Whistle Creek: Day of Reckoning

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Day of Reckoning

Well, I reckon I'll have to make another big bowl. The 25lb bowl made it through bisque but got a rim crack in the glaze firing.Other than that it looks fine and I learned a lot about handling and glazing large ware.I'm not the first guy this has happened to so I might as well blame the clay like everyone else does! No cracking would have been a lot better but I am really not heartbroken about this. It was a learning experience.

On the other hand, the blue, the green , and the ketchup glazes are working great.I got good coverage and nice color on everything else in the kiln and with minor tapping, all the lids are unstuck.Actually, this part of the load is a lot more marketable than a huge bowl and a lot easier to carry. If any of you are in Northern Ky Saturday, stop by Augusta for Art in the Garden. It's supposed to be a beautiful day. Thanks for reading.

5 comments:

cookingwithgasMay 29, 2012 at 5:38 PM
there is my cups cousins!
Big pots=bigger problems.
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Michèle HastingsMay 29, 2012 at 6:22 PM
beautiful pots! I really like your ketchup glaze, probably because I LOVE ketchup.
I would blame the clay too... I never had a cracked rim until I started using highwater clays.
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Dan FinneganMay 29, 2012 at 7:25 PM
I still think it was cracked when you loaded it the first time...sometimes it doesn't show up until glaze fired....shame about that. What do you do with your seconds?
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Dennis AllenMay 29, 2012 at 7:51 PM
Thanks folks.Seriously, the main thing this bowl had going for it was the shock value of its size.Had I made a 10 inch bowl the same shape I would not have glazed it. The rim needed to be at least 3/4 inch thick and it wasn't. I'll make a better one next time, this one showed me I could center and throw 25 lbs so it wasn't a waste. Dan, I'm thinking 38 special. I don't think refire will help and I won't sell it. I might try injecting it with tinted epoxy then giving it to empty bowls to sell as a second.
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Tracey BroomeMay 31, 2012 at 8:32 AM
Awwww.... I'm surprised it made it as far as it did, I would have never made it past the wheel! Glue a found object on it for a perch and make it a bird bath, of course you would have to have something inside for the birds to stand on or they might drown! The other pieces are really nice though... The smaller my pieces are, the better they sell. For some reason people like small things...
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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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