Transition

I am wrapping up the throwing for next week's firing, washing clay off the aprons, preparing them for the wax and glaze splashes. I have a little more wood to cut and stack, so I'm off!

aprons drying in the sun

large jars started

A Week in Pictures

I started another Facebook page, 12 x 12. Please like it.

Spring is coming slowly

flocculation

Moustache is growing and is a pleasant addition to the barnyard

metal stamping my pots for this round
looking for some old letterpress for firing number  as well

chicken waterers

looking at this pot a lot and thinking about craftsmanship
 and intention, technical  mastery, and aesthetics 

TGIF But Not 4 Me

Seems like I'm blogging more consistently on Instagram, lately. If you're not a Instagrammer here's a week in pictures for you.

i made little pots and big pots this week

Lillian got her rabbit!

thinking about pattern

ye olde peter pugger plunger broke, time to do some welding

jar looking out the window at kiln

pattern on a fork during a ramen lunch

no pattern is ok too

stacking pots for a bisque can be a fun exercise in seeing

heavy slippage with finger wipes and combing

jug and horseshoe

smoothing cut edge

sleepy and hollow

combed bowls

scalloped handle on berry bowl

another cup of coffee before i go (on)

bison trimming machine

springing forth! 

If you want to follow my photography, you can find my Instagram feed here!

Well, TGIF y'all! There won't be a weekend for me, though. Knuckling down for a firing next week. Crunch time!

But I hope you have one and thanks, as always for reading and supporting. BTW, I love your  comments! ;-)

Got Flow?

Late last night I had the realization that I always get during this time in the studio session just before a firing,

I'm at that point in the making cycle that I wish I didn't have to stop. Amazing flow. If I could just keep going!
— Michael Kline (@Klineola) April 10, 2013

If only I could keep going, the pots are flowing from my fingertips, effortlessly. Well, maybe not that easy, I still have to wedge the clay! But at some point I have to say no to that desire to make just one more pot. Each pot that's made after the wet deadline cuts into the time I'll have to work on the surfaces. I'll try to keep you up to date on the deco-rotating and glazing this weekend.

Andy Saftel

"It's always been hard to write artists statements about the art because I always felt that when I sat down to do that it was about everything, and how can you just say that it's about everything? It sounds inadequate."----Andy Saftel

everything from Arrowmont on Vimeo.

It was great to discover this video (via Arrowmont) and see some good friends from my days in Knoxville. 

Friday Pics

Shipped this one to NYC today 

Threw lots of plates

Pottery is Everything? Pottery is About People?

This morning I want to share a couple of great videos.

One of the exciting things about the internet is it's interconnectedness and it's ability to share ideas. I started this brief session while making a second cup of coffee after seeing the kids to the bus stop.  A comment here led to a blog, new to me!, that led to a tweet, that led to a video, then to a second video.

Even though these videos have been around since last September, it's the first time I've run across them. Maybe you've seen one or both?




a quote from the Moggridge video, "Design is everything, Design is about people"

Can we say the same about pottery?

Here's the second video (that was auto-magically suggested to me by "the Youtube")

from the video caption, "'Is your school or workplace divided into "creatives" versus practical people?' Yet surely, David Kelley suggests, creativity is not the domain of only a chosen few."




People sharing.

Enjoy and pass it along.

Serration

marks made with serrated metal rib and wooden ribs in freshly thrown clay

First my apologies with the above photo experiment. It's just that I wanted to fiddle with the picture and clicked this and clicked that until I discovered that I could mask around this freshly thrown plate with a click of a button in iPhoto. The only reason I am using iPhoto in the first place is because I asked Ron how I was supposed to get all of those damn pictures off my iPad, he said "iPhoto!" I said, "Duh!" Sometimes the most obvious things elude me.  That's right, I'm not the geek you might think I am. I haven't used iPhoto much, mainly because I thought it was awful, but maybe it's because I screwed up ALL of  Simon's pictures on his laptop at NCECA 2 years ago using iPhoto (take my advice, never borrow someone else's laptop)

Back to the blog: Just thought I would share the above quirky-wheel-deco-exploration. It seems like too much to me at the moment, but it's early yet. We'll see. I'm firing the kiln soon, need to keep making! Later!

Snow Changes Things

The light is very nice and even in my studio this morning. It is also blanketing the wood I cut last week! Even though it is under a roof, the wind blows the snow all over. The poplar  wood needs time and plenty of air to dry. I hope I get more of the latter and I hope the air gets closer to a sensible seasonal temp real soon!

This hope is just part of the territory when your tools and materials are as basic as earth wind and fire.

More Comb and Rope

previously seen on Instagram

Last night I attacked a table full of plastic, several days of 12's, and finally trimmed these little cups as well as bowls and  plates. I practically ran to my bucket of #6 Tile slip to dunk these. You might call it March madness!

This week is off to a snowy, no-school start, but it feels like it might be a explosively productive one! We'll see!