Open Studio on Saturday, June 28 (10:00-5:00) and Sunday, June 29 (1:00-5:00)
WillowAK Pottery pieces are also available at: Sourdough Mercantile in Ted Stevens International Airport; The Tangled Skein in Eagle River; Town Square Art Gallery, and All I Saw Cookware in Wasilla; Non-Essentials in Palmer; and Willow Creek Gallery in Willow.
You didn't hear about the last glaze firing, and there's a reason for that. I ended up pitching about half the mugs because they were problematic. It seems the probable cause was stress between the exterior and interior glazes, causing the clay to crack -- dunting. There were some new glaze batches involved and there are some tests yet to be done, one of which is firing as I am writing. It was difficult to lose so much work, but in the big picture of life, such a small problem; the only good I see in the experience is that I now have an ample supply of beautiful porcelain pieces, with lovely glazes, ready for a future art project!
Guess this is a good time to say you do a potter a big favor by letting him/her know if a piece does not hold up to normal wear and tear. We can't test drive every piece of work that leaves our studios, and we do count on feedback from those who purchase and use our pottery. Please do let me know if a piece of WillowAK Pottery does not hold up to reasonable use in your home.
A favor to ask: If you have a piece of WillowAK pottery, I'd like a photo showing it in use. Bowls, colanders, mugs, butter dishes, platters, tumblers, ANY piece at all. I claim that the pieces have personality when they leave here and would like to see them in action once they reside elsewhere. Just email the photo to
willowakpottery@gmail.com. Thank you. Thank you. Will be fun to learn just where these pieces are living and what they are doing! Yes, I'll share what I learn.
Captions on the following photos will let you know what's going on around here. The lake tonight is perfectly calm, reflecting the shoreline, and the sky is transitioning from its golden glow to a peachy orange. Love viewing these nightly sunsets with the magic that the lake adds to their beauty!
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| Two weekends ago -- still lots of ice in the lake. |
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| The grass seed planted last fall is coming in nicely. |
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Fun to see our neighbor touch down
and take off in his beautiful Beaver. |
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Whitecaps during the week.
Glass table top flew -- fortunately not into windows. |
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First of two mug layers in the last firing...
and great expectations. |
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| Colorful mugs, yarn bowls, and vases. |
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| Bowls of various size and shape, plus more mugs. |
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| But, the mugs started cracking... a loss of about 30. |
Had the wonderful opportunity of attending a workshop last weekend at which Adam Field was the presenter. Check out
http://www.adamfieldpottery.com/ to see his fine work. Adam took time to see some of the sites of Southcentral while here, and I expect we may see him again. What a fine workshop he conducted for those of us in the clay community who can't get enough of this!
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| Adam Field presented a great workshop for us. |
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| Adam's detail in form and surface is wonderful. |
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| Even the mug bottom receives careful attention. |
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Yes, I'm still knitting and felting wool clogs.
A dozen pair so far. |
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| Some are embellished with needle felting design. |
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Others are plain.
All are super cozy and cushioned. | |
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Time to make a final check on the kiln temperature and then call it a night. I started the day with a good news message from family in Japan, and just had several text messages from traveling family in Iceland, headed to London and beyond. Pretty amazing how well we can keep in touch via our devices, whether near or far from one another.
Remember, I'll be most appreciative if you send a photo of your pottery at work -- a piece that was once mine but now yours. Please send to:
willowakpottery@gmail.com
Thanks.