pit fire workshop

I will be hosting a hand building/pit fire workshop at my studio 19 September-23September. We will have a week of afternoons in the studio ending with a firing the Friday. Some mornings we will go out nature drawing.My garden is bountiful with lots of interesting forms, movement and light. Drawing is a terrific way to focus the eye and gives a repertoire of shapes to think of when it comes to decorating. The pit fired ware will be polished and decorated with river clay slips, polished some more and then fired in straw and pine needles with salt and oxides. Here is a photo of a piece from my last firing as well as some shots of the garden. the cost is $300. all materials included. There are lots of places to stay in the area.

Bowls of all sizes

This production has seen a lot of bowls, small bowls, mid size, big and bigger. I don't throw anymore because throwing is too hard on my skin, being a redhead, skin needs are considerable. Anyway, my bowls are pinched or coiled. This year, I have been cutting down the sides to facet or just chop at with a saw blade, other surfaces are scratched and scraped with other kinds of tools. The decor is first a swirl of iron oxide with a terrific new Chinese mop like brush. Sometimes the oxide is liquidy sometimes pretty dry, but always intense. Then comes an ash glaze, or a satin whitish glaze poured on, and lastly, wood ash swirled on top. The ash glaze I am using right now is turquoisey breaking to green, olive, sometimes with yellow crystals where it is thick. The white glaze is a very simple [ 2 ingredients] shino is tones of orange, violet, green where there is ash and white in the gaps. The sizes are from tea bowl size to 17" in diameter. Prices vary accordingly. Come and see them at my studio in Val David, EspaceKao, in Val David or at 1001Pots, also in Val David. Bowls are always a pleasure to make, the idea of containing, like cupped hands encourages thoughts of offering, sharing, even the gesture of holding a bowl is so beautiful. A bowl is the basic pot, we all use bowls.

preparations for 1001POTS

Today is the setup for this year's 1001 pots, a beautiful day, and I am looking forward to catching up with all the other potters and seeing all their new work. I have been working obsessively and really hope it will be well received. There are pots everywhere in the studio, we can hardly walk through without tripping over boxes, stacks of tea bowls, bowls, etc. Once I start working it is hard to stop, the process takes over and now that it's at an end for a while it feels like teetering on the brink of something else. Oh well maybe I will look at cleaning my very neglected house. Here are some photos of the last unstacking. The firings were smooth and the weather was cooperative staying not too hot, breezy, raining only in between firings. There is always a bit of trouble with air circulation toward the bottom of the kiln, but by putting bigger pieces at the bottom it is better. As well it seems one of the glazes does well a little cooler, it doesn't run as much at the bottom. At the top the same glaze was a bit of a disaster, running all over the place, beautiful, but often stuck to the shelf. Another job awaits, those kiln shelves need a little work. Come and check out my new work at 1001 pots in Val David, July 15 -August 14. There will be lots of potters to meet and lots of pottery to see and buy.

apple blossoms at my show

This winter, along the cross country ski trail, one of the old apple trees had a broken branch. I kept an eye on it as the snow got higher and by the end of March I made my move. Espace KAO was to be closed for April and my show would start May 1, I cut the branch along with a tamarac branch, put hem in a bucket of water at KAO, and 2 days before my set up , the fowers started opening. Here they are in all their glory.

Espace KAO exhibition

Espace KAO will be celebrating one year of existence this May and we have decided to take turns with personal showings of our work. I will be kicking off the year with a show of my recent work this Sunday, May 1.This winter I have been thinking of rocks, depressions holding liquid, hard and fluid, elements in different formation, closely related but very different.The pots are for the most part coiled, cut into, rolled in granite, or woven like baskets, glazed with ashes, clay The vernissage will be 5-7 and we all look forward to seeing you.

student's firing

The winter classes finished with a firing of everyone's work. We had a terrific session with experienced participants exploring more and more ideas. Projects, techniques were suggested and each person interpreted the information in their own personal way. We had lots of big pots, a challenge to be sure, and they all survived. Here we all are with the finished pieces as we unstacked. The next session will be in the autumn.

spring is in the air

Finally, after a few days of cold, north winds blowing, we have a day of sunshine and warmer[at least on the + side] weather.I am working on pots for an exhibition at EspaceKao for May and am in the studio every minute. I am trying some thick coiled pots, cut into, rolled in granite, and will glaze with ash/clay mixes. For a while everything was cracking in the bisques, but it seems to be working better now. Maybe firing will start in 2 weeks if the snow melts and the weather stays warm.

Weaving Clay

My autumn pre-occupation has been with the interconnectedness of all things/people, how we are all woven together in minute ways, creating a rich and dense texture of life. Of course this spilled over to my studio work, especially for platters or serving vessels, trivets and trays, holding vessels. Surprisingly, nothing cracked even though the thicknesses vary and there must be tension everywhere, the movement was absorbed by the different parts and it all held together, just like in the rest of my life. Of course busting apart is always a possibility in both realms. I layered surface applications to encourage flow,variety. The first coat is iron oxide wash, then a local clay /ash mix, ash glaze,then ash. I love the feel of earth in flux. Let me know what you think.