2013 Summer Pottery Workshops in Seattle

For Summer I offer shorter, immersive workshops (in lieu of my 10 week, group sessions that I hold in Spring, Fall and Winter)

Wheel Throwing Immersive Workshop
During this weekend workshop, we'll practice focused, immersed throwing to help us to create the pieces we design. We'll also cover trimming techniques. For an additional fee, pieces can be bisque fired for pick up at a later date.

Teapot Workshop

During this weekend workshop we'll use soft slabs and texture to build teapots and matching cups. We'll glaze the unfired pieces, they'll be fired after the end of the workshop for pick up at a later date.

Schedule & Fees:
1. Wheel Throwing & Trimming Immersive - $260 + firing fee
July 13th & 14th. 10am-5pm, Saturday & Sunday. 

2. Handbuilding Softslab Teapot with Matching Cups - $260
July 20th & 21st. 10am-5pm, Saturday & Sunday.

Now Registering!

visit www.bdpottery.com for details and registration!

Tiny test firing of barrel pottery "pit" fire.

Not a student but want more information about Seattle pottery classes? 

Visit my website: Barbara Dunshee Ceramics

For the "pit" firing with my students this weekend, we are using a barrel!

First we (thanks Paul!) cut the 55 gallon drum barrel down to size. It's now 23 inches in diameter and 24 inches tall. 

I then drill about 26 1/2 inch holes around the base and four in the very bottom, so the fire gets some good updraft.

I place spacers and a broken kiln shelf over the four in the bottom. The spacers are for additional draft.

For this mini mini firing I sprinkle a little sawdust in the bottom

This face I'm wrapping with salt soaked rag, a little copper tape.

This face gets a little stainless steel  scrubby and a dried banana peel

I nestled them face down in the sawdust sprinkle on a little red iron oxide and add a little bit of dried grass around one of them

On top of that I had dried pine needles 

I had some fine tingling that had been painted with a little whiteTempera. Temper it is not for  effect it's just what I had

A few sheets of phonebook paper crumpled

Light that and add some cedar scraps

For this mini mini firing I'm letting it burn about 30 minutes

And then I'm placing an upturned oil pan down over that small firing to keep it in reduction

And letting it smolder for another half an hour

Smoldering

Removed the oil pan to find pretty good combustion during the short test.

Faces rinsed and scrubbed. Some nice blackening, a tiny touch of green and some subtle iridescence. I'm pleased with the way the barrel handled the flame and combustion. I'm pleased with the look of these pieces. I'm pleased that they didn't crack! Not bad for a quick test! We'll see if we can do even better on Saturday!