Sawdust and Dirt

March 26, 2009

The Lineup

Here is a roundup of all the ways of staying "in the know":

Twitter: I've been experimenting with this as a way to share some links, and to share some of the mundane yet interesting things I am doing.

Facebook: I have a "fan" page on facebook as well as a personal page. It's been great to "meet" folks from all over the world and have some interesting conversations. It's a great way to stay in touch.

Youtube: I have posted a few videos and hope to do more. You can see all of them here.

Flickr: I haven't done much with this web site but it has some potential. See some pots among other stuff here.

Lastfm: This is an interesting twist to online listening. Although I don't stream music online with my dial up connection, the music I listen to while I'm working on the eMc or blogging is logged into my lastfm profile and also updated on Facebook. You can see what I've been listening to here.

If that's not enough I'm also on Plaxo and LinkedIn. Plaxo keeps my address book and mail list backed up on the web just in case my computer croaks. [Knock on wood] The six year old e Mac is still running strong. With current web media sophistication it seems to go a bit slow, not to mention the dial up (it's true) Just think what I could do with high speed? Well maybe I'm better off with my 'treadle Mac'

I'm sure there's more but who has the time when you're surfing on dial-up.

;-)

P.S. There's always
michaeljkline[at]gmail[dot]com

Stay in touch.

Tasks

Spent most of the day running errands. I managed to pack the pots I'm sending to the Mudfire Potters of The Roan Show opening in April. There will be a 2 gallon jar among some plates, platters, some big cups, and yunomis.

Speaking of yunomis, the AKAR yunomi show opens in the morning. I hope you will see the show and get to buy some of the great pots the show promises to have. Some of the cups profits will go to the Studio Potter magazine. They are recommending that you register so that your purchases can be expedited without delay. The show sold out pretty quickly last year as I remember, so log on early. I think the show goes live at about 10a.m. EST. I have a few more yunomi that I didn't ship that I hope to post on etsy very soon. I'll let you know when I do that.

My friend Buck was over this evening to wire up the pug mill, mixer, and kiln. Hopefully, soon we'll be hearing the roar of the Paoli mixing up some fresh red dirt. I've been limping along with reclaim and previously frozen clay that has taken a lot of time to reprocess. Maybe now I'll have no excuses to crank those pots out. Let's hope...

March 25, 2009

Soaking Wet

Every day I try to go through at least one box and cull the junk that lies within. Stuff that I have moved around too many times. Today I found a plastic tote box outside in the slow falling rain that had a big crack in the top of the lid! Damn! All of a sudden I was in crisis mode. I found one of my favorite books, A Sense of Order, by EH Gombrich, with a bunch of pages stuck together, soaking. Damn! So I sprang into action to save it. Also in the bottom soaking were a folio of B/W photos I had printed from my photography days in college. I spread as many as I could out on ware boards to dry. Those I wasn't worried about so much. I just peeled what I could apart and soaked down the rest for later separation. They just need to be pressed flat from their "curled up on ware boards" state. (I'll go and visit Dan Estabrook who's teaching up at Penland, and see if he can help! :-) )

All this to say that I had but a meager pottery output today. But I had couple of good kicks on the treadle wheel and thought it a more than enjoyable experience. Quality over quantity.
The difference in the kick wheel and the old Shimpo is all in the breathing and rhythym. The treadle requires a little more coordination and focus. It's really best for smaller pots, under 4lbs. The old Shimpo has a bit more power and I use it mostly for speed, when I'm in a hurry, and larger sized pots, but it's loud. So for now I'm making smaller pots and enjoying the treadle kick wheel.

Until next time...

[Sleepy time]

Getting A Handle On It

bucket on rolling cart with Mud Tools rib

A board of little mugs that I had made the other day, Saturday(?), awaited me this morning. After circling around and looking for the right arrangement I ended up with this setup to add and pull handles on them. I score the pots with a big serrated rib that Michael Sherrill gave me last Fall. I like using it because it's stiffish (is that a word?), it fits nicely in my grasp, and makes quick work of scoring. It simply feels better than the small serrated rib I had used for years.

scritch, scratch, poke, poke

Speaking of "feel" my daughters were hanging out the other day when I was throwing these mugs. Lillian decided she would help me, so after a short training session, she controlled the speed of the wheel, as I said faster, slower, etc. It felt like a team of glassblower's working in tandem on a piece. The crank on the old Shimpo is pretty stiff, but I must say the little gal got pretty good it. While she sat on the stool crankin', she also poked at a couple of the mugs. After a few of those, Evelyn wanted to get in on the fun. The mug at the right is poked by Lillian, the one on the left is Evelyn's design. I found it interesting that Evelyn decided to make a different mark than Lillian. After E made her marks, L gave it a scratchy try on the next one (always copying her older sister).

But all of this has me thinking how much these and other small pots are all about the finger tips. Maybe it's the relative scale of our hands/fingertips and the pots they encounter. Maybe this is a little bit vague. hmmm. One of the things that resulted from my accident a few years ago, was the difficulty of throwing tableware. (cups, bowls, production work) My fingers got sore from the repeated finger work required from throwing these smallish pots. My reaction was to make bigger pots that I could turn with ribs or a curled hand holding a sponge, hence a transition into larger pots that continues to this day. Now, though my fingers are stronger and smaller repeat ware isn't a problem.

Just a few thoughts on throwing, which I will now do since my lunch and this post are done!

where's that lotion??!!

Small Talk

Just when I thought it was safe to just get my circa 1970 Shimpo Scream™ spinning today, I find myself putting a material list ready for my man Buck who is coming over to wire, kiln, mixer, and pug mill. Just when I finished reclaiming/mixing about 500 lbs of clay! Damn™. But I'll really be glad to have the pug mill running again. The circa 1967(?) Paoli mixer pugger will get wired just in time to mix a new batch of clay, too. A potter's got to have clay! The drying rack is filling up with pots ready for a bisque so I've got to move the kiln off the front porch. All of these things will help with efficiency in the work shop. Besides more time™ in the day, I really need some serious streamlining™.

The rain today is a reminder of equipment that sits out in the rain needing tarps, muddy places that need gravel, a kiln shed that's full of leaves and other items of winter's blowing winds. All of this and blogging, too! A potter's life is never idle, no time to sit under the shade tree.

March 24, 2009

Jug, Handle, Again?

I'm fairly happy with the handle, it's strong and one finger and a bent elbow will easily be able to lift this pot. The tool I use to scratch birds and other designs into the dry leatherhard clay is one I used in printmaking back in college. It's modified with lots of duct tape. I can't remember what the tool is called, but it has three faces that come together into a sharp point that can be easily sharpened as needed.

March 23, 2009

Hayne Bayless at ASU

I got to see my good friend Hayne Bayless in Boone tonight. It was much too brief, but I'm thankful that Lynn Duryea and App State brought him here. Boone, NC is about an hour NE of the Penland/SprucePine/Bakersville area.