Busy week!
The tight schedule for the last week seems to have paid off. A week ago I spent the day frantically applying terra sigillata to the bases of all my pots. With the plates painted by those artists on the previous Thursday there were 43 pieces to cook. On Monday I had my flu shot and then spent all afternoon unloading warm pots, waxing, glazing and reloading. After a slow start to make sure all the moisture was gone I turned the kiln up late at night. It's the fullest glaze kiln I've had in quite a while and I really noticed the difference in evenness of heat. By the afternoon of the next day both witness cones melted to the same extent with the nice 20 minute soak at 1922 degrees F. With a smaller kiln load I sometimes have colder pots at the bottom.
On Wednesday the pots took all day to cool so we had to postpone taking any photos until Thursday morning. Eric Metcalfe and his friend David Barnhill arrived at 11am to collect the finished plates and tiles. 
David took a look at all the new pots but had set his heart on a chickadee - and there were none this time! 
Eric brought out 2 more plates which he'd painted with underglazes at home. So with David's chickadee, Eric's plates, a bird teapot order and more flickers and woodpeckers I need to get back to the wheel right after the weekend and fire by Dec 11th.
The photos are of the plates the 4 artists painted, as well as a triangular dish by Allyson and tiles by her and Colette.
I was pleased with the glaze on all my jugbirds - mainly medium and miniature jugbirds destined for the 'Crackerjack' crafts show this weekend. There are terra sig mugs for Gallery of BC Ceramics and Red Cardinals which Ron Kong has said are needed in Circle Craft. And our carpenter ordered a large birdmug for his wife. Slightly hokey, this one is its twin. Let's see if anyone likes it! And there were 7 candlesticks which are destined for the Amnesty International fundraising dinner next Tuesday.
On Friday morning, yesterday, I took 16 assorted jugbirds to 'Crackerjack' at the Music Box Art Gallery in West Vancouver.
Another whole story to tell, perhaps tomorrow, is my bus ride from there to downtown to go to the big Circle Craft Christmas show in the new Convention Centre. I'd won a ticket! Bus ride back to W Van for 7pm to attend the show there and then a rainy drive home to Port Moody - 3/4 hr.
‘Slipstitch’: Jackie Frioud & Judy Robertson
After we'd attended Mary Fox's opening at the Gallery of BC Ceramics we walked over to Circle Craft to see the new show there: "Slipstitch'. 
Potter Jackie Frioud and hooked rug artist Judy Robertson have collaborated on the theme of stitching. Jackie's elegant thrown lidded pots are 'held together' with dainty drawn stitches, her angular dishes have the same tiny marks tracing across them.
Judy has painstakingly embroidered words on long strips of fabric and then hooked them into rugs, thus rendering the words unreadable. 
So there is a mystery to the content of her wall pieces and humour in stitches that do not hold pots closed.
Do pop in to Circle Craft and see the work of these two artists until October 4th 2011.
New Jugbirds for ArtWalk
When clouds weren't obscuring the lovely sun yesterday morning I dashed outside and photographed my brand-new jugbirds on a suitable tree stump or garden walkway, wherever a bird might happen to hesitate.
Later in the day I enjoyed a jaunt in to Granville Island. At Circle Craft I borrowed back half a dozen of my best salt-fired pieces to show to ArtWalk guests. And Vincent Massey and I were able to meet up so that we could transfer 3 boxes of my bisque-fired, liner-glazed and wadded pieces to his car. He is on the island on Monday evenings to take a painting class at ECUAD. He plans to fire his salt kiln at his Whistler studio in early May so I will be waiting excitedly to hear how that goes. Thanks So Much Vincent!
My two galleries on Granville Island
When I was on Granville Island last Thursday I popped into the Gallery of BC Ceramics. Apparently I just missed Keith and Celia Rice-Jones who had been doing some touch-up work on the gallery walls. My work is in a new spot, a nice long shelf. I like to take a photo so that I have an idea of what might be suitable to take in next time.
Dan Severance, a TriCity Potter who works mainly at the Port Moody Arts Centre, has a really colourful group of practical but fun ware displayed. I was particularly impressed with a slab-built plate. His teapot and two mugs were shown in the TriCity Potters' show last September. (see my blog: 'TriCity Potters show opens' Sept 13th 2010) Dan's first pottery lessons may have been from me back in the nineties!
After I'd given the Circle Craft staff the large green bird for a customer going to Taiwan I checked out my display there too. They have two small shelves for me just now and I noted that the salt pieces are mainly still there. There is only one earthenware bird out at the moment so that means I must get more colourful birds in to them. The salty pieces went quite quickly at first - useful sized jugbirds, but it may be that I love the Medalta pieces too much and have put too high prices on them because I don't actually want them to go! How unprofessional.
Having one's work on consignment always leaves one wondering about how it is promoted and why some work stays in the store room. It is a privilege to be in such a high-profile location and I know that production work pays the rent and the staff. Mine takes longer to sell but I know that lowering the prices is the wrong thing to do.
Even though they only ask for 6 or 8 jugbirds at a time, I do like the fact that the Airport Crafthouse buys the work wholesale and do pay me promptly.
Sad news by email is that Handworks Gallery in Oliver, BC is to close at the end of March. Esther Brown asked for my work when she opened the Craft Gallery a few years ago and I was happy to be represented in the Interior. I suppose summer visitors don't make up for really quiet months over the winter. Esther will be returning any unsold stock soon, she tells me so that can help my Studio Tour display in April. But I'm sorry to see Handworks close.
Work in the latest firing
Last Thursday I opened my kiln and lifted warm pots out. Two pots were wanted asap so I drove into Vancouver. Eric Metcalfe was pleased with the vase. It is painted when bone dry with black and 'light red' underglaze over a 'Marigold' slip coating. After bisquing I dipped it in my usual Deb's Clear cone 04 glaze. I hope that the recipient for whom Eric painted this vase will enjoy it. Until it is given I will omit his name.
The other piece that was made with a deadline was a large green bird, sometimes I've called them 'Watering Canard' but he's not really duck-like. A customer at Circle Craft wanted this particular creature to take with her to Taiwan on Saturday. She'd shown up at the store with its picture - taken I think from my website. Luckily I had made a note of the amounts of clay used for the 3 thrown parts so I think this is very much like the original.
I made the same bird with stoneware clay
when I was at Medalta. The difference in surface is rather fun.
Other work in that kiln were 4 jugbirds, 7 bowls to donate to the Gogos Fundraiser and 4 bird-feeders. Pics to follow. One Pileated Woodpecker was only out of the kiln one day before it was purchased for a Wedding yesterday. I hardly got to know him! 
Saturday in Vancouver
The other day we were in Vancouver to help our son celebrate his 35th birthday. We found him some Danish Modern chairs in a New Westminster 2nd-hand store. Mike's collecting that era furniture for his old apartment and seemed delighted with our find. There are 4 armless dining chairs to match.
Then we went down to Granville Island. People like the salty mugs at the Gallery of BC Ceramics. At Circle Craft I checked the display in their window. Some of my salty pots are there along with fun sculpture figures by Debra Sloan. 
It's hard to take photos properly through glass.
While there we took a look at the current gallery show featuring the work of Cathi Jefferson along with furniture makers Joe Gelinas and Sandra Carr. I was so impressed with the carefully considered collaboration between these craftspeople. Cathi has made special vessels and tiles to insert into or stand on shelves, mirrors and tables. The arbutus, gary oak and other woods are beautifully matched or enhanced by the toasty colours and delicate painting on Cathi's pieces. Collaboration is tricky and this show is well worth taking in to see how it can be done right.
It runs until Aug 31st. Go to the Gallery section of the Circle Craft website to see photos of the show and read an excellent review by Thelma Ruck Keen and friends.