The anagama sorcerer

Nic's blog's been updated with pots he's making for his on-line exhibition on December 5th.

There's also a good piture of Blogger Andrew on there, check it out right..............................................................here

It's been a bit of a week

This delightful gas-guzzler's been giving us trouble again. I spent yesterday morning on an industrial estate in Exeter while the man at the gearbox place investigated my slippy clutch.

The car's been nothing but trouble since we got it, but not for any longer, it's days are done. A little frustrating as we just spent £400 on it this month, £800 a couple of months ago, but it's going to cost £1000 this time, so that's the end of it, time to get a replacement, no more good money after bad. I've killed three cars in the last twelve months - that has to be unlucky.

However unlucky that is, we're very lucky to have a really good friend who is helping to sort something out for us - a real top man, thank you.

The potter's life is always a hand to mouth existence - well mine is anyway. I try and make the pots I would like to buy, then hope somebody else might like them, it's not easy. I'm also notoriously bad at getting them out there - I have loads of pots sitting on the shelf in my workshop that ought to be out for sale somewhere. I do need to become a better businessman.

It isn't just about money - of course money's essential to survive, but it's about a different quality of life - and a healthy brain. I used to work for a university and spent a year off work, rocking in a darkened room. These days I try and adopt a positive mental attitude. Once negativity creeps in, it darkens everything - it still does sometimes.

On returning from Exeter with my sickly car yesterday afternoon, I went over to the woods with my friend Different Dave, where we dug out a load of clay. It was beautiful, just the sounds of the birds, the colours of the trees with their leaves on the turn, and the musty, mossy smell of the clay - best of all, it cost nothing to be there.



This week I decided to make pots only from Hollyford clay. I haven't got many made, but it's been magical using what Michael Kline calls 'native dirt'. It has very different properties from the clay I normally use. I'd only made smaller things with it, mugs, 'tankettes' and little jugs, but today I made an eight pounder and it threw really nicely.



It'll take a while to get used to it and to discover the most effective way of using it, but I love it. I still plan to use it for the majority of my production by Christmas. I don't have the proper equipment yet to process large amounts, but the kit I do have will suffice for now as long as I keep mixing daily.



The surface of the pots looks softer for it, this is a detail of a mug I fired earlier this week in the electric kiln. I'm sure my work will change a little as I start to find more out about its properties. It contains a fine, naturally occurring sand - perfect for the job.

Off to Crediton in the morning for the closing day of Paint:Mud:Wood

Have an enjoyable weekend all.

Potter's Privilege

This is a puzzle jug all glazed up. It's really pretty at this point in the process - and although I'd never want to make a pastel pink one, to see it at this stage is the potter's privilege I was talking about earlier in the week.



The pink will become light yellow, the petals dark yellow and the grey stalks will become green - I hope!



Thanks for your comments about the last post my lovelies

More news later.......................

Tugs or mankards?

Boots, lovely, dry-stockinged, comfortable, foot-supporting, go anywhere boots.........ahhhhhhhhh, beauty, I love them already.

Here are some pots I made on Monday from the woodland clay that I dug a few weeks ago when the film was being made. I sieved all of the bits of twig and grit and root out of this batch, so it just contained the smaller grains of naturally occurring sand - a whole lot smoother than the stuff I usually use.



It was delightful to throw with, really responsive and plastic. Because of the lack of hardcore, it made for pots at least a third bigger than I would be able to make from the same weight of my usual clay. Hence these are neither mugs nor tankards, they're somewhere in-between. I decided to take some time experimenting with applied decoration, including the use of some roulette wheels that I made ages ago - they're what makes the bobbly bits on the horizontal strips of the foreground mug.




Paint:Mud:Wood is still on for another two days. I hope to be there tomorrow, but just for a change, the car's gone wrong again, so I've to take it to town in the morning to find out the bad news about it, with the hope that I might get back to the gallery in time to catch up with my friend Johnny who is going to be there documenting the show.



Today I had some more pots from the kiln that I was unable to get out in time for the Crediton show, including this little cook pot that I was really pleased with.

The end of the road

As the socks and sandals season draws to a close, I wish to announce the retirement of my favourite footwear of several years passing.



My sandals always put practicality ahead of vanity, comfort ahead of fashion.

We walked in each other's footsteps for five seasons, the many hundreds of miles that we shared during that sojourn of pounding lanes and rambling fields, finally taking its toll as uppers split and buckles ceased to function on Monday's journey home.

They will remain in occasional service around the house, fulfilling the role of an easy, comfy slip-on, a characteristic of every middle-aged man's dream footwear, but will in the main, be put out to grass.

It will take some big boots to fill the void. To this end, I have already employed some sturdy and quite unstylish Dr Marten Boots, which will continue in service until the start of the next socks and sandals season early in the Spring.

Although a little saddened by their passing, my relacement footwear will open up a new world of adventure, boots rush in where sandals fear to tread.

Henceforth, as I walk through the valley of mud, I shall fear no puddles.



Here, documented for posterity, is a short film of one of the last journeys my sandals made.

May their soles rest in peace - in my shoe rack.

Decorating jugs

Been decorating today. I enjoyed attacking these pots with my rubber comb. I'm happiest when I'm making big jugs and decorating in a more bold and abstract fashion, runny slip and lines that don't join up - I've had fun with these. When working through very wet slip, you get one chance and it either works, or it doesn't, there's no middle ground.



Blogger Matt called this morning and we chatted about what I like to call the 'potter's privilege' - that is, the opportunity to be able to see and enjoy the pot at the many stages of its production. Thre's so much more to making pots than just looking at the finished item.



I love the look of a freshly slipped pot, fluid and glistening in the light. As the slip dries, it flattens, briefly shows the runs and dribbles that will give the surface its variation and character, before finally drying flat, not revealing its surprises again until the glaze has brought the pot's surface back to life.



These will change a great deal after firing, but at the moment I'm pleased with them, I think they fulfil my intention of making something decorative, but not too pretty.

Nic Collins spinning a pot

Here's my mate Nic making one of the big pots destined for his on-line exhibition which starts on 5th of December at 6pm.

He's updating his site every Friday so that you can see the pots in progress. There are some fantastic new images on there of coil throwing techniques, take a peep.



Blogger Andrew's been with him this week helping to fire the kiln containing Nic's work for the CPA Oxford Fair next weekend. I would imagine Andrew will be posting some shots of the action during the next few days - just spoke to Nic on the phone and he sounds really positive about the way the firing went. I think he's unpacking on Wednesday, so fingers crossed for him.

Pics from the show

This afternoon's opening at Gallery 86

Baluster jugs

I put this picture on because I'm really pleased with the latest batch of baluster jugs, so want share this one with you.



It's quite tricky making these so that they're narrow at the waist without being too heavy, particularly with this gritty clay that doesn't like to be thrown thinnly. These ones feel to be a good weight for their size, they're about 18" tall. I'm happy with the shape too, which has evolved from one of the more graceful forms of the Medieval period. I use the same technique as for the huge jugs, throw the body, then add the part thrown neck, before finishing it on the pot.

I found these videos that you may enjoy.





Sorting out the space in the gallery tomorrow - I hope I feel a bit more healthy. Goodnight all.

My mate Matt

My mate Matt built this new wall today at Hollyford. Here he is with his daughter Tilly and Digger the dog who is a daily visitor to my workshop.

Tableware

It's been ages since I had tableware stacked up in my workshop.



It's all come out fine. I decided to keep the decoration fairly simple as it's for eating off. There are three styles of rim decoration.



Ron asked for a picture of the backs. The green doesn't look quite so splodgy in real life I'm pleased to say.

There are more pots bisc firing tonight. They'll be glazed tomorrow and then whipped out, baking hot on Saturday and rushed to the gallery before the show opens at 3pm - that's cutting it fine - it'll certainly be new work.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggggggggggghhhh

Man-flu - I was told by a man once that it can be worse than childbirth. I've got a bad dose of it - all the worse because I just went and put milk in my Lemsip by mistake - doh.



But the show must go on in spite of the suffering, so today my friend and photographer Johnny came up to take some more decorating images.



I did another leaf jug



And drew and combed on these two.

I feel rough

I feel poooooorly - man-flu on the way, or tiredness, not sure, but hot bath and bed for me shortly.



Visited Cookie this morning to see the furniture he's made for the exhibition this weekend - stunning.



Here he is in the doorway of his workshop.



Made a batch of big baluster jugs today.

Got to go now and feel sorry for myself, bye for now.

The orchard

A few pictures from the bottom orchard this evening.



The wonderful smell of apples is all around.

Glaze

The glazes worked fine on both my usual clay body and the stuff from the woods.




Hoorah.



Here's some more tableware, glazed and ready to go. I'm putting all this through the electric kiln because I need it all to match - that's a pretty unlikely outcome in my wood kiln.



Here are a couple of pots influenced by the stuff in that book. This tall jug will have slip pours and combing when finished.



This tankard's maybe a little over the top - it'll hold about three pints, so it's designed with the hardened drinker in mind.

Medieval English Pottery

This is one of my favourite books. I pulled it off the shelf last week, the first time in a while and got all excited again about medieval pots. Recently I've been looking a lot more at North Devon slipware, particularly the harvest jugs. Seeing these pictures again has certainly influenced the pots that I've made this week.



Apologies for the bad snapshots.



There's a pot in this book that is one of the most important of my pot-making life. It's a jug in the Victoria and Albert Museum, I saw twenty four years ago when I was a student. It completely blew me away and dictated the direction of my student work from then on. I haven't put a picture on of the pot, I may save it until I get brave enough to show one of my dodgy student pieces from all those years ago.

For Ron

Ron put a picture on his post today of his decorating plans.




It seems he and I work in much the same way, here's my version, rather less legible than Ron's, but fortunately I can read it.

Gnarly Nic

Nic Collins will be holding an on-line exhibition/sale of the 20 best pots, chosen by him from the winter firing of his groundhog kiln.



The exhibition will take place at 6 pm on Friday 5th of December and will continue until 6pm Friday 12th December. If you follow the link, you can see a weekly updated page of Nic making pots for the exhibition.

I've spoken before on this blog about my admiration for Nic's work, check out his working methods and expect the unusual, right HERE

Monday

I mixed up a load of new glazes yesterday which I have firing tonight in the electric kiln. The pink one should be pale yellow and the beige one, honey. My friend Simon Hancox kindly gave me a load of Fremington clay which was what I used to use for my glazes before the pit closed. Cheers Simon, it's lovely to see my glaze looking like it used to even though it hasn't been fired yet.



This is another puzzle jug I've been working on today with crazy applied decoration. I've got my friend Johnny coming up again on Thursday to take some more photos of decorating processes, so I'll finish this one in front of the lens on Thursday.



Another spectacular walk home this evening through the orchard. The apples in this orchard have been picked and sent off to the cider factory. Away in the distance, Dartmoor, click on the picture to see some wonderful lines in the fields.

Hello deer

Marky Mark had the day off work today so came to play with clay. We worked late into the evening.


For Hannah.



It was a beautiful day again today. The workshop's under the flightpath for Exeter airport and on a blue sky day like today, we get fantastic stripes in the sky.

We took a stroll into the woods this evening. On our way back we spotted this red deer. The video ends with a view of the back of my workshop, so you'll get an idea of why I find my outlook such a distraction.

Happy weekend all.

Hoorah for David!

Different Dave came up this morning and repaired the kiln - hoorah for Different Dave!