Announcing a New Gallery Presence
Let me begin by announcing that I now have a space to display my pottery at the Sedona Artist Market in West Sedona, Arizona beginning June 1st. I hope this works out since it is only one mile from my home. Below are my explorations with Shino Glaze.
We have had a wonderful spring here in Sedona and I have been able to do some hiking. I have included a photo as evidence (this is not fake news).
Playing With Shino
I continue to explore Shino glazes and I continue to be fascinated by them. In my rush to get over 150 pieces glazed, I lost track of what I was doing and ignored the old saying, “Shino first or suffer the curse!” Have you ever wondered why Shino first? I have. I have included here photo documentation of the result.
While I am on the topic of glaze faults, I have found an appreciation of crawling with Shino glazes although I have not achieved much control of the crawling (perhaps an area for more experimentation).
I won second prize at the student art show at Coconino Community College this past spring. I wanted to test out the Shino on porcelain – this pottery piece that won. It has already sold but an image is included in the photo gallery at the bottom of this post.
I also had fun playing around with making mugs. After working my way through 2 dinnerware sets and striving for conformity, I was glad to try different shapes and sizes (from 4 ounces to 16 ounces). All the handles were pulled while attached to the mug (I have moved away from extruded handles and am appreciating the look of the pulled handles). My exploration also yielded a comfort lip on the mugs that I love. In fact, it was so much fun I intend to continue was exploring large mugs. Here are a few mug shots (pun intended). Some of these are available at the Sedona Artist Market.
Mug Shots
Rehydrating Dried Out Clay
Often people offer me bags of dried out clay. In the past, I have turned down clay that is extremely dried out. I didn’t mind slightly dried out clay which I would cover with wet rags and was able to restore to optimum consistency. However, I could not turn down an offer for 100 pounds of dried out cone 5 porcelain (I love working with porcelain). Previously, I had not been successful with re-constituting large hunks of dried out clay (frustrating experience). I was not willing to break it into small pieces and then soaking it.
I used a 12-inch masonry bit to drill four holes in the clay from the top. It was a challenge to hold the block of clay in place while drilling with my monster half inch drill (it has so much torque it is a challenge to hold on to). I had been told that 1 cup of water added to the clay in the holes and on top would be sufficient. After two days of the clay with the water in a sealed bag sitting in a gallon bucket filled with water, there was minimal hydration of the clay. I added another generous cup of water and waited another two days. Voila! Or as my British friends are prone to say, “Bob’s your uncle!” My friends from Oz are probably saying, “Good onya, mate!” I am excited to have a relatively easy manner of reclaiming dried out bags of clay. Now I will accept offers of dried out clay (yes, bring it on).
Future Plans
Last summer I felt like it was time to explore new avenues with my art. I am pleased with where it has taken me. It is time for some new experimentation and expansion. I am not sure what this means yet, but I am excited to find out – stay tuned for a summer or early fall post.
Blessings
Shino Gallery
