Moving Right Along...

We hope everyone had a nice holiday! We enjoyed spending Thanksgiving in Vermont with family. We were so busy with the preparations, we forgot to stop and take pictures. I did manage to take a picture of the flower arrangement the following day. As you can see, it is in my favorite vase!

And moving right along with holiday decorating. They are coming so fast! On Friday I quickly set up the winter village to show off to family (we spend Christmas with family in Massachusetts so we don't really have an opportunity to display our decorating around the holidays).



This year the village expanded. The cats love to sit in the cotton batting so we made some sitting room behind the houses.



Dave has been busy with pottery. He is firing today. He will follow up with pictures when the pots cool.

Busy as Usual

Well over the flu. Time to get back to stressing about time. Turkey Day coming up during a super busy week at work. This weekend I was able to squeeze out two bisque fires and some work on the house.

Also here is that pot I am currently carving. I am not sure how far along I am going to get with it this month so its currently mummified with water and painters plastic.



When Finished it will get a bisque and then a paint job with iron oxide. I will look similar to these guys below.



Well if you don not here from us, "happy Turkey day" i am off to work. Hopefully I will get some glaze work done this weekend (although I am working Saturday) so I will have some of the new stoneware to post. If anyone is going to Portland Pottery South let me know I NEED SUPPLIES!. Later.
~DS

Carved Vase

Dave was very sick this week so we neglected the blog. The Swine Flu rapidly infected many at Dave's work.

While Dave was re-cooperating, he decided to work on carving a vase. He was experiencing pottery withdrawal even though he had very little energy to expend.

This is the vase before Dave started carving.



This is Dave carving the pot. He did not move for hours.



Dave will follow up with pictures.

We are a little behind in getting ready for Thanksgiving. We finished all the shopping and Dave was even able to do some small projects around the house this weekend.

Have a Nice Holiday!

~AS

Farmers Market

We were able to get most of the vegetables for Thanksgiving. The farmers market was really fun.

And for our impulse purchase...




This wasn't a total impulse. We had been looking for some seating for the studio in front of the fireplace. We weren't really sure what we were looking for. A couch seemed too formal for the space.

Besides really liking the piece, we are very happy to be able to support a local artisan. It is nice to know where the piece came from and who made it.

Of course, Chiffon and Archimedes were also excited!

~AS

Thanksgiving

This weekend we are starting to prepare to host our second Thanksgiving in Vermont. Tomorrow we are going to the Dorset Farmers Market for some Thanksgiving provisions. We try to buy almost everything from Vermont. We ordered a fresh turkey from a local farm and will try to buy all local vegetables and herbs. We are ordering dessert from A Dozen Eggs Bakery (the beautiful cookie in the picture was a gift from our friends at A Dozen Eggs).

We are also trying to finish projects in the house. The ceiling that was half painted last Thanksgiving is still half painted. We are hoping to pretend we did not go the entire year without finishing the painting.

~AS

To fast!!

This week has gone to fast! I thought I would get so much more done and did not. I know that is always the way it works. One big project is I have the old studio space almost completely cleaned up. That was a beast of a clean up. We have also been getting a new wood furnace installed so we need the space for wood.



I have started throwing in red clay again. First picture (above) is a few pieces thrown for my thousand crane firing. These are thrown, trimmed and drying. Soon I will start burnishing them. They will be fired in the style that I had done this bowl below.



I also started whipping out my small cups.



They will end up looking like these (below). They are such a simple little cup but the sell like crazy.



I did break down and use my calipers this time to make them a little more uniform. I love them all being a little unique though.

Lastly, being that it is Friday the 13th here is the little black cat Chiffon inspecting some clay I picked up in a pinch today.



Making sure its not to dusty.



Enjoy your weekend. Happy Friday the 13th!!

Living in Vermont

We moved to Vermont from Scituate Massachusetts two years ago. We bought our first house. We fell in love with the location, size of the house (including the extra room for pottery) and the property.




This is a picture of the hill (we think) behind our house. It is on the other side of the Mill River. The foliage is beautiful in the fall.



We also love the Mill River and Freeman Brook on our property. It is very soothing to fall asleep to a flowing river.


Although we LOVE our house, we weren't really prepared for how much work and money it would require. We have done a lot of work inside and out and have a LOT of work still left. We have truly enjoyed the trials and tribulations of being homeowners!
~AS

Bisque fire soon

Well I will be doing a few bisque fires soon. I have had a lot of requests for my "triangular" bowls. A few unfired pieces are pictured above. Problem is I have made a mess of these, I do really like them, but I have not yet run glaze tests of the new clay body yet. Hopefully during my up coming vacation I will be able to do some tests and glaze chemistry. Hoping to get a lot done in the studio but I have a lot of chores, least of which finishing up the wood furnace, on my list.

Next post I will start talking about these.

I hope I soon will be able to finally complete this firing project. These is the type of ceramic art I love to do.

~DS

Sand Vase

One benefit to living with a Potter is testing the new prototypes! This is my favorite vase! Dave used two different clay bodies to create "sand". He burnished the vase to bring out the grog (for layman like myself, that is the texture from the sand particles).

This picture reminds me of the summer. I loved picking the flowers from the garden. Now the garden is an ugly pile of dirt and dead plants. I am longing for next summer!

~AS

The grind.

Well I still have not put together my "making of the Potter Stone" posts. My hours at work have been off the wall busy and erratic.

Here is an example of current balance of work and art.



Crazy huh? Its a picture from work. I came in to start making some cheese and I found these lids (for 40 pound molds) stacked on top of longhorns (which get sliced up to make mini wheels of cheese) stacked on top of more lids on top of a milk jug. No idea how they did not topple. This is how life has felt with balancing life, work, and the art.

OK. it was just an excuse for posting this cool picture, but I thought it was a good metaphor. Anyway some big changes have happened in the cheese world. At first I thought I would be loosing my job due to changes between the two locations that my employer makes cheese. They make cheese in Grafton (where I am a cheese maker) and Brattleboro VT. Bratt (as we call it at work) is way to far. I already travel an hour each way. Bratt, my co-workers have told me, would be an hour 40 minutes each way. That is just crazy. I thought they would let me go since they are moving almost all operations to bratt but they kept me on to make the cave aged cheese (which I was already involved in) and specialty/ contact cheese.

This was great for 2 reasons:

1. I do love making cheese

2. I still bring home the benefits.

Got to do what you got to do.

I am not ready to try full time or quasi full time pottery. So much research and decisions yet to happen. So I will continue making cheese and pottery when it allows. It looks like when my employer makes the move though I will get some more time in the studio. I hope I make the best of it. It is where I want to be.

Talk to you later.
~D.S

The Story...

The Story…

Prologue:

After taking two adult education pottery classes, David developed his first pottery studio in Scituate Massachusetts. The studio initially consisted of one pottery wheel and small tools in a shed in the backyard of his childhood home. When faced with the limitations of firing the pottery without a kiln, he researched ancient methods of firing. After many exploding pots, David developed his technique in alternative firing.

This is David’s first studio. It consisted of one small window and no heat. He also shared this space with lawn equipment, snow blower, chainsaw and other various tools.




When we moved to our house in Vermont in August 2007, David was ecstatic to finally have a bigger space in an actual heated building. David painted the basement and set up shop. However, as you can see, this “studio” quickly became cluttered, small and MESSY.





In July 2009 David moved into his latest (AND LAST!) studio. This studio is a 520 square foot converted garage attached to our house. Since the room was carpeted with plywood underneath, we had a concrete floor poured and sealed. It was important to choose a floor that could withstand dust, water and be easily cleaned. David bought several shelving units to display his work.

We haven’t told our cat Archimedes that this isn’t his playroom yet. He loves the big open space to run around in and the cool floors in the summer.


David now enjoys throwing in a spacious studio. He has three wheels, a large drafting table, and shelving. David also made a chalkboard to draft his creations.



Finally, my favorite part of the room…




We are very lucky this propane fireplace was already in this room. We are planning on setting up a sitting area to relax.

We could not end our first post in 3 years without thanking our friends and neighbors (we use neighbors loosely in Vermont, they are four miles away) at a Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe for their help, encouragement and inspiration with our blog, (along with the delicious cupcakes and cookies!)

Dave will be right along to post He is making cheese right now.

~ A.S.

**UNDER CONSTRUCTION**

Finally going to really work on this blog. Even better it is going to include my better half and beautiful wife Allison. We will post a minimum of twice a week (One post each),and we hope to share our experiences, from both of our points of views, about the trials and tribulations of becoming a professional full time ceramic artist. This is our goal in life. Hopefully we can share it with you.


PS. It will now be known as "Being the Potters Stone".

Heritage Days

Well it went well and I had a good time. I would like to thank you for all that visited and picked out a few of my pieces. It was a pleasure meeting all of you. the show was a success and he weather was great.I am hoping to have some shows lined up for Turkey Day and of course from then to Christmas. Oh, and check out my sisters great slates! First pic above.

See you all at the next show!! -TPS-

Today is my last fire before Heritage days. Hopefully I have enough for two days. Got almost everything fired I wanted to. That's not a bad thing. I like to be able to have a choice of what I will bring. Now I must label and pack. I am glad I do not travel more than a mile to the show. Bonus!

August

*photo* Milkweed just....Holding...On...

August is damned busy!!.
^Getting married.
^Have my first sale sharing a spot with my sister at "Heritage Days" in Scituate MA.
^getting my work organized on the net. I just got a "pro" account at Flichr...I am really enjoying the site. Want to enjoy some good art? And or fun photos, head over there and check it out.
^I want to create (or find) two new glaze recipe's for my next months "batch of work"
^my alliterative firing schedule is starting over, time to sling some clay.
^Honeymoon (that one is easy ;) )
^ retre shoot photos of my work. I wanted to get this done before my sale....Only..One...Week...Left ...*groan*

But busy is good good good.

THANX SIS!!!!!

My sister found this cool little "Badge" feature at her friends blog (which is great by the way

Its great will send you right to my gallery...Is a bit sparse right now. I ran out of room. I have the peasant account...*cough* free. Check it out. It is located on the right sidebar.

She is a great artist herself. Have you heard of the Cow Parade? Well there is one in Boston MA right now. Google Al the photos I have of it is in there apartment...So I think I will hold off from posting them for now, heh, until I get some pics of them on location. One is right in front of the Trinity Church! Holy Cow!!

one cow is painted with a field of sunflowers, the other is a red cow with blue spots.

IMAGE UPLOAD LIMIT REACHED

Don't you hate limits in life...Seems like I already reached my "image upload limit" at Flikr...Oh well. The search for a free gallery continues.

Last kiln fire came out well. A new stoneware color scheme, and a new Jade glaze.

I have to say I am using the glaze book "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes" to learn the process. It has really been a great tool and teacher. I suggest it to anyone that wants to go from commercial glazes to mixing your own. Easy to follow, allows you to learn at your own pace. I know from many ceramic artist that have triedIit i have spoken with, it is well liked and tested.

I have a window of 3 more kiln fires before Heritage Days in Scituate MA. I will do a bisque and two glaze fires. I have been a slave to the kiln and fire pit for two months....freakin love it -TPS-

Check it out, still smoking from the fire

right out of the fire. These pieces are from the last session. One is still smoking (have to admit still had smoldering material inside but looks dramatic...hah!). They have a certain satin beauty before they cool and get cleaned. -TPS-

Gallery in the works.

Almost forgot about this. I am most likely not going to stick with this site (not THIS site, the pic hosting site flikr). But I am playing around with setting up a gallery of photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41428708@N00/

Its real loose, just a mock up. So things may change often. Feel free to leave some suggestions. Right now I am looking for a free photo hosting site (with gallery set up). But in the near future I will pay for something better.

Those that use Flickr might find searching for my photos a pain in the arse. I did not really set up the "tags" on the photos right. I think I will change them to "the potter stone" rather than the description of the work.

Well was going to post a before and after of last weeks kiln load but it seems I have "misplaced" the photos >_<. Such is life. Anyway i have one to be unloaded once cool today. I will makesure i get the picture up. It also seems i am curently unable to upload photos so that nixes that idea anyway.

Well might as well take this time then to plug the next show. I will be selling with my sister @ Heritage Days in Scituate MA. here is a link to the information : http://scituatechamber.org/events_heritage.html

IT is the first weekend in august. The craft show is Saturday & Sunday 9 - 4. Check it out. There is great music and lots of great venders.
-TPS-