I planned to complete the making and slip-painting of any red earthenware pots I had on hand early in the month so that I could clean out my wheel and start making pieces for the TriCity Potters’ soda firing, using grey Plainsman stoneware clay. But it was mid-March before I got there. I was somewhat distracted by a project which Eric initiated. He’s interested in Greek rhytons, the playful and large animal-form mugs which were made back in Classical Greek times. The idea is that you can’t set the mug down until you have finished drinking all the wine therein.

I made one for each of my two recent soda firings and two more which were intended to be collaborations with Eric. These were thrown with red earthenware clay and bisque-fired ready for Eric to embellish with bold colours. There is a fierce eagle and a horse. We’ll keep one each for now. Then I tackled the idea of a ram. I googled images, not having a rambling ram in my back yard, and found this fine etching and a photo of a classical Greek original.

First I experimented with separated horns which resulted in rather a heavy vessel – but a pleasing shape. I was so delighted with it I went ahead and painted it with my slips. Eric never had a chance to paint it! But a second one has more considered horns which, similar to the Greek one, are contained within the form of the pot.

Both of those rhytons are now bisque-fired, along with the rest of my red clay pieces and last Thursday’s Raiders took the yellow slip-painted one to Eric. I have a feeling he will have gone ahead and painted it already and will bring it along tomorrow when he and Kate Bellringer show up for a mini-Raid tomorrow.

I only have 1.5 cubic feet available for the soda firing next week. Fifteen of us will be sharing the space. I had thought I’d mainly use my space to re-fire two or three pieces from the last one, but I have now made enough to fill my quota so we’ll see how the kiln loading goes on Thursday. We’re often asked to make some tall pieces to put on the top shelf where the top of the kiln is curved so I went slightly berserk and threw and assembled parts to create a tall heron-like fellow. When first made he was 17.5 inches tall so it’ll be interesting to see how much he shrinks.

I threw some mugs and bowls and a largish jugbird and planned to be restrained in my use of flashing slips this time. But then I was looking at my grooved ‘tea caddy’ from last Fall and decided to make a bigger lidded one. I threw it thick, took care to make the unusual lid fit properly, and trimmed the walls and foot so that the walls would be a consistent and generous thickness for carving. I lay awake at night deciding how to carve the lines and now I’m pleased with the solution I found. The diamond shapes on the sides allow for the vertical lines to bend to the shape of the form in a pleasing way. Now I have to hope that my sprayed flashing slips will produce a complementary surface in the soda firing.

Now these pieces have also been successfully bisque-fired so this next week will see me waxing and glazing earthenware plates, bowls and jugbirds here, and taking my stoneware selection to Shadbolt Centre on Wednesday for wadding.

On Friday I loaded the bisque kiln, attended our grandson’s sixth birthday party and then joined the Vancouver area pottery community to hear a North-West Ceramic Foundation-sponsored lecture by visiting potter Michael Kline. Michael is giving a couple of workshops while he’s here. We did enjoy hearing about his career as a potter. Also exciting for me was chatting with Jackie Frioud and Helen Weiser and discovering that Jackie is offering a workshop in July. Five participants will have the privilege of firing some work in her SALT kiln at the new Tidal Art Centre in faraway Lund, at the end of the road and two ferry rides north-west of here. I came home and registered for a five-day getaway in July!