Rimshot

If two is good then doesn't it follow that four is better?!

Still picking blackberries!

The Next Big Idea (bird department)

Click on photo to enlarge

Thinking about birdbaths...

Mongolia...or Bust!

My godson, Hugh (Toff and Georgie's son), is leaving today on a rally with a few pals for the next 10 weeks or so. They've bought a used ambulance, retrofitted it for the journey, raised thousands for charity and now today is the day to make it real. The lads will be writing a blog if you're curious to follow their adventure. Safe travels!

Catching Up

The summer is flying by and the best I can say about the weather is...it's not as bad as it could be! I famously despise the heat (what would you expect from a boy from Buffalo, NY?) and I continue to imagine myself picking plums in England. Still, I am getting out to the studio early when I can and the pedestaled bowls here are some of the fruits of that labor. I'd like to make some giant ones, but I may wait until I've put these through a firing. I worry about them warping.

You can also see a bird on a pot that hopefully looks like a silo..I'm going to play with a series of birds in/on architectural forms. I've been putting feathers on a batch of wee ones while watching the women's World Cup...fantastic competition!

peaches and blackberries...m-m-m-m-m

The summer bounty of produce is wonderful. I took Jason, Beth and Lucy to visit with Warren Frederick and Catherine White and joined them for the beautiful lunch you see below. A beautiful country home and studio, stimulating conversation and a very warm welcome made for a lovely day. Our pots and aesthetics couldn't be different, but how great is it that pottery can be so diverse and inclusive at the same time. Lots of food for thought.

lunch at Warren and Catherine's

I continue to be be amazed at the mentality that is still fighting a war that ended 150 years ago. The losers never let it go!

only in Virginia...

If you are following this here blog in North Carolina you might get a visit from Jason Hartsoe, my assistant, and Lucy Bresson, his friend from France via Ireland. They are both keen young potters and I'm sure that they will find a warm welcome.

A Hatful of Blackberry Goodness

My studio is in the far corner of a 65 acre country property and blackberries might just be the biggest crop that we harvest every year. They have become my favorites of all the berries (including Chuck and Halle).  Bright pink smoothies and blackberry crumble or blackberry jam with bay leaf - m-m-m-! And corn and tomatoes are on the cusp!

After some frantic months I am finding a little time to get back to the studio. Last time I started a making cycle I was overexcited about making birds. They were new and unknown. I still find them interesting and I will continue to make them for a while, but some of the bloom is off the rose. It's working out the 'problems' of a new idea that get me most excited...now it's time to refine and push some of the things I've explored. It is a different energy. 

All that is a long way to say that I haven't quite wrapped my brain around a master plan for firing #11...I've made a list of the usual suspects to make and I know that birds will be in the mix (I'm making a bunch of wee ones at the moment) but I don't have an overarching plan/theme yet. It leaves me a bit uncertain at the wheel. 

This is not an unusual state for me to be in. I like a good plan. Years ago I used to try and (like the old Communist Party) have a five year plan.  Sometimes it just takes a few days on the wheel for a path to be revealed. Meanwhile, it is a certain act of faith that takes me out to the studio these days. Waiting for illumination...

June Update

I will be putting many of the newest birds on sale this Friday at Libertytown. If any of you readers out there are interested you should let me know...last time I sold them all in 24 hours! Beth designed this new extra large banner for the show...we'll use it to announce each firings arrival.

My Homage to Myself

I visited Charles and Ellen  this week south of the city by about 20 minutes. They are planning on building a wood burning kiln and I thought that I could be of help. The only book they had to work from was Rhodes's kiln  book...circa 1950's! I do think I helped a bit. Charles has been building cool things on his property for a long time...gazebos, gardens, towers, a nymphorium(!?) and this gorgeous dovecote. It's not something that we Americans get to see very often. I know them from my days in England. This really is a beauty, although I don't believe that it's ever seen a dove!

Dovecote 

I've also been helping a visiting ceramic artist from Cuba who is teaching a course at the University of Mary Washington. They are having trouble firing the old Alpine gas kiln. Another relic of the '50's!

This is the entrance to the Arts Department at the University of Mary Washington

Marie's Pie Plate Choices.

Marie N. has been a steady supporter of this here blog for some time....all the way from Texas! It being pie season, I've ben promising to show her a selection. here are my 3 favorites from the last firing, my dear. The first is a little warmer of a color than appears in the photo. Next will be some teapots for Sara L. in Michigan!

kaolin slip/combed w/black dots

Kaolin slip/black glaze brushed

Crackle slip/amber glaze

The McAndrew Influence

Clear glaze over black slip over white slip. Cone 6 firing.

Dee Dee joined us for the big workshop this spring and, using the leftover slips, she is finding her own way with the slip trailer, inspired by the magic that Hannah showed us with hers. Very exciting!  

Racoon Family out for a stroll in the middle of town in the middle of the day.

What Frank Did!

Faithful readers will recall that the pots that these birds sat on had 'issues' so I had one of my better ideas and asked Frank to put his considerable wood turning skills to work. He did a superb job and we are both excited to see if we can push this collaboration further. He used cedar and walnut and myrtle and curly maple. They are fantastic!

Frank has a beautiful eye for from and I knew that he wouldn't try to do too much. Most of his work has very classic, understated lines.

"WILMA"

"VERONICA"

"QUINN"

I've noticed that the summer is always slower for the blogging community, but I hope that all these folks taking the summer off do come back. Perhaps it's an overdose of social media? I have my email account, a website and a blog, but I've drawn the line there. I can see how one could be fed up keeping track of twitter and facebook ad nauseum. I'm going to miss those Kline girls!

"ASTRID"

Bird Barrage...the Second Coming

3 Lonely Lids

I had a slip problem on the bases of these three lids but I plan to ask a wood turner friend to make new ones....might be even cooler than clay? They only stand about 4 " high.
This firing was the 'cleanest' to date...fewest seconds ever and the fewest needing refiring. If it will help I stick them in the electric kiln at LibertyTown and give them a bit more heat. 

"PETE"  Tea Jar  8.5"x4"x4"  

My last posting was mostly small tea jar sized pots. The rest of these get bigger and more elaborate. 

"EDGAR"  Lidded Jar  11"x7"x5"

"OMAR"  Tea Jar  15"x4.5"x4.5"  

Most of the birds get the crackle slip/ ash glaze treatment but these nutty rich brown ones are all kaolin and cobalt slips. They are a pain to photograph.

"GRAHAM"  Tea Jar  11"x5"x4.5"

These next two are so fat and I know that I'll be making more. They completely crack me up! I have to play the Russian stacking dolls trick (matryoshka)...a bird inside of a bird inside of a bird...having done a bird on top of a bird on top of a bird, why wouldn't I?

"IVAN"  Lidded Jar  8.5"x5.5"x5.5"

"HORTON/HILLARY"  Lidded Jar  12"x8"x5.5"

I made "GILBERT"at the same time as "IVAN", thinking of Laurel and Hardy. 

"GILBERT"  Lidded Jar  15"x6"x4.5"

This bowl and the double headed vase I think of as 'trophy' pots. They're pretty outrageous for a boy who has spent his days making mugs and jugs. I'll figure out a lid for these bowls next time.

"BORIS"  Pedestal Bowl  9"x16"x10"

I made one of these double headed pots for my last firing and expanded on that idea this time. I made 6 of different sizes and and shapes and surfaces. When I made these two I was afraid that they might not be big enough. Now that they're fired I like them a lot. The others are bigger and quite grand. I sent one off to a show in Texas already. Houston, that is. 18 Hands Gallery. More on that another day.

"YUL/YVETTE"  Vase  10"x17"x8"

"ZAZU/ZORA"  Vase  8.5"x17"x9"

These two candlesticks are the only ones I made...another avenue to explore!

"FOSTER"  Candlestick  10"x7"x7"

"ELOISE"  Candlestick  13"x7"x7"

I'm not sure what to say about this 'bowling ball' except that it is probably my favorite piece from the firing...I think that the form is just right and the glazes are all softened by the salt. Plus he's got a great expression. I'm getting better at that. The early ones were a little static.

"UMBERTO"  Sculpture  24"x10"x9"

This last piece will never make it into my humble photo studio. It's just too big. 4 different slips, all attempts at a blue green, turned out to be shades of blue. Tallest thing I ever made!

Top Dog  Bird

4 Bird Totem  40"high