Micaceous Pots/ Ceramics Sale & Wrapping up the end of the Semester

Just a quick post! These are some of the Micaceous Pots that I completed this semester in round 2 of my Studio Practice Class. While my emphasis this semester was obviously on completing the bear series, I also really wanted to finish these pots so that I could participate in our annual student ceramics sale. Most of these I had started earlier this year but they were placed on the back burner so to speak. Each pot is oven & stovetop safe and built using clay that is hand dug clay from the mountains of northern NM and is not commercially processed. They're built coil by coil, and once bone dry, are meticulously water scraped, hand sanded (earlier this semester when it was much warmer- you could find me outside of the studio sanding for hours!) & polished/stone burnished after application of a fine micaceous slip. While it is a very laborious process, I have to admit, once they are fired, it makes the entire process  quite worthwhile.

:)

Bean Pot 1: Collaboration

Bean Pot 2

Wavy Rim Casserole: 3.5 Quart & Small Wavy Rim Dish 3/4 Quart

Closer view of Small Dish

3.5 Quart Casserole/Serving Dish

3/4 Quart Bowl

Small Bowl

Raku/Reduction Fired Bean Pot: 2.5 Quart

Raku/ Reduction Fired 1.5 Quart Fluted Bowl

2 Quart Lidded pot

View from the Top

Raku Fired 3/4 Quart Wavy Rim Bowl

In addition to the Micaceous Pots, I had a series of the little bears ("the smalls") out on the table.The first day of our sale on wednesday was quite successful and it was fun to be out there with all my fellow students/clay people. 

The second day we got snowed out! Yup, you heard right... by Thursday morning we had 4-6 inches of snow... that, along with weather advisories was enough to shut the school down for the day. Bummer! But so it goes. Unfortunately it also delayed the last firing of the Soda Kiln, but with any luck, it'll fire during finals in the upcoming week. I've now photographed 6 out 8 of the bears from this Semester &  I'll photograph # 7 this week if the lighting is good. Number 8 has been in the kiln almost a week in freezing temps awaiting firing, so if it makes it out o.k. I'll try to get it photo'd as well so I can post them all at once. So that's it for now- a very busy and productive semester!

:)

Pit Fire & Raku Results!

I love this part of the semester, when after 8 weeks of building, scraping, sanding & polishing... you finally get to see the final results of your efforts. Below, pictures from the pit firing~

Pots emerging from the fire~

Classmates looking at our freshly fired pots. There is generally a lot of pointing, ooohing & aaahing going on at this time.

I only had a few pots in this firing & here are my favorites~

We also did a couple of Raku firings at school~ below the kiln is being loaded.

Removing the hot pots from the kiln & placing them in metal cans with combustibles... generally newspaper and/or sawdust.

The pot is left inside for a period of time to reduce.

Testing pots over open flame.

Below, my faves from this firing~

Double click on any image for greater detail.

I have to admit,  I am partial to Raku firing & reduction of these pots. I think the surfaces achieved by this method are simply delicious!

:) 

While this class is over, I'll likely continue to build more pots over winter break, though most of my time the next 6 weeks will be spent focusing on creating more bears in my hand building class. I hope to have a series of pots & bear sculptures to present for the SFCC student ceramic sale coming up at the end of November! It will be my first time participating, so I'm anxious to see how it goes!

:)

Pot Firing Extravaganza & Finished Pots!

 It seems I am the worst blogger ever these days! Well, what can I say... life has been busy! Today is the first day I've had off in what seems like forever... (even though I had a few days off when my family was here.) I began my "day off celebration" by sleeping for 11 hours, which has been followed by some blissfully "unproductive" time... something I can only dream about when at the J.O.B.

Anyhow, just wanted to share a few pics from the end of my Micaceous Class & show you my finished pots. Below, pics from the Pot Firing Extravaganza! 

Our pots~ placed on racks/pallets & surrounded with bark from the Ponderosa Pine ~ the Pit fire begins.

As the fire burns down, our pots arise from the ashes.

Out of the fire~ our cooling Pots.

Though I didn't get many pots made this semester as it seems I was busy moving my things around Santa Fe... I was pretty happy with the ones I did get finished. 

Below is bean pot # 1.

Same pot, different view~

Bean Pot # 2

Bean Pot # 3

Same Pot, different view~

(Bean pot # 4 did not get finished- had some issues in the sanding phase, sooooo...)

Bean Pot # 5~

# 5 is one of my favorites, though I had quite a bit of help from my instructor on the shaping of this pot, so I don't feel I can take full credit. The squiggly lines are made by throwing horse hair on the pot when it's just out of the fire & still hot. It's the first time I've tried this technique, and I quite like it.

Though I was taking the "Bean Pot Challenge" this semester, I did veer from that assignment to make a casserole, which is pictured below. I had made one last semester that I really wasn't crazy about, so I really needed to do another.

Same casserole, another view. This casserole was the bane of my existence in many ways. It took forever to finish it... many repairs were made & the endless sanding/lid fitting about drove me crazy. That said, it is one of my favorite pieces, so it was well worth the effort!

What am I going to do with all these pots, you might ask? I'm keeping the casserole & bean pot # 5... (yes, as soon as I get some more time I will be cooking in them!) the rest will likely become Christmas gifts this year to some very lucky recipient!

:)

P.S.~

I wanted to give thanks to Felipe Ortega for hosting our firing and providing us hungry potters with a delicious meal...

and especially to Brian Grossnickle for so openly sharing his knowledge about all things Micaceous, for all his hard work in firing our pots, and for the continual encouragement, instruction & feedback he provides his students.

Now~ click on the links above to see some really gorgeous pots!

:)

Season Finale of "Clay Days"

    “I do think a  man has missed a very deep feeling of satisfaction if he has never created or at least completed something with his own  two hands”

    -One man’s wilderness, an Alaskan odyssey…(from  the journals of Richard Proenneke) 

A quote my Mom emailed me... and quite appropriate, I believe, for the Season Finale! Clay Days have officially come to an end. You'd think I'd be sad... but actually I'm a little excited to have a bit more free time next week to get out & enjoy the great outdoors as fall is shifting towards winter. Here are the gorgeous bisqued pots, piled & ready to fire~

Remember how smoky that first pot turned out? Well the key it turns out, is to elevate the pots on racks, rather than use pallets as we did the first time. The pallets burn down, and the pots sit too long in the smoldering ash, which gives that super smoky look. Here's all the pots on racks & ready to go!

Again hesitant about getting too smoky a pot, I only put small pieces of Ponderosa Pine bark directly on my pots... then the firing is done the same as last time... wood is piled up to form a tent around the pots and then lit on fire~

After it burns awhile, the pots begin to emerge.

And, after many weeks of work... the pots are finished!

Below is the Charlie Brown Pot~

Still not my favorite, but not so Charlie Brown looking any more.

:)

My pride & joy below... the last big pot that I completed~

And, a tie for my favorite pot below... formerly known as the "Genie pot," I now call it Felipe's Pot (since it was made from Felipe's Clay.)

:)

Being so hesitant about getting too smoky a pot, I went in the other direction this time & feel a bit more of a smoke cloud would've done this pot more justice. But hey, I'm learning... and now have more of a sense of what to do next time I have the chance to work with Micaceous Clay.

:)

And, last but not least... my little Pumpkin Pot! This one was made with Felipe's Clay... and also at the very end of the session, so the craftmanship could have been just a bit better, though I do think it is awfully cute! It's a small pot that fits perfectly in my hand.

:)

My instructor thought it might make a good garlic roaster... hmmmm...

I did get back a little work from throwing on the wheel at the beginning of class, but not having the time to do glaze tests... the results were less than adequate, and really not worth posting, though I do have a few things left to be fired... so we'll see. But for now, I'm ok with this, as I simply didn't have the time to do it all... and am actually quite happy with what I did get done, considering the full time job & all. And I learned so much about working with Micaceous Clay in the traditional manner that stretches back generations... before there were such things as wheels & glazes!

Happy Fall, Everyone!

:)