Art for Daily Life

blue and white and spring

2012-03-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

matsuno vegetable kitchen tile

I've been working on a blue & white tile job for a client in California.

Sigh...

Even though I have made hundreds of blue & white tile, sometimes I miss a defect. This one was probably already cracked when I decorated it and it didn't reveal itself until the glaze firing.

now there's a bee

But, the client likes insects, so I added a bumblebee while I was at it.

chickens enjoying the sun

We have taken to calling the chickens "pennys", partly because of their coppery coloring, but also because its easier than calling them out individually* (also, they don't care).

gorgeous, and huge (!)

yay spring

Yes, but why is it still snowing and storming?

*for the record: Henny, Penny, Honey, Blackie, Little Red, and the other three...

seasons

2012-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

view from the outdoor bed

The absolutely best thing about sleeping outside is watching it snow from a cozy cocoon under a down comforter. I never want to get up.

path to the studio

However, a warm studio beckons just down the path (thanks Mr. Cranky!).

chilly chairs under the wisteria

remember the summer work space on the terrace?

vegetable starts

Thinking of spring; planning the garden.

Oh, but that bed!

loooooooney

2012-02-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

I love getting interesting commissions.

Just before Christmas, I had a inquiry from a publisher wondering if I could make several small custom tiles to be inset into the cover of a box for a handmade book. It sounded right up my alley as he wanted blue & white porcelain with a design that echoed the calligraphic line dancing throughout the book.

"Easy-peasy" I though slyly, already planning how to spend my loot.

He preferred a thin line, so I thought mishima might be the way to go~

mishima tests

I didn't like the resulting stiffness in the line, so I jettisoned that idea and went back to slip-trailing.

Getting the exact size was challenging because the shrinkage varied depending upon when I cut the pieces, cutting right away gave one set of dimensions and cutting later in the day gave another.

drying under a brick

My basic blue slip color read a bit dark for the printer's eye, so I launched into a flurry of color tests. I always think it will be easy to adjust a color and it always turns out to be, well, not.

Fortunately, my client was not too fussy about an exact color match to the ink so it only took three rounds of tests to get to where I needed to be.

color testing

It was important that the tiles be both very thin and quite flat, so I made many, many extra to be able to cull out the ones with lifted corners and such.

awaiting bisque firing

Once out of the bisque, I chose the flattest ones to slip trail~

decorating with slip

After that, it's just rack them up, spray, and load into the kiln for the final firing~

ready to glaze

glaze sprayed

finished

They are winging their way south as we speak, so to speak.
It was definitely a fun challenge, but am I looney to keep on doing this?

This dancer will blow your mind...

thxthxthx

2011-12-14T17:08:00.000-08:00

breakfast at the bird watcher's table

The day after our winter open studio was still beautifully sunny; breakfast consisted of cherry whole wheat scones and coffee served on our dotty black & white hand-built pottery.

That butter dish was made on a whim; I decorated a slab scrap and fired it; it turns out to be a perfect butter dish, simple and flat. I plan to tweak the shape a bit and make more of them, we love it.

the outside bed under cover

The outside bed is still in play, thanks to an electric blanket. The porch (with the addition of a couple of bamboo screens) provides enough protection from the rain. We use the electric blanket to preheat the bed and keep the moisture at bay. Getting into bed after a quick sprint through the freezing outside air is indescribably delicious.

stack of dotties

Our Winter Open Studio was a lot of fun; it is always wonderful to see friends, both old and new.
Thanks to everyone who made their way out here to stop by!

Have you seen this blog by a woman who writes a short "thanks" blog post everyday? She is pretty witty and refreshing..

Holiday Open Studio

2011-12-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

We have so many balls in the air right now...

juggling bunny cup ($12)

For instance, getting ready for our annual open studio~
I am baking things, both sweet and savory.

rugelach

And getting the house and studio ready for the sale.

blue & white pottery display in the dining room

Also making many, many very affordable things, and a few very special things too~

baskets of spice dishes

I am fond of the rhythm of the rim of this piece~

enormous bowl, topographical design

Also, there is always the daily wrangling of the chickens; they love us so much that they follow us everywhere, even into the house.

our favorite chicken, Honey, stealing wild bird seed

We very much hope to see you at our open studio:

Saturday, December 10th, from 10-5

22017 NW Beck Road

Come and enjoy a glass of wine, hot spiced cider, and a snack with us~

and thank you for supporting your local potters!

work in progress, greenware

2011-11-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

oval boats and snack plates

dotty fruit cups

cup interiors

All these pieces have been bisqued, glazed, and are cooling in the kiln right now. It makes the studio so cozy!

Warm and snug is one thing, but I don't stay indoors all the time~

fall at the Japanese Garden

spectacular maples

a glimpse of red in the distance

I have been indulging in a mad addiction to Pinterest lately. Someone make me stop!

Summer odds & ends

2011-09-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

peony bowl

Black and white is my new blue & white...

black & white tableware

Working outside is one of the perks of self-employment in the summer. :)

terrace as workspace

plaid and plaid

My able assistant taking a break.

black and white dinnerware

On a roll with new work in dotty black and white.

kitchen peninsula as workspace

Sometimes we just can't stop after dark, so we move the tools inside.

ten baskets of potatoes!

The garden winds down.

doodles and excavations

2011-08-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

recently excavated

Every pottery has a shard pile somewhere, sometimes several. We simply place broken but interesting pieces here and there around our property, often along paths. Mr. Cranky found this (ancient!) platter that one of us made (can't remember who) many years ago, buried, but partially sticking up out of the woods near the studio.

plate rim as headdress

The rim had separated from the center and makes a nice headdress addition to our broken "haniwa" figure.

miscellaneous clay doodles

We have been spending our free time sitting on the terrace modelling random clay elements by hand for use in ...? Well, we haven't actually decided yet, but we are amassing a nice collection of interesting small pieces, some with holes in them for hanging. Mr. Cranky is making relics and crosses using a technique similar to the one in the platter above, coils of clay arranged to make patterns. This method lends itself to bronze-y glazes and stains that can be applied and then partially wiped away to emphasize texture and pattern.

outdoor bed upgrade

In other news, summer has finally arrived here in the pacific northwest and the outdoor bed is back with a snazzy new canopy (thanks, Lisa) and fresh linens. I miss the orange color of the old mosquito net, but this does make the bed feel like a miniature palace. Sweet, except that the fifty acres across the street is just starting to be logged. They start at seven am (of course) and are very noisy. So much for sleeping in...

bumblebee drizzle

2011-06-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

still waiting for summer to begin...

bumblebee

On the other hand, the broaches with magnetic backs came out really well. The glaze is nice and thick and the images didn't run or blur. Look what else you can do with them:

ceramic paper clip

The ultimate in executive desk ornaments, a handmade clay/magnet paper clip.

I also discovered that you can put them up on a wall if you can locate a nail for the magnet to adhere to:

beetle on the shed

teehee

Earthworks by Robert Smithson; I like the spiral jetty.

dinner plates and misty terrace

2011-06-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

dinner plates, musical variations

misty day on the terrace

drip, drip, drip...

foggy too

view from the summer bed

not summer yet though

no morning coffee outside today

necklaces await cords

A musical interlude while waiting for the kiln to cool

2011-05-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

My current musical obsession, Zaz. I watch this practically everyday. It makes me so happy. I love her voice, her affect, her joie d' vie.

And for punctuation lovers out there, colons are on the march.

Broaches, not cookies

2011-05-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

nearly edible

When I was in Arizona visiting my mom, I saw broaches that had magnets instead of pins affixed to the backs. This struck me as a brilliant solution to the problem of placing a pin in just the right spot; easy to move around and no stabbing. I promptly laid in a supply of strong magnets and got down to business producing porcelain broaches.

tray of sketches on broaches

I am always in need of something simple and small to use to sketch ideas and to warm up the slip-trailer before tackling large pieces. I used to use tiles for this, but this winter I started making tiny (2 1/2") dishes which are perfect warm-up pieces. Last month, I made dozens of small ovals in porcelain to hold in reserve to sketch on, but I apparently have no impulse control because I decorated all of them at once.

jewelry, not cookies

A wareboard full of these is irresistible, I simply can't stop decorating with just a few. I guess I had better find a place to sell these.

waiting for glaze

I have a kiln full (dozens and dozens!) of these firing right now, in black & white and blue & white. I hope the glaze is nice and thick and glossy with no blurring. Stay tuned...

I like the sculptures of Brendan Monroe.

the dreaded s-crack

2011-03-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

see that horrible, unwelcome curved line inside the foot-ring?

It's called an s-crack (even though it is more of a "c" in this case).The photo above shows what sometimes happens to the inside foot of a bowl thrown off the hump. There is plenty of advice in pottery books and online about how to avoid this (clay body, compression techniques, trimming tricks, etc). And yet...

ready to attack the problem

I can sometimes save the piece by burnishing the crack firmly with a hardwood stick.

firm pressure with the crack, across the crack, and around and around

looks pretty good, neh?

Oh, but I won't stop here. No I won't.

adding paperclay

I don't trust burnishing alone. I prepare a slurry of dry clay mixed with paper pulp and a water/vinegar mix for crack repair. I smear it over the burnished crack with a stiff brush.

perfect

Now, I have to see if it makes it through the bisque and glaze firings intact. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Stay tuned.

Drowning beautiful, so incredible!

peppermint patties

2011-02-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

little valentine tiles and a peppermint patty

I have been making weekly batches of peppermint patties all winter. The first batch only lasted two days, the second only a day longer, but we seem to be settling in to one week per batch now that we have calmed down about them.

Vanilla, peppermint, powdered sugar, coconut milk

They are so easy to make, it almost feels like cheating somehow. You need to allow time for things to chill from time to time with this recipe, but otherwise it is a very simple, fool-proof process.

thin mint patties

I like to make them thinner than usual to increase the ratio of dark chocolate to mint.

it's okay to be messy

These do settle down a little and are smoother in the end, but who cares if they don't look professional? Well, I do, a little bit. The photo above is an example of a rushed job.

peppermint patty on a teeny tiny dish

So good.

*I make them vegan by substituting coconut milk for evaporated and earth balance for butter. And 70% dark chocolate (Trader Joe's) is amazing! Recipe.

Making decisions just became easier.

hike view

2011-01-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

fog fills the valley

Sometimes the view on our hike is all about the sky.

Island? No, just the other side of the valley.

When it is foggy in the Tualatin Valley, it looks like a body of water from up here.

silhouettes

Catching the sunset is always a treat.

oval dish with spiral (14" W.)

We walk way, way down to the bottom every time. And then, back up to the top.

Porriger?

2011-01-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

chicken noodle soup* in a porriger

We find ourselves using this new bowl shape all the time. I like to call it a porriger because it sounds like such a comforting thing to eat from. The name suggests a wide generous dish to eat out of, something to use sitting in one's thick-walled, thatch-roofed cottage overlooking the White Cliffs of Dover. Apparently this is a misnomer, because real porrigers have handles and even lids, but that won't stop me from (mis-) using this name for this bowl. Such a rebel am I.

salt

Mr. Cranky got a set of tasting salts from a truly fabulous local resource, The Meadow, a shop that specializes in salt, chocolate, and wine. I try to use only the minimal amount of salt when cooking so that we can add salt at the table from our selection of eight different salts. I find the various textures to be very intriguing.

I even under-salt bread when I bake and buy unsalted butter now. I can't tell if we are eating more salt because of this, or less. A little goes a long way when added just before eating.

Rock Creek is running fast

There's nothing like a hike after a warming bowl of soup. It has been raining so much that the creeks are full, wide, and exciting. This is at the final leg of our current favorite hike. It is a good destination, but the hike is 100% uphill from here. We take this hike everyday, rain or shine. So lucky!

*Recipe for chicken stock and noodle soup

tools

2011-01-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

slab roller with two other essential tools

I use these tools so often I rarely think about how indispensable they are.

One of our concerns when designing/building our studio was the potter's disease, silicosis, which is caused by dust inhalation, specifically silica dust. We installed a whole house vacuum because the unit containing the motor can be placed outside the studio, carrying the dust and particulates away without lofting all the tiny silica dust particles into my lungs. When I am carving clay I find myself constantly turning the vacuum on and off to suck up the bits of manganese and cobalt-coated slip that powder and float all about. I have had to replace the switch twice, but the trusty motor keeps chugging along. It has the additional advantage, being located outside in the shed, of quiet operation. Because I really hate wearing masks, I would probably be on a respirator by now without it.

The other tool pictured is a cutting bow. I have two sizes, this is the smaller one.

there is a wire across the base of the bow

I take a block of clay and slice a uniform slab from the bottom by dragging the cutting bow through.

thin flat slab

Initially, I adjust the size and shape of the block to suit the size of the piece I plan to make. This saves on recycling scrap clay. The height of the wire can also be adjusted up or down to make a thinner or thicker slab.

thin square-ish slab

sheetrock tool

This is perfect for removing the canvas texture from the slab, although sometimes I leave it textured on purpose. I am currently obsessed with Japanese textiles and am putting fabric patterns on the blue & white tableware. I like the subtle play of the ghost of the canvas weave underneath the glaze and decoration, so I don't remove all of it.

hand-built plates

Inspiration

Come over

2010-12-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

textile patterned ornaments (3")

Fresh from the kiln~ ornaments. Right now our tree is festooned with all blue & white ornaments. It looks far more sophisticated than usual. These are decorated in the style of my new passion, Japanese textiles; like our tableware.

awww, pandas!

I made pandas too, some are chubbier than others.

latte cups with my little bird in the bottom

We still have mugs and latte cups and bowls and plates and shot glasses and and and...

restocked shelves, full of blue & white

We unloaded another firing, the last one! Like I said; come over!

Holiday Open Studio

Saturday, December 18th, from 10-6

22017 NW Beck Road

There will be festive beverages and something sweet and something savory to nibble on. We would love to see you!

Holiday Open Studio

2010-12-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

It turned out to be a beautiful day last Saturday for our opening Holiday Open Studio.

The teeny-tiny dishes ($6) were popular

I hope you can make it for one of our remaining two Holiday Open Studios of the year; Saturday December 11th & 18th. I'll be baking yummy things to snack on and we'll have a variety of festive beverages on hand as well.

We have unloaded three new firings this week, so there is a plethora of new blue & white to see (latte cups are back!).

Please drop by and enjoy the coziness of the wood stove and join us for a little holiday cheer.

*if you click on "invitation to open studio events" under the "more of us" area in the right sidebar I will send you an email with details of how to find us

Bewilderment

2010-10-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

sell your cleverness, buy bewilderment~ Rumi

New lobed dish (14" x 10") in the blue & white series. Bewilderment is such a great word, isn't it?

big red mushrooms are popping up on the path to the studio

We bought this huge pot in LA many years ago from a Chinese grocery store. It was out in the back alley by the trash, a disposable shipping container. I think they were amused that we would pay $5.00 for it.

broken garden goblin and mushroom

Our garden goblin has suffered numerous tumbles, losing headdress, epaulets, and other parts of its garb. It now stands sentry at a fork in the path, nestled in fir needles and mushrooms.

a plate a day #506

2010-10-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

dinner plate from the textile series

An unexpected honor from one of my favorite blogs, a plate a day.

black cab sessions~ the miserable rich

entry porch mural

2010-10-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

little wren

I finished a small mural for the entry porch, more birds and leaves to match the front of the house.

new leaves

I changed the leaf design, there is more movement and grace, but they are a bit fragile prior to installation. I was careless and broke one of the triple leaves at the stem.

pine cones

I made some smaller pieces to add another layer of interest to the birds and leaves murals.

acorns, too

The Nuthatch is still one of my favorites.

nuthatch

slot for hanging on the back

I push a nail into the clay on the back when the clay is still green to create a slot for hanging on a nail. No installation required, you can put them up anywhere.

I'm thinking of placing this one over a light switch in the hall. Two little finish nails is all it takes.

Meeting the walrus

Freedom Rangers

2010-10-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

We have twenty-five more chicks (freedom rangers!) to raise for meat.

They will live in the new chicken tractor with an attached fenced yard for about a month. Then, they will move to the bigger tractor that the farmer will bring over from across the road. They can free range (with a perimeter fence near the woods for coyote protection) when they are a bit bigger and reliably return to the shelter at night.

But, they are still small.

And really cute.

In Japan, it seems that everything has a great aesthetic, even manhole covers. I like the one with the deer.

little moon face with tie

2010-10-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

I found this while cleaning shelves in the studio.

I don't honestly remember which of my kids made it.

But he seems to be headed toward that bucket.

amazing video of a whale

not for the squeamish, chicken "processing"

2010-09-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

First, calm yourself, then pick up the chicken. Cradle it gently in your arms and place it in the cone.

Lightly brush back the feathers and cut the carotid artery, avoid cutting through the windpipe or nerve column. The chicken will feel nothing, get lightheaded, and lose consciousness. It is a humane and painless method, the birds do not squawk or thrash around.

Ready for scalding

The scalder must be at the correct temperature, 145-150 degrees f. Immerse bird for a few seconds and test by tugging on a wing feather.

Dunk again.

When the feather pulls easily, they are ready to pluck.

Place them in the chicken plucker.

Rotate at slow speed and spray with water.

Just a little longer.

Five more seconds.

No more feathers. About 90 seconds.

The feathers fall out through a gap between the plastic tub and the potter's wheel head. I washed and dried these for future art projects.
I find myself calling this "harvesting" the chickens. I will have to examine this. Hmm...

Bee sculptures