Come to the Spring Pottery Sale at First Friday May 6

Spring Pottery Sale at First Friday May 6

Ceramic Artists from Pottery West will be selling their work at first Friday May 6 from 5 pm to 10 pm. There will be two 10’ x 10’ tents on Casino Center between Charleston and Colorado. We will have a lot of pottery for sale. Please come by and see

This is part of my new series. They are Cairns, I have been hiking in the back country for about 40 years, and have relayed an cairns to get me from one trail to another. The first one of these I made reminded me of when I was back packing  on the Na Pali Cost in Kauai. I hiked in for two days to Kalalau Beach and had two days on the beach. On the rocky part of the beach people had been standing stones. What this is, you take a large stone and stand it up, then set another on edge on top, then another. The point is not the speed at which you stand your stones or how big it is. It is to make look like it is defying gravity. Remember to breath and relax.

This cairn is six and a half feet tall, it is made up of 32 pieces and has been pit fired. It's laid out from top left to bottom right. If any one has a idea on how to photograph it standing up let me know the biggest piece is ten inches.

Cairns are small piles of stones that indicate a trail, the piles are with in sight of each other. A cairn indicate the trail that you heard about that leaves this trail at the second tree near the stream and goes over the ridge near where it hits the tree line and comes out in the next valley. Connecting you to the other trail saving you a half day. Just follow the cairns.

Lighting the pit 

 The last pot

My favorite vases, they are 18 inches tall.  

There were 130 pieces in the pit. . 

Second Saturday Raku

Michelle and I fired about ten loads thru three Raku kilns. There were so great pieces.

There where two boys in the studio, Zak and a student son. I asked them if they would like to do horse hair pot. I don’t think I have ever gotten a no from boy when you ask them do you to play with fire. So I did a demo for the studio.

Horse Hair pots are not hard, the secret is have every thing laid out in advanced.

A turn table

Three to four piece of long Horse Hair

I use cotton gloves (They give me some protection from the heat and I can feel the horse hair)

Heat the pot to 1300 F, hold that temperature for five minutes

Pull the pot put it on the turn table (at 800 degrees the hair will no longer stick about one minute from now)

Paint the pot with horse hair

Let the pot cool

The boys did a great job, two great looking pots.

Pit Fire this Saturday

 I started loading the pit on Thursday. It was a free firing; I had about twenty pieces I asked for forty more from the artist at the studio. The final count should be around one hundred, the pieces kept on coming until nine am Saturday morning. This load was tumble stacked with wood chips put between each layer. On top each layer I used Copper Carbonate, Copper Sulfide, Red Iron oxide, Black Iron Oxide and organics (coffee and banana peal). At nine we added a layer of Mesquite tree trimmings, then scrap wood. At four in the afternoon I lit the pit with a weed burner; at five we added five pallets. I left the studio at eight the pit was still burning. There was just a glimpse of some of the pieces showing thru the ashes, we will have some great colors. We unload Monday late. Thank you every one for your help. 

 

Pit Fire this Saturday

I will be loading a pit firing this Saturday morning at 9:00 am. We will be lighting it at 4:00 pm. I am looking for 40 pieces the pit is 5 feet by 5 feet 3 feet deep. I will be using copper and iron oxides for color. There some old pallets, mesquite tree trimmings and scrap wood for fuel.

Second Saturday Raku

Hi
Second is here again stop by Pottery West if you can we will be firing all day.

The Refrigerator Kiln opened cone 10 bending. Thom Bumblauskas is standing in front of the kiln we had some great color.