ANN TUBBS POTTERY STUDIO

a visit to Rovin Ceramics

2011-12-04T19:14:00.001-08:00

Rovin Ceramics, formerly of Taylor, Michigan, is now located just to the west of Ann Arbor. My friend, Pat Ligibel, and I went out in November to pick up some clay and glaze chemicals, and a few brushes--Juliana was at the desk and helped us with our order---

the Holiday Sale

2011-12-02T21:10:00.001-08:00

Denise's handiwork sets off Margaret's jewelry!

Margaret arranges pottery--her work is the beaded jewellry

We're halfway through the always interesting Holiday Sale---how wonderful it is to see friends, and to talk about our work! Denise and Indigo stopped by today with plates full of delicious treats--dates stuffed with cream cheese, and mushrooms stuffed with a pesto mix, and pumpkin pie squares and chocolate angelfood bites (who knew there were such wonderful delights! More photos tomorrow!

pots from one bisque load

2011-11-24T16:21:00.001-08:00

work, work, work! the sale approaches!!!!

I've unloaded the bisque kiln and am about to wax the bottoms of all the pots (and the lidded areas), so that I can glaze everything. Here's the procedure: before I glaze, I wax, then wait for the wax to dry, (the longer, the better), then dip everything into a bucket of cool water (don't want to re-soften the wax), then wait til the pots dry a little and can accept the glaze, and then I glaze. If the pots are too dry when they're glazed, they absorb too much of the glaze water, too quickly, and the glaze builds up unevenly on the surface of the piece, sometimes pinhole-ing and leaving areas that are too thick. In addition, I single-dip, so I can't re-dip where I think there might be a problem. On the other hand, if there is a little moisture in the pot (just cool when held up to your cheek--as you would a bone-dry piece, to see if it's dry enough to go into the bisque), then the water from the glaze enters the porous, bisqued walls a little more slowly, and the air exits less precipitously, and I don't have little pinholes all over the glaze (which have to be fixed before firing, so they won't show up, later.) hmmmmm. If you have questions about this (better as a demo, I think) just ask.

the tiled chair circle

2011-11-23T11:11:00.001-08:00

Here's the final look of the round piece of durock used in the chair seat---tile was set onto the durock using thinset, and then, when the tiles had dried, they were grouted. It's one of those 'ice cream parlor' chairs. P.s: there are two entries for the "my father's T-square because I don't yet know how to move a previously started draft (started in October) to the current head of the list, so I simply copied and pasted it--thus, it appears twice....(and everything I do the the first's title automatically appears in the second one---conjoined twins......Oh, well....back to the studio where I am decorating many pots, in my usual frantic effort to have enough work for the studio sale in December. Is everybody as behind as I am? HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

my father's T-square (cutting more cement board for tiles)

2011-11-22T06:54:00.001-08:00

marking the durock for the first cut (with my father's T-square)

This is a lot of visual reference for a fairly simple procedure, but since the earlier post about cutting cement board (durock, and other trade names) has had a number of views, I'm repeating the process, here. I also wanted to say a few things about my father's tools. Before he died, one month shy of 94, he had passed on to me his tools--he was a heating and cooling engineer, and also made beautiful wooden furniture and smaller wall pieces (out of orange crate). He had memory loss which began to affect his everyday work for about 10 years before he died; still, he was able to physically do a lot of different things, and was the main person helping me paint the old tables that I was tiling and taking to fairs to sell. Here, I'm using his T-square to cut up a thin sheet of handyboard or durock (a cement board with fiberglass thread reinforcement). I want to cut a circle, so I begin by cutting out a square, and then cutting off the 4 corners, and then nipping the extra with the old pair of pliers he gave to me. I think the yellow cutting knife was his, too. The cuts are made by scoring the surface of the board with the blade of the knife (fresh blades are good!)--pressing the blade against the metal ruler edge while dragging it across the surface of the board. Then I break open the cut by laying the cut along the edge of the table and whacking down on the part which hangs over the edge. It won't be cut all the way through, so you need to score the back side, as well-----along the inside of the now folded line. Once the cuts have made the circle round enough, able to fit into the chair circle, the circle of durock can then be glued down/or in to the chair form with some Liquid Nails. It's also held there by bolts that come in from the outside of the round metal form. I will post the final 'look' of the tiled chair on the next post.

Breaking the board open after scoring the top side

marking for the second cut

cutting away the edges of the circle

nipping off the curved area between the straight cuts

fitting the circle into the chair base

similarities

2011-11-21T10:23:00.001-08:00

gifts from friends!

attaching the clay for the knob

throwing the knob

I was just noticing the similarities between all the squash I've been given, of late (from Rickeye Heffner, Fritz Gehring, and Indigo Fleming-Powers) and the look of the handles I'm attaching, and then throwing, for the lids of all the honey pots......

Some of my new work at the Schaller Gallery in St. Joseph, Michigan

2011-11-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.schallergallery.com/exhibition-list.php?id=73

Fall Haul

Wayne Branum

Linda Christianson

A Blair Clemo

Guillermo Cuellar

Ursula Hargens

Sam Scott

Andy Shaw

Ann Tubbs

See the Show
Think handmade for Christmas

Schaller Gallery

210 State Street

Saint Joseph, Michigan 49085

269-983-7404

More from Rickye's garden--

2011-11-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

starting the black outline

black outline and shading completed

In addition to the garlic that Rickye Heffner brought to me (and which I planted behind the studio see link: http://anntubbsmaiolicapottery.blogspot.com/2011/10/behind-my-studio.html), she also gave me some of her squash--she's a master gardener, and I decided to try one of the ornamental squashes as a decoration on the maiolica. Here are two photos: the first one is after the color, and just at the beginning of the black outlining; the second is after the outlining, and the additional color shadings. I'll do more of this before I load the next glaze kiln, and then show the results. (I also have a little tea cup that Sheri's mother-in-law, Flora, who was born in Canada, bought on one of her trips back to see her birthplace--and it will be the inspiration for a table----)

my father's T-square (cutting more cement board for tiles)issued twice..

2011-10-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

marking the durock for the first cut (with my father's T-square)

Breaking the board open after scoring the top side

marking for the second cut

cutting away the edges of the circle

nipping off the curved area between the straight cuts

fitting the circle into the chair base

Behind My Studio

2011-10-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

the corn is being cut; fall is here!

Rickye's garlic

Peter's ginko trees

....there is a changing area which evolves, year by year, depending on what I have to throw into the ground, and how energetic I feel about weeding it. It's not the organized plan that our son, Pete, did in the 90's, just north of the sheds, laid out with brick paths and planted with all sorts of cultivars of kale, tomatoes, mesclun, beans, peas, mustard greens, grapes, ( a handful, compared to all that was planted), and whose compost pile has inspired the yunomi pots for the Akar Gallery (see the link: http://anntubbsmaiolicapottery.blogspot.com/2009/12/getting-ready-to-decorate.html). This garden, behind my studio, no one sees but me, and the occasional farmer plowing or taking in the corn (and I doubt that they're paying much attention to this little area, while driving). I planted a wild cherry to the west side, so there is shade, and a sage 'bush' grows underneath it, and some rescued roadside sunflower-type plants struggle, and straggle along the wall, under the window. On the other side is a viburnum bush, whose berries have inspired decorations, and a tomato patch, with some cilantro that will winter over if I put a semi-clear plastic box over it. In the spring (this year? last? two years ago?) I planted all the unnamed, leftover seeds that had been residing in a box out in the laundry room. I'd hated to simply throw them out; they were from Peter's plantings! So I began planting them in the area behind the studio--a sort of 'setting out' garden. Then, this fall, while clearing the area out so I could plant the wonderful garlic given to me by a friend and customer, Rickye Heffner, I uncovered four or five baby ginko 'seedlings'! Who knew? (and now, I believe these ginkos were actually from the memorial service for Dr. Robert Brundage, a wise and gentle man from Toledo,OH, who died several years ago--and on the memorial program was a ginko seed--I collected Bruce's, Pete's, mine, and probably several others--Here's to you, Robert!

Some of the process of making an icon

2011-10-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

the first feathering of ochre

applying the gold leaf

Here are some of the earlier stages of the icon. We worked on a small surface made from ginko wood which was covered with a sheet of muslin soaked in rabbits' skin glue. After the glue had dried, a gesso, made from the glue and calcium carbonate, was applied, building up the surface til a polished painting surface was achieved. The first drawing was with a brush dipped into the yellow ochre (no egg, yet) and feathered on. After the area for the gold was determined, and the adherant for the gold applied, the feather-light sheets of gold were floated over the area and then pressed down. In the final photograph (which I wasn't able to turn--it was Juliana's photo, and, though I could turn the others, I failed with this one)--you can see the small shot glasses of colored powder, and a mix, in the mortar, of the egg yolk and the powdered color. A 'Wallace and Gromit-like' cow keeps watch of my progress. After this, a thin application of ox gall was applied to the areas of the gold that were to be painted over (edges of the ears, for example). Finally, I was ready to begin the mixing of colors, and the painting of layers.

gold leaf applied; colors ready to be mixed

my Icon class--St. Max

2011-09-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've been taking an icon class with Carol Lehmann, taught by Juliana Clendenin, out in Metamora (Juliana studied under Philip Davydov, in Jordanville, NY this summer.) We worked with ground earth colors (not unlike those I work with in maiolica) and mixed them with egg yolk for an egg tempera. I decided to do Max, the studio kitty, making my icon slightly irreverent. Here are some of the stages of the process. It's very time-consuming! I worked with small brushes, and layered on various 'glazes' made with the egg yolk and the ground earth colors.The gold aura was put on very early in the design process/layering, and will brighten once the whole piece is lacquered (which can't be done until the piece has dried). More of the stages of painting will follow in the next post.

Cleaning out the pug mill

2011-09-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

cleaning out the pug mill

The summer was hot, and I seemed to be busier than usual---firing kilns and decorating bisque, and firing more kilns---so I wasn't recycling the clay scraps from throwing and handbuilding, as I would do at other times of the year. The combination of the hot and dry weather, and my work schedule, meant that the clay that was still in the pug mill from the last pugging dried up! In order to use the mill this fall, Sheri and I had to take it apart, and clean out all of the dried and semi-dried clay, making sure that all the little dried bits were remixed, before we could pug another batch of clay.

The pug mill has saved me a lot of wedging hours. It mixes up all the stiff, but still pliable leather hard clay pieces left over from handbuilding with the softer clay scraps from throwing--producing a smooth extrusion of clay that is about 3" in diameter. You can see the auger (just below the metal housing which Sheri is cleaning out) which mixes the various types of clay. When I bought the mill, I installed a vacuum pump, and this does a pretty good job of taking out the air bubbles that might get mixed in.

setting the tiles

2011-09-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

small unglazed strips used for spacing

vinyl mastic on the top of the coffee table

tiles are set into the mastic

each tile is numbered

Pat checks the spacing for each tile

After all of the tiles were fired, my friend, Pat Ligibel, came over to help me set them onto the table top (see the previous post). We used a vinyl mastic that's appropriate for tiles in this setting. First, we laid out the exact number of tiles, and checked that the spacing was adequate. Pat suggested that I had the tiles too close together, so we eliminated the thin outer edge spacers, and rearranged the tiles, again. Then we carefully removed the tiles, placing them in order onto the canvas work top. The plywood coffee table top was then elevated onto the work table, and covered with a thin coat of the vinyl mastic. Then we started with the outer edge (bull nosed) tiles, buttering the back, unglazed area of each tile and pressing it into the mastic on the table top. After the edge tiles, the center 4 by 4's were buttered and adhered (each tile had been numbered after the bisque, and before the waxing of the tile proceeding the glazing). Filler strips and little tiny squares were added last. Now the top has been drying for several days. When it's completely set up, I'' put the top onto the base and we will grout it----

another table!

2011-08-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

the tiles for the table, laying out on the actual surface

I'm putting together another table--this one is an order from a good customer who already has had me redo another round table, similar in decoration to this one, and has asked for a re-working of one of her coffee tables. I took off the existing top, and had a baltic birch piece of 4/3" plywood cut for me, at Toledo Plywood. Then I painted it, top and bottom, with a latex black. I'll mastic the tiles onto the table with a vinyl product.
The tiles are cut with a 4" by 4" tile cutter (see previous blog entry:) and dried, flat, between sheets of gypsum board. They are laid out, after bisquing and glazing, in the form of the table, and then decorated. Edge tiles were extruded, and cut with the same tile cutter. I need to decorate and fire more of the little strips before I can glue the tiles down (b.)

(b.) black areas are the underlying board; I'll need to make more of the strips

(d.) extra leaves

(c.) leaves, instead of a tile, for interest

(f.) little spacer tiles and unglazed strips

(e.) egg crate, from fluorescent lights: the template for the little square tiles

Here and there, to break up some of the 4-squaredness, I try out the insertion of some of the leaves(c.) which I make and save for tile projects (d.) I also press clay into 'egg crate--the plastic 'screen' (e.) which covers a fluorescent fixture. As the clay dries, the little squares drop out. I bisque them all together in a bowl, and then wax and dip each one into the glaze. Then, with tiny brushes, I decorate the top. It reminds me of tiny petit-four cakes. (f.) The unglazed strips are the cut-offs from the 6 by 6" tiles,which are too big to fit into a commercially made wooden frame. I have to cut 1/4" strips off of each side. If I can keep these strips straight, then I can use them for fill-in strips when a glazed thin tile would be too wide.

time for the ad in the Symphony Brochure, again

2011-08-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

the original photo

my quick response code

It's time for me to design the ad for the Toledo Symphony! I'm always taken by surprise by the seemingly sudden passage of a year, and I have to think what I was going to do for the ad, this time! I use one of my photos of pottery, done in color, and then select the b/w aspect of the iphoto program. Next, because I haven't yet started learning about 'photoshop's capabilities, I email Wesley Hanson, who puts the text and photo together for me, and then sends it off to the Symphony. This year, with the help of Miriam Stewart, who is a weaver, and her husband, Junior Murrell, I was able to link to a QuickResponse code, which I have when I'm in an art fair booth, and now have also put onto the Symphony ad. If you have a smart phone, and have downloaded an 'app' for it......then you can take a photo of the qr code and it will take you to this blog. Junior says that one of the more useful apps for the qr code is one which will also read bar codes. It's called: mobile tag reader. I suppose it's also 'data-mining'-------
When I finish figuring out how to get the pdf file of the actual ad transferred to this blog, I'll add it to this page---or maybe put it over to the right side. So far, I've not figured it out, however, so don't click on the current photos--they won't go anywhere.....

the link to the ad: 2011_draft3-1.pdf

finishing the hexagonal table

2011-07-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

rubbing in the grout with the heel of my hand

wiping away the excess grout

I'm finally finishing the hexagonal table. This morning (it's not so hot, now) I took the table outside--I knew I was going to make a mess getting grout into the edge tiles, and I wanted to be sure I could get the table through the door.....

--and I mixed up the grout with the acrylic admix, then spread it across the table, pushing the grout into the interstices between the tiles with the heel of my hand. I wouldn't normally do this outside, since the grout would dry too fast, so I had to work quickly. After the entire table was 'grouted', I dampened an old sponge and began to wipe off the excess grout. It took several passes, squeezing the sponge out as much as possible each time. I didn't want to flood the table with water. After most of the grout was wiped off with the sponge, I then used an old rag to wipe and polish the surface. Finally, when the grout had dried enough not to be wiped out, I scrubbed the surface of the tiles with a green scrubbie. After the grout has completely dried, I'll seal it with a grout sealant. The sealant is brushed onto the grout, and after a few minutes, is wiped off of the tiles.

scrubbing off the film of grout, then sealing the grout

It's not Oklahoma, but........

2011-07-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

the edge tiles

corner edge tile for the hexagonal table

numbering system for table tiles

hexagonal table

I'm firing a glaze kiln, and decided to take the thermometer out to the studio (never a good idea; I'll get too depressed) to see just how hot it really was. It was hot!!! about 110F. Though a little cooler if you lay down on the floor. -heat rises, you know.....Whew! And that's why I don't keep a thermometer out in the studio anymore. During the winter, it's toasty, but now, in the middle of a heat wave, it's just plain hot! Still, I have to do some work out there. I threw 3 bowls, made 2 large and 3 small slab platters, a 4-legged bowl, a casserole, and threw 2 bottoms for more large pitchers. This weekend I go off to another fair, and I want work to dry enough so that I can do a bisque as soon as I get back. There's a lot of raw ware waiting on the shelves, but I thought I could turn out a few more pieces. I am also setting up tiles for a hexagonal table---each tile is numbered before it's waxed and glazed, and extra little edge pieces are done generically, then fitted in after the firing.

it's summer!

2011-07-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

the farm road across from my studio where I ride my bike

the farm, this year (with the roof/walls painted on the barn)

A year ago I did some sketches of the farm road across from my studio, where I walk and ride my bike, and, in winter, cross-country ski. It's not 'exciting', but it's safe (very little traffic....) and it gives me time to ruminate when I'm working out a problem in the studio. Here, for the farm tiles, I used 6" by 6" tiles, and mounted them in a frame which I'd backed with a piece of luan plywood. The outer design of the image is a variation on the pattern that is on the floor tiles in the home where my nephew lives, in Lerici, Italy. The corn, which is growing on either side of the lane, is now high enough that I can't see out!

final touches

2011-06-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

finishing the throwing of the top section

And, now, the final throwing---I throw the top section in and up to the height I want it to be (in relation to the bottom section), and then:

leaving a thicker rim (a)

pulling out the pouring spout (b)

refining the pouring spout (c)

pitchers finished, with handles, now drying (d)

While the top rim is freshly thrown (a), I gently and slowly pinch out the pouring spout, thinning it and curving it outward (b and c). Then I wrap the pot in plastic wrap (dry cleaner's bags) to retard the drying and to equalize the moisture content of the pot. The handle is the last to be added, and I do this as soon as the rim is strong enough to support my pulling of the handle from its edge.

finishing the pitcher

2011-06-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

centering (a)

throwing down (b)

collaring in (c)

throwing up (d)

--continuing from the previous blog post: once the collar/ring is centered (a), and well joined to the base form, I can begin to throw it into an integrated pitcher form. First I throw the clay down to further join the top ring with the bottom form (b). Then I choke it inward (c), and lift it up (d), (e), leaving a thicker rim at the tip which will be used to pull out the pouring lip. After that, if there is any unevenness to the top edge, I cut it off with a needle tool while the wheel is still turning (f).


cutting off the uneven top (f)

throwing two-part pitchers--stage one

2011-06-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

throwing the ring (a)

scoring the top edge of the lower section (c)

scoring the top edge of the lower section (b)

upending the ring onto the lower section (d)

the two parts, together....(e)

joining the top clay to the bottom (f)

I'll try to do this in two posts (though I probably should have done a video)-----When I throw an especially tall form I have various ways of making it easier: here I'll talk about tall pitchers. First, I throw the bottom section and take it off the wheel, on its bat, to dry to a soft-ish leatherhard. Later, when the bottom has stiffened slightly, I measure its opening, and throw an open ring (a) that will fit onto the top edge of the bottom half. This ring is also taken off the wheel, while still on its bat. Since I've left the bottom half on the bat, not yet cut off, I don't have to re-center it. I now put it back onto the wheel. Then I take the thrown collar/ring and flip it upside down (d) and onto the moistened (b & c) top edge of the lower piece (centering it). After that, I cut the bat away from the ring (using fishing wire) and then smooth (f) some of the clay in the top ring downward, onto the bottom form---I do this both inside and out. Now I have a taller piece: the lower half is stiff enough, though thin, to support the upper half, and the upper half is soft enough to be thrown, still, without distorting the lower half (which I'll show in the next post).

channeling my inner Mick Casson

2011-06-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

pitchers and large bowls

I've been working for the last 2 1/2 months on an order for a baptismal font and pitcher, so, as usual, am doing a variety of large bowls and pitchers. In the next several blogs, I'll show some of the ways of throwing larger pitchers--something I've learned from several potters over the years, but the images and instructions I remember and have tried, myself, most often come from a book I have that was written by Michael Casson, the English potter. It's called The Craft of the Potter, and has some very practical information. The pitcher whose pouring spout I'm finishing off, here, is one that is thrown in two parts, with the second part (a ring) being added after the first part has set up. When the pitchers are dry enough, I will pull their handles. More, anon.

oh, no! I broke it!

2011-05-21T04:55:00.000-07:00

Paul Linhares' mug (which I broke!:()http://www.mudskipperpottery.com/

Steve Smith guards door at Wooster (is that an aura?)

About a month ago I was dragging something heavy (a plant pot, no doubt) across the porch, and I heard a crash! I had vibrated one of my favorite mugs off of the potting table and onto the big pickle jar of Pete's that sits out on the porch! Too Bad! But it made me first think of an earlier post in which I talked about clay bodies, and then about going to Wooster, OH for the Functional Pottery Workshop. The mug was one of Paul Linhares' ( his website: http://www.mudskipperpottery.com/), who also fires a red clay body to cone 2, as I do. Of course I bought another mug from him at the workshop, and then I asked him (again) about which clay body he was using--and he said that it was Laguna's EM 106. I had mistakenly identified it in a previous blog as being from Standard Clay, which also has a very smooth, non-grogged red body (103). So I hereby stand corrected! I still have to test more clay, however......

more tulip holders

2011-05-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74082925/spring-flower-vase?ref=pr_shop

at Red Lodge; click on third photo's caption

Click on the link below each photo for the corresponding site...

off to Red Lodge Gallery http://www.redlodgeclaycenter.com/lists.php?aid=11&type=artist

I'm off to the functional pottery workshop at Wooster, but.....

2011-04-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

now at the Hudson Gallery in Sylvania, OH

first, here are several photos of the finished candle holders that I completed for Art-O-Matic, which has one more Saturday to go--this coming weekend, 11 am, to 11 pm, 16th of April--- (but don't look for me that late......), in downtown Toledo (see previous post for links). Next week I'll post some of the photos I've taken at the Functional Clay Workshop in Wooster to which I go every April, now, and where I was a presenter in 2007. Lots of great potters, and lots of friends----a wonderful way to be inspired for the rest of the year!

Waiting for the wax

2011-03-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Soon, I'll be setting up for the Art-O-Matic show in downtown Toledo--This year it's in an old building on Washington Street, right across from the 5/3 Mudhens Baseball Stadium!

"For three consecutive Saturdays in April, more than 300 Toledo-area artists will take over two vacant buildings in Downtown Toledo, transforming them into the largest, most comprehensive and eccentric multi-media galleries in Northwest Ohio. From beginners to seasoned professionals, Artomatic 419! offers a vast array of painting, sculpture, photography, dance, live music, performance art, theatre, one-of-a-kind installations, live art demonstrations and much, much more. See it. Believe it. This is Toledo's arts scene in action.

April 2nd, 9th & 16th, 2011, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

407 Washington & 25 S. St. Clair (across from 5/3 Field)
Downtown / Warehouse District, Toledo Ohio

Be sure to join us for the Artomatic 419! After Party at The Event Center,
23 N. Summit St. 9:30 - midnight, each Saturday"

FREE & Open to the Public www.artomatic419.org

Candleholders, tiles, mugs and bowls

I'm doing the show with Margaret Mazur and Carol Lehmann, and we have, thanks to Margaret's adroit choice, a 6 foot long countertop. Carol and I painted the underside on Sunday, and did a reality check (Margaret had photographed it, and I had taken measurements, but it's always good to see it in person.) I'm doing some tall candleholders to go on top of the counter---they're here, on the AV cart, fresh from the fired bisque kiln, waiting to be unloaded, waxed, dipped in water and then dipped in glaze. The stacks of 6" tiles, next to the candleholders, are also waiting to be waxed and will go with me to Ann Arbor on Saturday for a Maiolica glaze class at the Ann Arbor Potters' Guild.

getting started (& if I were out there, working, I wouldn't be in here blogging.)

2011-03-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Juliana and Denise check out the clay

Juliana's clay and slip tests

Denise cuts one of her stencils

Denise at work

Denise

Juliana

I'm pretty sure I've talked about this aspect of working before, but, for me, it is a reoccurring phase of working: how to get started on a big project, or simply how to go from one area of work (like glazing) to another (like throwing). There seem to be different mind-sets for different areas of work; maybe I feel it more in the maiolica work since there seems to be a jump from the forming, three-dimensional creating, to the somewhat two-dimensional work of decorating--even though I am decorating 'in the round', as it were. Now and then I have friends who go through the same difficulty as I do, and this fall, my friend, Denise Fleming, who writes and illustrates children's books, said she just needed to get out of her studio and force-start (my words) a stencil-cutting job. I was in the same place, needing to do tests of clay bodies, and slips, so I invited her over to my studio, and then talked Julianna Clendenin, potter, jeweler, seamstress, into coming over, too, to help me with the slip and clay testing--here are some photos of us working, and of actually getting those hard-to-finish jobs done......
So, thanks, Denise and Juliana, for getting me started! I'm in that same place, now, I guess, and reading other people's blogs: for example: http://baumanstoneware.blogspot.com/2011/03/word-lite.html has a good effect, as well. (plus, as you can see, I've discovered captions for the photos!.....) Technical details: we're testing three red clay bodies from Standard Ceramics in Pittsburg, PA, which I got from Mike Taylor over in western MI--and, actually, the woman who works for him brought them over when she and her husband were visiting her parents! Two of the bodies worked for me with my glaze at cone 2: (wait, I have to run out to the studio and look them up......!!) OK, here are the ones that worked: #104, and #417. The third, #103, is a beautiful, smooth, red body used by Paul Linhares, an Ohio potter whose work I admire, and whose mugs I have--he says it is like working with red porcelain--so I had to try it. Unfortunately, under my maiolica glaze, the tensions were dramatically uncooperative, and the little bowl test that I did cracked open in a spiral from the top edge down. too bad! ( I am currently using Rovin's RO82M which has a 40 mesh grog, and find it works very well, and is close by --- I can drive up to get it, in Taylor, MI---coincidental Taylors, here?) but always feel I need to test, since I am not currently making my own clay body.

It's Cold!

2011-02-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

We had an ice storm, followed by a snow storm, last weekend, and lost a lot of branches. Others did too, and we went without electricity for several days. Things got pretty cold! Work in the studio slowed wa-a-ay down. We put on all the clothes we could and still move around. The cats complained! My hands were so cold they turned blue....... But after a day or so, I could ski around the yard, and it really was beautiful (though destructive.)

scroll to the Very Bottom to see another photo of the ice on the sumac :)

the Show at the Clay Gallery in Ann Arbor, MI

2011-02-13T16:31:00.000-08:00

Monica and Shirley, to the left and right of me

Just before the start of February I took my work in to the Clay Gallery in Ann Arbor to set up for the month-long show I was having (Jan 30 - Feb 28th). I'll continue to be in the gallery through March, but the show in their 'gallery space' was February. Monica Wilson and Shirley White-Black helped me set up, with shelf-hanging expertise from Yiu-Keung Lee, and post card help from Donna Williams. In addition, Marcia Polenberg introduced me at my talk on Sunday, and will be writing an article for Ceramics Monthly. Lots of expert help!

Monica looks for holes in the wall to spackle

Fletcher's Dream--a porcelain clay notebook

Here are some photos of the setting up---Monica contemplates the next hole in the wall that needs filling, spatula in hand, and Monica, Shirley and I discuss how to handle the numbering of work on the wall. No job is ever done alone, and it's always great to have good advise and help! I decided to take in two of my clay notebooks, and the porcelain one is pictured, here "Fletcher's Dream". For those of you who heard me say that I was going to have more masks done (Randy..) I apologize. I just didn't have time. I'm thinking, though, that I will get two more masks made in time for the Toledo "Art-O-Matic", in late March! Hope springs eternal.....!!

the compost pile in winter

2011-01-29T16:12:00.000-08:00

Last year I did a set of yunomi (every-day tea bowls) which had a compost pile theme (they were chronicled in an earlier blog entry). This year we have a visitor to the compost: a young opossum. I think he/she's eating the birdseed, as well as the compost. Here is North America's only marsupial! A slow and thoughtful creature. I have been packing pots for a delivery up to the Clay Gallery in Ann Arbor tomorrow morning, and will be helping to set up for a show of my work in February. It's the second to last month that I will be showing there--and it has been an energetic six months of work!

fixing the defects

2011-01-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

Maiolica glaze does not move and heal during the firing process, and , in addition, because there is such a clear difference between glaze color (white), and clay body (red), things such as finger marks are very obvious and not well integrated into the whole after the glaze has been fired. Part of this is the fact that I fire in an electric kiln. I've often thought that firing in an electric kiln is a lot like cooking vegetarian. As an omnivore, it seems that one could simply throw a chunk of meat, along with veggies, into a pot and put it into the oven for an hour or so, and have a tasty meal, one whose flavorings were enhanced by the meat and its fat and juices. Being vegetarian (or using an electric kiln) means you have to be smart up front. Everything is in the preparation before the work goes into the oven (kiln). I remember Richard Zakin telling us about how to fire electric kilns and get good effects. You had to know about the clay body, and the glaze, and the colorants, and you had to use that knowledge before you ever got to the firing process. So, here are some examples of potential surface problems which, if left, would turn up, again, after the firing: pinholes (on the edge of a yunomi), and fingermarks--you can see the whorls of my fingerprint, and drips--on the waxed foot, and a small area that escaped being glazed. I will take the back of my fingernail and flatten the pinhole, then paint more glaze over it. The glaze for repair has been thinned somewhat with a mixture of cmc gum (helps with the flow) and macloid (keeps it from settling)--- (this is a Walter Ostrom technique which I also use to mix the colorants). Then I will smooth the edge of the platter that has my fingerprints, and paint more glaze over the bare spaces, feathering the 'patching' glaze into the main body of glaze. I'll then take a sponge and wipe the drips off of the waxed foot, and fill in the unglazed area (which shows the red of the clay body). It will take me several days to re-finish all of the pots that I want to decorate for the next kiln load. Sometimes the best time to see all the defects is late in the day when the sun is coming in the west windows of the studio---and lays long shadows over the glazed pots I'm working on. The defects--drips, and pinholes, sometimes hard to see in direct light--show up better.

winter snow

2011-01-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

The white snow outside and the white glaze inside the studio --- a sympathetic, seasonal coloration. I've unloaded one bisque kiln and am loading up another. The pieces from the first kiln have been dipped into water, and then glaze, and now need to be gone over in detail to fix the pinholes and fingermarks and drips. It's probably my least favorite of all of the processes and I often find other jobs to do, just to get out of the studio and avoid the fixing part. This afternoon, after I went skiing, I pruned some of the sucker branches from an old crab apple tree. I have an idea for a plate holder, and I think I can use the branches as side pieces, instead of dowels. And, now, in another clever avoidance technique, I'm working on the blog instead of on the glaze.

spouted pouring jars

2011-01-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

As I work towards the delivery date for the next show, which is the end of January, (for a Feb. show), I am trying to take time to re-visit forms that I have done in the past, liked, and now want to try, again, to see how they will change. The initial ones are usually a reconstruction of the earlier shapes. I usually save several from a grouping so that I have visual reference for the future. Then I combine ideas I've had, doing other like forms, and sometimes end up simplifying the shapes.

upcoming issue from Studio Potter:

2010-12-18T10:56:00.001-08:00

yunomi by Ann Tubbs

from Earth's Body,

in the winter issue

Greetings of the Season

Winter Solstice is December 21, 6:38 pm ET in the northern hemisphere. Time to celebrate light! The full moon is also that day, and, to round out the energy, a total lunar eclipse will take place early in the morning, mid-eclipse at 3:17 am ET in the northern hemisphere.

Winter Issue: Vol. 39, No. 1 SUSTENANCE
Look for your issue of The Studio Potter in your mailbox soon. It is now at the printer and will be mailed in early January.
Three broad categories of sustenance covered in the winter issue are:
      * What sustains us in the studio
      * Sustaining and being sustained by community
      * Teaching and the connection between clay and sustenance

Here are some excerpts from the forthcoming issue:
“I felt privileged to be able to handle the few remaining pieces in her booth (she was in the enviable situation of having almost sold out). Her work was beautifully designed. The surfaces and colors were rich; the patterns, complex. We talked briefly while I studied the work, my hands and eyes learning as much as I could from every piece of visual and tactile information.”

-from Support and Sustenance by Frank Ozereko

photo: JJ McCracken

"The world he knew brimmed with endless discouragement. It was not that they hadn’t wanted to help those less fortunate, but cash-poor and incessantly worried about their own plight, they just couldn’t process the needs of others while barely meeting their own. The Hunger project allowed them to give in the only way they could—in a non-cash form."

- from Teach Them to Fish by JJ McCracken

Annual Appeal Letter
Our annual appeal letter went out recently and you should receive it soon. While membership fees underwrite much of the cost of publishing The Studio Potter, we appreciate any and all additional support. Contributions are tax-deductible. The Studio Potter thanks you!

Your Thoughts
Mary Barringer, editor of The Studio Potter, is always interested in what our members think: about the latest issue, the newsletter, and the world of clay in general. Send your thoughts to editor@StudioPotter.org.
www.StudioPotter.org

Thank You

2010-12-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.vegetarianrecord.com/

Thank you to everyone who helped make the studio/house tour and sale so successful! Both the holiday sale in the house, and, the following weekend, the studio and gallery tour (part of Sylvania Arts Commission's brainstorm) went very well, and we missed the snowstorm! which came along the day after the tour was over. Indigo Fleming-Powers did the wonderful baked 'finger food' delicacies for our Holiday sale---here are some photos of her display, and of her parents helping with the last minute details of set-up. (Her mom, Denise, used to help Marcia Derse and me set up for our holiday sales---and, believe me, I always need all the help I can get! For some reason, I seem to think it's quite enough simply to make all the pots, and get them from the studio into the house -- after having cleaned everything out of the downstairs.....)

after the sale is over

2010-12-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

I can never believe how much time shoots by--in clumps, seemingly. Max is waiting in the studio for me to finish the next glaze kiln load. The sale is over, and went well, and Indigo's "Goodies" were wonderful. More photos to come. Meanwhile, I have orders to complete before the holidays are over.

honey pots

2010-11-13T06:27:00.000-08:00

I have an order for honey pots. They are due by the middle of December, so I make double the amount needed, since the time is short; that way there will be enough of a choice--- Here they are drying, and then bisqued, waiting for me to unload the kiln, wax the bottoms and the lid area, and then glaze and decorate. (yeah, yeah, I know, the top coil of the kiln needs rewiring. I'm just hoping it fires another 4 firings; then I'll do it....)

Help in the Studio

2010-11-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

Pat Ligibel, a long-time potter and friend from our days at the Toledo Potters' Guild came over, today, to help me work on some tiles for metal trays. The trays - and baskets - had to be measured out, and then patterns made for the tiles that took into account the shrinkage of the clay. It's a job I've been putting off for a while, but having a friend in the studio working with me is great motivation!

Postcards are ready for the holiday sale:

2010-11-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

burning the midnight oil

2010-10-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

I have a big delivery for the Ann Arbor Clay Gallery on Sunday---so I've been working late the past few months...

One day it's there; the next, it's gone!

2010-09-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

All summer we live with corn surrounding our 2 acres. It grows, green and dark, and surrounds us in a green-walled outdoor room, providing both privacy and isolation. In the fall, as the leaves yellow and dry, we anticipate the cutting. We know that our now golden-walled room is soon to be opened up to reveal where we really are, and what has, all along, been around us. Just before the corn was cut, Anna Gale came over to visit, on her brief trip back from Portland, OR, to visit her family. We decorated some little hands (like the ones on the banner of the blogsite), and talked for a while. The wind rustled the corn leaves, and the sun lit them like golden shafts, and Anna said it was like a magic space. But like all magic places, it soon disappeared. And now, I go back to work decorating the final glazed forms, and I must start planning what comes next: tests of a new clay (more in the next blog) and re-organization of the studio space as Peter takes the shelving that I was borrowing and stores his belongings while he makes the move to Chicago. I have work to prepare for an ongoing sale in Ann Arbor and the Clay Gallery.

What Really Happened This Summer:

2010-09-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

I know it looks like I haven't been working in the studio very much this summer. But the truth is, I have had a different schedule. I decided to eliminate several fairs, most of which took place in July. I did this because of the fact that my back and hip, by the end of a regular season, are compromised to the extent that, in October, after the fairs, I walk with a roll somewhat like a drunken sailor (my apologies to the sailing industry). I also added several gallery contracts. Providentially, this was also the year that Bruce retired and began tearing apart all of his work and storage studios for french horn repair. More importantly, our son, Peter, was free only on the weekends, and could help Bruce. The two of them work together very well, and it's always good to pass on information from one generation to the next! Together, they built the twin shedlet on the back of the shed, so that the shed itself would be more efficient for Bruce to work in during warmer weather.

Once I began to do fairs, again, in August, I found it much more difficult, because I had semi-unloaded things (tools, pots, chairs, etc) from the van, and I then had to find them again, and re-organize myself for the weekly run to another fair. Has anyone written about the artist on the fair circuit? It's grueling, with the punctuated reward, on the actual weekend, of getting to talk with your customers, and to talk about the work that you do, and how much you love doing it! As soon as I return home from a fair, however, either Sunday evening or Monday at noon or so, I begin working in the studio, again. There is the kiln to unload, pots to wax and wet and glaze, glaze to fix (prepare by eliminating pin holes and finger marks), a final thinner coat to be layered over the original, after having sponged the first efforts off. All must be timed according to the weather and humidity. Then each pot must be decorated. If the colorants are in need of reworking (sieving, replenishing), that must also be done. The kiln has to be reloaded by Wednesday at 2 pm in order for me to be able to fire it, and have it cool in time for unloading Friday morning as I pack for the next fair. Thursday is the day I do laundry, repack the suitcase, buy food for the next fair, clean the cat litters, do some cleaning, pick flowers for the next fair, and attempt to finish any other jobs before I leave for another fair. There's barely any time to think during this schedule. We're lucky to have had Pete close enough to take care of the cats while we are away. We also now have the Bieber family, who live just west of us, who can help---Sheri has been working with me several hours a week, and her three sons are also very good workers! I try to make enough work for another bisque during the middle of the summer, so I can then continue to do glaze kilns into the fall. This year, for the first time, I am completely out of clay, and have not had time to make more, so will purchase ready-made clay, and will try out several other brands, to see how they might work with my glaze at cone 2.

So---during July, I though I might actually enjoy the summer and get much needed exercise---thus you saw me out at Juliana's, swimming in her pool before she went to Russia. I also rode my bike, and walked more regularly---hard to do with the weekly work schedule I have when I am doing a fair every week. I know that my summers are not very different from all the other artists whom I see at the fairs; it's sort of like the life of a circus roustabout.
Oh, wait! Did I mention???? I can't REALLY get a large Skutt kiln loaded in 2 and 1/2 days............but I do. (though, clearly, I can't go filming dancing plush chickens any more, just to amuse my niece, Becca....)(see below, in case you missed it...)

Indigo's pepper jellies!

2010-09-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

While my kiln is cooling, I can still keep hot with a bite of Indigo's pepper jellies--here on spreadable yoghurt and toast. Bruce and I think that the red is hotter (at first),

but that the green is hotter, later.....

See Indigo's veggie blog for recipes! : http://vegetarianrecord.indigoflemingpowers.us/

Sunday, and the studio is really hot!

2010-08-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

While the kiln is "cooling" (it just shut off around 1 pm, so it seems to be hot as ever....), and the paint on the little tables is drying, I'll post some watercolors I've done, and which were used, this kiln decorating session, as inspiration. Watercolor is closest to the process of decorating for maiolica as any type of painting; I have heard maiolica decoration described as painting with watercolors on dusty blotter paper. In addition, the colors are dustier and paler than they will be after the glaze firing, so it's sometimes difficult to know exactly how something is going to look (back at the beginning of the blog, 1 1/2 years ago, I posted some before and after pix of my intern student, Meghan's work---as an example). Here are two of the watercolors: daylillies, and the pool at Julliana's where I have been swimming this summer---

It's Saturday Night in the Provinces, (with an apology to Utah Phillips.....

2010-08-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

where ever he might be--I loved his music and humor!) I have loaded my kiln, and am working on tables which will be tiled, eventually. I have an oak one, which I stripped and am painting yellow (prime coats by Sheri Bieber and her sons!), and some metal ones, which don't get stripped, but which have their durock panel glued into the center, and are being painted. While the paint dries, I am inspired to get out the fuzzy chicken which we are going to send to our niece, Becca, now starting college in Sterling, Colorado. She needed a little work ---the chicken, not Becca! (new batteries), and some stitching maintenance--a well-loved gift from Bruce's students, now finding a new home!

I'm back from the Woodland Fair in Lexington, KY, and---

2010-08-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

after a day of doing office work, am ready to start decorating more of the pottery that's ready for me out in the studio. I have orders of pie plates, pasta bowls, mugs, and casseroles, most of which are waiting for the final stage: decoration. Last week the wild cherries outside my studio window were my inspiration---here are some early stages of the decoration process.

yikes, it's August!

2010-08-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

So------hmmm, time flies! and It's been hot---and stray kitties are on the roam--Here's Fritzie, on the left, who is temporarily staying with us while we get him 'fixed' up, (with the help of Pete and Amy), and find a permanent home for him! We're also a refuge to many little bugs; Bruce photographed one resting on the drying laundry. (see sidebar on right, top) Out in the studio, I'm working on another glaze kiln----with some new shapes to keep me happy. I received a large oval wooden dish from Edith, and am using it for a footed pasta dish!

Fair season begins for the Tubbs Studio

2010-06-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Old West End Fair was this last weekend, with the art fair section taking a stand on the grassy grounds surrounding the TMA Glass Building. Saturday night's weather was devastating for some (rain and high winds, and several people killed on the east side of Toledo! and locally: tents at the art fair destroyed), but we opened up the booths on Sunday, and straightened things out as best we could. Here are Molly and Kelly Savino, and Edith Franklin, on Saturday, in my booth.

thie fired version of the mask

2010-06-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the fired mask, with maiolica additions. Some of the images on the bottom right are from sketches I made in Italy several years ago. The clay body is a high fire stoneware which I would have rakued, or cold smoked, but decided to save for other possibilities.

Tomorrow I am off to set up at the Old West End Fair for this weekend; Sheri Bieber is helping me set up tomorrow, and I will be at the fair Saturday and Sunday. It's the first fair of the season. I think I would rather be in the studio decorating bowls for the next kiln firing......but I love being able to talk to people at the fair! I have gotten all the pots into boxes, with Sheri's help, and now have the boxes loaded into the van. (along with the tent, shelves, tool kit, tent weights and stakes, merchant services paperwork, newspaper and sacks for wrapping all those sales!. display aids. signage, etc., etc. Meanwhile, I listen to the latest efforts of BP oil to cap or control the oil gushing in the Gulf. My job is miniscule compared to that.

diversionary tactics

2010-05-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

When I have a particularly problematic deadline, I sometimes procrastinate (for my helpful editors, no,I didn't really mean to type the word, prevaricate, instead---just a slip of the tongue, and thanks for reading the blog! Let me know if there are any other slips!) (you could say I was experimenting artistically, while putting various constraints on the production process). Recently, while recovering from a procedure on my right leg, which was supposed to be kept elevated, I received an order for an award platter, due within a week. I had also read the Ceramic Arts Daily email which showed a short, fairly explicit video of Kristina Bogdanov showing how to make a photo lithograph which could be transferred to a softer leatherhard surface. Since my background was in printmaking, I was intrigued. I took some drawings I'd done in pen and pencil to Kinko's,make Xeroxes, and mixed up the cmc gum, and the linseed oil and mason stain (peacock--I have a lot of it and don't use it very much). I also mixed up vegetable oil and stain---pretty similar. Then I gummed the Xerox, got out the brayer, and inked the print of the drawing. I wanted to try it on a glazed surface as well as a leatherhard one, so I sprayed water on the surface of a mask I'd done, and tried doing a transfer of the bird drawings. Here are photos of one of the birds, as well as of the transfer image onto the mask, with the bird on the left side of the photo. It was harder to get the transfer to work on the glazed areas, since the glaze is pretty dry. The final photo shows the drawing I did of trees on the hill above the Vatican in Rome, and the tile, covered with white slip, since my clay is dark, with the transfer of the image in the peacock stain. When the mask is fired, I'll slip in an image of it, as well.

spring sniffles, and little vases

2010-04-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

For the next few weeks I'm going to be working on forms which I made a number of years ago, and, out of the series, kept the one I most liked (either because it was one of the beginning forms, and has the energy of my trying to figure out what I could do with the shape, or because it came out of the firing with it's own sense of "being" (?), and which I thought might lead me into further exploration. The first of these shapes is a little bud, or tulip vase, shown, here, with flowers, and with some of the first new variations, still at the leather hard, or drying stages.

Unfortunately, I've caught a spring cold, and am sniffling and blowing my nose incessantly, so my concentration is not the best. Almost time to empty the sack of used tissues.....

using clay to cut dies for the extruder

2010-04-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

I've just been cutting more dies for my 4" Brent extruder barrel. I roll out a fairly thick slab of clay, about 1/2" thick, and then cut a circle which is slightly larger that the 2-handled die holder, made of aluminum in the first picture. After the clay circles have dried to leather-hard, and using brass hole cutters, I 'outline' the form which will be the hole through which the clay will pass, and then I 'connect the dots (holes)" to make the opening. In the second photo, you can also see the back side, --the side which the clay hits first--, which has been opened up more with a bevelling cut around the hole, allowing the clay to pass across a more refined line as it exits the die/extruder. I fire the dies to cone 2 (and am using Rovin's RO82m clay body). The strength of the clay allows me to use the die over and over, and the ease of making a new die is so accessible that I can do one in relatively short time. (the little 'D' shapped die in the first photo was made from some scrap clay I didn't want to throw away. With the large metal washers I can block off the open area so that only the small opening is used for the extrusion.)

cutting handy board or durock for the tile base in a metal table

2010-04-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have finished cutting and snipping the durock (cement board with woven fiberglass threads inside) for several small metal tables. Here are some of the tools and a photo of the 'nipping' process which I use to remove little parts on the outer edge which need to be rounded off.

New Hexagonal Tile Cutter's Production

2010-04-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the tiles, hexagonal, with one little diamond one filling in the front edge space-----cut and drying on the old pieces of sheetrock (gypsum board), which had been duct-taped around the edges. I stack the sheetrock and tiles up, ending with a final board covering the tiles, so they will dry flat. Using the tile cutter also helps keep the tiles flat since I don't have to roll the tile up off of the cloth/table to release it. If I am cutting more of a puzzle-style set of tiles, I can slip the set, still on the thin sheeting, off of the piece of granite I use for a flat rolling surface, and onto a piece of sheetrock, cover with another piece of dry-ish sheetrock, and let it get to leatherhard before I do the final puzzle cutting and pulling the clay off the sheeting. (too many sheets, sheesh!)
I think I may tile the old Steelcase desk (that's Peter's, but is in my studio,) just to try out the effect. And I may also try the beeswax/mineral oil finish, which I did on a square plate, recently, instead of a glaze. (I've been looking at old French tiled floors.) I used to have the pugmill on the desk, but have moved it over to a workbench, next to the extruder, so there's not that much weight on the desk right now. Except for Paulie, now and then. Diet time for kitties.
Coming up, I'll show some images of the dies I make out of clay, for the 4" Brent extruder barrel.

crop circles

2010-04-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Magic+Valley+Regional+Airport,+Twin+Falls,+Idaho+83301&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&cd=4&geocode=Fco_iAIdmB4t-Q&split=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&hq=&hnear=Magic+Valley+Regional+Airport,+Twin+Falls,+Idaho+83301&t=h&ll=42.380865,-114.007187&spn=0.028214,0.053043&z=14&iwloc=A

comment from Randy---thanks!

2010-04-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

thanks for your idea of doing a hexagonal table, Randy (I haven't figured out how to post comments, yet, but will). I, too, while having lunch out on the porch yesterday, had a brainstorm, since I have a table base which has a triangular top, onto which I was going to put a circle top, cut from the silica-based handyboard---3/4", (not the durock cement board, 3/4 inch, with the fiberglass imbedded. ) And, quite frankly, cutting a circle is a pain, ---I have to cut a lot of straight lines and then take a tile cutter or plier and nip off the uneven parts) so--while chewing on whatever was my clean-out-the-fridge lunch, I thought, hmmm, I could simply make a lot of hex tiles, filling in the spaces along the outer edges with the diamond shaped tiles, fire them all, take the measurements, and then make a hexagonal table, which would mean that I could cut and break straight edges for the hex table, and not have to try to cut a circle! Thanks, again, to Randy,--I really believe that there are a LOT of really smart people out there, and that, together, we can figure out all sorts of things... (like health care?)
The next post will show the hex tiles, drying on old pieces of sheetrock (drywall), and then (ta da!) I will show the clay dies for my 4" Brent extruder, which I make from the same red clay I am using for the pots, fired to a cone 2, (pots and dies), out of which I can extrude edge tiles (nose tiles). I am pressed to keep on track, here, since Bruce is showing me youtube feeds on his computer that show how many potatoes can be taken out of an area (a whole truck load in three minutes),--go to Magic Valley, Idaho, and go to the 'airport', and then go to google maps, and then go to regional airport at Twin Falls.....He's doing a unit for his 5th-6th graders using Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemna. Aughhhhhhhhhhh (OK, I digress: the next post shown above will be the crop circles, for the irrigation of potatoes in Idaho)..........

tile cutters

2010-04-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

I recently bought another tile cutter from Georgie's--a hexagonal one, and am cutting tiles for tables with it. Because the plunger plate is metal, I usually add a piece of luann plywood which I glue to the face plate, and which then makes the release of a wet clay tile easier. The first tile cutter I had (4 inch square--from back in the '70's) did not plunge the tile out beyond the frame of the cutter, so, until I glued that thin piece of wood onto the plate, I could not get the clay off. [top photo, plunged all the way out.] These are photos I used to write a letter to the helpful hints section of Ceramic Monthly. More photos of the hex cutter and drying tiles to follow.

First dinner outside, on the porch

2010-03-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

The first dinner outside on the porch's tiled table, after winter's storms, and a clearing up of the yard day.....a quick and dirty fixing of Annie's organic pasta, with those funny, roundy carrots, steamed, --- and fresh snips of shallot greens. Orange and yellow.

Glazed work is done; new work started.

2010-03-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

It's almost the end of March, and I have finished decorating the bisqued ware from last year, and am starting on new work. Some of the pieces will go to The American Gallery in Sylvania, Ohio, some to the Collectors' Corner at the Toledo Museum of Art. Here's the center section of a tiled table, along with some tile work on a three-shelved cart. When it stops raining, I'll wheel the cart outside, and take a photo without all the pots on it.

Pots at the gallery in Red Lodge, Montana

2010-01-17T19:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.redlodgeclaycenter.com/lists.php?aid=11&type=artist

In December, I sent several boxes out to the gallery at Red Lodge, in Montana--here's the link to the gallery's web site, and the page of my work.

Yunomi for the AKAR Gallery, to benefit "Studio Potter"

2010-01-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the finished Yunomi from the set which is on it's way to AKAR Gallery in Iowa City.

Yunomi for AKAR

2009-12-31T05:29:00.000-08:00

The maiolica colorants are applied onto the unfired glaze, working, first, with areas to be waxed, then with the larger color areas. Details are added last.

Yunomi, glazed.

2009-12-30T15:00:00.000-08:00

Once the tea bowls are glazed, I begin thinking about all the ways I'd wanted to decorate them--a little brainstorming---more photos of the decorating to come.

Getting ready to decorate:

2009-12-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

I am taking photos of our compost pile in the bricked garden that Peter made for us---we move the pile around every year, and this time we circled some old wire. This afternoon I'll be decorating the glazed yunomi (every day tea bowls) for the AKAR Gallery, using the compost as inspiration.

My Neighbors!

2009-12-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

The Bieber boys have been working in the studio with me and their mom, Sheri!

Yunomi

2009-12-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a set of Japanese tea bowls for 'every day use': they're called yunomi. They are taller than the tea bowls used for the traditional tea ceremony. When they are done, they will be shipped out to the AKAR Gallery in Iowa, and will go onto an online sale in February. This year I am using our compost containers for inspiration. We put two new ones up, using some old fencing that we'd gotten a number of years ago to put around an older garden so the puppies wouldn't run through just after a planting.

Tiles for Tables

2009-12-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

Just before the sale, I finished firing tiles for an old table that we eat on during the summer months (spring and fall, too). It's in a metal frame, and is brightening the front porch. I have several more outdoor, wire tables to be tiled, coffeetable style, and am thinking about extruding a raised, thin tile that would fit inbetween the square ones. The effect would be something like the large flower pot in an earlier posting.

2009-12-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

In 1958 I was given a penpal from Finland! Her name was Raija and she was studying English; I, French. We wrote to each other steadily for ten years, through high school, college, and her marriage and birth of two sons, while I went to graduate school. In the following thirty years, we lost track of each other, until Bruce received a grant from the school where he was teaching, so that he could travel to the International Horn Symposium in Lahti, Finland. I wondered (since I was going to go with him) whether or not I would be able to find Raija again. When I wrote to her old address, she was still there! We were able to visit with her during our trip in 202, and we continue to write. She has recently retired and has been drawing, more. Over the summer she sent me a postcard with her artwork, which I then put onto a tile, now on it's way to Helsinki.

WHEW!

2009-12-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

After the party's over, Paulie relaxes for a little snack. Thank you, everyone, for supporting our efforts! I'll be mailing work out to the gallery in Red Lodge, Montana this week, and delivering to the American Gallery in Sylvania, OH, and will still have work for sale in my studio. About mid-week, I'll begin to decorate for the next glaze kiln firing, finishing up the ornaments that our customers decorated during the sale, and working on tiles and the rest of the plates and bowls.

Kiln Accident...

2009-11-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

One of the carrots tipped over during the firing, and rested on the adjacent shelf, simultaneously adhering to the nearby pitcher. We served miso gravy in it Friday evening, and various names came up (gravy with a carrot on the side--Ted Ligibel's addition). The carrot's perfect horizontal alignment (though something that could be arranged if the carrot had been attached at the leatherhard stage) is a fluke, but amusing....Usually, kiln accidents are much more dramatic, and unforgiving. The rest of the carrots, after the firing, are resting in a narrow casserole.

The Kiln Fills Up

2009-11-28T10:53:00.000-08:00

Decorated pots fill the kiln, as the final shelves are loaded up and the kiln is ready for firing.

A kiln load of bisque--

2009-11-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

It's Sunday noon, and the bisque is unloaded from the kiln, and waiting for the waxing.

Unloading the bisque kiln

2009-11-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I'll be unloading the last bisque kiln before the holiday sale: more platters, covered containers, and some work done by Sheri's three boys, plus anything else I could fit in. Carrots for the rabbits, mugs, etc.---photos to follow, tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's a picture of Blue, my friend Barbie's miniature horse--he's quite special!

More about the Rabbits~~

2009-11-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

I have a new person working with me in the studio--Sheri Bieber--she lives just down the road to the west of me, and is learning about the pottery business! Of course we spend a lot of time talking, but we work, as well---here she is, cutting clay mini-slabs to be pressed into the bok choy plaster cast, which are then used as ears on the rabbits. She has also been learning how to roll and cut the clay tiles, and has pugged clay with me. She has a good sense of working with the clay, and is not afraid of trying things on her own initiative! I know I'll be learning from her, as well as she, from me!

more about the garden rabbits:

2009-11-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

After the rabbit forms are thrown, they are trimmed at the bottom end to remove the extra clay, then paddled and scraped smooth. They're then plopped on their side, with a small pinhole in the formerly bottom end, to allow some of the air to escape. This hole will be covered by a tail made from clay pressed into a plaster cast of a tree fungus which I made while we were living in Connecticut. The ears are pressed into a mold of bok choy, made at about the time I built my studio, in the mid-80's. Max the Cat holds down the other side of the worktable.

hallowe'en visitors!

2009-10-31T06:52:00.000-07:00

After I'd gotten the handles on the mugs, our friends, the Ligibels, came over...with a surprise visitor!---Ted's mom, Angela---a.k.a. the Fuller Brush Woman! She'd been visiting her grandkids' school, and was still in costume---what a great Hallowe'en Treat!

New Projects

2009-10-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning several new projects, though they are forms which I have done, before: mugs (drying upside down, and without their handles), both short and tall; tiles for an outdoor round table, which I hope to have finished for my December sale; and garden rabbits. The rabbits are a more involved form, so I will be showing some of the phases in the next few posts, and talking a little more about how they got started. The body of the rabbit is thrown, so what you see, here, is a collection of five rabbit body and head forms on end. They began as an extension of some pottery which belonged to a woman whom I was taking care of, and who owned a set of Dedham Pottery ware. She was Helen Tee-Van, an artist from the '20's, and lived near me in Connecticut. to be continued.....

autumn, around the studio and house

2009-10-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Fall is here, and I AM working in the studio, though lots of work has to be done in the yard, as well. Our maple in the front yard is once, again, a glorious golden color--always a surprise after a spring and summer of green. (We don't, apparently, have very long memories.) In the studio, I am throwing plates, bowls and mugs, and rolling slabs for platters. A young woman who lives down the road is starting to work with me making tiles; photos will follow towards the end of the week.

Last weekend at the Erie Orchards

2009-10-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is my last weekend at the Erie Orchards, in Erie, MI---I've been next to PeeWee the deer, and am surrounded by apples, and pumpkins, and people! In the studio, I am getting clay ready for throwing, and for slabwork. Most of the bisqued ware from August has been decorated and fired, so, now I'll be thinking about shapes and forms that I want to make for the next two months before the studio sale. I still have a few orders, but hope to try out some new forms which I've been thinking about.

pea vines from the fall garden---

2009-09-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

I'm finishing up the decoration for the last of the glazed bisque ware (or, trying to), so that the shelves will be clear before I begin to make more work. Orders from this last batch are done, so I have some time to try new patterns, and the garden has had a 'rebirth' since August, when we finally pulled the last of the weeds and replanted! Peas are growing, as are the cold weather salad greens, and the lavender looks grey and bushy. I am working, here, on a large platter, with the pea vines, and will do a similar pattern on the teapot and mugs.

Zippy

2009-09-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

I have sad news: last Thursday, our old kitty, Zippy (the Zip, Zipster, Missizippi, and other endearments), died. She was 17 1/2, and I got her from Bill Shively who worked at the 577 where I was teaching. He brought four little kittens to work one day, in the back of his station wagon, with litter and food, and, for a dollar, I picked out the lively little black one. She was to be a gift to our son, Pete, who loves kitties. He was graduating from the 8th grade. I wryly thought this would be a good gift for him even though some of the other kids were getting computers; our budget was a little more limited. After almost 18 years, I think Zippy outlasted, and gave more love, than those old computers! Zippy lived in the house, at different times, and in the studio, and was the boss of all the other kitties and dogs who came, and went. She was fiercely attached to us, and put up with our inconsistency and silliness. We miss her.

Time for orders

2009-09-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

Now that fall is here, I am working on orders (at last! some say..) Here are some photos of a set of bowls: first, being thrown, then, being decorated after the bisque. They will match a mug sold earlier this summer, and one will eventually be chosen for the set of mug and bowl.

tiles being decorated for small, framed images

2009-08-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

In the lower photo are several of the tiles that are being decorated for small frames. Their colors look dusty and pale before the glaze firing. Then, in the top photo, the tiles can be seen after the glaze firing, and after the framing and grouting. The small, irregular, unframed tile is a piece that broke from a larger landscape and which has been re-done.

Kelly and Randy in the studio

2009-08-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Several Weeks ago Kelly and Randy came down to finish decorating the tiles Kelly made in a class this last fall---Their work, along with mine, are finally in a glaze firing (and the lid of the big kiln, raised up in the middle of the photo between Randy and Kelly, is now down). I worked on a number of tiles, as well, which will go into tables. The next post will show not only my tiles, fired, but some of the tables into which they will be set.

Porch News

2009-08-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

some of the things on our porch in August--the night-blooming cereus is from Budd Gauger--

August, and it's finally heating up!!

2009-08-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the Suttons Bay fair, (one of my favorite), and will be catching up in the studio until my next 2 fairs: Franklin, MI, and the Black Swamp. After that I will be showing on the weekends at the Erie Orchards, in Erie, MI--a new venture!
Judy Donaldson visited several weeks ago, and we had tea with honey that Judy's daughter, Shawn, sent, and we looked at pots. (whose hand is that, hovering over the felted nest Shawn made?)

Meghan at Crosby Gardens Festival

2009-07-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

Meghan's last day, and her help with the fair at Crosby Gardens

2009-07-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day with Ann, which came surprisingly fast! She showed me her method of recording and organizing expenses for her business (which comes in handy for doing taxes) She had me go through her receipts from January and categorize them to get a feel for how to do it---it was actually kind of fun. After I finished that, it was on to the last bit of decorating for me. I still had a few tiles left, and Ann was nice enough to hold on to them and fire them for me. Can't wait to see how they turn out! I've definitely enjoyed my time working with Ann, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the studio at Adrian in the fall to keep implementing the techniques she taught me.

more decoration on the big flower pot

2009-07-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

Glazing the big pots:

2009-07-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

It's summer, with fairs every weekend, now, and decorating in the studio inbetween. I'm starting to put the colors onto the large flowerpots----yellow around the rim, which adds another layer of glaze which is mixed in with the colorant. Meghan will be in later today to finish up some of her work, and we will be loading the kiln for a glaze firing.

and now we decorate (like mad, so we can get the kiln loaded on time)

2009-06-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ann and I spent today decorating pieces to finish loading the kiln. I got a few tiles painted as well as a little dish I made in the first week. My internship with Ann has gone by so quickly---it's crazy to think I only have one more day.

Maiolica Colorants for decoration on the unfired glaze:

2009-05-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ann and I got started right away today prepairing the glaze and colorants for the upcoming glaze firing. She had me mix and sieve the glaze to take out any lumps, and then I dipped a few tiles in to decorate later. Most of the day was spent remixing colorants, which we also sieved...but I did have a little time at the end to decorate a few of the tiles I dipped. Hopfully they come out as nicely as the first ones did.

Meghan's back! and getting ready for a glaze firing---

2009-05-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on finishing the casserole dish I started last week--I had to smooth some edges out after taking it out of the mould, and then I added the handles and a decorative lip around the top. It'll be interesting to see how my first one turns out... I also spent time scraping some kiln shelves and waxing the back of a few tiles to prepair for the upcoming glaze firing.

photos to be posted later this evening (when I get back from the Mud Hen's game!)(Ann)

Over the weekend:

2009-05-27T17:01:00.000-07:00

Edith Franklin visited my studio over the weekend, and did a pinched pot for my video--more on that to come.

Ann's new work in the studio..

2009-05-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

Ann, throwing a small, skirted mug on the potter's wheel

2009-05-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a short video of me, throwing a small, skirted-foot tumbler (or mug, once it has a handle). I'm using the red, earthenware clay which fits the maiolica glaze. Meghan is on break for Memorial Day---we hope everyone enjoys the holiday! Ann

Thursday, Meghan's second week---

2009-05-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Meghan removes her clay form from the plaster mold which she made earlier in the week,

and cuts grooves into the backs of her tiles, so they will adhere well to the mastic as they are set into the fireplace surround.

Meghan's post, with photos to follow-----

2009-05-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

--After a nice weekend, I was excited to come in and see how my "test" tiles came out. I was really impressed with them...and after showing my mom the results she hinted at needed a new backsplash in the kitchen. One job at a time, mom! I have to say, it was a nice change to see a finished (glazed) piece look just as I wanted it to. In other studios, I haven't had the best luck with the glazing process, but there's hope!

Wednesday I finished up working with the plaster that Ann and I worked with yesterday. I was able to take apart the mold we made and clean it up so that once it dries I'll be able to use it. I cast one of my mom's casserole dishes (it's fine mom! Don't worry) and now I can make my own... After I finished with the plaster, I had time to cut more tiles from a slab I rolled yesterday, and tomorrow I can work on cleaning those up.

Before and after the glaze firing for Meghan's tile:

2009-05-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

Below are the two tiles that Meghan
decorated with colorants on top of the
unfired maiolica glaze. To the right is Meghan holding the tile on the right which has been fired up to cone 2 in the glaze firing. The colors (in addition to being shiny) are now deeper and more intense. It's with this feed back that she can now continue to decorate future tiles. (p.s.: the small tile with the lemon, below Meghan's two 6" tiles, is mine, and can be seen, after the glaze firing, on the post below.