Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Seattle Pottery Classes 2011

Next 10 week session begins the week of January 3rd, ending the week of March 14th. (Includes a week long break in February)
Registration begins Monday, December 6th, 2010.
Price for 10 weeks is $310.00.
Further details and updated availability.at bdpottery.com 

Student pieces fresh from the kiln. Pics focusing on glazes and textures







Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Seattle Pottery Classes 2011

Next 10 week session begins the week of January 3rd, ending the week of March 14th. (Includes a week long break in February)
Registration begins Monday, December 6th, 2010.
Price for 10 weeks is $310.00.
Stay tuned at bdpottery.com for further information and updated availability.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

September-December 2010 Pottery Classes

A small sampling of student work. And some in an earlier post.

I've not set the exact dates for September-December 2010, but that will be my next 10 week session. Open registration will start in August 2010 for those.

As interest demands I will have a summer workshop and continue to teach individual or semi-private sessions by appointment.

Until then, take a look at our last day of class of my last 10 week session. We topped it off with a pit fire!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Pit Fire, June 22nd Seattle with Barbara Dunshee and her students

There were 20+ pieces in the pit fire, but I was able to photograph this small sampling. These are unscrubbed and untreated and already show very nicely. They were first bisqued to cone 06.

Pit Fired Piece (Elizabeth's slab and texture bowl). Unglazed porcelain, fired to cone 6 (usually one fires pit bound pieces to bisque temps, but this was a late comer and needed to join the cone 6 glaze fire I was doing). Curiously, this and at least one other cone 6 piece in the pit fire showed cracking (as did some cone 06 pieces). But the luster was quite stunning.



The pit was already smoldering when we arrive so Jan takes on the embers. We need a cold pit to start.




Amanda loading in the layer of sawdust to the pit fire. You can see a glimpse of the chicken wire off to the left, waiting to layer on top of the sawdust.

Elizabeth wrapping pot in rafia and leaves. She'll then wrap with a layer of newspaper.

Wrapping pottery to go in pit fire. With random organic matter, then with newspaper.

Nestled atop the sawdust is a (barely visible) square of chicken wire, to keep the pots from sinking fully down into it. We start to layer in the pots, already wrapped with materials and finished off with newspaper.


Booty shot.

Getting close to 7pm, our ignition time, so all are quickly stuffing balled up newspaper in between pots wrapped in newspaper.



Placing wrapped pottery into the pit


Stuffing balls of paper in around the already nestled pottery


SURPRISE IGNITION! A stray ember has ignited our newspaper and we've got no kindling down! Time to load it, FAST!

Dash to load lots of kindling so we get a good intense burn going rather than a quick poof of just newspaper!

We had to throw in lots of kindling very quickly as the paper ignited unexpectedly (previous fire ember). It was reclaimed, untreated cedar and burned very quickly. The larger wood we had was also very nicely aged so that burned quickly. Being that we could only fire a little more than an hour that's what we needed. A quick burn.




Plenty of dry kindling thanks to my friend Emily!


Using tongs to gently place large dry logs on top of pottery.

Tongs and Gloves.

Wire grating to partially suspend pottery above sawdust. And the reclaimed cedar plank for kindling.

Adding a log occasionally, but we can only let it burn about an hour (our time constraints, not the pit's) before having it die down. Time to eat, back at the other grill.


Coated with glow, grit, soot, sand.

Corn and mystery foil packets. Beans I think and some steak.

Karen can stand it no longer. She pulls one of her footed orbs from the fire.

Pit Fire Paparazzi!

Removing more pieces throughout the evening, as they reveal through the embers.

Still rosy cheeked from digging around in the pit fire, Karen surrounded by warm pieces, hers and one of Jan's I think.



We're loosing the light, time to go home soon.

Bob captures the evening sky.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Student pottery images and Pit Fire Rescheduled!

We voted. Pit Fire and Potluck have been set for Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010, 6:30-9:30m at Golden Gardens!

Samples of student work fresh from the electric kiln:
(Next and final electric firing will be on Monday, with pick up by Wednesday, June 23rd!)