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Maximum Capacity

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Things in the studio are getting out of hand.  Well, it's really been out of hand for at least a week but now it's pretty much gone over board.  There is not a clean, clear surface in sight.  The floor is a mess. The racks are full of pots, pots awaiting handles and feet and such are under plastic and part of the last firing is sitting on top of the kiln.



So I see no reason to make any pots today.  I need to finish up some things and get pots drawn on.  Okay that's the plan anyhow.


Here are a couple favorites from the last firing.



And here's a pic of me with Juliette Lewis from Saturday night's concert!!


Thoughts on Names

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Well, it was really fun getting all the suggestions from everyone about the name for the clay group.  I've read on a couple other blogs that folks have trouble with this too so that makes me feel better.

I thought I"d throw out a few names that the group has come up with and see what ya'll think of them.  Please comment.

Kudzu and Kaolin

Clay Dept.

Thrown Together

Dirt Merchants (unfortunately there's a hip hop band with this name)

Ring of Fire

Cups and Dishes

Kaolin and Klay

Kaolin Krew

Clay Crew

That's all I can remember at the moment.  Do you like any of those

Finishing Up on Friday

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I'm going to say it's been a good and productive week.  I do feel the pressure of fall coming on with shows and exhibitions on the horizon.  I'm looking forward t getting some pots out there in the world.  The summer has been fairly slow as far as sales go.  I am thankful of the orders I've had from galleries and some sales on Etsy.  I do want to get my online shop stocked up for my customers who live far away.

Here's the output for today, some small bowls, mugs, tall footed bowls that will be chickens, and a few bigger tall footed dishes.



I found out this week that I had two cups selected for the 2nd Annual National Cup show hosted by Barrett Clay Works in Poughkeepsie, NY.


I'll have some pics of new pots out of the kiln up tomorrow. Hope ya'll have a good evening.

And the Winner is...

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This was tough.  There were many good entries, although none of them will probably be used by the group.   For some reason all 4 of us can't seem to agree on one name that suits us.

So it came down to me to choose from all the entries and this is how I did it.  I went through all the comments and wrote down the ones I liked best.  Some were well thought out, some had just a word I liked and some were just plain silly.  I gave each contributor of those a number.  I then pulled a number from that batch to select the winner.  I hope that's fair enough.

So the winner is Liz Paley!!!  Congratulations Liz.

Here is what Liz wrote,


"With all the mishima, laundry lines, and seams, maybe

Slip Line Potters (ceramics/potteries/whatever)
Fine Line Potters (ceramics/potteries/whatever)

or some other line idiom: draw the line; over the line; between the lines; head of the line; top of the line; cross the line; on the line; spin a line; line in the sand/mud; toe the line; thin line; drop a line; out of the lines; firing/fired line; line of fire; clean line; thin line; but please, not “end of the line.” "
I liked Liz's thoughts on using the word Line and I esp. liked Slip Line and Fine Line and Thin Line.

Thanks everyone for contributing.  It was cool to get so many comments and read what you all wrote.  Maybe we'll do it again soon.


Terra Bunny

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It was a hot and sweaty day slipping and glazing pots, but I'm all caught up and the kiln is on.  I should have some new pots out Saturday.

I dipped this bunny in my terra sig before I bisque fired the other day.  I'd say it's pretty good. Yes?  Considering I had no idea what I was doing up until I got some help in the comments section.  My pal Amy told me about a copper wash and a borax wash that I could try too.  I'm planning on using the sig on candlestick holders and non-functional pots.  Yay!!!


All for now.  I'll announce who won the contest tomorrow.

Terra Sig

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Feel free to comment on what you think about this terra sig process. I'm not really sure how much of this I'm supposed to keep.  Maybe the layers will be more distinct tomorrow.  ?  I wonder if I didn't need a bigger jar.  I may have too much clay in this and too little water.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlKeKIRGnPE

Contest Update

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Hey ya'll.  The suggestions for the pottery group name have been pouring in.  I have gotten some good laughs from some of them.

Slight change of plans.  I'm going to stop taking suggestions at 11am on Aug. 25th.  The 'no name pottery group' is meeting that day and I thought it would be fun for all of us to see the suggested names when we are all together.

Like I said before, I'm not sure if there will be a name that we will use, but someone is going to win two mugs.  So let me have it for another day and a half and I'll announce the winner on Friday!  Put on your thinking caps.  I think we have plenty of 'mud' names so lets see what else you  can come up with. :-)

Remember we are wanting a name that would be good for branding.  Also something easy to remember and that folks will talk about.

We are all working here in the South, making mostly functional pottery.  We are fun and quirky (and someone even mentioned sexy! Ha. I don't think that was in reference to me), we are easy going but ambitious and serious about our work.  We are all good friends and supportive of one another.

Alright. That's all for now.  Leave new suggestions under this post, I think that first one is reaching maximum capacity.

Have fun. Thanks!

Contest. What's in a Name

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Okay, three of my clay pals and I need a name for our pottery 'group'.  We are going to have a couple sales each year and hopefully some exhibits too.  So far we've come up with a few ideas but I thought it would be fun to ask you all for suggestions.

The potters are:  me, Amy Sanders, Jen Mecca, and Julie Wiggins.  I have included hyperlinks on their names so you can get an idea of the kind of work we all make.

We don't want a name that includes a number.  So nothing like Four Potters. Also nothing too obvious or cute like Pottery Pals, or Mud Buddies.

You can leave your suggestions in the comment section for this post.

The prize for the winner will be two of my mugs!

The group members will look over all the names suggested and decide who the winner is.  Even if we don't use any of the names I am sure this will be fun and will help us come up with something.  There will be a winner no matter what, so please contribute and hopefully we'll have a name by this time next week.  The deadline for entries will be Friday Aug. 27th at noon EST.

Any questions?  Thanks for your help, I can't wait to see what you all suggest.

Announcements and Video #2

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I want to let you all know that I now have some pots at Mudfire Gallery in Decatur, Ga.  Only a small selection presently but hopefully I'll have more there in the future.

Also, my work will be available at the Rivercross Market in Valle Crusis, NC when they open this month.  Hopefully there will be more info on their website soon.

And finally I've been asked to participate this year in the Lillstreet Holiday Sale.  I'll be sending them 20 pots in November.  I am very excited to be part of this event.

Speaking of Lillstreet Art Center, the 3rd Lillstreet International exhibition is online.  The exhibition is entitled Bowl Me Over and I have two pieces in the show.  Click HERE to view.

Tomorrow, Friday Aug. 2oth, I am going to announce a CONTEST.

Here is another video of cutting a foot, this time a little bit bigger bowl and taller foot.  Enjoy.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkmbJtxjeYA

Cutting a Wide Foot

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Hey there.  Just shot a quick video showing how I cut a foot on a small shallow dish.  I like the wide dimension of these feet and that they are sort of deep.  I have this in mind when making these so plenty of clay is left at the making stage.  The cutting of the foot, the marks made, the shape and size of the foot is another chance to make an expression on/ with the pot.  The tool used creates a specific mark too, or the way the tool is held.

Feet shouldn't be afterthoughts.  Plan them when making the pot.  There are many variations to choose from, this is just one.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-MLPoblHkY

Thanks for watching.

MADE Shop Visit

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Sunday after the workshop I was able to make it over to MADE Shop in Kutztown to say hello to my pal David Jones.  It was very cool to get to see the shop and all the great work and merchandise.  David and his wife Tess used to live in NC.  They are both metal smiths and make amazing work that you can find at MADE.



I also checked out all the KIDROBOT merchandise as well as Japanese calendars and fans and David Weeks gorillas.





If you are anywhere near by go out to MADE to check it out and say Hi.

Oh and they have some of my pottery too!!

Back from the Workshop

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I had an absolutely fantastic time giving a weekend workshop for The Potter's Exchange group in Freemansburg, PA.

I demo'ed making my work from start throughout the drawing stage and we also did some idea generation/creativity exercises together.  I really enjoyed meeting all the participants.  Everyone took part in the exercises and shared, it was such a good group to be with for two days.

Pots drying in the sun.



Powdered doughnut display exercise.


Drawing on Tiles exercise.


This group is an excellent model of how we as potters/ceramic artists can get together to share ideas, learn from one another and host events. I want to share their 'mission statement' here:


"The Potter's Exchange" is a group of clay artists who meet on a regular basis to share clay related information, ideas, and experiences in the Lehigh Valley eastern PA.
We believe that each individual whether just starting out or professional has something unique to offer to the group. Therefore, we take turns being both teachers and students, and we are mutually supportive of one another. We also take turns hosting and organizing events which vary and focus on different aspects of clay making from outdoor pit and raku firings to glaze theory seminars and museum tours. In addition, we are able to cut costs for the individual potter by bulk ordering glaze materials, clay, books and tools.
Further, we seek to benefit from meeting with guest artists and by hosting workshops in the ceramic arts.

I'll share some more images and thoughts later, for now it's time to settle in to being home and get some clothes washed.  Thanks again to The Potter's Exchange for having me as their guest this past weekend.


I Can't Think of a Good Title Right Now

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Hey folks, Happy Friday!  I am all set to fly out of here in a few hours.  Just kicking back with a cup of tea and the cats for now.

What about that firestorm of comments on Sawdust and Dirt the other day!!??  Wow, talk about getting us riled up.  I do want to say that I did have a knee jerk reaction to the post and went straight to the jugular when talking about Spleth's work.  That was a very personal bias and I should have watched what words I used in the comment.  I didn't realize it until later, but using that sort of language is a sure sign to attract spammers to a site.  It was dis-respectful for me to do that on S&D.  I've already talked to MK about it and he's let me know there are no hard feelings.  I will be more aware of the words I use now in posts and in comments, both out of respect for the blogger and to avoid spam and also  to keep the whole atmosphere of the blogging site from being a trash pit.

I think talking about our day to day lives and processes in the studios is really a big part of what we all do.  It does keep us all up to date and in touch.  I love seeing and hearing about what everyone is doing.  This blogging community is very strong and a few bumps in the road are bound to arise now an again.

It would be fun to talk about some "deeper" issues now and again.  I have talked about pricing a bit in the past and I certainly think we could discuss the current state of American ceramics without bringing out our flame throwers (mine has been extinguished for now).  It's pretty difficult to get some points across in text though. Maybe that's why we have those little emotion-cons (or whatever they are called).

I'm reading Art and Fear again.  Anyone else read that?  It has some great topics that we could discuss.  Maybe we could have a little book club chat.  Let me know.

Okay, that's all for now.  Good thing I'm not superstitious about flying on Friday the 13th. :-)