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.

In My Snow Island

This pelican design was done in underglazes and will be

fired with a transparent glaze over all.

During my enforced vacation/marooned status, I did get some ceramics done. I brought some bisqueware, cone 6 maiolica base, and underglazes into the house and painted birds on the bisqueware. It was so much fun.

I've noticed Canadian Geese in the air and on the ground

even during this bad weather. They are inspiring to see.

This one is painted in the style of maiolica and will be

high fired.

The Raven is a bird I am always in awe of. Wonderful

birds and the symbol of the trickster.

I used underglazes to paint the bird on the bowl, it will

be covered with a transparent glaze and high fired.

Late Winter

The end of January '08 was a time of difficult weather. In two weeks over 3 feet of snow was dumped on us and the wind blew it into impassable drifts. At one time I was stranded in my house for five days as my car was stuck and I couldn't physically walk through the drifting snow to get it anyway. It could have been a pleasant time to relax and enjoy the forced vacation, but I spent most of my time trying to find a way out.

This is a view of my pottery studio from my front porch.

The roughness in the snow was where I walked the day

previous through 3 ft. of snow, the drifting filled my path

in again overnight.

I had sufficient supplies and heat, but I didn't enjoy the confiement.

When I did find a snow plow willing to plow my driveway, the snow berms were pushed up so high I still have to back the 1/8th of a mile back to the house because of lack of turn-around space from the snow. Then shoveling the sidewalk and a path to the studio commenced.

But all is well, now I can come and go as desired.

This is Amby on the sidewalk I dug out. I was worried

about letting him off leash because I couldn't go through

the snow to get him if he decided to bolt.