Doing work for June Fair

Next week I'm traveling to Port Gamble to be with friends and participate in June Fair. June Fair is put on by the Barony of Dragon's Laire and is a large event. I've only been to it once before several years before, it comes at a busy time for me. This year with Crown Tourney so far distance for travel I thought it would be a great time to go back to June Fair. It sounds as if many of my friends will be there too.

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I'm doing a lot of cooking ware for the event. I've been very enthused about cook ware, particularly the pots that go directly on the coals. I've enjoyed cooking in them myself, which makes it natural to spread that enthusiasm. Tripod pipkins, such as those in the picture above, seem the most fun, they are such appealing shapes.

I have also been working on the simpler cooking pots without handles, cauldrons, Anglo-Norman jugs, braisers, pipkins, frying pans, and pouring bowls with feet. The last group of cooking pots I included stamped and carved surface design. Some of the design I covered with glaze, other design I let the warm red clay show off.

This picture shows some of the footed pouring bowls and the porringers. There are also some Anglo-Norman footed jugs in the back of the picture. The jugs also can go on the coals for cooking or for heating water. I like using them too they have multiple uses.

In the foreground are some non-cook pots too, bowls, Medieval goblets, and small jugs with piecrust feet. Actually, I because I use the same clay formulation for these pots as I do the cooking pots they to could be used for cooking in firepits if just that exact shape was needed.

Most of the Medieval cooking pots I have loaded in the kiln waiting to be fired tomorrow I made cooking pots without handles, feet, or lids, and green glazed them. That is I didn't do a bisque firing, but put the glaze on the dried pot. That increases the possibility that some may break, or that the uneveness from throwing or trimming..... if there is any, will cause them to crack in the kiln. I also spent most of the day force-drying the green glazed pots. We will see how successful this was when I unload on Monday.

Some pottery from the Renaissance Fair

The weekend's sunshine helped everything, even when it came to photography of the pottery. The weather was an additional joy to the weekend.

The green ware was popular with people this year. It's the first time in Moscow I've had this glaze style combined with this particular surface decoration on display. I will be making more soon, particularly the decorated mugs on tripod feet which sold out and had people inquiring about more.

Some of the Celtic knotwork I had available. These are time-consuming to create, but of course I love to do them. I go through phases when I become obsessed with a particular Celtic or Viking animal to engrave. This depends on what animal I am thinking of or noticing during my non-pottery hours.

Huckleberry glaze series. I like the glaze with the small coil on the rim, such as the bowl on the top left. It gives the pot a subtle elegance that just seems to work with the purples. Huckleberries are precious things for me and I intend to go hunting for the real things this summer after a long hiatus.

And, of course, my dragon ware, nestled amongst the Celtic knotwork.