Whistle Creek: Pottery Pants

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Pottery Pants

This week has been a good one for slipping on the old pottery jeans, lighting the heater and working in the studio.Blondie doesn't care how many times I wear jeans between washings but I'm curious as to how many days, weeks, or months my fellow potters let their clay pants go between washings. Let me know in the comments. (It's also been great weather for sitting in a recliner with an old dog on my lap.)

I'm excited that I am attending a workshop with British Slipware potters Hannah McAndrew and Doug Fitch in April. I will see them in Fredricksburg, Va, on the 15, 16, and 17th. Dan Finnegan is putting this session together at Libertytown Art Center. Hollis Engley is hosting them earlier in the month on Cape Cod, and Ron Philbeck is hosting a one day session is Shelby,NC between Asheville and Charlotte.There are links to Hannah, Dan, and Hollis in my blog list and Hollis has some info at http://hatchvillepottery.blogspot.com/2011/01/british-slipware-potters-workshop-on.html. These folks really know what they are doing and anyone with an interest in slipware or traditional British pottery shouldn't miss this opportunity to see two of the best in action.

In other matters, I would like to thank Hollis and Tracey Broome for putting up links to my site on their excellent Blogs.It's an honor to be included and I am already seeing more traffic.

This last picture show the dilemma of a slack schedule. The pot on the right is typical of what I have been making. The one on the left is the pot I should be making so I can stock the booth with cheap, easy to carry impulse items.I'll get it straight one of these days. It's been snowing like crazy but it is still warm in the studio so I had better get out there while I still can. Thanks for stopping by.

7 comments:

ungluedJanuary 20, 2011 at 3:09 PM
haha I love that picture of the cylinder and giant jar. its funny how some days you can be so on and other days so off.

as for your jean question I usually keep one pair i use for throwing for 1-2 weeks. Unless i spill something on them or have my reclaim clay splatter all over them..
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UnknownJanuary 20, 2011 at 3:28 PM
I usually wear mine a week or two with clay on them but when I glaze they get washed more often.

I am thinking of going to the slipware workshop in Shelby. It's not really what I do but might be good for me to learn.
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Tracey BroomeJanuary 20, 2011 at 3:50 PM
Glad to have you on my blog roll! I had tried once before and it wouldn't post for some reason, I think I was doing something wrong. Anyway I wear my jeans for more days than I care to mention when I am in a throwing cycle, makes me feel more creative or something :)
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Hollis EngleyJanuary 20, 2011 at 6:06 PM
Like Tracey, I'm happy to have you there, Michael. Especially after meeting you and seeing the kiln. I love what you're doing. I change into my clay jeans when I get back from morning coffee, then take them off (and replace them with clean ones) when it's time to make dinner or go out in the evening. That routine goes on for weeks, until they're so damn dirty even I can't stand to walk around in the cloud of clay dust that blows off them.
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Dennis AllenJanuary 21, 2011 at 7:43 AM
Thanks for the input everybody. I think The pair in the photo was clean on Christmas!A good stiff brush makes them last a little longer. All this makes me wonder if Charlie brown's pal Pig Pen was really just a potter on his way home from the studio.

Hollis I do appreciate the link but I must let you know I'm not Michael with the kick ass kiln. I'm Dennis from Ohio.
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HannahJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Hi,
Thanks for the mention Dennis, looking forward to meeting you in April.
Best wishes,
Hannah
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doug FitchJanuary 23, 2011 at 5:42 AM
Hi Dennis
Thank you for mentioning our trip, I look forward to meeting you. I usually wear my trousers for a week, by then they're so covered in clay I can barely bend my knees:-)

I also do the same as you - I make lots of big things, when I really need to be making lots of small things

See you in the Spring, cheers, Doug
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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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