Porch News

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

August, and it's finally heating up!!

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

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

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

Glazing the big pots:

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)

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:

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---

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:

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..

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

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---

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-----

--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:

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.

Meghan's tile decorating: before the glaze firing.

Friday we started out doing some glazing and decorating. Ann had me work on the tiles I dipped on Thursday so I can see how the colors turn out after they're fired. I like how they looked when I loaded them in the kiln, so we'll see how I did once they've been fired! After I finished a few tiles, I got back to work on my fireplace tiles. They're coming along nicely...and they're even starting to look like real tiles!

This coming week we'll try taking some more videos of the throwing and decorating, and we'll have some before and after shots of the decorating. Here is a demi-lune done for a show in February:

New work in the studio..

I've been doing a catch-up glaze firing so that I can test a new batch of glaze, and try out some patterns, as well as fire Meghan's first two tiles (which I'll post tomorrow). These are two variations on the "french pear" background, with lemons.

It's Sunday, and a day of work outside the studio.

pictures of ongoing work are being uploaded, now--some of you have wondered what I have been doing while Meghan has been making tiles. (It isn't all about petting the cats.....)

thursday, work---Meghan's a great cook!

Thursday we started off waxing the bottom of the bisqued tiles Ann had unloaded from the kiln yesterday, after which I spent the majority of the time rolling slabs and cutting all the tiles for the first section of the fireplace. The tile cutting went much faster than I thought, so I'm going to have to get working on the design for the rest of the fireplace. Tonight I'll be finishing up the detail work on the hand cut tiles (flowers and leaves) so they can start drying. It's coming along pretty well so far! I glazed a few tiles before I left today which we'll be decorating tomorrow. And, as a warm up for the decorating, we spent a little time out in the garden today watercoloring...a little sun is always nice!

kiln unloading and glazing

Meghan has been making good progress, both on her own work, as well as on the general studio jobs. From the unloaded kiln of yesterday, we waxed the bottoms of the pots, dipped them into water, and then glazed them. Tomorrow, we decorate!

Wednesday in the studio

Today Ann showed me how to finish the tiles we made yesterday by smoothing the edges and giving each tile a slight curve to keep them from warping. After finishing the tiles I got to work planning out the fireplace surround for my dining room. Ann suggested I work from a lifesize layout, so I spent today cutting out a template for each type of tile I plan to make. For the last part of the day I began drawing the tile patterns onto the large template, with the help of my new buddy Paulie. I'll finish up the templates at home tonight and tomorrow I'll have time to start cutting out more tiles.

Meghan working on patterns for a tile fireplace surround

Paulie checks out the work

Wednesday is Meghan's second day, and she's really doing some interesting work! On her agenda is a tile surround for the fireplace in her family's home, so she began work on life-sized drawings and patterns of the site--Paulie had to check out the progress, of course, since it was raining outside, and Paulie doesn't like the rain.....

meghan starts work!

Having never made tiles it was interesting to learn how-- perfect timing too since my mom and I were talking about making tiles for one of the fireplaces at home. I'm excited to see what all Ann has in store for me. I've got clay under my nails again; life is good : )--- Meghan

Today was the first day working with Ann in her studio, along with her small collection of cats. There is just something about being warned to look for kitty litter in the clay before rolling out a slab! Being a cat person myself, I think I'll fit right in. We started today by recycling and pugging some clay, and after our lunch break we began rolling out slabs to make tiles from.

first day with Meghan in my studio

Today is Tuesday, 12 May, 09, and it's the day that Meghan Walton started her work as student intern in my pottery studio! She'll be journaling through emails, and I'll be adding photos to show you what she's doing, and how she's learning about what goes on in my pottery. She brought one of her vases made at Adrian College this year, showing her drawing of an iris on a porcelain vase.
We are going to be building on her interests and strengths as someone who knows how to draw, and who is interested in clay--so keep in touch for more news! and for more views of Zippy the studio cat!

Maiolica Pottery at the Ann Tubbs Studio

Tomorrow I will be starting another student intern from Adrian College! Her name is Meghen and she will be working with me in my pottery studio as a part of her undergraduate degree requirement. We'll be keeping tract of her work and progress, along with the news of the studio, and we welcome your input! See you tomorrow! Ann Tubbs