This little group of three tumblers went to New Orleans recently as part of an Annual Invitational Juried Exhibition held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and titled ”The Art of the Cup: Functional Comfort”.  I was very pleased to be included in this event and happy that at least my tumblers were heading to New Orleans even if it is without me. 

The exhibition is put on by The Center for Southern Craft and Design, and if you happen to be in the area it opens November 12th and closes on December 13th.

Since the organizers wanted me to send along some images of the pieces I was sending, it was a great chance to hold onto some of my favorite pieces from the last firing and try to get some images of those too.  It’s great to get the images of the pieces, but also just to keep them around for a bit for observation. 

A few of these pieces might make their way to another exhibition that has come up recently thanks to potter Ronan Peterson. 

He’s invited a great group of potters from the mountains around Asheville to get together for a show at Claymakers in Durham, NC. It looks like the show will be called “Asheville in the Bull City” , and will run from January 15-March 12, 2010.  The potters will include Karen Newgard, Kyle Carpenter, Lindsay Rogers, Patty Bilbro, and myself.

Each potter is sending at least 30 pieces, so it is sure to be a room full of great work!

A few more pots from the last firing, finally photographed. I had a few forms which were new or improved which I left bare, meaning no flashing slip or nothing. Just the raw clay, loaded strategically into certain areas of the kiln. These two square bottles were a small version of a new form which I will definitely be continuing. They may never again measure up to the flashing marks on these two.

The square jar is a larger version of a form I have made for some time now. The little plate is just nice. It has been nice to watch these plates come and go from the last two firings. A lot of them have come out of the kiln with just the kind of marks I am hoping for, and they’ve disappeared quickly too.

Finally got the metal on the chimney at Jane Peiser’s today. “Chet” came to do the welding, we hoisted the angle irons into place, and then he welded a few extra support pieces from the chimney to the metal on the kiln, just for good measure.

I did get some work done in the studio last week, but now I’m getting into the wood project pretty deep. Hopefully I’ll have the display racks and pedestals built by later this week so I can get them painted and get back to the wheel.

Back at the wheel this weekend, the cycle begins again. This go round I started with a few of my bowl forms. On the left is a board of small square bowls, upside down and awaiting a trim. On the right is a slightly larger and more open square bowl fresh from the wheel. Also a view of the smaller form finished.

I’ve made these forms in their current state for a few years now. When I see the early versions they seem awkward, and I am reminded of when I was deciding on having the bowl open outward or remain enclosed. Over time I developed one of each style, and after endless refinement of the tiniest little details I now enjoy them both on the rare occasion when they come out “just right”. Sometimes I think I make them for me or perhaps out of stubbornness, rather than because they sell like hotcakes. Both forms earn their share of “what would you use this for?”, especially the little guy.

Onward down the list of things to make in the next few weeks.

Here are a few photos of some of the bigger pots from the last firing.

The first dispatch from the new home. The latest news from the studio here on the top of the mountain. Just wrapped up the studio tour this weekend, I was lucky and it turned out to be a little better than I was expecting it to be. The real news was the latest firing of my woodkiln last week. The seventh firing and definitely the best one yet.

A few pictures of the beautiful plates that came out, and the pots from the top of the kiln. I’m still digesting the piles of pottery unloaded and trying to get back on top of all the neglected things from the last week.

More photos of some of the fresh pots coming soon.