kiln and pots

these are some pots that i have been working on. i have ceased doing production ware for awhile so that i can concentrate on a bunch of new ideas and hopefully make some good work to get me into grad school.

this is thrown and then paddled to give it some sharp corners. its not finished and i'm not sure where its going, but i like it.

this is my barn. even though i live next to a cult, i always love the view when walking to my barn. i feel really blessed to live here.

pile o' bricks. these are fun to move. not.

this is the base of my kiln. on the left is the firebox, you can make out the stoke hole just below the pole, and the ash cleanout on the bottom. the stacking area will be on the left right in front of the flu channels. the arch will be about 4 feet tall above the stacking area. i was hoping to get the arch up today but discovered that metal barns are really hot during the day. i'm going to have to cut some windows for cross-ventilation when firing so i don't die from heat stroke.

closeup of the firebox(left) and stacking area.

front of the firebox. you can see the holes for air and for the hobs.

new ideas and a new kiln

this is a corner of my barn. this is where i am going to build my new kiln. after i level the very unlevel floor.




these plates are a series that i've been toying with from time to time. i started them when i was in college, but they were never very successful, cracking and whatnot. generally pretty ugly. i was trying to be don reitz, so they weren't very original. there is still a heavy influence in these but i think that i've successfully made them my own.

these plates are pretty stout, i start with about 40lbs of clay and lay it out into a real thick platter. the distortions on the rims are done before laying out the rim all the way. these ones run between 22-24". all the "decoration" is done while it is still wet on the wheel. i wipe and rib away any throwing rings and then lay down a sifted layer of kaolin and sometimes some wood ash accents. i always push in some little pieces of dried clay. thats kind of my signature.

i really enjoy making these from time to time, it lets me do something a little more expressive and risky with a medium that i'm comfortable in. it pushes my limits physically, 40 lbs of clay is no small feat to work with. it also pushes me creatively to find a solution to decorate this large open surface using only raw materials, there is no glaze on these pieces. i rely purely on the texture and kaolin dusting mixed with the salt and ash in the kiln atmosphere to give it the appropriate surface.

gutting and remodeling

these are a bunch of photos of gutting and remodeling my house. it is now about finished and when i get the chance i'll put some pictures up of the finished product.
i'm sorry these photos are all out of order, this blog wouldn't let me rearrange them once i uploaded them.

installing shower tile.


gutted bathroom. its really hard to adequately describe the feeling of apprehension when seeing a room like this. at this stage its hard to imagine it all getting done.

working on kitchen drywall.

jed helping destroy the kitchen

this is looking from the rear bedroom through the middle bedroom to the front bedroom.

this is me underneath the house installing new waterlines.

kitchen cabinets i built.

new kitchen tile

my bedroom. i hate drywall.

new bathroom floor

working on the bathroom floor

kitchen drywall

hallway framing, discussing with my mother the size of my hallway closet.

kitchen, bedroom closet and pantry framing

new bathroom framing and plumbing

yeah for working under the house.

gutting the kitchen....still

did i mention that i hate drywall??? but i love my dog.

ripping out the old kitchen.

new studio

so i have been steadily working on my house for the last 4 and a half months and it is finally habitable enough for me to get to work on my studio. this new studio is probably one-fifth the size of my previous, and the ceilings are only 7 feet tall. i began by having to clear out all the old junk left by the previous owners. this required use of a twnety cubic yard dumpster which i filled. you know that scene in pollock when he breaks open the door to his barn and it is filled with crap? yeah, it was kinda like that. after cleaning all that mess out i built a wall to divide the space for my studio and for my shop stuff(power tools, lawn mower, etc.) then i ran all new wiring, becuase it didn't have what i needed, and what it did have was very shady. i have moved all my equipment in but i have yet to decide the best way to arrange everything, all i know is that i want my wheel to be at the window so i can look out across my land. i've never had a window in a studio before, and it is well worth the size reduction for a little sunlight.