Clay Blog Review – December 2011

Reviewing the month in clay blogging.  The last Review of 2011!  Happy New Year.

Technical, Techniques, Tips

• Lori Buff shows a useful kitchen tool and shares her first demo video: wheel throwing a decanter:

• The Clay Club discusses Green Chrome Oxide and Chromium Oxide.
• Bridges Pottery Blog shares the basic tools of the trade.
• Diving Into the Clay found this video of throwin’ and trailin’:

• John Britt shares a ^10 Ice Crackle glaze recipe, three ^10 recipes and the results they produced,
• Jeanette Manchester Harris shares her technique for making a palm frond dish.
• A couple blogs shared a video of a volumetric image transfer by Forrest Lesch-Middelton:

• Lori Watts learns that garden lime might be closer to dolomite than whiting and says no to birdseed wadding but maybe to chia wadding. Then considers java wadding.
• Michael Mahan talks about carving and how to clean up sharp edges.
• Emily Reason gets some suggestions for blue underglaze.
• FetishGhost shares a 5 min. vid of applying slip to a pot:

• Raven Hill Pottery has a series of posts reviewing Coyote glazes.

Regarding Recent Work

•  Jane Bess Pottery has textured handmade ornaments.
• FetishGhost has cups for strangers (an interesting marketing idea?) and shows that brown is cool.
• Lucy Fagella has a nice slideshow of her work.
• Hanna McAndrew has photos of new work and works on puzzle jugs.
• Ron Philbeck has a video of his showroom full of pots and shows some older work.
• Hollis Engley shows off some holiday inventory and some work in progress.
• John Bauman has four different luminaries and describes his un-clobbered mugs.
• Aaron Sober has results from the salt kiln.
• Lots of work in progress at Bulldog Pottery, and even more, and finished.
• Bridgman Pottery discusses results of recent experiments.
• Nearly perfect glazing from a recent firing by Jemerick Art and some “improv” by Steve.
• Wallyware’s best selling items of the year and some additional ohata kaki red pots.
• Fresh pots from MudStuffing Sketchbook.
• Dan Finnegan shows off a few birds and some pots from a recent firing.
• Ang Wolford has bowls and plates thrown, trimmed and glazed and some finished results.
• Ben Carter has been working on five lobed plates and showing off work at the Charlie Cummings Gallery. He also has guest blogger Kristen Kieffer write about oribe ware.
• Mea Rhee shows new pots for the open house.
• Round Rabbit has textured pieces and jewelry and some pendants.
• Togeii is preparing bowls for firing.
• Jim Gottuso shows recent pots with his friends sculptures and more recent pots.
• Christine has animal-themed pots.
• Paul Jessop is working on large bowls.
• Patricia Griffin shows the last mugs with etched pod designs.
• Molly Hatch has new work at Anthropologie.
• Michael Mahan shows off some race awards and very tall vases, then gets to work on the race awards.
• Some favorite recent pieces from Vitrified Studio.
• Finally finished some pots from the summer.
• Catherine White has a series of posts with pots and interesting surroundings. Here is #12 winter solstice.
• Luke Langholz posts some favorites from the past summer/fall.
• See wood fired vessel oriented ceramic objects by Craig Edwards.
• Amy Woo finished some rabbit mugs but they’re going fast.
• Tammy Jo starts the final countdown of her year-long project.  Cup 355, cup 361, all the rest are worth a look as well.
• Linda Starr explores pedestal bowls.
• Alex Cluck works on handle-less pitchers and shows work from early 2011.
• Varda Sharon Kramer works in all kind of techniques (and makes some very nice pots).
• Alex Irvine shows how a 10×20 mural is created out of clay.  (Lots of pictures!)

Thought Provoking

•  Brandon Phillips urges us to make our lives tangible:

How do we know what we know about past cultures? Literature and from the objects they have made and left behind. What does “fine art” tell us about culture? Warning:generalization. Until the late 1800’s fine art really tells us only 2 things. It tells us about the upper class and it tells us about religion/faith. If you want to know how the masses lived you have to look at the objects they have made, ceramics, metal works, weaponry, wood works, stone carvings, etc.

• Vivi discusses senses and art:

But what a beautiful moment it is when something touches you, moves you on many different levels at once! We, as a society, tend to want to compartmentalize things, keep everything apart and not touching and tidy. But the deepest experiences we have are a messy rush of feeling, sight, sound, taste, colors, numbers, words, light and depth. If you think, right now, of a fond memory, or a sad one, I’m willing to bet that there are sounds, smells, and feelings in addition to what simply happened or what you saw.

• Heidi Fahrenbacher tells about boundaries she has set for commissions.
• On a related note, John Bauman explains why special/custom orders are “bird repellent“.
• Nell Hazinski reflects on a Malcolm Davis speech where he tries to justify making pots.
• Sequoia Miller responds to some essays in the book “Extra/Ordinary: Craft and Contemporary Art”.
• Carter Gillies talks about predictability, branding, consistency, identity and the pressures that potters face.
• Dan Finnegan, always striving for the perfect pot, realizes that he doesn’t find the “good pots” as interesting:

…it’s the mishaps that present puzzles to be solved. It’s one of the reasons that I needed to move from gas firing to wood…I’m a man who needs a problem to solve!

The Rest

Making Money and Related Endeavors

• Mea Rhee shares a tip about making more second day sales (in order to dominate the world) and discovers that running an online store isn’t so bad.
• Melissa shares what she has learned from the rollercoaster of the past year.
• Whitney Smith talks about the value of her “stuff” and gives an interesting chance at a 10% discount.
• Lori Watts shares goals for the new year including new product development and marketing strategies.  Then shares lessons from the donut shop.
• Charles the Potter reflects on the last year and considers the work schedule of a potter and how to work smarter.
• Ron Philbeck shares the square fold-out that Paul Jessop sent him.
• Lisa explains why she quit her job.

Pottery Related Tidbits

• Carole Epp shares a video about combining porcelain and QR codes and remembers Eva Zeisel.
• Karatsu Pots shares attempt #2 at molding gyubera.
• FetishGhost  shares videos: why beauty matters and  philosophy of a portrait sculptor. Then tells why he keeps a pot that should have been smashed.
• Doug Fitch uncovers a video of his hero: Michael Cardew.
• Many bloggers reflect on the passing of Malcolm Davis:  John Britt, Carole Epp, Judi Tavill, FetishGhost, Sequoia Miller, Lori Buff, Linda Starr, Brandon Phillips, Nell Hazinski
• Lori Buff talks about the importance of having a webmaster.
• Urban Jeff shares a video of Bill Strickland founder and CEO of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild.
• Liberty Stoneware debates: jug stacker or collar?
• Ben Carter looks at how we learn and shares a 15 minute exercise.

Laugh Out Loud Nominations

Have a great 2012!