Real Life Gets in the Way

Once again real life has kept me busy this week and prevented me visiting my virtual world in the blogosphere  as soon as I would have liked. The picture at the left is a large platter that I got out of the gas kiln yesterday. You really can't see it online but the ash glaze is shot full of golden crystals. It is about 14" wide and 3" deep. Big enough to say hey look at me but not too big to put away if necessary. It is also one of the few pots that came out exactly as I envisioned it.

Besides working on pots, Studio construction marches on. With the help of friends and family, we got half the ceiling installed and insulated. The metal ceiling looks great, is prefinished and will never need painting. I also added a porch light for those late night trips to the kiln. No pottery tip this week. I have more tips in production but you will have to ask for them if you want them. Let me know.

Blue and White plus a Quick Tip

The platter shown above is just another example of the cobalt spongeware. Somebody liked the coffee server I showed you a couple of weeks ago enough to buy it so I guess I can make more.

I also wanted to do a little follow up on the MDF bat projects.  First, if you have not used this type of bat before, you should slightly moisten them to raise the surface fibers. Otherwise you may not get good adhesion. Second, if you are patient, you need not wire your pots off the bats. Like plaster, they will absorb water from the bottom of your pots and just let go when they are ready to trim. Lastly, go to the hardware or home center and buy a couple of self adhesive sanding disks. Stick one on one of those bats you made and you can use your wheel to smooth pot bottoms.

The tool at the left is very useful for beginners to use when trying to figure out how thick the bottom of a pot is. Just drive a brad into the end of a short piece of dowel and clip it at the thickness you want your bottoms. If you push it into the bottom of your pot. It will leave an imprint of the end of the dowel. Stick your finger in the imprint and open to that depth.

For those of you who are interested, the studio is slowly coming along. I finished painting the drywall. Next is metal ceiling and more insulation

Two Great Shows and a Potter's Tip

Hey everybody. Last weekend I had shows in Bellevue, Ky and Loveland, Ohio. Both days went very well. Not only were my totals good but I sold some larger pieces too. The black and white jar from the last firing, GONE, spatterware coffee set, GONE, all my plates, GONE, large ash glazed jar, yup, that too. And, PRO PAY says there in money in my account so I didn't screw up the credit card info.As a rough gauge of how well it went, It usually takes me two hours to pack up and load after a show. Sunday took an hour and fifteen minutes. I'll find something to bitch and moan about soon enough, but not today.

I can't thank the volunteers for these shows enough, they carried crates and fixtures, watched my booth for me, ran errands and even helped a very good customer carry pots to her car. Another great thing about Sunday was that I won a ribbon and $25 for third place in ceramics, glass and sculpture. The great part is now,(in the true spirit of the internet), I can say AWARD WINNING, as seen in CERAMICS MONTHLY, Whistlecreek Pottery. OK, it's a little much but I had to say it once.

I heard from a few people who were making bats so I added some info on how to make an insert system. If you don't have a table saw, you know someone who does and all the cutting can be done in 10 minutes. Ask them, they'll help you out. Just figure out how big you want your inserts to be and follow the pictures. I wanted to use 6"squares so I started with a 12" square of MDF and banded it with 3" strips.You should also seal your bat holder with some polyurethane or lacquer to make it last longer.

More New Stuff and Potters Tip

I have been trying to add some pizazz to the booth and thought the old cobalt blue spongeware might do the trick.I don't know if it will sell but it may get people to give the booth a closer look anyway

I had a big tub full of scraps to reclaim and that soft clay just screams to be platters so I threw until it was all gone. Here are some of the results..

Here is a quick tip that will save you $20. A small Talisman  sieve that fits the top of a jar is about $25 at the clay store. A permanent coffee filter is $4 at Sprawl Mart. It makes a fine sieve in both senses of the word.

With a show Saturday in Bellevue and another Sunday in Loveland, it has been a busy week at Whistle Creek.I have been glazing and firing all week but I did find time to set up an account to accept Visa and Mastercard. Look out big time here I come! If you made any bats after reading last weeks post, you'll want to stop by next week so I can show you how to make a system of removable inserts that are quick and easy.

Finally, a lovely plantation desk has come down from my mother in law who went into assisted living.Very shortly after we sat it down, Eddie, the king of the castle, found a new throne.

Potter's Tip

Well read individuals will have noticed that the banding wheel plans featured in last week's post were also featured on page 14 of this month's CERAMICS MONTHLY as Tip of the Month. I had sent it in several months ago and heard nothing so it was quite a surprise to see it in the magazine. Now I can say my"work" has been featured in CM. ( I just don't have to add that it wasn't my pottery.)

Riding the crest of this success, I thought I would talk about bat making. It seems we never have enough bats, we never have one the right size or both. 1/2 inch Medium Density Fiberboard(Masonite)(MDF)
makes a pretty nice bat especially if you seal them with some clear lacquer or polyurethane. A 4x8 sheet is under $25 and the home center will cut it down to manageable pieces for you. One sheet will make 32 12 inch bats or 18 16 inch ones. That is a huge savings and not that much work. If you spray glue some scrap foam to one of them, you have a trimming bat that will hold most things on center without all those little balls of clay. Just press down with your left hand and trim with your right.

I am trying to show the process with captions on the pictures so you may need to click on them to enlarge them enough to read the notes.I hope I get them up in order but if not, its not rocket surgery.You are smart enough to figure it out.

There has been a discussion about shameless self promotion on the web this week.Please note that I have said nothing about the show in Bellevue on the 11th or the one in Loveland on the 12th. I have even resisted the urge to tell you that if you mention this posting, I will give you 10% off any purchase at these shows. Saying such things would be crass commercialism and clearly beneath me. I just wasn't raised that way. Also just a quick thanks to the folks who came out in Xenia last week. My work was well received and I sold enough to make it worth while. That's it for now. Just follow the pictures to

make your own bats.