Square casseroles

I've been playing around with making square casseroles. I made them without bottoms and attached slab bottoms. The handles were intensely time consuming until I got the hang of it, and by the seventh one I had a good feel for what I wanted and how to get it.

I threw some more to work on today, but I threw them with the bottoms in. I have seen others make squares from pots with bottoms, but when I pushed the sides in the bottom bunched and puckered up inside. Maybe there's something I don't know. So I ended up cutting the bottoms out and will finish them today, probably with a different style handle.

I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm way too tired to try to write anything interesting, so that's all for now.

Tiny jars

When I was at the fair the other day one of the potters had these great teeny, tiny jars. I loved the way you could cup them in the palm of your hand. There was a feeling of intimacy about them. So, being the crook I am I stole the idea and began making my own teen, tiny jars today. Of course mine will be very different in every respect really except the size. Below I am holding one of the covers on my finger.

So I did discover a bit of good news the other night regarding the fair. I had posted that it cost 2,000 dollars to enter the fair. That is true only if you want a 12x15 foot booth. A 10x10 is only 1,050 and a 10x12 is 1,200. So I was quite relieved as this makes is drastically more affordable. I think I will probably try for a 10x12 because the extra two feet in the back will probably be very handy for storage given the length of the fair (remember it is nine days long). But I will design my booth to occupy only a 10x10 area because most fairs I will do will only be that size of course.

I'm pretty happy with the coffee cups I threw today. I've been pushing my clay too far and a lot of my cups are really big and light for a pound of clay. So I really made an effort to hold back today and I think it was successful. They all have a nice fat rim and I threw them all sort of low with a belly. I find that most of my favorite mugs lately have a bulbous quality to them. We'll see when they are trimmed how it all works out. In the back is on of my little test cups from the clay I made. It's hard to tell really how well it throws with two tiny test cups but it seemed fine. I'm interested in being able to test my glazes on them. Ben Stark gave me a link to Alex Matisse who had some good info on making your own clay using the slurry method. Adam says he thinks he can build me something like the blunger thing used for mixing the clay which seems like it might be a better idea than a drill, probably a lot more powerful. Well, I'll spare you any more of my ramblings. Oh, one more thing, I'm doing my third mug test firing tonight so hopefully some good results tomorrow. Send me good karma!

On mug handles

I wanted to talk a little about my handles today. Before I get on to the design aspect, as you can see below I have a problem. As I said in an earlier post I would like the option to dip some pots into a white slip. I had concerns I would have issues with pots with attatchments and I was correct. I have absolutely nothing to offer as to how to prevent this from happening. Obviously there is a way around this, otherwise people could not be dipping pots into slips, engobes, and raw glazing. So I need to figure this out. I am going to try and raw glaze one coffee mug to see what happens. I have already glazed the inside of that mug, but now I know I cannot glaze the outside until I have learned a thing or two. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Below is a detail of a handle. I like the way the handles look in the sense that visually I find them appealing in a surface kind of way. However . . .

The first things about all of these handles I think, is that they don't do anything to enhance the form. They serve the purpose of picking up a hot drink so you don't burn yourself. I can't say that satisfies me. I don't want them to just serve a purpose, I want them to contribute to the form in an aesthetic way-who doesn't. I think right off the bat I know one thing I need to learn to do. Something I have resisted with every fiber of my being for a long, long time. Something which frightens me and makes me want to shake my head from side to side saying no, no, no, no. I need to learn to pull a handle straight from the cup. I'm not talking about pulling handles and then attaching them. I mean the distasteful skill of attaching a partially pulled lug of clay onto the mug, and then pulling from the mug to finish. I think it is safe to say that what I am looking for will be found there. I know this is what I am seeing when I look others handles I appreciate-but I keep resisting and thinking I can figure a way around this. I think I am going to simply have to walk on through instead of around.


So this first mug. I like the shape of the mug but the handle seems more like the handle of a shovel, or something to be used to cantilever the cup. Notice how it, and all of these really are very thin where they attach to the cup at the top. It doesn't feel at all like it has grown from the cup or has a real relationship with the cup other than as something stuck on to help lift it. Boring. It's also kind of high, not that high handles are bad, but why is it high? What does that contribute to the pot? Nothing that I can see.

This second cup I think visually actually works well. Although it still has the issue of a lack of substance and being just sort of stuck on, it seems to grow up from the foot in a much nicer curve, kind of following the curve of the cup a little. Sadly this is not a great handle, but probably one of the most successful from this batch.

This handle below is awful in many ways. Again no feeling of growth from the pot, and it's big but attached in such a way that even with it's size you couldn't really get a few fingers in. It's like a two fingered handle that could fit four fingers in an awkward way. It does follow the curve of the base of the pot pretty well, so I guess it has one redeeming quality.

Yikes, yikes, yikes. Okay I have several similar to this. These are what I am coming to think of as the bad bridesmaid dress handles. Can you see it now? This little mug waddling down the isle with that big bow on the back of it's butt? How embarrassing for it. If I put another one on the other side and a little face it would also make a nice ear.

This handle below I think is just too high. Same lack of prescence and growth from the pot again as well. There is just nothing inviting about these. Nothing that can make you mentally imagine picking up the mug and holding it in your hand.


This handle below is almost successful in a way I think. It has that same lack of growth but I like the shape. However it feels very low to me. I'm probably being a little too hard on this one. I kind of like it, but something is stopping me from really liking it. Maybe if it just had a little more of a substantial attatchment that would do it.

Here again is one of my favorite mugs, except the handle. It suffers from the bow on butt syndrome, but this one sticks out so far I actually think of it more like victorian squeezed into a corset and then something wierd under my dress to make it stick really far out in the back cause it's the fashion syndrome. It looks like it should go have a cup of tea and a crumpet.


So I guess that's about it for now. Thanks for listening to my critique. It actually helps me to figure out what is wrong. I think I might try and post a few images soon of some handles of other potters cups that I feel are successful and try and figure out why. Bye for now!

Mug comparisons

So my idea is to compare some of the mugs from this round. I was going to compare handles, but I thought first I might deal with shape. Many of these look better in the photo I think. Holding them I get a different impression. Keep in mind that this is just what I am looking for in my own work, and I don't believe every successful mug should have these characteristics. I myself enjoy a huge variety of forms and styles from other potters. I'm just looking for something that works for me.

So example 1. Two mugs very similar, but different. I feel the top one is more successful. There is something about the swell of the belly that is a little more inviting and the rim dips in a little making the space feel slightly more enclosed.

Example 2. A similar form but it just sort of sweeps up. It's missing that little indentation above the foot that might give the base a little lift and no belly swell. Also the rim just flares out. It's very open and feels less comforting


Example 3. I feel like the top cup is more satisfying in shape. Again there is a nicer belly swell and a little movement also with a throwing rib.

Example 4 is very similar, but kind of dead on the outside and while there is a little swell, it's up kind of high. It's more like the pot is puffing it's cheeks out rather than taking a breath.


Example 5 is one of my favorites from the group. What do I like about it? Well again the round belly, and although it doesn't dip in a little at the rim it dips in below the rim in a decent curve and the lip has some fatness and nice undulation on the rim as well. Also nice lift at the foot.

Example 6 is missing the boat for me. I don't like the way it sweeps up so severely towards the belly and feels more like someone puffing out their chest rather than, again, taking a breath. Not much undulation, and no flaring out towards the rim. The rim has a nice fat quality, but that's about it. It's just kind of static.

I have many others I could compare today but I'll spare you the redundancy. You get the picture. I know I have been unsatisfied with many of my pots and although I can recognize a good pot it is often difficult to make that transition from my brain to the making. I read this great thing on someone's blog and I wish I remembered who, but she said something like, she was finally getting to the point where her hands matched her heart (she said it way better). I can totally understand that. I know what I am after in a vague way. It may not be an exact shape of a form, but it's a form that is successful in every way. All the parts are working as a whole.

I'll talk about my handles on my next post. I'll be glazing for a while now so won't have any new pots to put up and I don't want to run out of posts in one day!

So, several potters have stopped by to visit my blog and I just want to say hello and thank you to every one who does. I truly enjoy writing knowing you are reading.

Mug handles and slip

I handled a bunch of mugs today. It was awful. Sometimes this clay is just not plastic. My handles would just keep breaking in half and I'm quite sure it wasn't my application. Right out of the bag sometimes this clay, although it feels a little slippery and even sometimes has signs of mildew (good things to me as far as clay is concerned) when you do the bend test it breaks right in half. I've had this for at least two months so even if it was fresh when I got it it shouldn't be now.

So I was thinking. I'm not thrilled with my handles. They're fine, they don't suck in an obvious way, but a lot of them just are not complimenting the cups. Some look really good and so I was thinking that for my next post I will compare some of the cups and discuss why I think some are successful and why others are not. This will be good for me and hopefully help me figure out what I am after, and hopefully you might enjoy it too.

So I was wondering in my last post about dipping some things into slip but unsure about waxing while the pots were green. I was afraid the wax would trap water and start blistering up. Emily Murphy

responded to my post and said she thought waxing would be fine and it worked great. You may be wondering why I would want to dip my darker stoneware into white slip and I'll tell you. Below you see two test pots glazed with exactly the same glazes outside. The one on the right has been slipped first. It really makes my white pop and my orangy-brown a much brighter orange. I like the one on the left very much. It has a nice earthiness to it, but I also love the brightness of the slipped pot. It makes the pot feel a little more vibrant. I intend to do both and it's nice having the option.

So, stay tuned tomorrow for another episode of One Cup To Handle.

Seven pitchers

Seven pitchers, seven hours. Kind of. I trimmed 16 tumblers also. Plus a couple of meal breaks so maybe seven pitchers, five hours. Still, I hope once I get my groove on making these that I will become a little more efficient time-wise. The spouts were kicking my butt at first. I kind of like adding the spouts as hand made additions, rather than pinching the rim to form a spout. In the past however I usually cut into the rim to create an opening and attach that way. You know the drill. I hate cutting into the rim. There's something about it that gives me the willies. I don't mind altering the rim as in making it wavy, or making square or triangle plates. But just to take a round rim and cut a chunk out is very distasteful. So then I realized I might be able to just add the spout on top of the rim (yes, I just realized this, I know) and I like it that way much better. The four pitchers on the right are made that way. I think the second and third pitchers from the right are my favorites. Too tired to write more.

Polka Dot Pot

I kinda like this pot. Hope it comes through the glaze well.

Mmmm, eze zalright.

I trashed a lot of the jars I had going. They just weren't working for me. That's alright. Part of the process. I'll know it when I see it. I have enough pots ready for a pretty packed bisque now, but everything is taking sooo long to dry. Raining constantly lately and humid on the days it's not.

Giving up-what the???

Oookay. These are two squarish jars that I managed to get covers on. The handles are a little different for me. Usually I throw the handles or handbuild them but I had enough clay to try just turning them. These two pots were waaayyyyy more work than they are worth. Contrary to my personality, I am temporarily giving up the square thing until later. I need some advice before I move on. My second option is just squaring the base but leaving the lid area round. I spent way too much time trying to get these lids to fit.

So . . . these shapes harken back to the days of what now seem like my youth. When I was in my early 30's and working on my BFA. These are a few vases I threw today when I decided if I made another covered pot I would throw a IT against the wall (you can see six jars in the making in the background, also in my old organic shape). When I was in college I threw really tight at first, probably like many of us. Perfection meant good you know? It took me a while to loosen up and like many of us, began almost seeking imperfection in my work. Tight and perfect meant no good to me (which reminds me, I forgot to wavy cut these rims!). So now I intentionally throw with my wheel too slow, intentionally cut my rims so they are not perfectly level and give a quick swoop up the side of a pot (not these) with a rib to give it some movement. Like I said, like many of us. I wonder why this is part of the road?

One lone little bowl of the day (with a wavy rim-ooh yah).

Mold and the Art of Zen

So I'm pretty excited. Usually I pull all of my handles. It's a sloppy business and it's not my favorite thing to do. Makes the idea of making a lot of mugs at the same time seem like kind of a drag. Well, yesterday I had the idea of making the handles out of a coil of clay and hand shaping them on the table, like I do when I put a little lug on a jar or oval pot and I thought, why not the mugs? It worked fantastically! The handle looks a little large here because of the photo perspective, but it looks pretty sweet. I found that making the handles this way made the whole experience more enjoyable and little more zen-like.


This is what happens when you let your pots sit under plastic in the New England humid summer weather. These rings are all mold.

I got my new scale which almost instantly gave me the same problems with the on/off button so I exchanged it for the model on the left which is larger and more heavy duty and so really more suited to the business of weighing out clay and glaze materials for large batches. The scale on the right is for my testing. I got two because you want the scales to be as accurate as possible of course, and with digital scales, the more you go up in weight capacity (the one on the left can weigh 15 pounds while the one on the right can only weigh 2 pounds) they become slighty less accurate in the sense that the larger one is accurate to within one gram, while the smaller one is accurate to within .001 grams. One gram is not a big deal when weighing out a large batch of glaze, but could be a problem when weighing out a test batch. My tests and my large batches have always come out exactly the same I believe as a result of using two scales and the result of doing my tests in a small computer-controlled kiln and my large computer-controlled kiln. This way I can also program my small firings to fire, and more importantly COOL, very closely the same as a larger firing.

So I took the new medicine the neurologist gave me before nighty-night time like he said, and an amazing thing happened. I slept the entire night. Now, this may not seem like a big deal to most people but I don't sleep well. Four to five hours if I am lucky, and it is all interrupted. Sleep one hour, wake up, sleep another hour, lay awake for an hour, etc. So during the day I am always tired. I woke up this morning and after I rubbed the sleepies out of my eyes I am amazed at how much energy I have. Physically and mentally. I wonder if this is how other people feel all of the time? It's a very strange state for me to be in. I gotta figure out a way to make this a permanent thing. See-ya.

Oh what a glorius morning, oh what a wonderful day . . .

Well, while it is too soon to grasp on too tightly to my hope I would like to share the glorious new that my semi-permanant brain-pain has lifted. It is not gone entirely, but to the extent that I feel almost normal again, meaning I can use my brain for something other that regulating my basic body funtions. I can actually think! Resorting back to pharmecuticals (spell?) again last night I took two Immotrex and two Aleve and there was a noticeable improvement this morning. Now, I would like to share my non-traditional and probably not reccommended additional remedy and that is that I washed my meds down with two bloody marys. I figured nothing could get much worse than it was and I might as well have a little fun while I was dying. And please, before you worry too much about the horrible, inconceivable "danger" of mixing the drugs I am on with alcohol (say that word in a really ominous tone of voice) I think there is more to be concerned with mixing all the drugs I have been on with eachother-PERIOD. If there is danger anywhere, there is danger in that Will Robinson.

I am not done with my pharmecutical cocktail yet however. This afternoon I added Indomethacin and Propranolol again. Also, Sunday I had the temporary pleasure of an IV with Dilawdin (?). THAT was great for the pain, and not too bad for the mind, but short-lived. Good thing is, if this relief lasts, I am back to making pots. Can't find my battery charger for my camera. Also lost my car keys the other day. Maybe they're under that egg in the frying pan on that commercial, "this is your brain . . ."

Eureka!

I am thrilled beyond thrilled with this new glaze combo. Better yet, I think it is going to be repeatable. It is very exciting when magic like this happens (magic as the result of endless testing of course).

Rice bowls. I poured slip into the interior of these bowls. This is a new method for me so we'll see how this works out.

More rice bowls with some sprigging. As I mentioned earlier, I will be making chopsticks to go with all of the rice bowls. I just love my work when it's in this stage. It's so fresh and lively. Off to Boston for the day for some fun and to pick up some white clay.