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.

Rennaisance Fair is coming!

and it will be here this up-coming weekend. I have attended this fair since it's beginning year, which was (gasp) 35 years ago. I am the only artist who has had a booth there every year.



These are some of the green pots I will be glazing for the fair. I am exploring some different surface designs and trying an approach that is much more "loose". The two teapots on the upper left are great examples of the differences between a loose and a more refined teapot shapes.

These will be glazed mostly in the huckleberry glazes, but I want some in greens and others in the raw-sienna glaze I'm working with as well.

It's very exciting antcipating how they will turn out after glaze firing.

Empty Bowls recap

Empty Bowls, 2008, was a success for the Palouse Studio Potters Guild. We made over $1500.00 for Hunger organizations and had a great time doing it, although it did take quite a bit of work. I was proud of the Potters Guild members for their dedication and good energy.

Intended for Empty Bowl Donations

This Phoenix bowl was painted with underglazes and fired to cone 6.

This paticular influence was from a Medieval Persian fabric design.

Another Bird Bowl, also Ancient Persian in design for both interior and exterior

Bowls, bowls, and more bowls

These freshly thrown bowls are destined to be decorated by friends.

The Palouse Studio Potters Guild is holding an "Empty Bowls" chairty April 19th. For this we gather handmade bowls. http://www.emptybowls.com/ The website says: "The basic idea for Empty Bowls is simple. Participants create ceramic bowls, then serve a simple meal of soup and bread. Guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder that there are always Empty Bowls in the world. In exchange for a meal and the bowl, the guest gives a suggested minimum donation of ten dollars. The meal sponsors and /or guests choose a hunger-fighting organization to receive the money collected".

We are actually asking $15.00 for a bowl, still a great bargain. The funds we generate will be given to Oxfam and a local small town food bank that is in dire need of food.

This is the most wonderful activity. The Moscow Food Co-op provides 2 homemade soups and bread. We have offers of about 200 bowls from potters. The unfired bowls in the picture above will be decorated by non-potters (but artistic people) in two small workshops. I am also donating quite a few bowls.

This is another example of my Celtic Knotwork pottery. Bowls are such wonderful designs to decorate.

This is a simply designed soup bowl, simple for me and the way I work anyway.

Bird designs after high firing

These plates & bowls from the previous post were fired to cone 6. I found I liked the underglaze applications best. I still have quite a bit of experimentation to do until I am satisfied with the cone 6 faux maiolica. The application of white glaze base upon which the maiolica is painted needs improvement I think. The glaze texture was lovely, satiny-smooth, after having been fired though, there was some glaze peeling before firing.

This Pelican plate is now in the collection of Brighid, Baroness

Dragon's Laire. Given to her by an anonymous friend. I've been asked

who, but my lips are sealed.

Mistress Sine has spoken for this raven bowl. I am happy with

the glazes, but would like to fire it one more time to

smooth the texture more.

All in all, I was excited by the outcomes of this firing and plan to do more without waiting to get snowed in this time.