Beckett Pottery

Since Thanksgiving

2012-02-25T13:18:00.001-05:00

I had a pretty restful December with the only thing going on in the studio being a set of dishes ordered by a family burned out in the Austin wildfire. That was such an honor to be able to help rebuild after a total loss.

Wholesale Crafts ACRE Orando was in January and I was blessed with lots of work and a great visit with my sister. Been in the basement studio cranking out pots ever since and breaking in 3 helpers after Ilse decided to move on.

Check out my interview on Launch.Grow.Joy.com http://launchgrowjoy.com/beckett-pottery/# , a website created as inspiration to the new entrepreneur. Hope you find my answers to their questions interesting.

Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-11-26T08:58:00.001-05:00

Check out my Fiesta page for Pots in action for Thanksgiving Day 2011!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Appalachian Potters Market

2011-11-18T08:47:00.001-05:00

I can see the end of the 2011 tunnel. My last retail show for the year will be at McDowell High School, Marion NC, The Appalachian Potters Market is a great show with 66 potters on Saturday, December 2.

I'm busy today cranking out a few more cruets, sponge holders and brie bakers to fill in the inventory from the Carolina Pottery Festival on the 12th Nov. Didn't get that one posted due to my abundant wholesale orders. It went well there and it is always wonderful to see old friends after being elbow deep in the basement with clay for months.

Hope to see more of you in Marion. Starts up at 10AM and over by 4:30 or so.

Valle Country Fair

2011-10-13T09:10:00.003-04:00

This Saturday is the Valley Country Fair! I have attended this fair for at least 27 years now except for 21 yrs ago when Claire was 2 mo old and last year when my dad was dying of a stroke. Hope to see you there in shoes appropriate for potentially mucky ground as I imagine it has rained there as much as here. Check out their page here. http://www.vallecountryfair.org/

Hiddenite Exhibit

2011-10-02T10:24:00.003-04:00

My favorite piece: Mermaid evening gown.

Well, tomorrow I take my 42 pieces to The Hiddenite Center for my largest ever exhibition of one of a kind pieces. Hopefully the next one won't be quite as stressful. It wasn't the one woman show I had asked for, but Helen Keever will be showing water color pieces that won't detract from my mostly pedestal pieces. It is so much more work than I imagined, not only creating the 15 or so new, one of a kind, never made them before pieces, but cataloging and documenting everything. Part of my exhibit is education of how the pieces came to be and who inspired their creation.

I've been wanting to do a full set of dishes in my fiesta inspired pattern

The show will run from maybe Oct 7- 30. The reception will be on the 30th... why at the end? Out of my hands in scheduling that.

Sam Chung Pot

2011-10-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

Sam and his just finished teapot

His first demonstration: a two piece slab pitcher with a hollow handle.

Several months ago Carolina ClayMatters Guild hosted a workshop with Sam Chung, instructor at Arizona State. He specializes in slab constructed pieces, most of which have a serious set of pattern pieces. He started with a simple pitcher design shown below and then went on to create more and more complex pieces like the teapot left.

This thing is an ewer- a pouring vessel with no handle.

After several months, I finally have a finished and photographed my version of Sam's teapot. It was much harder than it looked to do, and of course I chose the most complicated piece he did to replicate. Hadn't really planned to have it look so much the shape of his teapot, but that was what worked. I made things even more complicated by putting texture on the side panels.

Puzzle Jugs, my style

2011-09-16T09:19:00.000-04:00

I have finally finished and photographed the puzzle jugs I did while at Wildacres this summer.
This bizarre thing was an inspiration from a Doug Fitch and Hannah McAndrew Slipware Workshop I did in Shelby. I found a picture of this one in an English traditional pottery book they brought. The one in the book was a tower with windows in it, but being the woodsy gal that I am, I decided to make it trees instead. Pour drink in the top and it goes through the handle to the bottom and out the snake mouth. Pretty wild in action. Had I to do it again the snake would have started at the top of the bottom chamber. When I poured the glaze in it, the snake projectile vomited it out it's mouth! Works much better with thinner liquids, but really more of a conversation piece anyway.

Inside the trees is a stump with the squirrel that eats all my pears... eating a pear.

This one is more like the puzzle jug they brought. Theirs was of course more traditional with a Shelby 2011 written on it. They usually have a teasing poem about getting the ale out once it is in. Mine has a door that says "Enter men of mirth." To drink you must suck through one of the spouts while putting your fingers on all the openings, (except the big holes in the sides, silly!). It is a puzzle.

Milwaukee Vacation

2011-08-12T00:19:00.003-04:00

Bryan Becker Clay Werks Gallery and Studio

Got back last week from a delivery vacation to the Milwaukee. Daughter Claire, parrot Petey and I stayed with Bryan Becker at his converted dairy business Bryan Becker Clay Werks.

The throwing "room"

It was quite educational to see how production potters work in other areas of the country, like bisque firing to cone 010 and glazing cone 10 oxidation, (not at all what I see here in NC). From what I could tell, Bryan's main production items are wedding and housewarming bowls that he sells mostly through catalog sales.

Bryan and Mosely

The gallery is nicely set up and he has extra studio space and a teaching studio that he rents out to other artists. I got several good business tips while I was there for sure.

The gallery

Display of my work

Claire and I also visited 2 other accounts- Cedar Creek Pottery in historic Cedarburg, WI and Zig Zag Gallery in Dayton, Ohio. Cedarburg is a cool little historic spot on none other than Cedar Creek, duh. There is a winery there in a converted woolen mill that also houses the pottery gallery and several other unique shops. We thought it interesting that the public green way trail advertised that you were welcome to walk, cycle, roller blade, or ... cross country ski.

Cheetah and boy examine each other

We also spent some time in Milwaukee site seeing: went to the zoo, bar hopped and went to the gallery crawl downtown, caught a drag show at the Brady Street Festival and went to a German Fest where we saw a "weiner dog" race. The winner weiner needed a drug test for steroids!

Ruth the elephant throwing sand on Claire. I was just reading about how unsafe this habitat is. She could fall in that moat.

Downtown Milwaukee on the waterfront

Back in the real world

2011-07-08T15:33:00.000-04:00


Yolanda burning feathers on hot pots

Well, I am back in the real world, resting up to get back to the tasks at hand. I did take a chance on the horsehair experience with one of my pots with great results, (packed up and unavailable for photos at the moment). Soon I will post the gallery of pots I completed while I was there.

Oliver adding a feather to his pot

There was a lot more going on in the pottery studio that I chose not to participate in as I was valuing the time to work on projects long in my head.
Along with the arranged learning activities, there is opportunity to racu fire with experienced "racuers" and gas fire in the studio gas kiln. Gary Lee, from Rising Sun, organizes 2 gas firings during the week for those wanting to participate. Most bring bisque pots for the first one at least. The results on the first gas firing were great and I heard lots of oohs and ahhs from over in my carving corner.
The racu folks squeezed in plenty of firings in spite of the use of the kiln for sager firings. There are several talented potters who know what they are doing with racu that brought things to fire.... they are looking good. I particularly like the fruit and veggie folks that Yolanda brought with her, under glazed with Speedball underglazes and a clear crackle on top.

Yolanda's racu fruits and veggies

I made 3 mermaid tails after doing all I could do on the woodsy things things to finish up in my Winston friend's racu kiln using colorful under glazes I have on hand.

The last night we set our things up in a vacant room for viewing and purchase. Personally there wasn't much I was willing to let go of until I gaze on them awhile.

Horsehair Demo

2011-07-06T07:37:00.000-04:00


pot smoked with feathers horsehair and dried orange peel.

Horsehair Demonstration

Yesterday, Edge demonstrated his horsehair and feather technique. He heats the pots to 1250F and pulls the out one at at time not with tongs but fiberfax pads. Edge had brought his small kiln with a digital pyrometer which was not working so the pots were not heated as accurately in the Wildacres kiln as his are at home Some sugar gets thrown on the inside so it isn’t stark white inside the pot. He uses the pads to apply dried orange peel which leaves white spots with smoky halos.

sprinkling on sugar or orange peel

He gets hemostats that are thrown out by the medical industry to hold the horsehair and feathers, getting several ready in advance. The feathers are applied for a second and pulled away for better results. Holding the horsehair with the hemostat helps position the hair for the best aesthetic. All this decorating has to happen in 2-3 minutes while the pot is hot enough to leave the perfect smoky impression of the combustables. The temperature discrepancy was obvious when all of the ginkgo leaves he puts down before placing the pot on the fiberfax pad burned up to quickly to leave an impression. He goes to great lengths to make his pots perfectly flat for this. (We got a demo of his burnishing and trimming technique that all happen while the pot is leather hard on the wheel in different sized pvc fittings with padded rims and altered potato peelers that trim and burnish at the same time.)

Edge’s clay is a custom body that is smooth yet thermal shock resistant. I made pots out of white earthenware which were OK for the slow cooling sager but is expected to crack if used for this quick cool process. Edge bisque fires to maybe cone 09 and we all bisqued our pots to the 05 or 04 usually used. It made a difference in the results on the sager firings for sure. I haven’t decided whether I should sacrifice one of my remaining pots yet. Other students have been using his inspiration to do horsehair in the traditional Wildacres manner which is more trial and error testing hairs until they are cool enough to leave a mark. I think the crack rate has been pretty high.

Wildacres Retreat 2011

2011-07-05T11:59:00.000-04:00

I’m back at Wildacres Retreat to meet with “It was a dark and stormy night” Pottery Guild Retreat after missing last year due my big move. Edge Barnes is leading the workshop this year demonstrating and guiding us in his aluminum foil sager fired burnished pieces and his version of horsehair pots.

Wildacres is a nonprofit retreat owned by the Blumenthal family outside of Little Switzerland, NC. For an incredible price you can come here and stay with room, board and studio space do do work you don’t normally get to do. Rising Sun Pottery has reserved the 4th of July week for a group of about 19 for quite a few years now. The week got it’s name because we share the lodge with a writers group and a story telling group; kind of a spoof on their efforts to write and tell stories. ( Snoopy always sat on top of his dog house to write his great novel and never got farther than “It was a dark and stormy night...”) The other motto for our gathering is “ It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere.”


Edge and our motto signs

So far, we have done several nice loads of sager fire in the racu kiln. The process involves using well burnished pots with ferric chloride washed on them.

Edge demonstrating ferric chloride application

Edge dips them lightly in “swamp juice”, (which is a nasty bubbly mixture that leaves some nice random effects). He then wraps them in damp seaweed, some wood chips, a few strands of steel wool and copper chore boy, maybe some sugar and what ever else you are inclined to try and then wraps it all up like a baked potato in foil and piles them in the kiln.

Like potatoes out of the kiln

It heats to 1250F in the kiln which causes the foil to react with the ferric chloride and burns the combustibles. The results are wonderful, especially after waxing and polishing.

Edge's fired pots

My 2 best sager fired so far

I have been going cross eyed working on “in the woods” ideas that have been twirling around in my head while I make dozens of mugs, sponge holders, and cereal bowls at home as well as sager firing the prepared pots I brought.

In the woods Puzzle Jug II


In the woods puzzle jug I "Enter Men of Mirth"

There is lots more going on in the studio, but I’ll save that for another post.

More new one of a kind fiesta

2011-06-25T20:27:00.002-04:00

Finished another piece inspired by Neil Patterson that is an upgrade to my footed genie oil lamp. The foot is an altered thrown cone. I have used leather stamps that I have had since high school on the foot. They make a great detail stamp.

Craftsman House Gallery Exhibit

2011-06-20T22:49:00.000-04:00

I am excited to announce that I have a selection of Fiesta pots exhibiting at Craftsman House Gallery in St Petersburg, FL. Check out their website describing the event here: http://www.craftsmanhousegallery.com/events.html. Among the other exhibitors is Neil Patterson, http://sandiandneil.com/gallery/ , who gave a workshop for our guild in February. It is such an honor to be showing with this talented craftsman. Unfortunately they don't have photos of the show on their website, but it appears to be a nice gallery. I sent them cups and saucers, my new mugs, dipping bowls and cereal bowls.

Old Salem Pottery Fair

2011-05-16T23:02:00.000-04:00

Come by for the first annual Old Salem Pottery Fair on the Square in Old Salem this Saturday. While you're there you can go by and check out the antique slipware exhibit in their museum that will be running until the middle of August Check out the details here: http://www.oldsalem.org/pottery-fair-on-the-square

Hannah McAndrew & Doug Fitch

2011-04-25T12:12:00.000-04:00

This is Doug blasting the puzzle jug, (pitcher) with a leaf burner. The piece was slipped and decorated by Hannah.

Just got back from a great workshop in Shelby of all places with Hannah and Doug, come over the pond to show us farmhouse pots and slipware. They are big bloggers with Ron Filbeck and were able to work out a tour of demos in the states. [What's up with my formatting!? Will figure it out later folks.]

pouring the slip.

Finished puzzle jug.

I found some puzzle jugs in some books Doug had and have some ideas for one or two of my own.

Decorated puzzle jug front.

Here Hannah is making a large platter by throwing a bottom and adding a coil for the lip. Due to "American" clay and a pug mill that left a big air hole throughout the coil, we didn't get to see it finished, but great idea I plan to try.

This is a "jug" that Doug made with his "man decorations",(quick and simple).

Hannah and a beautiful platter she decorated with slip bottles made from tire tubes and mechanical pencils!?

Hope to become blog friends with these great folks. They did a great job considering we have such crappy clay over here...LOL Their clay comes straight from the ground without drying out, so it has been seasoned for thousands of years, enabling lots of stretchability.

OOOOH another Textured Slab Pot!

2011-03-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

Got another glaze load out of the kiln today. Finally getting some consistent results from the adjustments I made on the L&L. This is one of the pots I made using the textured paper.

To get the inside pink and outside blue, I protected the "binding" with wax resist and glazed the inside with the pink, re bisque the piece and then glazed the outside. The glaze at bisque temp crackled quite a bit when I took it out of the kiln, but enabled me to clean off the blue glaze that got on the inside of the pot easily. After refiring, the crackling repaired itself.

I am really pleased how much detail shows with this paper. The yellow eyelet pot detail was very faint, comparatively.

Off to Hickory tomorrow to set up for the Festival. I seem to have collected plenty of pots, this one included.

learning curve

2011-03-23T13:05:00.001-04:00

Hopefully everyone can read this as I made some changes and now I can't get to my page!!

Catawba Valley Pottery Show

2011-03-22T22:54:00.002-04:00

Well the show is coming up this and I will be bringing quite a variety of my work, since I haven't had any time to make a stock of production best sellers. Hope those of you that can will come by. I kind of doubt that I will be doing the show next year.

The Stucco Guys finished the cement work and will be back in a few days to paint... just in time to get my things for the show out of the garage door before they come back.

Ilse packed up 3 orders yesterday and a big one, (6 18" boxes!), today. I started working on the large order for Mast Store, at last. At least I got started on it before I have to stop to get ready for and do the show. Never a dull or still moment here!

More from the conference

2011-03-05T21:40:00.005-05:00

These tea bowls were a challenge to the thrower, seen at the right, to throw as many as he could in 5 minutes. He did 18. Very doable off the hump. I will be timing myself when I get home! BTW he is 33 and has been throwing pots for a living since he was 16.The upper right shot is a plate that the over glaze painter did along with at least 2 other pieces today.

North Carolina Potters Conference

2011-03-04T21:55:00.004-05:00

Wow! what a day. The Bailey came yesterday and this morning before I left for the conference, I had the electrician wiring it up and Ilse, my assistant helping to unload and wax bisque out of the L&L. Never a dull moment on Beroth Circle! The Chinese pottery team was amazing, each doing a different step of the pottery making process. The thrower and trimmer were outstanding as were the under and over glazers. The two top images are finished pieces priced around $1280. The bottom pieces were thrown today and ranged between 12 and 50 lbs.

2011-02-24T10:33:00.003-05:00

Made some time to do some of my slab pots with textured paper gift wrap I bought several years ago. It was too pretty to use but not to immortalize in clay. Sandi Pieranatozzi had some textured paper samples and I realized I had a use for that paper! I can't wait to glaze them with the fiesta colors.

2011-02-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

Having plenty of work is an amazing thing! BUT, doesn't leave much time for blogging or making inspired work from the Sandi and Neil workshop I just attended last week. http://sandiandneil.com/gallery/ Have to check out New Day Pottery for those details. Their glazes and clay is right in line with my fiesta work and I can't wait to use some of their techniques!

My first published piece

2010-09-16T20:45:00.004-04:00

A few months ago I took advantage of an invitation to try for a spot in 500 Racu by Lark books. I entered 2 pieces of the total 7-8 total successful pieces I made at WildAcres last summer. Last week I got a letter announcing that one of the pieces had been ACCEPTED. This particular piece was a last minute piece inspired by a piece made by our teacher Sylvia Capola. I added my few touches and used the featured naked racu technique she was teaching. There is always an element of luck with racu on my part and I guess I lucked out with this one.

1st pots in studio

2010-08-04T21:08:00.002-04:00

Threw my first pots in my new studio today! We will see how long they take to get leather hard since the air conditioner worked over time and peed all over the floor. Rather humid here in Pfafftown!

Moving team minus 2 Click on the picture to link to Flickr where you can see the photo stream.

2010-08-01T10:37:00.002-04:00

Moving team minus 2
Originally uploaded by playsinclay55

Flickr

2010-08-01T10:31:00.001-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

I'm in!

2010-08-01T09:49:00.010-04:00

WOW! I can't believe I've actually moved to Pfafftown. It is so wonderful to be able to be in civilization in 5 minutes or less! It has been pretty crazy sorting all my things though. There was a lot of clean up and taking down of the previous owners decorating preferences. I have lots of things I want to do, of course, but getting back to work has worked its way up to the top of the list. Check out the images at my flickr site in the above post. Still figuring this thing out, but it gets the job done!

New home and studio by next week!

2010-07-16T06:43:00.002-04:00

OMG I'm actually moving my studio! It is actually coming together pretty well. The studio room is clean with a freshly painted floor ready for equipment, most of which is already there. The Uhaul is reserved for Sunday to take house furniture and kilns. My new address will be 3550 Beroth Circle, Pfafftown, NC 27040, no land line as of yet but FINALLY I will be in a place that gets a cell phone signal: 704-682-7509.
The house is very ordinary compared to what I have lived in for the last 28 years, but I have plans to make it stand out in the neighborhood. At least some wild colored shudders and doors. What can one do with a red brick ranch with white siding.......remove the siding and put up stucco, for one.
More with pictures soon!

Lincoln Center

2010-06-23T08:37:00.003-04:00

Just got back from the Craft Show at Lincoln Center. It was an exciting adventure for my friend and helper, Gena and me, but I can't say much for the show. There was very little traffic, possibly because of the heat. Locals said the money all went to the Hamptons on the hot weekends and they saw no promotion except for small sidewalk signage a few days before and during the actual show. To be such a long standing show, I would have thought they would have been more professional. It was worth it to me to go visit my 2 dear college friends and their families AND to say I drove my work in and out of Manhattan without incident! We didn't have any time to sight see aside from a few block circumference of the show to look for food and a fan, but my Brooklyn hosts guided us to a great Italian restaurant the evening we got there and gave us a good tour talk while we were traveling from place to place.

Now it's back to work on the pending wholesale orders and packing to move to Winston Salem. My house is on the precipice of a sales contract that has me moving out by the end of July. LOTS TO DO!

2010-06-11T20:17:00.006-04:00

What fun learning a new way to reach the public. Hope this will become a web presence that is all encompassing, with events, item list and my latest one of a kind creations. Not promising to post every day... I'd rather be making pots, but when something notable happens or gets made, I'll definitely be posting it up.