Eric enjoys his new plates
Yesterday I opened my latest firing. Along with my usual jugbirds I fired 3 oval plates and a larger platter for Vancouver artist Eric Metcalfe. He enjoys the change from his usual practice of 2D paintings with gouache. On bone-dry slab plates that I make for him he first draws with pencil and then applies 3 coats of two or three carefully chosen underglazes.
I bisque fire them and then apply clear glaze and fire them to cone 04 along with my own pieces.
Mine are all painted with coloured slips and I only use underglaze when I want red or a real orange.
This morning Eric persuaded his friend David Barnhill to drive him out to Port Moody to collect his latest plates and to have coffee with Alan and me. He's very happy with the way the plates have emerged - bright, with a buttery finish. David decided to buy a chickadee jugbird as a wedding present and one of my older 'Bloomsbury' dishes for a friend.
Another visitor came yesterday. He'd found me on the web and realizing I'd just opened the kiln came right over from Burnaby. He selected a larger Flicker Jugbird with a matching sugarpot. Only after he'd left did I realize that he had pieces I'd made for another customer! Stupid mistake to make. Now I really do have to make some more and get them fired asap!
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.
Artists visiting Port Moody
The clocks went back last night, the sun is shining today, the Fall colours are perfect, the salmon are spawning in Noon's Creek and my bisque kiln turned itself off a couple of hours ago. 
It's been a busy week as I endeavoured to get all my jugbirds and other pots painted and, yesterday, terra sigged. The last few were fast-dried in my convection oven on warm. The kiln is really full, what with some more candlesticks of mine and Kay Bonathan's to donate to Amnesty International, some special orders, the jugbirds and also some plates from a fun day last Thursday.
Eric Metcalfe brought out his ex-student, Blanket Gallery artist and writer Eli Bornowsky, SFU Contemporary Arts professor Allyson Clay and her Newfoundland friend, performance artist Colette Urban to spend the day painting on slab-built oval plates I'd made. 
It's always fun to have artists who are used to another medium experience painting on a somewhat 3D surface. 
The plates were bone dry and I supplied them with underglazes. If I do this some more I will buy more colours. 
Colette and Allyson also experimented with some leather-hard tiles I'd prepared for them, using my larger palette of slip colours. 
I shall enjoy seeing their results - all so different. They're lucky that I shall be able to get them glazed in days. Here are the artists - sorry Sally (Allyson) I moved as I took your photo. The finished plates and tiles will be posted here next week.
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! 
Kiln opening day
My first blog for December.. It has taken me several weeks to make 17 jugbirds (really with Christmas in mind) and a few other pieces. The cone 04 firing went well, the slips and the one 'Radiant Red' underglaze all did their thing nicely.
I chose to make a casserole with a lid, which I almost never do now, for a friend and hooray! the oval lid popped off perfectly. Sometimes the terra sig causes them to stick a bit.
Daughter-in-law asked for some mugs too.
Mainly a lovely lady in New York asked for several Jugbirds and this evening we've had long trans-continental conversations and she's settled on 5 that I'll have to pack up and ship to her asap.
Three Red Cardinals..
Two Pileated Woodpeckers..
Miniature Jugbirds..
4 more miniature Jugbirds..
and I made and fired two more plates that Eric Metcalfe painted with his signature motifs.
All in all an exciting day!
Eric Metcalfe likes to paint on clay
On Monday I used the lovely Canada Line skytrain to take some more pots to YVR airport Crafthouse. So convenient. Then I rode it all the way downtown to go to the passport office in Sinclair Centre. Off to UK and Turkey later this month..
I popped into the Western Front in Mount Pleasant to drop off two plates for artist Eric Metcalfe. I'd made them for him to paint for friends. While there I noticed some splendid porcelain vases on his shelf. Produced by/for Paul Mathieu in China they had been painted by Paul and Eric. Splendid!
