Pouring Complete!

The biggest step in building a wedging table happened this afternoon. I poured the plaster.

Actually, the wedging table has taken somewhat longer to build than I thought it would. I'd like to blame that on the holidays and winter in general, but in truth, it's just been a slow process. I underestimated the amount of plaster I would need for one thing. That and the fact that I'm no carpenter. But somehow it came together.

Here are a couple of pictures taken this afternoon as I did the pour. Plaster has to be mixed very carefully and in the correct proportions in order to get the best strength and absorbent properties out of it. And each kind of plaster (there are many different kinds) has its own mixing ratio. Thankfully, potters are a verbose lot and willingly share their knowledge on things like this so the information was not hard to find. This particular table required 9 gallons of water and about 95.5 pounds of plaster. But it's what I wanted and will be in use as soon as the plaster has cured and I have covered it with heavy canvas.

This shows the table with half the plaster poured:

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And here is the table later in the day with the pouring completed. I doubt I will be moving the table again. At least not without help.

Once this is finished, the work can begin!

New Link

I have put something new up on the web site. A number of people have contacted me looking for information on available products. Since my phone number is a cell phone and I'm not always (read not usually) at the workshop, it's not always easy to get that information to people when they want it.

So, by way of a workable solution, I decided to put up an inventory page so that people can see what is available right away.

Right now I am hard at work on a replacement for the rather basic HTML web site that I currently have up. The new site, which will have the exact same web address as the current one, will also have a complete online shop with a shopping cart. Orders can be placed through the site if customers wish to do that.

I like talking to my customers, and with so many products and options I can't see that relationship changing. Pottery is a very personal thing and getting it just right is always the goal.

Please do check out the Lowell Hill Pottery Inventory Page.

Taking Shape

Well, it's officially winter. There is snow on the ground...sort of...and it's cold. The house is finally banked, the plastic is up on the windows, the house is still rather cool though not uncomfortably so, and the cat is now insisting on sleeping under the covers. We both love flannel sheets and she is far more efficient than a hot water bottle.

Of course, the water is now drained out at the pottery. With no heat in the building there is nothing going on. I am now working on the studio space in my house.

It's a small house, but here is what is happening.

I decided that the corner of the kitchen that was intended for eating just wasn't going to get used for that purpose. It never has been. I prefer to eat in the living room and that is where I serve guests as well. So the kitchen table and the area it occupies has been collecting junk for a long time. If I have no place to put something - or more likely, if I just can't bring myself to toss out something I am not using - it gets piled somewhere until I can't stand it anymore.

Well, I decided I couldn't stand the pile int he kitchen any longer, so a lot got carried to the dump. What remained found new quarters elsewhere in the house. That left a nice area for a small clay studio. There was the issue of the wall-to-wall carpeting. I saw no sense in keeping carpet where I would be using clay and water, so I tore it up and removed it.

Have you ever taken up wall-to-wall carpet that has been in place for over 20 years in a high traffic part of a house? I'll spare you the gory details, but it was one entire day's labor to get the mess cleaned up.

Anyway, that left me with a nice (?) bare floor where the studio would go. Building the work benches would come next. I have built one work bench and will soon be able to start putting out small items like napkin rings and jam jar lids. Items like that are small enough to do in this space and can be carried to the pottery to be fired. Here is a picture of the studio space so far:

Yes, that's crappy plywood flooring. Not everyone can find beautiful hardwood floors under the carpet (like so many people I have known did). The first work bench I built is on the left in this picture. Right now, it holds all the tools currently being used, but most notably it has the extruder mounted at the right hand end. This is used to make napkin rings and handles for most pots that require them. To the right in this picture is the wedging table I am now building. Here is a close shot of that:

The well in the top of this table will be filled with plaster soon and the whole thing will be covered with canvas. Before I can do that, though, I will need a few more tools and another 50 pounds of plaster to add to the 50 I already have.

Yeah, it's going to be heavy. But that's the point.

After these benches are finished, I will build one more for making tiles and then I will be in business again. Pictures will be forthcoming.

Google-licious: I tried Googling "Lowell Hill Pottery" today. I seem to have done something right!! The entire first page consisted of hits on my web site! Try it out for yourself. Then have a look around. I am currently building a new site complete with an Internet store and shopping cart. My hope is to launch that in the early spring if not before.

I'll keep you posted.

The Deed is Done

This morning on my way to that full-time job of mine, I could not help but notice the flakes of snow flying into my windshield. There weren't very many of them and the weather quickly turned to rain, but it was cold out.

It's not exactly throwing in the towel, but I stopped in at Blue Hill Plumbing and Heating and asked them to turn off the water for the winter. So it's done. I'm firing a kiln today and will continue to do that over the winter as I produce tiles at home. I'm even thinking of finding a low-cost (used?) wheel and bringing the extruder home so that I can continue to make napkin rings during this 'dark side' of the year. Not sure as yet.

I'm pushing my plans for a holiday tile into next year. I still have a lot to learn about working with plaster - at least in the die making department - and I have spent a lot of time filling orders and solving problems this year. All of those projects have ended successfully, so I'm sure the tile shop will do as well. But now is not the time to be adding new stresses. It's the time for planning and thinking.

I'll be taking orders over the winter for springtime production. The web site is now up and running although there are still many additions to put up. Please have a look at the Lowell Hill Pottery site and let me know what you think.

Until sometime very soon...

The Return of Moss Agate

Moss Agate has returned! While it was never the most popular of the Rowantrees glazes, Moss Agate was always among the loveliest because of the manner in which its appearance changed depending on how thickly it was applied. Its reformulation was challenging largely because of my desire to capture that property. Some experimentation still needs to be done in terms of applying the glaze - it renders a beautiful red color when applied thinly but may tend to crawl if too thick - but as with all the other glazes to date, it promises to be a very good if not entirely exact replacement to the original. Here is a picture of a jam jar set in the new Moss Agate:

This glaze also works well with the current Duckshead Black. Here are two mugs - one in plain Moss Agate and the other in combination witht he black:

I'm glad to have this under control at this point in time as the studio will have to shut down for the winter soon. There is no heat in the building so the pipes will have to be drained out. So much has been accomplished to date, however. It will be much easier to start production up again in the spring since so many hurdles have been overcome.

The clay has been chosen, most of the glazes have been reformulated to withstand production requirements, and the few formulas left to convert are well into the process. They are the less-often used formulas, but they have their followings as well. Among these are Seagull Gray (for which a base glaze has been formulated - it's now a matter of adjusting color), Jonquil Yellow and Evergreen. Their day will come.

Progress!

I had a good old-fashioned Halloween scare this afternoon while glazing at the pottery. I looked out the window and saw...snow falling. Oh, it didn't last long and never actually accumulated. But there's something about seeing it fall that caused me to turn a psychological corner. I can no longer deny that the seasons are moving on. Up until now, I could ignore the gentle rumble of my furnace. I have put thoughts of banking the house out of my head. Plastic on the windows? Not needed yet!

But when you see snow for the first time in the year, it's time to stop denying. Winter will be here before long.

I have been using the wood stove in the pottery for a couple of weeks now. it doesn't really keep me all that warm, but it does keep the ambient temperature in the place well above freezing. It looks like I will win my race with the cold weather, though, as I have only three orders left to fill and have managed to put up some stock for the holiday season. Not bad!

But even better than all that is the success I have been having with the glazes. Earlier on, I wrote about the crazing issue. I have worked diligently on that and today finally brought me a victory. No crazing in any of the new lead-free glazes. This means a strong product that will last a good long time.

So in terms of where I am at this stage, I have found a great replacement clay body, I have succeeded in reformulating almost all of the standard line of glazes (Duckshead Black remains a work in progress for reasons I'll explain in a moment), and I have exceeded my production expectations.

I'll be putting available products up on the web site in a few days along with a price list. There will be gift items available in time for the holiday season.

This is all coming together. It's going to work!

For now, here are some pictures of the new glazes.

This is a condiment service set consisting of a jam jar, a large creamer and sugar set, and a dinner plate. It is shown in Heather Blue and White.

 This is a domed butter dish in Duckshead and Turquoise. As I said earlier, Duckshead is still a work in progress, but I am now using it in combination with Turquoise and Moss Agate red.

 The jumbo and coffee mugs are shown side by side. I currently have a cocoa mug and demitasse sets in the works and will add them to this composition for the web site. That will give the entire range of sizes. Coffee and jumbo mugs are standard items. The others will be made on order.

Here is a jumbo mug in Duckshead. As to its status as a work in progress, I am using a black glaze that looks very attractive in combination with Turquoise or Moss Agate (I'll be posting a picture of Moss Agate after the next kiln comes out). But while it works well in that context, it still needs a little work before I produce pottery glazed exclusively in this black glaze. Duckshead has always been a "recycled" glaze, meaning it uses leftovers of all the other glazes as part of its composition. Right now, I don't have enough leftovers to make Duckshead in the traditional way. But it won't be long!

Riddle Me This

Well, it's not really a riddle. But I do want to invite anyone interested to take my customer survey.

You can find it here.

I've been meaning to put something like this together for a while but only got to it a couple days ago. Really, it will provide me with some very useful information and help me in deciding not only what sorts of products people are looking for, but also what colors and patterns I should be concentrating on.

The more I know, the better served the customer will be!

Many thanks in advance. This probably won't be the only poll I put up, but it's my first and very important.

More news very soon. I have been busy!