Coming to an end...

Three days left in the school year, and I need to straighten this mess out ... I've been procrastinating the last month because it's overwhelming!









Then I have to get ready for summer school classes.


Super find cleaning a cabinet I haven't emptied out before!!
Yeah Kemper Tools!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

False Rumors. :-(

I walked the entire campus this morning and found no kiln. I did find a site that would be good to build one though. A concrete pad about 25-30 ft long and about 15 ft wide, with a 2 1/2 ft wall that borders one long side and the connecting end in an L . No nearby trees, and away from the nearest bld.

On another note, I tried something from Doug Fitch's play book with this mug.














I love the way he does this on his pitchers and jugs!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Rumors of a kiln?

Yesterday I was talking with a friend of mine who was an administrator at my school when it was first built. According to him (of course this was 10-12 years ago). He thinks there is a wood kiln already built down on the other side of the campus - back behind one of the maintenance bldgs. So it looks like I'm going on a hunting expedition on Tuesday morning. I'll let you know what I find...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Premium Banking

Every two weeks, on paydays, my bank hires this crew to come in and entertain its customers.

Across the room they have plates of local made cookies and snacks as well. This is what I call premium banking!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Big bowl

Self explanatory:















14 inches across the top, and 5.5 inches deep.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

PHFFFTT!

The two pieces from yesterday started out nice at about 18 inches tall ... but quickly turned ugly :-(


So I wedged it back up and ended up with this 15 inch bowl.



Will try another two piece tomorrow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Out on a limb ...

After I posted the last entry, I realized I had 3 hours to kill before the school board meeting. Sooo ... I drug out the wheel and ( being inspired by all you LARGE jug makers) I decided to try a two piece jug. Here's what it looks like tonight -









let's see what it looks like tomorrow when I try and put it together!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

More slab work ...

The students are finishing up their slab boxes (I will post pics of student work this weekend), and wanted to see what other kinds of forms could be made with slabs. Of course, they needed visual confirmation that you can do many forms, not just flat or boxy forms. For one class, I illustrated with the vase I made yesterday and another bowl that I made awhile back - a slab altered on the wheel.
The next class, I made a slab yunomi, and used a cheese slicer to finish the sides:









For the last class, I made a cup with an attached saucer .... looks a little weird, but it illustrated the different kinds of forms you can do with slabs:









- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Clay Break

My eyeballs were about to fall out after only half of the bowl.


So I took a break and made a nice vase.











Something tells me that the right glaze will break nicely across this textural surface.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Slow Start

Even though I only had about half my students today, they kept me busy enough to keep me from getting today's project finished by the end of the day. I only had time to lay out the starting pattern, unable to fill in the details in between.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Before and After ...

The third in a series ...















Tomorrow's project:



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Another LF From '08

This small vase was made in the same batch as the last bottle, with a low fire clay called "Indian Red". I made a number of pieces, all bisqued, all waiting for decoration. I finally have these two stains to work with, and since I chose Native American designs (about two years ago), these colors are perfect.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New ... uhhh ... Old Bottle

I've had this bottle sitting on the shelf waiting for a design, and a final firing. Last week I came across two containers of some dried, caked, powder(must be at least 10 years old) that were labeled "rutile" and "grebanier's black". I used a mortar and pestle to crush them back into fine powder, then added water. I practiced on a piece of broken bisqueware first, and discovered it looked pretty nice! Sooooo ... I took the plunge and here's the result:












Now to fire on the stains, dip in clear, and final firing!

I've noticed I've done a number of 2 post days lately....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

(Slight) Progress?

Talked with the owner of one local crematorium about any spare brick they might have. They only have a half dozen or so bricks for repairs. However ... they are going to give me several bags of refractory cement! Hey! It's a start! Just need to contact the other crematorium tomorrow. Maybe they will have some brick from a rebuild?? One could only hope...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nice afternoon

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Different?

Thought I would try something a little different, and came up with this:



with a little seashell imprint inside,


and some low, square feet,





this 7" square bowl was fun to carve!
(hope it fires ok!)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Found a Kiln!! (maybe)

Nice little anagama kiln, but the owner has restrictions.

1. Must use cut wood, no lumber or pallet wood.
2. Must fire by his schedule - ^15-20, for a full 3 day,3 night firing.

All of my students work is done in ^06 earthenware, as is most of mine right now.

What to do, what to do.


















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone