Have Pots, Will Travel

The new pots fresh out of the kiln.

I have new pots! They're cooling down in the kiln. I'm pretty excited about them too! When they are cool enough to pick up without gloves, I will pack them up and take them to sell.

This load of pottery in the kiln was an effort of sheer will. After looking at my display at 1001 Pots I couldn't believe that I had forgotten to make small bowls! When the artist in me kicks in I become unpredictable even to myself. So there I was thinking, "I've got time," every time a new idea popped up through my hands and then pretty soon the date to pack up and go had arrived and I had forgotten about the small bowls (not to mention the teapots)...until I stood back and looked at my display. I looked around at others. Mine was missing....something. *sigh*

So I went home and thought about it, looked at the calendar and it seemed do-able. I kicked my butt all the way into the studio and threw 37 bowls.

They dried for a couple of days, I trimmed foot rings and then waited through the most humid weather for them to dry.

They didn't.

Last Saturday I loaded the leather hard bowls into the little kiln and force dried them and the next day they were ready to fire. The kiln shut off Sunday around 4:30 and then began the wait for the newly bisqued pots to cool enough to unload them.

Early Monday morning I cracked open the kiln and finally around 10:30 I unloaded the pots and got to work sanding, washing, applying wax resist to foot rings and as a design (spirals), letting that dry, applying glaze, waiting for glaze to dry, applying 2nd colour if needed, cleaning the foot rings and finally loading the kiln. I finished loading at 2 a.m. and set the glaze kiln to candle at 200 degrees F. I woke up around 5 a.m. today to check if the pots were dry yet by sticking a mirror inside the kiln (which is cracked open to let the steam out) and seeing if it's foggy. If there's no steam or fog on the mirror, then I can start to fire.

I closed the lid, put the spy plugs in, turned it up and went back to bed. I got up around 9:30 and things were going as planned. The weather held out the entire day. Blackouts around here happen. Brown outs are fairly common. I fire in an electric kiln, so brown outs cause me to pray that electricity comes back on and black outs cause me to swear loudly.

While the kiln fired, I planned a garden extension and a grocery list, placed a book order and a fall bulb order on line, checked my email and cooked.

Catching up

The Ladies who opened the evening's entertainment - 1001 Pots vernissage, Friday, July 11, 2008. Photo by JF Davignon.

First of all, my apologies for no posts of late. As things usually go, there just wasn't enough time to do it all. By that I mean laundry, dishes, blog and take pictures of my latest work - work that is now on display at 1001 Pots in Val-David. There was barely enough time to cook a good meal and many take out meals have been the result. That and those BBQ chickens that one can pick up in almost any grocery store these days.

This weekend I have absolutely nothing planned...well, almost nothing. There is that small matter of turning my almost empty shop into a place that still looks inviting and showcases my work before hanging my sign out at the top of the road. Seeing as it's now noon-ish, I think that will have to wait until after lunch.

Thursday's installation at 1001 Pots went well. The scene upon arrival was hectic. I was unpacked and completely set up in 4 hours thanks to Val, my stepdaughter.

I'm really happy with my pots this year. Five colours are represented - a rich glossy brown glaze that shows throwing lines well, an electric cobalt matte blue glaze that really catches the eye, a light blue glaze that I call Blue Jeans - it fires well to cone 8 so it works very well on the top shelf of my kiln which is the coolest place; an iron red called Tomato and Shiney White, which I used alone and in combination with Tomato, which turned out bloody gorgeous and is my new favorite.

The five colours are like the elements represented in the pentacle. Rich brown for earth, electric blue for water, light blue for air, iron red for fire and white for spirit.

Last night JF and I returned to the venue for the vernissage. It was quickly getting too dark for pictures, but JF managed to snap two (one featured above) and then the battery in the camera died. We'll definitely have more pictures from the show as the weeks progress. In the meantime, here's the latest from the garden.

Resting" Photo by JF Davignon

"Awakening" Photo by Valérie Davignon

"Awake!" Photo by Valérie Davignon

"Under" Photo by Valérie Davignon

"Co-mingling" Photo by Valérie Davignon

Come and Get Some Goodies!

2nd Annual Summer Sale

Poterie du Lac la Blanche
Friday, June 20, Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22
From 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

We invite you to come and enjoy a weekend of art, blooming gardens and sunshine!
For bargain lovers, there are bargains to be had! This is the only venue at which I sell my seconds, (pots which have slight imperfections).
NEW WORK will be featured too!
Mugs, pitchers, teapots, bowls, serving platters, tea bowls, goblets, garden art and jewellery! Orders for Dinnerware and Sushi sets will be accepted at the sale.

We are here.

Garden Pots

It's been crazy hot today. We're the hot spot in Canada right now and I'm hiding away indoors for awhile, sipping raspberry iced tea with lime.

After recent rains the mosquitoes are out in full force as are the dragonflies. I'll bet the bats will be out tonight eating their fill too. The blackflies are still out in droves. Their time is short and soon their little legs will turn white with old age and they'll die, but in the meantime I get fresh bites almost everyday. They're tenacious.

I've been busy in the garden, weeding, planting new things recently purchased from the greenhouse (Japanese spurge, astilbe, white bleeding heart, numerous annuals for planters and hanging baskets), and haven't been quite as busy with the pottery as I would like to be, but that's gardening season for you. My friends have been thinning out their gardens and I’ve been the lucky recipient of daffodil bulbs, lillies, chives, lemon balm, violets, a pink bleeding heart and Lady’s Mantle.

I really enjoy my flowers, planting them and watching them grow, seeing clumps of flowers that were modest a year or two ago getting thicker with blossoms every year.

Now that I have my plants in the ground I'll be able to focus on the pots. I've not been idle, mind you, I did a bisque firing the other day which means more stuff to glaze and fire in the coming days. And the last firing was quite successful, producing many beautiful pots. On my list of things to do is take pictures of those pieces before they get sold, but first here's a look at some pots in the garden.

Giant elf shoe planters filled with Johnny Jump-ups.

A large white planter that didn't make it through the winter outdoors. It cracked exactly in half and is now home in the garden beside the Creeping Phlox. (And those dead looking green onion thingys are the daffodil leaves dying back.) P.S. do not leave your valued planters outside over the winter! The clay I used to make it is only semi-vitreous. It has 3-4% porosity, so any water that seeps into the clay via the only unglazed part - the foot ring - will freeze and expand and crack the pot. This clay, I found out the hard way, is an unsuitable choice for an outdoor pot. I have changed the clay I use for outdoor pots to one with less than 1% porosity, however, I think if you value art, you should store your garden pots clean and empty in a dry place for the winter.

One Way or Another...

...I'm in the mud. Blackflies aren't keeping me out of the garden. I have a net hat and an economy size can of insect repellant.

Yesterday I planted some lillies and a few days ago, Lady's Mantle.

Look at what's growing in the garden these days. (Photos by Valérie Davignon)

Found photos

Not that y'all knew they were lost...

Fall 2007. Casserole dish in the garden - lid fused on with glaze (yes, it was an accident!) Photo by Valérie Davignon

Black Eyed Susan - Photo by Valérie Davignon

Star of Bethlehem - Photo by Valérie Davignon

Oops! Look at the time. I have a class to teach.
Ciao

73 Days to 1001 Pots

LM @ 1001 Pots, July 2007 with a Goddard Teapot. "I love shino glazes!"

In the world of pottery 73 days can go by in the blink of an eye, especially when that 73rd day is a deadline or, in this case, the opening of 1001 Pots - a month long pottery exhibition in Val-David, QC.

I was in this amazing show last summer and will be showing there again this summer. If you love pottery, this is a must-see exhibition and sale. 108 potters were involved last year and I think there will be about that number or slightly more this year!

Okay, now I'm starting to sweat! 73 days to bring some pots to life and even fewer days until I travel to Winnipeg for my father's 75th birthday. I have a dinnerware order to bring to my friends Colin and Barb, a wine pitcher for my sister, Toni and something for Dad. I don't know what, but making him an ashtray crossed my mind. At 74 and 11 months, my Dad is still smoking and (correct me if I'm wrong here, Dad) has been doing so since he was about 7 years old. I doubt that he was a pack-a-day kind of kid, but yeah, 7 years old.

I tried smoking when I was 10 and then again at 12, but gave it up when my best friend insulted me about the way I smoked. She insisted I was "wasting it" because I didn't inhale. Ha! That makes me laugh now. When she said it, I pushed the pack of smokes in her chest and said, "Here! YOU smoke them then!!" and stomped off.

I was just talking to my friend Suzanne the other day and we were reminiscing about the days when people smoked in the office, on buses, in restaurants, etc. and how I grew up in a house where 4 out of 5 smoked (I was the lone non-smoker), and a doctor I once saw walked into the examination room to see me with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, some serious muffin top going on that I could spy under his lab coat and he telling me I was fat and needed to lose some weight. Ha! That makes me laugh too!!

Anyway, it's pot-making time! I may not be posting too many things in the coming days and when I do, it may be short but I'll make it sweet.