Saturday, May 28, 2016

Next Test

a little closer...
Wyatt says he likes the white creaminess more than the first test...
a cone lower creates more milkiness against the facets
the facets provide both visual and more importantly tactile interest
got to make more small bowls and cups for the test kiln, some
altered glazes
and keep searching...
think I'll try some rice in this bowl this morning and see how it feels...
a small step closer, but a step none the less...
it has a nice ring!

Friday, May 27, 2016

a cup and the mystery of a future...

as the rejections from the craft shows continue to come in
and my ability to make a living continues to wane,
my experiments searching for something simple continue...
I always loved the old Shino pots
they were stark, fat, semi translucent white, with clay peeking through from underneath,
current trends and beliefs to the contrary...

I once complimented a white shino piece of someone's
from a wood kiln as beautiful and was corrected...
told in no uncertain terms, that that was an "undeveloped shino" and was useless...
what do I know?
what I do know is that food loves that glaze...

so these earthenware tests are looking for a similar effect at a lower temperature
fully aware of the surface changes that will create...
perhaps it will seem more like Hagi ware or even eventually "Rat Shino"...
I don't know at present...
I'm looking for a lower price point and a chance to survive as a potter...
imagine making a weeks worth of work and firing it the next week!
getting closer,  but a ways to go still... thinking
some Neph Sy to spread the melt more,
these frits don't like thick application and I want that for its feel in the hand...
we'll see as the project moves along... test, test, test...

it remains a mystery to me that at the height of my abilities,
in my opinion, making the best work I've ever made and finally
as I'm making the pots I saw in my mind as a young potter,
I am unable to be accepted into the shows that for years provided me
an opportunity to make a living...
it is a tough pill to swallow... I have no answers... never did really...
anyone know of a job for someone like me out there?

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Luna

each spring for an always varied period of time
my unused studio door is visited by Luna moths...
sometimes in groups of 4 or 5 at a time...
it is always exciting to see them,
where they come to rest
and how they arrange themselves...
though seemingly the same, each one
has it's own individual quirks of color, border banding
or eye intensity...
this is the first of this spring..
there's magic all the time here in all sizes...

Earthenware bowl...

first bowl from the new earthenware tests...