Cobra mug

I think this is the best mug I have made so far. It is large but light, a strong and simple shape but enough detail on the lip and foot area to keep it interesting. (I did use a rib this time when shaping on the wheel). The black glaze has lots of depth with additional colors breaking through and the inside rim dripped into the Mayco shino glaze better than I had hoped. The black glaze is a Seattle Pottery Mottled Brown with added cobalt carbonate and red iron oxide. And most importantly, the glaze on the cobra stayed put. I am happy that it has a new owner who is very pleased.

Cobra stamp for mugs

I've been working on a project for a friend. I made the cobra stamp from an impression I took off a car medallion. If you know your cars, you'll know which one. The details came out better than I expected. A little corn starch, dusted on first, helped the clay release. Applying the cobra to the cylinder was more challenging. The clay had to be soft enough to bend to the curve of the mug, but hard enough to maintain the detail when attaching. Tomorrow and the next day, I glaze and fire.

New glaze combinations

Same old glazes, new combinations. Loving the results. This is one of the bisqueware pieces I had sitting on my shelve for about a year and a half. I finally forced myself to finish it. My glazing skills needed to catch up with my throwing skills. I plan to make more.

It's barbecue season

I couldn't waste a perfectly good barrel fire without doing some experimenting. Before I started the fire, I put a few of mostly small pieces of pottery (1.5 inches wide and high) in the bottom of an ash-filled metal barrel. Only one piece was larger and might have been of hand dug Draper clay. All were bisqued fired but one little jigger, which was greenware. I wrapped each pot in a salt-soaked ragged and thoroughly dried them in the sun before barbecuing. I got many complaint from my kids who were cooking hotdogs when the largest pot exploded and a shard or two flew out of the barrel with a bang. Oops...there goes my Mother of the Year award again, lol. I like the results. I'm not sure the salted rags did anything in particular but the barrel seemed to have reached a high enough temperature to reach the clays maturity....cone 5 maybe. The chips on the side of one pot occurred, I think, when we kept adding sticks on top of everything not knowing where the pots were in the ashes. Just some outdoor fun.

Draper Arts and Crafts Festival 2014

I had a very enjoyable day at the festival and the time just flew by. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. Meeting the Events Director, attendees, customers and fellow vendors was a great pleasure. I am in great debt to my daughter who helped me pull it all together. It is true that the devil is in the details! But she told me that is was part of my Mother's Day gift so I won't feel too guilty. I have only one complaint. It was too cold! Maybe 50 degrees, and breezy. The sun didn't show itself either. I guess we're lucky it didn't pour like it did in the neighboring town. My booth was under the pavilion but not too many customers want to walk around in the cold rain. Despite that, I actually managed to sell some pottery and I look forward to doing more of the same next year. Hopefully without a winter jacket, however!

Attention Utahns!

I am so excited! I have been assigned booth #10 which is in the open pavilion. I have made limited edition and one-of-a-kind pieces for this event. Great gifts for Mom's Day which is Sunday. So come early for the best selection or just come by to say "Hi."

Getting ready

Saturday, May 10 there will be the 2nd annual Draper City Arts and Crafts Festival. I was going to be lazy and not participate but my daughter convinced me to enter. Since I started making pottery about 5 years ago, I have accumulated quite a few pieces. So it is about time I take the next step. My daughter ordered these business cards to make me official for the festival. She is quite the organizer. Good thing....I need all the help I can get!