Sunday, December 27, 2009

Well, it's been a while since I last posted. What can I say, I'm just plain lazy. The year has been full of challenges. The studio moved locations almost 1 year ago and we moved to cone 6 as well. Talk about a compete 180. We were firing to cone 10 gas and now we are working at cone 6 electric. I am just now beginning to get a handle on how to successfully glaze at this temp and in this neutral atmosphere.
I have been teaching every Tuesday evening for the past 3 months and for at least 1 of those months I have been teaching a glazing class. I think the most intimidating part of pottery for many students is glazing. It is so final and they want their pieces to come out perfect so are hesitant to let loose and experiment. I am willing to let pieces fail as it is simple to just make another.
Lately, I have been changing the way I throw. I have been shaping completely by hand or "wet" shaping as opposed to "dry" shaping using a rib. It actually let's me achieve more fluid shapes with more motion. They are less stiff looking to my eye at least.
I have recently found a photographer that will be willing to take pictures of my work for me. I don't have the proper set up at home and she has recently begun studying photography and has all the equipment. As my friend, she has offered her services in exchange for referrals to my potter friends.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Good grief Charlie Brown, it sure has been a while since I have posted anything.
Oh well, better late than never.
Well, since my last post in February, the studio installed 2 new kilns, both electric. It was way too expensive to Install the old gas kiln from the last place. It sure has been a steep learning curve gettng used to firing to cone 6 in oxiatiion.
The studio had it's bianual sale on June 13 th and all things considered ("world economic crisis", new glazes to get used to etc), we didn't do too bad.
I have taken up paintng, and meet once a month with a few other potters that paint to have some fun and fool around with colour and texture. I will have to post pictures of what I'm up to once I get around to it.
The Calgary Clay Arts Association and Ceramics Canada put on a one day workshop with Katrina Chaytor on June 14th. It was fantastic and even though she hand builds all her work, I think I can incorporate
some of her ideas into my own thrown work.
I have less than a month to submit my piece to the CCAA's juried show in September. The show is titled "goodness gracious...Great Bowls of Fire". If I can ever get around to photographing it that is.
The CCAA is finally having a propped sale this fall. It will be held at the bearspaw community centre on November 1st. I think I will be busy throwing pots from now until then. I may have a go at repeat ware like bowls, mugs and plates. It won't be the majority but it will help fill the table.

Monday, February 2, 2009

News

Well, the studio is back up and running (partially at least). Classes have been running again for the last 3 weeks, but the kiln situation has yet to be resolved. It turns out that the large gas kiln will cost way too much to hook up (approx. $20, 000). The alternative to this is to go electric. It will reduce our capacity by about half, but allow for faster turn around. What once took 3 days to load, fire and cool, will now only take 2. This will also allow for the option of firing over night. We will also have access to a broader colour pallet. We were pretty much restricted to the earthy colours, due to cost, and materials safety, etc. So, if the cost of firing is reduced, then the cost of ingredients in a glaze recipe can go up by the same factor.

What does a potter do when they are not able to fire for a while, and get their colour and surface texture fix? It turns out, that this potter paints.

My boss at Ceramics Canada began a little group of people that are interested in painting, and using texture. We are mostly an abstract group, most have some art school, ie BFA degrees (not me, I am a self taught potter and now painter). So, I have been experimenting with acrylic inks, gel mediums, modeling pastes etc to achieve thick texture with depth, something you can see through to the deeper layers of colour etc….

I tried something new last night. I wanted to create a lens effect whereby the coating over the paint or image would magnify it. A while ago, I had purchased a 2 part varnish kit at a craft store. I wasn't sure what I would ever use it for, but I saw it used on a home decorating show once to create a very thick varnish layer on a table. Anyway, long story short, I mixed some up and poured it over some images that I had previously stuck on , and the clarity was excellent. The product runs a lot, so I had to pour it into an area where I had created a dam of thick gel to contain it. After it cured (approx 12 hours), I began layering some thick gloss gel medium on it, nothing too thick, and only sparingly. I sticks well, and you can see through it to the acrylic varnish layer and beyond, so all in all, very happy with the results. I will post some images of what I have been working on later.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Jesus Mary N'Joseph

It is freezing out there. The thermometer says -13, but the wind chill is apparently -25. I think their calculations are a bit off. It feels more like -250.
Anyway, it's been a while since my last post. I have been busy, as usual.
Fairview Studios has finally finished moving to it's new location. I helped Dave move, and I gotta tell you, it was brutal.
These images give you just a wee bit of an idea of how much stuff we moved into the new space.



These images are of one of the truckloads we loaded up andl delivered


These images are of the new space. The only things that have been set up so far are the wheels, the shelves, and the wedging tables.