Belt and Suspenders

(click on picture to read inscription)
They're not taking any chances.

First Seconds Sale

I got a call from Mike and Karen Baum the other day inviting me to join the seconds sale they are having this weekend and maybe next weekend if needed. Mike has been a professional potter for 30 years and my "firsts" will never be as good as his "seconds" so it was very generous of them to include me. My pots are on the near table and Mike's are on the rear table.Most seconds are priced at 60% to 70% off so there are great bargains to be had if you hurry.State route 350 just east of I-71 9 ish to 5 ish. No food, no free beer, no band but Mike will be throwing (in the nude when requested) and Karen will be charming.

Studio construction progresses slowly. I insulated this section of wall today and noted that the words "formaldehyde free"appear 17 times just in this one bay. They must be trying to tell me something.

Learning

A couple of years ago I attended a week long workshop presented by Gay Smith. She is a wonderful potter and puts on an intense but thoroughly enjoyable workshop. Even though she didn't think I was paying attention I had a great time and learned some new tricks. (While I will admit to doing that guy thing of listening while looking like I was doing something else, I was really listening). I have been doing more production pots this year but it occurred to me that if I didn't practice some of the skills I had learned I might forget them all together. Anyway, to get to the point, this is my Gay Smith inspired teapot.

Loyal readers will recall a dry nasty looking woodfire experience I mentioned in my last post. Well, someone suggested that a teaspoon of Gerstley Borate and a pinch of Bentonite in a cup of hot water sprayed on the pots would provide enough flux to shine up the pots when fired to cone 6 in an electric kiln. (Be sure you put wads under them and use a good coat of kiln wash on your shelves just in case). It seemed to work best where there was some ash deposit but saved most of the pots from meeting the "Hammer of Truth".

Finally, the smoked chicken recipe from last time should start out -  Put TWO split chickens on the grill. It was much too good to only do one. Hope to see some of you at Waynesville this Saturday. It looks like the show site is being moved closer to the center of town. That should help.

What's Cookin' at Whistle Creek

I picked up a little smoker grill the other day and broke it in making cherry wood chicken.Start some charcoal and add some pieces of cherry wood.Put a split chicken on the grill, put on the lid and smoke it slowly until you can't stand to wait any longer. Don't turn it don't baste it just keep a slow fire going. Almost too beautiful to eat. OK, I did say "almost". If I ever get the studio ready for visitors. we'll try a big hunk of pork.

 Studio construction is slowly coming along. I built heavy duty shelves so I could get things off the floor during construction and they will hold tons of clay with no problem. I also have about a third of the insulation and drywall up.

 I did get some responses about the show at Waynesville.There will be several of us from the Clay Alliance showing on June12. Hope to see you there.