Spring Redbud color

Gosh, isn't this just glorious color? Driving through town when the redbud trees are blooming is amazing. Brilliant color--no subtleness to their spring declaration at all. My favorite is the really chrome tin purple color. SMACK, "Notice ME!" they are saying. And I do, always wishing I could duplicate the color on some of my pots, but in a transparent way...........

Pottery in the home

A few candid shots of my pottery at the Mississippi show. It was a lovely home show hosted by my sister, Tammy. Her house is filled with antiques and is such a beautiful venue for handcrafted pieces. The warmth of the wood furniture is a very nice background for the colors of the glazes. It also gives a feeling of USE--how work might be displayed or used in a home setting. Of course, Tammy has more of my pottery than I do, so she had to move all the pieces she owns so no one would try to buy them. This has happened in the past! As collectors go, she probably has the largest collection of my work from the earliest time to present, followed by my mom. They have always been my biggest fans and supporters and I love them dearly for all they have done to help me work creatively and with passion in this field.

Fish experiments in underglazing

These are what my large fish platters looked like after underglazes were applied to the bone dry greenware. My idea was that the colored underglazes would act like a colored primer and enhance the glaze colors. We'll see what the fired results look like soon.

Dogwoods and cherry blossoms on pottery

These are new pieces I took to the Mississippi show. For these pieces I made carved bisqued stamps of dogwood flowers and cherry blossoms. The pink glaze has been one I have been testing from my series of tests of mason stains. I love the color. I hate the application of painting it on in layers. I prefer to dip or pour glazes on my pieces. This glaze will just not work properly when done that way. Very temperamental cheeky glaze!

When you look at these pieces what you are seeing is the culmination of several different expeditions into new clay territory for me. The first is the making of the stamps. I had to create those and fire them before I could make these platters.

The second was the glaze color expedition. That has been ongoing for about a year and a half.

No, I didn't work on these things 24-7 but they were done in between the regular work I create for shows, custom orders and wholesale work.

I call this experimental work "expeditions" because it really is like an adventure into unknown territory with unknown barriers to encounter, unknown results and possibly partial to total failure.

It takes courage and perserverance to make artwork.

It takes guts to continue to experiment and weather the storms the adventure may bring.

So, while these themes and images are very "pretty" and "delicate", underneath is sweat and tears and an endurance that sometimes borders on the edge of craziness.



Kyle's Glazed Results

I think this turned out magnificently. Very proud of Kyle's artistic abilities.



Textured Leaf bowls

A new color variation on my textured leaf bowls and banana leaf. Working on how nature puts several different colors in a single leaf as it is going through changes in seasons. This is what the studio looks like in the back when I have finished work coming out of the kiln and just before I start the glazing process for the next kiln loads. Chaos in Creation.

Potters of the Piedmont

Looking forward to being in Greensboro for this show on April 12. Rain date April 13. Yeah spring and outdoor shows!