Moving forward

I just fired off the wood kiln this last weekend.  It was a very good firing, I'm still digesting but so far I'm very pleased with it.  I've been working with this new slipware kinda thing with an ash glaze and it's been a struggle, but I think I've finally gotten the glaze just right.  I only had a couple of wasters in this kiln which is very good, considering that I've lost about 100+ pieces out of the last 2 firings.  I've been having a problem with my ash glazes blistering but this time around I slowed it way down from the time cone 7 was down.  With slips there is nothing to mature so there isn't really a need to slow it down or soak it.  Different story with the glazes.  I had a handful of pieces blister and I'm going to attempt to refire them, usually a waste with ash glazes but they're platters/bowls so I think it will be okay.  It was localized in the part of the kiln that got the hottest the fastest(the bottom backside) so I'll just have to watch that next time.

Here is the back stack:

 

The front stack.

 

The front wall of my kiln has been doing a lot of moving and needs a rebuild.  I'm seriously contemplating building a new kiln this next year if it's financially viable and if I can do that I'm not going to waste time and materials rebuilding part of my kiln.  I bought a couple sheets of cement board and clamped them tight to the front of the kiln, it seemed to do the trick.  I usually have so many gaps it makes the temperature and atmosphere erratic, smooth and steady this time.  Not very pretty though.  I'm a believe that kilns should be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.  They shouldn't look like crack whores.

 

Here is the stack post-firing.  Not a great photo but you can see some good color in there. Yee-haw!

Here are a few pieces from this firing.  I'm super excited about these. 

This is a piece from a previous firing, this will be at a show during NCECA called "Stoked in Texas".  A group show of Texan woodfiring potters curated by Gary Hatcher.  This is the piece they photographed for the catalog.

That's all I have for now...back to work!  Firing again next week.

 

Cheers!

Pribilof Stare

It's about midnight here and I'm waiting a bit so I can turn up the electric kiln and go to bed.  The end to yet another 15 hour day. If you are a Deadliest Catch fan you might catch the title reference.  I was spoiled up at the school with the computer controlled kiln.  The studio is mostly finished and I've been working steady in there.  I've been pulling a lot of long days since Thanksgiving. My two biggest events of the year are coming up in about 5 weeks.  My MFA show goes up mid-February(can you believe that is already coming to an end?!!!) and the week after that I'm heading off to Baltimore for the ACC show.  After those I'm going to NCECA in March and then up to the ACC show in St. Paul in April.  This MAY be my last year for the Baltimore show, I've given this wholesale thing a shot but I've not been that happy with it.  The money has been good but I don't like the compromise.  I've burned a couple bridges this year with my biggest accounts so it may not be as profitable to me as it has been, but we will see.  I like to think that I'm sacrificing to hold up the flag for artistic integrity, or I could just be an uncompromising bastard.  I have to say though, it's easy to stand behind the flag of artistic integrity when you're pulling a teaching salary, I'll admit it.  If there is one thing that Elmer Taylor has impressed upon me (ad nauseum) it's that the University is a patron that affords me the opportunity to work as I please.  Well, anyways. Here's a few photos from the last couple weeks. 

Some leatherhard teapots.

Large vase, I liked the texture on the ridges.

 Slab dishes, lots of slip work!

Bad construction practices keep my kiln going. 

Large bowls, more slip work.  These are made with my batch of Ocmulgee brick clay.  Gnarly stuff. 

The pots are stacking up.

My goal was around 500 pots for the Dec-Feb cycle, I'm sitting somewhere around 300 at the moment.  The problem for me is working that far ahead.  Once I've produced enough work for a firing it's hard to keep working because the question for me is what do I make?  I'm not immediately firing and getting that feedback that I can take into the next cycle.  So instead of working non-stop and then firing back to back I'll try and get a firing out next in about a week and a half and that will give me 3 weeks to get a some last minute work done for the second firing.

Well, time to turn up the kiln and head to bed.

Cheers!

Free Shipping!

Free shipping in my etsy store through next week.  Wednesday is the last day I can ship out to arrive before Christmas. Coupon code Free12

5th Annual Holiday Sale!

I'm getting geared up for our home sale this coming weekend.  I have plenty of good pots and I'm excited to show off the mostly-completed new studio.  If you're in the area stop by and say hello!

 

Cheers!

Holiday Sales

Looking for some handmade pottery for the holidays?  There are a few places to find my work:

The pots are up on etsy!  Head on over and check them out. 

I also have several dessert plates available at Akar.

I have a number of excellent pots available at Schaller Gallery.

If you don't see what you are looking for shoot me an email brandon(at)supportyourlocalpotter.com

Cheers!

Etsy Preview

Here are a few pots that will be going up on my etsy page.  They will be available Monday Nov. 26th at 9am CST.  This next week ALL pots on my etsy page will ship for $5 per piece.  A heckuva deal! 

Cheers!

Studio, etc.

I realized that my anti-facebook blog readers are probably a little out of the loop.  I've been working steady on my studio the last month and I've begun moving in.  I still have some trim work to do, the plumbing isn't run yet, the exterior is primed but unpainted, etc. but those are things that I can do without my stuff being in the way.  So here are a few pictures of the progress:
I chose beadboard for the ceiling, I just like the look. OSB for the walls, this is one of those things I kinda wish I hadn't done but it was $450 cheaper than regular plywood. Here I've masked the windows and floor so I can paint. 

This is the covered area off the front of the studio, the far end will get closed in, about 14x6' and I'll use that area for storing raw materials, some show stuff, and odds and ends.  This is how it'll be for awhile, the tin for the roof and the enclosure will come later as the money materializes. 

Here it is after painting.  The wall is a different color than the white ceiling but it is practically indistinguishable in the sunlight.  I got a heckuva deal on a airless spray rig, so hands on time for masking, 3 coats of paint, and cleanup was about 5 hours.  No way I was rolling a beadboard ceiling and 12' walls!

I'm in the process of getting moved in and getting all the fixtures built.  I've built a new larger wedging table, storage shelves for glaze materials and buckets, and enough ware rack storage for 2+ firings (thinking ahead about a larger kiln...more on that later.)  My treadle is there in the corner, my kickwheel and electric will go up against that wall as well.

The Texas Clay Festival was last month and was a stellar show!  I debuted a new line of work, I've been toying with this re-interpretation of slipware but with high-fire wood and ash glazes.  I'm pretty happy with where it's going and the customers seemed to like it as well, I only had a couple of these pieces left at the end of the show. 

 

While not performing its intended function I'm sure Scott would be happy to know this pot is getting plenty of use every day, and performing admirably! 

 

 

I'm in the process of photographing pots for an etsy sale this month...stay tuned!

 

Cheers!