Juice cups!

Can you feel the excitement?















Juice cups! Seriously, I am thrilled to be making anything. I joined the Hewitt Pottery team at the furthest possible point from making pots. When I arrived it was straight to loading the kiln, then firing it, unloading it, cleaning pots, the sale, mixing clay (good photos coming soon from that week), then cutting wood. Phew! Now it's my favorite time, time to make pots. Juice cups!
Here is a photo of my first few pots. I guess I made about 80 to 90 over the past 3 days, I aimed for 30 a day. I trashed many from the first day and kept about a fourth total from the week. By the end of today I felt much better about shaping them. Turns out I was holding the rib wrong in like eight different ways. Not flat enough against the profile (originally holding it 90 degrees to the pot, 30 to 45 degrees is better), moving my the rib up and down instead of holding it steady, I was using the wrong edge of the rib (I know, two choices and I chose wrong, come on), etc, etc . But thankfully Mark saw all these errors over the past few days and set me straight. I've just got to keep making them so that they can get even more fine tuned. I'm not even going to discuss their feet, I am aware they need work. Feet will be addressed next week. More juice cups!

Hewitt Pottery Kiln Opening This Weekend (and next)

Hewitt Pottery is having their summer kiln opening this weekend and next, August 29th/30th and Sept 5th/6th (Saturday 9 til 5 and Sunday 12 til 5) . I know that I should have mentioned this earlier, but we were so busy getting ready that I haven't had time. Here are some photos from yesterday's preview. Unfortunately (or fortunately) a lot of these pots now have new homes. But come out if you have a chance, there are some beauties left and new pots not previously seen saved for next weekend.

Freer and Sackler Gallery visit

Last week Mark took us to Washington D.C. to visit the Freer and Sackler Galleries.









In addition to seeing the current exhibits, we visited the storage facilities of each museum. In the storage facility, accompanied by a curator, you can take out most pieces, handle them and take photos. One of the oldest pieces we took out was a Neolithic vase from Northern Thailand from 1000 B.C.E. The people that made these pieces have been dead for centuries, yet these pots survive. I was informed that they find a lot of ancient pottery shards in trash piles and old wells. (Note to self: if you really never ever want someone to see that ugly pinholed piece with the kiln goop droppings, you might want to dispose of it in several different places.)


A few of my favorites were the Shoji Hamada pieces (the big platter that I am holding, the plate, and the tea bowl). I had only see these in books, so it was quite a thrill to hold them. I also liked this tea bowl with bamboo decoration (bottom photo), artist unknown from the Edo period. This Shigaraki tea bowl (top photo) was another one of my favorites. The Sackler gift shop had a fabulous selection of books on ceramics. I purchased Shigaraki: Potters’ Valley, published in 1979 and reprinted in 2000, by Louise Cort, curator of ceramics at the Freer and Sackler galleries. It contains a lot of information on tea-ceremony wares as well as a complete ceramic history of the Shigaraki area of Japan.

First Two Weeks at Hewitt Pottery

This month I started a one year apprenticeship at W.M. Hewitt Pottery in Pittsboro, NC. I am so excited to have this opportunity. I hope to gain more wood firing experience and refine my throwing skills. Things have been going well so far and I am thrilled to go to work everyday.

Last week we started loading Mark's massive kiln. It took 5 full days to load in all the pots made by Mark and his two other apprentices Joseph Sand and Alex Matisse. I also helped roll thousands of wads for the pots (thanks Alex for the secret double and triple wad rolling technique).

On Tuesday evening the firing started slow using gas to dry out the pots. Formal stoking with wood started last night and continues on until late Friday. May I add that we are currently experiencing a miracle with the weather. On Tuesday it was 100 degrees (with the heat index in some areas at 105). Today was a lovely and pleasant 82. It was a perfect day to fire. I had a cool and relaxing 4 hour shift around lunchtime.

The top picture is after 4 days of loading. The photo is from the front of the kiln. Then next photo is the stack that was placed in the very front on day 5 (in front of the first photo's stack). The last photo is from the side door where the large pots are placed.

Fun with Power Tools

My friend Jason is back in town and as promised he supervised power tool time. Inspired by the large platter workshop, I decided I needed some larger bats if I want to make larger pots. I was introduced to the skill saw and the sander. We decided to stain/seal the bats with a deck stain that Jason had on hand. I gotta say these are the prettiest bats I've ever seen.

David Stuempfle Coiling Workshop

I attended a 3 day workshop on coiling large pots taught by David Stuempfle at Central Carolina Community College in Siler City, NC . David demonstrated how to make large coils that were an even thickness and proper length for the pot base. He showed how he attached the coil in a rhythmic motion with his thumb and middle finger. This was followed by a wooden paddle and anvil with a similar premise, paddling the clay with a consistent force and rhythm to make the walls. There were also weed burners involved. Always fun to add fire when throwing.

The pots I made were not that great or even made it through the whole process, but I got a tremendous amount of practice and feedback about how to improve. It's always good to have someone help you work out the kinks when learning a new technique. I think I have some concept of the fundamentals of coiling and just need hours and hours of practice...and hours.

Knock Knock

Sometimes what you need comes and knocks on your door. Bakerworks Construction was knocking on doors in our neighborhood a few weeks ago offering all types of house renovations from kitchens to decks, no job is too small. Hmm. I've need shelves in my basement for a couple of years now, this seems to be as good a time as any.

I unfortunately have not had much exposure to building things myself, no one in my family has ever built anything that I can recall. My beloved does not have experience in that department either (he's an awesome cook and bass player though). My friend Jason, who is in the band Red Collar, promises he'll show me how to use different saws when he gets a break from touring. I can foresee needing these skills when building my future kiln. My first lesson, the jigsaw, should be soon, maybe at the end of July. Until then, I'll use Bakerworks.

In two half days the guys turned my basement into an efficient workspace. What a change it has made! Why didn't I do this before now? This renovation tripled my space for ware boards. It also forced a much needed organization of the space. My wheel is now stable and at the proper height. The guys used wood that was left by the previous owner of our house. I like the weathered rustic feel it gives. Check out the before and after pictures. The before pictures are obviously at the bottom. Actually I'm a little embarrassed by the before pictures now, but it makes the after look that much better.

Bakerworks did an awesome job, I'd recommend them to anyone that needs work done.
Oh, and no I don't work in a prison. There are bars on the windows in the basement to deter burglars.