Fungus-y Fungi
Just opened the kiln and was pleased with the results. I think Suzanne and Tom will be happy with their mushrooms. Those are some fungus-y fungi! Tom is a microbiologist, so this is most appropriate! They haven’t seen them yet, so that’s all I’ll say for now. I threw in several test tiles and got some good results, as well as some serious Halloween. I have a love-hate relationship with test tiles. They just seem to take so much time. Other ceramists may disagree with me on that, but (1) I’m pretty impatient in some areas of my life, and this is one of them, (2)...
Read MoreMushrooms and LLamas and Dogs, Oh My!
It’s been an interesting day in the studio–I’ve been very fortunate to be invited to some really nice shows and have been making different types of work for each one. Currently, I have four pieces in a lovely show (which ends on Wednesday!) in Carrboro, NC called “Animals Without Borders,” curated by Alex O’Connor. She is an amazing painter and an animal lover. I was so thrilled when she invited me to participate. As expected, I found myself among the most excellent company. Alex asked me to bring my “Cat Fish.” This body of work is...
Read MoreBlogging lesson
Cranked up the kiln this morning and will spend a few minutes (while it’s still quiet around here) learning more about blogging. Here are some photos of Jackie & Mike and Suzanne & Tom, making their wonderful garden art. I think it was late January. The goal is to finish the pieces while their gardens are still going. What with all the busy schedules, we’ve had that much trouble connecting! Mike and Jackie making art–It’s funny, when people are so engaged, they don’t smile, so when I show photos, I feel the need to say, “They’re really...
Read MoreJust opened the kiln and so far, so good. This was a first firing for the ware—the bisque firing, to prepare the work to receive glaze and be fired again. In general, the bisque firing is slower than the glaze firing, and is intended to burn out materials in the clay that could cause problems for the glaze. There is a lot of chemistry in pottery making! I usually work in earthenware–kiln temperatures are set for around 1900 degrees F for both the bisque and glaze firings. In this case, I’m firing stoneware, and the second firing will be around 2200. Those few hundred...
Read MoreAnd another thing… BTW, the new body of work is for a show coming up in November. I am a member of Carolina Designer Craftsmen and will be creating a Masterwork. Haven’t figured it all out yet, but the topic will be the connection between humans and companion animals. When I plugged in “companion animal,” Chet Baker’s image came up. Not the jazz musician, but his canine namesake, a Boston Terrier owned by Julie and her family (or perhaps he owns them, it’s complicated!). Hope neither is offended by the search engine results–the four-legged Chet...
Read MoreA single step….
Wow–my first post–a toe-dip into the social networking pool. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, but couldn’t seem to get started. Then, surfing the Net (do people still say that?) for images for my next body of work, I ran into Julie Zickefoose’s blog. I’ve never met her, but can tell you she is a Renaissance woman–most knowledgeable naturalist, wonderful artist, eloquent writer, amazing photographer, musician (haven’t heard her perform, but it’s bound to be good…the members of her group, The Swinging Orangutans,...
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