Santa's Little Workshop

The sound of saws, hammers, and drills cannot be heard in our studio but we are assisting Santa as well as the elves that are so celebrated at this time of year! We found time over the long weekend to glaze and fire quite a few pieces. We finished the Christmas order my co-worker, Carrie Fitzgerald, had placed for four bowls and I shall deliver them to her this morning. In addition several more pieces were brought to completion and are pictured below. We have begun matching up our pieces with the people we wish to present them to for Christmas gifts and are finding that we have more pieces than people! And in addition to that, Cynthia says that we don't have to give everyone pottery for Christmas! Can you imagine that?? LOL! She is right, of course. Thankfully we have learned the art of keeping some of our pottery ourselves. Nothing like eating out of a bowl that you created as Cynthia and I did with our potato soup Sunday afternoon. One day hot in the kiln and the next day filled with hot soup! Now that is what I call "performance art"! Enjoy the pics and let us be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Christmas Order Fulfilled 

Christmas Ordered Fulfilled 

More Christmas Goodies

Candles, Vases and Decorative Pieces....Oh, my!

Santa's Workshop is busier than ever! We have a dozen candles completed, several vases and decorative pieces completed as well. I have included some pics of the finished product for those of you keeping track of their progress. In addition to these we have about a dozen bowls drying and several more decorative pieces. Three of which are Raku with one of them being a larger folded bowl, a style that Cynthia has perfected. More pics to come! Tis the season to be busy! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Show and Tell 5 

Show and Tell 4 

Show and Tell 3 

Show and Tell 1 

The Mud Hut Nightshift

Last night found us in the studio as usual. Cynthia glazed a decorative vase with a dark brown covered by a white glaze and fired it to a cone 6 to produce a beautiful bespeckled appearance that you can see in the picture below. I trimmed the Christmas order bowls and we both worked on putting some handles on the mugs I threw the other night. Cynthia also worked on our folded bowl fashioned from the Raku clay. We continue to experiment with glazes, shapes, and designs. Each piece teaches us something new. We have several pieces in the drying stages waiting their turn for bisque firing. Ideally we would always have pieces in each of the various stages: throwing, waiting to be trimmed, trimmed and drying, bisque fired, and finally the glazing stage. Enjoy the pics and let us know what you think.

Bespeckled Vase 

Cynthia Fashioning A Mug Handle 

Christmas Order Trimmed 

Raku Deja Vu

Raku....again! After getting hooked on Raku at Nixa, Missouri we were very pleased to be invited by Boston Artist's Gallery here in Tulsa to join them for their Raku firing December 4! Once the excitement settled down the work had to begin so I grabbed fifty pounds of Raku clay and headed to the studio. Last night I threw a large bowl, a decorative piece, and a bowl that is to be folded by Cynthia when the time is right. We would like to have several quality pieces ready for the Raku firing and have high hopes that we will. Cynthia went over the Raku glazes available to us through Spectrum and is in the process of making the right selection. Rest assured that pictures will follow this journey. Matter of fact, you will find three pics below indicating the level of progress we are making. Once we get the bowl folded and the pieces trimmed I will provide you with more. So, like the old television announcer used to say while my brother and I sat with towels clothspinned around our shoulders, "Stay tuned to the same bat channel, same bat time!"

Working The Raku

Shaping The Piece 

Final Touches

Open For Business!

You know your hobby is getting serious when it moves from personal satisfaction to business transactions! One of my co-workers placed our very first order. She has ordered four bowls to be glazed in Text Iron and Pattern Blue. Included in this posting is a picture of the bowls thrown this past weekend, drying and waiting to be trimmed. Also you will find a not-so-flattering pic of me preparing the clay. In addition to the bowl order we have sold some candles as well. We are in high hopes of The Mud Hut at least supporting itself and one day moving to a full blown studio with a retail shop. So, if you know of anyone who would like to commission a local artist to design and build that someone special something special. . . . Happy mudding!

Christmas Order 

Preparing The Clay

2004 Annual Raku Day

Yesterday’s predawn darkness found Cynthia and me loading the car and heading for Nixa, Missouri for their Annual Raku Day. Seven creations from Raku clay were safely nestled in the trunk along with food that we would add to the other participant’s collection once we got there. After arriving we signed in, made our way to the glaze center, and begin our glazing process. We experimented with the various colors and even used some slip and chip (which we decided we didn’t particularly like) and had our pieces ready for the kilns.
The event was well attended so we took our place in line helping out with the process for others. After our pieces had fired long enough to liquefy the glazes we retrieved them from the belly of the kiln with long tongs and asbestos gloves, placing them on a stand inside a washtub prepared for such. Hurriedly we placed a tin trashcan (with several sheets of newspaper stuffed inside) upside down over our pieces and left them in this makeshift reduction structure. Then, like digging for treasure, we retrieved them from this after about twenty minutes and washed them off. Oh the colors! You just have to see the pieces to appreciate them! Be sure to check out the pics below of 2004 Annual Raku Day at L & R in Nixa, Missouri.
We enjoyed the food, the people, and the whole process! We purchased another hundred pounds of clay (one of them a deep red that we have high hopes for) and some more glazes. Upon our return home we couldn’t resist rushing right to the studio where I promptly threw five more pieces with the new clay and Cynthia experimented with our new glazes on some test tiles that I had previously prepared for her. We found the color we want for our piece we named Adversity and the memory vase that we created for a family member who lost her mother entitled “Lou”. We can’t wait to apply the glaze!
Thank you L & R in Nixa, Missouri for a great day! We are sure to be there for your next Annual Raku Day!

The Glaze Meister

Into The Fire

Out Of The Fire

Doing The Dishes 

The Finished Product 

Trying To Get A Handle On It

Whatever "it" is, whether it is a mug, a vase, or some private interpretation of artistic expression, I have struggled with getting a handle on it. Never mind my private grappling with many issues both political and emotional! We are talking clay here!

While I feel like we have made progress in this department with the latest application being last night in the studio with the addition of a handsome handle to a expressionist pitcher and thanks to Cynthia's delicate touch, there is always much to be learned. In my research I ran across an article run by Clay Times and written by Cindy Strnad. An article so helpful that I thought I would pass it on to you Mud Hutters that might be open to suggestion as well. You can get to Clay Times throught this site..... http://www.claytimes.com/ and then navigate your way to the articles offered for your perusal or you can simply follow this link to the aforementioned article.... http://www.claytimes.com/PullHandles.htm. You can also subscribe to this helpful magazine through their No Risk Subscription plan by calling 1.800.356.2529 where they will agree to send you their Nov/Dec issue with the option of keeping the magazine and yet not subscribing or you may pay the $26 annual subscription fee. No, I don't work for Clay Times! Just passing on helpful information to those who might be trying to get a handle on clayworks.

Adversity

One of our pieces has emerged earning its own name. Adversity. It is named such because of the difficulty with which it came into being. Several times I was tempted to give up on it and start all over but persevered feeling drawn to complete what was begun. And am I ever glad that I did! The walls would oscillate between thick and thin, the shape vascillated between what I wanted and what the piece was demanding. But the end results was a thing of beauty!

I couldn't help but be reminded of the way life often is. How difficult and ardorous our paths may become but how faithful the Master Potter is in shaping our lives into things of beauty! How many times have I tempted Him to give up on my ever becoming anything of use or beauty, yet He persevered. And, interestingly enough, both my life and the piece Adversity has become more beautiful due to the very difficulty that bore it it's name! So may this unique piece always remind us that while the process of life itself may be extremely difficult it can be brought to a thing of beauty and great use by the Master Potter who never, ever gives up on His creations!