Every Year

It happens every year.  It doesn't matter how much we try to plan ahead, we find ourselves the week before Christmas needing to get in one more glaze fire.  I guess it's because I'm pretty much only at the studio on the weekends, but this year, Christmas snuck up on me.  I realized on Wednesday morning (Dec 21) that if we were going to get those last pieces done before Christmas Eve, that I needed to fire THAT NIGHT.  I knew there were things that Lisa and Gail hoped to have finished, and as of Wednesday morning, some of them hadn't even been glazed yet.  While I didn't specifically need anything by Dec 24, I needed to get a few things glazed so that the kiln would be full.

I think Gail was at the studio the better part of the day - or at least most of the afternoon, and I came in after work in the afternoon.  We got it all glazed and loaded...

I can't help but think about this time last year.  On the morning of Dec 22, Allen was loading up the kiln and I could tell he didn't feel well.  I offered to finish it and he took me up on it.  I know this because we keep a firing log that includes the date, the type of fire (bisque or glaze), who loaded it, how long it took, and whatever notes seem appropriate (like forgot to close the peeps, FULL load, results weird, etc.)  That was the last time that Allen loaded his kiln.  Every load of bisque and glaze ware since then has been me.  It's weird still to think about things like that for me.  Clearly I still miss Allen a lot.  I hope that I always will.

Before I could get to the studio Friday, the unloading elf had the kiln unloaded.  For the most part, things seemed to behave appropriately.  The possible exception was the very bottom layer which might not have gotten hot enough.  I'll be doing an element test in the near future to determine if there is an issue or not.

A few weeks ago, I told you about making a replacement piece for a casserole dish that had cracked.

 And below there's the old one on the right and the new on on the left.  Of course, it's not a perfect match, but that's not too shabby, huh?

I also had a few good sized bowls that were finished.

I'm still trying to get our glaze that we call denim blue replaced.  For the second time in a row, I managed to get a glaze with a very similar name that is a very different color.  Our glaze, in the bucket on the left, is labeled Variegated Base Blue and what I've managed to buy twice now is a glaze called Variegated Blue.  I'll be digging in the file of glaze recipes to see if I can find the recipe.   

In other glaze mysteries, our bucket of Falls Creek Shino glaze had gotten all gritty. I sieved it yesterday to see if I could get the chunks to break down.  Didn't get them all dissolved, but maybe it helped some. There was a good bit of grit left in the sieve and a few larger bits.  I rinsed them off to see what they looked like.

What the heck?  It looks like glass, doesn't it?  I have no idea what is going on.

This Week

Just a quick note....

We've been really busy at A Griffin Pottery Associates over the past few weeks.  We appreciate everyone who has shopped with us! 

For your shopping convenience, the studio and gallery will be open the following times:

• Tuesday, Dec 20: noon-4pm (except for a brief time about 2 or so that Jeff has to leave to take care of another obligation)
• Thursday, Dec 22: noon-5:30pm (I'll be closing a little early to go to dinner with friends from out of town.)
• Friday, Dec 23: noon-5pm
• Saturday, Dec 24: 9:30-noon

I'll try to do an actual post about what I've been working on lately sometime later in the week.  

If I forget to say it later on, Merry Christmas!!

Who Would Have Thought?

We decorated our Christmas tree at home today.  In the process, I found this little ornament.

In December of 2002, I attended a week-long seminar titled Contemporary Potters of Western North Carolina at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (or NCCAT).  I had an absolute blast.  It was there under the tutelage of George Rector and Joan Byrd that I tried wheel throwing the first time.  Oh my!  It was so awful.  Awful and definitely something that I wanted to try again some day.  

Fourteen years after that week at NCCAT, here I am.  I own a pottery studio and I am contemplating retirement from teaching and my next career as a full time pauper - I mean potter.  😉  While I still have a few years yet to go before I can retire, it is fun to start thinking about what's next.  

So what happened at the studio this week? 

On Saturdays when I know its going to be a long day, I go home after my workout so I can get a shower.  Yesterday was one of those days.  On the way back, I stopped at Bojangles to get some breakfast.  When the cashier handed me the coffee, I spilled it all over myself.  Oh well.  Then when I took the cup out of the cup holder, the cup holder was full of coffee!  What?  Guess they gave me a defective cup or something.  Getting in the rest of the bag, there were 7 creamers, some butter, and a straw.  So I've got a lot of cream and a coffee cup that I had to leave outside on the sidewalk.  I've got butter and no idea why.  It sure wasn't to go on the seasoned fries or cajun filet biscuit.  I suppose the straw was for stirring cream into coffee.  Once I ate my fries, I forgave them everything though.  The fries were really good.  I'm a fan of a good french fry.

Yes...pots.  

I've been trying to figure out how to make soup bowls with cracker rims like Allen used to make.  The last one of his sold back in the spring, so I've been working from memory.  I finally had a successful attempt this week.  I have a customer who asked me to try to make something to replace some bowls that she ordered online somewhere.  She was really disappointed with the size of the soup bowl in the ones that she bought.  I got this request back in August or early September.  It has taken me this long to get it right.  I hope that in a few weeks, I can call her to tell her that I have something for her to come look at.  If they all come out, there will be 8 of them. 

Here are some mugs that came out of the glaze fire last week.  I am pleased with all of them. 

  

My friend Heather has dubbed the cups below "wine mugs."  I have a few that are different colors with a different design on them and I'll be making more in the future.  They are kind of fun to make (a big plus for me) once I got over being afraid of doing the design on them.  They will work for any drink hot or cold although I do personally like them for wine.  Finish the drink and the cup goes in the dishwasher.  Did you get that?  DISHWASHER.  No hand washing a delicate glass.

One last thing....if you ever wondered about some of the alternative uses of dental floss, we've got one for you right here.  Glaze an ornament in one dip without leaving finger marks.  Leave it to my associates for coming up with a creative way to do what they want to do.  

Christmas is two weeks away and things are about to get busy.  If I don't remember to say it when I see you next, Merry Christmas!  A Griffin Pottery Associates will be open our regular strange hours this week.  Jeff is going to be a little late getting there on Tuesday, but will be there until 4pm.  On Thursday he or I will be there roughly 12 to 6pm.  On Friday, I'll be there 1:30 until 5pm and on Saturday I'll be there (possibly covered in coffee) 10 am to about 4 pm.  

It's Hip To Be Square

I was working on "Not Round Things" this weekend.  A customer returned a large casserole dish that had cracked and I need to replace it.  It has been a long time since I tried making rectangular or square casseroles.

I'm trying to reproduce this dish...or get something like it. 

I started with the biggest round casserole that I could make. 

Then I cut the sides and pushed the walls in on two sides.

I trimmed off the part of the base that was sticking out and cleaned up the seams.

Handles were added the next day and I ended up with this piece.

I also made two others - another rectangular one and something sort of "squareish."

After adding handles...

Keep your fingers crossed that everything turns out ok.  

Speaking of fingers crossed, I need to go unload the kiln.