Early September Harvest

I harvested a number of pears from the kiln recently. I made them saltiers – closed forms with a funnel in the bottom that you can pour salt (or cinnamon-sugar, or pepper…) into. The salt goes into the sides of the form, and when you shake it up and down, some of the salt comes through the small hole in the top of the funnel and through the larger hole in the very bottom. Above, Shenandoah clay with Pumpkin glaze and Black Lapis on the stem. Below, Miller 266 (a black clay) with Bermuda Green and Ginger Spice.

Below is Agate glaze with Golden Matte on the stem on Miller 266.

Below, Ginger Spice with Black Lapis on the stem (on Miller 266).

Below is an experimental squash. Miller 266 clay with Pumpkin (notice how very different this glaze comes out on the different clays!), Golden Luster on the lines down the sides, and Golden Matte on the stem.

I made two matching canisters with the Shenandoah clay, and glazed them both with Satin White and Lido Satin glazes. One is slightly taller, and the other is slightly wider… sort of a his and hers pair.

The last fruit in this harvest is a bellied out mug made using JB Speck clay. I used Pumpkin glaze (again, it comes out different than the other two, though similar to the first pear, just with the added specks showing through), and Black Lapis on the rim. It reminds me of cheetah spots.

Nights [South of] Rodanthe

100 cans of 70 spf sunscreen. Check.

Linen long sleeve shirts and pants. Check.

Two pairs of sunglasses. Check.

10 day forecast for thunderstorms. Priceless.

We had 5 inches of rain overnight, but the sun did finally come out a bit yesterday afternoon.

Stone Fruit

What if I could figure out a way to make molds for concrete, and then made stone fruit? I would make peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and cherries - so-called stone fruits.

These are the things that my brain comes up with as I am trying to fall asleep.

Raku Magic

I participated in my very first raku session recently. I was convinced that raku is a firing process that is one part science and two parts magic. While my pots aren't the best, I really enjoyed seeing the process and the results. I look forward to my next raku experiences, and to improving my resulting pots!

Luster Duster glaze (above).

Rick's Turquoise glaze (above).

White Crackle glaze (above).

Dan's Blue glaze (above). The following are images of the process: Raku at Tin Barn Pottery.

We placed a few pieces at a time in the kiln.

They became almost molten, as you can see below as they raised the kiln.

We used long metal tongs to lift them off of the bricks, and depending upon the glaze (and the type of magic we wanted to perform), we would place them in buckets of water to cool or metal cans with newspapers and sawdust to smoke (below).

Definitely magic.

Flickr

I joined Flickr. You can check out my photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/newdominionblues/. I've joined two groups - the Etsy "There's No Place Like Here" group and the "Etsy Open Studios" group. Both of these groups are great for inspiration. I plan to keep a catalog of my home and studio decor photos in my album. (Studio wall with printers block trays, inspiration board, bulletin board and vintage wooden T square.)

Last August Harvest

I brought home my last harvest of pots for the month of August. This week marks the 1 year anniversary of my introduction to pottery. You can see my first round of (ugly) pots here. These soy bottles are made from speckled clay and glazed with black lapis and soda ash. The soda ash is great for accenting the natural color of the clay.

These are two pitchers I threw at home. I glazed them with Ellen's Blue and Smokey Brown (on the skinnier pitcher), and Golden Luster (on the wider pitcher).

I have started using clay that fires black, and I love how the glazes come out over it. This vase is glazed with pumpkin and then black lapis on the neck and rim.

This is a tumbler with black lapis and opal over the black clay.

The vase below is the same black clay with black lapis and satin white over the black. The white comes out a mottled sky blue.

These two pieces are warm brown (left) and JB speck (right), glazed with Ellen's Blue, Smokey Brown, and Golden Luster.

Speckled clay with Ellen's Blue and Satin White.

His and hers tumblers on the black clay with Smokey Brown and Satin White glazes.

Vase detail - Antique Blue with Neal's Blue over it on the black clay.

The black clay with soda ash highlighting the natural color and adding a slight sheen to this box thrown as a closed form.

Banish Gloom, Spread Joy - With Dog Decor

I recently bought two vintage magazine ads for dog food. I think I am going to frame them in simple black frames, and hang them in the pantry above the bin of dog food. The cocker spaniel and basset hound are perfect models in the first ad. And I am a sucker for large breed dogs, so this St. Bernard begged to come home with me, too.

These vintage ads satisfied too many of my perpetual hankerings (dogs, vintage, funny vintage...) to leave in the antique shop.