OUT OF THE FIRE

 

A follow on from last week's post - 

After 3 days the cauldron was cool enough to empty the pots,

lots of good surprises and only a few losses.

 

The largest pot was the best, alas it has a fsmall fine hair crack running down from the rim,

but the result with this pot and a few others has urged me on to keep firing this way.

 

Last post I mentioned going to look at a kiln,

looking for it at the sale, owners said it had been dropped,

smashed to bits and taken to tip,

I think someone bought it privately before sale.

Doesn't matter, there are others out there.

 

Searching on Gumtree, found one that might suit me,

going to look at it tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

 

Next project, make a lighting cube, finding it difficult to take decent photos.

 

 

This is the best result, (fine hair crack)
Hand built, white earthenware clay, burnished and bisqued to cone 018
before firing in sawdust and other exciting additives.

Just love the results.

Same pot, other side.

 

  I have been viewing all the posts re last weekend and Open Studios,

check them out on Mud Colony,

there's a lot of fantastic,  creative and talented potters out there.



WOW! What a weekend

 

 

The weekend started off Saturday morning at an Auction Clearance Sale.  We love these, lots of lovely goodies to pick up for a song.  After picking through rows and rows of rubbish, we did bid for a few items for $2, $5 and $10.  The dearest $20 for a wrought iron outdoor setting in good nick.   But it rained all throughout the sale, I was miserably wet, the umberella kept wanting to turn inside out, then the sun came out once all items were sold.  Oh! well! That's the weather for you. 

 

Today, Sunday morning, was planned to set up a pit firing of a couple of burnished pots I've been saving for this occasion.  Lots of nice dry cow manure mixed into sawdust, copper pieces, corn husks (soaked in salt and dried), banana skins, coffee, dried leaves and an experiment (mistletoe leaves draped over pots).  Copper, magnesium, iron, salt and baking soda mixed through the manure/sawdust mix.  Took a lot of photos and here are a few of them.  This fire will probably burn for a few days the way its going at the moment.

1.  The big cauldron bought from a Clearance Sale
for just this use
 
2.  Plenty of fuel layed out on bottom of cauldron
and a large heavy grill placed about 1/3 way up.

3. The pots placed on a bed of sawdust/manure mix which has been laid on grill. Lots of other goodies placed in, on and around pots.

4. Another layer of sawdust mix,  placed carefully placed over pots and a layer of timber on top of that.

5.  Fire is lit under grill and away she goes

6.  "Lucky" guarding the fire, but it will be too hot soon for him to stay

Well that's the best I can do with these photos
they do what they want, not what I want
them to do. 

Don't forget to check out MudColony and see what the other "Muddies" are up to.

DILEMMA

 

Had a couple days away with my daughter and her family and came home with a horrible tummy bug.  Have been feeling miserable since came home, so to cheer myself up thought I would throw a few pots with new stoneware clay I have been saving for just the right occasion.   It worked, felt much better concentrating on clay and speed of wheel, thinking of nothing else, with just the radio on in the background.  Then spent a lovely couple of hours this afternoon turning the pots.  It's been a while since I've spent any time on the wheel and had forgotten how much I enjoy it.

 

 

 

So that has brought my dilemma to a head.  I keep bouncing around from wheel to handbuilding,

slab to moulds, creative to functional, etc. etc.  I just don't know where I'm heading and can't seem

to get a handle on just what path to follow.  My problem is I like it all, and I'll end up a jack of all

trades, but not proficient in any.  I love sawdust/pit firing but also like sgraffito and painting on my

pots pre bisque. 

 

Has anyone else found themself in this situation, how do I get myself sorted out???

 

Anyway, enough of my rambling on , must pop over to MudColony and check out what others are up to.    

 



LATEST POTS

These are the latest ones I've been working on

Not much else has happened, except

finally caught up with everything except the garden.

Oh! well, might get out there this afternoon. 

Don't forget to pop over and check out Mud Colony

Frost Over Barraba Art Festival

 

 

What a week and it's not over yet.

Since Saturday 22nd I have been involved in the setting up of this Exhibition.

The Tamworth Leader (newspaper) sent out a photographer

and I was captured on film organising the hanging of the Exhibition -

paintings, pottery and photographs.  We had just short of 500 entries.

Whew! what a huge job, but we did it with the help of lots of volunteers

and last night was our Official Preview Night.

I was over the moon, one of my pottery entries received 1st and

2 of the others a Highly Commended, then to top it off I sold one.

 

So you will understand why I have not been potting much lately, we still have

this weekend open, then Monday pack it all up for transport back to

depots for pick up by Artists. 

 

 

I can't wait for this to be behind us, so I can get back to my clay.

 

Don't forget to check out Mud Colony to find out what everyone  else is up to.

2 DAYS PAINTING AT ART IN ACTION, KURRAJONG

Last weekend I spent 2 days painting with 3 of my very good

"arty" friends .  Every year we trek off to Kurrajong

and spend a glorious couple of days dining out,

sipping on the occasional?  wine, painting and catching up

on the last 12 months.  Lots of late nights and early mornings,

but we love it.  Oh! I forgot to say we stay in this

fabulous B & B and are pampered like you wouldn't believe.

Sometimes I think we do this weekend just for the pampering

at the B & B.  

 

 

First day painting was landscape scenes,

this is Bendemeer, NSW

 



 

********************** 

 

 

Second day was a different technique of painting.

Jackson Pollock style - throwing, dripping and

dribbling paint on the canvas -

mine ended up an aerial view of the Red Centre

  

 

*******************

 

So, that is the reason no pottery blog this week,

but don't forget to check on the other potters

at www.MudColony.blogspot.com.au

 

 

JUST OUT OF THE KILN

 

VOILA!  MY FIRST BATCH OF PENDANTS

 

I have been working towards this day for a few weeks,

yesterday I fired these pendants in sawdust and

anxiously waited for them to cool down.

They have been polished with beeswax and

 hung on thin leather cords.

 

 

 

 

Also working on another range of pendants

which will be glazed front and back.  Just sorting out how I

will hang them in the kiln to fire. 

Can't wait to finish them. 

 

Don't forget to check out Mud Colony to see

what other potters are creating.

 

 

 

SUNDAY MORNING

 

 

 

 

Winter is waiting in the wings,

feel the crispness in the air morn and night,

leaves turning, falling to the ground,

my view from kitchen window,

 lovely ornamental pear edging our drive, 

wearing a beautiful coat of many colours.

 

 

(This image does not do them justice)

 

A LITTLE BIT OF PAINTING

 

 

Made these two dishes with white earthenware,

following Gail Kennedy's technique.

A bit bland, but wanted to keep them white

with a clear glaze, hence a bit of

underglaze painting.

 

 

 

Don't forget to check out the works of other potters at Mud Colony. 

 

 



FRUSTRATED WITH THIS BLOG

FED  UP ....... I'm just about to tear my hair out with this blog.  Wanted to use the Dynamic Screen, but had so much trouble with it, have reverted back to "Simple".  As I'm Simply Annie, I suppose

that is what I should stay with.  Have been dithering back and forth with different blog

"looks" for a few weeks now, finally will just leave it as it is now. 

 

Have added a photo of the new look egg cup + egg.  Sorry couldn't add the toast fingers,

it has not been bisqued yet.

 

 

SUNDAY, BUSY SUNDAY

The results of trying something a little different

Part of a new range, these are egg cups, underglaze painted only at this stage.

""EXCITED''

 

It doesn't take much to get me excited these days, but today I am very very excited.

You see,  for the last few years, have had to fill the washing machine by hand at every

stage, manually turn the dial to spin, etc. etc.

 

WELL, today the machine has been hooked up to the large water tank

 (which had a leak, so therefore could not do this before) 

and now I can just load up the machine and walk away, and wait

for the load to finish.

 

BLISS..... I have done 3 loads in the time it would take to do  1.

What used to take all morning for 1 load, I can now do 3 or 4 loads.

Of course, then there is the ironing, but it can wait,

I've more important things to do, like throwing, turning, glazing, etc.

 

. 

HANDBUILDING

 

 

A few quick photos of my handbuilding efforts over the last few days.

 

 

 

Egg Cups,  (hot off the press) not even dry yet.

 

 

3 stages of sorting out a spoon rest,

starting from bottom, 1st, 2nd then todays effort.

Not happy yet, will scrap this technique and

try another direction.

 

Check out the works of other potters  on www.mudcolony .

 

 

 

 



South Island New Zealand

I've been absent from blogging for a few weeks, didn't have much to show,
plus organising for a holiday. I've come back revitalised and the first item
 on my list was change the image and name of my blog. I'm now "Simply Annie" .

 

To  cut to the chase, we have just returned from 20 days South Island New Zealand.  Absolutely fantastic.  Took too, far too, many photos, still trying
 to edit. 900 pics.    So here is just a snapshot of some of my favourite places.

 

Lots and lots of favourite places, in fact,  loved everything,  it was hard
 to whittle it down to these few .  1st on my list was the overnight cruise
 on Doubtful Sound.  Beautiful morning sunrise, dolphins, penguins,
and gorgeous food.  Walked to the face of Fox Glacier, 2 ks. all up hill. 
 (nearly didn't make it, shall have to exercise now I'm home).  Lots
and lots of  lakes, mountains and rivers. 

 

Now have caught up on the chores, can't wait to get  back into  the clay tomorrow and hopefully have something worthwhile to show next blog.
  As a matter of fact have heaps of glazing to do.

Pop over to www.mudcolony and catch up on the other potters
 on Mud Colony.  So until next time,  
Cheers and happy potting.



REJECTS

 

The beginning of my pottery path

which wanders through the garden under a huge tree.

All reject pottery (up to date) has been broken up

and placed on the path in random

which will eventually (I'm sure there will be plenty of rejects)

be a colourful crazy mosaic of pottery pieces.

Like the path, the garden is in it's early days,

waiting for the severe heat of summer to give

all the new plants a chance to grow.

 



JANUARY HEAT WAVE

 

 

I decided I should get off my butt and do something
after the last couple of weeks of extreme heat,
 get the creative juices flowing again,
I have so many ideas floating around in my head,
so

here are the first pieces waiting for bisque firing.

 

 

Tea lights, my first venture into porcelain 

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to pop over to www.mudcolony.blogspot.com.au

and see the fantastic work other potters are creating.

COLOURFUL VISITOR

 

 

Male King Parrot


 

It's been hot, so hot, high 38-41C. for about 14 days now,
haven't felt like potting, too hot the clay would dry out too fast
today,  finally,  its only 30C. and I have a need to get my hands
into some clay.   Starting off with a little hand building,'
went outside to wash the clay off my hands
and found this fellow having a feed off our grape vine. 
He just sat there, stopped eating
long enough to watch  me walk up very close to take this photo.

 

CHRISTMAS WISHES

 

For the very last Mud Colony for 2012

I have something exciting to say (for me anyway) ,

I often give some of my pottery

away to friends or as gifts, but the long awaited

sale has happened.  Although only a very small

bowl, I sold my very first piece of pottery today.

Woohoo, what a thrill.

 



This is it, not very fancy or special,
but someone liked it enough to buy it.
  

I would like to say thank you to Adriana for initiating this blog,

a late happy birthday wish as well,

and a wish for a wonderful Christmas to Adriana and 

all fellow Mud Colony bloggers

plus a happy and creative 2013.



 

THE BEST OF THE BUNCH

I don't know if  you all are aware, I'm what is called a "Newbie" to the world of pottery and ceramics.  My history with clay goes back some 22 years.  After a disastrous split with my then husband and looking for something to take my mind off things. I joined a local studio and was involved there for about 12 - 18 months.  Life moves on and so did I, and recently found myself again at a local pottery studio in a small NSW town.  A friend gave me a wheel she had catching dust in the garage, a beautiful 91yr. old local potter who was winding down her potting, passed her gas kiln over to me.  I have had no experience with kilns, let alone a gas one, so together with the invaluable assistance of Adriana, my current friend and I have ventured into the world of gas kiln firing.  As our Adriana says "WOO HOO"  what a journey it has been.  The first attempt was a low fire bisqueing of burnished pots with no problems with result other than Don and I had absolutely no idea what we were doing.  Wednesday this week we lit up again and this time a glaze firing.  The results were mixed, some good and some "not so good" in other words, duds.  All earlier photos I have displayed on my blog have been fired at the local studio.  So now, I am about to display a few of the better results.  My photography is crap, so please excuse that as well.

HERE GOES ................

The best of the batch, clear glaze on terracotta clay

Same clay, same glaze but a different result.  Even a changing of
colour that surprised me but quite happy with result.

Glazed this with a matt glaze (didn't know how it would turn out)

This group of three pots were covered in coloured slip
before bisqueing, then glazed with the matt glaze.
What a fantastic surprise and finish, I'm rapted how they feel.

Just happy with this small bowl

Now this one glazed beautifully, except I placed on top shelf
and the kiln fibre drooped down, attaching
 itself to a part of the rim, leaving it rough.  B......g .r

                                                                                                                                                                 

Shame about this one, happy with glaze
BUT it blistered on outside of bowl.





Well, that's about it for me this week, don't forget to catch everyone
else on Mud Colony this week.

TEAPOT MAD

Unloaded the kiln yesterday and here is
another teapot for my collection.  Again the spout is too large (thick)
but overall reasonably  happy with the result.  Except the red did not turn out
as I expected.
But, I will keep trying until I make a teapot that I am
absolutely happy with.