Creating and firing pottery does not come without its headaches! This weekend was supposed to be a successful bisque and glaze fire but when I was ready to turn the kiln on, it shorted and flickered and the breaker blew. Upon trying to turn it on a few more times and then conducting a test fire, I likely killed the coils. Coils should be replaced about every three years and is always a stressful activity. And since I am more of a hobby potter I don’t fire the kiln as often as most more full time potters - so the coils should have lasted much longer and likely burnt out from this mysterious electrical shortage.

I promised myself that the next time I needed to replace the coils, I would just buy a new kiln. I’m ready. I have owned 3 used kilns and feel like I am at that point in my pottery life that it is time. Sooo, I am currently shopping for a new kiln and trying to get over the sticker shock of these things being so darn expensive...

Update - a few days later!  My new kiln is on order and will likely be here by November! In the meantime, new coils are being installed in my current kiln so that I can continue to bisque and fire. If I did not have this great guy to help me, I would likely have to hire this part out. I’ve replaced the coils before, a nerve racking stressful chore at that, but I could not do any of the wiring.

​Today is a glaze day! And a small batch of Wisconsin Mugs are getting ready for drippy amounts of luscious, creamy glaze. I have goals for refining my glazing process and am trying very hard to follow them. Glazing a large amount of biqueware can be very intimidating. 

If I have a plan and glaze in groups, the process becomes much more enjoyable. So many choices of glaze possibilites are laid out before me when I stare at 144 sample tiles. That's too many choices! My goal is to narrow down the options and have a few really great combinations that I stick to. Each tile gets a star if it's winner and I make notes in my books, too.

Because I like to make lists:
1. Unload the bisque kiln
2. Rinse all pots and scrub bottoms
3. Let air dry for several hours
4. Wax all bottoms
5. Let air dry
6. Group pieces according to glaze application
7. Glaze insides, let dry
8. Glaze outsides, let dry
9. Take notes as I go for each grouping
10. Test specific gravity as I go and record
11. Let all glazes dry in front of fan
12. Clean up bottoms and rub out nicks
13. Load kiln for a glaze fire
14. Take more notes

This weekend was literally a new era for me and my pottery business. It was the first art fair I've participated in since having a year and a half off over the pandemic. I am laser focused setting up a booth - packing, unpacking, ironing linens, assembling shelves, and lastly the fun part - getting out all my pottery and displaying and arranging it. I love to meet all my fans and get to know them, but it is also a nice time sit with my work and pause a moment. How am I doing? Does this mug shape work with this bowl shape? Do my items look like they belong together? Are my prices fair? I ask questions and write notes down and get ready for all the things I will do the same or do differently. I make lists of items I am out of. And I try to talk to other artists and learn from them.

​I would consider myself a self-taught potter. I only had 1 class in college of formal training. I picked it up just like that. Centering, throwing, and pulling walls was very easy for me. After earning a bachelor of fine art degree and concentrating on a career in graphic design, I returned to the wheel after several years being away from it. I took random classes at different art centers and through continuing education programs just to use the studio equipment but I didn't really have any further instruction. 

I think all potters are self-taught at some point in the process because there is so much trial and error and good-guess work. 

I have been working my way through making test tiles for every glaze in my studio. Every glaze is assigned a number and each treatment is assigned a letter. For example, I have tiles for Shelly's Blue, one tile is Shelly's Blue over Zakin's Butter and a second tile is Shelly's Blue under Zakin's Butter. Every glaze is either under or over another glaze on the list. And every combination is accounted for. There are well over 144 tiles just for B-Mix clay alone! And I also use Porcelain, Speckled, and a Brown clay. And, this is only considering 2 glaze treatments. Just imagine if I introduced a 3rd layering of glaze.

I am not quite sure what to do with all this data yet, but I will figure it out. What I do know, is that having gone through this process, it has shown me the possibilities of what combinations are working really well so I can repeat them in the future. 

Blowing bubbles on pottery is not new concept but it sure is fun! One thing I really like about the pottery making craft is that it is a series of step by step processes. I am a master of efficiency and enjoy the normalcy of process. I line up all the bowls, cups, and trays on my glaze table lined with newspaper. Next to that is several containers of a water, dish soap and colored underglaze concoction. I will need paintbrushes, plastic straws, spatulas and sponges. Underglaze is kind of like paint. Using the straw, I blow bubbles in the mixture and let it fall over the top of the container and land onto the pots. I work in an assembly line fashion and use one or two colors at a time. Let things dry. And then layer more bubble colors on top. It is extremely therapeutic!

You've made a fabulous pot. You followed all the steps, it dried perfectly, your mug handles didn't crack, the bisque fire went well and now you are ready to glaze. You glaze your work, load the kiln, and turn it on. The next day - always so exciting! - you go to open the kiln and you notice several pieces didn't turn out. The glaze looks horrible! Some pieces have little pinholes and others the glaze has crazed. This is how it goes.  Sometimes you get the good with the bad. Sometimes I can reglaze the item and it turns out better the second time around, and sometimes that doesn't work so well. Every pottery has a stash of 'as-is' pieces. They make their way to friends' homes as free gifts or they get tossed into a waste bin for their eventual demise. 

​Pottery teaches us so much about life! It's true. I was reflecting on a few life lessons that come to mind as I was throwing tumblers with my new speckled clay.

I begin with a 1.5 lb ball of clay and wedge it, then slap it on the wheel and begin centering, everything's going great! I "open" and "pull" the walls. Lastly, I shape and sop up all the water. Then all of a sudden, I go to grab a tool and accidentally knock the side and smush it! It's doomed! Rats! Some potters will spend countless minutes trying to fix it, but I simply say goodbye, let it go, and throw the lifeless lump of clay into the slop bucket. "You will be reincarnated into something else," I say. 

The life lesson here is to Let It Go. Things happen. Just let it go, say goodbye, move on, and try again. It's good to fail and it's good to not get upset about it. 

Don't you just love eating fresh berries only to discover a bunch of mushy, moldy ones at the bottom? Yuck! A pretty bowl may be just what you need. Ever wonder what goes into making a berry bowl? A lot! Let's take a closer look at what I do.

​I weight out just the right amount of clay. I need 1.5 lbs for the bowl and about 1 lb for the tray. Wedging clay is like kneading bread. I have a mantra when I am wedging ... push down, turn, push down, turn. If I don't get this part right, I end up with very annoying pockets of air in the clay.

​Here is a video of me "throwing" the bowl. 

​The pieces are left to stiffen up to "leather-hard" on my shelf. This means the pieces are still moist but hold their shape when I pick them up. Now it is time to trim the bottoms. Placed upside down on the wheel, I use my favorite trimming tools to carve a smooth, finished bottom. Sometimes I add a foot with a rolled piece of clay.

​After trimming the bottoms, I transform ordinary bowls into a berry bowls! Grab a seat, a Diet Coke and some Dorittos and watch me carve numerous holes into each bowl. Sometimes I make a pattern and sometimes I just freeform it.

The pots are loaded into the kiln for their first firing. The kiln heats up to 1,985 degrees and dries out the pots. Now they are ready for glaze.

​The pots are then loaded back into the kiln for their second firing. This is where the magic happens! The kiln heats up to about 2185 degrees for about 13 hours and then cools down very slowly.

So, what the heck do you do with a berry bowl? Well, it's a mini colander. You can rinse berries, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, anything really. My berry bowls always come with a tray so the excess water drips out. No more mushy berries at the bottom! And, you can even store the bowl right in the fridge just as it is. Your berries will stay fresher, longer!