Tag Archives: pottery lessons

Through the Fire Box

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Jeff was on the late night stoking shift, at the wood kiln, and snapped this awesome photo with his phone! I especially like the “hot” lady sculpture and the face jug, grinning in the heat.

While Jeff was on kiln duty, I worked in the studio, then settled in for the evening with a dinner of leftovers, while streaming “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. I am not sure if I had ever seen the movie in it’s entirety! I enjoyed it, but found the stereotypical portrayal of Holly Golightly’s Japanese neighbor rather appalling. There is also lots of littering in the movie. Every package that’s opened and cigarette put out, is tossed carelessly to the ground. Those are just some of my pet peeves and perhaps I noticed them more because of it. I just might stream some more classics when I get the time. Readers, if you have recommendations, please post in the comments!

Our “Mugs for Moving” campaign continues. Thank you to EVERYONE who has ordered a mug. Jeff and I decided to add a give away to the fun. When the campaign ends (probably late spring), we will choose one contributor at random, that will receive a collaboration pot from us. We haven’t decided what it will be, but are bouncing around a few ideas.
Click on this link to place an order: “Mugs for Moving”

All mugs will be shipped by late summer 2015

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Roasting a perfect chicken

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The cold winter inspired me to use the “big” oven, as opposed to my cuisinart mini oven, a lot more. Not only to create some good ol’ comfort food, but to take the chill out of the kitchen as well. Nearly every week I have roasted a whole chicken. A good size roasted chicken feeds us for quite a few meals. I always make a stock with the bones, which gives us a nice soup for dinner and a couple of lunches. Instead of a roasting pan I have switched over to my trusty cast iron skillet. I have combined methods from a few different recipes and have settled on this…
Place cast iron skillet in the oven and heat to 425 degrees
Rinse chicken and pat dry, season the cavity with salt and pepper. Place a lemon wedge, half a celery stalk, and a slice of onion inside the cavity. If you have fresh herbs you could throw some in as well.
Chop a couple cloves of garlic and tuck them under the skin. Brush the skin with vegetable oil and season with with salt and pepper.
Take the hot skillet out of the oven and transfer the chicken to it. Place in oven and roast for about 1 1/2 hours. I alway check the temperature at an hour. When done, transfer to a platter and let the juices settle for about 15 minutes.
What I like about using the cast iron skillet is that if you want to make gravy, you can do it right in the pan. Jeff is the gravy pro in this household, so I always leave that to him.
TWICE I have taken photos of my chicken roasting process. The uncooked chicken in the skillet looked a little icky, I didn’t want to turn off my vegan friends, so that photo was nixed. The photos I took last night of my perfectly browned bird were way out of focus. I will blame the wine for that!
Instead of chicken pics, I will leave you with a photo of a pig (of course).

New piggy bank combo… green and shino!

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Glazing for a Wood Firing

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Jeff and I have the opportunity to put pots in David Stuempfle’s wood kiln, and help with with the firing.  At the last minute Jeff suggested I make a few square bowls using STARwork’s Seagrove Clay. I kept the decoration simple. Stamps but no underglaze or slip. I hadn’t used the fish stamp in a long time. Maybe it’s time for it to go back into the rotation.
Since there won’t be time to bisque fire, these will go into the kiln raw. Liquid wax was applied to the rims and handles and then the interiors coated with Albany slip.

 A few weeks ago I had thrown some vases and pitchers with the Seagrove clay. I had time to slip, dot, and bisque fire those pieces.

It’s hard to believe that the pots above will come out of the kiln looking (hopefully) like the mugs below!

The magic of the kiln.

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“Made in the Carolinas”

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We had our 2 1/2 minutes of fame last week! Jeff and I were featured on “Made in the Carolinas”, a segment on TWC News. I blogged about the filming last month, and weren’t sure when it would be aired. I can’t embed the video in blogger, here is a link if you want to check it out:

The segment brought people to us all weekend. It was pretty exciting and perfect timing for our “Mugs for Moving” campaign. A big GIANT thank you to all who purchased a mug or two this weekend! We are off to a great start, but still have a ways to go. If you would like to learn more, read my previous post or click here: Mugs For Moving

The first bunch of square bowls are out of the kiln. I am very happy with how they turned out. These are a nice size, they hold about 16 oz. Perfect for salsa, dip, and serving veggies.  This weekend I made a few more to put in the wood kiln at David Stuempfles. Imagine them all brown and toasty. Stayed tuned for more about the wood firing.

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Mugs for Moving

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Jeff and I have been in Seagrove, NC for nearly five years. Living and working in these two log cabins has been an adventure that we will always hold near and dear to our hearts. It was never our plan to be in this location permanently. We are renting, and our dream has always been to purchase our own place.
After many years of hard work, and frugal living, we have found that place! We have a contract on house just a mile up the road. It’s a perfect in town location with some acreage and a wooded backyard. All of this is both exhilarating and scary at the same time.
For most people moving is hard work and a pain in a$$, but for potters it’s that X 100. Once more our gas kiln will have to be dismantled and rebuilt, along with pouring a new pad and building a kiln shed. We almost have it covered but a little help from pottery lovers and collectors will make a huge difference. 
Mug for Moving is our campaign to raise funds to get our studio and kiln moved. We are offering three different mug styles for $25 each. This includes shipping in the US, and if you are in NC, sales tax as well. Mugs will be shipped or available for pickup by fall of this year.
The details are on our newly launched website along with a shopping cart to place your order via Paypal. www.gypsypotters.net

Thank you readers and fellow bloggers for all of your encouragement and support over the years. The blogging community feels like family, even though some of us have never met. Jeff and I realize that times are tight for everyone, if you can’t afford a mug perhaps you could share our campaign on Facebook via the handy “share this page” button on the website.

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Mud Season

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We are finally experiencing some warmer temperatures. Since it arrived on the heels of snow and rain, mud season is in full swing.
Monday was spent glazing and loading the gas kiln. It felt good to be outside, even if it meant trekking through the mud. Since we lack a spray booth, this is our outdoor set up.

It works quite well, as long as there is no wind.
The day flew by quickly and as the sun was setting I decided to grab my camera and venture out for a walk around the property. My neighbors cows are always a treat to see. 
I don’t know much, or really anything, about raising cows, so I am not sure why these calves are in this little pen. They were all laying down and quickly stood up when I approached. I will try not to think that they might be being raised for veal. 

This piece of farm equipment makes me think “bionic bug”.
Today’s weather forecast predicts temps in the mid 70’s. More rain is on the way, so I think the mud is going to stick around awhile.

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Yearning for Spring

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I was browsing through photos yesterday and came across this one, take on March 1, 2011…

The tulip tree did not look like this on March 1, 2015! There are a few fuzzy buds and that’s it. We are expecting warmer temperatures this week, even a possibility of 74 degrees. In between those warm days it is still expected to drop into the 20’s overnight.

 Despite the struggle to keep warm and dry, some pots have been made and bisque fired. Yesterday I got all the underglaze applied and wiped down.

Today we will glaze and start loading the kiln. My glazing will be straightforward… mostly nuka glaze and the usual assortment of piggy bank color combinations. There are a few sinks for this firing. Jeff and I do those together. I pour the glaze and he does the turning, dumping, and dipping. It’s sort of a dance that we have choreographed quite well. It can get messy, so we like to set up our dance outside. Looks like we picked a good day for it.

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Broken

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Jeff brought one of his large wood fired pots into the house to be photographed. It was in the kitchen, standing next to the center island. I was cooking dinner and he asked me to pass one of the bar stools over to him. When I picked up the stool, the leg hit the vase.
It seemed like it rolled over in slow motion, with me not being able to do anything about it. It hit the floor and shattered.

I cried.

I try not to cry when favorite (or very expensive) things get broken, because objects shouldn’t be anything to cry over. Looking at the broken vase on the floor, all I could think of was the time and talent it took to create this giant beauty, and then the labor of a five day wood firing. Yes, I did think of the $1200 that it would sell for.

Jeff hugged me tight and said, “Just be glad it wasn’t a sink”.

I still had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw the shards out on the porch this morning.

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Another snow day…

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This is the scene we woke up to this morning! I shot this photo looking out from the kiln shed into the backyard. The heavy wet snow has completely transformed the shape of the cedar tree. Throughout the night we could hear the snow slide off the metal roof of the house, and land onto the porch roof with a loud thud. It’s hard to tell just how much snow fell. It looks like just a few inches. At one point during the night it sounded like it was raining. The temperature is hovering around 32 degrees. Next week it is supposed to climb back up into the 50’s. I am definitely ready for warmer weather.

While the weather may stop people from driving out to Seagrove for pottery, the Etsy shop is always open. Isn’t it great that you can shop for a new mug, wearing your pajamas, and curled up on the sofa?

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