Recalibrate

After loading a small test batch of work into the newly repaired kiln I punched in the firing cycle and waited to see how the freshly refinished Kiln Gods would treat me.

The outcome is a mixed bag of over exposed and passable results. The kiln's programed cycles all were wiped durring the repair, and I must not have quite gotten the down fire temperatures right for this firing. Some adjustments are in order, but we'll get it sorted.

I'm particularly happy with the sculptural form I'd been working on for some time. It's one of the biggest peices I've ever done.



These little ochoko were really fun. At the end of the day, I'm jus texstatic to be back in buisness. The kiln is finally filled with the tiles from the workshop I ran back in October. As the weather turns my mind shifts to how to keep my hands warm in the studio, and what forms I most want to work on for the comming months. In January over half the school goes on class trips for about 3 weeks, and I will have more than ample time to get my hands really muddy.

If you just can't get enough of pottery and people talking about pottery, and you'd really like to see some fantastic surface treatments check out fetishghost (a fellow blogger user and great potter). Until next time keep creating! 

Crossing Seas with Charles

Not much time for a big update. Tomorrow is my busy day of lessons, and I've cookies to finish baking for the English Club's surprise party for our president. I got news this week that my first international customer had successfully received his sake set. Chuck and I went to The College of Wooster together, although he was a year ahead of me.

I spent my first night ever at Wooster under the watchful eyes of he and his friends (have to credit David Wigger with being my official overnight host turned greatest of friends). In a way, the times I had with these fine gentlemen led to Wooster being my final choice. So, naturally when he sent me an e-mail asking if he could order a sake set I jumped all over it like a bear on honeycomb. Chuck forwarded me some pictures of the set in use with another mutual friend of ours Rob.

Chuck I hope the set brings you great joy! As for the rest of you I'm hoping to step back into the studio this week and finish up the bowls I threw last week as well as start on some more forms to help shake my hands back to their former selves. Have a great week folks. We'll see you on Thursday.

Form for function?

Walked into the studio today to find several of these posters.
 Lovely little thank you's from the students for the tools and glazes I donated. 

Happy Monday everyone. Loaded up the kiln today with all the bone dry work I have. Lots of coffee mugs, wine goblets, some sake flasks, a few ochoko, and two tea pots. 

Just wanted to take a moment to highlight a laughable little miscalculation in my first take on a tea pot here. I pulled the body of the pot to be a taller form, always with the intention of placing the spout lower on the body bell flare of the pot. I thought it would make some really nice lines, and I am happy with the overall (although still a bit clunky to my eyes) shape of it. BUT, after drying and further examination I've come to the realization that due of the placement of the spout this teapot can never be filled to capacity. WWWWWHHOOOPSS! Having the spout so love means that water is just going to go right out of it as one attempts to fill it. So. . . lesson learned. Perhaps once it is fired I will be proven wrong, but I find that doubtful. The second tea pot is much more functional and successful.

Here's hoping all goes well with the firing. See you all on Thursday.

Red, black and yellow

One the best examples of the new firing's colors

from an older firing

ochoko 

 All of these are pieces from the last firing that went out into the wide word
post Hata Fest. (I still smile when I think about the turnout that event brought.)

This week is midterms at Susaki High, which means no classes for this guy. Unfortunately I am basically out of workable clay at the moment. This means at least two days of drying, mixing, and wedging reclaim bucket clay. I just got the order confirmation of new glazes and my 30kg of clay, so I won't be using my clay body of choice this week, but I hope to spend some hours working on coffee mugs. Photos will follow as usual on Thursday.

Have a great week folks.

Back in the Swing

 This weekend required one car ride with a friend (thank you so much Miss Mia), two changes of vehicle into and after the show, a train ride, lastly a taxi to my door, and you've got the full journey of my pots this weekend. That is, the ones I can still say are in my keeping. I am happy (and oh so very greatful!) to say that I had an excellent one day show. Despite drippy rainy weather friends new and old managed to stop in for a chat and a chance to fondle some of my pots. Occaisionaly (I am guessing) the pots felt right, and where thustly given new homes. I do so hope that everyone who took home something of mine gets great pleasure from it's daily use. The picture above is of my pots all wrapped up for their return journey and the pots below are some from the last firing that are no longer in my hands.



I was actually veyr surprised by what sold

at this show. I thought that people would be

looking for cheap small things. This is why I

made so many ochokos in my last firing.



Another surprise from the show:
I am not particularly fond of
this glaze, but it was very well recieved.
 Many people picked it up and
one walked away with it.



While these three ochoko all sold, my
 biggest sellers were rice bowls and coffee mugs. I even got a few comissions for big  mugs.

 

 

All in all I sold just over 20 pots, and sent about eight to the antique shop East of Kochi City that has a little corner dedicated to my work.

I decided when I started making pots at Susaki High School that aside from buying more clay (so that I could keep making my pots) any money I made would get funneled right back into the ceramics course and improving its equipment. Thanks to the surprisingly good buisness I have ordered several new glazes for the students (who don't have access to all the glazes that I use) and some much needed new clay cutters, metal ribs, and some other asorted tools. My orriginal plan was to save up and buy something major (like a pug mill or perhaps a glaze spray comressor), but after a discussion with Tabe Sensei it seemed more realistic and imediately useful to modernize and resupply a bit. I hope the students like the new glazes.

I spent today in the studio finishing some brush work on a sculptural peice, and attempting to get back into the swing of centering and producing work. I did not succeed, today, in finding my old throwing center. Time to get back to making! Practice, practice, practice!

Inspiration!

Happy new work Thursday friends, and may it be a lovely one where ever you may be. Above are the pieces going into the kiln tomorrow after school. Along with some of the new textures you've already seen, I plan on trying something new with all of the work shown. Not only are the glaze combinations new, but also (after reading a few wonderfully tempting articles in new a Ceramics Monthly) some new firing methods I simply can't go without trying. I'll fill you in on all the specifics once the outcome is revealed next week. 

*warning to readers and the blog writer himself* THIS LITTLE ADVENTURE MAY YEILD ABSOLUTELY ZERO OR POTENTIALLY HORRIBLE RESULTS! 

Now that, that little morsel has been discharged into the great wilderness of web space I want to share some photos that show what I wish I could make my glazes do. The color combinations, the cracking in the ice, the contrast of chipping thick paint and wood grain, and all the other wonderful dramatics which occur without hardly any human effort are the things I wish I could transfer onto my pots.   

Only more practice and patience will see me to this goal. More to come. Happy weekends. 

Ochoko

New work Thursday finally returns, and let me tell you it can't be Friday soon enough. This year's course load at Susaki High has me running all over the damn place. I'll take being busy over having nothing to do any day, but after a full two months of being decidedly unbusy, busy feels busier than busy should feel. I'm sure adjustment will happen in no time flat.

Amidst all of this busy I've scrounged up some studio time in little bits to keep the ceramics withdraw symptoms from setting in. Here's what's new:

New forms right off the wheel before texture. 

TEXTURE!

Newly trimmed and textured! I love ochokos 

To those who might be a little confused an ochoko is a small sake cup. These forms flew off the wheel head. I am feeling a little more adventurous with my decorations after my parents visit and the freshly delivered issues of Ceramics Monthly. Hopefully these and some other new things in the works will be fired and ready by May 20th. What's on May 20th?! Why how kind of you to ask. Hata fest part II will be on May 20th. It's a craft, art, music and food festival held out on the west side of Kochi prefecture. More details will follow as to it's exact location and such, but save that date dear readers. 

Self promotion aside, that's all there really is for this week folks. Enjoy the long weekend if you live in Japan. We'll see you on Monday!