Salt kiln loaded

At the studio just after 6am and brought Brenda, Leigh and Jin. Joanne and Leigh helped me load the salt kiln and I am so grateful. They helped make decisions on placement on each shelf and between us we loaded everything waiting for this last salt firing - except for a baker and bird bowl of mine and a bowl of Claude's. I can't complain - I have 40 pieces in. Now to wait, and salt this evening. The other 2 had to wait for the soda kiln to cool before they could load their cone 6 soda firing.

9.30am I returned my rented Nissan Sentra to Enterprise Rent-a-Car and they gave me a lift back to Medalta. It cost $251 with tax for a week and a week-end. It's been a sanity saver!

Teresa took me over to Plainsman to return a box of clay and pay my bill. It turns out I've only used two boxes in the month, a box each of H550 and H570. The one produces nice orange peel and the other throws beautifully. Most of the work in the current firing is a mixture of the two. I'll know in two days whether this was a good idea.

Picked up my Trumpeter Swan (cone 04 with Ball Clay terra sig) from our Residents' Show. The slip-painted Flicker has sold.

Extremely hot day and all there is to do is clean up. Jim Marshall and Harvey Fix will give slide shows tonight but Claude and I may be salting just then.

As it turned out we were much later than expected so were able to see both slide shows. The salting went on until almost midnight and we turned off the kiln at 1am.

all set for salt firing #3. clean-up time

My final pieces are bisqued so they were glazed and wadded. The salt kiln is still super hot from the previous 'low' salt firing so we'll be loading and firing from very early tomorrow.

Leon Popik, Emily Carr UAD ceramic technician and his dad, Leon visited. Maybe he'll take the information about Medalta's soda and salt kilns back to Vancouver. He says EC is building a whole new campus off Granville Island.

Another visitor was Brendan Tang from Kamloops with his girlfriend Geeta. Brendan will be a Resident for July with 7 others.

I used the photo booth at the Medalta office for a while. But it's an early night as tomorrow will be LONG and stressful!

This is what is ready for the salt firing. Of course I hope we'll fit it all in. Joanne, Leigh and Claude will be helping me either with the loading or the firing.

Al leaves Port Moody for the 2-day drive to Medicine Hat tomorrow morning.

Medalta tractor party

Where did the day go? It seems I spent hours wadding my pieces. Others were collecting all sorts of materials from the Medalta work yard to make plinths and use the historical connections for their displays for next Tuesday.

An extraordinary storm, typical of MH in June we're told, roared in and out - hot sun, black cloud, thunder, lightning, huge hail and bright sun again.

I dashed back to our flat to pick up a contribution to a party supper. Was delighted to find a paint store open where I bought carpenter's glue to stick the wads.

Back at the studio picnic tables were set up outside and the parking oval was converted into a race track for silly vehicles. Most of the Residents and some guests ate, raced, sang and generally enjoyed a happy summer evening.

Luann had us in stitches trying to arrange the Cremation of Sam McGee.

And Brenda astonished Isla by clowning around.

Evening out at Red Rock Coulee

During the morning I helped load a bisque. Otherwise I started on getting all the insides of my pieces glazed - mostly shino and some with the 'Yellow Salt' available here. I don't have to do anything to the outsides - it all depends on the slips I applied before bisque.

Great excitement for some as the wood kiln was finally opened.

Brenda and I popped out to find a hardware store and something for supper but wound up simply sitting in a cafe for a sandwich. We're all getting tired.

Late afternoon, after a meeting to discuss Tuesday evening's Open House and general clean-up we bought something to barbecue and a bottle of wine.

6pm Harvey Fix picked up Claude, Leigh, Teresa, Brenda and me to take us out to Red Rock Coulee, roughly a half-hour drive. Les Manning and Rose and Sandi were already there. We had a perfect evening to stroll amongst the odd red rocks, the lichen, splendid wild flowers and even to see a lazy rattlesnake.

Harvey got briquettes burning on his barbecue and we enjoyed our meal at a picnic table as the sun set. Fabulous colours - intense blue and orange.

Thank you so much Harvey for taking us out to see the land you're so proud of.

Last day to load bisque

I figure this was the last day to make anything new and get it dry and bisqued. So I merely threw 5 tumblers with some remaining clay and spent the rest of the day watching the serious sunshine dry out yesterday's pieces. Now the Watering Canard, Flowerage, 2 jugbirds, a butter dish and a squared bowl are sprayed with slip and set in the kiln room. Even the tumblers are dry and sprayed. I hope they are included in someone's bisque tomorrow. We all hope to have our work fired in the best possible kiln, atmosphere and temperature. I'm sure this anxiety happens in every Residency during the last week.

Joanne showed me where Medalta has an excellent light box for professional photography so I took some shots with my less-than-professional Olympus.

These two photos show the lovely orange peel finish and the variety of colours possible with salt firing.

Rather late I took Brenda and Sukjin back to our 'res' where we enjoyed spaghetti bolognese made by B late last night.

Al phoned me. He travelled home from his dig in Barkley Sound today. Our garden is a jungle he says! Tomorrow he will go to our son Steve's Engineering Degree Graduation at BCIT. Wish I could be there too.

Esplanade Ceramic Show opening

10pm on another really busy day and the security guard will come to lock the door to the college internet room any minute.

I waited for Brenda to finish her wood-firing shift until 11.30pm last night so we had a more relaxed morning today. Even so I assembled another piece, a Watering Canard, monitored the careful drying of other jugbirds and sprayed several to leave for bisquing. Summer has finally arrived in Medicine Hat, ie it's hot.

In the evening we attended an opening at the Esplanade Gallery. What a lovely Arts Complex, with several galleries, a History section, gift shop, cafe and a performance space. Harvey Fix explained his clay torsos which include artifacts from his long career in the communications business. I really enjoyed the Luke Lindoe show and and a 3rd show, of work by Saskatchewan pottery Hansen-Ross put together by the City of Moose Jaw.

Sunny day, lots of firings, I potted

Was up before 7am. Brenda had a kiln to load and a shift on the wood firing. I filled my day with preparing my rooster for bisque firing. I assembled  a 'flowerage' - a variation on a flower brick, put handles on two jugbirds and mixed up some more blue slip. My earthenware slip coloured with Mason Wedgewood stain works really nicely in salt.

A gorgeous sunny day so the danger of flooding seems to be over. I threw some more pieces so that I can be assembling first thing tomorrow, then joined some others for burger barbecue and now, at almost 11pm I'm waiting for Brenda to finish her wood firing shift. She's 'stoked' by the experience having never been involved in any atmospheric firings before. All the kilns are being used now.

Rain, wood-fire kiln loading and slide presentations

Clouds came in and now it's raining again, with flooding expected.

I had a lovely peaceful morning while most artists loaded the wood kiln, and cut and stacked lots of wood. I shaped beaks, attached handles and applied eyes. Later in the day I threw parts for another piece to be assembled tomorrow. My rooster seems to be holding together as he dries.

This evening there will be the third Monday presentation. This time we'll see work by and hear from Aaron Nelson, Les Manning, Jim Etzkorn and Jenn Demke-Lange. Aaron says his wife Liz is bringing chili and a punch for our supper beforehand. Great!

Sunny day helps to dry up the flooding

Delightful not to have to worry about transportation! The studio wasn't too busy so I took the opportunity to use the glaze room to get some of my dry pieces all wax and latex resisted, sprayed with slips and set out in the sunshine to dry. 3 are my take on 18th century salt-glazed tankards from Germany or England. There should be a variety of salt colours; blue, red, yellow and green after the firing..

There's also a fairly silly bird bowl.

Beautiful day to sit outside to eat lunch - with helicopters flying overhead, checking the water levels. I put spouts on jugbirds and pulled handles. After helping to load a bisque I suggested we take a warm walk over to the Sask River again. Luann, Teresa, Brenda and I enjoyed a break from work.

I threw some more pieces, really to use up my remaining clay and fill in gaps in the last salt firing. Most of the others will be loading and starting a wood firing tomorrow. I've opted not to do that.

7pm Gave Jin a ride home with B and me. While B cooked some chicken I went to Safeway. After supper we showed Jin where the Community Room is so that she could use the computer too.

Rain is forecast to start again tomorrow. What a strange June this is. We all hope the flooding won't affect Medalta and of course our work time here.

Saturday: flooded roads and visitors

At 9am a taxi picked me up to go and collect my Nissan Sentra at Enterprise Rent a Car. I've booked it for a weekend and a week. I was delighted to find a Starbucks nearby as there was no electricity at our flat.

I spent the morning putting together bird beaks/spouts and started on a rooster jug. My cousin Shirley from Pierceland, Sask (look it up, it's near Cold Lake, Alberta) phoned to say that she would be in to visit this afternoon. I took Brenda over to the South Saskatchewan River for a picnic lunch and to join the people having a look at a very swollen river. The trail next to Seven Persons Creek is mostly closed because it's flooded. Irvine and Maple Creek, Sask are in a state of emergency. It's all rather worrying for Medicine Hatters. IXL Brickworks is flooded we're told. The power went off in the studio last night for 3 hours. And now there's a boil water advisory for 'the flats' ie the houses near Medalta.

Shirley arrived with her daughter-in-law Angela and grand-daughter Camryn 10, from Strathmore, Alberta. She'd driven 7 hrs yesterday from her northern home and they'd come 3 hrs from Strathmore today to visit Medicine Hat and me.

They really enjoyed the Medalta Museum and visiting the Shaw Centre studios and meeting many of the Artists.

I managed to finish assembling the rooster while they were learning about the crocks, kilns and the Squared Gallery.

After they left I was happy to drive Leigh, Jin and Brenda over to see the wide Sask River again. We also passed the arena where there were sand-bags and some people opting to stay there rather than in their homes with flooded basements. After some delays we were able to drive through town, out to Hwy 1 and the long way back to the MH College area. We found 'Argos' for supper - rather basic, and then found that electricity had been restored in our flats in the 'New Res'. Another BUSY day!