Brook Trout Love - Part I

Here is the Brook Trout vase I am working on.......

 (Female Brook Trout)

 (Male Brook Trout)

Tomorrow I hope to finish the background work which I started today (not photographed).  This piece has been a real challenge, especially with applying the underglazes, blending them and trying to get the correct coloration.   I am hoping to get the background complete tomorrow, then the lear glaze applied prior to firing later in the week.  As you've heard me say before, there are so many variables with glazes and firing, sometimes what goes in a kiln is not what comes out.  Expect the unexpected, but hope for the best!  Most often, it is fine, but there is always that anxiety of the unknown.  We'll see what comes out towards the end of the week.....stay tuned....and have a wonderful week!

March Mud Madness!!

March has come in like a lion....and hopefully goes out like a lamb.  My studio efforts have followed the weather pattern.  Today it is a muddy mess outside from the thaw and a muddy mess inside from throwing.   I wasn't feeling up to par, so I wiped off the mud and unloaded the kiln....

The"Test Trout" - underglaze painting on white stoneware with clear glaze over.  I painted this as a test for a trout sculpture I have been waiting to paint and fire.  I needed to test the application of glazes to make certain when blended with others that they would hold true to their color at Cone 5/6 temps.  Sometimes the underglaze will burn out and change color.  These Amaco Velvet Underglaze remain true creating a great palette to work from.

I am very happy with the floral bowl.  The Amaco Potter's Choice Deep Firebrick (on flower petals) combined with the PC Verte Lustre glaze on the leaves really blended well, complimenting each other.  I hesitated to glaze the interior with the firebrick, but am now glad I did.

 #1) The Lupine vase came out lovely.  I love the composition of the arrangement, the color choice, but the clear glaze did not cover completely.  My error, I did not apply it thick enough, so now there are a few spots that are rough from not being glazed properly.  #2) The Lily of the Valley vase also came out fine, but I applied a white glaze that did not take to being brushed on.  It was a dipping glaze, but I failed to re-adjust the glaze consistency prior to application, (learn from my mistakes!), so the brush strokes came through in patches.  And finally, #3) The Burgundy Lily.   The background glaze is a bit darker than I had expected, but I like it.

The luminaries came out beautiful. I just love the softness of the glaze on the smaller one, but the vibrant blues accented with purple on the larger one is very cheerful and reminds me of Spring time!!

And then there was this....the extra large Poppy Vase/Bowl.  Now this was a huge disappointment! I was hoping for a fine golden finish with this glaze (Amaco Potter's Choice Saturation Gold) in the background.  What I got was a pitted mess.  The photo below shows it much better.

It's a pitty party!

Onward and upward!  Never concentrate on what doesn't work, celebrate what does!  Like the Potter's Choice Saturation Metallic glaze below......

...such a smooth and even metallic finish...very soft and beautiful glaze...just wish the Saturation Gold had come out as well! 

After unloading the kiln, I took the rest of the day off and spent time relaxing...that is, after I passed through the mud path and porch guardian.

Apollo "Pol" (the Great Dane who is well over 200 lbs.) He's looking at the path of mud that leads to the pottery shed (more mud).....he clearly has no intention on leaving the porch at the risk of getting dirty. (That's a cattle collar around his neck...we couldn't find a dog collar big enough.)  

This brave little soldier is Einstein, my extremely happy tripod Border Collie, the snake hunter! Yes, snakes.  He can smell them a mile away and will strike with lightening force breaking their necks.  He's a superhero! He literally does a perimeter check of the house and out buildings.  Nothing stops him from his daily routines, a little mud doesn't slow him down, not even a missing hind leg.  He is a rescue out of Kentucky that has acclimated to Maine weather.  As you can imagine, it took him a few winters to adjust to maneuvering in deep snow.  It's as if he's always lived in Maine.   Now, the big galoot on the porch, that's another matter....he hates it too cold, too windy, too wet, too muddy, too sunny....he likes being inside were it is just right! 

Japanese Tea Ceremony & Test Trout

Last Saturday, I spent a fun day at Portland Pottery along with my fellow mud buddy, Lynn, enjoying a very informative seminar, the "Japanese Tea Ceremony" with Steve Murphy of Boston Pottery.  It was interesting, I was unaware of the intricacies of the tea ceremony, proper handling of the pots, design of the pots and so forth. It's quite formal and meaningful.  Unlike my Mainiac tea ceremony of throwing a tea bag in any old cup, mug, bowl, bucket... and run out the door to the studio method.

Tea bowls of a variety size and shape depending upon their use. Some tea bowls are used in the Summer, while others are used in the Winter.  A lot of thought and consideration goes into the design of each bowl.

Here Steve shows us how to trim a foot for the bowls. The lower photo is a double bamboo foot. I really like the looks of this one, very classy and elegant. 

 Above Steve is patting the brush into wet slip demonstrating how to get a feathered effect.  Below you can see the results. Using a transparent glaze this effect should stand out and be quite beautiful.

 Steve made this tool to create "chatter" marks over the bowl for decorative purposes. Below he is using the tool to create a sunflower pattern.

 As you can see, the tool has left the effect of the sunflower pattern quite nicely.

The trip to Portland was suppose to last the weekend, but as luck would have it, another storm was headed our way.  Portland is roughly three hours from home, so it was a round-trip adventure making it a long day ...but, highly worth the effort, having been able to spend time with my dear friend and take in a wonderful seminar on the tea ceremony.  I will never look at a cup of tea so casually again, but there will be no elaborate ceremonies over my cup of vanilla infused Earl Gray tea either.  Yet, I will drink my brew with fond memories of this day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the studio, I began the very detailed work of under glazing and glazing pots.  In this batch, there are the wedding pieces for the upcoming show, as well as a custom carved piece of two trout.  Some of the under glazes I have yet to test fire, so instead of blindly applying them to the carved trout, I created a test trout on a bisque fired stoneware serving dish.  I am happy with the over all application, but as all potter's have experienced, what you see isn't always what you get.  The firing can change up the colors dramatically.  I am hoping that is not the case and the trout comes out looking like a trout, rather than a gold fish!

With time and good fortune, the glazing should be completed by the weekend and firing can commence!  I will post the complete pieces next week. 

Nemo, Beylah, Annikens & Peasley Pottery

Some are calling it the storm of the century..."Nemo."  I doubt that will hold true, but the dumping of three feet of snow in one shot did break records for Maine.  I find it funny that we are now naming our storms, what's up with that? And Nemo for a Nor'Easter is rather far fetched considering Nemo was a clown fish and not much for arctic waters.  Anyhow, here are a few photo's of the storm...with horses.  Before the horses could get out, Richard did some snow removal and relocation to create a runway into the pasture.

Beylah (front) & her daughter, Annikens (rear) 

The Norwegian Fjord Horse is truly built for this weather.  They LOVE the snow and cold!

The snow was quite deep in areas, but it just made it more fun for these two.  They figured out how to pack the snow by flopping over and using their body weight to flatten it out.  

Anni rested like a dog for quite some time. 

Meanwhile back at the pottery studio.....

I am still working on pieces for the wedding show in March.  I enjoy the detail work and had lots of it today!!

Calla Lily ~ large serving bowl

Lupine vase 

I'm hoping to build a photography booth for shooting more professional photos of my pottery, the only thing is...it is on my list of 5 minute jobs to do, that I haven't found 5 minutes to do...let alone found 5 minutes to write the list!  Maybe tomorrow....

Also, here are a few yarn bowls from the glaze firing the other evening.....hmmm, these sure could use that photo booth!  

Grab your yarn bowl and start knitting!  Have a safe, warm and happy weekend!

Wedding Pottery on the Drying Rack

Weddings, weddings, weddings....my mind is focused on wedding pottery.   I'm trying to get a good selection in the inventory for an upcoming wedding show in March.  It's such an exciting time and a special moment in time for each couple.  It will be interesting to hear about all the different types and styles of weddings people are planning! I have never been to a wedding show, so this will be a unique experience for me.

Here are some of the wedding pieces on the drying rack.   All pieces will be custom made for each wedding party based on their theme, flower arrangement or interest. Each piece is created to bring back fond memories of their special day!  

These pieces also make great anytime gifts.  I'm hoping my mother wants a luminary for Mother's Day....because that is what she is receiving! I know she will cherish it forever and enjoy it throughout the year. It's a perfect gift for her!  I can't wait for a quite summer evening, to be sitting outside with my coffee or wine, by the soft glow of the luminaries...yes, I plan on a couple!  They are so peaceful, yet magical, like lightening bugs in the field. 

Inukshuk's & Yarn Bowls...& subzero temperatures!

It's been so cold here in the Northeast that even the Inukshuk bundled up!

Poor little fella looks like he is dripping icicles!  The lowest temperature reading I got this week was -15 degrees fahrenheit.....not too bad really, but it came with a wind chill factor of excruciating!  Upon stepping outside it is instant ice cream headache time!  The pottery shed has radiant heat in the floor and it couldn't keep up with the demand, so everything from the clay to the chairs were cold.  Fortunately, the heat was enough to keep things from freezing, but unfortunately I had work in it and freeze my inukshuk.  Speaking of which,  I make these guys out of my scrap clay.  On a trip or two to Canada, I fell in love with these little stone figures and started taking my scrap clay to make them.  Now, there's a whole gang of them on the drying rack and more joining them every day....the gang may turn into a crowd.

Yarn bowls have been a big item this winter, everyone wants a yarn bowl and I can see why, they are a great invention (I have no idea who invented it, but it was an excellent idea and I thank them for it!).  I am making more yarn bowls than anything else, but that is good because I really enjoy making them.  It's great to hear the stories of what people are knitting or who they are gifting them to.  It's been a lot of fun, but I'm getting bored with the same yarn bowl design and am starting to change things up to keep it interesting for me, you and the buyer.

The yarn bowl in the foreground was designed during a bout of daydreaming about brook fishing this summer!  I was thinking (dreaming) of warm weather, the 4th of July celebrations, fireworks, water and fishing naturally followed and landed on the yarn bowl!  I hope someone else finds it desirable or else I better go find my knitting (from only 20 years ago ) and give it a new home.

If you haven't been to my Etsy Shop, stop on over and check out what's new.  Below are a couple items recently added to the shop.  This firebrick red bowl is hand-pierced with hearts and would make a lovely Valentine's Day gift...it can even be used as a yarn bowl! Of course, this is the year of the yarn bowl! Click here to go to Peasley Pottery Etsy Shop   and  head over to Facebook and "LIKE"   Peasley Pottery  I sure would appreciate it!  Thank you!

and these are the Katahdin Moose Track Mugs.....

Another great gift for your Valentine or to stock your cupboard with a good-strong 12oz mug worthy of any hot or cold beverage.  I like the feel of these mugs in my hand, they are comfortable and not too heavy.  The thumb stop helps balance it out as well.  

I hope you all are keeping warm.  I don't know how people can afford to pay the price of heating fuel, the price is outrageous! And I don't know how anyone can keep enough in the tank to keep warm.  With these subzero temps, it must be running out of the tank like water in a sieve.   I'm very fortunate to have a wood boiler and the only thing that will prevent me from staying warm is laziness...and that's not an option!   So, go check on your neighbors, especially the elderly and make sure they are not letting their pride get in the way of staying warm........and keep your animals warm, watered and fed, they don't like it much better than we do!!  Have a great weekend and see you here next week when the temperatures are to be in the 30's!!  I can't wait, it will feel like an early Spring!  Take care and God Bless!

Wedding Show and Test Tiles

Peasley Pottery is going to be in it's first wedding show this March!!  Exciting....frightening...maybe both.    I picked up some new glazes and before trying them on finished pots, I will test them on small tiles.   Normally, I have a stock of test tiles in a box, but when I go to the box I find it to be empty!  Hmmmm....how is that so???   I have only tested 1,000,000,001 combinations of glaze in the last year, I'm out already???  

Making test tiles takes a few days, and that doesn't include the bisque firing.  It is best to keep test tiles in stock.  Something I was doing until I ran out....

Usually when I get a new clay, I  immediately make test tiles.  Unfortunately, two of the six clays are new to the studio in the last two weeks.  I will need more of these tiles in order to test all the glaze combinations I have in stock. Whereas, three of the clay bodies have been around for a while and most of the glazes have been tested on them already.  We don't need to repeat history, so that will save time.

I start the test tiles by extruding hollow squares in long sections and letting them set up.  Then I cut these sections with a long razor blade in 3" lengths and set aside.  Once I have all the tubes cut down into 3" sections, I again cut these sections in half on the diagonal which creates a clay fold, like a greeting card, that can stand free in the kiln during firing. 

Extruded Hollow Square Tubes

3" Sections prior to final cut

Once in half, I stamp it with a reference number, a design on one side and a hole for hanging (optional).  If at this point I have any slip decorating, under glaze or other techniques to test out, I apply that now.

Because of the wedding theme coming up,  I wanted to try out my cake decorating kit (yes, I stole it from my kitchen and put it in the studio where it will probably get more use).   I mixed up slip to the consistency of frosting, or close to it.  The first batch of slip was too loose, so I had to remix it.  The second batch was a little firmer, but still not as firm as I'd like it to be.  Over all it worked for the tests and did pipe out fine.  Below are the tiles with the piping tests....and moose/deer tracks!

White stoneware test tiles with slip piping

It should be an interesting few weeks preparing for the wedding show, filling other orders and my favorite EXPERIMENTING!!!!  

Bunny Teapot, Floral Vase, two Urns on drying rack

The Poppy Vases....I hope to finish under glazing them soon...I can't wait to see the final product!