finished the red that I was short of Gertsley Borate, and it made a lot more than I thought it should. It was just over 11,000 grams after colorants and bentonite, and made probably 8 gallons. I do mix my glazes fairly thin, but seriously, is it supposed to make that much? I know some chemicals need more water than others, but I haven't really mixed enough glazes to figure all of that out. I have The Ceramic Glaze Handbook that I am going to pull out tonight to see if I can figure anything out. If you've got any suggestions or comments, let me know.

I was going to talk a little politics, but I'm too tired tonight. Let's just say that politics suck and so do both presidential candidates. The end!

Penis pot?

2008-10-05T19:26:00.000-04:00

So...I made this pot today and in my brain it looked great. When it was done, I looked at it and thought, boy doesn't that spout look like a penis! So, I took it inside, and Lindsay confirmed my analysis. I wanted the spout to mimic the neck, so I added the little ridge.

What do you think? Is it an everyday, run of the mill, normal spout? Or does it turn an otherwise cute little ewer into a penis pot? My problem is that I have a few more to put spouts on and I don't want to make a line of penis pots! They make nice little bud vases, but I really wanted to make some ewers. I covered them tightly in plastic with some spouts, so I can wait a couple days for a consensus on the subject.

I think that I am finally getting the knack for pulling handles off of the pot. Here are a couple of pitchers that I think turned out pretty nice. They still aren't exactly what I want, but they are getting closer. I find that I end up making a much more substantial handle when I pull them off of the pot. I guess it's just like everything else, practice makes more perfecter....or something like that!

A few new pots and wheel setup!

2008-10-04T14:40:00.000-04:00

I haven't been blogging as much lately as I would like, and I haven't had time to comment on everyone's blogs, but I have been reading them. Anyway, these are some new creamer and sugar sets--I think they turned out pretty well. I also built a table for my wheel so that I can stand up and throw again. I did this in college and I really missed it, especially my lower back! I am heading to Sam's this weekend to get some of those cushy mats to stand on to help my legs.

I started mixing up a 10,000 gram batch of a new glaze and found out that I was 865 grams short of Gertsley Borate! How frustrating. I really wish that I lived closer to a supply that carried raw materials. It is nice living close to Coastal Ceramic Supply, but they order materials as needed which means about two weeks of wait. I have decided that it is not economical to order them online because shipping is almost as much as the materials. I'll be making another order on Monday, and I'm getting full bags this time instead of small amounts. I just thought I could complain some, so there you go :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! The weather here is fantastic! Sunny, low 80s! Talk to you later!

Shot glasses and Pitchers

2008-09-16T17:15:00.000-04:00

I haven't been able to get into the studio as much as I would like lately, but I've gotten a few new things in the works. I had fun throwing all of those shot glass size test tiles, so I thought I'd make a few more. I really like the way these turned out, and I'm going to make a bunch more when I get some more clay. I'm totally out of clay--except for a half bucket of reclaim, but that takes a couple of days to get back.

How many times can you reclaim clay? I'm sure that some of the slop I have has been thrown about 4 or 5 times, and it is super great to throw now . The only problem is that is smells terrible!! It's nice and moldy, has great plasticity and stands up really well. But, man does it stink! Just curious really :)

These pitchers are fun to make, but I think they need some more work. Something isn't right with them. I tried making the handles that were thick at both ends, but I think these feel too heavy. I also wonder if I should push the form a little more--maybe more bulbous at the base with a longer neck. Tell me what you think. I'm looking for a serious critique here, so go all out--I'm tough!

I hope to get a few more tests mixed up and maybe a glaze firing done early next week. Changing my whole glaze pallet and all new forms really seem to have slowed my production. I can't wait to get some tests done! I'm really waiting on my black iron oxide to come in off of backorder. On my test cups, I plan to paint it in the carvings under the glaze and also paint the same on the reverse side on top of the glaze. I want to have some surface decoration on all of my pots, but I'm no paiter, or drawer (is that really a word) for that matter, so I want to do some basic decoration. I also can't quit dipping and spraying pots, so my decoration has to be in addition to the glazing.

Lindsay's first ultrasound appointment is on next Wednesday, and I'm taking off work to go with her. We are so excited!

Finally! (For two reasons)

2008-09-08T19:59:00.000-04:00

The first news is really the more exciting tidbit, Lindsay is pregnant!!!! If you didn't know, we have been trying for almost a year, and just found out Friday night after a party at our neighbors' house.

The second exciting bit of news is that my glaze chemicals came in! I am going to make my list of tests after this post, and get to work tomorrow night mixing them up!

Well, that's all for now. Have a great week!

2008-09-04T20:13:00.000-04:00

Ok, so here is my tagging thing. Enjoy!

Here are the rules of tagging:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog. (this is what you're now reading.)

3. Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).

4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them. (This is only a game.)

5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

Six random things about myself:

1. I got married when I was 19.
2. I once wanted to be an engineer, even majored in it for a few semesters.
3. I am a car guy, and have been restoring a 67 mustang with my father for about 10 years (kinda stalled on that one)
4. I am a Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fan, and have read the Harry Potter books all at least twice.
5. I don't like lettuce because of its texture
6. I have a puggle who likes to make noises like a gremlin (not the car).

I am tagging the following.

Maku Studio
Judi Tavil
Lapella Art
The Mudd Pit
Mike's Pots
Alina Hayes

New shelves--already full!

2008-09-01T20:07:00.000-04:00

Is the weekend over already??? I have been having a fantastic weekend, mostly sleeping, and napping, and a lot of time in clay. Lindsay and I took Layla (our little dog) to my FIL's pool and swam Sat. I wish that I had pictures of that! She is not the biggest fan of the pool, but she likes to be held in the water, sort of. As soon as you let her go, she swims as fast as she can to the stairs. We then watched Clemson LOSE to Alabama and had a grand ol' time. Sunday consisted of church and napping, but I did load a bisque and got it firing last night. I crammed all of my test cups in with a ton of other work (who knew 7 cu. ft. could hold that much), then built some new shelves that I filled today with all of that bisque.

I also got a new tool that no potter should be without (at least one mixing his own glazes)--a triple beam balance. I got it on feeBay, and it arrived Friday. Now all I need is my chemicals--I'll call about that tomorrow.

Let me know what you think about the new font/colors. I wanted to keep the black background, but I want my blog to be easy to read too.

So, anyways, I need to do that tagging thing, but I'm not into it right now. Tomorrow for sure though!

Who says test tiles have to be flat?

2008-08-27T21:28:00.000-04:00

I have come to a decision on my test tiles--shot glasses! Well, not exactly shot glasses. I'm not going to trim them like I would if I were selling them. I balled up around 50, 1/2 lb. balls to make these guys, and I got half of them done tonight. I didn't get started until 7:30 and only worked until about 9. Not too bad--I had fun seeing how fast I was going--a little less than 2 min. per.

I really suck at throwing off the hump. I tried throwing little cylinders without bottoms, but they were turning out really bad, so I made these guys. I'm going to carve in them like I do my bigger cups to get an idea of how glazes will break over the texture.

I've got to fire a bisque soon--the whole bottom shelf is greenware, and I've got a good amount more stashed around the studio. It's still super humid outside, so most of it is not bone dry yet.

My wheel is in terrible shape already--why do I even bother. I wish that I could just roll it outside and hose it off, but I'm pretty sure the motor wouldn't appreciate it. Same goes for the floor. I can't wait to build a real studio--one with a drain in the middle. I'm working in my seriously small one car garage, and part of it is dedicated to the water heater and a shelf unit filled with random crap. What would a garage be without some random crap?

Exciting news! Carolina has it's first game of the season tomorrow night, and for those in the Southeast, it will be televised at 8 on ESPN. We are playing NC State.

Hope everyone's week is going well! Post again soon!

S'more new work

2008-08-26T20:44:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more pics of some other new stuff, and even though I said I wouldn't post about it any more, these pieces are faceted--blame Deborah Woods. So anyway, this first picture is of the larger bud vase form that Judy Shreve said that I should make. I'm not as happy with the form, but I'm too lazy to make more tonight. I think it either needs to be taller and straiter, or shorter and squattier (I have now declared that a REAL word). I still need to make a tray and arrange them with the larger one in the middle with several of the smaller vases around it. I really think that it's going to be neat when it's all done, but hand building was always my least successful activity in clay class.

This second picture is a new bowl with the fancy, smancy rolled lip that is so much fun to do. Sorry the picture is a little blurry--it's so damn humid outside that the camera lens is continually fogging up.

This third one is just a bottle, but I kinda like it. I like the relatively straight walls, but I may try it bulged out a little on my next batch. I'm also going to try the spring faceting tomorrow for the first time. We'll see how that goes :)

Lindsay and I have been talking seriously about grad school--both for her and me. She is going to go back and get her masters in education, and then I really, really want to go back and get my MFA, obviously in ceramics. I think she is going to start next fall (hopefully), so that puts me going back in four years (possibly). The scariest thing is really money--we made it through undergrad without any student loans, and I would love it if we could avoid them, but I don't think it is going to be possible. We are still at the early stages of discussing it, but we both really want it to happen. I know she is going back one way or another, but whether or not I go is up in the air. We've still got to look into financial aid and such, but I really hope we can do it! Not to mention we are trying to expand our family, which will put a very welcomed strain on the funds as well. Wish us luck--I'm sure we will figure something out!

(By the way, the pitcher from the last post bit the dust last night. I've only tried a few times to pull handles off the pot, and I've tried on big forms every time--don't ask me why--I'm an idiot. Needless to say, it didn't go too well. It's ok, I'll make more some day)

A new pitcher and bud vase

2008-08-24T20:11:00.000-04:00

To go along with my current faceting addiction, here is a couple new forms. I've got about 15 of these little bud vases made, and they are truly cute little guys! The only thing I worry about is if I will be able to sell them for enough. They are really quite small, about 2-1/2" to 3" high, and they are a fare amount of work. I could knock a regular bud vase out in no time, but the faceting adds a good amount of time to the making. It's kinda like fancy mugs--how do you charge enough for the amount of work? You can throw a mug body, trim it, embellish it, handle it and sell it for X amount, or you can throw a 5 pound bowl, take less time to complete and charge five times as much. Oh well, the bud vases are lots of fun to make and hopefully they will sell.

The second new form is a pitcher that is....can you guess? Faceted! I think that I am going to lay off the faceting for a while, mainly because I am getting sick of the word--writing it, saying it--it's just getting annoying. I'm sure reading it is as well :) So the next post will NOT have the word facet in it, I promise!

I think that I'm gonna stick a fat handle right where the smooth rim meets the facet and have it meet the bulge just after it starts. On my next one, I am going to try to keep the neck thinner. While opening up the base, I stuck my big, fat hand in and widened the neck. On the next one, I'm going to use my trusty throwing stick to open up instead.

Well, that's all for tonight. Have a great week! Weekends are always too short aren't they?

A rare sight indeed!

2008-08-22T22:07:00.000-04:00

Here is a rarity in my studio--a clean wheel! I knew it was time to clean when I couldn't find my tools in the clay buildup. I just moped like 3 days ago--can't tell, can you?

Maybe too much faceting?

2008-08-22T20:48:00.001-04:00

Ok, so maybe I have a problem. I have been having too much fun with this whole faceting nonsense. I am still working on developing forms, so now I need something from you, wonderful reader. Here are a few tumblers that I threw this evening, and I need some input on which ones are successful and which ones aren't. I have my favorite, but it is always helpful to have another's eye.

Most of these I think need a little more shape to them--they are kinda boring. Number 4 (from the left) is the most successful to me. The two on the right are just plain terrible (they were the first attempts).

I think that this form works better in a smaller vessel--small cups that I like to think of as booze cups--who drinks juice anyways?? ;)

Pots are taking FOREVER to dry! Stupid Fay! Although I know I shouldn't complain; the rain that we have been getting is nothing compared to Florida.

Well, I better get back to work. The Lord of the Rings is on TV tonight, but pots must come first you know.

Who knew faceting could be so much fun?

2008-08-20T20:21:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Lindsay's first day back to school with students, so I have been helping her set up her classroom for the past few days. I must say, she puts together a fantastic room that really looks like a great place to learn! When I wasn't helping her, going to work, sleeping, or eating, I was in the studio messing around with faceting bowls. I must say that I wish I tried this sooner--it is a ton of fun! I have to credit Tim See for giving me a boost to try it, as well as the Etsy Mud Team (a lot of the members saw Tim's video a while back and tried it before me). I faceted a couple of tumblers at the leather hard stage a while back, but I just tried Tim's technique several days ago. All you have to do is throw a fat wet cylinder, cut some facets, and push from the inside into the shape that fits.

(I do plan on cleaning this up at the bone dry stage)

In other news, I finally made it to the ceramic supply to buy some chemicals, although I don't have an ETA. I really can't wait to get to testing. Hmmm...I should really get some test tiles ready. I've been thinking of making cylinders and tying them on ropes to hang on the wall--I've grown tired of standard L shaped tiles. What kind of test tiles do you use?? Any really great recommendations?

Too much Bisque!

2008-08-16T11:01:00.000-04:00

I am accumulating too much bisque work! I really need to get to work mixing some glazes, and I now have to go to my supplier and put in an order for dry chemicals on Monday. I had planned on doing this Thursday, but found out from my neighbor that we both need to move our fences because they go too far back onto the property behind us!!! Needless to say, I was totally pissed and didn't make it to buy glaze stuff. The markers we used were put up by the builder, and one of them fell onto a metal drainage grate, so the builder put it BEHIND the grate instead. So, when I built the fence last summer, I used a marker that was in the WRONG place!!

Anyways, back to clay.

I've been working on having a cohesive line of work, and I threw a few vases the other night to keep along with this line. Here is the best of the four which I will try to duplicate. I need to focus a little more on the top half, which is a little wavy, but other than that, I think that it works fairly well. What do you think?

Here are a couple of pics of all the bisqued work that I have been accumulating. I have some pieces glazed, but as I've said, I need to get some new glazes.

Next week I'm going to go put in the order, and who knows when I'll see my precious chemicals. I wish I lived a little closer to somewhere like Highwater Clays, so I could just go and pick everything up. I don't want to order online b/c shipping is a bitch! So, that leaves me with putting in an order with my supplier and waiting for them to stick it on their next order. Ah well, make more bisque I guess :)

How Mugs Turn Into Tumblers

2008-08-07T21:38:00.000-04:00

So what happens when your mugs dry out too much to handle, but still able to be trimmed--just barely? They become tumblers! I through 15 mugs the night before last, trimmed and handled 10 last night, covered them with plastic, and sprayed them liberally with water. But they were still just barely soft enough to trim--not perfect for handling--at least not with this clay body which likes to crack.

So, now I've got some nice juice cups out of this batch, and who needs handles anyway?? I've seen some tumblers actually called 'handle-less mugs!' Maybe you can charge more for those....hmmm...great marketing!

Me and Lindsay went over to my sister's new house tonight for a big family dinner, and we had a great time. Got to see the newest nephew, and man he is just too funny! He is only a few weeks old and makes some interesting noises, but he is really very cute! Hopefully some time very soon, we will be on our way with our own little baby! Good night all--off to catch up on all of the many blogs I keep up with! I really need to insert all of the ones I've been reading into my blog roll. There's always tomorrow :)

Still Working Hard

2008-08-06T21:03:00.000-04:00

I have been having the best time with this new line of work. My wife came out earlier tonight and said, 'your work finally has a common look.' It is what I have been trying to do for so long--have a cohesive lie of work that is easily distinguishable (I spelled that right on the first try :) I still need to find a good bowl form that works well with the cups and such. I have a teapot form that I want to try and a couple of pitchers and some other things to try. I still want to work with faceting some more work--it's funny that I have been trained to throw thin for so long, I am having trouble throwing thick enough to facet.

In other news--it is freakin' HOT!!! Heat index was 107 today, and it's supposed to hit 112 tomorrow! I was dying out in the studio tonight, but it was a blast anyways. The other problem with the heat is that my pots are drying super fast, and its hard to keep them at the right firmness. I had 15 cups to turn into mugs that I threw last night and covered tightly. I took them out tonight and left them covered loosely. Well, by the time I got 10 trimmed, the last 5 were too hard to trim and attach handles. I gave them a good spritz with the spray bottle and covered them really tight to absorb some more water. Hopefully they will at least be soft enough to trim tomorrow, and if handles don't work, they'll just become tumblers :)

I have been enjoying my carving experiments, and you really have to be really deliberate about the strokes and not hesitate at all or else the lines just look bad. My carvings aren't particularly impressive, but they are getting better. I am going to brush on decoration on the last 5 mugs instead of carving.

I can't wait to get back to throwing. The only bad part is that I am accumulating a ton of pots and still have no glaze for them. I also want to make a shopping list for glaze chemicals tomorrow and decide on some glazes to start mixing for testing.

Well, thats enough for tonight. I am really enjoying blogging again, and I'm going to really try to keep up better. So, night all!

A Couple of New Pots

2008-08-02T15:07:00.000-04:00

I am still really enjoying making some new work, and I am still making some of the pieces that I sketched last week. I really like this new jar--the pitcher is nice, but not my favorite. I don't think that the foot works well. It seems a little too wide--or something. Anyways, something to keep working on I guess.

I have a predicament. I still really want to build my little kiln and start my attempt at soda firing with it, but I have lots of cone six pots in the works. I had debated a while back about mixing my own cone six glazes and seeing if I can get some better results in oxidation. But then I had the idea to build a converted electric and switch to cone ten soda--something that I am used to and already have recipes for. I would have to build the kiln at my work which isn't really a problem other than I would have to transport buisqued work about 35 min. away. I can fire while I work--working with my father does have its perks :)

The other problem with cone ten is that the kiln I was planning on using for the conversion is only a cone 8 electric. I don't know if it is even made with bricks that can go to cone ten. All I know so far is that it is a Paragon, about 7 cu. ft. and rated for cone 8. Anyone know if it will melt at cone 10?

So what I am now thinking is that I may start to mix my own glazes, but for cone six instead of ten and fire in ox. until I finish the soda kiln, then see how cone six soda works. If it doesn't do well, then I can go to cone ten if the kiln can handle it.

If anyone has any insight or recommendations to what I should do, or any experience with cone six in soda, I would love the input. Keith Phillips gave me some recommendations on cone six soda, but his experience was a little limited. Have a great weekend all!

Finally!!

2008-07-30T20:07:00.000-04:00

I have not only been away from my blog for ages, but I have also been out of the studio for just as long. I haven't made any new work since before the cruise back over a month ago. My last post made it very clear that I was truly frustrated with not only my current work, but also glazes, firing, etc. I started doing something that I hadn't done in a long time--sketching! I started having ideas for new pots again, and it was like starting all over! The break will probably be good for me--it forced me to rethink what I had been doing with my work. Don't laugh at my sketches, but I thought that it might be nice to see where my work is coming from. I'm going to try to make all of the pieces that I have been sketching. As always, they get changed a little through the process, but the cups I made over the past two days have been pretty similar.

I found myself thinking not just about pots, but what I wanted my pots to represent; what style I wanted to represent my work and myself. I think that I had always wanted to do what many other studio potters are doing, imparting a loose quality to my work--a organic feel that really gives pots emotion. I am sad to say that I just don't think thats my style. Haha. I am just so drawn to clean lines and deliberate movements. Don't get me wrong, I don't want my pots to look machine made, but I also don't want them to have the loose quality that is such a staple of modern functional ceramics.

I still haven't solved my glazing crisis. I am working on getting my crap together to build my converted kiln. I finally got a book on burner building. I toyed with the idea of buying one of the conversion burner kits, but I really would like to do the whole thing myself. Kinda like a big experiment. (Hope I don't blow myself up) I'm going tomorrow to my ceramic supplier and I may pick up the kiln shell then. I am just about out of clay again. I think I might pick up some cone 10 stoneware to mess around with.

I made my first relatively successful attempt at faceting a pot tonight. I found that it is really critical to get the clay at just the right consistency. Too soft and it sticks to the cheese slicer, too hard and it just won't cut. It was fun, and I know that I'll do a lot of it in the future.

I also started carving a little bit in a few of these pieces. My wife Lindsay asked me to do it, and I think it worked out nicely. I was just going to get some iron oxide and brush it on in a similar pattern, or make some black slip, but the indentation will be nice. I may do an iron oxide wash in there and then glaze over that.

Anyways, I'm getting a little long winded, so I think I'll leave it at that.