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!

Rain, kiln unloaded and potluck supper

Water, water everywhere..!  The road to the States and the one East to Saskatchewan were closed due to flooding. It's so cool and rainy that the salt kiln cooled much more quickly than last time. Claude had to leave to attend a sale in Regina on Saturday but was able to unload the kiln around noon. Lovely results! I only had 6 new pots in this firing and a couple of refires, but there's so much information to help with the spraying and glazing of the pots for the last salt just before the month is up.  pics tomorrow..

Wedged together a bag of H550 and a bag of H570. I hope this will give me the iron of the first to encourage orange peel and the bright white and throwability of the second. Threw parts for a rooster and 4 other jugbirds. I'll have fun assembling those tomorrow.

Spent some time with my mask and work gloves cleaning melted glass from the sides and undersides of the shelves. Aaron rebuilt the bag wall ready for Jim Etzkorn to load and fire a salt firing tomorrow.

Frustrated with not being able to get to the stores or home I looked into a rental car. After a phone call to my home car insurance company I can now rent without having to pay extra insurance - I hope. Another frustration is the fact that the electricity is to be turned off in our flat for annual maintenance tomorrow. With luck it'll be on again by the evening but if not, it'd be nice to go out for supper.

There was a party hosted by Rose and Sandi after work today. We had burgers, salmon, pork and all manner of vegs, snacks and desserts. So nice. Thanks. Good to get to know the families of Aaron, Robin and Quentin. Teresa gave Brenda, Leigh and me a ride back to the flat. Tomorrow - independence!

IXL Brickworks visit

We were at the Shaw Centre at 8.40am to go on a tour of the IXL Brickworks. Terrible rainy, windy weather. But seeing the manufacture of bricks was really interesting for a potter. The business has been there since the 1800s, first using clay from the local hillside but now trucked in from East End and Redcliffe. We saw enormous extruders, tunnel kilns, brick presses and so many different colours of bricks. Beautiful!

I was given a white brick just cooling from the kiln. It will go in my garden.

During the afternoon Fraser Valley potter Lucille Webster and her husband Alan visited the studio after checking out the Medalta site. They'd made a day trip from Calgary where they're holidaying with family. Nice to see people from home.

There was a meeting of Residents to sort out which kilns will be fired when over the potentially very busy next week and a half. With luck and serious cooperation everybody's wants for suitable space in their chosen kilns will be achieved.

2nd salt firing, June 16th.

Yesterday was taken up with firing the salt kiln again. We lit it at 7.30am.

Claude took Leigh and me to Ackland Grainger to buy proper vapour masks. I was able to buy North ones that fit my mask. I can still use the regular filters when I'm mixing glaze.

In the afternoon the media came to meet us and interview some for a local TV station. All good pr for Medalta and the Residency Programme. Handles on tankards and trimmed a plate. We organized another salt burrito-making stint. Jenn popped out to the Wholesale Food Suppliers just next door to buy 2 large sacks of Sifto salt. There are now lots of burritos ready for today's and next week's firings. There will be several - some light, and one more 'heavy' salt.Claude, Jin and I are happy to have finished that job!

Salting went on for a couple of hours. We added 24 lbs in 2 lb saltings. I quickly realized that the draw-rings I'd made for this firing were of H570 clay, not the H550 of last time. There is much less orange peel. We simply added salt until we felt there was a good melt. Peeking in (with a flash light) next day it looks as if there's orange peel on some. Interestingly the left hand bag wall slumped into the left side. It became impossible to insert salt that side - slippery glazed bricks in the way..  Let's hope the salt was nicely distributed anyway.

Medalta Clay Industries visit

10am we were taken on a guided tour of the Medalta National Historic District. Ron Mason, the education coordinator, was a very knowledgeable and animated guide. In the photo he's explaining slip casting. Chelsea Scott is cleaning up jiggered bowls.

Here we are pretending to be Medalta Pottery workers.

The interpretive displays are just great. They give a good feeling for the pottery of the time, from the very lucrative sewer pipe business to the commemorative dishes, kitchen ware and crocks to some entirely awful tourist items. We could imagine that working conditions in the forties were fairly dreadful as we were taken through parts of the old factory.

This is a grog-grinder. Imagine the noise!

Brenda, Sara, me and Robin at Plainsman Clay.

Back at the studio Claude had the salt kiln completely loaded. Tomorrow I must set my alarm for 6.30am as we hope to turn the kiln on by 7.30am. Burritos to make, a trip to the safety mask supplier and the media are visiting. When to work?

I trimmed 3 large tankards, painted some slips on birds and we took a quick trip to buy groceries. Half way through the Residency!

Sorry the text doesn't line up perfectly with the photos.

visitors from Lethbridge June 14

Claude has booked the salt kiln for Wednesday so I wadded my few pots and the draw-rings for that. I'll refire one or two from the first firing. We plan to do slightly less reduction.

Les Manning's Aesthetic contribution.

My new screen saver is this pile of sewer pipes behind the Medalta complex.

Inspired by Rosemary Cochrane's 'Salt-Glaze Ceramics',  I threw some tankards and vases with more decoration in mind.

At 7pm more Residents' Presentations were scheduled. Earlier a group from the Oldman River Potters Guild in Lethbridge arrived for that. I was delighted to see Elaine Harrison again. She and the guild were so welcoming to me when I was in Lethbridge for the opening of 'The Attic Project' with Eric Metcalfe some 10 years ago. Elaine is a member and past-president of ORPG and for the next 2 years is president of the Alberta Potters. Presenters this evening were Brenda Sullivan, Luann Johnson, Candice Ring, Rose Bauer, Teresa Gagne, Joanne Zabudsky, Sandra Mander and Sara Lynch. I hope to add a photo of each of these Residents with their work later in June.

Sunday at the studio

A really lovely hot day - and I didn't get outside to enjoy it!

Finished applying handles to mugs. I threw and assembled a fairly large bird bowl and two silly little birds. They'll be useful to test contrasting slips in salt. Potter Nicole Reidmueller paid us a visit with her children Willow and Silas.

Jim Etzkorn had a gallery opening for his work at the Community Centre in the afternoon. Salt and soda-fired work. Lovely. He is an artist in residence for the year and is working just near me. Again, most residents worked into the night. Not me.

Robin Dupont shovelling soda into his kiln.