Will Baker soda fired bowl

Here's another Will Baker pot - soda fired bowl.

We slept in a bit this morning after staying up till Midnight watching the Academy Awards.

Grassy Creek just delivered the doors for upstairs. We're replacing all the hollow core doors with solid panel doors as well as replacing those old louvered closet doors for paneled doors. The construction crew will be here tin a little while and I'll dash out to the studio after breakfast. If they need me for decision making they're going to have to come in there.

I have over 100 test tiles to deal with this morning. After doing the Helios tiles, I realized that since the Helios's lowest cone is 7, I'd at least better just test these slips and glazes on a body that can actually be used at cone 6, so I threw another 50+ tiles of Loafers Glory yesterday. I rummaged through some jars of old bisqued tiles and found I have a few Phoenix , a large sun tea jar full of a cone 6 white stoneware from Highwater, and P5 porcelain tiles that I can use; but I need to throw more Phoenix tiles since I've finally decided to settle on that one body once I use all all my reclaim and other clays.

Yesterday I cut and cleaned the 56 tiles I threw the day before. Today I'll so the same with the Loafers Glory tiles, and trim and put handles on the few porcelain mugsI made a couple of days ago. If I have enough uninterrupted time I'll also throw more Phoenix tiles.

John Britt's new soda test kiln only takes two 12X24" shelves and there may be 3 of us putting tiles in there, so I don't have many tiles to make for this cone 6 soda firing of glazes and slips. All of the slips I want to test are already batched. They're slips I'm either currently using on a regular basis or have batched and only have to be remixed. I think I still have some small test batches of some cone 6 glazes I tested 5-6 years ago. I just have to figure where I put them. I suspect they're in large rubber maid containers in the basement, so I'll dig around there when I go down to water my seedlings.


Till later!
June

Cathi Jefferson Salt glazed cup

We bought this Cathi Jefferson salt glazed cup on a visit to Victoria, B.C., Canada some years ago. The buttery finish on her porcelain body is a terra sig slip - very lovely work!

Finally got a full day in the studio-- threw about 50 or so porcelain test tiles and some porcelain mugs. I found an unused piece of granite slab which was leftover from our kitchen remodel and Jim and I carted it into the studio. Actually, we tried to carry it, but my new titanium hip isn't happy with me carrying anything over 25 lbs and that granite was a lot more than 50lbs. Jim retrieved a cart from the wood shed and brought it in the rest of the wayt and then we both lifted it up on to the table. It's now serving as a wedging surface for porcelain.

I have a double sectioned plaster wedging table which I use for the two stoneware bodies I've been using the past 4 years and I thought it was good to keep the porcelain separate. These tiles are just for the Cone 6 soda firing John Britt and I want to play around with; but porcelain is something I rarely work with these days.

Today I'll trim and mark those tiles, trim the pots and pull handles and make a bunch of Phoenix test tiles. It amazes me how quickly 6 hours of studio time flies!

After dinner I've been doing studio related glaze research for this cone 6 soda project - looking through my recipes and re-figuring some cone 10 recipes with my glaze software to get them down to cone 6.

We've got leftovers for tonight so I'll be able to work till around 5:30, have dinner and get on with the glaze work while watching the Academy Awards which are always lightweight fun.

Till later,
June

Kyle Carpenter Salt fired cup

Here's a sweet little salt fired cup by Asheville area potter Kyle Carpenter. This is one very talented young man!

Yesterday was another one of those "man plans, God laughs" days! I was counting on a full studio day and there was one meeting after another yesterday morning with the subs. I had to make decisions on dry wall, lights, hardware and on and on. By the time everyone had all their answers, plants tended, it was noon, so I suggested to Jim that since I lost my morning time and it was obvious with all these people and activity that I was not going to get a full day in the studio, maybe we should go to Asheville and get the rest of the hardware. So we grabbed a slice of cheese and some almonds to hold us until we could get a proper lunch or dinner and took off.

We bought the last of the hardware at Lowes but still can't find a small, ceiling fixture for the smaller upstairs bathroom. The size is very limited, as is the shape, so I'm going to have to continue to explore on line lighting stores tonight. So far, no luck. I also made a quick stop at Highwater clay to pick up a quart of resist and couple of boxes of clay, both for the cone 6 soda project and a box of Moon White clay which I'm phasing out, to finish an order. I've finally decided on one commercial claybody-- Phoenix, so once I use up the reclaim and other clays I've been playing with, I'll finally get to use my de-airing Bluebird pugmill. It's such a horror to clean that I haven't wanted to use it again until I did all my slip and glaze testing and settled on one clay body.

We had an early dinner/late lunch at the Chinese restaurant so I didn't have to make dinner. I just make some buttered popcorn with parmesan cheese and a sprinkiling of cayenne while we watched "The Secret of Roan Innish" - lovely, mystical, movie!

The tile work was finished when we got home and looks great - except the carpenters forgot to make the recessed areas in the tub area wall to store shampoo, etc. Neither Jim or I caught it, so now I have to search for something to hold soap and shampoo - probably one of those gizmos that hang on the shower pole.

Well, time to think about breakfast. It's nice to have a quiet morning and the house to ourselves for the weekend and get some uninterrupted studio time.

Till later,
June

Josh Copus Hakeme bowl

This bowl by Josh Copus is a lovely example of Hakeme brush work.

Yesterday was a busy studio day, with some morning time for transplanting some seedlings and planting a few more seeds. It was also a day with contractors working all over the house. The tile man got the tiles up in the upstairs bathroom and repaired a tile in the master bath. Today he'll do the grouting. The carpenters put together the granite topped vanity and it looks great. There's still wood flooring to install in there and drywall repair and painting to do

I'll be back in the studio this morning after breakfast and checking my seedlings. It was 15F this morning when we took the dogs out for their morning walk. Fortunately the studio water pipes didn't freeze overnight so I won't have to wait for them to thaw.

It should be a full studio day till around 4:30. Dinner is going to be simple - braunschweiger sausage, boiled parsley potatoes and spinach.

I spent last night going through glaze recipes I've collected for 36 years. There are over ten thousand recipes so this will take a while! John Britt and I want to explore cone 6 soda firing, so I'm going through those glazes looking for some I think would work so we can do a firing in his new, small, soda test kiln in the next few months. First I need to get enough pots made for a firing before the TRAC tour late spring; but I'm hoping to batch some of these tests in between.

If anyone reading this blog has any cone 6 soda recipes to share we'd really appreciate it!

Till later,
June

Ruthanne Tudball soda fire bowl

Here's a really sweet, faceted, soda fired bowl from Ruthanne Tudball. My husband bought this for me during a trip to England and Ireland last fall. I'm not sure why she made a saucer for this bowl. When I opened the package I thought he had bought me 2 pots. It almost looks like a small soap dish, which I think it could be used as, with a round bar of soap; but he said that it was a part of the bowl set.

Got my full time in the studio yesterday remixing some slips and decorating some pots. My black decorating slip sinks like a rock and so does my Linda's Yellow slip. And they both settle very fast - too fast - particularly the Lindas Yellow. I mixed up and added some ben a gel to the Lindas yellow; but when I checked it fifteen minutes later it was still settled, but easier to remix. It may be like concrete again this morning! I'll probably add more Ben a Gel today . It's a suspender that I got years ago from Ferro in Canada and I can't find it anymore. Either they've stopped making it or are marketing it under another name. Ruth Gowdy McKinley told me about it in the 70's.. With most glazes 1/4% is enough to keep the glaze well suspended. I only have about 2 cups of it left and I'm hoarding it for the couple of slips and glazes, like White Salt which settle like concrete! I'm going to have to start searching for an alternative suspender that works this well.

The construction crew is here this morning. They got some of the hardware installed in the smaller bath and are going to be putting together the vanity this morning. The tile man is supposed to be here this morning to get started on the tile work around the tub in the larger, upstairs bathroom. We're hoping these bathrooms will be done when our daughter and her husband arrive from Germany around the middle of March.

The Gordon Ramsay Linguini Puttanesca was wonderful last night and we have leftovers for tomorrow. Tonight it's the leftover Mexican, chicken stir fry so I'll just have to make more re-fried beans to go with it. Since I don't have to allow for a lot of dinner prep time, I'll be able to get my 6 hours of studio time. There are still more pots to trim, wax and slip, pots to decorate, and some handles to pull.

It was snowing earlier but the sun is coming out now and it's pretty breezy out there.. I put my broccoli, cabbage and brussel sprout starts on the front porch this morning but I'll have to bring them in at night for the next several nights which are going to be quite cold. I probably should have waited a week or two before buying them. If I get time tonight I'll re-pot them along with some of my other seedlings which are now big enough to go into larger peat pots.

Time for morning vitamins and some extra C for this cold that has come back , then head for the studio.

Till later,
June

Suze Lindsay salt glaze slab dish

Here's the last of my Suze Lindsay pots. It's a lovely slab piece that I use often. The size is just right for pickle, olives, veggies for dipping, etc.

Yesterday was spent shopping for the new bathrooms and having a big lunch at "Fatz". Lowes hardware had the missing shade for the guest bedroom and the shades are now installed and look great. They were out of the tissue holder to match the towel bars we bought, so we'll have to make another trip to get it. It will have to wait till next week or when this cold/rain/snow/sleet weather breaks. Going down or over these winding mountain roads is not something we care to do in this kind of weather.

I was hoping to get in the studio after breakfast but the plumber showed up at 8:30am, turned off the water while I was a making breakfast. It's 11am and the water is still off! They carpenters are removing a partition wall in the larger bathroom this morning and reinforcing the support beam above. Our contractor put the tile installer off a day, figuring the plumber might not be finished - good call!

It's all coming along nicely; but it's definitely digging into my work time! I've been using what little spare time after construction chores to cook and take care of seedlings. I planted a few more seeds yesterday and transplanted some red sage seedling and will be doing more tonight. It's nice to see all those tiny green seedling coming up. This morning one yellow echinacea seed came to life! I bought some organic potting soil yesterday and will be transplanting more of these seedlings as soon as they're big enough.

We had to drive to the Lowes in Marion for those bathroom accessories and I swear I saw daffodils blooming when we got down the hill! I bought some 6-9 packs of broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage. Tonight I'll transplant them to bigger big peat pots. It was raining and sleeting this morning and snow is expected tonight. We're expecting more of the same the rest of this week with some 20 degree night time temperatures, so I'll have to put those veggie starters out during the day and bring them into the mud room at night until the weather is good enough to get them in the ground.

Just found out that the water is back on so I'm heading out to the studio. I'll be able to get in my 6 hours of studio time. Dinner is going to be an easy linguini Putanesca with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, anchovies, etc.. It's a Gordon Ramsay recipe I got from his web site the other day which I'm eager to try it.

Till later,
June

Suze Lindsay Cup

Here's another pot from my collection - a Suze Lindsay, salt glazed, large cup.

The crew arrived this morning with the new tub and toilet. Today was going to be a studio day but after looking at the weeks weather forecast (snow/rain/cold for the next 4 days), we changed our plans and instead, will be heading down the mountain to Lowe's hardware in Marion to see if they have the missing shade we need as well as more hardware for the bathrooms. We'll have our big meal of the day at Fatz (Jim likes their shrimp and grits), and just cook some popcorn or a small, doctored, frozen pizza for dinner.

Yesterday wound up flying by way too fast. I got involved with my seedlings,dinner prep which took much longer than I thought, small appliance repair, etc., and I never did find any time for the studio; but we had a great Mexican dinner and there was enough leftover margarita mix from our margarita madness party so we could each have a double margarita. We had no trouble sleeping last night! :-)

Time to water my seedlings, check in with the construction crew, have some breakfast and get on the road!

Till later,
June

SuzeLindsay Cruet

Here's another cruet from my collection. This salt glazed piece is by another wonderful, area potter, Suze Lindsay.

Got into the studio yesterday, doing a bit of everything - trimming, throwing and mixing some flashing dips and waxing and dipping some pots. Today will be more of the same. I worked till after 5. It would have been later but we had a post Valentine's dinner date in Burnsville.

The construction crew didn't show this morning so we had a nice, quiet, leisurely morning. The forecasted snow never came and it's sunny and seasonably cool, so gardening will have to wait a while.

Watered my seedling and checked on them and all the lobelias seeds have sprouted; but some of the other, older seeds are lagging behind and may not be viable. Next week I'll be starting tomatoes and peppers and pining for spring!

Till later,
June

Linda McFarling Cruet

Here's a lovely cruet by Linda McFarling another area potter who fires Soda or Salt.

We're moving slowly this morning after last night's margarita madness party. I never got into the studio yesterday other than a quick check on the drying pots. House tidying and food prep took up most of the day; but I will get some time in today after I tend my seedlings.

One of my favorite movies, "The Horse's Mouth" starring Alec Guinness is coming on at 11 am one channel 51 of our Charter cable Company. It's about this somewhat mad and eccentric artist - a movie I think anyone can enjoy, particularly artists!

Till later,
June

Terri Gess Mug

This salt glazed mug is by another local potter Terri Gess.

I got in some good studio time yesterday and will get back in for a few hours after lunch. This morning was spent taking more photos for the blog because I'm moving my photo setup up down to the basement this morning. It will be nice to have my dining room table back!

Friends are coming over tonight for guacamole, nachos and margaritas, so I'll get a lot of my making done before I head for the studio so I'll be able to work till around 5:30.

I've been told I make great margaritas, so here's my recipe is anyone want to try it.

For 1 margarita:

1 1/2 oz Cuervo gold tequila
1 ounce fresh squeeze lemon juice (meyer lemons are the best if you can get them)
3/4 oz curacao
2 -3 heaping teaspoons of sugar (amount of sugar depends on the quality of the juice and personal taste). I like them sweet, so I usually add enough sugar to the batch to get it to taste sweet before I mix it with the ice. I usually mix, then taste again and add more sugar if I feel it needs it.
crushed ice.

I use a Vita mix blender but any good blender should do fine. I put the liquid in and cover with crushed ice and blend and keep adding ice if needed to get a thick mix, but not enough ice to where it stops blending.

Enjoy!

June

Will Baker mug

Here's another mug from my collection. This one is a soda fired stoneware piece by a local young and talented potter, Will Baker.

The winds were pretty strong yesterday morning but we had no trouble driving over the mountain. We actually felt them more when we got into the flatter areas in Tennessee.

We almost finished all the shopping for the remodeling project. Lowe's was one window shade short of the style and size we chose, so we'll have to either go to another Lowes in the next couple of days or drive back to the Lowes in Johnson City, TN next week when they get a new supply.

I got a 4' folding table so I could get my photo set up off my dining room table and set it up permanently in the basement. It will mean carrying pots up and down but the exercise won't hurt me and my dining room will look like a dining room again rather than a make shift photography studio!

After breakfast I should be able to get in some studio time. I just watered all the seedlings and indoor plants and it's time to get breakfast made. After lunch I'll try to get some or all of the day lilies transplanted.

Tonight's dinner will be easy - chicken piccata and oven roasted potatoes and salad, so I'll be able to work till around 4 o'clock.

Till later,
June

Lisa Clague Mug

Here's a delightful mug by my friend Lisa Clague. Lisa is a marvelous sculptor. If you google her name you can see some of her wonderful pieces on the net.

We are in the middle of a power outage probably caused by these high winds which have either taken down a tree that has taken out a power pole, or a blown a transformer. Fortunately we have a huge generator so the house has power; but I don't have it connected to the studio. Hopefully this won't be an all day or longer outage.

Yesterday we ordered the tub and toilet for the bathroom remodel and if this wind dies down a bit, we're planning on traveling over the mountain to Tennessee this afternoon to get the bath fixtures. That will complete our shopping for this remodel and we can get back to our normal routines. There are a lot of pots to make to get a firing in before I get heavily into spring planting.

The crew has arrived and need me to approve some moulding and stain colors.

Till later,
June

Nick Joerling mug

Here's the first of some of the mugs in my collection I'll be posting. This one is by another wonderful Penland potter, Nick Joerling.

Today turned out to be a gardening day. Just one more "man plans, God laughs day". The construction crew came for a bit to unload the tiles and vanity we bought yesterday and then took off to finish another job. The painter stayed and worked all day, so I was somewhat housebound with the painter here,since Jim had appointments in town and had a whole list of stops to make which took half the day.

My friend Laura came over early morning and we dug up some perennials and divided them. Laura did most of the work and I just supplied some help and tools and dug up a volunteer penstemon and potted it for her. We split half of the day lilies that were dug out. They needed dividing and I wanted to get them in a new location since they got too big for their current home.

This mid 60's degree, sunny, February day, was perfect for yard work - a day I was not going to waste in the studio. I also got some more garden clean up done. This warm weather isn't going to last so I was glad that I made the decision to enjoy it!

Tomorrow morning, if the rain stays away till later, as is forecast, I'll try to get those day lilies transplanted. They're already up a a couple of inches from this unseasonal spring like weather so I need to either hole them in or transplant them.

More of my perennials seedling sprouted overnight. If they all fare well I'll be sharing them with gardening friends because I don't have room for thirty or forty verbascum!

Tomorrow afternoon we have to shop for the new tub and toilet. After that we have one more shopping trip Thursday or Friday, for the hardware and then I can get back to a some what normal work schedule! I'm feeling guilty about all this time away from the studio!



Till later,
June

Crackle Shino Vase

Here's a crackle Shino form from my collection, by west coast potter Tate Shields.

The flu bug seems gone. I even got out yesterday and pruned one of the peach trees.

The whole construction crew is here this morning ripping out the upstairs bath. They're going to have fun getting that old, heavy, iron tub through the upstairs window!

We're headed to Asheville with friends after lunch in search of bathroom tiles, a new vanity and dinner at a popular barbecue restaurant we're heard about, but never tried. It's another lovely, mild day - so mild in fact, that some of the hostas and other perennials are coming up - way too soon! I may be able to get out for a half hour or so to do a bit more garden cleanup before lunch.

Any hope of studio time the next two days is gone. Tomorrow we'll shopping for the the new fixtures for the bathroom at a local plumbing supply place and then probably heading to the Lowe's in Marion for light fixtures and faucets.

I should be able to finally get back to work by Wednesday if we're able to find all we need for the bathroom. We swear that this is the last construction, redo project in the house. The only other thing I want is an outdoor pizza oven and a cold frame and that will complete 5 years of additions and redos on this property! The garden is an ongoing project, as are all gardens; but that's my joy!

My lettuce seeds are well up as well and doing well in the kitchen greenhouse window. The kale and penstemons under grow lights in the basement, have sprouted. Every morning I eagerly check the little peat pots to see what may have sprouted over night.

Till later!
June

Linda McFarling Bowl

Here's another lovely, large bowl by Linda McFarling. Linda does both soda and salt firing. My soda kiln is pretty much based on her kiln design. Both are Shane Mickey designed and built, cross drafts with a firebox so we can augment the firings with wood.

The past two days I've been dealing with cold and flu symptoms as well as a house full of painters, carpenters, plumbers and electricians. They started tearing out the tiles from the full bath yesterday and they're about 80% done with the 3/4 bath which is only a partial redo. Monday they start hauling all the old fixtures from the full bath out of the upstairs windows and into the truck for the land fill.

We have to get to Asheville Monday in search of tiles and a vanity. We were supposed to do that a couple of days ago but I came down with whatever this latest bug is and was not in any shape to go anywhere. A friend had this and said it only lasted 2 days, so I should be fine tomorrow.

The past few days I did at least get a lot of seeds started,and caught up with the mail and magazines pile. The lettuce I started has already sprouted. Each morning I do a quick look to see if anything else has come up. I haven't checked the basement seeds yet, but no new ones are up in the kitchen.

This afternoon we're going to get out with the dogs for a drive up to Roan Mountain and walk among the pines and rhododendrons if it's not too cold or windy. It's supposed to be in the low 60's here; but it will be colder up there in that 6,000 or so elevation.

Till later,
June

Kent McLaughlin Bowl

Here's another great pot from my collection. It's a huge, rope impressed,stoneware bowl by Kent McLaughlin. Kent is what I consider a "potters potter" always producing, beautiful, solid work that transcends gimmicks and the latest fads. He has a solid understanding of all parts of the process of making which is evident in all his work.

This week's been a constant reminder of that lovely saying "Man plan, God laughs"!
Life has impacted all my plans to get in the studio. Yesterday the plan was to get some seed starting in the morning, make a blueberry pie and get to the studio. Instead, the painter arrived; but sat around with me keeping her company for an hour and a half while she waited for the rest of the crew to show up with the paint she needed to get started. That ate up the pie making time! Fortunately she's a very intersting gal with amazing life experiences, so I didn't really mind the delay to my own plans. Then the crew needed input on where to place the pedestal sink, what more needed painting, approval of the new plumbing, and on and on it went. I was only happy I wasn't in the studio and had to keep coming back to the house to deal with all these questions and decisions.

So I decided to get on with my indoor seeding planting which took just about the rest of the day other than meal prep in between. So far I've planted onion, leeks, scallion, kale, spinach, artichokes, lettuce and a bunch of perennials. I've found places for all of them either in the greenhouse window in the kitchen or under the grow lux lights in the basement. Don't know where I'll put the seedlings once they need transplanting but I'll deal with that when the time comes. I may just have to buy more light fixtures and grow lux lights in another month!

Today was a nesting day which I decided to devote to cleaning up my huge paper pile in the living room, unpacking some of my jewelry making supplies in the basement, and making a nice, early, vegetarian dinner - tossed salad with garlic vinagrette and mushrooms stroganoff. Jim loved it so much he had seconds, so that is definitely a keeper recipe. He's open to vegetarian recipes as long as the man part of the recipe is not tofu! Although, I must say, that I've found if I deep fry cubes of tofu, and use them instead of chicken, for instance, in Indian or Chinese recipes, he will eat it. I think the problem for non vegetarians is getting weaned off the texture of meat as well as the taste; but I'm cooking 1/2 vegetarian and half non currently hoping to get the balance to about 80-90% vegetarian down the line.

None of the workers showed this morning even though, to Jim and I who grew up in the the Northeast (New York and Pennsylvania), the roads weren't that bad. There was only about 1 1/2" of snow; but the road was slippery. My 75 year old husband drove into town to pick up the mail and get me some sour cream for my mushrooms stroganoff. He just drove slowly and had no problem. The weather here years ago was much worse - 3' snow falls were common ten years ago; but these days 2" of snow keeps people home and schools closed. Go figure!

We were grateful to have a quiet day with no workers in the house, so I'm not complaining! It's been something of a cozy, vacation day with no studio time other than going in there after dinner to water plants, cooking and paper organizing and computer work (I turned the computer on this morning only to be faced with the blue screen of death, which took an hour or more to fix), and watching the snow fall.

I'll get in the studio tomorrow and get some work done and get away from the noise and mess of construction. That is, if the crew shows up. In any case, I'm still planning on studio time since I'm feeling guilty about staying away so long and there are pots than need slipping and decorating and more pots to make. But I have enjoyed these days off to catch up on things in the house that needed tending to.

Well, that's it for this cold (was 5F this morning)snowy, day.

Till later,
June

Gay Smith jar

Here's another sweet little soda fired jar by Gay Smith.

Yesterday was cooking, doctors appointment, seed starting and dealing with sub-contractors - needless to say - another "no studio" day. Today I should be able to get a half a day in the studio this afternoon. We're expecting the snow to start around noon, so Jim is going out right after breakfast to do some shopping and other chores and I'll hold the fort with the carpenters, painter and electrician. I was up at 5:00am, got the dogs out for their morning walk, had tea and tackled email. Afterward I mixed up more seed starting soil and prepped a few planters and after breakfast I'll plant some kale, shallots and lettuce.

I started my indoor seed planting yesterday -got onion, parsley, artichoke, leek,scallions, basil and celery planted. Other than what I'll plant today, that will be it till next month when I start some of the other warmer loving veggies like tomatoes, peppers,etc. I find that basil does well as an indoor plant in a sunny window. Luckily I have a greenhouse window in the kitchen with herbs like oregano, thyme, parsley and basil. In fact, I need to pinch and re-pot those few basil plants and get them into a bigger pot. Before I had the greenhouse window I could grow a lot of basil in a single, 5 gallon bucket in front of a sunny window and that supplied us with fresh basil through the winter.

I'm contemplating making a blueberry pie while I'm housebound this morning, if my frozen berries from July are still good.

If I have time after dinner, I'll go through my stash of flower seeds and see if there are any perennial seeds that I can start now. I harvested some day lily seeds last fall, so I might just start them. The problem is figuring out where I'll put all these seedlings once they sprout and are big ready to graduate to bigger pots. I only have 4 sets of grow lights in the basement which are currently being used for outdoor plants I'm over wintering .In the next month or so I may have to move some of those to the studio and squeeze them around the citrus and other tropical trees and shrubs that were too big to move into the basement for the winter. Otherwise I'll have to buy another fixture and more grow lights.

Time to get started on that "to do" list of the day.

Till later,
June

Will Baker soda fired vase

Here's a lovely vase by Will Baker, one of the young, talented potters in our area. I love the simplicity and strength of the form as well as the heavy soda on the right side of the piece.

Today the house is full of workers- a couple of carpenters, an electrician and a painter and it's another non-studio day dealing with all this activity. I had to start dinner at 8:30 this morning since I have a doctors appointment early this afternoon and the lamb shanks I'm making for tonight's dinner take 3-4 hours to cook.

I'm sooo tired of having people around the house tearing things out, creating messes and a lot of noise; but at the same time we want these things done before our daughter and her husband visit next month. More than the dirt and noise it's the demands on my time that these projects are taking and the loss of studio time that I mind. One day this week we'll have to go out shopping for bathroom fixtures and probably tile since I'm not thrilled with the samples I got from Lowe's. It would have been a lot easier and probably cheaper to have bought a piece of land and built a new house rather than all this construction which have been ongoing for 5 years!

The Super Bowl was fun last night even though Jim's team didn't win. It was a nail biter in the last quarter. I'm actually getting a taste for football and not just the fun commercials! LOL

We got out in the garden for a couple of hours yesterday and I got all the roses except a couple of the climbers pruned and filled two huge garbage bags with dead plant material. It looks like a couple of the roses have bitten the dust, including one of my heirloom climbers, even though they were very well mulched. The climber looks like some critter just ate the whole root system! There's going to be another warmish, sunny day at the end of the week which will be an opportunity to continue the clean up. I'd like to get the garden really tidy before I start planting more perennials and potatoes, next month. I noticed that some of the perennials are peeking through already!

Time to stir the lamb shanks! All that wine, broth, garlic and herbs are wafting through the house like great perfume!

Till later,
June

Tara Wilson creamer and sugar

Here's a creamer and sugar by Tara Wilson. It was fired in my friend and neighbor, Shane Mickey's anagama. Tara was working locally for a short time a couple of years ago, before heading west for another years residency at Archie Bray Institute.

Yesterday I managed to get a few hours studio time in the afternoon to pull some handles and trim some pots. It was one of those days when it was hard to get off the sofa and the computer. I went back after dinner to clean my tools and sweep up.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and my potatoes for the potato skins are just about finished baking. It's going to be a downright balmy, near 60 F day, so I'm going to do some yard work. It's the ideal time for pruning roses, and trimming the dead perennial tops. I'll do that after lunch before the 3 o'clock men's final of the Australian Open Tennis, which we don't want to miss.After that it will be Super Bowl time munching on my very unlikely munchies menu of pate, potato skins, grapes and cheese and crackers.

Time for our bagels, smoked salmon, cream cheese breakfast.

Till later,
June

Linda McFarling

Here's one of the Linda McFarling pieces in our collection - crackle slip on soda fired jam pots. I love her forms. She also happens to be one of the nicest people around!

We're starting slow this morning after a late night and a restless one for me. We watched the woman's final of the Australian Open which wasn't one of the best matches; but it was nice to see Serena Williams add another major title to her list of career wins. Watching her play earlier in the week, we didn't think she'd be able to raise her game enough; but she fooled us and many of the broadcasters. Safina not being at the top of her game also helped. I think the nerves took over and that definitely puts lead in the feet and shoulders. I used to play a lot of tennis and recognize the symptoms. :-(

I'm off to to the studio for the day. Dinner is leftover ribs from Cheddars,and all I have to do tonight is bake some potatoes for the potato skins for tomorrows Super Bowl viewing. I found the recipe on line for Ruby Tuesday's potato skins, posted by someone who worked there and figure this would be a good time to make a batch from scratch. I have pate already made and bought grapes and cheese and other munchies for the game. As Jim likes to say "honey,we're stylin"!

Till later,
June

Mark Peters wood/soda fired

Here's another pot from one of our very talented local artists - Mark Peters. This was fired in both a soda kiln and wood kiln - a lovely piece!

Our construction shopping trip was a bust other than the purchase of a pedestal sink for the smaller upstairs bathroom. At least we had a nice dinner at Cheddars with friends. Next week we'll have to check out our local plumbing supply store for the bath fixtures for the remodeling. We did get a couple of tile samples. The one I really liked was way too expensive for a bathroom we never use, but if I found a couple of neutral less expensive choices with some textural interest in the glaze that we're hoping will work.

Today is just yet another no studio day. We had to get one of our dogs to the vets by 8am where he's spending the day for a series of tests that have to run 8 hours. After dropping him off I had to get to the hospital for my own sonar scans which took longer than I thought. Tests came out fine, so by then we were ready for a big breakfast since I hadn't eaten since dinner last night. By the time I got home it didn't seem much point changing into work clothes to just work for an hour, since I had mail to read a dog to walk, and the taped semi final of the Australian Open tennis to watch.

Ceramics Monthly and my Cooks Illustrated arrived so I'll peruse them for a bit before we head back out to pick up Shanti at the vets and do a short grocery shopping stop - another very busy day with no time for the studio!

Till later,
June

Shopping day ahead

I spent the morning taking some photos of some of our local artists for the blog. Here's the first one - a large wood/soda fired jar from Ruggles and Rankin who have recently relocated to New Mexico. I'm glad I purchased some of their work while they were still here.

Last night's Tilapia dish was disappointing after all that work. The fish tasted great but the rice with the salsa, black beans, pineapple and cilantro was a bit strong for the fish. That recipe does not go in the recipe box!

They should have the front porch finished today and I guess they'll start tearing out the upstairs bathroom tomorrow or Monday. The new porch is looking much better with the larger, 6" posts replacing the 4" ones.

I spent the morning on picture taking for the blog, cooking and computer work. After lunch we're heading for Elizabethon and Johnson City, TN, to buy sinks, a tub, tile, and fixtures for the bathroom renovations. Hopefully we can buy everything and be done early and head for an early dinner at Cheddars with friends.

Time for a light lunch, read my mail and sort through some of this paper work. I'm planning on working over the weekend to make up for the studio time lost this week on vet and doctors appointments, and these construction projects.


Till later,
June

Robin Hopper slab bowl

Here's a Robin Hopper slab bowl that my husband bought for me years ago - an interesting piece.

I'm definitely in cooking mode these days and finding that doing as much prep in the morning and then getting in a bit of studio time later makes for us getting better meals but me getting less studio time, at least for now.

The pinto beans yesterday were the BEST! I didn't do them purely vegetarian. After tasting them I felt they were lacking a bit of depth of flavor, so I added three pieces of applewood smoked bacon pieces for a bit of smoky flavor. I imagine one could try just a bit of smoke flavoring to get the same effect without adding meat.

We've never had a "just beans and cornbread" dinner and we will be having this dish regularly! It was a big hit and we have leftovers for another day.

I'm eager to try more recipes from this new vegetarian cook book; but tonight I'm making tilapia filets marinated in a lime, orange juice, garlic, etc and then baked on top of white rice cooked in chicken broth and then mixed with a mixture of fresh pineapple pieces, black beans, salsa, cilantro, etc. Most of the pre-prep is done so I'll be able to get several hours in the studio after lunch before I come in to get it all cooked.

Time now for a quick salad lunch and on to the studio.

Till later,
June

Cooking beans half the day!

Here's a really nice bowl that we purchased from a gallery in Rotorua, New Zealand in the 80's. It's wood fired with a rich, rust shino and what appears to be wood ash over on the upper third.

Rotorua is this unworldly looking, and feeling, amazing place. From our hotel window we could see all the volcanic steam vents which are all over the town. The Maori still use the hot springs for boiling food and some cooler ones for soaking. It's a country we really loved and if I were moved to live in any other country at this stage of my life, I think it would be my choice.

The climate, like California, runs the gamut - from sub tropical in the North to temperate in the South. The people are warm and wonderful and the country is pristine with beautiful beaches, glaciers, rain forests and plenty of potters. One small town, Nelson, had 80 potters in residence when we were there. There are more sheep than people and many times we had to to wait while some of the huge groups had right of way on the roads. In fact the sheep actually cause a bit of a population problem from their gaseous output! LOL

I thought I'd get a 1/2 day in the studio but our contractor wanted a morning meeting about the upstairs renovation which went of forever. The only studio time I got was to go in at 7am and cover some pots I threw yesterday.
The rest of the day was spent cooking a pinto bean dish from my new vegetarian cookbook, corn bread, and salad dressing, unpacking groceries, doing email, phone calls and a few other house hold chores.
Time to stir the beans again and get the salad greens prepped.

Till later,
June

Following a day or rest

Here's a wonderful salt glazed slab plate by New Zealand artist Merilyn Wiseman which we purchased when we were visiting Auckland in the 80's. It's a wonderful piece with various slips and flashing on a intriguing shigaraki type body.
I found this link for her web page if you want to see more of this artists work:

http://merilynwiseman.com/gallery/index.html

Yesterday was definitely a day of rest. I was prepared to get in the studio for a bit and instead wound up doing glaze chemistry, paper work, cooking, re-potting some tropical plants and watching the Australian open. The day just flew by.

I was up before 6 am this morning so used the time to take a few more photos from my pottery collection for the blog. After breakfast I'll be back in the studio. There are pots to slip and more throwing to do today.

Workers should be arriving early to replace a heavy shelf in my studio and begin the rebuilding of the floor of the front porch. As I suspected on Friday, they didn't show because the wood wasn't delivered until the afternoon. I'll happily take refuge in the studio after breakfast, from the construction noise!

Till later,
June

Robin Hopper Pitcher

Here's a really nice pitcher from my collection by Canadian potter Robin Hopper. Robin lives outside of Vancouver and if you're ever in the area it would be very worthwhile to visit his studio. He has a wonderful Japanese style garden that he's been working on for years which is an extra plus in addition to seeing his shop and gallery which include his domestic ware as well as his one offs.

I actually got a few hours studio time in yesterday between taking the dogs to the vet, doing lunch, walking the dogs and meeting friends for an early dinner. The job I wanted to finish was cataloging and storing all those tests tiles covering the slab roller and I was able to get that done and finish the note taking and had a little time leftover to trim a pot before I had to come in and get ready for dinner at the Japanese restaurant in Burnsville.

The new vet did some blood work on our 12 year old Lhasa, Shanti. She thinks that his balding tail and thinning body hair and swollen stomach may be a disease that is treatable. If the results of yesterday's blood work indicates a problem, we'll have to take him in another day for a round of testing that takes 8 hours to completion. We came home wondering why the other vet never tested him for this since that balding tails and other symptoms have been obvious for over a year! The younger one (4 years old today), Bodhi, came through his physical with flying colors; but Shanti the 12 year old is definitely showing his age with some clouding on his eyes and dwindling energy; but he still gets around pretty well, especially when the smell of food is wafting from the kitchen!

Jim and I found it somewhat ironic that our dogs get a yearly physical and we don't!

Today will be close to a full studio day. I'll quit around 4:30 to come in and make a new pasta dish from my new Italian cookbook - linguini with clams casino and then relax for the evening going through some pottery notes while we watch the Brit Coms - our Saturday night ritual when we're at home.

Six hours is about max for me in the studio these days. I'm hoping that once I reach the one year anniversary of my hip replacement surgery that I'll get my energy up to the pre-surgery level and be able to spend more time in the studio and garden. I've ordered a great many plants and seeds the past couple of days, including 2 American persimmon trees I ordered from ebay this morning, and I'm going to need that elevated energy this spring to get all those things planted!

Some of the things I planted in our lower meadow died from the poison exuded from some of the black walnuts trees down there and persimmons are one of the plants that aren't affected by those toxins so I'm going to give them a try.

Till later,
June

Sesame seed toaster

I didn't have time last night to take more photos, so here's another pot from Japan. It's an open body meant for toasting sesame seeds.

Another non studio morning - the dogs have to get their annual physical and shots today, so the morning is spoken for. Hopefully we'll get home in time for lunch and I may actually get in some studio time after lunch before we have to join friends for an early dinner.

Yesterday was another non studio day since the workers showed up to do another coat of sealant on the basement walls and finish some electrical work in the house and studio. My friend Jim got my new compressor oiled and working so now I have no excuse to start playing with my pneumatic extruder again. Now I just have to find some time to get in the studio! He over filled the oil and had to spend about ten or fifteen minutes removing it from the monster compressor.

I made good and fun use of the non studio time and got out my companion planting book "Carrot Love Tomatoes" and drew up my vegetable garden plan for this season, watched some of the Australian Open Tennis and prepped some meals and did some computer clean up.

The workers will be here this afternoon to start on rebuilding the floor of the front porch, and replacing a studio shelf, if the wood delivery arrives on time. Jim will be home so I won't have to baby sit our rescue dog Bodhi who freaks out when people are working in or around the house.

We found that one of my heavy, wood shelves which houses small, but heavy buckets of raw materials had not only warped but was pulling away from the wall. Good thing we caught that or I would have had one huge mess on my hands if that shelf gave way.

Time for breakfast and off to the vets.

Till later,
June

Doug Lawrie Shino Bowl

Here's a Doug Lawrie bowl from my collection. Doug lived and worked in Japan for years and moved back to Santa Barbara in the 80's. He does the most amazing brushwork and this shino bowl is a great example.

My intention of working in the studio yesterday changed when workers showed up to do waterproof painting in the basement and some electrical work. The painters were here all day, so I never made it to the studio other than to give some instruction to my electrician friend, who went out to get some supplies and didn't return, so I suspect he'll be back again today. Instead, I used the day to go through just about every seed catalog that had arrived the past few weeks and got all my spring seed and plants orders finished. It was a nice job on wintry day!

I ordered vegetable and flower seeds, raspberry, boysenberry and blackberry bushes, more asparagus plants, sweet potato slips, a bunch of perennials and an apricot tree. Hours later when I ran the list through my mind I realized that I'm going to be doing a lot of digging this spring, so I'd better get back in the studio this afternoon.

I'll be house bound this morning since Jim is off to the dentist and one of our dogs Bodhi, who is a rescue dog, freaks out with strangers in the house and one of us needs to be here. It was also one of those days that the phone never seemed to stop ringing. Before I knew it, it was around 4:30, the painting crew was leaving and it was time for me to start dinner while musing on how fast the time goes these days and how little seems to be getting accomplished.

Till later,
June

A do nothing day

I thought I was done with posting some of the pots from my Japan trips, but Michael Kline's has been posting his new yunomi pictures on his blog so I thought he'd enjoy this hakeme yunomi with thisclassic pine tree design.

As I suspected our day was spent mainly in front of the TV enjoying the Inaugural events. What a joyous day for America and the world!

I did manage to get meals on the table and go through many of the garden catalogs that have been arriving the past couple of weeks. I've gotten some seeds ordered already and now I'm taking my time not to get too carried away ordering more than I can plant! As Michael Cardew told me years ago, when I admired his vegetable garden "we can't make it too big or we'd have no time to make pots!".

This year I'm going to plant a couple of elderberry bushes - an homage to my youth and picking the wild ones with my grandmother in the woods of Pennsylvania so uncle Georgie could make his elderberry wine. He had a very small wooden barrel which was usually pretty empty by the time the wine was actually ready because he and his friends we're always tasting the batch checking for readiness! My cousin Anita and I would sit on the swing under the grape arbor hand picking those tiny berries off the sprays. Nice memories.

Today will be a studio day. I hope I have more energy after breakfast!

Till later,
June

Mashiko temmoku/kaki plate

The Japan pottery collection show comes to an end for now with this lovely temmoku plate with kaki and white glaze pours from Mashiko. I have a bunch of smaller items - sake sets, yunomis, etc. that I may post in the future. It's time to give a couple of other countries in my collection some blog space.

This plate is typical of the work being made and sold in Mashiko -a lot of clones of Hamada's work. A huge, chun platter that I had the hotel ship (wrong move), arrived in pieces because the only wrapping they did was put two thin sheets of tissue paper around the platter. And I paid for that packing!!! AARGH!

I don't know what if anything I'll get accomplished in the studio on this auspicious, history making, Inauguration day. Between the Inauguration ceremonies and celebrations and the Australian Open tennis (we're big tennis fans), I suspect we're going to be glued to the TV most of the day!

Till later,
June

Japanese plate with pine tree design

Here's another one of my purchases from Japan. This potter was known for his orange teapots, but I spotted this charming plate which spoke to me more than his orange teapots. He gave me a big smile of approval when he saw my choice and told my friend I had a good eye. I still remember this little old man's amazing vitality and hospitality.

Today was a studio day - finally! I got some mugs trimmed, pulled some handles, threw a few things and in between came in the house to make some corn bread for dinner. After dinner I went out again to cover pots and sweep up.

When I came in, I worked on some glaze recipes. Some needed tweaking, so I'll try them out in the next firing.

Till later,
June

More Oribe pots

OK, Michael, here are a couple more oribes. The tiny box is black oribe and the others are the tiniest sake cups - really sweet - begging for lots of refills! The lighter color on the box isn't true. It's more of an off white/light cream.

I'm taking your and Jim's advice and staying out of the studio. My knees are also a mess from the rigorous athletic pursuits of my youth and a lot of hard court tennis when we lived in California.

I've made good use of my non studio time to take a few more photos. This is the end of the Oribe pics. There are a few other pots from Japan that I'll post in the next couple of days.

Till later,
June

Another small antique oribe plate

Here's another antique oribe piece from one of the Japan trips. I had a few of these, which we're obviously part of a set. I gave one to my friend McKenzie and have a couple left (every potter should have at least one piece of Oribe :-)

The icy snow mellted and I was able to get out into the garden to pick some sage leaves for the chicken. Got all my veggies prepped for dinner, so now I'm going to have a light lunch and then work on that glaze chemistry for a bit before I start dinner.

Till later,
June

Contemporary Oribe Serving bowl

Here's another contemporary oribe bowl that I bought in Japan in the early 80's. As you can see, I'm definitely partial to Oribe!

This morning it's cold and icy here in these mountains. My husband came in after walking the dogs and feeding the birds and the feral cat and suggested I avoid the studio this morning. If I took a fall, I'm afraid my new titanium hip which is only screwed in with one large screw may decide to pop out and since I have no desire to repeat that surgery and recovery time, I will heed his wise counsel.

The pots I threw yesterday and others which need slipping and decorating are covered. The studio plants are watered, so I think I'll get some of my dinner vegetable prepping done this morning. On the menu tonight is a mixed herb and garlic roasted chicken on a bed of chopped vegetables with white wine, garlic mashed potatoes and honey ginger carrots, so I'll just get an early start on all the peeling, chopping and dicing.

I also have a couple of glazes to tweak using my glaze chemistry software, so I'm not lacking in things to do without studio time if the weather doesn't improve.

Till later,
June

Antique Oribe basket

Here's a lovely antique Oribe basket that I purchased in Japan. It's one of my favorites.

I didn't get very much work done in the studio. When I went in, the pipes were frozen, but there was some water in my throwing bowl so I threw a few pots and did some sorting of my soda/salt test tiles, came in to make us some hot chocolate for lunch, took some photos for the blog and then back to the studio. By now the water was coming through the pipes, but I wanted to continue on the tile project. At 4:30 I covered pots and cleaned the wheel and tools and headed back to the house to get dinner ready.
After dinner I took more photos and now I'm going to relax and watch the Brit coms!

Till later,
June

ORIBE YUNOMI

Here's a modern day Oribe pot that I bought in one of my Japan trips in the early 80's.

It was 2 degrees here this morning, colder than they've seen in these parts for a long time! I got a couple of hours work in the studio just doing a bit of trimming and putting some handles on some mugs. The studio was warm enough because I keep the heat up for my tropical plants who are wintering in there.

Even the dogs did their morning business as fast as they could this morning, for which I was very grateful!

Till later,
June

Michael Cardew Pottery teapot

Here's a sweet little stoneware teapot that I purchased from Michael Cardew on a visit to his studio around 30 years ago give or take a year or two.

Today is another cooking day. For some reason, I arranged my recipe selection to require two days of intense peeling, chopping, slicing and cooking. Yesterday's beef stew took over 6 hrs (the recipe said 1 1/2 hrs), to cook. That must have been the oldest steer in North America; but the new recipe with Porters's beer was wonderful. Thank goodness I started the recipe before noon! Needless to stay, having to hang around the kitchen stirring every 15 minutes for 7 hours kept me out of the studio!

On the menu today is a Tuscan vegetarian stew with cannellini beans, porcini mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots, onion and a lot of chopped kale, 8 cloves of garlic, and vegetable broth,which looks healthy but I'm not sure of the smoky flavor from the porcini mushrooms. I've added a lot more herbs than it called for to give more depth of flavor. Maybe the post cooking sprinkling of parmesan cheese will help.I hope we like it enough to save the leftovers since there's a lot of it! In any case, to help it out the texture of the meal I'll make some garlic bread to go with it.

After lunch I'll be able to get in my studio time. Mugs need handles and some bowls need slipping and decorating.

Till later,
June

MASHIKO KAKI BOTTLE

Here's another pot from one of my Japan trips. This is a typical Mashiko, kaki glaze over a resisted panel of clear glaze with enamel decor.

The past two days have been filled with the busyness of life - yesterday we had to go to Asheville for food shopping, a few items at Highwater Clay, get the car serviced, have lunch and get me a new orthodontic pad made. There was no time for the studio and so far, today is also getting filled up with non studio things!

This morning I had to bathe and groom both our dogs after breakfast, get myself showered as well and deal with some computer problem and order some new shoes.

Now I'm going to get started on tonight's dinner - beef stew and hopefully once I get it started cooking, have a light lunch, then maybe I can get some studio time in before dinner.

Where does the time go!!!

Till later,
June

Tom Coleman Shino Bourbon Pot

Here's another pot from my collection - a Tom Coleman Shino bourbon cup.

Today wasn't much of a work day - put some handles on some mugs, mixed up a flashing slip and dipped a few bowls, worked on a friends blog and did some cooking.

I found a book of Frontpage 2003 that got good review from Amazon customers, and ordered a copy. Maybe it will be more user friendly than the original manual. One can only hope! LOL

Till later!
June

SHIGARAKI POT

Here's a lovely pot from my personal collection. We lugged this wood fired beauty all the way from Shigaraki Japan from one of my visits in the 80's. It's one of my favorites.

Wound up doing everything but studio work yesterday. Linda McFarling and John Britt stopped by to go over my soda/salt test tiles, get some recipes and test batches to test in John's new soda test kiln next week. It's a sweet looking little kiln and I can't wait to see the results of his firing! The rest of the day was filled with non pottery related chores - working on a new web site for a friend for a couple of hours before we headed out for dinner with friends and making some 100 year old sourdough starter for my pizza making project in a couple of days.

Time to head to the studio and actually make some pots!

Till later!
June

Snowy mountain morning!

It's beginning to look like a winter wonderland out there. We're up to about 2" of snow and it's still coming down, creating this exquisite blanket of white on everything!
Today was going to be a "running around" day - dogs to the groomer at 8am, breakfast out, a couple of shopping stops then back to pick up the dogs; but as the saying goes "Man plans, God laughs!".
At 7am we got a call from the groomer that they were canceling all the appointments for the day. So today will wind up being a studio day.
I did my followup paperwork on the soda/salt test tiles, had a lovely visit with John Britt and Joy Tanner and got filled in on their current project of building a small soda test kiln. From the picture I saw, it's going to be a little beauty! There was a bit of time before I had to go in to prepare dinner, to throw a few bowls and a couple of mugs and do a bit more studio organization.
Our Clay Club meeting/get together for food/drink and fun was canceled last night as well. Mercury isn't supposed to go retrograde for a couple of days and we're already experiencing it's classic delays, postponements, etc.


Till later!
June

PICTURE OF MORE FOUND SODA/SALT TEST TILES

Here's a picture of the other test tiles I found. Finally got all of them cataloged this morning and now I'll have to go through the list and make another follow up list.
This project was on my New Year's "to do" list - one down a few more to go!
Time to have some lunch and get back to the studio to throw some test tiles.

Till later,
Junehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

BREAD FOR BODY AND SOUL- BERTHA'S RECIPE

I was given this great bread recipe years ago by a fellow potter. It's a super healthy, heavy bread, full of protein and other goodies. I'm typing it exactly as she gave it to me. I found the wedging instruction charming! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

YEAST:

2T of dried yeasat
1tsp sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

4 cups white unbleached flour
6 cups of whole wheat hard flour
1/2 cup of non-instant powdered milk
1cup fine ground wheat kernels
1cup medium ground whole wheat kernels
3/4 cup whole wheat kernels
4 cups of luke warm water (approximately)
1T (heaping) sunflower seeds
1T (heaping) sesame seeds
1T (heaping) linseeds
2T wheat germ
1tsp vegetable oil
3-4 buttered cake pans

* Since the seeds and wheat germ need to be stored in the refrigerator, they must be allowed to rise to room temperature before using.

!. Mix the white unbleached flour, the whole wheat flour, the non-instant powdered milk, salt and the three types of wheat kernels in a big bow; leave centre free for pouring yeast in.
2. Sprinkle yeast into cup with luke warm water in which 1 tsp of sugar has been dissolved; let yeast dissolve and start bubbling.
3. Add yeast into the middle of the flour mixture; with a wooden spoon mix a little of the flour with the yeast and let rise (15-20 minutes); then gradually add the approximately 4 cups of luke warm water until the dough feels humid and a little sticky after being mixed.
4. With your hands, wedge very thoroughly, approximately 80-100 movements until dough stops sticking to hands
5. Add the sunflower, sesame, linseeds and wheat germ; wedge again until the seeds are well spread.
6.Drip the vegetable oil into the bottom of the bowl and turn the dough ball in it so as to cover it all over with a thin coating of oil; cover bowl with cloth or plastic sheet.
7. Let dough rise approximately double its size; then divide into 3 or 4 buttered cake pans (I think she meant bread pans); cover with cloth or plastic sheet; let rise approximately to double its size again.
8. bake for about 1 hour in 400 -460 degree F.

FOGGY MOUNTAIN MORNING

Here's a lovely slab bud vase that bought from the late Tatsuzo Shimaoka in the early 80's during one of my trips to Japan. It's a lovely example of quality hakeme brushwork. Shimaoka worked with Hamada Shoji for years and later in life, like Hamada, became one of Japan's National living treasures.

I had a computer problem that kept me out of the studio yesterday but I got it fixed by late afternoon. For a while it looked like there was no solution to why my blog posts were winding up on another blog! And in the crazy world of computers there was no way to find an answer to why this happened or how I could correct it. The blog forum was filled with unanswered questions to various problems and the frequently asked Q&A section never seems to have a question and answer for your problem! AARGH! It turned out that the problem was my listing on the other site as watching that site. When I removed my name, it solved the problem! Who could have guessed that could cause my messages to be diverted there when I wasn't signed on to that blog!

This is a one of those "run around" days - food shopping, doctors appointment, lunch out and by the time we get back it will be time to start thinking about what I'll be cooking for dinner. It will probably be my ten minute linguini with clam sauce or linguini with pesto and a salad, since we definitely saturated meat eating over the holidays.

Hopefully I'll get a couple of hours of studio time in this morning trying to finish cataloging those soda/salt test tiles. I found another bowl of them the other day and got half of those cataloged and have about 10% of the project left to complete.

Till later,
June

NEW VIDEO ON YOU TUBE

That almost balmy day yesterday (and another today) enabled me to comfortable clean all my kiln shelves and sweep out the bottom of the kiln. Next I have to remove the bag wall and clean out the firebox and rebuild the bag wall. That will probably be in a few days since today's time is spoken for. This week is filled with dog groomer and doctor appointments as a food shopping and an early dinner trip to the Tapas restaurant in Asheville so studio time is going to have to be squeezed in when possible.

I found another bowl of soda/salt test tiles so I'll have to finish that cataloging project today and maybe have time to throw some more test tiles. Once I get the new compressor working I'll have to make a die for the extruder for test tiles.

I got a new you tube video up last night. It's a quick, jerky tour of my little gallery space. Forgive my beginner film maker clumsiness! :-(. Actually, it looked better uploaded to my computer and something strange happened between the upload, making it into a video and then getting it uploaded to you tube. There are weird pauses in there that are not in the original clip. This was is part of my first try with the new Flip video cam. Now I have to learn to shoot slower since this camera makes what you're shooting go blurry if you scan too fast; but it is sure a handy little toy.

Here's the URL for the Gallery video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMSbZ7Nnv_w

Hit the "play in HD" link at the bottom right of the screen for best picture quality.

Till later,
June

UNLOADING THE KILN ON YOU TUBE

Well I finally figured out how to operate my new mini cam and get the
video uploaded to the computer, put together the various bits and
make a crude, first attempt, one minute movie of me unloading the
last months soda/salt firing.

It's on you tube and I think this URL should take you right there if
you want to see it.Here's the link for the video. Just copy it and paste it and
it should take you right to it; otherwise just go to: www. you tube.com
and type in June Perry and it will bring it up among a few others.
Hit the button on the bottom right of the video screen to give you an improved
picture.
My first attempt at viewing it was a tiny bit blurry and then I hit the button to
get higher quality and it was a huge difference! I'm learning as I go!

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=g6HoCJGcamI

You have to sign up and/or sign in to rate the movie.
Now that I figured out how to do this, I'll be making more little
clips as time and energy permit.

It's going to be warm today - high 50's, so I'm going to take
advantage of this warmer weather and clean my kiln shelves!

Till later,
June

BACK IN THE SADDLE

I've spent the last 3 hours cataloging those soda salt test tiles and I'm half way through. It's gone faster than I thought, maybe because so many of the tests are the same slip or glaze on various clay bodies, which makes it go faster. At this rate I'll be done by the end of the day and ready to get on to other chores.

Here's a picture of what my husband calls "June's command center". It's an over abundance of tools near one of my wheels. I designed this gizmo so I'd have everything pretty much within reach when I throw. As you can see, I'm a tool junkie!