Weekend Update

I had a fun weekend, with lots of goodies to share on the blog. I hadn't been antiquing in quite a while, and I was able to sneak off on Sunday to visit three shops in the area. Iron Horse Antiques in Manassas was first on my list. They always have a great selection, and a few of the booths upstairs are so well curated that I almost always find something I need. And they have a giant iron horse on the first floor, plus a running choo choo train that runs a track around the ceiling. Next up was the Bull Run Antiques Mall. As with all antique shops, it's hit or miss for me, since you never know what they'll have. Sometimes I walk out with a car-ful, other times (like yesterday) I walk out thinking how glad my husband will be that I didn't buy the giant carved piano legs at $75 each. Then I stopped by Old Town Manassas Antiques, which for some reason, I am not as familiar with. This is soon to change, though, because I discovered most of my finds there. So without further blathering, here are my treasures:

Galvanized tray with handy drain spout, which will be perfect for storage in the studio. Three Audobon Society postcards.

Black and white enameled bowls with measurements printed on the side. These will also be helpful for storage in the studio.

Milk crate from Birmingham Dairy in Manassas, Virginia, and long galvanized garden tote. Again, very useful for storage and display. My not-so-secret weakness is "things to put things in."

Large wooden chopping bowl. Apples on the kitchen table, anyone? I made one other large purchase - the wooden bench that these are all photographed on. I will make a separate blog post about it - it's cool enough to deserve its own. Next I want to share with you the stunningly gorgeous raku vase that I bought at Manassas Clay. It was made by my friend, Karen Lachow, a studio potter there. She has an area at the shop where you can buy her work, and every time I go in I gaze at her shelves. Finally it was too much for me and I had to buy her large raku vase. If you live in the area, I strongly encourage you to stop in at Manassas Clay - it's not just studio and classroom space, it's a shop with the most amazing pieces for sale by the most wonderful people you've ever met. Thanks again, Karen, your vase will live in a place of honor in my home, as an inspiration to me!

It seems silly to post pictures of my work now, but since I took pictures of some green- and bisque-ware, here they are. These are two bisque fired pieces I made using silicate with iron oxide painted on during the throwing process. You let the silicate dry on the pot, and then you belly out the sides, creating the crackle finish. I took these pictures prior to glazing them, which I did with soda ash. On the darker pot, I added some black lapis glaze to the rim.

You can see that I squeezed the sides of the white pot to create more of an oval shape.

Crackle detail.

These are some greenware pieces that I put handles on last week.

Mug and pitcher.

Another pitcher.

Stamped handle.

Another stamp.

Pointy spout. Thanks for wading through! Today, for the third and hopefully last time, I am waiting for the electrician to put my pendant lights in the studio. So be sure to check back for (*crossing my fingers*) pictures of the studio lights.