Art In Clay 2009

I've posted my photos from Art in Clay 2009 on my Flickr site.  You can click HERE to see them.  I find the best way to view them is with the slide show option which is in the upper right corner of the page.

Three bloggers meet... Me, Doug and Paul. It was such a treat to see them.

I had the pleasure of meeting the great Mary Wondrausch.  She was in good spirits.  She had many lovely pots with her, one of which made it back with us.

Art in Clay is an amazing showcase of some of the best potters in the UK.  I was delighted to see many of my favorites and to speak with them in person.  I didn't get pictures of everyone I would have liked to.  I was pretty overwhelmed with all the great pots and I went around in a potter's high picking up pots, admiring them and trying to take it all in.  What an experience!

Home Sweet Home

Sarah and I arrived back in North Carolina last evening.  Needless to say we had a wonderful adventure in England.  It all seems like a whirl wind now, and much of it was.  I have over 400 pictures to sort though and many will make it to my Flickr account so I'll let you know when those are up.  I'll post through the week with images and highlights here too.

Thanks to everyone who hosted us. This trip was so special in that we met face to face all the people who I have been in getting to know online for years.  I'll be posting pics of us all as the week progresses.

Pots!  Yes, there were pots galore!  Many made it back to our home.

The image above was taken in Neal's Yard in London.  It was one of the quiter spots we found to sit and rest.  I loved the colourful buildings.  Monty Pyton lived for sometime in the building with the blue windows.

Check in later today as I'm sure I'll get more on here.

A Few Before I Go.

Unloaded the kiln last night.  Good results.  Mostly cups and bowls in this firing.



Off to catch a plane soon.  I think my bag is overweight.  Better get busy.

I'll try and blog when I can while away so check in  now and again.  Back in full force on the 17th.

Cheers.  Ron

Flickr Photos

I just created a new set of photos on my Flickr page.  You can click HERE to view them.  Some of these you have seen before; others are from the latest  firing that I shot the videos of .

I found the easiest way to view these is to use the 'slideshow' option in the upper right area of the Flickr page.

Thanks for checking in.

Clear the Racks

Not a single unfired pot left.  I've got my final glaze load going.  Now I really need to start packing for our trip. Yikes.

Drawn To Clay Exhibition

I am excited to be part of this exhibition at Claymakers in Durham, NC.  The show will be up from Aug. 21st - Oct. 10th.  Opening reception Aug. 21st, 6pm - 9pm.

"Drawn to Clay: Vessels Emblazoned" gathers together 20 of North Carolina's best ceramic artists. Each potter and ceramic artist in this show is known for their unique approach to enlivening the surfaces of their ceramic vessels with imagery. Techniques and content vary from artist to artist, but quality, creativity, and invigoration tie these 20 ceramicists together in this special exhibition at Claymakers in downtown Durham.

ARTISTS: Jennifer Stas, Naomi Dalglish, Michael Hunt, Blaine Avery, Bruce Gholson, Samantha Heneke, Ronan Peterson, Jennifer Mecca, Ron Philbeck, Amy Sanders, Matt Kelleher, Shoko Teruyama, Susan Feagin, Corinne Fox, Kelly O'Briant, Carol Gentithes, Fred Johnston, Laura Korch, Michael Kline, and Gillian Parke.

Coffee With Clary

One of the great things about living with hand made pottery is having those special pots that really connect the user to the maker or that make the experience of use very special.

Sarah and I visited Clary Illian several years ago and bought a few pots including this mug.  It's not a mug I use every day.  Mostly I like it for coffee on Sunday mornings or hot chocolate on a cold winter day.  I love the volume of this pot and the open-ness of the top.

We had a nice talk with Clary that day and every time I use this cup I remember being there at her table talking and eating.  It was a very meaningful experience for me to get to visit with Clary in her home and studio.

The handle of this cup has a quirky little Clary thing going on at the top.  I swear she can do just about anything.

New Pots:Video

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bMFZy0XBEY

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubkB9Zz0E98

Handle Detail

I back filled the space at the bottom of the handles on a few cups this morning.  I like the look. It's another step, so they probably won't always get it. On the other hand I just went back and looked at them after being slipped and I really like the back filled ones better.

Before.

After:

Things to Share

I've had some great things come my way over the past two weeks and I thought I'd share them now.

I have been asked to send a few pots to a show at the McGill Duncan Gallery in Castle Douglas, Scotland.  The show is called  Feast of Pots and will be up in September. Of course Hannah had a hand in promoting me for this. Thanks Hannah!

I was accepted into the Strictly Functional Pottery National Show this year. It's the first time I'd applied.    There were 1152 entries from 514 artists and juror Pete Pinnell chose 105 objects for the show.

I have also been asked to send up to 3 entries to an exhibition entitled "Think Outside the Box"  at Cedar Creek Gallery later this year.  The show will open October 9th and will feature, you guessed it boxes.  I'll have to get my thinking cap on for this one.  You'll see what I come up with in the next month or so.

And lastly I'll be having a solo show at NC Crafts Gallery in the Spring of 2010.  I am totally stoked about that!

Yey!!  Good stuff that I'm all very thankful for.

Just as a plug...I am looking to do some workshops, so if you or an organization you know of, would like a one or two day demonstration type workshop please contact me.  I can also do a longer hands on workshop too.  I am happy to send my credentials to be looked over.  I can be reached by email:  ronpots2 at yahoo dot com  or by phone 704 480 6046.

Time to get some cups slipped.

Check out...

My pal Michael Kline had a great firing this week.  There were some really beautiful pots that came out of the kiln.

Visit Michael's blog Sawdust and Dirt for some images or for even more pics stop by his page HERE.

Just Wednesday.

Today was my last wet day before we go on vacation.  I have a couple more kilns to fire before we leave though so I should have pots to show in a few days.

Today was a pretty hard day.  I had something happen to me on Monday that hurt and angered me greatly.  I'm slowly trying to move through it.

Tomorrow I'm gonna try and do something good for myself. Not sure what yet but something nuturing.  Ice cream maybe!

I'm ready for vacation.  It's about time I saw some real English slipware and met all my blogging pals.  I can't wait for Sarah and I to get to England.

Pattern Revealed

A few folks have asked about the pattern on the side of the rabbit dish.  Here are a couple of angles that show it off better.

I had never scraped away that much clay in making a pattern.  Click HERE for an image of a great harvest jug where most of the slip has been removed to create the image.

And a possum plate to finish off with.

Didn't get any potting done today as I was busy at the Arts Council for the first part of the day and then had a nice visit from my friend and fellow potter Julie Wiggins (who will sooh have  a website.)

Thanks for stopping by.  Pot making resumes tomorrow.

Here We Go

Man, it's been a good last few firings.   I unloaded today after lunch and was pleased to see another nice group of pots.

Four Forty What??

If you've been looking closely you've probably noticed the numbers 441, 443, and 446 on my pots over the last several months.    "What is that all about?", some have asked.

Well, I was decorating one day and the number 441 popped in my head.  I put it on the pot and didn't realize until later what that number meant to me.  I think I was drifting off to sleep one night and I said "Ah 441, that's that Warren MacKenzie glaze."   Problem was that the more I thought about it I wasn't sure if 441 was the right number.  It occurred to me to look it up, but I didn't.  Later I thought, "Oh, it's 443".  That didn't feel right for long, and I finally realized it was 446!  I then looked it up and sure enough it's 446.

Most of you know that Warren is a hero of mine, so this is a little tribute to him.  I've sort of turned 441,443, and  now44 6 into a fictional beverage.  I guess it's beer, but if I was true to Warren I'd probably make it Scotch Bourbon.  So that may change.

In the plate above I've got the good ole boy questioning this strange beer that he's been handed.

This plate is a nod to Kevin Snipes whose work I really love.

Morning of Drawing

I'm still waiting for the glaze kiln to cool. So in the mean time here are some images from pots that I incised this morning.

This jar has been hanging around over a week waiting for decoration.  I finally came up with an idea last night and got started this morning.  The main idea was the circles with the animals inside.  After that I was unsure and mapped out some ideas in red ink.  I didn't really like the vertical line idea.  I remembered the cross hatching from some of the Medieval Majolica pots I looked at recently and decided to go with those.  The flowers were added last and will probably carry some color when it's time to glaze.

Pics from Saturday

Sarah came in yesterday and caught me glazing.

I later found her in her studio working on some jewelry.

The following pics show some pots after I've inlayed the black slip into the drawings. I can't believe I've added two more steps to my process.  Life was once so simple....

For My Vegan Pal Gary

As you know we make pizza about once a week.  Last night I tried a vegan version that was totally inspired by Gary.  It was pretty good.  The Rice Shreds were much better than any soy cheese I've ever tried and the Tofurky Italian 'sausage' was surprising good.

Here's the finished pie with some fresh oregano and basil from the garden. (Piggy mug by Gary Rith)

This is the best pizza sauce I've ever had.  It's from the book American Pie by Peter Reinhardt.

Crushed Tomato Sauce
Makes 4 Cups (I usually freeze what I don't use)

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 2 tablespoon fresh chopped)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped)
5 fresh garlic cloves minced or pressed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt , or to taste.

More Pots from Today's Firing

So here are a couple of mugs with their A and B sides.  You'll notice that the mug with the possum and all the other pots have black slip inlay in the incised deco.  I think I like this more than just the bare line.  First off it gives me that pen and ink feeling, and second I really like how the process of inlaying the slip dirties up the surrounding slip giving it an aged look.  I have thinned down my glaze quite a bit and I like the dry surface of these pots.  Thinning down the slip in the next batch of pots will help too I think, although these are not bad at all.

I did have a few underfired pots in this load, so I'll refire them.  I had some delayed crazing from the last load of pots.  This crazing business is driving me nuts.  I thought I'd be okay using that commercial glaze and firing to cone 07, but no luck!  So I've gone back to a Gerstley based glaze and the fritted glaze I've used for months.  These both have issues of their own,but I'm hoping that thinning them out will solve everything. (All digits crossed.)

For now I'm happy and feel like I'm moving in the direction I want.

Smiling

Just got this teapot out of the kiln.  There were a number  of small changes with the decoration, glazes and firing this time.  I'll post more details and pics later this evening.  Gotta make some bowls!