Clay Blog Review: July 2013

Highlighting the best in pottery blogging over the past month. Because potters that blog are the best! If you missed last month, check out the Clay Blog Review: June 2013.

The Can’t Miss

If you can only read a handful of blog posts, these are the handful.

• DirtKicker Pottery is Throwing slab plates on the Hump.
• Marian Williams learns How To Handbuild Large Pots.
• Rachel Dorn shares some techniqes for Masking and shows how she makes Press Mold Bulbs.
• Lori Buff creates a new Carving Tool.
• Dan Finnegan makes some thick slab pots.
• Bentham Pottery gives us the blog version of the Press Mould Bowl Class.

Process and Techniqes

How the pots are made and what they look like before they are finished.

• Good Elephant Pottery realizes that a New Platter Mold is Imminent.
• Forrest Gard shows the process behind interactive installation Make it / Take it.
• Sophie Moran sets up a making experiment.
• Kristen Kieffer puts the Detail Within Detail & Luxury.
• Whynot Pottery answers What are you working on? by making work for the July kiln and The tall ones.
• Marian Williams is working on Clay Angels and goes Beyond Mugs! And A Large Handbuilt Bowl. She is also Depressed.
• Gerry Wedd was Bored on the 4th of July.
• Two Potters are coming up for air.
• Liberty Stoneware makes a Stamp Confession.
• John Britt shares a video of a Cracked Surface on Thrown Form (Stephen Foehner 2013):

• Tony Clennell is currently using Pink Porcelain, Sheila is making Boxes.
  
• Ariel Bowman tells us that Exotic animals are coming soon.
• The Createniks make Custom Stamped Bowls.
• Gary Jackson has a A Bunch Of Bowls and completes A Night Of Stamping and a Stamped Rim, adds Colored Slip Accents, shows results from the Holiday Ornament Challenge.
• Ben Carter is working In the Studio: Plates and Platters.
• Karatsu Pots has New Paddled Water Jars and Flower Vases.
• Bridgman Pottery is developing:

• Lucy Fagella posts some Citrus Juicer Photos.
• Judy Abdelaziz has a variety of Vases.
• Steven Colby is glazing.

Tips and Technical

Useful ideas, recipes, and other technical information.

• Shannon Q Merritt introduces us to Making Cone Packs 101 (and a cool stop motion video).
• The Smart Cat shows a way to Recycle clay.
• FetishGhost shares a Cone 6 White Liner recipe.
• Lori Watts has recipes from the Soda Cobalt ^6 Tests and Some Helpful Numbers.
• Marian Williams has Glaze Recipes for Copper Red.
• Gary Jackson takes precautions when stacking Extra Bisque.
• Mom Cave Pottery tries different wire for firing pendants.
• John Britt shares a video of Susan Clusener’s Colored Clay Demo.

• BPractical Pottery shares Japanese Kiln Diagrams.
• Chandra DeBuse knows that A little starch goes a long way, especially when transporting pots.
• Lori Buff loves her Scoring Tool and Sponges.
• Jim Whalen shares a tip for To Get Rid of a Wobble.
• Brandon Schwartz tries to remember everything he learned at the Dick Lehman Pottery Sale.
• Nell Hazinski has some notes on Elusive Shinos.
• Carol Clarkson gives instructions: How to make an oval bowl.

Recent Work

Finished work by the best pottery bloggers in the world.

• Josie Jurczenia has Finished Flat VAses.
• Round Rabbit has another colorful Shop update, and another.
• Barb Rogers has a Sculptural Sepia Saturday (Super!)
• Varda Sharon Kramer combines Thread, Clay, and Memories.
• Stone Lotus Pottery replenishes the shop with New Items.
• Judy Abdelaziz shows some New work.
• Art by Fuzzy is Working with Decals.
• Potter Jo posts photos of More slipware pottery.
• FetishGhost is Rationalizing Troubles and is Ok Ok Ok with collaboration.
• Gary Jackson has some Glazed Treasures, including Red, Clear. Purple on one bowl.
• Rae Dunn: black is the new black (makes sense).
• Dahlhaus has a Shop Up-date.
• Good Elephant Pottery finishes New Pots for Artscape Baltimore.
• Two Potters show the results from the third firing and make it nice.
• Nan Rothwell: not one, but Two firings.
• Liberty Stoneware has images from a Recent Kiln Firing.
• Rachel Dorn shares Some finished work and uses Mulberry Paper layers.
• Kim Murton shows heads from the Latest firing and a Small batch of dishes.
• Phil Rogers has a series of posts with new work, including this Yunomi.
• Amy Woo is overrun by Cats cats cats.
• Kitty Shepherd completes a Set of four Ray Gun Plates.
• Patricia Bridges shares a Follow -Up to Bowls.
• Gerry Wedd shows More pots about tattoos and songs and Surface Parasites.
• Jeanette Manchester Harris has a variety of Small Bowls.
• Kristen Kieffer shows off some New Wall Candy.
• Bridgman Pottery posts pitchers 25, 26, 27, 28.
• Judi Tavill has some new work.
• Marian Williams has some new Raku work.
• Wild Iris shows some work from the Festival in the Clouds.

Thoughts

Interesting ideas and thoughts about art, pottery, creativity and related issues.

Many of the following blog posts were in response to some writing by Paul Mathieu. Find out more about the reading challenge in the last Argil Alert.

• Carter Gillies responds to a Paul Mathieu rant, lets David Herskovits explain “The Dead Hand of Mastery” and discusses The rules of creative expression.
  
• Lori Buff shares some Workshop Thoughts after reading Paul Mathieu.
• The Smart Cat adds some thoughts about Workshops as well.
• Kelly Kessler writes about Clay.
• BPracticalPottery wants you to Read It!: Just Another Mug.

Interviews

Questions, answers, clay people talking about clay things.

• Rae Dunn shares a Q&A she did for martha.
• Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: Merran Esson, Matt Kelleher, Adam Field, George McCauley, Sean O’Connell.
• Brian R. Jonescasts: Dan Anderson.
• NCECA Blog: Interviewing NCECA 2013 Emerging Artist Lindsay Pichaske.
• Jen Allen Ceramics’ artist of the month is Tara Wilson.
• Carole Epp has guest Julia Krueger in Conversation with Jonathon Bancroft-Snell.
• Connie Norman: Mary Fischer – Plinth Gallery Artist Interview.

The Rest

Not specifically about making pottery, but things in which a potter might be interested.

• Jackie Sedlock has some nice photos from around the studio.
• Paul Jessop shares photos from the Trip to Suffolk.
• Scott Cooper concludes his report on his Penland visit.
• BPractical Pottery challenges you to Read It!: The Art of the Future and considers Food Activism: The Potluck as Activism. Also some info about The Tin Man and addresses the Issue: Why use handmade pots?
• The Modern Pottery Studio reposts a video about Isaac Button:

• DirtKicker Pottery talks about Quality Pottery.
• Ben Carter shares photos from Bray Days: The Beginning.
• Carter Gillies discusses The science behind the ‘Ownership Effect’.
• Whitney Smith has a meltdown!
• Cynthia Cusick has a Plaster Disaster.
• Nell Hazinski Makes Sumi Brushes.
• Angela Walford shares her tagine photography.
• Sue Pariseau likes Big Cups (and she cannot lie), shares Things About Being A Potter Part 3.
• Tony Clennell wishes the money was in the large signature jugs.
• Patricia Bridges shares some Inspiration – Wood and Clay.
• John Britt posts a quote about the The aim of art.
• Dawn Whitehand answers the question: Who Am I Talking To?
• Lori Buff prefers a Check Please.
• FetishGhost is Forever a Bridesmaid and shares the juror’s statement.
• Good Elephant Pottery loves the new Rectangle on Wheels.
• Barb Rogers likes the TED Talk about Why do you do what you do and likes the Bird Bottle.
• Carole Epp presents Treasures of Chinese Porcelain and Handmade in an Information Age for movie days.
• Bryon Hopkins asks WTF, Mr. Krafft!?
• Liz Crain tells Tales of the Festival.
• Heather Knight responds to an Angry Customer.
• Paul Jessop shows some images from Summer 2013 at Barrington Pottery.
• Cindy Douglass tells Why The Yarn Channel Keyhole Is Important.
• Sophie Moran is a connoisseur Of Pinterest.
• Carter Gillies shares The story of Michael Simon’s evolution out of the round and likes when Pete Pinnell talks about cups:

• Melinda Marie Alexander shares some Pottery Photo Tips.
• Gerry Wedd shares a tune about Pots.

As always, thanks for reading. Hopefully you’ve found a few worthwhile entries that you haven’t read before. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions I’m always happy to listen. Thanks to all of the great clay bloggers for their dedication and effort!