Sunday, March 25, 2012

Should've paid more attention...

...to that chemistry teacher!  So mixing glaze and changing colors sounds a lot more like my chemistry classes than art?  Geez that was a million years ago, and thank goodness dad remembers that stuff! 


  I had a few things that made it out of the kiln ok.  Copper carbonate turns into this really cool metal looking patina.  I painted the rings and designs of these two with the copper.
pretty cool metal look right?
  There have been a few other pieces that turned out ok.  Some bowls, a few little things with faces, or flowers, or other designs.  I like the dogwood bowl ok...think next time I will make the flower petals out of some non-speckled clay, kinda looks like the bugs got a hold of this flower...ha!


speckled dogwood (native to Newton, NC) ha!  

Not sure when I'll be back up, but if I only manage 3 or 4 pots per visit, it will take me all year to fill a shelf full!  Gotta pick up the pace...October will be here before you know it.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

I have gone nuts!

...well, I've gone acorns to be more precise. I spent today working on a few hand built pieces rather than turning.

I made a few of these acorn spoon rests before the Holiday that were kinda cute, so I thought I might make a few more...that is until my pattern decided it wasn't going to work exactly the way I had planned...(we will blame the tool not the user, ha) anyway...with some minor modifications I was able to make about 2 dozen acorn spoon rests.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Necessity is certainly the mother...

...of all inventions! I wanted something that could make foot rims or decorative lips on my pottery. I searched EVERYWHERE for potter's tools shaped like the ones in my mind's eye! What did I find, you ask? Nothing! So what do you do when no one will sell you what you need? Well...you make your own of course!

So I explained to dad what I was looking for expecting to whittle myself a tool from a Popsicle stick and sandpaper...but NO!! (not in this family!!) ha! It never hurts to have a family full of eccentric "junk" collectors! Between dad's accumulation of gadgets and my grandfather's collection of oddities there's probably a tool to do just about anything you can dream up! Anyway, back to the story...

I had a lesson in milling machines, lathes, bandsaws, belt sanders, and even a drill press...I mean who has their own milling machine? Really?

The result? Two amazing little tools that have added a little flair to the foot of each pot! I think they will be put to great use! Thanks for the "shop class" dad...glad we both still have all our fingers!
my what a lovely foot you have...