Challenges

Here are my teapots I finally finished. I'm happy with the one in the middle. Trying new things proved to be more mind boggling than I had time for in this particular last week of making wet work. It's so easy to stay 'safe' and do what you know, so changing these forms a bit, I guess I expected the resolutions to come easy. But of course, these things take time. I'll do more after this firing to take it further. Some good discussions on this subject were recently at Ron Philbeck's blog, (be sure to check out the readers comments, too).


These funky little pots above are an extended version of my ewers, now turning oil pots, I think. At Watershed I let these forms go wild, ending up with very asymmetrical forms. I've heard steamboat and lately have been thinking 'ducks'. (Could this new inspiration be stemming from the fact that I am a new chicken and duck owner since I moved to my new house?)

What I'm wondering though, as these particular pots continue to step out of the realm of functional and into the realm of pots that are____?_____ (fill in the blank), what does this mean for me? Do I want these to be functional? Should I step back into the practical comfort zone of a pot that a user knows what to do with, or should I go with my instinct of making these solely for the challenge of an interesting, complex form? There certainly isn't anything wrong with either direction, I know. I have always loved making functional pots that are meant for people to use and enjoy. These are thoughts I will have to keep thinking about. I'd love to hear your thoughts too!

Early influences

yesterday's teapot construction site

I've been trying a couple different teapot forms than my usual form that I've been doing for a few years. I usually like to take a form and make that form for a very long time, refining little details with each making cycle. Now I thought I'd try something different. I love making teapots, connecting all of the details.

The other day we had a spout of chilly rain which made the studio cold and none of my pots dry. Yesterday after having a small fire in the wood stove, the sun came out and the pots started all getting ready for attention at once! Something about the cozy weather made me want to listen to classical piano music the other day. I kept thinking of how similar the details in my pots are to my attention to detail in music. I grew up taking piano and flute lessons and although now my focus is in clay, I do think the dedicated music practice did have a major influence in my creative development. I enjoy playing with some of the same qualities you find in music that I put into my clay work: contrast, repetition, texture, and variation to name a few.

Clay and Blogs

There is an opening reception this weekend October 1, 2010 in Southern Pines for an exhibit that I have work in called Clay and Blogs, Telling a Story. The exhibit will be at the Campbell House held by the Arts Council of Moore County. The pieces I sent for the show include a reed jar, a ewer, and an oval serving dish.

Here is a description of this interesting show of potters who blog.

There is an online portion of the show here.

And lastly, this link takes you back to a post about why I blog that I wrote last January after being invited to participate in the exhibit. I hope you are able to come to the exhibit. It will be a great selection of pots from great potters!

Details

Some new details are appearing in my work these last few days, like a notched foot and peaked handle to match the peak on the rim, as well as a lobed vase inspired by a flower bud I saw the other day. I'm in the last day of finishing pots before glazing. As always, my hands don't want to stop making pots at the wheel. Usually by then the gears are warmed up and the clay is flying through my hands, as well as the ideas for new pots that I want to make.

But with every making cycle comes the firing cycle. So it's time to stop and glaze everything to have the wood kiln loaded by the weekend. There are still a couple teapots and ewers I'm trying to finish in time...

Bowls

Lots of bowls for this firing- ridge bowls and lobed bowls, and larger serving bowls, too! With these chilly nights and mornings we've been having lately, I've been starting to think of hot soup in these bowls! And of course, some of my favorite homemade bread.

Had a great late afternoon view from the studio yesterday.

Textures

As I've been working along in the studio, I've been reminiscing of my trip to Maine....again. I guess I never really stopped thinking about it. There were so many inspirations I found with my camera. So I thought I would revisit some of these pictures with you!

The picture above is of some rock along the coastline that reminded me of a lot of some textured clay surfaces with oxides rubbed into them.

Today I finished up a round of these bark plates, or wall pieces. They are extremely thick and textured and I love that about them. They have such a different quality than my thrown, thinner pieces.



I've also been making several of these bark baskets, pictured above. They will have a reed handle woven on them after the firing. There's a little one appearing lately, too. I'll have to make several of these.

And I'll leave you with more inspiring textures, forms, and colors that I found in Maine:

Worker bee

I'm a busy little worker bee these days getting ready for the firing. Lots of pots still to make....so many things to get to on the list!

It's feeling good, this making cycle. I can't help but feel revived in the studio, probably due to the Watershed residency, as well as being here in this new environment.

Ok, back to it!

Want one?

Join my mailing list and I'll send you one of these great show cards for the Spruce Pine Potters Market. I'll give you 10% off your purchase of my pots if you bring your card I sent you to the show!

It's coming up soon! October 9-10, 2010

Just email your snail mail address to:

joy-at-joytannerpottery-dot-com

Momentum

There's been a lot going on in my studio this week. With some rain we had, the drying rate slowed down, so I've been waiting on several large bowls to dry in order to trim them. So meanwhile, I just keep throwing more and more, as well as do some handbuilding. I love working continuously, although it is tricky to complete everything in time once they all get ready. It keeps my momentum up in the studio to have several things I'm working on at once. Above is a detail of some texture I put on my oval basket form. I hand build this form with thick clay in order to capture the deep texture that I want. With all the exploring I did at Watershed, I'm eager to try something different with this basket form I've been making for a while, I'm just not sure which direction to go in quite yet.

Reflecting

Now that I'm back in town and "settling" in, it's hitting me how much of a whirlwind this summer has been. I rearranged my life by moving my studio and home, even though it was only moving across the county, but I am still adjusting to a new pace. So far I really like it. Being at the studio, away from home, is a nice advantage. When I had my studio in my home, there were always things there to distract me from getting going early in the studio. Now I find myself waking up earlier and getting over to the new studio eager to work in the morning. True, there are new distractions at this shared studio, but the energy of a communal studio was exactly what I was seeking.

I also notice I am working more of a 9-5 schedule. Being self employed, I never wanted to regulate my hours so clearly, wanting to take advantage of the freedoms of being my own boss! However, after the past three years of working around the clock, I notice a change of pace in myself. It's nice to put in a good day of work in the studio and then leave and go home to relax.

The environment up here at the XChange is quite nice. Lately we've had some hints of fall to the breeze with cool foggy mornings and clear cool nights. Although I'm still 'settling' in, and even still unpacking boxes at the new house, I can't help but feel good about this change, and I'm excited to see how this new environment affects my work.

wood and soda fired plates from the first wood firing at the new studio

These next few weeks are going to be very busy as I make a lot of pots to fill the wood kiln to fire at the end of the month! It's been feeling really good to be back in the clay!

New directions

earthenware clay

I've posted some of my pots I made at Watershed. It was so great to use that time to focus on details of form rather than fired pots that I could sell. By trying something different with each ewer, I feel like I have new ideas that I can use again when I make some here at my studio. This one above has some elements in it that I definitely want to pursue further, particularly the area around the top of the piece with the lid (the salmon section) and the details surrounding the spout. These were low fired using earthenware clay, a completely new clay, glaze palette and firing range for me!

These complicated little pots are slow to make with all of the parts that I have to connect and details I add. But I really love a piece that I can really get into making, with each detail I add becoming a very serious contemplation. In my head while I'm working there are little thoughts like, hmmmm....I wonder what that would look like, or why did I put that there, or what if I did this, or can I do something completely opposite from what I normally would choose to do, and then, what would that be?

earthenware clay

low fire soda, earthenware clay

low fire soda, earthenware clay

The small soy bottle above was a fun one to play with, darting one side and trying different arrangements for texture and color.

soda fired stoneware

earthenware clay

So as you can see I have several new directions to go in regard to differences in the spouts, handles, and lids as well as exploring more altered asymmetrical forms. Some of them are small steps of change, others more medium sized. I'm hoping to get a few new versions of some of these in my next kiln load!

Groovin'

I'm back into the clay in the studio and it's feeling better than ever! This time around I'm making a kiln load of a lot of bowls as well as some larger serving bowls. And after my last round of successful plates from the last wood pallet firing, I'll definitely be making a lot of carved plates, both lunch and dinner plates. I have to prepare for two big retail events in October that I am in.

Save the date to come see my work in these great shows:

Spruce Pine Potters Market, October 9-10, 2010

October Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands, October 21-24, 2010

Reviewing

It's been fun posting about my time at Watershed. The time there flew by so fast it's nice to review it to remember everything that happened, especially regarding the thoughts I was thinking behind the pots I was working on.

Here's a link to a Watershed photo album that I created....

Enjoy!