'Tis the Season

It's Thanksgiving Day and I'm doing just what I promised myself I would do. I'm kicking back, relaxing and snuggling with my cat. I have been putting DVDs into the player one after another and generally taking it easy for the day.

I think I deserve it. This past season was quite an experience. Business picked up somewhat stronger than I anticipated - which is a good thing. I'm ahead of where I thought I'd be, but to put that into perspective, I didn't think I'd do a whole lot. This is only year two of a start-up after all. But it's encouraging to know that Rowantrees customers are finding me.

We have finally seen snow of a rather serious nature and the temperatures, while still very mild for this time of the year, have started to act less predictably and have dipped into the 20s on occasion. So I had the pipes drained out and figured I would stop production for the winter. Then I got an order. And then another one. And yet a third.

So back in I went - carrying water in buckets so that I could glaze. I didn't mind at all even though it really was getting cold. But now that those orders are finished and on their way, I really do have to call it for this winter. My hands really suffered from working in water under the cold conditions.

I do have a good deal of pottery available and will be putting up an inventory list on the web site over the weekend. This will show exactly what I have right now and in what colors in case anyone wishes to place an order. I can certainly go in, pack something and then send it out. Believe me, it's no problem. I just can't throw or glaze anything until the weather warms up again.

I fired an entire kiln of Ducks Head and Moss Agate this week. Remember what I said about having to learn about Ducks Head (or any glaze for that matter) once it is formulated? Well... I have pretty well mastered the Ducks Head and Turquoise combination. Combining Ducks Head with Moss Agate is another matter entirely. I got what I needed to get out of the kiln, and those pieces look lovely. But a lot of the rest of it will be found on the "Irregulars" shelf next summer. Once the weather warms up again, the tweaking and learning will begin. That's how it goes.

For the coming months, I will be working again on the tile project. I had to suspend work on that to build my stock at the pottery. I started from nothing on that this year once I decided that I could not use the old Rowantrees bisque stock. The labor to replace all of that pottery was pretty intense but that was where the demand was.

Now I can shift gears and work at home. I purchased a small wheel and am putting a bench together for that. The tile press is being liberated from a summer's worth of junk mail and assorted tools, and the extruder will come home again this season so that I can make more napkin rings.

It all sounds like a plan.

The Return of Ducks Head

I have been waiting a long time to make this announcement...and so have many of you. Ducks Head Black is finally back. It has taken a lot longer than I thought it would to reformulate this incredible combination of black, silver, green, blue and iridescence. First it was too black, then it was too green, then it was too iridescent. If I got all of these qualities in balance, the glaze wouldn't suspend well or wouldn't apply well or wouldn't form a solid coating when raw. Potters don't judge a glaze solely on its fired appearance and that can make the road a long one indeed.

And it's premature to suggest that I have reached th end of that road on this one. in fact, every glaze I have formulated will be in the "tweaking" stage for a long time to come. That is no less true of Ducks Head. In addition, this particular glaze is very finicky with regard to application. Like Heather Blue, there is a fine line between too thin and too thick. Experience and practice will take care of that.

Of course, the cruel irony in that is the fact that the cold weather is rapidly approaching. As I write this, we are having our first snow storm. Check out the date on this post. We do expect things to get better for the next week or so, but I'm getting the hint. It will be time to shut down the studio and drain the water pipes very soon. To compensate, I'm doing as much glazing in Ducks Head and Ducks Head & Turquoise as I can so that I can have at least a modest stock of items. I'll be focusing on mugs and other small items.

When I do close the studio for the season, I'll be posting a complete inventory list on the web site so that people cans ee what is available in the off season. In addition, I'll be working in my home studio producing some items as well.

It's time to go back to the tile project now.

Coming up: Building a new studio in 2012...?

In Time for the Holidays!

The Web outage didn't last long, but someone did have to push a Big Red Button to get things squared away. Honestly, software that likes to add irrelevant bits and pieces without consulting me just boggles my mind.

But enough of technical woes. The web site is functioning just fine now thanks to the folks at DailyRazor.com.

I'm very pleased to announce that the Cutout Candle Holder is available just in time for the Holiday season. I have made a limited run of these popular candle holders in the new Evergreen glaze and they are expected to sell quickly.

The Cutout Candle Holder was originally created by Sheila Varnum at Rowantrees as a means of salvaging pint pitchers that had not survived the trimming process. Occasionally the spout would split making the pitcher impossible to complete. If that happened, Sheila would cut the top portion of the pitcher off and cut designs out of the side. The evergreen tree design was the most popular and gives off the most light even from a small candle.

As with all my products, these holders are made one at a time by hand. The tree images are cut out freehand. Each piece is unique and the new Evergreen glaze is eye-popping.

This edition is available in the Evergreen glaze only. If you are interested, they are $35 each or a pair for $60. You can order them on the Lowell Hill Pottery web site.

Next item up for discussion: Announcing the new Ducks Head glaze!

The Web Site is Down...Temporarily

And only temporarily. Technical glitches happen just like...that other thing that happens now and then. This morning, I discovered that my web site turned into an "INTERNAL SERVER ERROR" some time during the night. A support ticket has been generated and I expect the problem will be corrected pretty quickly. The hosting service I use is generally very responsive to these issues.

My apologies if this problem is inconveniencing you. The email address is working, so you can contact me at office@lowellhillpottery.com if you need anything.

Of course, things like this choose the worst possible times to happen. I am just about to announce that Ducks Head Black is FINALLY back! I will detail that one in the next post along with an announcement of a holiday special.

Then there is the matter of my Established Customer discount program. I'm putting the final touches on that one and will announce it in the next week or so. So keep an eye on this blog. Things are in motion!

Closing in on Duckshead

The saga continues. Duckshead remains elusive, but a battery of tests has provided about the best leads to date. I started with the Moss Agate formula as a base. It is the glossiest, glassiest of the glazes and flows nicely. This is particularly important because it has to flow well when combined with the Turquoise glaze to make the most popular pattern of Duckshead and Turquoise. The Turquoise has been undergoing some of its own improvements over the summer as well so that it can be more glassy. So far so good.

The next step in finding a Duckshead has been to figure out what combination of metallic oxides will create black with the silver sheen that characterizes this unique glaze. Black is not at all difficult to get all by itself. I have created several of them int he last few months. But that metallic sheen is another story. It's subtle, providing a silvery look while remaining shiny. Many black metallic glazes tend to take on a "gun metal" appearance. That's pretty in itself, but the dull surface can often mean that the glaze is soft and will easily leach some of the oxides that give it its color. Leaching may not be dangerous, but the pottery will lose its luster and shine quickly.

And some of those oxides can, in fact, be dangerous if too much leaches.

So the secret is to get enough to do the job without overloading. That is what has been taking so long. The base glaze is now in place, and the process of coloring has begun. Recently, I created to triaxial blend sets - one composed of iron, copper and cobalt oxide and the other of manganese, copper and cobalt. These were blended in a series of combinations and the results were studies by both me and Sheila Varnum.

Here is a picture of the iron-based triaxial series

And here is the manganese series

They all look pretty similar in these photos, but believe me, there are marked differences. In the end, we chose one from the second series. It is the second from the left in the first row. This one has a beautiful metallic sheen and, with some adjustments to the other oxides, should make a beautiful Duckshead.

Of course, I've said stuff like this before. There are other issues to consider. The glaze must not only look nice in a dip test. It has to suspend well in water and apply well. Application has been the downfall of several attempts over the summer, but I have great hope for this one given that its base formula is already well tested. Earlier tests of a similar Duckshead test were very nice. Just not quite the color we wanted.

The test will be in the fire this week. If it looks good and passes the various tests for durability, you will find it out here.

And I will be VERY busy glazing until the snow falls.

Fair Update

Here is a photo of my display at the Blue Hill Fair. Turquoise is the color for this year as it has proven very popular at the shop. I still dream of a display announcing the return of Duckshead. A new round of tests is underway and I expect great things. But for now, have a look and enjoy.

More on the Fair later!

It's Fair Time Again!

Ok, time for an update. It has been a while since the last post, and more than a lot has happened.

The summer has been good. Things have gone at least as well as I hoped they would and so far I'm still on my feet. It's time once again for the Blue Hill fair, and I will again have a display in the main Exhibition Hall. It's very exciting, and I am planning the best display of the three I have done so far. Once it is set up, I'll post a picture here.

So, what else have I been up to? Well let's see. I've been throwing, trimming, glazing and firing pots. I have been doing glaze tests by the dozen (more on the search for a Duckshead in a bit), and  yes, selling pots.

I'm exhausted, but very happy with the way things have gone so far. Many old Rowantrees customers have been in to talk. It's always great fun to share memories of Rowantrees from all sides. People are glad that the tradition is being carried forward and they have all expressed their approval of the wares I am producing.

Whew!

I had another challenge recently in the form of an order for something I had not yet produced. Last year it was a large tea pot. This year, it was a small tea pot. Tea pots are probably the most difficult form for the potter because each is made up of three separate pots; the pot itself, the lid and the spout. Each is thrown in isolation from the others, but they must be assembled in a way that results in a harmony. If that harmony fails to materialize, the potter has wasted his time.

You be the judge.

That's actually a coffee cup in the picture, not a teacup. But you'd still get two of those out of that pot.

And now, Duckshead. Ah, Duckshead. How I have worked, experimented, tested and oh, how close I have come. Really. I have said it won't be long, and I still believe that. I knew black was a difficult "color" for a glaze, but a black that has to have a metallic luster to it is even more difficult. I am close. So very close.

But glazes have to do a lot of things. Looking good out of the kiln is but one of them. I have had a procession of them that looked great in the initial tests, but didn't suspend well in water, or didn't apply well with the spray gun, or failed to "flow" they way they should, or were too matte, or didn't have the metallic sheen, or...

And that doesn't even include the battery of tests that glazes have to pass before I will pass them for production.

It's coming. Have faith if you are still waiting for it. I do. it will come.

The same is true of Evergreen and Seagull Gray, But Duckshead first.