Work for Open Studios 2008

I really got more out of meeting the other artists at Yosemite Place (well, about 1/2 of them) then I did in terms of visitors.  We probably got between 100 and 150 all weekend through our studio, and pretty much nobody was buying anything over $10.  I sold a total of 10 pieces, most of them cups under $5.  I think Artspan needs to do more to publicize the event outside the Bay Guardian and its own membership.

On the other hand, my sangria and salsa were a big hit, so I'll post recipes for those later.

Some highlights of work from the firings this week:

I had some issues with over and under firing in the kiln.  I think I need to calibrate the Skutt controller a little lower.  However, I find that the Orton kiln sitter cones are also bending a cone too low ... it's like heat isn't penetrating the center of the kiln.  And yes, I do stagger my shelves for airflow.  The above piece was an otherwise beautiful example of Creeper Ash with Bronze Dragon, but it stuck to the shelf and had to be chiseled off (despite 3/4" of footroom).

On the other hand, my Banana Slug Soap Dish didn't mind the firing at all.  I did a few of these, and they're all spoken for now.  They've been a popular enough idea that I might make more; comment if you'd be interested in buying one.

I also did some swirly mugs, deliberately off-center cups with twisted handles.  I'm quite pleased how these turned out; check the portfolio for others with different glazes.  However, I'm still having problems with my copper-green glazes being satin instead of glossy.

Another new thing for me is matched sets.  Above is one of 3 sets of matched teacups.

I'm also experimenting with colored slips, doing slip-trailing and scraffito.  The pieces on the left were done with David McDonald's white body slip, the ones on the right with a body slip for the grogless B-mix body I throw with.  Note that the McDonald formula seems to mute the 2% cobalt carbonate I'm using, and make it more grey-blue than blue-blue.  I also tried adding gum arabic to some of the slip, but since all of the recipes fit the clay bodies without cracking (at leather stage), I'm going to use the simple body slip.

These are individual olive oil / soy sauce dipping dishes.  Amusingly, the one of these I sold was bought to keep earrings in.

Finally, a few other pieces I'm really proud of:

Glaze is blue creeper ash over bronze dragon, again.

Royal over Oatmeal

Varigated Rutile Blue

As always, you can see more of these in my portfolio on SmugMug.  Within a few weeks, I should be opening a web store at Etsy.com where I'll sell some of the pieces left over from Open Studios.  In the meantime, if you want something, leave a comment!