An Idea for a New Glaze Pattern--the Oak Leaf

The first pie plate

 A pie plate (part of an order) came out of the kiln that was unloaded the morning of the opening of the holiday studio sale (always the last minute, just one more load eagerness!), and I really liked the results.  I put it aside so it wouldn't be on the sale, since I had three other perfectly good pie plates for my customer.  When she came, however, she spotted the oak leaf one, and liked it best.  And since she is a good customer, and has a good eye, I let it go, taking a couple of photos, first.  The brown color I use for the leaf is an odd one, and I am not sure how to reproduce it.  Did I put some barnard clay into it?  Or some RIO?  Will I be able to reproduce it when it's gone?  You can see how much is left in the third photo:  it's the brown half-full container just behind the big platter, with the brush sticking out of it.  Maybe this will truly be a limited edition.  The brown breaks up, nicely, even though it looks dark and dense when I paint it on.  I also put some chartreuse, and a little copper carb., and sometimes some orange, on top.  The very outer edge of each of the pieces has a very pale yellow, and the decorative band has sage and leaf green leaves, with a little dot of ochre, and some chartreuse swirls.  I have been saving oak leaves for many years, and periodically use them as patterns.  This is the most successful, and repeatable rendition.

Finished work from the following kiln load.

Ann Arbor's Winter Art Tour: www.winterarttour.com

This Saturday and Sunday, there is an art tour in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti:  www.winterarttour.com  and I will be in the Art on Adare section.  Join us!

Thanks, everybody!

Studio Sale, completed!   Thank you, everyone, for coming out to see Margaret and me, and all our work! We really enjoy seeing you, and talking with you, (and hope that we weren't so scattered that we didn't have time to concentrate!) Now, it's back to work for me, with orders, and one more sale up in Ann Arbor, next weekend:  Art on Adare.  And if you are in Ann Arbor, don't forget to visit the wonderful Clay Studio, as well, where I have taught, and which is having a show in conjunction with the Winter Art Tour in Ann Arbor, MI.  We wish you all the best this holiday season!  (What, no photos, this time??...)

Demonstrations at the Studio Sale

Tomorrow is the start of the Holiday Studio Sale and I will be demonstrating twice, each day.  On Friday, I'll throw face mugs, and talk about them, at 2 pm.  Then at 4 pm, also on Friday, I'll construct some slab-built oval casseroles (like the ones I posted on this blog in a three-part posting:  https://anntubbsmaiolicapottery.blogspot.com/2013/02/oval-forms-slab-built.html,
https://anntubbsmaiolicapottery.blogspot.com/2013/02/oval-forms-slab-built-part-two.html

and https://anntubbsmaiolicapottery.blogspot.com/2013/02/oval-forms-final-finishing-work-part.html

a little oval casserole with legs

The Red Bird District Art Walk: 1 & 2 December

The businesses in downtown Sylvania, Ohio, have branded themselves, collectively, as the Red Bird district, and have been having openings every first Friday of each month.  December, 2017, is no exception; celebrations are being planned!  I have work in the Hudson Gallery, on Main Street, and, though I won't be there (my studio sale's first night is the same day), my work will be on display.  (and online: https://hudsongallery.net/artist/ann-tubbs/) Here is the link for the Hudson Gallery's Art Walk:  https://hudsongallery.net/  

     Meanwhile, back in the studio, I'm loading another glaze kiln.  Here are the tiles for two small tables. They still need the black outline around the leaves and lemons, and a touch of red and blue.

Tiles for tables

New Paint Job on the New Look to the Studio's Front Display Wall

New look to the front wall, formerly peach-colored

 CaCO₃

My go-to dictionary in the studio (Mick Casson, a wonderful potter from England,on the cover)

   My Studio has had an upgrade this fall.  I took down all the white shelving, and re-painted the peachy color which had been there for 15+ years.  It's now a charcoal, or, as my friend,Denise, said,  Graphite.......  Then I bought Ikea shelving, and with a bit of what my husband and construction guru calls 'discussion', we hung three of the shelves, managing to get them reasonably level, and hooked up to the studs.  He had bought me a stud-finder, but I couldn't figure out how to use it, and found the old 'pound a skinny nail into the wall to see how easily it goes in' technique to be more useful.  And since we were the ones who built the studio, many years ago, who knows how on center those studs are, anyway.   I then found a recipe for making your own chalk paint on Pinterest:  2 cups paint to 1 cup Calcium Carbonate --- CaCO₃   otherwise known as Whiting.  Most all potters have lots of that.  And it's an ingredient in my maiolica glaze. After I let the mixture sit for a while, I then sieved it with an old paper sieve from the drug store.  No good pottery sieves were ruined.  I drew a rectangle on the wall, and painted at least 3 coats on. Then I lightly sanded it, and 'seasoned' it, by rubbing chalk over the surface, and then wiping it away with a barely damp sponge.  Voilà!

Doing the last USPS mailing for one of my studio sales (while visiting in Chicago)

 i've almost finished with the mailing  (stuffing envelopes, putting on stamps, sometimes writing a little something.  So many names, so many memories!  I am hoping to transfer customers to the electronic emailing service!

glaze firings for the next studio sale:

   December is almost here; time for my studio sale.  Here are some before and after the glaze firing photos of large bowl/chargers.

and if I had to pick my favorite, from the last kiln? ---

it would be this one.  Because of the striped legs.  A little Tubbs Four-Legged Tub.

What Comes Out of a Glaze Kiln?

two large, long platters

multiples

large oval platters

edge tiles, strips, and a bowl to be refired

I am firing large platters for an order taken last fall, along with some smaller pieces.  The kiln was fairly closely packed, but not overly so.  In and around the larger pieces were the little scotch tumblers, in the second photo, and the strips and edge tiles which will finish off the top edge of the backsplash I've been tiling in the kitchen  (with the subway tiles I made).  In addition, in the last photo, there is a bowl that will be re-fired.  There was a small area on the upper edge where the glaze had been rubbed off.  I touched it up with fresh glaze while it was still warm from the kiln. Now, everything, except the tiles, gets sanded on the bottom (where the red clay shows), and then priced.  My first fair is coming up!---