Pottery. Photography. And All Things Handmade.
Brushing up on my throwing skills and math skills this week.Upon occasion, I have a customer that would like a dish to be a specific size. For more accuracy, I'm finding math helps! For example: I want to make a dish that will be 5 inches after the final firing. The clay I use to... Continue Reading →
Over the weekend we brought my pottery wheel to the basement from the man cave (a.k.a. garage). Wheel maintenance will start this week to make sure everything is in tip top shape for this throwing season. The first thing I need to check out is why the wheel head continues to rotate when the foot... Continue Reading →
It's that time of year where I reclaim the earth one bucket at a time! I wedged 20.5 pounds of clay yesterday. The balls of clay (see photo above) are ready to be thrown onto the wheel and molded into something spectacular! Sadly, though, I'm not in tip-top shape. (And it's still pretty darn cold... Continue Reading →
Well, here I go again with the crazing! It's crazy! I thought I figured out the cause; apparently not! Argh! The cause could be any number of things: the clay the glaze - it only happens with the clear glaze so that could be a clue! the combination of the clay AND the glaze glaze... Continue Reading →
Days in my back porch studio are numbered. The days are growing shorter and colder. Woke up to snow and ice this morning. Winter is here.This summer was my most productive! I made over 100 pieces. Now, I will be spending my time taking photographs of each piece, writing descriptions and putting them up for... Continue Reading →
As you can see in the picture above, my favorite blue glaze can exhibit a wide range of blues depending on how thick or thin I glaze my pieces. The range of blues also depends on the temperature in the kiln; one result at cone 5 (2118 degrees F), another at cone 6 (2650 degrees F). ... Continue Reading →
I'll spare you all the gory details but today's glazing was not pretty! (Even required washing wax off of my glasses! Don't ask!) Not only did it decide to rain today, I was all thumbs. It will be a miracle if this kiln load comes out okay. UPDATE: October 1 Pleased with the results even... Continue Reading →
I made three little test tumblers to try out a new glaze combination. I am thrilled with the results so much so, I'm going to make more! The weather is perfect today so back behind the wheel I go!
I've been busy glazing and firing this month! Over thirty new items to add to my Etsy shop. Pictured above is about three kiln loads which averages about twelve to fifteen pieces per load. I have about that many more pieces to glaze and fire in the next few weeks.
Back Porch Studio 