It's been a slow week in my etsy shop, but a busy one in the studio. I threw several mugs of different ilks: Hebrew, birding, and a La Taza mug for a local coffee shop that sells them. I threw a tile to fire a large commission plate on (so it doesn't drag on the kiln shelf as it shrinks in firing). And I finished underglazing two baby name plates using my friend David's drawings.

One of the name plates bears the name "Yossi". Nobody I know, but certainly a very popular name among Israelis and, hopefully, some Americans. But it's simply a prototype showing a sample of my work for future custom orders.

The other plate sits under plastic waiting for us to discover the name of our friends' new baby daughter. Jewish superstitious custom is not to reveal the name of a new baby until he or she has been officially "named" in temple. We're assuming she was named this weekend; so I'm hoping to get her name on this plate, which will be our baby gift, this week.

I also got my finished Panoramic Crane mug out of the final glaze firing. It's my donation to San Antonio's Empty Bowls fundraiser silent auction. I think it's gorgeous!







We'll see if the people attending think the same.

I thought I'd take a few minutes to explain why I decided to go with colored underglazes rather than majolica glazes.

The first reason is movement. In my experience, underglazes and colored slips (both contain clay) tend to adhere better to surfaces. I've had no experiences with it running under a final coat of clear glaze. This gives me sharper lines in my carving.

Secondly, I want strong, intense colors in my upcoming prototypes and projects. Something like this by Sharon Bloom:


The following is a wonderful majolica piece by Judy B. Freeman. As opposed to underglazes, majolica is glaze -- much more closely related to glass than underglaze. As such, it has a softer, more watercolory feel to the coloration, which definitely works on this piece, but which I don't think I could pull off with the designs I have from David:


Of course, as this life tends to work, I'm sure there will come a time when I decide I've had enough of underglazes and get brave enough to start working in the world of majolica.

Yesterday I threw a couple of plates to work on. I'm hoping to get them trimmed out today. Then, when my anticipated delivery of underglazes comes tomorrow, I can get to work on them next week.

I'm moving into a new world and that world contains Amaco Velvet Underglazes.

"Why?" you may ask.

I recently completed a weddding kiddush cup commission. The customer wanted it in Northwestern University purple, which is a rather intense color -- one I knew I couldn't achieve using Mason stains in slip. So, I broke down, asked around, and came up with Amaco's Amethyst underglaze.

The kiddush cup came out wonderfully!


Tied in with that was the receipt of new drawings by my artist friend David. Several of them are adorable imaginary animals that would be absolutely perfect on a baby name plate (in Hebrew, of course). But they just wouldn't look right carved through a single color of slip, which has been my hallmark technique up 'til now.

So, when I put the two events together, it helps make up my mind to try using strong pastel underglazes on my soon-to-be-made baby name plates. Since shipping info shows my underglazes are due to come on the 28th, I think I'll throw a couple of plates today so they're trimmed and ready to decorate early next week.

Meanwhile, I'm also working on a rather large plate that's a commission piece, with the tree of life around the rim and encroaching on the center, with the words Tikkun Olam in bark textured sprigs in the center of the piece. The customer wants lots of color on the plate -- but I think I'll leave the various colors on the individual letters, add brown on the tree, and I'll decide on the background once it's been bisque fired and I can get a better feel for what the finished plate might look like.

As I slowly recover from the loss of my mother, I've been working a bit more in the studio and had an interesting thing happen.

An East Indian man walked in one day looking for "pots". When I directed him to the small gallery in the front of the studio, he explained he wasn't looking for "those kinds of pots," but the type of cooking pot that would double as a musical instrument.

The owner of the studio was a bit confused. But I immediately knew he was referring to a Ghattam. I suggested he search for one on the Internet, but he was more interested in finding one locally. The studio owner suggested someone might want to take it on as a commission piece, and looked at me.

Now, I've never thrown anything that large or in that shape before. But I decided it might be a good challenge to get me out of my funk. I even knew I would do it in two pieces: throw two bowls, put them together, cut a hole in the top of one and use the thickness around that to pull up the neck and rim.

I had quite a few problems with it (I've only made one so far), and am now letting it leather up a bit so I can trim out the parts.

In the meanwhile, I found out TRUE ghattams are thrown with metal filings in the clay to give them a metallic sound after they're fired. My response to that? "No way I'm throwing a piece with filings in it!" One piece I read even used the word "lead" when referring to these filings. An even more compelling reason NOT to use them.

Meanwhile, we'll see how my wonky ghattam turns out. If this gentleman doesn't want to buy my effort, I can always use it to store water!

Sadly, I lost my mother to lung cancer on Sept. 11. It was an intense summer and I'm now trying to slowly reboot my life.

One of the best things has been my return to work in the studio. I quickly got a commission from a previous customer when I reopened my etsy shop. She wanted a platter to match the tree of life Kiddush Cup (goblet) she bought from me a while back. It was the perfect challenge to get my creative juices flowing.

I handbuilt the platter and then added four "trees" made of slip around the rim.

So far so good. Hopes up that it successfully makes it through the bisque firing! I'll be sure to post photos when it's done.

In the world of the more mundane, I'm considering starting a monthly get together at my house called "Pottery Friday". Because of my schedule, it would take place at brunch time. I'd just have an open house for local potters to drop by and bring their food. I'd supply coffee and tea and the place to meet. Then we could just discuss our work, life, and the universe.

Of course, ideas need to become reality. I'm going to let the thought grow a bit in my head. Then I'll figure out a way to implement it.

It's been a while since I've been able to post. Actually, it's been a while since I've been able to do anything that requires dedicating time to myself.

One of the biggest reasons for this has been my mother, who probably has lung cancer, but whose struggles with the mazes of health insurance has delayed adequate testing for a definitive diagnosis.

But this is a pottery blog -- not a political/health issues one.

I did get back into the studio for a couple of days last week and worked on some pierced goblets and an "upside down bowl" teapot. I've enjoyed the teapot's progress and am making it a bit funky, with a sideways handle and a small lug handle in the back to facilitate pouring, since it promises to be a rather heavy item. I'm not sure all my proportions are right -- but I'll only know this once it's fired and the handle has been attached.

I keep meaning to bring a camera to the studio to do a photographic tutorial on my sgraffito techniques. But that, obviously hasn't happened yet. Maybe someday.

Meanwhile, I'm anticipating getting back into the studio more regularly to work on something other than mugs. Anticipation....... (is that Carly Simon in the background?)

A while back we had a stamp exchange and I received several wonderful stamps from fellow potters. I decided to use them in a quilt-patterned project and decided to make a funky vase. You can see the prototype below.



I'd like to try making a couple more, modifying some of the techniques I used in this prototype. For one, I'd use the glazing techniques in the original. In the other, I'd like to try slips for the different "panels". I even wonder how something like this would translate to a Chanukiyah (Chanukah menorah)?

I'm hoping to get to it once Father's Day and the end of the school year have passed, since that's also the end of my busy Hebrew mug time.

Another project I'd like to do is a blog tutorial, with photos, of my slip carving techniques. But that will take a bit more coordination, since I'll need a photographer.