October Shop Update!

I unloaded a great firing last week, so I'm super excited to update the shop this time. I've got mugs & sippers, a serving bowls & ikebana, even a coffee cone. Check out the new work at this link! If you see something you'd like to buy, consider subscribing to my Patreon at the Water tier - that comes with a coupon code for 10% off! 

Raku Season Winding Down

 

Technically, of course, there's no reason why raku season has to wind down; You can raku all winter, if you want. I don't want! I'm sort of a recreational raku firer, so it's fair weather or nothing for me. 

This firing was a little...interesting! There was barely enough propane, and no combustibles, but luckily one of the participants lives nearby & had a big bag of pine shavings in her garage - she keeps chickens. We also had three pieces stick to the kiln shelves, which is a thing that has never happened to me before. 

Otherwise a nice firing, though. I only had one piece in it, glazed with Laguna's Tutti Fruiti. 

It's vastly different - and better! - than the test tile at the link. That's raku for ya. 
 

So, that was last night. I spent today grinding, pricing,  packing pots as I sorted them for their various destinations. Hoping to have a shop update by Wednesday of next week; subscribe to my Patreon to get first access (& a discount code) when that happens. 
Thanks for reading! 

Before & After

 Just because I haven't done one in a while, and this was an especially nice firing. Note to self: 500 grams soda ash, 600 grams baking soda, 2 gallons of water. Three rounds of spray. (I did have quite a lot of solution left.)

These aren't the only variables, of course, but they are important ones. 

Today & the rest of the week will be grinding, sorting, pricing, packing, & delivery. Next week I'll photograph pots for the online shop & get those listed. Patreon subscribers at the Water tier & up get first access & discount codes! If you're shopping, the discount alone might pay for your subscription. 😊😊😊

September Firing

 I spent Friday & Saturday glazing and loading; today was firing. After a brief quarrel with one burner (as usual! lol) the firing was uneventful, which is just how I like em. 

Though the kiln will be ready to unload on Wednesday, I will not! My mom has a doctor's appointment, so the kiln will have to wait until Wednesday afternoon. Someone once told me that if you aren't eager to open the kiln, it's time to change up your work. I never have that problem! 

I'll post the unloading video on Patreon. Paid subscribers get first dibs! Watch, too, for new work in the pottery shop. 

Thanks for reading & wish me patience! 

PS. I peeked through the spy this morning - Monday - and OOOOOO the color looks amazing! Honey-brown & glossy. Can't wait 'til Wednesday! 

Pumpkins 101: Thrown & Altered

 Check out the full video over on Patreon! 

Throwing a 6 Pound Pasta Bowl

 

ETA: I have no idea why this post got so much traction, but if you are new here & you liked this video, check out my Patreon page! 

The Pottery Stairs Are Out!

 It’s only been a couple of weeks since the last time I put the stairs out, but I got a tranche of really good mugs from the kiln at Portland Pottery. Also, my birthday is Friday, and I plan to use sales this week to celebrate. 🙂

Slab Built Oval Butter Dish Part One: The Invisible Seam

Butter dishes are some of my favorite things to make. They are more work, for sure, than something like a bowl or a pitcher, and I probably don't charge enough for them - but there's a deep satisfaction in making such a functional form beautiful and doing it well, so the oval lid fits the oval tray without rocking.

I do sometimes throw the pieces & then stretch them into ovals, but just as often I will build it out of slabs. I did this for my classes last week, and took photos:

It all starts with the lid. I roll & cut (and compress! but that should go without saying by now) a slab to 17" long by 3 inches wide. This will make a tallish butterdish - taller than necessary, so if you prefer a lower profile you could make it 2.5" or even just 2".

Stand it up on its edge in an oval shape, overlapping the ends by about an inch or a little less.

The interior space should be 6.5" in the longer dimension. It can be a little bigger, but no smaller...[Read more]

July Shop Update

Spent yesterday photographing pottery, then processing the photos & creating the online listings. This is the first shop update since May, due to one damn thing after another interfering with my firing schedule! But it's up now. 🙂

A few listings I was particularly pleased with: 

• This bowl! I didn't love this bowl when I first unloaded it. I thought the gray was too dark & the contrast too harsh. Over the last few days of sanding, sorting, pricing, & packing, I kept coming back to this one. It's not harsh, I decided; it's dramatic. If I put it on a banding wheel & spin it (which I did, lol) it looks like, Sunrise, Sunset; Sunrise, Sunset. 
  
• I made a set of mugs! Not entirely on purpose; I just made a couple dozen of a similar design & 6 of them happened to match surprisingly well. I'm never trying for identical - that's a standard that we've absorbed through out machine-driven culture, & it doesn't interest me. But almost matching? That creates an interesting tension. I almost never make sets, & who knows when I'll be inspired to declare one again, so if you've been looking for a set of my mugs, now's your chance. 
  
  
  
• And, of course, the little sippers! I made so many of these. They were just too fun to stop! 
  
  
  If you are thinking of making a purchase today, you might want to become a paid subscriber to my Patreon - there's a coupon code for 10% off in the most recent post - and paid memberships start at just $1.50 a month. If you're purchasing something, that membership would pay for itself right out of the gate.

Thanks for being here & stay cool today! It's meant to be in the high 80s here in Maine with 74% humidity. It's 10 o'clock in the morning & I'm glowing like a horse! Hope it's cooler where you are. 

Pottery Stairs!

The Cony Street pottery Stairs are out! These have not made as many appearances as they do some summers - fewer class demos & the long delay in firing my own kiln mean there just weren't as many pots to sell here. I've got a good lot now, though! Local peeps can pop by, choose their pottery, & then eitehr mail me cash or a check in the provided envelope, or pay via CashApp ($FineMessPottery) or Venmo (@FineMessPottery.) 

Special Patreon perk: for subscribers at all paid levels, I will ship items from the pottery stairs! Unfortunately I do have to charge shipping, but otherwise it's the same great pricing that locals enjoy.

 

Lil Suppers are out!!

June rewards are out of the kiln & WOW are they nice ! I have more rewards than I have patrons at the Air ($25) tier, so the first 3 new patrons at that level will get an extra reward. Subscribe at this link to get yours! 

The firing overall was...good. More gray than I prefer, but nice enough, with a handful of amazing. (I feel like I say this every time! I've had maybe two firings from which the bare bmix came out that peachy-rosy-gold that I love so much but I keep trying to replicate it. Probably should start looking for a flashing slip that will give me the results I want. ) Anyway! A good firing is nothing to sneeze at. Here are some of the best pots: 

About 3/4s of the kiln already has a destination (YAY!) but expect a shop update soon. 

At Last! Image Transfer Success

 I've been trying intermittently to figure out this underglaze image transfer technique. My transferred image has always degraded badly - large sections not transferring at all, or areas turning into blobs. Recently an artist I follow on instagram - Janna Dewan, a master of image transfer - shared a brief video depicting her process. This allowed me to see what I've been doing wrong! In short: I was either trying to transfer too dry or too wet. 
The line drawing - the first layer - must get bone dry. The color layer must get bone dry. The white slip layer - the background - must dry to a leatherhard sheen. No additional water added to the newspaper, please! (I was SURE that I was supposed to saturate the newspaper with a wet sponge. Nope!) I had been missing the pony roller step. 

You can see more pics of my efforts in this post for paid subscribers at my Patreon, but tbh (lol I told you I suck at sales!) you can probably get what you need to know from Janna's video. Try it out & let me know how it goes!