The work that has waited the longest to be fired is that made by my visitors from Austin, Texas back in October. Their very varied collection of tiles have all turned out well, so now I must pack those up and hope Canada Post doesn’t charge an arm and a leg or take too long to get them to their owners. There’s also Mara’s wheel thrown garlic pot with a hand built lid. I think she’ll be pleased, and by now may well have thrown more in her pottery class in Austin.

Next to be taken out of the kiln were tiles painted by TriCity Potters Gay Mitchell and Myrta Hayes. Myrta came by yesterday to collect her two delightful tiles (underglazes on bone dry red clay) and also took Gay’s leaf-design tiles down to Gallery Bistro. Gay’s show opens there tomorrow and the tiles will be part of the display. That was the incentive to get the kiln fired…

‘Ebb & Flow’  Gay Mitchell  Nov 23 – Dec 23, 2016,  Opening  Saturday Nov 26  11am – 3.30pm,  Gallery Bistro, 2411 Clarke Street, Port Moody BC   604 937 0998

You might remember that when Gay and Myrta were here for a day I had a great time playing with the surface of seven tiny pots that I’d thrown off a hump and then trimmed previously. It was one of those ‘I wonder how this will look?’ times. Now that they are finished with my clear glaze, contrasting with the terra sigillata-coated lower part and foot, they are cheerful and certainly colourful. I like them! Unfortunately my arithmetic is pathetic and I over-estimated the shrinkage and the little guys are too large to be the egg-cups I’d intended! So now I have some pretty shot glasses, condiment holders, spill holders (for aromatic sticks), who knows?

I took a handle-less cup which I’d painted in a similar fashion in to the Gallery of BC Ceramics today and Carita says I should make some more.

There’s also a small painted bowl which I intend to donate to Port Moody Arts Centre for a fund-raiser next Spring. Again, I was playing with the application of my slips. Sometimes it is satisfying to have no plan in mind and see what results.

A big step for Alan was to come with me in to Granville Island today. Eight of my new jugbirds were delivered to Circle Craft Co-op – they were overdue for a delivery. In the Gallery of BC Ceramics I left a couple of mugs for their December fund-raiser and I enjoyed seeing Sarah Pike’s show. Her quiet, expertly constructed tea-pots, mugs and pourers are elegant and satisfyingly glazed. But more about that when I download today’s photos.

Al and I had lunch in the market, he checked out the Indian Art Galleries on and just off the Island and I took a quick visit to ECUAD’s Student Sale. Raider Marlene Madison has been organizing that event and encouraged me to check it out. I remember selling some of my student experiments at this event quite a few years ago.

Tomorrow I’ll post photos of all the new jugbirds. Some of them will be sent by Greyhound courier to Eclectic Gallery in Victoria as soon as I can get them packed up.

Tasha warned me that Mara was hoping to have a go at the potters’ wheel but the other three of them would be happy to do whatever I suggested might be fun in my studio.

These four busy career women took themselves to a Vancouver hotel on Thursday evening. Then they spent a fine sunny Friday being tourists, renting bikes to ride around Stanley Park and enjoying good local food. The three friends, Rebecca, Helen and Mara spent another day in town, finding Granville Island and shopping and staying another night there. But Tasha took the skytrain out to Lougheed Town Centre where I met her and she spent a super, if sometimes rainy day with all of us McMillans.

She and I walked down to Clarke street to join in a little part of Port Moody’s Culture Days. I wanted to attend the official launching of the City’s newest Art Gallery, Silk Gallery. The owner Gaetan Royer, the mayor Mike Clay and MLA Linda Reimer cut a white silk ribbon and we admired a good selection of paintings, leaded glass work and flute accompaniment by TriCity Potter Gay Mitchell. It’ll be good to see each upcoming show in this new addition to the City’s cultural offerings.

But I believe Tasha had really engineered the Vancouver trip to check up on her Uncle Al and for some family time so I was delighted that Steve, Jen and their three little boys and Mike could all join us for a chaotic supper time. Here’s just one photo of Jen with her little people taking advantage of their wellies. Tasha stayed with us for two nights and I was very happy to have aunt time.

On Sunday the three others taxied out here, we had some lunch and finally we descended to the studio for what turned out to be a very casual tile-painting workshop. And after I’d briefly given a demonstration of some ways of applying coloured slips to pre-made leather-hard red earthenware tiles, I gave Mara a short demo of wheel-throwing. She had a go, and in what I think is her first wheel-throwing effort, produced a round, more-than-beginner form. After that she hand-built a fitting lid and then turned to tile-painting too. Later we dried her thrown piece with a hair-dryer and she was able to paint it with slips too.

As usual I was pleased with the variety of ideas participants came up with. There are paper stencil designs, loose painterly areas and sgraffito. Tasha chose to carefully paint and later carve an eagle image she found online. I think they all enjoyed a departure from their busy adult lives, doing what they usually encourage their children to do. I certainly enjoyed their company, and still can’t believe they came all this way for a clay day!

Afterwards, and before we ended our day with a salmon dinner, I took them down to Rocky Point Park in pretty evening light so that they could know that Port Moody is on the Pacific too.

Next day I took them out to Vancouver Airport for their flights home to Austin and took the chance to check out my stock at Domestic Departures Crafthouse. There are still some jugbirds there, thank goodness, but the same day I got a request for more stock for Victoria’s Eclectic Gallery. So now I must get started on new jugbirds to fill the kiln and get my US guests’ work fired.

Quite some time ago Eric and Karen were staying with their friend Lesley Norris in Courtney. Lesley is a print-maker and had been commissioned to make a silk-screen print of ‘Volute Krater’ in 2000 and it was part of the Attic Project show. The friends came up with the idea of having Eric create a design to enhance the house renovations currently underway. Lesley had seen the tiles I made for Eric to paint for his own Western Front kitchen and a large mural we’d made for a West Vancouver house. The plot was for me to make the tiles and Lesley would bring Eric and friends and lunch for a couple of days to draw in and paint the design.

So last Thursday Eric, Lesley and her friend Jane Wolsak were here for the day. Lesley had already drawn Eric’s design on transparent paper so there followed a careful discussion of exactly where and how it would be transferred to the bone-dry tiles.

By the end of the afternoon the design had been drawn on the tiles and the three had applied one coat of red, blue and black underglaze to them all. Plus we had a fine tourtiere which Lesley had baked for lunch.

Next day Eric left the painting to Lesley and her helpers. Karen Henry and Jane joined her and they very efficiently and carefully applied second and third coats to the whole collection of tiles.

While they worked I made some more plates for the next ‘Raiders” visit next week, and threw a couple of recently ordered non-bird jugs.

With another fine lunch, this time a home-made soup and a salad, it was a busy but fun day.

While Karen and Lesley finished their day by painting a tile each with their own designs, just for fun, Jane helped me to carry all the tiles down to my kiln shed. The first bisque firing was started that evening. Another will be needed and then two glaze firings after that. So far the colours are looking bold and bright so I hope the finished result will be successful.