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.

garden on a plate workshop

This time of autumn is a quiet time of turning inward, of putting gardens to rest, of a bleak beauty, but if we look closely there are still bursts of brave life waiting for a little acknowledgment. On Saturday, we had a great time poking around in the garden looking for ferns, moss, tufts of grass,and anything that caught our eye. Michelle, our plant expert told us lots of interesting info on what would grow indoors. She also brought cones, mosses, a wasp nest and a whole collection of cool stuff. After digging around outdoors, we came into the studio to compose our gardens in all manner of odds and ends of plates, bowls, planters, cups, and whatever was lying around.Everyone had a good time and went home with at least one garden on a plate.