Tis the Season: Raku!

It was raku week at Portland Pottery, at least in my classes. I'd actually been planning these firings for a few weeks, but I always build in time for unexpected obstacles: in this case, the bisque schedule, some brutally hot weather (Al Gore was right!), and my own Lyme Disease diagnosis - more on that later.

Here's our Instagrammable moment:

Many thanks to students for great camera work:

It begins.

Got my good side!

Ooo fire!

Almost done!

The process is fun and exciting, and I try to do it with each class during the warm months, because in a communal studio like Portland Pottery, students get very little experience of firing. There are racks where they place their work to be fired...then the pots go away for a while...then [something happens, who knows what]...and the pots come back changed. I'm exaggerating a little - I talk to my students a lot about firing (too much, some might say!) and when the kiln is firing I bring them in to look into the spy hole. It's not the same as loading, keeping an eye on the firing, and unloading, though. Raku allows student to participate in each step, and to be responsible for the outcome.

Speaking of, we got some great outcomes:

Terra sigillata & horsehair

Portland Pottery (and your so very truly) will be offering a raku workshop Saturday, September 14th! Bring 4-5 bisqued pots of an appropriate claybody, and wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and cotton clothing.
You can use a claybody that's specific for raku, or any groggy stoneware will usually be fine. High grolleg porcelain performs surprisingly well also! To register call (207) 772-4334.

A Workshop Adventure!

Just wanted to offer a heads' up about what looks like an amazing workshop featuring Maine's own Tim Christensen in Palermo, Sicily!

In this exciting and multifaceted class, participants will learn two different, though related, media and techniques: Black and white sgraffito on porcelain, and dry point etching on PET resin. We will focus on the skies and sea of Sicily, working outside as much as possible to capture the light drenched and ever-shifting natural beauty of this enchanted place. Artists will leave with bisque-fired porcelain pieces suitable for display or further firing, and stabilized for travel, as well as a number of plates for printing. If time allows, artists will learn to wipe and pull prints from their plates. Artists should expect to be able to make one completed sgraffito piece or etched plate per day of class. All tools and materials will be provided, and of course bring your own tools if you have favorites! This will be a fun exploration of technique, with a special focus on strengthening visual memory skills.

The venue, Casa Pergola, is owned by two friends of mine, Paul Mahoney and David Henderson, both artists and American ex-pats. I watched long distance as they transformed the former olive mill into a beautiful destination villa with handcrafted details in every corner. Paul & David are fun & funny, charming & talented, and their company a,one would make the trip worthwhile.

I so so wish I could attend this workshop...but next best thing would be you going & coming back to tell us all about it.

Firing at Watershed: Results!

As commonly happens, the firing at Watershed was great! That soda kiln is a joy to fire.

Look at these even cone packs!

I had six participants in the workshop - small enough that (I hope) everybody got a satisfying number of pots in the kiln. A couple of people had some larger items, always a challenge, but it worked out. I was especially pleased that my friend Cindy of CC Ceramics got in a big piece that she has carried around to four firings now, trying to fit it in! Sh hasn't seen it yet but it's fabulous - you can just see it, it is the carved piece in the rear on the left side, it's peachy & silver, I think she'll be delighted.

I myself had only a few pieces in; this firing wasn't really about me, although I like to have a few things just to dial up the fun factor. The lidded jars at the very top are mine; they will probably eventually find their way to The Cat Doctor, to house the remains of someone's beloved feline.

Look at the very bottom shelf - see that large oval piece? That belongs to Jeanne Hardy, a potter from Belfast. Jeanne participated in the Maine Pottery Tour, so we have emailed back & forth but this was the first time I'd met her. She got lots of nice pieces out of the kiln but that one sticks in my mind, such a great shape. She called it a "hod" which I keep thinking is maybe a kind of boat? Basically any word that I don't know what it means I decide it must be a kind of boat. Anyway I loved the form, a wide, simple oval. It would make a great salad serving dish. Except for the dots (I 💙 dots!) it doesn't look at all like something I would make but I could totally see it in my house.

Here are the pots unloaded.

At this point we still had to grind and wash the shelves, a dreary job but a quick one, as I had so many hands to help.

It's a rainy start to Memorial Day weekend here, and I am doing an biggish indoor project - I am transforming a bureau into a kitchen island. I'll be posting progress over at Wicked Cozy, my Maine-lifestyle blog. I've also got a couple of small orders to knock out, and a few pendants to assemble. Holidays don't mean much to the self-employed! Luckily the work is mostly fun, like I'm always on holiday. Well. Except for kiln maintenance. Oh and mixing glazes. Not fun!

Hoping your holiday weekend is fun, or productive, or meaningful, or whatever you wish it to be.

Signs of Spring

HAHAHA, j/k. More like, a suggestion that winter might conceivably not last forever: we've already scheduled the first raku workshop of the season. It's happening Saturday, June 3rd.

Participants should bring 5-8 mid sized pieces - please no ginormous items, or beads or buttons, or anything else so tiny I can't get ahold of it with tongs! Ware should be of a claybody with a little grog in it, or else a high grolleg porcelain; ask when you register if you aren't sure your claybody is appropriate for raku. Items should be bisqued between ^08-05. (Too high and they aren't going to get the deep carbon black on the unglazed areas that is characteristic of American raku.) Students should wear long pants, cotton clothing, and closed toed shoes.

My classes will begin rakuing much earlier, of course - possibly as early as April. But if you aren't one of my students, and you'd like to try raku, or you've already tried it & can hardly wait to fire it up again, you can register now at Portland Pottery, 207-772-4334.

Looking Ahead: Spring Soda Workshop At Watershed

My Fall Workshop Buddies

It's never too soon to start thinking about spring. I am hosting a soda firing workshop at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine, May 20-21st of 2017. That might seem far away, but I find
that people need time to plan, and especially hobby potters sometimes need time to make work especially for a particular firing. Here's more info:

Soda Firing Workshop
Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts,
May 20th & 21st

What is soda firing? you may ask. Soda firing is a kind of stoneware firing, during which sodium carbonate is introduced to the atmosphere of the kiln. The heat of the kiln creates a soda vapor, which in turns into soda glass wherever it meets silica in the kiln. The fire becomes an active participant in your glazing process. The results are spontaneous and directional: sometimes brilliant, sometimes earthy, always lively.
It's all happening Saturday & Sunday , May 20th &21st, 2017. On Saturday morning starting at 9 am, we'll glaze. I'll bring flashing slip, wax & glazes; you bring 2 cubic feet of bisque fired ^10 stoneware, and any brushes or tools you like to use for decorating. Saturday afternoon, we'll load the kiln. I'll bring wadding & door mud, you bring work gloves (if you want. Not really necessary.) We'll probably be done by 4 pm.Sunday we'll fire the kiln. I'll be there at 8 am - you can arrive anytime after that.

We'll start putting the soda in the kiln sometime between 3:30 pm and 5 pm -you should plan to be there for that. The kiln could go off as early as 5:30 pm, or as late as 8:30 pm.The cost for the workshop is $100. A $50 (nonrefundable) deposit will reserve your spot.I am only taking six participants in this firing, to make sure everyone gets enough work in the kiln to make it fun and worthwhile. 

Click here to reserve your spot, or give me a shout at info@finemesspottery.com with any questions you may have. Only two spots left!
Wow, that was quick: the workshop is full! Thanks for all your interest. I may try to offer another, also in May if the kiln is available; if not there will be one next fall for sure.

My Soda Buddies

Last weekend I ran a soda firing workshop at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts. We opened the kiln on Wednesday - I love that ta-da moment. Here are my Fab 5, minus one who couldn't be there for the unloading (missed you, Reen!)

The results were good - dare I say, fabulous? But the firing was not without its adventures. Most notably, I had purchased a new sprayer for the workshop, and the hose kept popping off during the firing, spraying anyone in its path with a jet of hot soda-ash infused water. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, I got it right in the face, including one eye, and was uninjured. But it certainly kept things interesting.The firing also ran longer than I had hoped; in the past, the kiln has reached temperature around 5:30 pm, whereas we ran until about 8:30 this time. This kiln has recently been rebuilt, and this was my first time firing it since. In retrospect I should have partially closed the passive damper much earlier than I did. After I did so, it was only about 15 minutes before the last 10 cone fell.

Nevertheless, good results make it all worth it! I think everyone was happy. Next Soda Workshop I'm hosting at Watershed is in the spring: May 20 & 21st. Watch this space for sign up info.

Coming up: Raku, Seconds Sale

Saturday, June 25th 1 - 5, Raku Workshop at Portland Pottery. We'll be doing the American version, in which we place the glowing hot pots into combustible materials, then smother the flames to create strong post-firing reduction atmospheres. The results are ranges from oil-spot colors, to metallic copper to bright turquoise, and everything in between. Wear close-toed shoes and cotton clothing: there's gonna be some fire. Call Portland Pottery to register, or for more information. 207-772-4334

Saturday July 16th, Seconds Sale at Old Hallowell Days. I always have lots of pots that are seconds not because there's something wrong with them - although I've always got some of those, also - but because I made them during my class demos, so they are less detailed & finished than my "real" work; or because I try a new technique that requires some practice, so the first few are not impressive. That, or the technique ultimate does not become part of my toolkit, so those pots are sort of outliers from the rest of my work.

Gotta do something with all those perfectly good but not quite good enough pots! I sell some from my front yard, and this summer I will have an additional venue: the Central Maine Clay Artists are holding a Seconds Sale as part of Old Hallowell Day, July 16th, a Saturday. I expect at least three or four of us to participate, so there should be a lot to choose from.

Hope to see you at one of these events!

The Tidbits

Often, when you attend a workshop or lecture, the best thing you learn is not necessarily the topic of the presentation. I call these little gems "tidbits," and I learned a great one at NCECA.

I was watching George Rodriguez in the Process Room - George makes these sculptural pieces that are just encrusted with springs. He said he preferred having the sprigs already made so he could work more immediately, instead of having to make a sprig, put it on, make another, put it on, and so on.

I like to work with sprigs, too, and I also find the making of the somewhat disruptive to my creative process - but they are tiny, and dry out quickly. Wrapping them in a bunch of plastic would work but it's sort of clumsy to dig into the wrap to use them.

So, here's the great idea that possibly everyone else has already thought of: a damp box! Not a giant cabinet lined with thick plastic, just a little rubbermaid container from the grocery store with a couple inches of plaster poured into the box. The plaster holds water but keeps it away from the pieces, the plastic prevents the moisture from escaping, so you get a perfect little humid environment. George said he has kept pieces for weeks in his damp box.

I made myself one, though I have yet to use it. It occurred to me while I was making that this would be even better for my students. My studio is at home, so timing is not a problem for me; but they only have a few hours a week in which to work. (Yes, they can come in during open studio hours, but most of them have other pesky obligations like work and families) It often happens that they will pull six handles, but only have time to attach four before 9 pm rolls around. Damp box to the rescue! Those last two handles will now keep until next week's class.

Here's mine. Just needs a cup of water, and it's ready to be of service!

Notes from the Martha Grover Workshop

Yesterday Portland Pottery hosted Martha Grover, Maine's returning prodigal potter. (We didn't kill any fatted calves - I'm still using mine - but there were some excellent sandwiches on offer in the cafe.)

If you get a chance to see Martha in action, go. She is informative and engaging, generous with her techniques and recipes, and utterly inspiring. She throws porcelain, then stretches and cuts and alters but somehow preserves the very soft, almost skin-like freshness of the material. She works much stiffer than I am used to, and gently persuades the forms into rolling curves. I came away with that feeling - you know that feeling? The almost achy need to go home and start making stuff coupled with a faint wash of despair: "I will never make anything that amazing ever in my life."

Or maybe that's just me.

Anyway, we had a ton of fun. It was an interactive workshop, so participants had a chance to try some techniques on the spot. I wasn't delighted with my efforts, but of course I wouldn't expect to be; the workshop is more about learning than producing anything great. I tried to get the hang of the double-ended handle...mixed results, but I plan to keep trying.

Martha has a few workshops coming up - check them out here, maybe there's one near you.

Screamy Feet

Ugh, this GETTING OLD thing! Amirite?

I'm on my feet a lot. Throwing days are mostly sit-down, of course, but decorating, glazing, loading, firing, packing, pricing, teaching classes - basically every work activity other than throwing (or blogging!) - is a standing one. For months now I've been literally hobbling when I wake up in the morning, barely able to put weight on either of my feet. It loosens up after a few excruciating minutes, and then I am able to walk normally, but then starts hurting again in the early afternoon. If I still down for any length of time, I go through the morning limping routine all over again. Turns out that what I had been calling "Screamy Feet" has a more official name: Plantar fasciitis. 

But for every curse, there is a blessing,* and right around the same time I started falling apart, I was able to get health insurance. So I told my doc about this foot problem, and she had a great suggestion:

• fill a two-liter bottle with water

• freeze it

• in the evening, when reading or watching netflix or working online, place your feet on it like a little footstool. 

This ices the injured fascia and reduces the swelling. After one treatment, I was amazed at the improvement: no limping at all this morning. We'll see how it holds up over the course of the day.
In other news:

• Still in the throwing/decorating part of the making cycle; I expect to fire a bisque in about two week, and a glaze about a week after that. 

• It's already time to talk about the Holiday Pottery Shop! Fellow potter Mary Kay Spencer, Barb Loken and I checked out a space in Hallowell this week - the big red building on the north end of downtown, for my local readers. Still a couple of details that need to be nailed down but I am optimistic about this space. If it doesn't work, there are possibilities in Gardiner or Augusta, but we seem to do best in Hallowell, so we look there first. 

• Soda firing workshop at Watershed next week! Still a few spaces - give Portland Pottery a call if you're interested: 207-772-4334. We'll glaze and load on Saturday, fire Sunday. Bring two cubic feet of bisqued work, I'll bring slips, glazes, and wax. $125

• Putting the pottery stairs out front of my house one last time for the season. It's a bright sunny weekend, if a little cold; hoping to catch a few late-season bargain hunters.

 *HAHA as if

Might Take a Train, Might Take a Plane

...but if I have to walk, I'm gonna go there just the same.

Just got some exciting news: I've been selected to be a demonstrator in the Process Room at the 2016 NCECA conference in Kansas City! The Process Room features artists doing 30-minute demos of building or decorating techniques - if you were in Providence you recall the room was constantly full to overflowing.

I'll be demonstrating the thrown-and-stretched butter dishes I wrote about a few years ago.

If I were in my depressed/cynical mode, I would make note that this is not a paid gig, and that it's surprising to me how many organizations are happy to ask artists to work for free, including organizations of and for artists. (*cough*Ceramics Monthly*cough* ) But hey! I applied knowing it was not paid, save for my NCECA membership, and I am damn glad to be doing it. This might be the ONE time that the exposure really is the important part.

Muddy Waters has more to say on the subject:

Yellow Copper Lusters, Beading Glazes, and Other Special Treats for Raku

I am more or less of a recreational raku-er. Ceramics can be a solitary pursuit; raku - for me at least - is a team sport. I regularly offer raku workshops for Portland Pottery, and occasionally do a firing with my classes. In a communal studio like Portland Pottery, students have little exposure to the hot side of things. They make the work, put it on a cart and then...well, it goes away for a while, and comes back changed. It's not practical to involve students in the firing of the stoneware kiln, apart from peeking into the spyholes on occasion, but we can load, fire, and unload the raku kiln all in one evening. It gives students a chance to be directly involved and take some of the mystery out of the firing process.
The workshops are a bit different. Often they are folks who already know and love raku, but don't have their own kilns, sprinkled with a few beginners who have heard about it and want to try it. It's been a great season for raku, with the workshops filling up quickly and we've had some gorgeous results. I've got one last workshop to teach, and I want to shake things up a bit, with new glazes and some terra sigs to use with horsehair and feathers.

Our last raku of the season is Saturday November 1. Give Cooper at Portland Pottery a cal if you want in; 207-772-4334. 

PALE LEMON LUSTER

Colemanite  75% (Sub. Gerstley Borate)
F/4 Soda Spar 25%
Copper Carb 3.0%
Manganese Dioxide  1.5%

Lemon Luster

Gerstley Borate 1500
Copper Carbonate 45
Manganese Dioxide  20 

Glass Bead Raku
 50 gerstley borate
 40 borax
 10 flint
 50 magnesium carbonate
 10 zircopax

Raku and Results

I had some newbies, so I did a little blah-blah about what to expect

 

let's see what we've got!

Dousing

Tuckered out and feeling a little non-verbal today, but here are some images from yesterday's raku firing. All the ware is student work.

I've got two more raku firings scheduled this season, one with my Thursday night class in the upcoming session (beginning the 21st) and one Saturday workshop in September. Date to be determined, hopefully today! 'll update as soon as I know, or give Cooper a call at Portland Pottery, 207-772-4334.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Yesterday was butterdishes! I had thrown and stretched these on Sunday but it was Friday before I got a chance to assemble them. They are some of my favorite things to make: enough elements to keeping things interesting, and a broad surface to decorate. It's hard for me to remember to leave something for the glaze to do! I expect these to be part of the August 15th firing.

I haven't forgotten that I am supposed to be doing a video of butterdishes. Maybe during the glaze firing. It's hard for me to make anything while the kiln is firing, for some reason.

Yesterday was also website work. I built my own, noticed that it was not that hard to do, and a few weeks ago, I started putting the word out that I was available to build websites. I had in artists in mind; lots of artists are not especially tech-y, but nevertheless need a website. People are always asking if you have one, for one thing! And if you want to show someone what you do at distance it really is still the best way. I've gotten a few responses already, and started building the first last night.I'll post links to the finished sites here, once I get the go-ahead from the artists involved.

And today? Raku Workshop!! I run a series of them in conjunction with Portland Pottery every summer; this is the second this year. The sky is looking a bit ominous...here's hoping it holds off. Maybe, like weddings, rain is good luck for the firing?

Tomorrow I am back in the studio, finishing some salt & pepper shakers and plates, and throwing for a new account: Craft Company No. 6! More on this later.

I'm Taking a Poll....

Here are a couple of shots from the Thrown, Altered, Assembled workshop at Portland Pottery yesterday. I only hope the students had as great a time as I did! As I usually do, I demonstrated and talked for the first two hours, and then opened it up for students to try some of the shapes.
And today I had a thought. I always like an interactive workshop, but maybe people would prefer to see/hear more from me, and then try the techniques in their own studios? I could easily fill three or four hours with demos. What do you think? I promise not to take it as criticism; I am just always looking for ways to improve the workshops, for next time.

I've created a poll, in the right hand column; or feel free to respond in the comments.

Thrown, Altered, and Assembled

Workshop: Thrown, Altered, Assembled
Portland Pottery
Saturday, February 25
1 - 5 pm
An interactive workshop featuring forms thrown on the wheel, then cut, squeezed, folded and otherwise altered and assembled. Here's a sample of the kinds of things I will be demonstrating.
$60
$45 for current Portland Pottery students
Call to register: 207-772-4334