Whistle Creek: Hello November

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hello November

Hey everyone. Just a quick update and a few pictures before I head off to Dillsboro N.C. for the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival this weekend. No, I haven't stepped up to the big time yet, I'm helping friends Mike and Karen Baum in their booth. There are some really topnotch potters there so I always look forward to going. It is also the one time a year I play with other musicians. Not a big deal just a Thursday night campground jam but it is a lot of fun. You've heard me play and sing on this blog before so you will understand that I sound much better in a large group. The other guys appreciate it because they sound so much better when I stop.

I finally glazed and fired a cone 6 load and have another one ready to go.I have included pictures of some of the salad bowls and baking dishes. I have also been trying out a new "MUDTOOLS" drag tool. It seems to work pretty well but you need to keep the waste clear. Lastly, the roof job on the shed is 90% done. We had to order some trim or it would have been done last week. Now we are waiting on weather. Ohio has been wet and cold with some snow this week. I know some of you got a lot more bad weather than we did. Hope you are all ok.

8 comments:

Tracey BroomeOctober 31, 2012 at 3:11 PM
Loving those very large bowls, not so much a fan of fluting, but that is a tool I haven't seen, there are all sorts of things you could do with it for decoration!
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Dennis AllenOctober 31, 2012 at 3:31 PM
Thanks Tracey the big bowls are good sellers with a good margin on them.The fluting is just a diversion to help keep me from being productive.
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Barbara RogersOctober 31, 2012 at 5:16 PM
I'll be slowly walking around Dillsboro this Sat also...may get to meet you actually!
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June PerryOctober 31, 2012 at 6:14 PM
That's a nice one, It seems to cover a wider area than the ones I have. I love glazes like Nuka or Temmoku over fluted pots. Hint hint. :-)
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Melissa RohrerOctober 31, 2012 at 7:27 PM
Like the mechanical style knobs you made for those fluted containers.
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Linda StarrNovember 1, 2012 at 3:30 AM
Your new pots look great and I second Melissa's comment about the knobs, have a safe trip.
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Dennis AllenNovember 1, 2012 at 7:53 AM
Thanks all. Yes, I like the knobs too. With them the whole pot becomes a gear, otherwise it's just a fluted pot.
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cookingwithgasNovember 1, 2012 at 7:40 PM
Oh- nice tool- keep playing with it. It will take you places.
I used my mug from you many times this week,she is a favorite for tea.
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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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