Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Fossil Fish Flask... The last...




This is the last fossil fish flask being glazed for "Cousins in Clay" this weekend. We unload new pottery tomorrow that will be ready for the Saturday opening at 10:00 am. Come on out to meet David MacDonald, Jack Troy, and Michael Kline this weekend at Bulldog Pottery.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Blast Off!

Bruce Gholson arranging the cones in the kiln

Here we go! We have a klin firing as I write this. We will work on one more electric kiln firing between now and Wednesday.  Then to hit the ground running getting ready for our "Cousins" event. Every year we hit a crescendo and then its party time! Our guests David MacDonald, Jack Troy, and Michael Kline will arrive with their pottery for all of us to enjoy! What piece or pieces will you take home with you? It will be a fun weekend. There is no doubt about it.

Please join us for our 5th Annual "Cousins in Clay" June 1-2, 2013.  The sale begins at 10:00am and  Chronis Pou Vasilou will be playing his bazouki shortly after. We will have a few goodies to nibble on and then at 3:00 pm we will roll out the wheels to have a demonstration by Michael Kline and Bruce Gholson.
On Sunday there will be a Potters Potluck at 12:00 with Will McCanless playing his banjo. Jack Troy will read some of his poetry around 1:30ish after lunch.

We will look forward to seeing you here!

A friend on facebook commented that Bruce seems like he is working all the time.  I replied "That is a good thing!" Can't have him being idle can we?

Bruce Gholson stacking the first layer of the gas kiln

Bruce Gholson choosing the right height for the shelf level
Bruce Gholson glazing one of his new bowl forms
Samantha Henneke glazing an ant porcelain painting
Bruce Gholson glazing four more shino mugs
and hogging the limelight.









Sunday, May 12, 2013

Making Pottery in the Bulldog Studio

Bruce Attaching a Handle onto his Pitcher
We have been working steadily here at Bulldog Pottery. Many pots made, now to get them dry and load them into the kiln for the first firing stage, that we call bisque.  This stage of the process hardens the pottery which makes it more durable to apply the glazes.

It always amazes us whenever going through the cycle of making just how time consuming "making" is.  We rarely ever time ourselves. We just work until we can't work anymore, and we get as much done as we can in the time frame that we have.  We have a open shop for the public here at our place in Seagrove and we talk with people everyday day throughout the year about pottery and life.  It is really enjoyable, we meet lots of great people.  We often get asked,  "How long did it take to make that cup... or that jar or that vase"?  This is a good question and a hard one to answer, and also a question we ask ourselves as well.  We rarely time ourselves and when we do I usually say I am not going to do that again (mostly because we really don't want to know). We make our work through serial processes, and that series can have us going through the process for 1.5 months - 2 months, depending on studio and life scheduling. Our schedule is constantly changing to adapt to what is happening- in the shop, studio, community, and events coming up.  
Anyway, we usually answer this question by saying it is a process, we work in a serial fashion and it takes us 1.5 to 2 months to see a body of work through to completion. I still don't think that nails it because there are so many other things that go on in the life of a full-time studio potter.  Glaze preparation, clay preparation, clay reprocessing, equipment maintenance, ......, and then there is creative maintenance.  Glaze designing and testing, new forms, new images, new processes,....Egads!  We must be pottery geeks!

We are getting ready for "Cousins in Clay", it is around the corner and we have lots of glazing ahead of us. 

Please join us for our annual pottery weekend event. We are really excited to have David MacDonald, Jack Troy, and Michael Kline here, with their wonderful pottery. There will be music on both days, some nibbles, a Saturday demo by Bruce and Michael, Potters Potluck at noon on Sunday, and Jack Troy will read some of his poems on Sunday after lunch.

See you Soon!

"Cousins in Clay" - June 1-2, 2013 - at Bulldog Pottery, in Seagrove, North Carolina more details at Cousins in Clay Website.

Samantha's Altered Drinking Cups
Bruce Smoothing out a Handle on his Mug
Samantha Decorating a Vase with Insect Imagery

Bruce Throwing Porclain Mugs
Samantha's Covered Jars Awaiting Knobs
Samantha Designing the Knobs to the Covered Jars

Thursday, May 2, 2013

I Know it is Here Somewhere

Bruce Gholson searching for a specific tool
Bruce has a wonderful assortment of tools that he has made and acquired through his forty years of pottery making. He has made ribs for just the right curve and cut-off sticks for the bottom of pots.  The black metal ribs always seem to hide themselves so he made these cool wood block holders for them.  We can become attached to a particular tool and I know that when I am looking for my rib that I really like to use and it has moved itself, throwing just isn't right until that tool is found. Bruce makes me tools too. I am very happy when he hands me over a new something. I have lost my tiny rib that I love, and I miss it dearly. I use it to make the lid's flange for my covered jars and it has been quite awhile since I have had it (hint hint).  

We are trying to get through a couple of different cycles this month. We will be loading and firing our gas kiln with our Moka glaze pottery and I will be working on a series of porcelain glaze paintings and Bruce will be decorating with his fossil fish image on red clay.

Bruce Gholson working on his pitcher's handle
Bruce Gholson throwing cups
Bruce attaching the handle to his pitcher