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!

:)

Raku Results & other Clay Stuff... it's a Potzapalooza!

Just wanted to share the results of the finished pots I started while back home this summer & catch y'all up on what I've been up to claywise. We Raku fired these pots in class a couple of weeks ago, but I just got around to photographing them today~ so, without further ado...

The Bear Pot!

Bear Pot~ Aerial View :)

My other pot~ really digging the round form, but the rim... not super crazy about it.

Mom's Pot, taking in the Fall Colors! (yes, amazingly... after the snow & wind we received last week- we've still got a fair amount of color on the hill... I was pleasantly surprised.)

Another view of Mom's Pot. I find the effect of the Raku firing interesting... it reflects the shadows & highlights & the finish can actually look quite different depending on how the light hits it and/or how it is photographed.

Raku'd Black Polar Bear in the Snow

In other clay news- I have taken the "Bean Pot Challenge" this semester... no cups, no bowls~ just pots! The pots below I started the first week of September when I was staying at the Sublet.

Wet Clay Bean Pots

Dry Pot- needs Scraping & Sanding

Sanded Pot, needs Slip & Burnishing

Polished Pots~ Ready to Bisque

Closer view of the pot on the left/ above. I really like this one.

Above a bunch of my classmates Pots, getting ready to go into the kiln. Below, various classmate's PIPs (pots in progress.) It's right about now that I am thinking, (o.k, really I am saying it out loud,) "It's a potzapalooza!!" Well it really is, dontcha think?

Below is the 2nd to the last pot I made. I was having some trouble w/ the rim (for me, it's one of the harder parts of making the Bean Pot) and I had to cut it down & build it back up several times.

Finally, I just had to leave it at that~

 There it is below on the left in it's drier state, next to my last pot on the right.

(It seems to have shrunk quite a bit & looks kinda squatted down... but so it goes.) Perhaps after sanding & polishing it'll be a decent pot.

"Raw Pots." Still need waterscraping, sanding, slip, burnishing!

Oh, and for those of you that have asked, Yes, I am getting settled into my new place, thank you. And nope, I did not find the perfect little inexpensive Casita I was looking for... and thus I am an ... I hate to say it... an Apartment Dweller. It was the best I could do given I was running out of time on my sublet. I try not to dwell on the lack of privacy (people walk by my front window,) or the fact that I can hear my neighbors when they take a shower, or cook, or shut doors. Whatever~ it is quieter than my last place, which says a lot. On a positive note, I can see the mountains & the sunrise, AND it does have a little more space... here you can see I set up a little space in my kitchen to water scrape my pots yesterday.

I also had a bit of good fortune come my way after pot scraping as I scored a few more items to complete my kitchen "clay station." Being the helpful person I am, :) I responded to an S.O.S for cleaning help for one of my friends that is moving out of town. It was a lot of work... cleaning fridges & stoves & so forth... and without expecting anything in return, he gave me that little blue work bench & baker's rack! Cool.

Kitchen Clay Station

So that's about it for now... my "weekend" is over & it's back to work tamale. I'll also be trying to get 3 more pots sanded & polished by the end of class on friday for the Final Pit Firing on Saturday, followed by too much work, and then a family visit! So, please do not hold your breath, anxiously awaiting the final results... I will get around to posting them once they're finished, but I honestly could not tell you when that will be!

:)

Hello Fall :)

Winter is an etching, Spring a watercolor, Summer an oil painting & Fall, a mosaic of them all.

~Stanley Horowitz

Clay Notes From Home...

Do you ever have those times when life feels like it is busier than it has ever been? I'm experiencing that currently... and feel like I can't quite get caught up!

I'm sure you've all experienced this as some point or another. In between work & class & looking for that place to call home, I feel like I've hardly had the chance to breathe, let alone blog. Anyhow, I wanted to eke out a little time to share my experience teaching my first micaceous clay class...  to my mom when I was back home in July- yes, July! I really am behind aren't I? 

Ah, well... so it goes. 

The great thing about hand building/coiling pots, is that you really can do it anywhere... though it can get quite messy, so having some outdoor or garage space is quite nice. Below is our work station in the garage back home... tools, notes, puki's etc.

And Mom, with lots of great instruction (ha ha!) building her first ever coiled micaceous pot! Nice job, mom! (She was an excellent student & we laughed when I learned where I got my passion for perfection from!)

"PIPs"~ pots in progress... Mom's in the foreground, mine in the background.

Mom cutting the rim on her pot, mine taking shape & setting up in the background.

My cone shaped pot from above turns into a closed form... there is something I love about the shape of a rounded form of clay, even though the lid fitting which comes later is a lot of work!

Many days later (the clay takes a long time to dry when the humidity is high as it was when I was back home) the pots are removed from their Puki's & the water scraping, and later sanding begins. It's quite a process!  The rounded form above became the bear pot below it it's rough/dry stage.

Showing Mom how to apply slip & burnish a pot. Note my pot... dangerously close to the edge of the table... what am I thinking?!

Mom's pot- after water scraping & before sanding/polishing.

Below~ same pot- after sanding & polishing. Pretty awesome job for her first pot, don't ya think?

:)

I didn't get a chance to finish my latest bear pot while I was back home- so I packed it up & brought it to NM~ just got around to sanding & polishing it last week~ 2 months to make one pot, LOL. I do like it though, & I think the lid fit was quite stellar. :) I won't even get into all the "repair work" that needed to be done on this pot, but suffice it to say, I think I worked longer on this pot than any other.

Below, another pot I made while back home.

And, you know me, I couldn't resist doing another bear... he's pretty abstract-y & I quite like him!

We had a ton of fun, Mom & I, on our pot- making adventure! They have all made it through the bisque fire & I am anxiously awaiting a Raku firing for the final finish next week. Only 2 months or so from start to finish, now how's that for patience?!?

Local Flavor :)

It's chile harvesting season in New Mexico! And there is nothing like fresh roasted chile, let me tell you! While there are many roasters set up in parking lots & at the farmer's market here in Santa Fe, I had always wanted to go to the Chile Festival in Hatch, NM, so I got the weekend off from work, and off I went. For those of you that are not familiar w/ Hatch... it is considered "The Chile Capitol of the World," and there is something special about Hatch Green Chiles!

Here's a shot driving into the Festival, set just a mile or so out of town. Having never been before, I did not know what to expect. It had the feel of a small town county fair~ rides for the kids, vendors & booths (both local & out of state) selling all sorts of items, & tons of food options.

(I had the green chile relleno burrito & green chile ice cream!)

Booth & vendors~ nothing (except the food!) really caught my eye...

until I found the "chile section..." sampling the red chile salsa, I was sold.

:)

I think more than the festival itself, was just walking around the town of Hatch & seeing chiles hanging from nearly everywhere... and the scent of fresh roasting chile wafting through the air. Not to mention to observe a typically sleepy little town transform into a bustling metropolis of chile lovers!

I did not eat at Sparky's  this time around, but I have before, and I will tell you they've  got a pretty darn good Green Chile Cheeseburger... as you can probably tell by the line out the door!

Chiles...

chiles...

... and more chiles!

It was a really fun experience, especially as a photographer & chile lover.

For more information on Hatch & the Chile Festival, click here .

For an interesting & important article about the fate of the New Mexico Green Chile click here. For other chile related data & links, here's a fun website~

http://www.nmchileassociation.com/id20.html

 Before I wrap it up, I've got to share a couple other places w/ you, should you ever be out this way. :) The first is  The Buckhorn Tavern.  It's a little gem of a place just off of I-25 in San Antonio, NM. Their Green Chile Cheeseburger beat out Bobby Flay (of the Food Network ) in a "throw down."

Let me tell you, they live up to their reputation! It's gotta be one of the best Green Chile Cheeseburgers around.

Another place I've got to share w/ you that I just happened to find while looking for lodging in Truth or Consequences (what a cool name for a town,) is Blackstone Hot Springs. This place is quaint, hip, cool, relaxing... well just plain wonderful. They only have 7 rooms, most of which go for the rate of a regular hotel room, but their tubs carry healing hot spring water direct from the source! 

An awesome place for the weary traveler to relax. My only regret is that I only had one night, so I didn't get the chance to check out the town much. If you get the opportunity, I'd highly recommend this little oasis in the desert~ stay a couple of nights if you can!

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