Handcrafting Pottery in North Carolina
This is one of the pieces I threw while at the Fair at the beginning of this month. It is a vase with four Koi fish carved in a water pattern. You are looking at the head and body of one of the lower ones. I use a brown glaze that is brushed on over the carved areas, then sponged off. Then a dip into a light blue glaze. That is followed by brushwork with an orange glaze over the fish bodies. You can see the iridescence that happens when the overlapped glazes pool. The blue glaze is fat and creamy, with tiny bubbles under the surface that reflect light. I think this is as close to a Chun glaze as I will be able to get with the way I am firing. One of the descriptions for a Chun glaze is "a milky, opaque finish where tiny bubbles are clearly present"
Sometimes you are asked to do "odd" jobs because you have artistic tendencies. A lady contacted me back in the summer about "fixing" a crucifix for their church. I told her I would be happy to look at it and when she brought it, it was in a box that was 40"x48". It was a turn-of-the century statue that had been removed from it's cross for cleaning, gotten left outside and the arms and legs had broken off. They had already had it repaired and appendiges reattached, but wanted more color and detail added to the plaster work. I said I would try, did a bit of research on the internet and became terrified that I would mess up the restoration work if I "fiddled" with it. So it has sat, awaiting a return of courage. 
These are a few shots of the pierced flower vessels, more of the slip painted trays and some of the new combos of warm glazes all grouped together. Today I will be glazing work from the bisque kiln, which is more of the slip painted trays, using different slips, underglazes, etc. for more color.
These are a few shots of the area around Gatlinburg, TN about a week or so ago. I met my mom, sister and friends for a short visit and it was really beautiful up there. Fall color was just beginning to turn. It was a great little rest and calming experience. Of course I laughed until my sides hurt, just as I always do when my family gets together.
Here's the post card for the Open House this weekend!
A couple of beautiful pots from Jen Mecca, who will be my guest artist on Oct. 18 and 19. The details in her work are incredible and I love the whimsy and joy with which her pottery is made.
I did pottery wheel throwing demos at the Fair in Cleveland Co. last week. These are a few shots of the midway and the wet pots in the back of my car. They all survived and I am in the midst of carving on them now. There is something magical about the lights, noise and nippy weather of a fair in the fall. It took me back to my own memories of the excitement of being about 8 years old and going to the state fair in Shreveport, La. with my family and my grandmother. I loved the bobbing ducks (Go Fish) game, where you were guaranteed to win something. I also remember being amazed at the animation of my grandmother, playing about 6 or 7 bingo cards at one time, and me trying to help her keep track of all those numbers.
This trio is a continuation of a series based on Persian images. I had done about 20 pieces and fired them in my friend Bobbie's gas kiln and the glazes I used covered the slip so it came out very indistinct and blobby looking. I will give it a go in my kiln and hope my glazes do better with the design.
This is one of the painted slip plates I will have for the Open House at the studio on Oct. 18 and 19. The cards are being mailed today. I will have more info on the blog later, but if you want news Right Now, leave me a comment! These are definitely a work in progress. I like the background grey color and the plum blossoms but want to work more on my blackbird slip. I have fooled around with adding iron oxide to it and so it has lost some of its darkness. Will go back to the original.
