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Showing posts from January, 2013

January 26, 2013

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Good Morning! Posted photos of a kiln unloading yesterday -- a bisque firing with 90 pieces. If you're on Facebook, check out:  https://www.facebook.com/WillowAK.Pottery If you're not on Facebook, here's a sampling: Yarn bowls Scalloped bowls Mugs and more mugs Platters Sled dog stamp you'll be seeing more of Back to cold temps here -- minus 16 degrees and going down, but we couldn't be more pleased with how the house handles the cold.  No frost on windows and cozy inside. Enjoyed the Willow Winter Carnival dinner last evening -- delicious pot roast dinner, great paintings created and auctioned, impressive fireworks display and lots of good visiting.  At each of the community events we seem to meet someone new who's very interesting. Last night it was a couple who just moved here from Ohio, where he was a professor at Bowling Green -- English and African Studies. His primary expertise is on CS Lewis, about whom he's written se...

January 17, 2013

Trimmed the mugs thrown yesterday and threw another half dozen this afternoon. The JG clay is like cream cheese -- seems to have nicely survived its year in a box. The plan was to start pulling and attaching handles tonight, but it seemed to make more sense to finish throwing the block of clay, so trimming and handles will happen tomorrow. Have made a commitment to make 75 mugs, so need to move forward with creating those.  Sure hope to become a more efficient potter during the process!  Guess it's good to know they already have a gift shop placement once completed.  Would like to put a dozen in the kiln I'm about to fire so they can be "test" mugs in the next glaze firing; that means removing some large pieces from the top shelves to make room for mugs. The news today focused on Lance Armstrong's admission of doping, Manti Te'o's girlfriend hoax, endless ranting and raving over proposed gun laws, etc.; maybe it's a good evening to listen to music, r...

January 16, 2013

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Since last writing, we've enjoyed lots of events and activities with family and friends including Christmas, New Years, holiday parties, birthday, and quiet evenings at home! Now that it's mid-January, we're talking about gardening, summer, longer days, and more quiet evenings at home. Have been knitting, reading, throwing pots, and doing way too much eating. Time to regroup. Three hours in the studio tonight. Opened a new bag of porcelain; threw half a dozen mug forms and made a ruler out of the new clay so I can determine shrinkage percentage when this clay body is bisqued and then glaze fired. Kiln is loaded with work still needing to dry more before being fired. No reason to rush it. Plus, it would be nice to fit in a piece or two made with the new clay to see how it fires in comparison to the previous clay -- in the same firing.   Always testing and learning. Donated a large platter to Willow Winter Carnival to be raffled.   I'm told this is the major fundr...