Several Views Of Bailey's Peak

Here are some pictures taken this morning. Since everybody (bloggers I have been reading) has been in some ecstatic state of Spring Fever, I wanted to join in.

Small Batch 2

I wanted to get these on the blog for those of you out there who are keeping score, and wondering about the rest of the clay processing. Here is a picture of my makeshift blunger,


a 1/2 inch drill that has a lock on the power grip so that I can walk away from the high pitched whirrrr of the mixer and busy myself with other things that need attention around my kiln/studio compound. There's always something to do...Then after about 10 minutes


I pour the slip through the sieve. It's a home made job that is about 15 mesh. If you look closely, it is simply made with metal window screen with a heavier screen below for support, all nailed to a 2X4 frame that spans a large garbage can. I give the whole sieve a few bounces to get the balance of the slurry through, leaving small pebbles and a few quartz stones. Then after the 30+ gallon can is filled with slip and the layer of clear water from settling has been removed with a siphon, the slip is poured


into 8 foot 2X4 frames that have a heavy wire screen nailed to the bottom,(It would have been so much easier to take a picture of the empty frame, tomorrow...)and a poly cotton bed sheet placed inside. (poly/cotton because this slip can sit in these frames for up to 3 weeks if the weather doesn't cooperate, and the 100% cotton sheets rot.

Then the excess water in the slip drips through the sheets and onto the ground and eventually the slip becomes clay that can be handled. Wow, a lot of work, but I really do enjoy it, especially on a beautiful day like today! What I don't enjoy is having to wait for the slip to dry out.

A Visit with Erik and Luba

Last week I stopped in to visit Erik and Luba of Mudfire. It was a beautiful Spring day and the sun filled studio was a bustle of budding potters. I was there to drop off pots for the "American Masters" show coming next month. Luba was busy helping her students...



and Erik took me to see the current show, Color and Line in the gallery.


Her's what Erik and Luba wrote about the show"Color and Line" which I thought was very eloquent...

About the Show

Each of these artists speaks with a unique color sensibility and character of line to tell a different tale, resulting in an exhibit richly informed by the sprawling aggregate of their experiences. As a whole, the group tends toward a mark-making minimalism and intermittent blocks of vibrant color, leaving space for the form itself to add to the narrative.

Courtney Martin's life in the Appalachian woods is reflected in soothing greens and browns and the soft flowing lines of her daily landscape. Diana Fayt's San Francisco studio inspires cool deco colors, jagged city lines, a bold sparseness, and bits of floral and insect motifs. Kelly Sullivan's background in printmaking reflects consistency and precision of line, as well as intentional subtle variations between each edition. For Julia Galloway, color has a semiotic role of triggering associations with other things - nostalgia for nature in an urban cityscape. Liz Zlot Summerfield's diminuitive focus yields small treasures with layers of texture and playful alternation between matte and reflective surfaces.

The goal of the ceramic artist is to create a compelling surface that reinforces and draws from the form, without simply covering it. The process begins with three dimensional design with an eye toward eventual embellishments. The canvas's creation itself presents not only aesthetic but technical decisions. Mineral oxides, glass formers, fluxes, and refractory materials are blended to achieve the desired effect. Like the master painters of old, the artist must also source and process materials to craft their pigments - stains, glazes, terra sigillatta, lusters, overglaze, and other studio arcana. At the end the work is ready for a magical transformation as the intense heat of the kiln plays its own tricks and wizardry, boldy claiming for itself the rights to the final appearance.

To paint on clay is to be equal parts alchemist, technician, gambler, and artist. The artists selected for this exhibition collectively express the stunning diversity and vitality that clay is capable of as canvas.

Here are beautiful pots from the show of Julia Galloway's which I think exemplify the masterful use of color and line.


Their fully equipped studios, kilns, and beautiful gallery, made me want to get busy with some clay and make a few pots. It is a dream studio and I'm sure inspires all who take classes there. I hope you can visit the gallery sometime if you're in the neighborhood of Atlanta, GA or even take one of their classes.

Made In Small Batches

When I'm digging clay for my pottery, I always get a little nostalgic for the David Outerbridge film made in the 70's, The Art of The Potter. That opening scene of the diggers, shoveling clay into some sort of pit to slake down, ...ahhh. The film is about Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach and my bootlegged VHS copy is a little bit out of focus in the beginning. Does anybody else have a copy like mine?
Alright, enough about that film...

Here I am digging my red dirt. The pit was originally dug by my 2006 Penland Fall Concentration class.

First I peel back the topsoil that, as you can see, is a little different in color. The topsoil is full of roots, small rocks and organic material. The red dirt is below this layer, and that is what I'm after.
Here are the clods of clay that then get slaked down and blunged in buckets.

I find that I can "beat" the clay up easier in these 5 gallon buckets. Obviously I would need a longer prop/jiffy mixer than the one attached to my 1/2 in. drill. if I wanted to mix in a larger/deeper container, i.e. garbage can. I love the color of this stuff. Making my clay in this way is slow and labor intensive. There are more efficient ways to process clay, but for now, with the simple tools I have on hand, it works pretty well, and I really enjoy it.Especially on a beautiful spring day! It's all time spent getting to know my materials. But I would like to be able to mix more clay at a time, so that I could get back to the wheel, where the real work is to be done.

Tom Turner writes

Here is what Tom thinks about the Brown Pot.

mornin-looked at your blog and the J. Brown seems to me to be New England, 1830-1840.
There was a Javan Brown who worked in Georgia and then North Carolina, but this doesn't read southern pot.
John Ramsey's book has a James and a John Brown in Baltimore Maryland in the early 1800's.
Guilland's book has Brown Brothers at Huntington, Long Island at that time too.
Ketchum's book has James Brown in Morganville, N.Y. Genessee county, 1854-64
ain't it wonderful? (-;

Thanks Tom.

E. Javan Brown did work in GA, learned pottery from Charlie Kline(who married Emma Brown) in the Atlanta area. I'm not sure how I am related to Charlie Kline but it could ruin my status as a first generation potter. I have done research to find out more about Charlie Kline but haven't found out a lot more than John Burrison has documented in "Brothers In Clay"

J. Brown 3 gallon Jar

I took a few pictures of this pot in Ted's studio. Ted's not sure who, where, or when it was made but it's one of his favorite old pots. Maybe my friend David Springs can give us an idea. I'll keep looking for clues. Here are a couple of views.

Travelin' Man

I'm back from the road trip to Athens Georgia and recovering from some bad stomach virus/road food slapdown. I've also been writing my article for the Studio Potter and hoping it will pass the editor's muster. I just wanted to check in quickly and share a few pictures of last weeks workshop.


Here is shot of the UGA Ceramics studio with some pots I demo-ed and some pots finished pots that I brought along.

Some pots made...

My good friend Ted with his youngest son Simon.


a closer view of the jug Ted is holding

Milk Crock

Ted held this milk crock up for me. It's unsigned but clearly from the Catawba/Lincoln Co. area of NC. It has a little blue "flare" on one side that is probably caused by a little rutile bearing rock or stone. We talked about going to the flea markets back n the 80's looking for old pots. Ted and I used to find these pots for $10 or so, really cheap by today's prices, and since Ted had a job he usually would do the buying. Even at $10 it was more than I could afford as a college art student.

University Day

I'm heading in to the quad for a day of making pots, answering questions, and showing my power point slide show. It's a beautiful day in Georgia and Ted's boy Christian made some awesome scrambled eggs and Ted made his fantastic coffee and I'm looking over some of Ted's great collection of pots and things. I may take a few pictures to post later. Have a good Tuesday.

Clay Play Day( and a Half)

It was good to hear that someone is having fun in the studio. This just sent in from my good friend Hayne Bayless from up New England way.
Hayne reports.

Below is a shot of this weekend's proceedings: Sam, Rob & Tracy, Tom White and Janet Kirkstetter came down to Sideways Studio for a long-planned clay day (and a half). It was a real treat to have everybody here making stuff. We got a slew of houses constructed, most of them with contributions from one and all. Saturday night I called it quits at 2 a.m.; the rest were still going strong. On the table in foreground, note Sam jug full of sangria and thermos for mate´.

Sam, Hayne, Janet K. Tom, Rob. 4-5-08

Hayne I'm out the door, but I'll strap on the bluetooth and give a call from the road. Thanks for the update.