Time to Urn

It's the Holiday Season and as this year is coming to an end I just wanted to reach out and wish all Health and Well Being. 

I have been working in the studio since September after a fairly long hiatus to find new ideas and a way forward. I wanted to share one of my new pursuits. Though it is not completely new it has focused much of my time these past several months.  

Over the years I have been asked by friends and family to make Cremation Urns for the remains of loved ones both human and animal. This has been an honor. As with all of my work each of the urns I create are One of a Kind. I do not do “production” work, each piece will stand by itself. As I move forward with my involvement in clay I am moved also toward the work of creating Urns. To create unique, individual pieces that will hold the ashes of a One of a Kind Being is a wonderful opportunity to realize.

The pieces that I post on my website show the outer dimensions of the urn and offer an estimate of the content that they will hold. The 'Rule of Thumb' is that for each pound of weight is equal to one cubic inch. Standard size approaches 180 Cubic Inches (180 pounds) with 200 Cubic Inches being an accepted norm. This should be your guide as to whether or not a particular urn will meet your needs. 

Please feel free to share.

Wishing you all the Best for the Holiday Season. 

New for '22

Well, it is after all February already, and as I sit here with the icicles hanging off the trees, the gray and white landscape as far as I can see, what do I see sitting on the railing of our deck but two male Cardinals! Color !!!!! I had a very nice response (and Sales) last year with some of the pieces that explored a more freehand use of Color and so have made it a place to begin this year. It has been a little difficult to get going in the studio these passed weeks as the temps have intervened making it uncomfortable to work and freezing up the motor on my pottery wheel, even with the heat on. Yet, I will get there soon.

I have made some colored clays and have a number other colored glazes to begin to see what might come from this venture. If nothing else it will brighten the day until the earth again alights in the colors of Spring! Stay tuned and I’ll share as the work moves forward. 

And …. just as a reminder MillerMusic is now up and running on SoundCloud. You can click on the link below to take you to their site and search MillerMusic and have a listen. I will be adding additional pieces as we go forward. Thanks!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The Holiday season is officially here. Thanksgiving has passed, Hanukkah has started, National Maple Syrup Day is not too far off, then Christmas, Kwanzaa, and WOW, New Year 2022! There is a light snow falling as I write this. It seems fitting to ring in the season with these first flakes. The last Bisque Kiln is in the works. The hope is that this week I will have one more chance to fire these remaining pieces of the year in the sawdust kiln. 

I have been very gratified by the response that my work has received at a recent Christmas Fair. I am so fortunate that I have the opportunity to create pieces in earthenware and stoneware, each clay offering a different expression. That people resonate with the result is so rewarding to me and keeps me engaged and committed to the process.

It was so nice to share the floor with other committed crafts people and see the enthusiasm of the public for local work! All of us who work within this realm realize that we put a lot more into the craft than we get out of it in terms of dollars and cents. But, that isn’t the point. WE do it because we have found and been given much more in return. 

The Holidays are a time of giving it is said. And as we give we should remember to support our  Local small businesses, the Local crafts people, our Local farms and enterprises that make our communities unique. 

Wishing everyone a Wonderful, Safe and Healthy Holiday Season. Share, Reflect, Envision, Create. Be Well!

FALL BACK

Back At It

It has been a couple of weeks now that I have returned to the pottery. Summer is a time to garden and besides, it is a little toasty in the studio during those hot days. This season I am returning to my original love of Hand Carved, Burnished and Sawdust Fired Earthenware. I have been trying to make more functional work over the past few years as these pieces have more utility. Yet, I do so love the sawdust fire and smoke and the unpredictability that comes with the terrain. 

Yes, these pieces are decorative, not meant to hold water and do not have the utility of glazed stoneware, but I have an undying appreciation for this type of work and I am happy to have found not only some of the original clay that I first learned on, but also a new source of hardwood sawdust with which to fire them. All Good!
Here are a few examples from a recent firing and they will be up on the Website shortly. Speaking of which, just as a reminder, I have recently added a new category on the  Website, “From the Library” with first time offerings of some of my original work.

Take a look when you have the time and I hope to continue to produce new offerings until the weather puts an end to the outdoor firings. 

Best to All for the upcoming Holiday Season. Let us hope that we will all have the opportunity to be together safely and in good health and spirit! 

Un Abrazo!! 

PS ALL THE NEW WORK IS UNDER THE “VESSELS” CATEGORY

From the Library

I have added a New Category to the Offerings. These pieces are from what might be called my Private Collection. These pieces are being offered for the First Time. Most come from my early days of working in clay and are representative of the use of Terra Sigillata as a finish or highlight on earthenware clay that has been carved or faceted, bisque fired and smoked in Hardwood Sawdust. These are ‘Decorative’ pieces not meant to hold water or food stuffs or the like. They are among my personal favorites and the type of work that I find most meaningful!

To Begin Again .....

There is no need to review the challenges of the past 15 of so months since the arrival of COVID and the disruption that it has brought . Fortunately, we are seeing more and more signs that we are moving in a more positive direction and again being allowed to be with friends, family, humanity in general. I for one am so excited that I can now go back to the gym !!!!! It ain’t pretty when you are getting older and you are out of shape.

This is my first Posting since December of 2019. It is time to get back to work and not sitting idly by waiting for some clue as to what to do. Initiative is important in the creation of new work and I am especially finding it inspiring to reach back to the beginnings of my adventures in clay and rediscover my original love of Sawdust Fired Pottery as shown to me by my wonderful teacher Nancee Meeker.

New images of recent work can be viewed under the Urns and Vessels categories and I invite you to give a look when you can. I will be adding several other images in the days to come and more will follow as the weather cools and the Studio is not as ‘toasty’ as it can be in Summer. Now is the time for gardening and the outdoors, but the ideas are coming and I look forward to having my hands in the clay once again.

Be Well and continue to Stay Safe!

The Year that Was and Whats to Come

For all of us it has been a year of challenges. Nothing seems to be clear, it has been hard to focus as this pandemic has clouded our collective vision. On a personal level it has been hard for me to work on any but a few pieces as I have not felt a ‘direction’. There have been none of the usual shows that allow you to get your work out to a larger audience and receive their feedback. Of course, it has been hard to invite anyone to the studio. As my partner Regina was forced to close her catering business due to COVID, we took to a couple of ‘Sales’ here at home for which many of her beautiful pieces as well as some of my pottery found new homes. Thankful for that.

I was also fortunate to able to contribute work to a wonderful local organization for a fund raising event, to offer over a hundred pieces ‘For Free’ which went, in the end, to help raise money to feed folks in need, and also to simply gift pieces to friends and friends of friends just because. Good to share.

I hope that as we turn the calendar to the New Year we will continue to respect each other and to help keep each other stay safe. Many will continue to face challenges as we move through these next few months and some of us will be on a different path than we have walked before. I will look to add something different to my evolution as a potter. There is always something else to try and with the encouragement of friends and their “requests” some new idea to explore.

In all I feel very fortunate to be able to continue keeping my hands busy whether gardening, pottery or composing music. Growing, creating, enjoying the fruits of our labor keeps me sane in these troubled times. There is a new beginning for all of us in these days ahead. May we embrace it and move forward and achieve all that we have within us!

Happy New Year 2021