New Pots and Critters

Jean Ann fired the gas kiln this week and I had several pots come out that I wanted to share with everyone. The jug is about three gallons and made in three parts then assembled on the wheel. It has an ash glaze with Laguna's fake salt. It is striking in person and should make a good attention getter for the sales booth.


The elephant reminds me of one of our local politicians who bellows in the wilderness trying to change national policy. The pig is just cute with a perfect celedon glaze. Both he and the elephant were thrown upside down on the wheel then altered and trimmed to make the bodies. I love them but they were not original ideas so I don't plan to make them for sale.


The small casserole has a nice oribe glaze and a clean white interior.All in all some nice results.

Like a Ton of Bricks

For the last two weeks, I have been glazing pots at Middletown. Jean Ann has packed the gas kiln and I expect she will fire it tomorrow and unload Thursday.That should make for some new pictures for next week.

The big news is that I was given several tons of kiln brick so I may be able to build my own soda kiln later this year.The brick are mainly arches and keys so I'm thinking of a sprung arch built on top of a low wall, sort of a modified Groundhog kiln. I'm really excited but as they say there is no free lunch. My brother made the trip with me to pick up the first load last week. We immediately got his truck stuck up to the frame and had to get it towed out. After that it was pretty smooth but loading and unloading bricks all day Friday has sent me to the Aleve bottle all weekend. Weather permitting ,I'm going for another load tomorrow.

On the upcoming sales front,I'm planning on trying Waynesville again on June 14.Wish me luck.

Waynesville Show

The village of Waynesville, Ohio is trying to find a way to bring shoppers downtown. They used to come in to buy antiques but that has slowed and the merchants are thinking maybe Art will draw people. I signed up to do five "Second Sunday" sales this summer. The first was yesterday.

It wasn"t a total loss. I found a nickel on the way to my truck at the end of the day.There were twelve or so "artists" and maybe a hundred browsers. There was another potter selling his wares very cheaply and he made five or six small sales.The jewelery booth sold $10 or $20 and the metal stuff on a stick guy made a sale or two.My sales for the day- zero. The weather was good and the hosts were very hospitable but the few folks coming by were just browsers who saw some tents and wondered what was up. I'll try it another time or two to see if it develops but I may take less stuff next time. I don't think I will run out.

Springfair

Every Derby Day the Cincinnati Clay Alliance has a Pottery Fair. This year was my first year to participate. With nearly 50 other potters it was a very big show. We had great weather in spite of a rainy forecast and the crowd was nonstop all day. Sales were strong. I did well for a rookie and one of my friends sold about everything but the tent. It was so busy I didn't even get out to see everyones booths but here are some pictures of my space.