ADJUSTMENTS . . . .

making pottery is a lot like playing baseball ....... one is constantly making adjustments. there is no really good way to throw - sitting, standing ........ like most potters i learned to throw sitting hunched over at a wheel. after a ruptured disc caused by kicking a flywheel i started to throw standing. this was great for a long time but has it's drawbacks also. keeping your foot on the pedal causes one to keep most of one's weight on the left foot and cocking your hip so your spine is out of alingment. here is my latest adjustment. i got a stool and set it at an angle, padded the seat for my butt and now throw " sitting " with my legs in a more relaxed outstretched way. it's kinda like riding a motorcycle now. and i find i can keep my back straighter and get right over the wheel head. i'm liking the new setup, but if i drop anything it's a real bother to get off and pick it up. once i'm up there i want to stay awhile. we'll see how long this feels good.
here are some pieces i'm having fun with lately. a couple cruets that were thrown and then attacked with a pony roller.




the first of a series of square dishes. i had a couple drape molds made by a woodworker friend and have gotten the idea worked out. this is the only one that has been fired so far.

and a couple things drying - an oval baking dish and a squared, cut rim serving plate. i'm bisquing and have begun another glazing cycle in preparation for a couple firings later this month

please inquire about availability and prices.

jzpots@metrocast.net

603-942-7113

NEW WORK

following is work from the two most recent firings.

porcelain cup

this piece and the next one were made for "DRINK IT IN " - a show that will be at the Worcester Craft Center in Worcester, Mass. this Fall. i have just begun to work with porcelain on a regular basis and while i don't really like throwing it the glazes look so good on it i make myself use it. i tend to work fairly small which helps





the following three pieces are teabowls made with white stoneware and glazed with a combination of sprayed slip, orange matt and sprayed blue wood ash glaze.

this next piece is a covered sauce pot and is made from porcelain and glazed with the same combination as the teabowls. it is lined with temmoku.

this is a serving plate that was thrown and the rim cut when leatherhard. it is 10" diam. and is glazed overall with a Shino type glaze, dusted with wood ash, dipped in orange matt, sprayed with blue wood ash and trailed with a wheat colored glaze and white.

the following two shots are a new glaze combination that i am very happy with and look good on functional ware. the pitcher is 9" ht. the spoon jar 10" and the covered mug 7"

and this last piece is a platter that is 16" diam. slip trailed with thick white slip when leatherhard, dipped in orange matt, sprayed with blue wood ash with more wood ash dusted on top.




please inquire about availability and prices

jzpots@metrocast.net

603-942-7113

KILNGODS

potters are a superstitious lot. there is so much that happens unseen during a firing that the idea of using a figure to watch over and bless the firing came into being long ago. some of us that fire " by the seat of our pants " still find the idea valid ......... and fun. those that fire with the aid of a computer program probobly find the idea quaint, and maybe silly. i have come to a feel for what is going on during a firing by observing the flame at the burner, the amount of backpressure that occurs when the spy hole is opened, the look of the exhaust from the chimney, etc.. you might say i need all the help i can get. i'm starting a collection of kilngods from every firing. they are quite small. the mexican looking fellow below is just several inches long.




and this cowboy - buddha is even smaller. he kept watch over the the firing before the most recent, and the mexican fellow the firing before that.



i fashion them just after bricking in the door of the kiln and they get glaze fired in the following firing. they have been good to me and i will post some images of the two most recent firings.

Demonstration

yesterday, Michele and i travelled to Center Sandwich, to the League of N.H. Craftsmen gallery there, to demonstrate for the day. in 1926, Mary Coolidge started a shop to sell handmade work and named it Sandwich Home Industries. http://www.nhcrafts.org/center-sandwich.htm in 1932, the Industries went on to become the founding member on the League of N.H. Craftsmen. Center Sandwich is in a very beautiful part of N.H.. near Squam Lake where On Golden Pond was filmed. we felt priveledged to be able to spend the day there making pots and talking with customers to the gallery. Corner House Inn http://www.cornerhouseinn.com/ a great restaurant and Inn, is right across the way from the gallery. yesterday was our second trip to Ctr. Sandwich - we delivered pots to the gallery earlier in the month - and has become our favorite spot to visit. i have already talked with the gallery about coming back next year to do another demonstration and teach a class.

and speaking of demonstrations, we are scheduled to demonstrate at the League gallery in Meredith, N.H. next month and also at the League gallery in Littleton in Sept..

there have been two firings since i posted shots of new work and i will get some of that work photographed and on here soon.

enjoy the summer ~

Glazing

On Sat. I was talking about glazing. Here are some pictures of where that stands. The first shot is of my spray booth made from cardboard, duct tape and some nifty plastic fasteners that aren't visible. i spray a thin coating of slip on the bottom portion of pots that gives the clay some richness. It really is adding another " skin " of clay. You can see that in some of the shots. Also, that eliminates the need to wax the bottom of pots. I don't care for wax lines - they're too sharp. I've been spraying glaze more often as well as it allows for subtle layering and gradation. My spray gun gives general coverage and it might be fun to get an air pen at some point for spraying finer lines. This firing will include glaze tests using white stoneware and porcelain with the sprayed slip and some new glazes and combinations of glazes I've been using for some time. Also I want to mix up a concoction of soda ash, baking soda and salt to spray on top of glazed pots to see if it will approximate a salt/soda look. i was given some silica sand that was wedged into some porcelain and it looks great in a wood firing incorporating an addition of salt/soda. My aim is to see if that can be done in a regular gas firing. It could work ........

size does matter. or at least make a difference . . .

I'm nearing the end of a glazing cycle and loading the kiln as i go. it's a 60 cu. ft. kiln and holds a lot of pots. i do all my own work and it seems to take forever to get the pots in, the door bricked up and get the thing going. i think it would be great to have a smaller kiln and be able to fire more often. i always have glaze tests in every firing and am anxious to see the results.

i DO have a small guitar amp. it's a Fender Blues Jr. and it's all of 15 watts. that's not much when you consider players like Hendrix used STACKS of amps of 100 watts or more apiece. the thing about small amps is that you can really drive the power tubes 'til they distort and yield that " break-up " tone. ahh ...... the quest for tone. not too far removed from the constant tweaking of glazes. it's all the same to me, anyway. " lookin' for the heart of Saturday night ".

as soon as i can get this firing done there will be new images of pots to put on here. 'til then

happy trails ......

New Work

some new pots from a firing on April 21. the teabowls are small - about 4" in diameter. teabowls are "potter's pots". a favorite form we like to explore, born of the ancient tea ceremony/ritual. i'm not Asian and don't even drink Lipton very often but enjoy visiting this form regularly. it's a chance to "stretch out", in muscian's terms, and jam a little.

i've had numerous requests to make garlic keepers and have found them to be a popular item. they are 7" in height and retail for $35. just got a nifty hole cutter and used it on the latest batch that are in the bisque kiln right now.

the teapot has a spout that is "pulled" like a handle, cut in half, hollowed out and rejoined and attached to the pot. a lot of tedious work but it produces a gracefully curved spout. this is my first teapot with this kind of spout and i see doing many more like it.

all of these pots were sprayed with glaze. one can achieve subtle layering this way.

i'm well into another cycle of throwing and will be firing again in a month's time. it would be great to have a smaller kiln and be able to fire more often. mine is 60 cu. ft. and it takes a lot of pots to fill it.

jz jzpots@metrocast.net 603-942-7113 www.jzpots.com