Whistle Creek: Keep on Puggin'

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Keep on Puggin'

Astute readers of the right hand column will note that I do not have any shows scheduled for a while. That is mostly by design and partly due to a show cancellation. This is going to allow me to catch up on some chores and maybe even take a little vacation or two. It also allows me to play in the clay a little without worrying about production. Today's playing was to pug up some of the leftover Ohio Slip Clay that Gary Adkins gave me last year. Typically it's used as a glaze ingredient but it throws fairly well too. You can't fire it beyond bisque or it will begin to melt but at cone 05 it makes some very nice garden pots.

In other play news, a friend of mine has a small soda kiln and we worked out a deal for me to get some pots fired with his. I have about 40 mugs and a few utility jars in the firing and I am very excited to see the results.It's a very basic little kiln but Fred has been getting some good results.Hopefully, the next post will have pictures of orange flashed soda fired mugs.

Finally, I have a question for other bloggers. I have been seeing a big increase in daily pageviews (over a hundred a day) but they mostly do not show up in the left hand column that shows which posts were visited.Also they are coming from more than one site. I'm not that popular! Does anyone know what's going on?

2 comments:

Michèle HastingsJune 15, 2011 at 2:27 PM
salt firing... how exciting! can't wait to see the new pots.
i use google analytics to track visits to my blog and etsy. one of the things i had to do was to set it up to not count my IP address... i often visit my blog to see if other bloggers had updates. at least now my many visits are eliminated. i don't have a clue if that information helps you at all.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Dennis AllenJune 15, 2011 at 3:27 PM
Thanks for the input, but that's not it.I have verified that some unique visits to the posts are not being counted and I can't believe I have had 100+ pageviews per day for a week. My own visits have not been counted for a long time.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Comments are the currency of the Blogosphere. Remember to tip your waiter.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

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/.

*************************************