Tag: pottery

pottery

The Insomniac Potter Rides Again!

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OK, so it’s not exactly insomnia that rolled me out of bed this morning  but a commitment to play bells this morning with my Trinity Episcopal group.  And, of course, me being me, always sure that I’ll oversleep or forget that I’m supposed to ring, I calculate when I need to be up and out of bed getting ready, then set the alarm back at least 30 minutes to have a bit of a cushion and hang my vestments next to the coffee pot as a reminder.🛌⏰💤🎶

I’ve a couple of pots to show you all this morning, I apologize if these are a rerun.

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Rim Experiment

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Not the same pot, but similar.  The first of the rim experiments.

Glazed outside with Amaco Arctic Blue, outer portion of inside glazed with Deep Firebrick, middle portion with Rutile Blue, bottom with Arctic Blue, all Amaco Potter’s Choice glazes.  I’m on the fence regarding my glaze choices, I may need to fire a hair lower, like cone 5 instead of 6.  It’s growing on me.

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My current fave.  Glazed with Amaco Firebrick to cone 6.

These are currently in the damp box, slowly becoming ready for the bisque kiln.  Our weather has finally cooled, slowing the process, but making it much more pleasant in my garage studio.🙂

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Someday, I’m going to have a studio with running water.  The heat I can deal with — turn on a fan and work after the sun goes down.  I can handle the winter cold as well with a space heater and a sweater but carrying buckets of water back and forth is tiresome. Someday.

This has been a jam packed few weeks but I plan to take a breather after tomorrow and get caught up on listing pots on Etsy.  My shop is ClayDreamsPottery and I’d love to have you stop by!

Never put off till to tomorrow what you can do today.  Thomas Jefferson

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Knitting · pottery

Picking It Up Again

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That’s right,  the Insomniac Potter is back. It’s been a busy month, both craftwise and familywise.  My gray sweater is growing, but slowly, as expected.  I’ve started and and abandoned several pairs of socks and a scarf or two, but I think I’ve found THE sock pattern – at least for now. Have a look-

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This is the book-

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My Gray Day Gansey

Like I said, this sweater is slow going, but is totally worth it, I really love cables. It’s definitely not portable or what I call cruise control knitting, though. It requires my full attention sort of like a toddler — take your eyes off it for one second and you’re in the weeds, at least I am! 😋

Then there’s the pottery. Here’s one of my newest pots –

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This one’s a do over. The original glazing turned out to be so ugly, I immediately reglazed it.  I’m much much happier this time around!  It’ll be going up on ClayDreamsPottery on Etsy in the next few days.  If it floats your boat, let me know!

I have several pieces that are in that limbo between just thrown and dry enough to  trim and bisque. I learned the hard way not to fire anything I’m not totally sure is bone dry.  Nothing more discouraging than opening a kiln full of busted pots, but I’m also waiting for a couple of new glazes to come in before getting started on finishing them.

I always pass on good advice.  It is the only thing to do with it.  It is never of any use to oneself.  Oscar Wilde

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pottery

Fired Up

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FIRED

I had a great kiln firing this weekend – for a change.  I usually have a couple of successful pots out of each firing, but all of them turning out well feels like, well, a miracle.  One of the things I love about working with clay is that I’m constantly stretching myself creatively, either by learning new techniques or experimenting with different glazes and clays. I plan to list these new pots in my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery, but wanted to flash a sneak peek beforehand.

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That dark stripe there on the front isn’t really there, it’s a reflection.  The glaze, Amaco seaweed, just comes out super smooth and shiny – perfect except for the occasional pesky persistent reflection.

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Working on my lid making skills

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Not sister pots but maybe cousins

We must not say every mistake is a foolish one.  Cicero

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pottery

Go Big or Go Home

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Anyone else ever have kiln envy?  Not me…..at least not until about 30 minutes ago or so.

So.  Here I am, at home, minding my own business (sort of) and remembering that another potter friend told me about her new kiln that she bought off Craigslist.  I go to Craigslist – just to scope out if there are any kilns listed, mind you and find this:

 

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No, I’m not Memphis bound with a wad of cash, but someday I’ll want need a bigger, fancier, shinier kiln and you can just bet I’ll be looking at Craigslist more often from now on! 🙂

He who talks more is sooner exhausted. Lao Tzu

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Knitting · pottery

The Insomniac Potter Rides Again

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Good morning everyone! As you can see, my sleep pattern seems to have reverted into the good old 2 a.m. internal alarm setting.  (heavy sigh)  One good thing about starting my day in the wee hours is that it’s a great time to run the kiln, long before the sun comes up, and the heat and humidity start to build.

Here’s a look at a few things I’ve been working on:

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The start of a series of small bottles, all different

Glazes L to R

Blue Rutile, Textured Turquoise and Blue Rutile, Blueberry Spice, Textured Turquoise, Ancient Jasper

A pot I started yesterday waiting to dry enough to trim.

A bean pot that has been washed and reglazed several times. (I’m not usually this indecisive.) Final glaze is Textured Turquoise. (Probably)🤔

ON MY NEEDLES

The first five inches of the Gray Days sweater. Six more inches of stockinette to go then on to the best part – CABLES!  I absolutely LOVE cables!

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My Gray Days

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes

Haze Heather

Project notes can be found here.

There is no great genius without some touch of madness. Seneca

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PS I’ve added some new pots to my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery.  I’d love to have you pay a visit!

Knitting · pottery

Woo-Hoo! I Have a FO!

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Off My Needles

It’s official!  My Leksak Lady is finished, with ends woven, a nice Eucalan soak and ending with a good blocking and drying.  My project notes can be found here.

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My Leksak Lady

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Tweed Barn Door Heather

I’m ready for fall and cooler temps, could someone please get in touch with Mother Nature and pass that on?

In the hope that yes, fall is coming, I started a new sweater yesterday, Gray Days, a Knitpicks pattern.  I wish I could show you a photo, but nothing larger than a postage stamp will load. You can get a better look at it on the cover of the latest Knitpicks catalog.

Out of the Kiln

I’ve been working on a small bottle series and got the first bunch bisqued yesterday. Now comes the hard part – what glazes should I use?  Decisions, decisions. Here’s a photo –

 The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. Eden Phillpotts

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Random

Notorious RBG, Finally Home and Back to My Whee

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After taking what felt like the Grand Tour of Dallas and the surrounding area, I’m FINALLY home, safe and sound.  This trip had a little something for everyone, lost luggage, missed connections, airport closings, stormy weather and about a thousand unhappy passengers, hoping against hope that their connecting flight was still on the ground, just waiting to be reboarded to take their passengers to their final  destinations.  Unfortunately, I was not part of this happy group, having missed my connecting flight home, giving me the privilege of spending the night at DFW and catching the first plane that was  pointed in Little Rock’s direction.  The stars aligned, I boarded the first plane out and was home within the hour.

After my spouse and my dog, I was most happy to see my pottery wheel and studio.  After some breakfast and a nap, I spent some QT getting my hands back into clay and  starting on a small project that had been percolating in the back of my mind for a while — a set of small bottles, all different, but glazed in a similar way.  I haven’t even given much thought to how many I should throw or how many bottles will make a set.

Here’s a look at my project progress so far –

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Last, but most certainly not least, I scored a couple of tickets to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsberg lecture/interview last evening and was so happy to have Cindy to go with. RBG was amazing and was sharp as a whole truckload of tacks.  Don’t let the librarian bun and her super petite frame fool you, I don’t doubt that she can go toe to toe with any of the big, well fed (her words, not mine) male Justices that occupy the bench with her, leaving them in the dust and wondering what just happened.

I want her to stay on the bench forever!

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Random

Monday in Bangkok

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ON MY NEEDLES

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Ariel Socks

So far, the Ariel socks are playing nice, but they’ve been slow going.  Things are looking up since I purchased a nice, bright headlamp at Decathlon, a store similar to Academy Sports. I actually was at Decathlon to get a new water bottle, which I did, but apparently the placement of impulse items is universal – right next to the cash register.  That bit of extra light has made a big difference, I got through the first pattern repeat last night without problems.

I’m also working on a Leksak sweater, though I find the rows and rows of stockinette boring.  It makes for great plane knitting, I’ll give it that.

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Leksak

ON THE WHEEL

Not a thing.  While I’m in Bangkok, I have to be satisfied with surfing Pinterest and making endless lists in my head of glazes and techniques to try.  That reminds me, I need to order clay.  I’m thinking that if I order now, it will arrive in Little Rock about the same time I do.

FIELD TRIP

Here are a few photos of Iconsiam, a new mall here in Bangkok that has a replica of a floating market on the bottom floor, with traditional Thai food and crafts vendors, most wearing traditional Thai clothing.  Really, the photos don’t do it justice………..

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FYI – This is an escalator!

Action is the foundational key to all success.  Pablo Picasso

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Family · Knitting · pottery

Betcha Thought I Forgot About This Old Blog….

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OK, at 63 (!) I’ve been been trying on a few different personas, just one more sign of my decision to never grow up, but here I am once more, an amalgamation of several whos and whats, as reflected in my new title, Mud and String.

As I type this, I’m en route to Bangkok, Thailand again, accompanying Big Mommy and the three grands, the Papoose, the Sprout and the Peach. All growing up so so fast and leaving me in the dust regarding what’s cool and what’s not. Anyhow……..

This trip has been very crazy, beginning with the first leg of the 30 hour trip being delayed an hour in Little Rock due to weather in Dallas, setting off a chain of situations like dominos falling. First, we missed our connecting flight to Hong Kong and so were stranded in Dallas for 24 hours, waiting for the next plane to Hong Kong. An adventure unto itself…More on that later.

So here we are, 32000 feet in the air, five hours into a 16 hour flight, with the outside time showing as -43.6F, wearing clothes that were fresh yesterday – Wednesday morning around 5 a.m. –  closing in on 48 hours. The time is 4:49 pm on Thursday, according to my ipad. I pity our seatmates! 🤭🤭🤭🤢🤢🤢

We made it to Hong Kong! Here’s the view from our gate waiting area-

Before I close this out, a few pics of recent projects

Ninilchik Swoncho

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order.

 

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Everything Else

Etsy Preview

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Here’s a sneak peek at the newest additions to my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery. I hope you like them!

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Details can be found at https://etsy.com/shop/claydreamspottery

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.  Oscar Wilde

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Everything Else

I’m Back!

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Hey everyone! Remember me? Well, here I am, still an insomniac and getting over a back issue.  Actually, I developed back pain about a week ago that kept me from wheel and kiln until yesterday. Anyhow, I’m much better and eager to get back in the studio. 🙂

Here’s a sneak peek at a couple of things I was able to finish before my back turned on me.

First up is a  medium sized sized, textured vase –

Next, a sweet little ring bowl –

I especially love the green shades inside this little bowl!

These will be going up in my Etsy shop,ClayDreamsPottery in the next few days, as soon as I can take a breather from playing pottery catch up!

Knowledge is addictive. Keep it up.  Teresa Sjoquist

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Everything Else

This Week’s Sneak Peek

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Here’s a look at a couple of projects I’ve been working on this past week………

 

I’ve added some high fire clay and glazes to my supply of low and mid fire glazes and such and am thoroughly enjoying playing around and experimenting with layering glazes. I think this little vase turned out really well, don’t you?

Miss Dixie got a shiny new bowl this past week, thanks to my glaze experiment.  I had marked the new bowl in my head as a new bowl for her, then, when I pulled it out of the kiln, I had second thoughts because of how pretty it was. In the end, though, I stuck to my original plan, and Dixie has a new, pretty bowl.

 

Meals are serious business in Dixieworld!

 

The pretty vase will be added to ClayDreamsPottery by the end of this week, along with some other beauties still in progress that I think will be a hit so keep an eye out for these newbies.

Nothing happens unless first a dream.  Carl Sandburg

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