dhPotter

So I know this is my kitchen counter, but the light on my workbench turns most photos very yellow. This medicine set will be my own entry to the mug portion of the “Bonspiel: Canadians and Their Love of Winter Sport” show at NCECA this year. After some adventures I had with my kids and ear infections last month, I feel like avoiding illness is a winter sport!
If you’re coming this year, check out the show. We’re on the Minneapolis Picks bus tour and shuttle route on Wednesday.
 

Did a glaze firing over the weekend, here's some of the doggie bowls and a few of the more interesting mugs.  Loving my new digital controller.

What's on my workbench?
Replacements for the one I dropped, just as we were working out where to stick it - grrrrr.  And as it was one of a mirrored pair, I've had to make another pair.

Looking at Raspberry/ Cranberry glazes posted on the forum recently, I started copying them into the glaze software. I asked myself "Why am I doing this, I already have 2 very nice recipes." I posed this question to another potter which said "If you are curious you will always be testing glazes".  That's the answer. That and "is the next glaze the Greatest I have ever seen?" I want to know what it will look like on my clay and if the new glaze is "better" than what I have tested before now.
Perhaps Terrim8 has the correct answer, for me anyways, "till death due us part".
Trying to pare down the number of glazes. Threw out 2 more this morning. 

Looking at Raspberry/ Cranberry glazes posted on the forum recently, I started copying them into the glaze software. I asked myself "Why am I doing this, I already have 2 very nice recipes." I posed this question to another potter which said "If you are curious you will always be testing glazes".  That's the answer. That and "is the next glaze the Greatest I have ever seen?" I want to know what it will look like on my clay and if the new glaze is "better" than what I have tested before now.
Perhaps Terrim8 has the correct answer, for me anyways, "till death due us part".
Trying to pare down the number of glazes. Threw out 2 more this morning. 

At what point in a potter's career does he/she stop searching for and testing new glazes?
When does the potter become satisfied with his/her stable of glazes and says "This is enough"?
 

Oval oil bottle prototype (to use with silicone and stainless pouring spouts).
 

 

At what point in a potter's career does he/she stop searching for and testing new glazes?
When does the potter become satisfied with his/her stable of glazes and says "This is enough"?
 

At what point in a potter's career does he/she stop searching for and testing new glazes?
When does the potter become satisfied with his/her stable of glazes and says "This is enough"?
 

At what point in a potter's career does he/she stop searching for and testing new glazes?
When does the potter become satisfied with his/her stable of glazes and says "This is enough"?
 

Trimming the openings in salt pigs. Think it takes me longer to try and get the holes cut more or less evenly and round than it takes to throw them.

Got a glaze firing in, was able to fit 40 mugs.  This is a representative sample!  So happy to finally have an electric kiln working!
This week I have a bunch of candles I'm working on, gonna be great!  Right now I have a bunch of lidded containers bisquing, big stuff I have to fire alone, can't really pack it too tight.  Y'all that grew up on electric have no idea how easy youve got it!!!
 

I got tired of fishing around in a plastic bag full of holders, so I made a simple Holder holder to hold my holders.

Drill bits are less likely to crack the piece, since they remove material as they make the hole. Hole cutters force the clay to expand to make room for the wall thickness of the cutter. If the clay is too firm, or the hole is too close to an edge, it will crack.
The biggest problem with all holes, and one that many, many people do not address, is the sharpness of the edge of the hole. Rubbing out the edge with a sponge or finger takes forever. The simplest solution I've learned is to use a countersink LIKE THIS ONE. Just twist it lightly in the hole once it's just past leather hard, and it will knock off the sharp edge. I use this on all my colanders, and I can do all the holes in a matter of a minute. It puts a nice little bevel that looks rounded once it's glazed.

Whenever I think I can't go to the pottery for some reason or another, I always picture Warren MacKenzie walking out to his pottery at 90+ years of age. And when I'm really full of self pity I watch his video, "A Potter's Hands" and am ashamed of my insignificant whining. 
I feel the same way about Shoji Hamada. He sits or kneels and spins his wheel with a stick in "Art of the Potter" and creates beauty. 
How can I ever say "I'm too tired or too old or whatever" to go to the pottery?
 

Whenever I think I can't go to the pottery for some reason or another, I always picture Warren MacKenzie walking out to his pottery at 90+ years of age. And when I'm really full of self pity I watch his video, "A Potter's Hands" and am ashamed of my insignificant whining. 
I feel the same way about Shoji Hamada. He sits or kneels and spins his wheel with a stick in "Art of the Potter" and creates beauty. 
How can I ever say "I'm too tired or too old or whatever" to go to the pottery?
 

Sad news, one of the greats, Warren MacKenzie, passed away on December 31. 
Truly a big loss.
http://www.startribune.com/world-famous-minnesota-potter-warren-mackenzie-dies-at-94/503729332/

Hi Tom, sure.....
^10 - flashing slips - soda - front / back

 

The pottery scene from "Ghost"...I was fascinated by what she was doing with the clay on the tall vase, and when it collapsed, the total sensuousness of handling the wet clay... At that point I said to my wife, "Someday I'm going to do that" That was 28 years ago. I was 43,  Having grown up on the mean streets of NYC, I had never seen a potter's wheel, never touched clay. Then about 10 years ago, I was remodeling a bathroom for an 87 year old ceramist. She was still holding classes and teach 4H kids how to pour, fire and finish molded pieces. We got to talking about ceramics and she showed me the first mug she had ever made more than 50 years prior.  As we continued the conversations over the week that I had worked for her, she encouraged me to take a Learning Exchange class at our local ceramics supplier, Alpha Fired Arts in Sacramento. She also gave me an, old, tired kiln (she had another newer kiln) that she wanted to get out of her workspace.
I took that class and got hooked. Since then I've taken Ceramics 1, 2, and Raku classes at a local JC, was given my CI wheel by a friend who found it in a barn on a piece of property he just bought; Bought a newer used ^10 kiln which will never see ^10; sold the old kiln; remodeled a studio apartment I own into my own studio and have finally been making a little money to support my habit. 
I would say that what interested me most about ceramics is the malleability of clay and the myriad forms it can be shaped into. The possibilities are endless and I feel that I am just starting my journey...
JohnnyK

Tis article was in the Billings gazette promoting a few local potters. There are many more in the immediate area. https://billingsgazette.com/entertainment/community/a-livelihood-in-clay-local-potters-carve-out-space-to/article_54a9e213-721a-53dc-bcf4-b418cab194e2.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 
BTW my husband is home for the holidays teleworking. He retires in 279 days.The article makes it sound like I left him in Texas. What comes across in the articles are common ideas of the versatility and satisfaction we find in the clay and our sense of community, curiosity, and joy. Happy Holidays everyone.
 
Marcia

In 1975 I wanted to escape 2 years as a Political Science major. My buddy was an art major in pottery. I took Ceramics 101 and 102 but was not consumed by it. In 1979, after cutting half my Left thumb off, I took Ceramics 101 and 102 at the local community college while the thumb healed. Again not consumed by it.
Next time to stick my hands in clay is in 2008. I audited Ceramics 101 just to see if it held my interest. OK I get consumed, however kidney cancer surgery in 2013 knocks me out of pottery for awhile. Try to get back into it but R hip and L knee bone on bone is too much pain. Get both totally replaced in 2015. 
Since 2016 I have been consumed by clay, glazes and making. No pain and 70 pounds lighter, I am hitting it hard and loving it. 
The kidney cancer was a wake up call. I figured if I were ever going to do anything in pottery it better be now. Now at 64 years old some days I feel like a puppy, spry and full of life and ideas, then some days like an old dog - both mentally and physically. 
I read something that says professionals don't wait around for inspiration, they just get on with making. That pretty well sums it up. Just get on with the making...

In 1975 I wanted to escape 2 years as a Political Science major. My buddy was an art major in pottery. I took Ceramics 101 and 102 but was not consumed by it. In 1979, after cutting half my Left thumb off, I took Ceramics 101 and 102 at the local community college while the thumb healed. Again not consumed by it.
Next time to stick my hands in clay is in 2008. I audited Ceramics 101 just to see if it held my interest. OK I get consumed, however kidney cancer surgery in 2013 knocks me out of pottery for awhile. Try to get back into it but R hip and L knee bone on bone is too much pain. Get both totally replaced in 2015. 
Since 2016 I have been consumed by clay, glazes and making. No pain and 70 pounds lighter, I am hitting it hard and loving it. 
The kidney cancer was a wake up call. I figured if I were ever going to do anything in pottery it better be now. Now at 64 years old some days I feel like a puppy, spry and full of life and ideas, then some days like an old dog - both mentally and physically. 
I read something that says professionals don't wait around for inspiration, they just get on with making. That pretty well sums it up. Just get on with the making...

In 1975 I wanted to escape 2 years as a Political Science major. My buddy was an art major in pottery. I took Ceramics 101 and 102 but was not consumed by it. In 1979, after cutting half my Left thumb off, I took Ceramics 101 and 102 at the local community college while the thumb healed. Again not consumed by it.
Next time to stick my hands in clay is in 2008. I audited Ceramics 101 just to see if it held my interest. OK I get consumed, however kidney cancer surgery in 2013 knocks me out of pottery for awhile. Try to get back into it but R hip and L knee bone on bone is too much pain. Get both totally replaced in 2015. 
Since 2016 I have been consumed by clay, glazes and making. No pain and 70 pounds lighter, I am hitting it hard and loving it. 
The kidney cancer was a wake up call. I figured if I were ever going to do anything in pottery it better be now. Now at 64 years old some days I feel like a puppy, spry and full of life and ideas, then some days like an old dog - both mentally and physically. 
I read something that says professionals don't wait around for inspiration, they just get on with making. That pretty well sums it up. Just get on with the making...

In 1975 I wanted to escape 2 years as a Political Science major. My buddy was an art major in pottery. I took Ceramics 101 and 102 but was not consumed by it. In 1979, after cutting half my Left thumb off, I took Ceramics 101 and 102 at the local community college while the thumb healed. Again not consumed by it.
Next time to stick my hands in clay is in 2008. I audited Ceramics 101 just to see if it held my interest. OK I get consumed, however kidney cancer surgery in 2013 knocks me out of pottery for awhile. Try to get back into it but R hip and L knee bone on bone is too much pain. Get both totally replaced in 2015. 
Since 2016 I have been consumed by clay, glazes and making. No pain and 70 pounds lighter, I am hitting it hard and loving it. 
The kidney cancer was a wake up call. I figured if I were ever going to do anything in pottery it better be now. Now at 64 years old some days I feel like a puppy, spry and full of life and ideas, then some days like an old dog - both mentally and physically. 
I read something that says professionals don't wait around for inspiration, they just get on with making. That pretty well sums it up. Just get on with the making...

I was always exposed to ceramics from kindergarten on through college.  Didn't have money for a wheel, kiln, clay, etc until my mid 30s where I am now.  My recent inspiration was my neighbor who is a metal and woodworking artist, I told him I used to really enjoy ceramics and he said I should just do it.  So I did.