Dragonfly Clay

wee break

2008-07-19T16:39:00.003-06:00

So the bowls are trimmed,

the handles are on,

the tumblers are thrown,

and I am off to Banff with my girlfriends. See you on Tuesday.

greenware as far as the eye can see

2008-07-18T14:08:00.003-06:00

Medium bowls waiting to be trimmed. I have been in my studio throwing pretty constantly. I feel like I need to make a lot because September will be here before I know it. That means classes starting and craft faires coming. I am doing two Christmas gift faires this year as well as my regular studio open house. I need a lot more work than I currently have. I also have a new show that I would like to be working on. It will all happen when it happens.

Freshly thrown coffee mugs waiting for handles (they will have to wait until tomorrow).

Different trimmed bowls drying on the shelves.

A very full damp cupboard also drying. I have all surfaces covered with green pots in various stages. Well, not entirely covered. I have room for about 16 more tiles on my table. I think I will go and throw some tumblers and fill up that wasted space...

a very busy day

2008-07-17T13:37:00.003-06:00

The Farmers Market was amazing yesterday. Tons of vendors and a whole lot of shoppers. I had an epic day and I am throwing my fanny off today (if only it were that easy...). Above is a shot of the beautiful wood turnings of Suzette Dunphy from Mystical Turnings. It was sunny too!

Because I have nothing else to blog about I will tell you about the amazing movie I watched the other night. It is a musical called Across the Universe and it is fabulous! I highly recommend it and I LOVE musicals.

progress

2008-07-15T15:28:00.004-06:00

My all time favorite glaze. The cups exactly as I imagined them. They are very thin and uniform. I am happy.

Ditto for the bowl. It measures 8 inches across and 3 1/2 tall. It is really light and delicate.

Less than stellar jugs in my mind. A bit thicker than I want them to be, but the colours are good.

My favorite from the firing. A very loose, very unpracticed line drawing of my laptop. I am going to spend my holiday time practicing line drawing and choosing what odd things I want to place on my pots.

Trimmed today, these are exactly what I am trying to head toward. They have very thin walls and I like the balance of the flared foot. I have learned that wanting exceptionally thin pots means that I will be doing a lot of trimming no matter how thin I throw them to start.

some days you have a lot to post about

2008-07-14T12:55:00.003-06:00

This is the new Art Gallery of Golden. It is looking good and I am pleased that my pots are there. It has only been open a week, so I don't have a read on how well things will sell yet. Summer is tourist busy though, so should be good.

This was dinner last night. Salad Nicoise (lettuce, black olives, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, tuna, boiled new potatoes, any other vegetables you enjoy), this is one of my favorites. I bring all the parts to the table and then everyone can assemble their own. This works really well with children. I always drink a lovely french organic white wine with it. Then I pretend I am in southern France.

The best part is the dressing, it is to die for.
Hollyhock Yeast Dressing: from Hollyhock on Cortes Island, British Columbia
1/2 C nutritional flake yeast
1/3 C water
1/3 C tamari
1/3 C apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp crushed garlic
1 1/2 C sunflower oil
Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a blender. When well mixed, slowly drizzle the oil in while mixing until desired consistency is reached. This is the best dressing ever and we also eat it on grains, or as a gravy for fries.

Freshly thrown bowls. I am trying to push my practice in a bit of a new direction. I guess it isn't really a new direction, I am just trying to push myself in a certain direction. I find that lately a lot of what is coming out of the kiln is ok, but not what I really want to be doing. I have decided to try and push myself in the direction of the pots I want to be making, the pots I will be proud of making. So first I had to catalogue what I wanted to be creating:
-really thin walled pots
-colours that really catch my eye and are unique in my area
-soft, flowing, organic shapes
-line drawings
-pots that are crossing the line from solely functional to functional art

This is a heavy order. I still need to make the pots that sell. I need to find time to let this new work evolve.

Fresh out of the kiln. They are now sanded and priced and on the shelves. I will post more photos of them all tomorrow. I am loving the little laptop cup.

simply sean and the CBC keep me going

2008-07-12T13:12:00.002-06:00

Glazed pots waiting to be put in the kiln. I am trying a new dandelion yellow as well as a bit of freehand drawing on the sides.

My favorite style of drawing is sort of a modified blind contour. I use a fine tip black pen and draw the essential lines of an object, not removing my pen from the paper and only looking every once in a while to ensure that I am not totally off track. I tried a bit of this on some of these pieces and if they don't totally suck you will see photos of them on Monday.

Water and margarita jugs.

Sean Cullen of CBC radio's simply sean. He is a very, very, very funny man, he makes my Saturday all summer long.

stamps and a bad memory

2008-07-11T15:47:00.002-06:00

A load of bisque waiting to be glazed. I really enjoy glazing. I use small post-it notes to plan out all of the different patterns and glazes I will use. Otherwise Iend up with a whole lot of the same thing or I just forget what my original intentions were. Of course my favorite time is when I get to open the kiln after a glaze firing.

Here are some new mugs stamped with my new alphabet stamps. I love working with leather hard clay. I come up with great ideas (or so it seems to me) for words and expressions to put on my pots and then I forget to write them down. When it comes time to stamp the pots I am always scrambling about trying to remember what my ideas were. Seems I have some memory problems, perhaps I should start writing things down...

These mugs are finished with my homemade stamps. I like them so far.

feeling good (and noticed)

2008-07-10T13:02:00.002-06:00

A lovely surprise today. I was reading my morning blogs which I greatly look forward to, coffee in hand. My first stop, Derfwad Manor, is being hosted by many other fabulous bloggers while the wonderful Mrs. G is away on vacation. Some very, very wise and funny woman are helping out and I have now added a slew of new blogs to my morning read. I am going to have to get up an hour earlier just so that I have time to read them all. Trust me, it is worth it. And to top it all off, Mrs. G. (or a guest blogger???) has put my blog and a photo of some of my work up on the sidebar with the heading 'check out this crafty derf'. I LOVE being a derf. I have already let my future husband know that my retirement plans include the Women's Colony. He can come and visit.

messy, but lookin' good

2008-07-10T12:43:00.002-06:00

Farmer's Market #2 yesterday. Entertainment was provided by the High Country Spinners. We had the chance to try out the spinning wheels and the drop spindles. I felt just like Briar Rose.

The down times find me reading as I can't just stare at people as they walk past the booth, I feel like a combination of a peeping tom and a zoo exhibit. This book is fantastic.

Proud of the alpaca yarn that she has created. We had a good time fantasizing about the alpacas we would raise and how we could all spin yarn and learn to knit. Lasted for about an hour before I was reminded that I don't really like the country (to live in) and am high tailing it for the city at the first opportunity. Kids and their clear sightedness.

I had an apron epiphany on Tuesday. I am a VERY MESSY potter. I am also concerned that I look good in the studio. This is also my gallery and I see a lot of people each week. These people come to the gallery because they want a little bit of the art and artist in action. Me in action is very messy and wreaks havoc on my nice clothing. I had been using this normal apron and found that it worked fine except for the entire lower half of my body which was always covered in clay. I snipped it up the middle so that it will separate and cover each of my legs as I sit at the wheel. It works really well and I didn't have to buy an expensive pottery version. If you are a messy potter who likes to wear nice clothing to work, I suggest you snip your apron.

the wedding is coming, the wedding is coming

2008-07-08T12:52:00.002-06:00

My theory is that by the time you are heading to your third wedding and by that I mean MY third wedding, I should be pretty relaxed. I mean honestly, I have to have it all figured out by now right? The wedding is small and intimate with only immediate family. The children are the wedding party and they are excited. I should be the relaxed, cynical bride. Anyone who knows me knows that I can't do relaxed although oddly I vacilate between cynicism and pollyanna-ness. I feel relaxed so far. I spend the day making porcelain heart pendants with everyone's name on them to use as placecards at the wedding dinner.

I also made a lot of porcelain leaf tea lights. I have a vision of us eating dinner outside overlooking the ocean at tables covered with beautiful candles. Hopefully the weather will accomodate me.

On a completely different note, here are my new folding, collapsable tables. I have now used them in one farmer's market and can tell you all that they are great! My mom picked them up for me at Rona or maybe it was Canadian Tire. Actually, I just realized that I haven't paid her for them yet. Sorry Mom! They were a great deal, they are easy to assemble, fit into my mini-van and did not break the bank.

13 years old

2008-07-07T11:46:00.002-06:00

Yes, this child turned 13 on the day this photo was taken. She is going to be an actress when she grow up. This is her impersonation of a viscious teenage mutant ninja turtle. We LOVE Value Village.

This child turned 13 as well. She is portraying a much sweeter and less viscious princess. She will grow up to do whatever the hell she wants because she has that kind of drive.

This is my friend and I coping with the day in the big city at the mall by finding the nicest lounge and drinking. *note - we only had one drink and did spend the day wandering the mall with the girls - the drink was purely medicinal.

4 teenage girls + huge mall + money = 4 very manic and happy teenage girls.

Here they go, loaded down, not tired and on to the next shop.

margaret, coffee mugs and home made bats

2008-07-03T16:41:00.005-06:00

These are my home-made bats. Not by me, by my father. They are made with MDF, I gave my father the measurements and he gave me about 10 large bats with pin holes. Matt took two of them and carved out the tile inset spot. I had to refine it with a chisel and they fit well now. I have found that you don't want ANY wiggle room in bat pin holes or tile insets. You have to measure carefully, err on the side of too small and chisel away slowly to fit. They have held up well. They are about 6 years old and are now getting a bit wobbly, time for new ones soon.

Here it is with a tile inset. Remember to create a space at two corners to dig your finger or some other tool into to lift out the snug tile. They are just standard terra cotta wall tiles from the hardware store. I just looked for the cheapest box and made the tile inset accordingly.

One of the greatest tools ever invented for creating smooth, strong rims. This is a small square of plastic cut from a bag of clay. I have a lot which is good as they are always going missing. They are easy to replace. You use it by holding it in both hands, forming a hump that you run over the rim of the pot as it is spinning. It is a great tool!

I always use the same amound of clay and take measurements of height and width to assure that the forms are the same. Keeping in mind that this is handmade and nothing handmade is exactly the same. A large part of it's charm.

Finally a photo of Margaret. If anyone knows the true name of this tool, I would love to be enlightened. I will still call her Margaret, but will be better able to direct others in her purchase. Margaret is my tool of choice for trimming all I can from forms while they are still freshly thrown.

1st Farmer's Market of the year

2008-07-03T12:50:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was supposed to be cloudy and rainy with thunderstorms in the afternoon. It was sunny and humid and about 34 degrees. I didn't have a tent. We were very warm and I am a tad sunburned. I will have a tent next week.

Here is my display with one of my helpers hiding in the shade and doodling new ideas for glazing. It was a busy market, we had fun.

The entertainment was provided by two gentlement from Invermere. One brought a portable forge and created things out of horseshoes and railroad spikes, the other brought a treadle lathe and made spindles. It was very cool. I think we have some spinning and weaving being demonstrated next week.

My favorite sign from the market.

My other helper, hot and a little bored...

tumbler how to

2008-07-01T13:00:00.003-06:00

These tumblers are thrown from a porcelain clay body. I take a 22# block of clay and divide it into 22 balls, easy and no measuring. I am not a precise, measuring kind of person. I throw on clay tiles that fit into a wooden bat that sits in turn fits on the pins on my wheelhead. This makes removal very easy without modifying the shape of the cup. I like to throw thin and I measure the height and width of each mug to ensure a uniform size. For these tumblers I have thrown thin from the bottom up and then used my trimming tool to cut away the excess at the bottom and to turn up the bottom edge so that it forms a lip. These are destined for the matte turquoise glaze and it runs like crazy, so lips at the bottom are a good thing. I cut them off the tile with my wire cutter after I throw and then pop out the tile and put it in the damp cupboard.

Day two has me removing the tumblers from the tiles and rolling the bottoms around and around to get rid of the cutting wire marks and obvious cut line. I like to do a minimum of trimming so these are not trimmed after the intial throwing.

Next I use the heel of my hand to make an indent in the bottom of the tumbler. I like the organic look and it feels good when you hold the mug. It also helps to prevent the tumbler bottom from drying outward and high centering the cup. I also use my Golden, B.C. Canada and my dragonfly logo stamp at this time. I put these on the bottom of the cup. The dragonfly is located on the sides of all bowls and the bottom of all cups. I don't know why, this is just the way I do it.

The next step is to use my right hand (I am right-handed) to grasp the cup and create two indentations of either side. These are very useful for gripping the cup and they give the glaze yet another interesting things to flow over and around.

Here they are: thrown, rolled, indented, stamped and grasped. Back into the damp cupboard for a few more days as the porcelain tends to crack on the bottom if it dries too quickly.

too hot to do anything

2008-06-30T16:17:00.002-06:00

I AM NOT COMPLAINING! It actually isn't too hot until around 3:30 when my studio focuses the sunlight and becomes a bit of an oven. So prior to the crazy heat time I did get a lot done. My favorite task is always unloading a kiln after a glaze firing. I was very happy with everything that came out of my kiln today. The bowls (above and below) are exactly what I was hoping they would be.

The matte turquoise runs beautifully. I also had some in and out of town customers to chat with while I was throwing tumblers. I have to do some more work on them tomorrow and then you will get a photograph.

My lovely friend Lori brought me some flowers from her garden so I am sending on the pictures to brighten your day.

A view of the studio through the wildflowers.

summer is finally here!

2008-06-28T16:46:00.002-06:00

I have no photos of summer to show you. Imagine 32 degrees and scorching sunshine. It is beautiful and make me think we need a swimming pool. Above is a picture of the water jugs with their handles attached. They are still in the damp cupboard and under plastic with all this dry heat.

I unloaded a decal firing this morning and got all the orders organized to head out the door. This is a set of baby dishes that will be heading to Australia soon.

Here are some new neclaces that will be in my shop and at the Farmer's Market. Let me know if you want to see them on Esty and I will get to it sooner rather than later. I also threw some more medium bowls today and had quite a few customers. The summer traffic has arrived, I hope it keeps up.

got it in gear again

2008-06-26T13:54:00.002-06:00

I am always on the lookout for new things to impress into clay and I have been having some trouble with my letter stamps. Luckily I followed my friend into the scrapbooking shop yesterday and found myself some new letter stamps.

Then we headed to Bacchus Books and Cafe and had lunch on the patio overlooking the fast and full Kicking Horse River.

These were pulled out of the kiln last night. I LOVE them. This is my favorite new turquoise glaze. I think I need to focus on matte glazes again.

This is a new glaze, I have named it night sky. It looks richer in the sunlight which in noticeably absent today.

A closeup of the mug. Busy day today. Appointments to confirm and cancel, decals to apply and fire, more pots to glaze, bottoms to be sanded, pots to be priced and put out on the shelves. Nice to have a few customers today and an order picked up. The shop will be closed tomorrow as I am in Calgary for the day. Going to buy wedding shoes for the family.

honestly, i need a kick in the ass

2008-06-24T15:25:00.003-06:00

More puttering about today. Running errands all morning and then not really get much accomplished this afternoon in the studio. I stopped at the Chamber of Commerce to pick up the new Kicking Horse Mercatile brochures. They look great, I am in them and a photo of my work is on the cover. I also grabbed some farmer's market brochures. This starts on the first Wednesday in July and we ae trying to spread the word. So if you are in Golden on a Wednesday this summer from 2-7pm, please stop by.

Someone pointed out that our wedding party is in a month and a half and that I had better get those invitations mailed out, so I spent a fair amount of time getting those ready to go.

This beautiful dragon is the work of a very special friend of mine. He is a wee bit excited about his dragon and we talk about it each time I see him. The dragon is drying VERY slowly and for a VERY long time as he is a bit thick in places and I don't want any explosions.

Tuesday's photo is of a very beautiful flowering shrub in my front garden.

A little sunshine and happiness for you.

some thoughts on production

2008-06-23T16:02:00.002-06:00

A busy day today. I have a bunch of orders heading out the door on Thursday (and by bunch of orders I mean 3 of varying size). They were glazed today and are now in the kiln working their magic.

Mugs with bright insides and clear outsides. I think they are fun for spring and summer and the bright colours have been very popular.

Vessels waiting for handles. I like this water jug form, very loose.

Ok, here are some thoughts on throwing, trimming and production work. I have a small studio and so I try to minimize each process and step so that it all takes less time before it makes it onto the gallery shelves and out the door. The places that I do not try to take many shortcuts is in the planning and in the glazing. I have learned that these things need patience and planning.

So here is my typical process when planning and executing a new mug form: I look at what has sold well in the past, comments that people have made, my own mug preferences and my own throwing and design strengths. I might sketch a few shapes, but I am much more likely to visualize what I want and just head to the wheel. I use a standard weight for my mugs as this simplifies things. My clay comes in 22# blocks and this is divided into 16 balls. I throw the form and work on it until it is the shape that I am looking for. Then I trim off as much as possible using a japanese trimming tool whose name I don't know, but we call Margaret. I throw thin and my goal is to do no trimming after the initial throwing and trimming. I use a measuring tape to assess the height and width and then I throw the rest of the mugs to match. They are thrown on tiles and cut off with a wire, then the entire tile is removed. These go into the damp cupboard for two days (depending on what else is in the cupboard and how hot/dry it is outside). Then I pull handles and let them set up, I don't pull off the mug. It makes me nervous. I remove the mugs from the clay tiles that they have been thrown on and roll the bottoms to smooth and clean the edge. I stamp them with my dragonfly and the Golden, B.C. stamps. I attach the handles and then they go back into the damp cupboard for until they are dry. The clay I am using really likes to separate and crack. Drying slowly is very important. Once they are dry they are cleaned up in preparation for the bisque firing. I plan what kind of glaze will be used on each form before throwing as this makes a big difference in shape and texture. The only forms that I consistently trim when leather hard are bowls. I like a tall and defined foot so I enjoy trimming these and it seems worth the effort and time.

busy weekend

2008-06-23T12:27:00.002-06:00

Kuljit and Trevor are married.

It was sunny and beautiful and very, very colourful.

Fancy clothing doesn't stop us from playing horseshoes.

I had a camera attached to my face for the entire day. But, because I don't use a flash, I was free to dance all night.

Playing volleyball in a sari. It is as hard as it looks.

cactus, coffee mugs and an indian wedding

2008-06-19T15:35:00.003-06:00

Wednesday's photo is of the most beautiful flowering cactus growing in front of a local building. The garden is full of succelents and cacti and they are in full bloom. Very beautiful.

I don't know what this is called, anyone?

Today I played busy catch-up, try to get ahead of the game. I unloaded my bisque kiln, waxed all the pot bottoms, wedged up and threw some new mug forms and a few water pitcher orders. I reclaimed some clay, trimmed the large bowls, checked email, blogs, posted to my blog, checked facebook (wee addiction), made a bunch of phone calls, re-organized my studio calendar, and watered all of my gardens.

The studio will be closed for the next two days as my friend is getting married and this means much visiting and dancing and drinking of red wine. And really, really great indian food. I will post photos next week, hopefully my sari will stay put (I am cheating with safety pins). Enjoy the weekend.

2008-06-17T14:34:00.002-06:00

I am finding it a little difficult to get back in the swing of things after so much time off. I feel like I need a little holiday from my holiday. However that is not to occur now as I am holidaying a lot in August so must wait. I perused the contract for the new gift gallery for Kicking Horse Culture and packed up some of my work.

I threw some large bowls as they seem to fly out of the gallery. This is my highly technical and organized dimensions and weight chart. I just add things as I make them. I find it really handy regarding the weight to start with and indispensable when I need to make a special order to match something that has already been made.

This is all the stoneware clay I have left. It sort of just disappeared without me noticing. Good thing I am going to Calgary next week. I will focus on porcelain until then.

This is the shape of the new large bowl. It is 8 inches tall and 10 inches across. I only threw 4 as I wanted to save the rest of the stoneware for some water jugs.

a busy weekend with no pottery making in sight

2008-06-15T18:24:00.002-06:00

My friend Kuljit of the famous Jita's Cafe is getting married on Friday. We had her party on Sunday. We belly danced and hennaed. It was fun.

My mother and I (mostly my mother) sewed a lot. The dresses are beautiful and done.

My daughters graduated from Elementary school.

High School here they come!

In between all of these festivities, they played in their soccer tournament and they played HARD.

A busy and wonderful weekend.

visiting and sewing

2008-06-12T18:05:00.002-06:00

Sleeping critters.

Apple blossems.

Flower girl dresses.

My parents are visiting and my Mom and I are busy sewing. See you in a few days.

pretty, pretty turquoise

2008-06-10T16:21:00.002-06:00

Today was my favorite kind of day. It was a day that started with unloading a glaze firing. I am thrilled with almost everything that came out of the kiln today.

New mug shapes, colour and designs.

Crawly vines and turqoise glaze.

One of the bowls glazed in turquoise, clear and now waiting for a decal.

The icky bits from the kiln would be the four bowls that ended up cobalt blue when they should have been oil spot. How did that happen you wonder? It happened because SOMEONE was in a hurry to glaze and load a kiln and SOMEONE didn't read the labels on the glaze bucket. I have no studio assistant, so that SOMEONE was me. It is my own fault, and I HATE cobalt blue. I have hidden the offending bowls away and I will revisit them another time.

Today I also: ran a million shop errands, bank, mail, sanded pot bottoms, affixed price stickers, artfully arranged shelves, dusted, posted to my blog, took more photos, thought about how I need update my webpage, glazed some pots (carefully and slowly), packed up more student work, talked to customers, sold things, checked items in damp cupboard and revisited my production schedule for June/July/August.