In the shop tonight:It was a scholarship night! I've been wanting to do some chicken watering pots for a while now, even before we had chickens, because there are such curious forms. After seeing Tom Turner's show at the Blue Spiral in Asheville, I was also struck by his almost closed forms and how they had a premium on surface. A closed form is all surface! So with the planets aligned and I went for it and failed a few times but hung in there. After a few hours I had a few "poultry fountains". Some of the smaller prototypes are based on some that I saw in the Isaac Button video and in books. I just guessed at how they might be made and went for it with marginal success. Some of the smaller jars are thrown and closed, then the "mouth" is cut and the jar pushed in to make room for the fowl to get their heads in their to drink. The taller forms will be accompanied by a saucer and will have a little hole (about an inch and a half in diameter) cut out at their base.
The water stays in the jar after it has been filled and turned right side up. The ledge of the the mouth or the saucer is slightly higher than the opening in the jar and the majority of the water is held inside the jar by gravity. When the birds drink the water out of the mouth of the jar or the saucer more water is released from the jar to maintain the level of water. I hope this makes sense. More on how this actually works ATF (after the firing), when I actually will be testing my results. Also, I will try to post more images of historical pots like the ones I am mimicking.
Also on the table tonight were some 8 # bowls that I threw earlier in the day and more of the mini-latte bowls.
It's late. More tomorrow.
