Whistle Creek: New Camera

Sunday, January 23, 2011

New Camera

I had been eyeballing new point and shoot cameras for a while. The old one goes thru a lot of batteries and has a limited zoom range.I finally succumbed to temptation,( the only thing I can't resist.) Costco had an amazing deal on a new Panasonic Lumix with 12mp and a 12x optical zoom with image stabilization.That's like 25 to 300mm to us old 35mm shooters.It has lots of bells and whistles but I love that big zooming Leica lens the most . I thought you might like to see the zoom range in action.These shots are taken from the same spot at the extreme limits of the zoom.

Thanks to everyone who responded to the last post.Seems like the average potter may wear jeans about two weeks between washings but it can go from a week to a month.Now for those of you with your own studios, how often do you actually clean your wheel and splash pan? Daily,Weekly, Annually, or just when you have a studio sale?

5 comments:

AnonymousJanuary 23, 2011 at 4:58 PM
Whenever I change clay I clean it all. Otherwise, I just wipe out the slop. Usually, I work 25 pounds and switch. I like moon white and red rock. I have a wedging area for dark and light clay and always clean bats. I will not discuss how often I change my pants tho! Toby
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Hollis EngleyJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:25 PM
Once a year, for the holiday sale.
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Tracey BroomeJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:56 PM
Clean the splash pan?hahahahahhahahhahahaha!!
I got so sick of that being the last thing to do at the end of a day in the community studios I worked in, when I got my own wheel it was heaven not to have to do that!
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UnknownJanuary 23, 2011 at 9:19 PM
It never gets completely cleaned, but I empty it when slip start seeping out the back section.
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Linda StarrJanuary 24, 2011 at 10:32 AM
I clean my work area after each piece, but then I'm only wiping down a flat board, and that's probably only because I don't want dry clay particles in the next piece, if that wasn't a problem, then it might be once a week. If it was a wheel, I'd probably be the same as Judy or Hollis. Ha.
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Why Whistle Creek

Whistle Creek is near the area where my ancestors settled in East Tennessee. It is about 6 miles west of I-75 and 8 miles south of Jellico.At various times the land was claimed by England, France, Spain, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky,Tennessee, the Union,the Confederacy, and the Cherokee.My family was there around 1800 and possibly before.My brothers and I still own the top of the mountain and it is still very rough country. I named my studio Whistle Creek in memory of the Allens who scraped their living from the earth and managed to keep it for two hundred years.

Bricks,Bricks, Bricks

I have two loads of kiln brick at home and one more to go. Weather permitting I will get some help from my newly retired brother and haul the rest home next week. I'm still early in the planning stages for the kiln. I haven't decided yet whether to make the firebox perpendicular to the arch a la John Theis managama and groundhog kilns or to place it parallel to the axis of the arch. I do know that with #2 three inch arch brick It will be a 3"6" sprung arch on top of low walls with a sunken firebox. If i can find a saw that will cut 41/2" I can rip some of the arch brick to fill in the ends of the courses and use the arch brick on edge to make 9" thick walls. Any input appreciated.

The Pitcher and the Nun

Yesterday a couple of sweet elderly ladies came into my booth and fell in love with the pitcher from the last woodfiring. (See last Blog entry) They said they wanted to give it as a wedding gift, then they said the fatal words-" Do you take Mastercard? " I replied-" No, but I want this piece to go to a good home and I believe that if I send it home with you, you will send me a check." They agreed and we exchanged info. It turned out they were nuns.Instead of mailing me a check, they brought back a check and some homemade candy a couple of hours later.It was nice to make the sale, but even nicer to send out a little faith in mankind and have a good deed returned.

Ohio Slip

More Spring Fair Prep....

Today was spent loading a bisque kiln with pots I have been throwing the last few weeks.They are made with a really nice red clay that a friend sold me when I couldn't get earthen red at Highwater. I should be able to glaze Monday and fire the whole load again next week. This is the only clay that I fire in the electric kilns but it gives a look that a lot of people like and I can fire economically. This plus pots on hand and pots I have been glazing for the gas kiln should be plenty for spring fair so now I can concentrate on the booth.

Spring Fair

The main project of the week was to try to finish throwing a batch of red clay that I have been working on so I can get the pots fired and glazed for the big Spring Fair sale that the Clay Alliance is holding on May 2. This is the big annual sales event for the club and I am very happly to be included this year but I do feel a little pressure to up my game and have a booth that doesn't look like a yard sale. Once I get the pots fired, I will have to spend some time focusing on display space and building some nice shelving. The sale is 11 to 4 at the corner of Madison and Woodburn ( DeSales Corner) Just take 71 to Edwards rd., Edwards to Madison, Right on Madison and you will be there in a few minutes. You will have a great time and get to meet 40 of the best potters and ceramicists in the region. More info at http://www.clayalliance.org/.

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