I am loving this new batch of spoons that came out of the wood kiln that was fired during FireFest at STARworks. I like them so much that I want to keep them… but I will be strong and put a price on them. Well, maybe I will keep one.

There is so much that needs to be done at our new house and it’s making me crazy to not be there every minute! But alas, there is a studio tour this weekend and I have to prepare for that, as well as piggy bank orders to complete. It doesn’t help that the house is just a mile from our current location, making it all the more tempting to sneak away. I need to be patient. We knew that the timing of our closing would be squeezed in between studio tour preparations, and Jeff’s impending trip to Japan and S. Korea. Yep, he leaves in less than two weeks. It’s a good thing we aren’t under pressure to move out of here! Our goal is to be completely down the road by June 1st.

I am both exhausted and exhilarated, just thinking about it.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1OekpYv

The Celebration of Spring Studio Tour is my favorite event of the year. The countryside has sprung back to life, the grass is green, the trees are leafing out, and lots of flowers are blooming. It seems that no matter what the weather, there is a good turnout for this event.

There are 40+ potters on the tour this year. Many will offer demonstrations, refreshments, and door prizes. I will be working on carving a large ginkgo leaf bowl, and I am thinking Jeff will throw something big on Saturday afternoon. We have tour maps available in our gallery. Round up your friends and family and make Seagrove your destination this weekend!

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1ymQ6wD

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1CsuWcY

Each year at FireFest, a large ceramic sculpture is created and fired. This year, Seagrove artist, Carol Gentithes built a sculpture of a magical tree trunk. It was wood fired in this bottle kiln, during the festivities.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1JnVd0P

 I made this weed vase in 9th grade. It was in Mrs. Costa’s art class. She was the most inspiring and encouraging teacher that I ever had. She was also a potter, with a studio at her home. I had my first wheel experience in her class. I was the only kid that had a successful pot that could be fired. I don’t know what happened to that one, but I have hung on to this slab built piece. It has had a place in many of the homes I have lived in. The macrame was replaced sometime in the last ten or twelve years.

The story of the lidded jar:
I made this jar during the first year of pottery at the NH Institute of Art. It was the first thing that I ever made a lid for. When the academic year ends, NHIA has an exhibition of the continuing ED student work. My teacher was none other than Jeff Brown. He asked me what I was submitting to the show. My reply was, “Nothing, I am don’t make pots good enough for a show!”.

He was really disappointed.

He said that no one from his intro to wheel work class was putting anything in the show.

I felt really bad, so I agreed to put this piece in. It obviously didn’t sell because all these years later, I still own it. The next year I was much more confident and submitted a goblet for the show…
and was totally shocked that it sold! I interrogated all of my friends, certain that it was one of them that bought it. So far I haven’t seen it in anyone’s cabinet.

As much as I cringe at some (most) of my early pots, it’s good to have them around as reference point… or heavy weapon should I ever need it.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1bSsztm

Have a great weekend!

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1bEHsPU

 A couple more pots from the wood firing.  Most of the the square dishes (I think there were five) came out quite nice. A couple of the handles were buried in ash, losing their texture. I may try re-firing one of them in the gas kiln to see what happens.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1BsCZGg

Last month Jeff packed up a few pots and shipped them off to Mashiko Japan. He was invited by Doug Black to have these pots fired in Shoji Hamada’s noborigama kiln. The kiln was heavily damaged in the  2011 earthquake and was recently restored. The kiln had also not been fired in 40 years. It was quite a celebration and Jeff was really honored to be able to participate. He is hoping to be able to pick up his pots on his next trip to South Korea.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1Cao5qx

As with most wood firings, you have to take the good with the bad. Unfortunately the majority of my pots got the bad. Only one pitcher survived and it looks great, the other got the hammer.

 The pitcher, like this vase, had the blobs all over it, as well as inside.

These were the only two spoons that were acceptable to me. The others have a so much thick, gray ash that the design was obliterated, and they are quite ugly. Most of my pots with ginkgo leaf carvings also ended up this way. There are a couple that might be saved with some grinding and maybe a re-fire in the gas kiln.

Jeff had some pots that were obliterated with ash, but he also had some really nice ones.

I have come to the conclusion that this type of long firing (4-5 days) doesn’t suit me or my work. I am too disappointed when I have spent hours carving a pot, only to have it obliterated with ash. I prefer a shorter firing with just a little salt or soda. In another week we will have some pots in the wood kiln at STARworks. I am planning to put just a few small pieces in. The firing will be shorter, which means less ash. No ginkgo leaves will be sacrificed!

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1C7u13v

 Jeff had a birthday yesterday and last night we celebrated with a Mexican fiesta. Our potter friend and neighbor Phil joined us for the fun. The evening got started with a virtual toast, shared on facebook ,with Jeff’s friends from the MunGyeong chasabal festival. Since some of them live on the other side of the world, in a different time zone, they toasted with tea. We chose to enjoy some good tequilla.

While the carnitas was slow cooking in the crock pot, we glazed pots and loaded the kiln. Today is firing day which means new pots will be coming into the world on Sunday. Sort of like another birthday. I just might have to get another bottle of tequilla 😉

via Blogger http://ift.tt/1FMSEVT