Hello Everyone,
What a whirlwind the past week has been! I have returned to New Hampshire and am re-adjusting to being home again.
The day after the Hamada sale, Lynne and I went through and cataloged the remaining pots and books. For the next few days people kept calling and buying the remaining items. Since the show catalog is still online, customers could view it then call and find out if their pot was still available. It seemed as if every time Lynne got off the phone she said, "I just sold another pot". Phil also received many emails with similar requests. There was so much response after the sale; I could hardly believe it. I had a glimpse into the business and tax side of selling pots. The paperwork from the Hamada sale will be keeping the Rogers' busy for weeks to come.
I spent Monday and Tuesday packing my things and absorbing the place I have come to love. I had quite a few pots, books and magazines I wanted to take back with me. Instead of shipping them Phil suggested that I try and put them in my luggage. I double packed each pot in bubble wrap, secured it with tape and layered my clothes around it. I had more than thirty pots to take back with me. I just had too many things to fit into two cases. In the end I gave a bag of my clothes to the local thrift shop and mailed one small box home. By some small miracle, both of my suitcases were under the weight limit. My carry-on bag was nearly as heavy as my cases because it contained my laptop and many books and magazines. It is hard to believe how much stuff I accumulated during my stay! The most valuable pots I hand carried on the plane to avoid the risk of them being broken. I tried to pack the pots well but the baggage handlers can be pretty rough.
On Monday night we went out to eat with Bryan and Barbara, a couple the Rogers have known for over thirty years. They were the ones who drove Lynne and me to the hospital immediately after Phil's accident. They used to own a bed and breakfast in Rhayader but recently sold it and retired. They go walking in the hills all the time. Barbara is very involved in the village and organized the 20 mile race the Rogers and I helped at in March. Phil and Bryan tease each other mercilessly. You can tell they have been friends for a long time. We had a really nice dinner together.
The weather during my last few days in Wales was gorgeous. The sun was out and there was no wind. The blossoms of the apple tree in the yard were just about to burst. Earlier plants such as hawthorn and cherry were already in full bloom. The daffodils had gone by but the bluebells were making their arrival. Phil said I was leaving in time to miss the loveliest season. Perhaps I missed spring's fresh and colorful peak but I am glad I saw its beginning.
When I took Tess and Libby out in the fields I tried to memorize that vast view of the Welsh landscape. Although I looked at it nearly every day, its beauty was always striking. The lambs are growing very fast and are about pre-teen size. They are curious and still chase each other on the little hill. Whenever I see a sheep they will always remind me of spring time in Wales during the lambing season.
Tess' arthritis had really been bothering her. The vet said both dogs needed to lose a bit of weight which might help Tess' pain. On Tuesday we took Tess to the vets to be weighed. She had lost several pounds which was wonderful. Before long I hope she can run around and take naps without getting stiff.
On Wednesday I got up and made blueberry and raspberry pancakes for breakfast since Phil really enjoys them. Lynne and I needed to leave Rhayader by 11am so I could catch my bus in Newport on time. The morning flew by and before I knew it, I was saying my goodbyes. It was hard to leave because one gets attached to people and places after 6 months. I certainly hope this visit was not my last. Lynne and Phil have been so generous and welcoming; they are like extended family now. Phil is a superb teacher, critic, and maker. I greatly respect all he does for the ceramic world and the incredible depth of knowledge he possesses. He went out of his way to introduce me to many potters and exposed me to a variety of art and people. Seeing him work every day demonstrated how much dedication it takes to be a successful potter. Phil works extremely hard and does not allow himself to get comfortable. He is continually challenging himself by experimenting and learning new techniques. That is how his work stays fresh and alive. Lynne has become a friend I can talk to about many things. I greatly value all the chats we had, especially those about her life with a potter.
It is difficult to sum up the past six months because so much has happened. I hope these updates have given you all a glimpse into my travels abroad. I had so many adventures and wonderful experiences. I am grateful to have learned about a new culture as it helped me realize truths about my own. The people I have met, the landscape I viewed and the art I experienced will surely influence me. Although my assistantship has ended, I know what I learned will be finding its way into my life and work for years to come. I look forward to that integration and discovery.
Friday, 16 May 2008
Monday, 12 May 2008
Take Two, Week 15
The Hamada exhibition was a success! Lynne and Phil were both nervous the entire week due to the weather forecast. The BBC kept reporting heavy rains for Saturday. Although it did rain during the week, the sun came out enough to dry up most of the water. The field could be used as a parking lot after all. Throughout the week, people came to view the exhibition. When someone stopped by we offered them drinks and cookies. Lynne and I kept preparing food all week. She did not know how many people to expect which made it difficult to estimate how much food to make. Between the two of us we made many sweet and savory nibbles.The marquis was set up Thursday evening. It was perfect for the occasion. Phil and Lynne wanted it connected to the front of the workshop and showrooms so we could set up food, drinks and tables for packing pots. Also, it provided a covered path to get in and out of the showrooms.
Lynne had a team of people who volunteered to help. Most of them were "veterans" from the last Hamada exhibition. Some of them stayed at the Rogers' house and some stayed in town. Nigel and Eileen (who I met on the trip to St. Ives) came up for it. Nigel wanted to stand in the line to get a pot but Eileen helped out by washing dishes and preparing food. A couple named Ray and Shirley came down from the north. They were in charge of parking. Lynne's friends Joan and Pauline came over. They both made food in advance. Pauline made six coffee cakes that looked like they came out of a food magazine. They also helped with food prep and selling the pots. Lisa Hammond and Yoji came up from London. Yoji helped Phil pack the pots as they were sold and Lisa was in charge of the line. Hal and Barbara are an American couple who have a second home in Wales. They helped by making receipts and by selling all the books. Also, a man named David Binch came. He was here and there doing various tasks. Jennifer Hall who is a potter in a nearby village came and helped with food and drinks. Because of all the generous volunteers, the day went smoothly.
The night before the big day Lynne invited all the helpers over for dinner. During the week we had made some lasagnas for Friday night and chili for Saturday night. It was nice to have everyone over for a visit. Shirley was especially animated and lively. She has been a teacher for a long time and told us many stories.
Phil had asked that no one show up to stand in line until 7:30 am. I got up at 6 and there was a car in the driveway. Some people are just extremely determined! While someone started making the coffee, I started making muffins. I think in total I made 6 or 7 dozen. As people started to arrive they were offered hot drinks and warm muffins. They were given numbers in the order of their arrival. They could wander into the showrooms and view the exhibition. Most of them wrote a list of the pots they wanted so if one was sold, they would pick their next choice. The selling of the pots did not take place until 2 pm so many people came, received their number and left again. There was a steady stream of visitors but everyone said it was not nearly as crowded as the previous exhibition. Although it was a bit chilly and overcast it did not rain. We were all extremely thankful the weather stayed dry.
By mid morning, the crowd had quieted down. Lisa wanted to take Yoji up the Elan Valley to see the big dams. Since there was a lull in the action, Lynne said I could go with them. Yoji had never been to Wales before and he seemed to really appreciate the landscape. He also enjoyed the sheep and lambs (it is hard not to love them). Lisa is planning on moving to the country in the next few years but she currently lives in London. She seemed to also enjoy the rural nature of the countryside. After a bit of getting lost we found the dam. I had been to it in the Autumn with Lynne and Phil but there was no water running through it then. We walked for a bit and followed the trail right alongside the dam. The noise of the cascading water so loud you could barely talk to one another. A fine mist was in the air and all the motion was hypnotic. It was an impressive sight. No matter how many times I see the landscape of Wales, I am always struck by how beautiful it is. We did not stay for too long; I was anxious to get back in case it had become busy again. Needless to say it was relaxing and enjoyable to take a drive and see how the season and weather had changed the landscape.
Closer to noon we started putting out the savory snacks. The sun was shining by then and it was nice and warm. Lynne had made mini pastry shells and small toasted bread. Pauline, Joan and Lynne had made many different fillings and an assembly line was formed. When I returned from the brief valley excursion, all the women were filling up plates with colorful, delicious bites. Feedback from the viewers was very positive. They praised the exhibition and the food. Phil was going around talking to everyone. He has such a great wealth of knowledge concerning Hamada and his pots. There was a little polite competition between people who wanted the same pots; however, I think they all enjoyed being around like-minded people. It is nice to have a crowd of individuals with one common interest.
At 2 pm the line reformed and we all took our places to assist with the selling. Lisa would call a number. The person who had that number would go up to the showroom and pick out the pot they wanted. There was only one person or couple at a time in the gallery. Pauline would write down their information and send the pot and box lid to me. I would find the box that went with the pot. Joan would take it downstairs to Lynne and Hal who were handling the money. After it was paid for and recorded, it was brought out to Phil and Yoji who were packing them up. At first it got a little backed up because I could not find the right box for a pair of yunomis. Pauline in a very organized fashion worked out a little system for us to make the whole process faster. It took a few hours for everyone to go through and pick out their pots. There was around 30 people who purchased pots. Some people purchased more than one. Slowly the showroom emptied and the pieces went to their new homes. With the exception of one person, everyone was able to buy a piece on their wish list.
There was a scare when one of the customers could not find a Shimaoka plate they had bought. I could remember packing it up and sending it downstairs. We could not find it and were afraid the wrong person had taken it by mistake. My stomach was in knots as I looked for it. After a frantic search the customer remembered she had set it down on a shelf and walked away. What a relief it was found!
Slowly, the new pot-owners said their goodbyes and went home. Some of them had traveled quite far to buy pieces. We took the food in and started washing up. There was some food left over but not a huge amount. I am so glad Lynne had found all the wonderful help because it made cleaning up go so much quicker. We took out the chili for dinner and had another communal meal. By the end of that I was sick of food!
The kitchen and living room were full of people laughing and talking. Everyone was pretty exhausted from the day but there were smiles all around. Phil gave gifts to everyone who had helped out and made the day a success. He gave me a small pine box. When I opened it there was a lovely yunomi inside. It was tenmoku glazed with finger-wipe decoration on the outside. I could not believe it- was this a Hamada pot? It looked similar to a few that were in the exhibition. Phil said it was thrown by one of Hamada's assistants but was surely decorated by the master himself. It was a truly generous gesture that touched me deeply. I will take special care of this pot. I know as I handle this vessel I will learn from it.
This exhibition was a huge learning experience for me. Not only did I see what it takes to put on a big event, I was able to look at so many pots. I had learned of the Leach/Hamada tradition at college and was taught how important it was to modern studio pottery. I knew Hamada was one of Phil's influences. Once I saw all the pots set up in the gallery I saw the direct connection between Phil's pots and Hamada's. Seeing them in a group made me really look at them and try and discover why they are so important and respected. I know I still have much to learn but my eyes were opened to this type of work in a new way. I glimpsed why they are beautiful. Some may say they are simple but it is this very thing that makes them great pots. I am very fortunate to have experienced this. Helping put on the event was fun but the impression the pots had on me as an artist will truly leave an impact.
Take care,
Kari
www.karinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/nhthrower
Lynne had a team of people who volunteered to help. Most of them were "veterans" from the last Hamada exhibition. Some of them stayed at the Rogers' house and some stayed in town. Nigel and Eileen (who I met on the trip to St. Ives) came up for it. Nigel wanted to stand in the line to get a pot but Eileen helped out by washing dishes and preparing food. A couple named Ray and Shirley came down from the north. They were in charge of parking. Lynne's friends Joan and Pauline came over. They both made food in advance. Pauline made six coffee cakes that looked like they came out of a food magazine. They also helped with food prep and selling the pots. Lisa Hammond and Yoji came up from London. Yoji helped Phil pack the pots as they were sold and Lisa was in charge of the line. Hal and Barbara are an American couple who have a second home in Wales. They helped by making receipts and by selling all the books. Also, a man named David Binch came. He was here and there doing various tasks. Jennifer Hall who is a potter in a nearby village came and helped with food and drinks. Because of all the generous volunteers, the day went smoothly.
The night before the big day Lynne invited all the helpers over for dinner. During the week we had made some lasagnas for Friday night and chili for Saturday night. It was nice to have everyone over for a visit. Shirley was especially animated and lively. She has been a teacher for a long time and told us many stories.
Phil had asked that no one show up to stand in line until 7:30 am. I got up at 6 and there was a car in the driveway. Some people are just extremely determined! While someone started making the coffee, I started making muffins. I think in total I made 6 or 7 dozen. As people started to arrive they were offered hot drinks and warm muffins. They were given numbers in the order of their arrival. They could wander into the showrooms and view the exhibition. Most of them wrote a list of the pots they wanted so if one was sold, they would pick their next choice. The selling of the pots did not take place until 2 pm so many people came, received their number and left again. There was a steady stream of visitors but everyone said it was not nearly as crowded as the previous exhibition. Although it was a bit chilly and overcast it did not rain. We were all extremely thankful the weather stayed dry.
By mid morning, the crowd had quieted down. Lisa wanted to take Yoji up the Elan Valley to see the big dams. Since there was a lull in the action, Lynne said I could go with them. Yoji had never been to Wales before and he seemed to really appreciate the landscape. He also enjoyed the sheep and lambs (it is hard not to love them). Lisa is planning on moving to the country in the next few years but she currently lives in London. She seemed to also enjoy the rural nature of the countryside. After a bit of getting lost we found the dam. I had been to it in the Autumn with Lynne and Phil but there was no water running through it then. We walked for a bit and followed the trail right alongside the dam. The noise of the cascading water so loud you could barely talk to one another. A fine mist was in the air and all the motion was hypnotic. It was an impressive sight. No matter how many times I see the landscape of Wales, I am always struck by how beautiful it is. We did not stay for too long; I was anxious to get back in case it had become busy again. Needless to say it was relaxing and enjoyable to take a drive and see how the season and weather had changed the landscape.
Closer to noon we started putting out the savory snacks. The sun was shining by then and it was nice and warm. Lynne had made mini pastry shells and small toasted bread. Pauline, Joan and Lynne had made many different fillings and an assembly line was formed. When I returned from the brief valley excursion, all the women were filling up plates with colorful, delicious bites. Feedback from the viewers was very positive. They praised the exhibition and the food. Phil was going around talking to everyone. He has such a great wealth of knowledge concerning Hamada and his pots. There was a little polite competition between people who wanted the same pots; however, I think they all enjoyed being around like-minded people. It is nice to have a crowd of individuals with one common interest.
At 2 pm the line reformed and we all took our places to assist with the selling. Lisa would call a number. The person who had that number would go up to the showroom and pick out the pot they wanted. There was only one person or couple at a time in the gallery. Pauline would write down their information and send the pot and box lid to me. I would find the box that went with the pot. Joan would take it downstairs to Lynne and Hal who were handling the money. After it was paid for and recorded, it was brought out to Phil and Yoji who were packing them up. At first it got a little backed up because I could not find the right box for a pair of yunomis. Pauline in a very organized fashion worked out a little system for us to make the whole process faster. It took a few hours for everyone to go through and pick out their pots. There was around 30 people who purchased pots. Some people purchased more than one. Slowly the showroom emptied and the pieces went to their new homes. With the exception of one person, everyone was able to buy a piece on their wish list.
There was a scare when one of the customers could not find a Shimaoka plate they had bought. I could remember packing it up and sending it downstairs. We could not find it and were afraid the wrong person had taken it by mistake. My stomach was in knots as I looked for it. After a frantic search the customer remembered she had set it down on a shelf and walked away. What a relief it was found!
Slowly, the new pot-owners said their goodbyes and went home. Some of them had traveled quite far to buy pieces. We took the food in and started washing up. There was some food left over but not a huge amount. I am so glad Lynne had found all the wonderful help because it made cleaning up go so much quicker. We took out the chili for dinner and had another communal meal. By the end of that I was sick of food!
The kitchen and living room were full of people laughing and talking. Everyone was pretty exhausted from the day but there were smiles all around. Phil gave gifts to everyone who had helped out and made the day a success. He gave me a small pine box. When I opened it there was a lovely yunomi inside. It was tenmoku glazed with finger-wipe decoration on the outside. I could not believe it- was this a Hamada pot? It looked similar to a few that were in the exhibition. Phil said it was thrown by one of Hamada's assistants but was surely decorated by the master himself. It was a truly generous gesture that touched me deeply. I will take special care of this pot. I know as I handle this vessel I will learn from it.
This exhibition was a huge learning experience for me. Not only did I see what it takes to put on a big event, I was able to look at so many pots. I had learned of the Leach/Hamada tradition at college and was taught how important it was to modern studio pottery. I knew Hamada was one of Phil's influences. Once I saw all the pots set up in the gallery I saw the direct connection between Phil's pots and Hamada's. Seeing them in a group made me really look at them and try and discover why they are so important and respected. I know I still have much to learn but my eyes were opened to this type of work in a new way. I glimpsed why they are beautiful. Some may say they are simple but it is this very thing that makes them great pots. I am very fortunate to have experienced this. Helping put on the event was fun but the impression the pots had on me as an artist will truly leave an impact.
Take care,
Kari
www.karinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Take two, week 14
Hello Everyone,
I returned to Wales on Tuesday. While I was away Phil fired his gas kiln. We both had some nice results from it. I glazed my pots with tenmoku (a shiny black color) and nuka (a cool white color). I also tried some of Phil's ash glazes. He uses straw ash, pine ash and elm ash to achieve different results. Phil had some stunning bottles emerge from the kiln. He also re-fired some pieces from the wood kiln. The second firing really transformed them. Four of my teapots came out of the firing and only one pours well. Phil thinks the holes need to be bigger and the spout needs a sharper edge.
The week was spent getting ready for the Shoji Hamada sale and exhibition. In the exhibition catalog, Phil writes-
Shoji Hamada was arguably the most influential potter of the twentieth century. In short, he was a genius.Throughout his life his pots displayed a breadth and variety of expression that is unrivalled amongst his peers. In Japan he was awarded the title of Living National Treasure and his works have been collected by many of the greatest museums of the world. Shoji Hamada's pots are highly collectable and sought after....For this exhibition I will have around 70 pieces that will reflect the genius of Hamada along with pieces by his son Shinsaku Hamada and his most favoured apprentice Tatsuzo Shimaoka - over 100 pieces in all.
Hamada is one of Phil's biggest influences. Although he is Japenese, Hamada lived in St. Ives and helped launch the Leach Pottery. His work is said to bring east and west together. This exhibition is a wonderful learning experience for me because I have never seen this many of Hamada's pots. None of the pots have been shown before in the United Kingdom. The Hamada exhibition is in the upper showroom. There are 108 pots in total and they look fantastic. The forms range from plates to yunomis (tea drinking vessels) and bowls. There is even a small water dropper that is used for calligraphy. Often, Japanese pots will be sold in a pine box that has a woven cord attached. The potter usually signs the lid of the box. Most of the pots in this exhibition still have their boxes. The pieces are on display with the signed lid. Since Hamada did not sign his pots it is especially important to have the box lid for identification.
We spent a few days cleaning the upper and lower showrooms. We had to remove the existing pots and dust all the shelves. I cleaned glass cases and windows. Phil assembled a big shelving unit It was a little stressful moving the pots around because they are very valuable. Fortunately, there were no accidents! Once the show was up, we stepped back and admired it. I picked out my favorite pieces- a set of striped plates by Hamada. I also admired a large platter with bold, black glaze trailing on it.
The lower showroom has Phil's pots on display. It was interesting to compare Phil's pots with Hamada's. Although the two potters make distinctly differernt work, one could see the parallels. Phil uses some of the same decoration techniques such as iron brushwork and glaze trailing. Phil once showed me a video of Hamada decorating a pot. He was so quick and skilled in the way he applied the decoration. Phil allowed me to have a shelf for some of my work. I sold a few pieces on Saturday. The show opened on Saturday and will be open for viewing all this week. Customers cannot buy the pots until this Saturday. When the Rogers hosted this event several years ago, one man was so anxious to get the pot he wanted, he camped in his car out in the driveway all night! There is a numbered system for buying so the first person in line gets first choice, second person gets second choice, etc. Hopefully we don't get any campers this year!
I spent all day Friday baking for the sale. Last time over 100 people showed up so Lynne wants to be prepared. The Rogers are hoping it does not rain all week because all the cars are getting parked in their field. So far, it has been pretty gloomy and wet so Phil and Lynne are exploring alternative parking ideas. The last thing they want is a bunch of stuck cars and a muddy, torn up field. On Saturday, many people came to preview the show. Lynne and I were running around getting coffee and biscuits for everyone. There was a good response from the people who came. Many of them attended the last Hamada sale and were excited for this new event. Lynne has organized many people to come and help with all the different jobs such as parking, food and selling. I'm sure it will be a busy and exciting day!
Take care,
Kari
I returned to Wales on Tuesday. While I was away Phil fired his gas kiln. We both had some nice results from it. I glazed my pots with tenmoku (a shiny black color) and nuka (a cool white color). I also tried some of Phil's ash glazes. He uses straw ash, pine ash and elm ash to achieve different results. Phil had some stunning bottles emerge from the kiln. He also re-fired some pieces from the wood kiln. The second firing really transformed them. Four of my teapots came out of the firing and only one pours well. Phil thinks the holes need to be bigger and the spout needs a sharper edge.
The week was spent getting ready for the Shoji Hamada sale and exhibition. In the exhibition catalog, Phil writes-
Shoji Hamada was arguably the most influential potter of the twentieth century. In short, he was a genius.Throughout his life his pots displayed a breadth and variety of expression that is unrivalled amongst his peers. In Japan he was awarded the title of Living National Treasure and his works have been collected by many of the greatest museums of the world. Shoji Hamada's pots are highly collectable and sought after....For this exhibition I will have around 70 pieces that will reflect the genius of Hamada along with pieces by his son Shinsaku Hamada and his most favoured apprentice Tatsuzo Shimaoka - over 100 pieces in all.
Hamada is one of Phil's biggest influences. Although he is Japenese, Hamada lived in St. Ives and helped launch the Leach Pottery. His work is said to bring east and west together. This exhibition is a wonderful learning experience for me because I have never seen this many of Hamada's pots. None of the pots have been shown before in the United Kingdom. The Hamada exhibition is in the upper showroom. There are 108 pots in total and they look fantastic. The forms range from plates to yunomis (tea drinking vessels) and bowls. There is even a small water dropper that is used for calligraphy. Often, Japanese pots will be sold in a pine box that has a woven cord attached. The potter usually signs the lid of the box. Most of the pots in this exhibition still have their boxes. The pieces are on display with the signed lid. Since Hamada did not sign his pots it is especially important to have the box lid for identification.
We spent a few days cleaning the upper and lower showrooms. We had to remove the existing pots and dust all the shelves. I cleaned glass cases and windows. Phil assembled a big shelving unit It was a little stressful moving the pots around because they are very valuable. Fortunately, there were no accidents! Once the show was up, we stepped back and admired it. I picked out my favorite pieces- a set of striped plates by Hamada. I also admired a large platter with bold, black glaze trailing on it.
The lower showroom has Phil's pots on display. It was interesting to compare Phil's pots with Hamada's. Although the two potters make distinctly differernt work, one could see the parallels. Phil uses some of the same decoration techniques such as iron brushwork and glaze trailing. Phil once showed me a video of Hamada decorating a pot. He was so quick and skilled in the way he applied the decoration. Phil allowed me to have a shelf for some of my work. I sold a few pieces on Saturday. The show opened on Saturday and will be open for viewing all this week. Customers cannot buy the pots until this Saturday. When the Rogers hosted this event several years ago, one man was so anxious to get the pot he wanted, he camped in his car out in the driveway all night! There is a numbered system for buying so the first person in line gets first choice, second person gets second choice, etc. Hopefully we don't get any campers this year!
I spent all day Friday baking for the sale. Last time over 100 people showed up so Lynne wants to be prepared. The Rogers are hoping it does not rain all week because all the cars are getting parked in their field. So far, it has been pretty gloomy and wet so Phil and Lynne are exploring alternative parking ideas. The last thing they want is a bunch of stuck cars and a muddy, torn up field. On Saturday, many people came to preview the show. Lynne and I were running around getting coffee and biscuits for everyone. There was a good response from the people who came. Many of them attended the last Hamada sale and were excited for this new event. Lynne has organized many people to come and help with all the different jobs such as parking, food and selling. I'm sure it will be a busy and exciting day!
Take care,
Kari
Thursday, 10 April 2008
At Nic's, April 8
After breakfast, Nic, Hendrick and I piled in the van to pick up some raw materials in Cornwall. It was a two hour drive to china clay country. It was a brilliant day out with a blue sky. China clay is a white powder essential to potters. It is a component in many clays and glazes. When we got to Cornwall there were many hilltops that had been mined. They were white and square from being cut away. Some of them looked like ziggurats. It was interesting to see where the material is mined. Nic is firing a charcoal and oil kiln at Clay Art Wales in a few months. Nic and Hendrick built a burner to produce charcoal. When we got home we opened the charcoal burner. It was a success! It made four big bags of nice charcoal. We refilled the barrell and lit it again.
Monday, 7 April 2008
At Nic's, April 4
They say there is a first time for everything and it is true. For the first time I am sleeping in a yurt for two weeks (a circular tent made with wood and canvas). I am staying with woodfirer Nic Collins and his family. Nic also has an assitant named Hendrick who will be helping for a few months. Nic and family live in a place called Moretonhampstead, Devon in the south of England. It reminds me a lot of Rhayader- a small self sufficient village. I can tell this is going to be a fun adventure!
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Take Two, Week 11
Hello Everyone,
Seems like I just wrote the last update! Everyone here is still tired and catching up from the weekend's sleep deprivation. Tomas and Marguite left for a few days to go sightseeing/potter-meeting. On Monday Phil had to drop off some pots at a friend's house named Mark Griffiths. There is a weekend workshop Phil and many other Salt/Soda firers will be participating in. Mark is going early to the event so he is bringing Phil's pots for him (saves on shipping costs). I will miss the event because I will be at Nic's. Phil's pots were for that. Mark's property used to be a school so it is quite large. His showroom is where the old school room used to be. He is ever such a nice, friendly guy. He is a potter but he also maintains lovely gardens and makes wooden bowls. He had two absolutely stunning historical slipware bakers. I've noticed that potters here have a lot more historical pots in their collections when I compare it to the collections of many Americans. They have pots of their contemporaries as well but it just seems that every potter here has certain types of old pots in their homes.
From there we went to Knighton to visit Phil's friend Islewyn (it doesn't get more Welsh than a name like that!). While searching for petrol, we drove through a charming medieval town called Ludlow. It had the most fantastic architecture! Islewyn owns an antique shop that has loads of pots. It has relatively contemporary pots (there was one of Phil's older teapots) and older pots too. It was interesting to see them all; there was so many to look through. Phil bought a jug by Ray Finch, one of his influences and a coffee pot by David Leach. We went out to dinner at a nice pub that Phil and Lynne used to always bring the people on their workshops to.
The next day, I was bursting with excitement to unload the kiln. We did look in with a flashlight; Phil even took a few small pots out that were within his reach. Ken Matsuzaki, an extremely successful Japanese potter who was Shimaoka's apprentice, stayed with Phil last year and fired some of his pots there. Phil refired a cup of Ken's in this firing. Phil had put it on top of the bag wall (which is the half wall of bricks in front of all the stacked pots that directs the flame upwards). Somehow the bag wall shifted during the firing and Ken's yunomi stuck to a kiln shelf. When Phil took it out, it had a chunk of the shelf stuck to it. It may have even kept the bagwall from falling further and disturbing the stack. It is a beautiful cup with rough facets and a pinholed shino glaze. It got some interesting ash deposits on it. Phil ground the shelf off it then said I could have it. It is a very special pot and I will use it carefully.
Lynne and I cleaned all around the kiln, sweeping up charcoal and wood chips. We had to move the pallets where the wood was because that is where the fresh pots would go. Later, Phil and I glazed pots for his gas kiln. I'm glad I had something to do, otherwise it would have been driving me crazy waiting to unload. I mixed up some more black tenmoku glaze. It was an extremely windy day and I was glad to finally be inside the warm house. Tomas and Margite came back from their short travels and we were all excited because Tomas had said he was cooking us dinner. Lynne had told me what a fabulous cook he was so I was looking forward to it. Lynne was right- Tomas made a very delicious meal! He made spicy bruschetta-like appetizers with the main dish being chicken. He cooked the chicken in a red wine sauce with red onions and grapes. All this he placed over rocket greens which have a very bitter, peppery flavor. The sweet grapes with the bitter rocket was very nice. Pudding was the best- stuffed peaches! He filled halved peaches with a cocoa, amaretto, nut mixture and served them with this heavy amaretto cream. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Phil said they could come anytime to fire the kiln, Lynne said they could come anytime and cook. We stayed up a bit late talking and having a really good time.
Today was the big day.... UNLOADING!!! After breakfast we started unbricking the doors around 10 am. Anne and Guy came to see how everything looked. It was cold and raining (again). We unloaded the main chamber first. It was a mix, some good and some not so good. There was a lot of cool spots where Phil had never had cool spots before. It seems the weather had more of an effect than we thought because several other potters fired the same weekend and had the exact problems we had- stalling, etc. Phil is not sure why the pots came out the way they did- many of them underfired. If a pot is underfired it means the piece did not get hot enough for the glaze to melt as it should. The result is a dry, light glaze that feels chalky.
I had about two boards worth of pots in the kiln. Most of them were in good places and came out well. I was particularly happy with a jug lined with a nuka glaze. It had a big ash deposit right in the middle near a dimple- absolutely juicy. I also had a few teapots that were coated nicely with ash. I tried one out and the tea comes out nicely but it does drip. Any seasoned potters who have tips on preventing this, please share them! I also had some shallow bowls that I stacked with shells and wadding in between that came out really well. I put a few of the squared lidded boxes in and they also came out nice. Phil had an interesting happy accident with a shino glaze. He had ordered some spodumene which is a granular sort of ingredient he puts in some of his glazes. The suppliers sent him some that was not as fine as it should have been. I mixed up a glaze with it not realizing it was wrong until I tried in vain to put it through the sieve and it looked like wet sand. In the end we think it might have given the glaze a crawled effect. This means it created little crackle patterns. It looked stunning on many of the pots.
The salt chamber had a pretty low success rate. It was reduced well but many things were really brown and monochromatic. There were a few nice pots but many of them will need to be refired. Some of the shinos inside were bubbly and blistered. Phil says he should have put a little more salt in to make the pots look better over all. I did get a pair of low bowls out of the salt chamber that came out amazing. Again, I stacked them with shells and wadding. They had a flashing slip on the outside and a shino on the inside. I never used shells before and I was really taken with the results. I was sad that Phil was not happier with his pots. It is hard though because when you make a pot you have an expectation of how it will look. If it comes out different than expected, even if others like it, it is hard to accept it yourself. He had two big shows coming up and will now have to refire a lot of these pots to make enough for the shows. Its just dissapointing and stressful after all the hard work that goes into firing the kiln. Phil has decided to turn the salt chamber into a regular wood chamber and do all his salting in his old salt kiln. Overall, I was happy with my pots and Phil had some real gems too. He no doubt learned from this firing. It just reinforces that no matter how long you've been a potter, there are always new things to learn.
There were no lamb fatalities this week! I think there are three newborns so far. The newest lambs are a set of twins I saw this evening while walking the dogs. They were still all slick looking and the placenta was on the ground. They seemed healthy but I'll keep an eye on them just in case. There is this little mound of earth you can see when standing at the kitchen sink. Late in the afternoon the lambs all gather on it and go "a-gamboling". This means they frolick around and chase each other; it is absolutely adorable and fun to watch. Sometimes they will jump staight in the air like they have springs on thier hooves. The males head butt each other and they just tear around kicking and jumping. They have so much fun. Its something to see 10 or 12 white fluffy lambs a-gamboling.
Margite and Tomas left a few hours ago. Margite is going back to Denmark for college and Tomas will return to Estonia. It was fun to get to know them a little. I am getting ready to go to Nic's on Friday. Phil is going to Newport to visit his dad and he will drop me off at the train station. This will be the last update for a while as I will not be back until April 20th or so. I hope you are all well and enjoy the pictures.
Take care,
Kari
Seems like I just wrote the last update! Everyone here is still tired and catching up from the weekend's sleep deprivation. Tomas and Marguite left for a few days to go sightseeing/potter-meeting. On Monday Phil had to drop off some pots at a friend's house named Mark Griffiths. There is a weekend workshop Phil and many other Salt/Soda firers will be participating in. Mark is going early to the event so he is bringing Phil's pots for him (saves on shipping costs). I will miss the event because I will be at Nic's. Phil's pots were for that. Mark's property used to be a school so it is quite large. His showroom is where the old school room used to be. He is ever such a nice, friendly guy. He is a potter but he also maintains lovely gardens and makes wooden bowls. He had two absolutely stunning historical slipware bakers. I've noticed that potters here have a lot more historical pots in their collections when I compare it to the collections of many Americans. They have pots of their contemporaries as well but it just seems that every potter here has certain types of old pots in their homes.
From there we went to Knighton to visit Phil's friend Islewyn (it doesn't get more Welsh than a name like that!). While searching for petrol, we drove through a charming medieval town called Ludlow. It had the most fantastic architecture! Islewyn owns an antique shop that has loads of pots. It has relatively contemporary pots (there was one of Phil's older teapots) and older pots too. It was interesting to see them all; there was so many to look through. Phil bought a jug by Ray Finch, one of his influences and a coffee pot by David Leach. We went out to dinner at a nice pub that Phil and Lynne used to always bring the people on their workshops to.
The next day, I was bursting with excitement to unload the kiln. We did look in with a flashlight; Phil even took a few small pots out that were within his reach. Ken Matsuzaki, an extremely successful Japanese potter who was Shimaoka's apprentice, stayed with Phil last year and fired some of his pots there. Phil refired a cup of Ken's in this firing. Phil had put it on top of the bag wall (which is the half wall of bricks in front of all the stacked pots that directs the flame upwards). Somehow the bag wall shifted during the firing and Ken's yunomi stuck to a kiln shelf. When Phil took it out, it had a chunk of the shelf stuck to it. It may have even kept the bagwall from falling further and disturbing the stack. It is a beautiful cup with rough facets and a pinholed shino glaze. It got some interesting ash deposits on it. Phil ground the shelf off it then said I could have it. It is a very special pot and I will use it carefully.
Lynne and I cleaned all around the kiln, sweeping up charcoal and wood chips. We had to move the pallets where the wood was because that is where the fresh pots would go. Later, Phil and I glazed pots for his gas kiln. I'm glad I had something to do, otherwise it would have been driving me crazy waiting to unload. I mixed up some more black tenmoku glaze. It was an extremely windy day and I was glad to finally be inside the warm house. Tomas and Margite came back from their short travels and we were all excited because Tomas had said he was cooking us dinner. Lynne had told me what a fabulous cook he was so I was looking forward to it. Lynne was right- Tomas made a very delicious meal! He made spicy bruschetta-like appetizers with the main dish being chicken. He cooked the chicken in a red wine sauce with red onions and grapes. All this he placed over rocket greens which have a very bitter, peppery flavor. The sweet grapes with the bitter rocket was very nice. Pudding was the best- stuffed peaches! He filled halved peaches with a cocoa, amaretto, nut mixture and served them with this heavy amaretto cream. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Phil said they could come anytime to fire the kiln, Lynne said they could come anytime and cook. We stayed up a bit late talking and having a really good time.
Today was the big day.... UNLOADING!!! After breakfast we started unbricking the doors around 10 am. Anne and Guy came to see how everything looked. It was cold and raining (again). We unloaded the main chamber first. It was a mix, some good and some not so good. There was a lot of cool spots where Phil had never had cool spots before. It seems the weather had more of an effect than we thought because several other potters fired the same weekend and had the exact problems we had- stalling, etc. Phil is not sure why the pots came out the way they did- many of them underfired. If a pot is underfired it means the piece did not get hot enough for the glaze to melt as it should. The result is a dry, light glaze that feels chalky.
I had about two boards worth of pots in the kiln. Most of them were in good places and came out well. I was particularly happy with a jug lined with a nuka glaze. It had a big ash deposit right in the middle near a dimple- absolutely juicy. I also had a few teapots that were coated nicely with ash. I tried one out and the tea comes out nicely but it does drip. Any seasoned potters who have tips on preventing this, please share them! I also had some shallow bowls that I stacked with shells and wadding in between that came out really well. I put a few of the squared lidded boxes in and they also came out nice. Phil had an interesting happy accident with a shino glaze. He had ordered some spodumene which is a granular sort of ingredient he puts in some of his glazes. The suppliers sent him some that was not as fine as it should have been. I mixed up a glaze with it not realizing it was wrong until I tried in vain to put it through the sieve and it looked like wet sand. In the end we think it might have given the glaze a crawled effect. This means it created little crackle patterns. It looked stunning on many of the pots.
The salt chamber had a pretty low success rate. It was reduced well but many things were really brown and monochromatic. There were a few nice pots but many of them will need to be refired. Some of the shinos inside were bubbly and blistered. Phil says he should have put a little more salt in to make the pots look better over all. I did get a pair of low bowls out of the salt chamber that came out amazing. Again, I stacked them with shells and wadding. They had a flashing slip on the outside and a shino on the inside. I never used shells before and I was really taken with the results. I was sad that Phil was not happier with his pots. It is hard though because when you make a pot you have an expectation of how it will look. If it comes out different than expected, even if others like it, it is hard to accept it yourself. He had two big shows coming up and will now have to refire a lot of these pots to make enough for the shows. Its just dissapointing and stressful after all the hard work that goes into firing the kiln. Phil has decided to turn the salt chamber into a regular wood chamber and do all his salting in his old salt kiln. Overall, I was happy with my pots and Phil had some real gems too. He no doubt learned from this firing. It just reinforces that no matter how long you've been a potter, there are always new things to learn.
There were no lamb fatalities this week! I think there are three newborns so far. The newest lambs are a set of twins I saw this evening while walking the dogs. They were still all slick looking and the placenta was on the ground. They seemed healthy but I'll keep an eye on them just in case. There is this little mound of earth you can see when standing at the kitchen sink. Late in the afternoon the lambs all gather on it and go "a-gamboling". This means they frolick around and chase each other; it is absolutely adorable and fun to watch. Sometimes they will jump staight in the air like they have springs on thier hooves. The males head butt each other and they just tear around kicking and jumping. They have so much fun. Its something to see 10 or 12 white fluffy lambs a-gamboling.
Margite and Tomas left a few hours ago. Margite is going back to Denmark for college and Tomas will return to Estonia. It was fun to get to know them a little. I am getting ready to go to Nic's on Friday. Phil is going to Newport to visit his dad and he will drop me off at the train station. This will be the last update for a while as I will not be back until April 20th or so. I hope you are all well and enjoy the pictures.
Take care,
Kari
Monday, 31 March 2008
Take Two, Week Ten
Hello Everyone,
After about 40 hours of firing the wood kiln, we have all nearly recovered. It was not the smoothest firing. It seems the kiln decided not to cooperate but we won't know for sure until we unload it on Wednesday. The beginning of the week found Phil and me wrapping up loose ends as we finished packing the kiln. The weather was decent so we were hopeful it would remain that way for the firing. The kiln is outdoors with a semi open shed. Margite and Thomas came on Wednesday evening. They are both very lovely people. She is finishing up a pottery course in Denmark but plans to set up a pottery in Estonia after graduation. Margite was Phil's apprentice about a year ago. She is busy planning her final show at college. She broke her hand over Christmas break so that set her behind a bit. It is better now but she has a lot to catch up on.
Phil lit a fire on Thursday to warm up the kiln. It burned all day and on Friday the inside temperature was about 200 C. On Thursday Lynne and I spent most of the day in the kitchen. We had invited a few people over to dinner that night. We made appetizers like pesto and tapenade, pizzas with everything from scratch, a few different salads, bread and some pies (apple and strawberry rhubarb). We had enough food left over to eat the next day while we were firing. Joining us for dinner was Lynne and Phil's friend Pauline (who used to be on the planning board for the Aberystwyth Ceramics Festival with Phil) , Jason, Julianne and their friend Katrina whom we had met when we helped Jason fire his kiln. We had a great time, ate too much and felt good and ready for the firing. I'm sure Margite enjoyed seeing everyone as she had spent time with all of them while she was living with the Rogers'.
Phil officially lit the kiln again about 6:30 am on Friday. The kiln has three chambers, the firebox, the main chamber and the salt chamber. We started by stoking the firebox. Ideally in a wood kiln, long flames pull through the whole kiln creating nice flashing marks on the pots. Unfortunately, the wretched weather returned for us on Friday and Saturday. There was 50 mph gales and horizontal rain and hail. Since the kiln shed has a metal corrugated roof, the sound of the hail being blown against it at such a strong speed was defening! We put wood into the firebox for most of Friday into the early morning. We took turns stoking. Each side of the firebox has a stoke hole with a hinged door on it. One person opens the door while the other person throws the wood in. There is a pyrometer which is a temperature gauge that has a probe inside the kiln. A digital readout tells you what temperature the kiln is at. I am used to fahrenheit so the celcius reading was a little wierd for me. Basically, we watched the pyrometer to make sure the temperature was rising. When it started to fall, we put in more wood. You have to get into a rhythm, otherwise the temperature may stall and not rise as much as you want. You have to be careful not to make it rise too quickly. All throughout a firing, there are chemical and physical changes happening within the kiln. If you fire it faster than the clay and glazes want, you risk interfering with the natural progression of those transformations. In short, it can make the pots look pretty dreadful.
On Friday Phil's friend Guy came to help. Guy made all the metal bracing and doors on the kiln. He met Phil when he went on one of Phil's summer pottery workshops. Guy is great with wood and metal and helped with a few projects when the kitchen was being renovated. Tomas had never fired a kiln before but he really got the hang of it. He seems to have a very mathematical brain (something most potters don't!) He was figuring out how many degrees would rise and fall before we needed to stoke. He and Margite made a great team. We took turns going in to eat. Trays of tea and coffee were brought out every so often to re-energize us. I told Phil that wood kilns actually require two types of fuel- lots of wood to keep the temperature going and lots of caffeine to keep the potters going!
I went to catch a few hours of sleep around midnight on Friday. When I came back several hours later the kiln had only risen about twenty degrees- not good! There was this one brick in the first chamber and several on the firebox that Phil would take out when he wanted the temperature to rise. Doing this creates a damper that sucks the heat through faster. The only trouble is, Phil was worried there was too much air going into the kiln. To make his glazes work, Phil needs the atmosphere to be reducing (meaning there is more fuel than air. The fuel doesn't compust as fast and it creates a lot of carbon). If too much air goes in, the atmosphere will oxidise and the pots will turn out all light colored, not at all what Phil wants. So, he opted to keep the bricks in for a while to insure reduction, thus the temperature stalled. Eventually it did start to rise very slowly and we also started stoking the main chamber.
Around 5 am it looked like we might actually have a nice day. The sky was blue and the wind died down. However, it was just tempting us and soon turned stormy again. It was actually worse on Saturday than it was on Friday. After a while, I did not even notice if it was raining or blowing. The kiln was nice and toasty and I could stand near it and be very warm. Jason, Julianne and Katrina came back on Saturday to help us. Guy also came back. We stopped stoking the firebox and only worked on the last two chambers; Margite and Tomas on the main, Phil and me on the salt. It was a real struggle to keep the temperature climbing and keep the right atmosphere inside the kiln. Phil said it had never acted like that before. His theory is that something was wrong inside the kiln that we could not see. Between the firebox and main chamber is a bag wall, a half wall of brick used to direct the flames upward. There are some holes in it to keep the flame pulling through. Phil blocked up a few holes to try and make it heat a spot that was always cool. He reckons that he blocked up too many and therefore, the heat was not getting through efficiently. Once the kiln starts there is not much you can do to change the inside so you just have to go with it and hope it works. The weather was not helping either. The wind was blowing right down the chimney putting cold air in and also drawing hot air out too fast. Phil said to Jason, "I don't know why we put ourselves through this, its such a bloody pahlavah" (meaning such an awful fuss). It certainly was a pahlavah! Oh dear, oh dear.
The lambs were not liking the weather either. Phil found another dead one that had gotten too wet. The farmer came and took a few away that were very small. I was walking by a window in the house and I saw a lamb lying down in a funny way and there was a crow near it. The crows always go after them if they are wounded or dead. I yelled to Lynne and she jumped over the fence and ran towards the little guy. I put on my wellies and went too. When she picked it up I thought it was dead because its head was tilted back. He was alive though not in the best condidtion. He was having some kind of fit with his eyes rolled back and a little foam coming out of his mouth. He was a pretty big one so it seemed strange that the cold should bother him like that; its usually the newborns that can't cope. We brought him inside and wrapped him in a towel. I sat with him near the heater and rubbed him to warm him up. The reason why his head was tilted back was because he could not breathe. His nose sounded blocked up and he could not open his mouth. No matter what we tried he could not breathe right. Once he warmed up he seemed better but he was in such a state, it did not seem hopeful. He was really struggling, kicking his feet and such because he could not catch a breath. It was so frustrating not being able to do anything. Fortunately, the farmer came to do his rounds and we flagged him down. He said a few other lambs had the same thing and although he took them to the vets they could not diagnose what it was. The farmer took him home, put him under a warming lamp and gave him some medicine. We found out the next day that he made it through the night but died in the morning. The farmer thought it was probably pneumonia brought on by the weather conditions. Lynne said, at least we saved him from the crows and made him comfortable. It was still very sad.
Soon after the lamb incident, Jason and his crew went home. By this point we were mostly just stoking the salt chamber and getting it up to temperature. Phil puts the salt in when the kiln is at its hottest. You can't even believe how much wood we used! That huge pile Lynne and I stacked was used by early Saturday and we had moved onto a secondary pile. Sometimes we were stoking as often as every 4 or 5 minutes so it goes pretty quick. The kiln was so hot inside the wood would combust as soon as it entered the stoke hole. By about 8 pm it was time to put salt in. Phil uses between 8 and 10 pounds of salt. Margite measured it out and packed it up in brown paper baggies. Phil would either toss them in or put two at a time on a board and drop the board in. He did this over 1 1/2 hours. The salt gets so hot it turns into a vapor and covers the pots in a glaze. It was interesting for me as I had never seen it done before. Unlike the rest of the firing this part went really well. Phil has not been at all happy with past results from the salt chamber but this time he said he felt the most in control he's ever been. At least one part of the firing went that way! By the end of it we were all so tired and a bit loopy. As Lynne would say, we were all going a bit doolally. Around 9:15 pm, 39 hours after starting, we stopped stoking, pushed in the dampers and placed all the bricks back in. It was finished!!! When we got inside Lynne had made us some food but we were all so tired we weren't that hungry. I told Phil I was SO EXCITED to unpack the kiln. He said we can take a peek on Monday but won't unload until Wednesday. He said, "Kari, it might look terrible so curb your enthusiasm". I'm still looking forward too it although I am trying to curb by enthusiasm.
On Sunday, we slept in. We had to move the clocks ahead so that meant we lost another hour of sleep. I made a big celebratory batch of blueberry oatmeal pancakes. We went up to Guy's house because he built a big pond last year that Phil wanted to show us. Of course, the weather was beautiful and warm. Guy and his wife Anne have really done a lot with their garden. They have planted all kinds of flowers and made stone walkways. It is all tiered as they live on the top of a hill. Guy dug a huge pond at the base of the hill that he hopes to put fish in. They have planted some water plants that will look nice once they've grown and filled in. All around their house is a very old forest with mossy, twisted trees. It was a lovey place although it was a bit windy up on the hill.
We had to get home because the groomer was coming for Libby and Tess. They have very thick coats and with all the mud and water their fur was getting quite matted in places. For most dogs gettin groomed is no big deal. For Libby it is a thoroughly traumatic experience. Phil and Lynne warned me that she hates it and will hide under the kitchen table for days after. The table is her security blanket.
Sure enough, Christine came with her folding table and tools. Phil managed to get Libby on it but once she got her footing she wrestled away and jumped off. No joke, it took three of us to hold her while Christine brushed and trimmed her. The whole time Libby was shaking and licking her lips a lot. We were all patting her and whispering to her to help her calm down. She tried a few more times to escape and nearly managed to once. It is strange because they've had her since she was a pup and she was never abused. Libby is just a bit of a drama queen with a streak of being neurotic. She had so much undercoat it took over an hour and a half to finsh. Mind you, when it was all over she looked much better. She will surely feel better too as she will not be so hot all the time. She got off the table, gave herself a mighty shake and made a beeline straight for the kitchen. Tess was next and she was no trouble at all. I don't think she liked it much, but it was nothing compared with her sister. They both looked very smart when they were done. You've never seen so much fur! Phil says we could have made a whole other dog from it. Oh the joys of dog ownership. As Lynne predicted, Libby is still giving me grudging looks as if to say, "I thought you were my friend". She will not sit near me or get on the couch with me. She probably thinks I will go after her with a brush and clippers.
This Friday I am going away for two weeks. There is a potter in Devon named Nic Collins who is also a wood firer. I may get to help him fire his wood kiln. Nic and his wife Sebina live pretty simply out in the countryside. I will be staying in a yurt which is like a big tent made from canvas and a wood frame. It should be quite an experience.Because of this I will be unable to send my updates. I will try to send one before I go to let you all know how the firing went. I took a lot of short videos of the firing because it is hard to time the picture right to catch the action since my camera has a bit of a delay on it. I hope you enjoy the photos. Until next time...
Take care,
Kari
After about 40 hours of firing the wood kiln, we have all nearly recovered. It was not the smoothest firing. It seems the kiln decided not to cooperate but we won't know for sure until we unload it on Wednesday. The beginning of the week found Phil and me wrapping up loose ends as we finished packing the kiln. The weather was decent so we were hopeful it would remain that way for the firing. The kiln is outdoors with a semi open shed. Margite and Thomas came on Wednesday evening. They are both very lovely people. She is finishing up a pottery course in Denmark but plans to set up a pottery in Estonia after graduation. Margite was Phil's apprentice about a year ago. She is busy planning her final show at college. She broke her hand over Christmas break so that set her behind a bit. It is better now but she has a lot to catch up on.
Phil lit a fire on Thursday to warm up the kiln. It burned all day and on Friday the inside temperature was about 200 C. On Thursday Lynne and I spent most of the day in the kitchen. We had invited a few people over to dinner that night. We made appetizers like pesto and tapenade, pizzas with everything from scratch, a few different salads, bread and some pies (apple and strawberry rhubarb). We had enough food left over to eat the next day while we were firing. Joining us for dinner was Lynne and Phil's friend Pauline (who used to be on the planning board for the Aberystwyth Ceramics Festival with Phil) , Jason, Julianne and their friend Katrina whom we had met when we helped Jason fire his kiln. We had a great time, ate too much and felt good and ready for the firing. I'm sure Margite enjoyed seeing everyone as she had spent time with all of them while she was living with the Rogers'.
Phil officially lit the kiln again about 6:30 am on Friday. The kiln has three chambers, the firebox, the main chamber and the salt chamber. We started by stoking the firebox. Ideally in a wood kiln, long flames pull through the whole kiln creating nice flashing marks on the pots. Unfortunately, the wretched weather returned for us on Friday and Saturday. There was 50 mph gales and horizontal rain and hail. Since the kiln shed has a metal corrugated roof, the sound of the hail being blown against it at such a strong speed was defening! We put wood into the firebox for most of Friday into the early morning. We took turns stoking. Each side of the firebox has a stoke hole with a hinged door on it. One person opens the door while the other person throws the wood in. There is a pyrometer which is a temperature gauge that has a probe inside the kiln. A digital readout tells you what temperature the kiln is at. I am used to fahrenheit so the celcius reading was a little wierd for me. Basically, we watched the pyrometer to make sure the temperature was rising. When it started to fall, we put in more wood. You have to get into a rhythm, otherwise the temperature may stall and not rise as much as you want. You have to be careful not to make it rise too quickly. All throughout a firing, there are chemical and physical changes happening within the kiln. If you fire it faster than the clay and glazes want, you risk interfering with the natural progression of those transformations. In short, it can make the pots look pretty dreadful.
On Friday Phil's friend Guy came to help. Guy made all the metal bracing and doors on the kiln. He met Phil when he went on one of Phil's summer pottery workshops. Guy is great with wood and metal and helped with a few projects when the kitchen was being renovated. Tomas had never fired a kiln before but he really got the hang of it. He seems to have a very mathematical brain (something most potters don't!) He was figuring out how many degrees would rise and fall before we needed to stoke. He and Margite made a great team. We took turns going in to eat. Trays of tea and coffee were brought out every so often to re-energize us. I told Phil that wood kilns actually require two types of fuel- lots of wood to keep the temperature going and lots of caffeine to keep the potters going!
I went to catch a few hours of sleep around midnight on Friday. When I came back several hours later the kiln had only risen about twenty degrees- not good! There was this one brick in the first chamber and several on the firebox that Phil would take out when he wanted the temperature to rise. Doing this creates a damper that sucks the heat through faster. The only trouble is, Phil was worried there was too much air going into the kiln. To make his glazes work, Phil needs the atmosphere to be reducing (meaning there is more fuel than air. The fuel doesn't compust as fast and it creates a lot of carbon). If too much air goes in, the atmosphere will oxidise and the pots will turn out all light colored, not at all what Phil wants. So, he opted to keep the bricks in for a while to insure reduction, thus the temperature stalled. Eventually it did start to rise very slowly and we also started stoking the main chamber.
Around 5 am it looked like we might actually have a nice day. The sky was blue and the wind died down. However, it was just tempting us and soon turned stormy again. It was actually worse on Saturday than it was on Friday. After a while, I did not even notice if it was raining or blowing. The kiln was nice and toasty and I could stand near it and be very warm. Jason, Julianne and Katrina came back on Saturday to help us. Guy also came back. We stopped stoking the firebox and only worked on the last two chambers; Margite and Tomas on the main, Phil and me on the salt. It was a real struggle to keep the temperature climbing and keep the right atmosphere inside the kiln. Phil said it had never acted like that before. His theory is that something was wrong inside the kiln that we could not see. Between the firebox and main chamber is a bag wall, a half wall of brick used to direct the flames upward. There are some holes in it to keep the flame pulling through. Phil blocked up a few holes to try and make it heat a spot that was always cool. He reckons that he blocked up too many and therefore, the heat was not getting through efficiently. Once the kiln starts there is not much you can do to change the inside so you just have to go with it and hope it works. The weather was not helping either. The wind was blowing right down the chimney putting cold air in and also drawing hot air out too fast. Phil said to Jason, "I don't know why we put ourselves through this, its such a bloody pahlavah" (meaning such an awful fuss). It certainly was a pahlavah! Oh dear, oh dear.
The lambs were not liking the weather either. Phil found another dead one that had gotten too wet. The farmer came and took a few away that were very small. I was walking by a window in the house and I saw a lamb lying down in a funny way and there was a crow near it. The crows always go after them if they are wounded or dead. I yelled to Lynne and she jumped over the fence and ran towards the little guy. I put on my wellies and went too. When she picked it up I thought it was dead because its head was tilted back. He was alive though not in the best condidtion. He was having some kind of fit with his eyes rolled back and a little foam coming out of his mouth. He was a pretty big one so it seemed strange that the cold should bother him like that; its usually the newborns that can't cope. We brought him inside and wrapped him in a towel. I sat with him near the heater and rubbed him to warm him up. The reason why his head was tilted back was because he could not breathe. His nose sounded blocked up and he could not open his mouth. No matter what we tried he could not breathe right. Once he warmed up he seemed better but he was in such a state, it did not seem hopeful. He was really struggling, kicking his feet and such because he could not catch a breath. It was so frustrating not being able to do anything. Fortunately, the farmer came to do his rounds and we flagged him down. He said a few other lambs had the same thing and although he took them to the vets they could not diagnose what it was. The farmer took him home, put him under a warming lamp and gave him some medicine. We found out the next day that he made it through the night but died in the morning. The farmer thought it was probably pneumonia brought on by the weather conditions. Lynne said, at least we saved him from the crows and made him comfortable. It was still very sad.
Soon after the lamb incident, Jason and his crew went home. By this point we were mostly just stoking the salt chamber and getting it up to temperature. Phil puts the salt in when the kiln is at its hottest. You can't even believe how much wood we used! That huge pile Lynne and I stacked was used by early Saturday and we had moved onto a secondary pile. Sometimes we were stoking as often as every 4 or 5 minutes so it goes pretty quick. The kiln was so hot inside the wood would combust as soon as it entered the stoke hole. By about 8 pm it was time to put salt in. Phil uses between 8 and 10 pounds of salt. Margite measured it out and packed it up in brown paper baggies. Phil would either toss them in or put two at a time on a board and drop the board in. He did this over 1 1/2 hours. The salt gets so hot it turns into a vapor and covers the pots in a glaze. It was interesting for me as I had never seen it done before. Unlike the rest of the firing this part went really well. Phil has not been at all happy with past results from the salt chamber but this time he said he felt the most in control he's ever been. At least one part of the firing went that way! By the end of it we were all so tired and a bit loopy. As Lynne would say, we were all going a bit doolally. Around 9:15 pm, 39 hours after starting, we stopped stoking, pushed in the dampers and placed all the bricks back in. It was finished!!! When we got inside Lynne had made us some food but we were all so tired we weren't that hungry. I told Phil I was SO EXCITED to unpack the kiln. He said we can take a peek on Monday but won't unload until Wednesday. He said, "Kari, it might look terrible so curb your enthusiasm". I'm still looking forward too it although I am trying to curb by enthusiasm.
On Sunday, we slept in. We had to move the clocks ahead so that meant we lost another hour of sleep. I made a big celebratory batch of blueberry oatmeal pancakes. We went up to Guy's house because he built a big pond last year that Phil wanted to show us. Of course, the weather was beautiful and warm. Guy and his wife Anne have really done a lot with their garden. They have planted all kinds of flowers and made stone walkways. It is all tiered as they live on the top of a hill. Guy dug a huge pond at the base of the hill that he hopes to put fish in. They have planted some water plants that will look nice once they've grown and filled in. All around their house is a very old forest with mossy, twisted trees. It was a lovey place although it was a bit windy up on the hill.
We had to get home because the groomer was coming for Libby and Tess. They have very thick coats and with all the mud and water their fur was getting quite matted in places. For most dogs gettin groomed is no big deal. For Libby it is a thoroughly traumatic experience. Phil and Lynne warned me that she hates it and will hide under the kitchen table for days after. The table is her security blanket.
Sure enough, Christine came with her folding table and tools. Phil managed to get Libby on it but once she got her footing she wrestled away and jumped off. No joke, it took three of us to hold her while Christine brushed and trimmed her. The whole time Libby was shaking and licking her lips a lot. We were all patting her and whispering to her to help her calm down. She tried a few more times to escape and nearly managed to once. It is strange because they've had her since she was a pup and she was never abused. Libby is just a bit of a drama queen with a streak of being neurotic. She had so much undercoat it took over an hour and a half to finsh. Mind you, when it was all over she looked much better. She will surely feel better too as she will not be so hot all the time. She got off the table, gave herself a mighty shake and made a beeline straight for the kitchen. Tess was next and she was no trouble at all. I don't think she liked it much, but it was nothing compared with her sister. They both looked very smart when they were done. You've never seen so much fur! Phil says we could have made a whole other dog from it. Oh the joys of dog ownership. As Lynne predicted, Libby is still giving me grudging looks as if to say, "I thought you were my friend". She will not sit near me or get on the couch with me. She probably thinks I will go after her with a brush and clippers.
This Friday I am going away for two weeks. There is a potter in Devon named Nic Collins who is also a wood firer. I may get to help him fire his wood kiln. Nic and his wife Sebina live pretty simply out in the countryside. I will be staying in a yurt which is like a big tent made from canvas and a wood frame. It should be quite an experience.Because of this I will be unable to send my updates. I will try to send one before I go to let you all know how the firing went. I took a lot of short videos of the firing because it is hard to time the picture right to catch the action since my camera has a bit of a delay on it. I hope you enjoy the photos. Until next time...
Take care,
Kari
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Take Two, Week Nine
Hello Everyone,
This past week was not the best one to be packing a kiln as the weather was wretched! Everyday it was rain, hail, snow and wind in any order or combination. As the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change." So for all of you who thought I was taking it easy in the sun and daffodils, it's actually really cold and damp here. I think the worst part is that so many lambs were born; we humans go in our nice warm houses but the sheep just stand there and get soaked. They are not the brightest animals. The ewes stand with their newborn lambs in the absolute middle of the field where there is no protection from the wind. Although they a bit dim they are such lovely creatures. On Tuesday the weather was really bad and the farmer came to check on the sheep. He had to take a few lambs and ewes home as the ewes were not feeding their lambs properly. The farmer held the ewe and Lynne and I had to catch the lambs. I got to carry them across the field in the driving rain. I felt bad for them because they didn't know what was going on but they were so cute and nice to hold! One of them I was holding kept bleating, then its mom would bleat then the lamb would do it again. They did it the whole time until they were both together again. I hope they all get strong and healthy (although I know once they do they will be lamp chops...sadness.)
This week was spent loading the wood kiln and glazing pots. We are still not done loading the kiln; it takes a long time. The main reason why many potters like wood firing is because it gets so hot inside the kiln the wood ash flies around, lands on the pots and melts, making a glaze. Because of this each pot has to sit on something refractory so it does not stick to the shelf. Most potters use wads which are little balls made of of refractory material. It takes a long time to load because each pot needs several wads stuck to the bottom. If the pot has a lid, wads need to be placed on the lid seat so the lid does not stick. It does take a long time to roll all the wads and stick them on the pots but Phil has a little shortcut. He had me make little biscuits out of the refractory material. Each flattened biscuit has three raised lines that radiate from the center. The pot sits on these raised lines and does not stick to the shelf. Instead of having to roll three or more little wads you can just set the pot on the alumina biscuit. It cuts down on the time and you can re-use them over and over. It is a trick he picked up in Japan.
Phil's wood kiln has three chambers meaning there are three rooms if you will, that contain the pots. Each chamber is a little higher than the last which helps draw the flame and heat through the kiln. We have been loading one chamber at a time starting with the biggest main chamber. That chamber will get plenty of wood ash and flashing. Flashing is markings on the pot created by flame. Next, we loaded the firebox. As you can guess, this is where the majority of the wood goes. Pots that go in the firebox usually have a lot of ash on them and they can be pretty chunky and rough. Phil did not have good results from the last firebox pots but I am trying to be positive and hopeful that this lot will come out better. He knows what he needs to do to make them better, let's just hope the kiln cooperates! The last part to load is the salt chamber. We started loading today (Monday). The difference is that when a certain temperature is reached packets of salt are dropped into the chamber. It is so hot inside the kiln, the salt turns into a vapor and covers the pots with a certain sheen and texture you don't get from an ordinary gas kiln. These pots will look distinctly different from those in the other two chambers. Phil is most well-known for salt glazing as he has done it nearly all thirty years he has been a potter. He wrote a book on the process called Salt Glazing that is very good. Salt glazing is not new; it was probably started in 13th century Germany. Salt glazed pots look very similar to soda glazed pots. Soda glazing is a newer technique that was started because it was thought to be more environmentally friendly. It is debatable which is better for the environment but they both remain popular firing methods. Phil has also had trouble getting the right results from the salt chamber. Again, he knows what he needs to do; let's just hope the kiln cooperates!
Phil hopes to have the kiln loaded by Wednesday so we can light a small fire on Thursday. This will warm the kiln up and we will probably start the regular firing on Friday. It usually takes 36 hours to fire the wood kiln. All kilns are different; some Japanese kilns fire for seven days or more! Others are much shorter and can finish in 4 hours. It all depends what results you are looking for and how simple or complex you want to firing to be. On Wednesday, Margite and Tomas are coming from Estonia. Margite was Phil's assistant before me and Tomas is her boyfriend. They will be helping during the firing. As you can imagine, it takes a team of people to conduct a 36 hour firing. Phil and I have been coming up with new definitions for pottery vocabulary. This is Phil's favorite definition at the moment- "Firing- the opportunity to wreck a lot of pots all in one go." Although it can be that, it can also be an opportunity to get a bunch of good pots in one go. We're bound to have pots we don't like but let's hope they are not all hopeless. In the mean time, I'm sure Phil's body is protesting as he has to squeeze his 6' 5" frame into each chamber to load all the pots in. They shelves are pretty heavy too.
I had a nice Easter. Phil's dad Ray came from Newport for a visit. Lynne got Phil and me big chocolate eggs. Cadbury chocolate started in Britain somewhere so there are always lots of their products in the shops. I went to the Easter service at the Protestant chapel and experienced something new- singing the traditional hymns while an accordion played the music. It was like an Easter polka or something. Although it was cold and windy at least the sun was out. Phil and I had a day off even though I know Phil wanted to keep loading the kiln. Instead, we watched one of Phil's favorite movies, The Great Escape that is apparently on every holiday. It is based on a true story where a bunch of POW's try and escape from a German camp. Also, Lynne and I made hot cross buns, something I had heard of but never actually tried. They were nice with a cup of tea.
Well, its down to the wire with kiln loading. It will be an early start tomorrow so we can finish loading the salt chamber by Wednesday. Also, I realized I can put short video clips on my web albums. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
Take care,
Kari
www.kariinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/nhthrower
This past week was not the best one to be packing a kiln as the weather was wretched! Everyday it was rain, hail, snow and wind in any order or combination. As the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change." So for all of you who thought I was taking it easy in the sun and daffodils, it's actually really cold and damp here. I think the worst part is that so many lambs were born; we humans go in our nice warm houses but the sheep just stand there and get soaked. They are not the brightest animals. The ewes stand with their newborn lambs in the absolute middle of the field where there is no protection from the wind. Although they a bit dim they are such lovely creatures. On Tuesday the weather was really bad and the farmer came to check on the sheep. He had to take a few lambs and ewes home as the ewes were not feeding their lambs properly. The farmer held the ewe and Lynne and I had to catch the lambs. I got to carry them across the field in the driving rain. I felt bad for them because they didn't know what was going on but they were so cute and nice to hold! One of them I was holding kept bleating, then its mom would bleat then the lamb would do it again. They did it the whole time until they were both together again. I hope they all get strong and healthy (although I know once they do they will be lamp chops...sadness.)
This week was spent loading the wood kiln and glazing pots. We are still not done loading the kiln; it takes a long time. The main reason why many potters like wood firing is because it gets so hot inside the kiln the wood ash flies around, lands on the pots and melts, making a glaze. Because of this each pot has to sit on something refractory so it does not stick to the shelf. Most potters use wads which are little balls made of of refractory material. It takes a long time to load because each pot needs several wads stuck to the bottom. If the pot has a lid, wads need to be placed on the lid seat so the lid does not stick. It does take a long time to roll all the wads and stick them on the pots but Phil has a little shortcut. He had me make little biscuits out of the refractory material. Each flattened biscuit has three raised lines that radiate from the center. The pot sits on these raised lines and does not stick to the shelf. Instead of having to roll three or more little wads you can just set the pot on the alumina biscuit. It cuts down on the time and you can re-use them over and over. It is a trick he picked up in Japan.
Phil's wood kiln has three chambers meaning there are three rooms if you will, that contain the pots. Each chamber is a little higher than the last which helps draw the flame and heat through the kiln. We have been loading one chamber at a time starting with the biggest main chamber. That chamber will get plenty of wood ash and flashing. Flashing is markings on the pot created by flame. Next, we loaded the firebox. As you can guess, this is where the majority of the wood goes. Pots that go in the firebox usually have a lot of ash on them and they can be pretty chunky and rough. Phil did not have good results from the last firebox pots but I am trying to be positive and hopeful that this lot will come out better. He knows what he needs to do to make them better, let's just hope the kiln cooperates! The last part to load is the salt chamber. We started loading today (Monday). The difference is that when a certain temperature is reached packets of salt are dropped into the chamber. It is so hot inside the kiln, the salt turns into a vapor and covers the pots with a certain sheen and texture you don't get from an ordinary gas kiln. These pots will look distinctly different from those in the other two chambers. Phil is most well-known for salt glazing as he has done it nearly all thirty years he has been a potter. He wrote a book on the process called Salt Glazing that is very good. Salt glazing is not new; it was probably started in 13th century Germany. Salt glazed pots look very similar to soda glazed pots. Soda glazing is a newer technique that was started because it was thought to be more environmentally friendly. It is debatable which is better for the environment but they both remain popular firing methods. Phil has also had trouble getting the right results from the salt chamber. Again, he knows what he needs to do; let's just hope the kiln cooperates!
Phil hopes to have the kiln loaded by Wednesday so we can light a small fire on Thursday. This will warm the kiln up and we will probably start the regular firing on Friday. It usually takes 36 hours to fire the wood kiln. All kilns are different; some Japanese kilns fire for seven days or more! Others are much shorter and can finish in 4 hours. It all depends what results you are looking for and how simple or complex you want to firing to be. On Wednesday, Margite and Tomas are coming from Estonia. Margite was Phil's assistant before me and Tomas is her boyfriend. They will be helping during the firing. As you can imagine, it takes a team of people to conduct a 36 hour firing. Phil and I have been coming up with new definitions for pottery vocabulary. This is Phil's favorite definition at the moment- "Firing- the opportunity to wreck a lot of pots all in one go." Although it can be that, it can also be an opportunity to get a bunch of good pots in one go. We're bound to have pots we don't like but let's hope they are not all hopeless. In the mean time, I'm sure Phil's body is protesting as he has to squeeze his 6' 5" frame into each chamber to load all the pots in. They shelves are pretty heavy too.
I had a nice Easter. Phil's dad Ray came from Newport for a visit. Lynne got Phil and me big chocolate eggs. Cadbury chocolate started in Britain somewhere so there are always lots of their products in the shops. I went to the Easter service at the Protestant chapel and experienced something new- singing the traditional hymns while an accordion played the music. It was like an Easter polka or something. Although it was cold and windy at least the sun was out. Phil and I had a day off even though I know Phil wanted to keep loading the kiln. Instead, we watched one of Phil's favorite movies, The Great Escape that is apparently on every holiday. It is based on a true story where a bunch of POW's try and escape from a German camp. Also, Lynne and I made hot cross buns, something I had heard of but never actually tried. They were nice with a cup of tea.
Well, its down to the wire with kiln loading. It will be an early start tomorrow so we can finish loading the salt chamber by Wednesday. Also, I realized I can put short video clips on my web albums. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
Take care,
Kari
www.kariinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Hello from Wales (take two) week eight
Hello Everyone,
Its hard to believe a week has gone by already! When we got back from St. Ives the weather turned stormy. In the beginning of the week we had very high winds and driving rain. It has been quite chilly and damp. The focus this week was glazing. We will be firing Phil's wood kiln the last weekend in March. Phil and I both glazed pots. This means taking a pot and dipping it in a liquid glaze. The dry, porous pot absorbs the glaze and it adheres to the surface. I learned how to glaze teapots which was a little tricky, especially when you have two different color glazes. Its tricky because if you get the inside color on the outside of the teapot it can look pretty bad. I mixed up a few new batches of glaze and some glaze tests. I also learned how to make ash glazes. Phil collects wood ashes from his fireplace. They are soaked in water, mixed up vigorously, the water is drained off, then fresh water is poured back on them. This is done several times until the finest particles are suspended in the water. It takes a few days to wash the ash. Phil had me put the big chunks of charcoal, etc that were left over around his apple trees. Once the ash is all washed, I mixed it into the rest of the ingredients. Phil is known for his ash glazes as he wrote a book on them called Ash Glazes. Washing the ash is a long process and it is caustic stuff so you have to be careful not to get in on your skin or in your eyes (it burns if you do).
Phil and I reloaded the bisque kiln and fired it. This will be the last time before the wood kiln is fired. I helped Phil take some photographs of pots by Hamada and Shimaoka. He finished up the catalog for the upcoming exhibition/sale he is hosting in May. You can view the catalog on his website- www.philrogerspottery.com. You have to download it as a PDF file. It is nearly 100 pages long! He has so many pots for the exhibition- it will be a good one. Last year people wanted the pots so badly one person slept in his car in the Rogers' driveway so he could be at the front of the line! Hopefully that does not happen this year.
Every morning when I walk Tess and Libby in the fields I check the sheep and see if any lambs were born during the night. Sometimes the farmer leaves these pellets called sheep nuts. They are special nuts that help the pregnant sheep lactate. If he leaves them in the barn I have to bring them out to the field and feed the sheep. Normally they are very shy creatures but when I shake the bag they all come running and bleating. There is one very friendly ewe with a white face who will eat the sheep nuts right out of your hand. I really love feeding them because I get to see them up close. They will follow you up and down the field if they think you have food. A ewe gave birth to a pair of twins on Thursday night. I did not see them up close but I could see them walking all wobbly-legged from far away. It was such a rough week weather wise for lambs to be born. Lynne looked out the window this morning and there were two dead lambs in the field. They were probably born in the night during all the rain and died. Even after the farmer removed the little bodies the poor mother ewe stayed in that spot all day smelling the ground and bleating. The farmer is going to try and find an orphaned lamb for her to take care of. Even though those two died there are still three lambs in the field and there are certainly more to come.
On Saturday, Lynne, Phil and I helped out with a 20 mile road race in Rhayader. We stood at the 4 mile mark and passed out water to the runners. It was pouring rain and very cold but the runners were so polite! They all said, "Cheers" or "Thanks for helping out" or "Ta" (which is somehow short for thanks). I've done a fair share of running myself but you've really got to give credit to these Welsh runners because it is so hilly here. Even walking around here is good exercise so running 20 miles must be wicked exhausting! It was a fun job to pass out water. Brian, the husband of the woman who organized the race, had a loud horn he would honk when the runners got close. He kept saying things like, "Well done! The hardest part is over now, not far to go". He is a really funny guy. When he and Phil get together my face usually hurts from smiling and laughing too much.
Later on Saturday the Welsh team played in the Six Nations Rugby game. They won last week and this week were scheduled to play France. If they beat France then they would win the trophy. I was upstairs doing something but when I came down, Lynne and Phil were both sitting on the edge of sofa with worried looks on their faces. It was halfway through the game and the score was 9 to 9. In the end, Wales pulled ahead and beat France by more than double. It was a really, really good game. The Rogers' were so happy, yelling and shouting for Wales. It reminded me a little of when the Boston Red Sox won the world series a few years ago. After it was all over Phil said he was exhausted from cheering them on. I'm suprised more people don't get hurt because the rugby players don't wear any kind of protective gear.
Today Phil and I went to Hay-on-Wye for a day out. It is a great village with tons of bookshops and galleries. I went there with Lynne on my last trip. On the drive there, all the rivers were brimming full with water right up to their banks. There were also daffodils everywhere and lambs jumping and running about. It was nice to go out for a bit especially since the next two weeks will be very busy preparing for the kiln firing. This upcoming week we will be glazing and will start packing the kiln. On Saturday we cleaned up the area around the kiln. Phil got rid of a bunch of pots he did not like. It was really hard to chuck them in the bin bag but its what you have to do. Phil said if he didn't get rid of them they would end up on ebay. Until next week....
Take care,
Kari
Its hard to believe a week has gone by already! When we got back from St. Ives the weather turned stormy. In the beginning of the week we had very high winds and driving rain. It has been quite chilly and damp. The focus this week was glazing. We will be firing Phil's wood kiln the last weekend in March. Phil and I both glazed pots. This means taking a pot and dipping it in a liquid glaze. The dry, porous pot absorbs the glaze and it adheres to the surface. I learned how to glaze teapots which was a little tricky, especially when you have two different color glazes. Its tricky because if you get the inside color on the outside of the teapot it can look pretty bad. I mixed up a few new batches of glaze and some glaze tests. I also learned how to make ash glazes. Phil collects wood ashes from his fireplace. They are soaked in water, mixed up vigorously, the water is drained off, then fresh water is poured back on them. This is done several times until the finest particles are suspended in the water. It takes a few days to wash the ash. Phil had me put the big chunks of charcoal, etc that were left over around his apple trees. Once the ash is all washed, I mixed it into the rest of the ingredients. Phil is known for his ash glazes as he wrote a book on them called Ash Glazes. Washing the ash is a long process and it is caustic stuff so you have to be careful not to get in on your skin or in your eyes (it burns if you do).
Phil and I reloaded the bisque kiln and fired it. This will be the last time before the wood kiln is fired. I helped Phil take some photographs of pots by Hamada and Shimaoka. He finished up the catalog for the upcoming exhibition/sale he is hosting in May. You can view the catalog on his website- www.philrogerspottery.com. You have to download it as a PDF file. It is nearly 100 pages long! He has so many pots for the exhibition- it will be a good one. Last year people wanted the pots so badly one person slept in his car in the Rogers' driveway so he could be at the front of the line! Hopefully that does not happen this year.
Every morning when I walk Tess and Libby in the fields I check the sheep and see if any lambs were born during the night. Sometimes the farmer leaves these pellets called sheep nuts. They are special nuts that help the pregnant sheep lactate. If he leaves them in the barn I have to bring them out to the field and feed the sheep. Normally they are very shy creatures but when I shake the bag they all come running and bleating. There is one very friendly ewe with a white face who will eat the sheep nuts right out of your hand. I really love feeding them because I get to see them up close. They will follow you up and down the field if they think you have food. A ewe gave birth to a pair of twins on Thursday night. I did not see them up close but I could see them walking all wobbly-legged from far away. It was such a rough week weather wise for lambs to be born. Lynne looked out the window this morning and there were two dead lambs in the field. They were probably born in the night during all the rain and died. Even after the farmer removed the little bodies the poor mother ewe stayed in that spot all day smelling the ground and bleating. The farmer is going to try and find an orphaned lamb for her to take care of. Even though those two died there are still three lambs in the field and there are certainly more to come.
On Saturday, Lynne, Phil and I helped out with a 20 mile road race in Rhayader. We stood at the 4 mile mark and passed out water to the runners. It was pouring rain and very cold but the runners were so polite! They all said, "Cheers" or "Thanks for helping out" or "Ta" (which is somehow short for thanks). I've done a fair share of running myself but you've really got to give credit to these Welsh runners because it is so hilly here. Even walking around here is good exercise so running 20 miles must be wicked exhausting! It was a fun job to pass out water. Brian, the husband of the woman who organized the race, had a loud horn he would honk when the runners got close. He kept saying things like, "Well done! The hardest part is over now, not far to go". He is a really funny guy. When he and Phil get together my face usually hurts from smiling and laughing too much.
Later on Saturday the Welsh team played in the Six Nations Rugby game. They won last week and this week were scheduled to play France. If they beat France then they would win the trophy. I was upstairs doing something but when I came down, Lynne and Phil were both sitting on the edge of sofa with worried looks on their faces. It was halfway through the game and the score was 9 to 9. In the end, Wales pulled ahead and beat France by more than double. It was a really, really good game. The Rogers' were so happy, yelling and shouting for Wales. It reminded me a little of when the Boston Red Sox won the world series a few years ago. After it was all over Phil said he was exhausted from cheering them on. I'm suprised more people don't get hurt because the rugby players don't wear any kind of protective gear.
Today Phil and I went to Hay-on-Wye for a day out. It is a great village with tons of bookshops and galleries. I went there with Lynne on my last trip. On the drive there, all the rivers were brimming full with water right up to their banks. There were also daffodils everywhere and lambs jumping and running about. It was nice to go out for a bit especially since the next two weeks will be very busy preparing for the kiln firing. This upcoming week we will be glazing and will start packing the kiln. On Saturday we cleaned up the area around the kiln. Phil got rid of a bunch of pots he did not like. It was really hard to chuck them in the bin bag but its what you have to do. Phil said if he didn't get rid of them they would end up on ebay. Until next week....
Take care,
Kari
Hello from Wales, Take two, Week Seven
Hello Everyone,
I had a great trip in St. Ives! The Rogers' and I left on Wednesday and headed south for a place called Farrington, England. We spent the night with Nigel and Eileen Dutt, some pot-collecting friends of Phil and Lynne. Their house is decorated in a very modern style. There were many big windows so the rooms were full of natural light. The building was a converted cow barn/dairy so it had very high ceilings and arched doorways. They own many paintings, pots and sculptures. After we arrived there we went to visit a raku potter named Tim Andrews. Tim used to work at the Leach Pottery when he was first starting out. He brought out several pots and tiles which were somehow connected to the Leach Pottery. The village he lived in had a few houses with thatched roofs. One building had a bricked up spot where a window once existed. Lynne said there used to be a window tax so people would block their windows so they would get charged less. No wonder the colonists moved to America!
The next day I went into St. Ives with Lynne and Phil. On the drive there we saw entire fields of blooming rapeseed and daffodils. Also, since Cornwall used to be a tin mining county, there are these tall brick chimneys that were used to melt the tin. Cornwall's landscape is very rocky and craggy. Instead of hedges they have really beautiful stone walls. I saw so many lambs in the fields jumping about. When they are feeding their tails wiggle involuntarily. I'm still waiting for the lambs in Phil's fields to be born.
The Leach Pottery was re-opening into a museum. Without going into too much detail, Bernard Leach was arguably one of the most important figures in the craft movement. He was a great potter and philosopher. His Japanese friend Shoji Hamada was also very instrumental in the studio pottery movement. Together, they connected pottery from the east and west aesthetically and philosophically. In 1920, they opened a pottery in St. Ives (the Leach Pottery) that became a learning center for artists from all over the world.The Roger's had an invitation to go to the official opening. While they were there, I walked around town and on the beach. There are many galleries and shops in St. Ives. Many parts of the narrow streets are still cobblestone.The sea in St. Ives is a beautiful greenish color much different from the New England coast. The rooftops on the houses are covered with an ochre colored lichen. St. Ives is a picturesque seaside village with colorful boats and screaming seagulls. I walked on the rocks and found some lovely limpet shells and seaglass. I even found some broken pottery shards.
I caught up with Nigel and Eileen and we met Phil and Lynne at a pub called the Tinner's Arms. When the three of us walked in Nigel and Eileen saw a potter they know named Clive Bowen. He is the artist who made all the tiles for the Rogers' new kitchen. He was talking to an elderly woman near the fireplace. She was introduced to me as Jessamin Leach, Bernard's only surviving daughter. We sat down with Lynne and Phil and ordered some lunch. As we were waiting, a whole bunch of Leaches walked in. I met Jeremy, Simon and John (all sons of David Leach). There were also a few cousins and spouses there; it was like a big reunion. Simon Leach who now lives in Spain, sat and ate lunch with us. He was very friendly and excited to meet Phil for the first time.
After lunch the five of us checked into the Gurnard's Head. It is named after a piece of land that juts out into the ocean. It was a big bed and breakfast with a lot of local art on the walls. I had a cozy room with the softest, most comfy bed. There was even a little painting on the wall of a man making pots at a wheel. From there we went back into the downtown for a special ceremony at the Guild Hall. While walking to the hall Lynne saw her friend Emmanuel Cooper. She introduced us and I told him that my ceramic art history class used his book Ten Thousand Years of Pottery as our main text. He also wrote a biography on Bernard Leach. The ceremony was in honor of the re-opening of the Leach pottery. There were pictures of Bernard everywhere and a video playing. Phil talked to a woman who used to work in the pottery's shop. Emmanuel Cooper made a speech, so did John Leach. In John's speech he read a letter Bernard's stepmother had written him when he was 17. He had just told his folks that he wanted to be a potter and they were not very happy about it. It was pretty funny considering how successful Bernard became. In contrast to that, John also read a letter Bernard had written him. John had asked to be an apprentice at the Leach Pottery; Bernard encouragingly welcomed him on board. After a few more speeches, Tomoo Hamada (the grandson of Shoji Hamada) got up and made a little speech. He said he wanted to build bridges between the east and west just as his grandfather and John's grandfather had done. I felt really overwhelmed and honored to experience such a historic event. I felt a bit like an outsider since I'm not British but at the same time, I am part of the pottery community that touches every part of the globe. That night I was so exhausted! I was nearly asleep as my head hit the pillow.
The next morning at breakfast I discovered one of the most revolting British foods. Phil ordered a full English breakfast with black and white puddings. Usually, pudding means a dessert or sweet. When I asked Phil what black pudding was he told me it was a sausage made from pig's blood and fat. No thanks, I'll stick to some toast and tea!
On Friday, I went into the Leach Pottery. They had restored the old part and built a new addition. Jack Doherty is the new head potter. They will take on several students to work making a production line of pots designed by Jack. The old part had Bernard's kickwheel and many tools/equipment. There was a damp cupboard to keep clay wet and a heated cupboard to dry pots out. There was a fireplace where Bernard used to sit and discuss his philosophies with all the potters. The old anagama kiln had been restored. It was interesting that the earthy colors of the building and rooms at the pottery were mirrored in the pots themselves. After touring the pottery, we spent the day visiting galleries and shops. We drove out to a place selling prints by an Irish man named Breon O'Casey. The Rogers and the Dutts have some of his work already. That evening there was an opening for John Leach. He makes functional wood fired pots.
On Saturday, Phil had his opening at St. Ives Ceramics. There were about eighty pieces in the show ranging from large bottles to very small cups. It was a really beautiful display of pots. Each of Phil's pots are so individual. You could spend a long time with a single piece, absorbing all its nuances yet there is still a thread running through them that makes them distinctly Phil's. Phil said its all about exploring each idea until there is nothing more you can do with it, squeeze out every last possibility. He did skip out briefly to check the score of the big rugby match. Wales was playing and they won! Despite very poor weather Phil's show was well attended.
On Sunday, we stopped by John Leach's home in Somerset. His house has a thatched roof on it; it was the first time I had been in a house like that. John is very animated and loves to tell stories. At lunch, he had us all roaring with laughter.He gave us a tour of his pottery. I think his three chambered wood kiln is the biggest I have ever seen. It takes him 36 hours to fire it and he fires it every two months! He has been to the states many times. He got out a Stetson hat from Texas and told us a funny story about it. When we left he shook my hand and said, "Potters of the world ignite!" He is a really fun person. The place where he lives is known for apples that are made into juice and cider. After finally coming home, I was completely knackered. I was able to meet so many people and I got plenty of fresh sea air.
I apologize to the non-potters who are reading this as its filled with a lot of nerdy pottery stuff. I hope you are all doing well and staying warm. I've been having some technical difficulties with my computer but once I get it sorted I will post my pictures from St. Ives. Until next week....
Take care,
Kari
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Take two, week six
Hello Everyone,
Sorry this week's update is a few days late. With all the traveling and what have you its been extra busy. This past week was very full. I spent several days mixing up a REALLY big amount of what Phil calls the "pink clay". It is pink when its wet but it fires to a brownish color. When I was done the pile of clay was about 4 1/2 feet tall. Phil will leave it in the shed unused for a few months to let it age. Clay is similar to wine in that the older it is the better. Remember how last week we cleared out the barn to make it ready for the clay delivery? Well, the delivery came unexpectedly at the end of a day as we were finishing up work. In college, Will from Portland Pottery used to deliver the clay in a big truck (or lorry as they're called here) that had a hydralic lift. He also had a giant dolly to move the pallets of material. This guy pulled in with his lorry but he had no lift or big dolly. So, after parking directly in front of a big mud puddle he opened up the pallet and passed Phil and me the 50 lb bags of China Clay. I'm not sure why, but it was hilarious and I could not stop laughing. One of the bags got a hole in it and the white powder got all over my jumper which made me laugh harder. I guess it was just the absurdity of it all. There was over a ton of clay, about 40 big bags and we managed to get it all unloaded despite my unstoppable laughter. Phil kept saying to the lorry driver, "You'll have to forgive her; she's American". The next day we moved all the bags again so they were in their proper place in the barn. I do like the physicality of being a potter, lifting stuff and engaging one's body. Phil always says, "In the next life I'm going to be a jewler and everything won't be so bloody heavy!"
Phil continued to have me work on my repetition throwing, this time with bowls. He made a large and a small form and I made a bunch of each. I decorated the inside with a white slip; while some of them were still wet I dragged my fingers through the slip to make a spiral design. I liked the way they turned out. When we fire the kiln we will stack them inside each other.
On Thursday night, Lynne and I left for Newport to stay with Raymond and Sylvia, her mom and dad. They are such sweet people to spend time with. Although it was late when we got there they made us tea and we stayed up late chatting. After a proper English breakfast Lynne and I set out to go to Claire's in Cranleigh. Newport was halfway there which is why we stopped for the night. After a few hours driving on the motorway we arrived. We were enthusiastically greeted by the newest member of the Elliott family- Princess. The Elliott's rescued the little black lab mix; her previous owners did not have time for her and kept her in a crate all the time. She is such a lovely dog. She is quite small and gets very excitable about food. I made her a treat- some parsley wheat doggie biscuits. I don't even think she had time to taste the treat because she chomped it down so fast. Princess is nearly a year old and pretty well behaved.
Lynne, Claire and I walked to the boy's schools to pick them up. For Mattie it was a special day as all the students got to dress up like characters from a story. He was a prince of some kind with a velvety cape and a feather in his hat. There was a special assembly at his school that we went to. There were kids dressed like princesses, humpty dumpty and Oliver Twist; it was very cute. After we collected Charlie we stopped into a cafe to get some hot cocoa as it had started to rain on the walk home. The boys really love their new pet and she is very good with the boys. At bedtime I slept on the pull-out sofa with princess in the next room.
I woke up the next morning when I heard Mattie singing as he came down the stairs. I got up to fold up the sofa and put it all right again. It was still a bit dark as the curtains were shut and I was still groggy from sleep. I moved to the edge of the bed, swung my feet over the side and stepped in a messy present Princess left me on the floor. Mattie came down and proceeded to wake everybody up by yelling, "Kari stepped in Princess' poo!" Everybody came rushing down; I was laughing really hard between gags as I washed my foot off. We got it all cleaned up as Princess guiltily lay in her doggie bed. What a way to start the morning! I told Claire not to worry- it's all memory making and it's a funny story too! Princess is still quite young and accidents happen sometimes....
After I showered and thoroughly sanitized my left foot Lynne dropped me off at the train station. It took me about an hour to get into London and I switched trains several times, eventually ending up on the tube (the underground subway). The Royal College was a bit of a dull building compared to the grandiose Albert Hall that neighbors it. Once I got inside however it was full of what I like- pots! It was a very big show and well lit too. There was so much to see. I recognized a few faces from Oxford and some of Phil's friends. A man named Jack Doherty did a demonstration of throwing porcelain. He is the president of the Craft Potter's Association. I saw Lisa Hammond and her assistant Yoji Yamada who seemed to be quite busy selling her beautiful soda-glazed pots. I left for a few hours to go exploring London. I walked around in the giant Hyde Park which was right across the street from CAL. It is a really beautiful park with many gardens and trees. Many of the early spring flowers were out and covering the ground. There was pretty flowering trees and lots of brazen squirrels and pigeons. I did some sketching and got nearly knocked over by two big, black, wet, swampy smelling dogs who left a few muddy smudges on my trousers (it was not a good day with dogs). From Hyde Park I walked a few blocks the the Museum of Natural History. The great thing about London is that all the public museums are free! The Natural History Museum has a lot of things like fossils, dinosaurs, stuffed birds, cool rocks and hands-on exhibits. I did not spend too much time there because it was really crowded with school children who were visiting on their Saturday off. I went back to CAL late in the afternoon and sat through a rather dry lecture by Dame Elizabeth Fritsch who is a sculptress/potter. There were also a few videos that I watched that were really good. I liked how CAL was more than just a show; it had lectures, demonstrations and videos. It was all around a really great experience. I got back on the train at about six. It took me twice as long to get back to Cranleigh as on of the lines on the tube had closed and it was all backed up. Eventually, I did make it back, exhausted but happy.
On Sunday it was mother's day. Again, I was awoken by Mattie who was chattering excitedly about his present for his mum. He said, "She is going to be so happy she will just BURST into tears." With presents and cards in tow the boys went up to Claire's room and piled into her bed. I remember doing that when I was little. Simon brought up tea and biscuits and the boys tried their hardest not to get crumbs in the bed.She did like her gifts and cards although her reaction was not quite as dramatic as Mattie would have liked. After a proper breakfast we all went for a long walk in a big estate field behind Simon and Claire's house. Princess seemed to have an endless source of energy as she chased a ball. Mattie and Charlie showed me their very cool hideout, a completely hollow tree. I always wanted one of those when I was a kid. Simon pointed out that most of the trees in the field were older than America.
After we got back from our walk Lynne and I said our goodbyes to the Elliotts and drove again to Newport. We went to Lynne's sister Barbara's house for a big Sunday lunch of roast beef, veggies and yorkshire puddings which are kind of like popovers with holes in the middles. Ray and Sylvia were there as well as Barbara's husband Stewart and their youngest son Alex. Stewart's mom June was there as well. It was a big friendly lunch which was very nice. It felt a little wierd to have mother's day in March. After gifts were exchanged, Lynne and I left again for another 2 1/2 hour drive back to Rhayader. Finally we were back home! Libby and Tess seemed glad to see us as usual. I forgot to say last time that Libby had the lump removed and after doing a biopsy the vet said it was cancerous. The are hoping they got it all. The danger is that the lump was near Libby's lymph nodes so if it spreads there it could get pretty nasty. Libby seems perfectly fine so let's hope the vet got all the cancer out! Phil had been very productive in our absence and we are nearing readiness to fire the kiln. The three of us are leaving again tomorrow to go to the south coast of England to a place called St. Ives. Phil has a solo show there and the Leach pottery is reopening as a museum and artist studios. I will write more detail next week. Things are really busy right now! Until next week,
Take care,
Kari
www.kariinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/nhthrower
PS- several people have asked for my mailing address here at the Rogers'. It is as follows
Kari Olstad
c/o Phil Rogers
Lower Cefn Faes
Rhayader, Powys
LD6 5LT, UK
Sorry this week's update is a few days late. With all the traveling and what have you its been extra busy. This past week was very full. I spent several days mixing up a REALLY big amount of what Phil calls the "pink clay". It is pink when its wet but it fires to a brownish color. When I was done the pile of clay was about 4 1/2 feet tall. Phil will leave it in the shed unused for a few months to let it age. Clay is similar to wine in that the older it is the better. Remember how last week we cleared out the barn to make it ready for the clay delivery? Well, the delivery came unexpectedly at the end of a day as we were finishing up work. In college, Will from Portland Pottery used to deliver the clay in a big truck (or lorry as they're called here) that had a hydralic lift. He also had a giant dolly to move the pallets of material. This guy pulled in with his lorry but he had no lift or big dolly. So, after parking directly in front of a big mud puddle he opened up the pallet and passed Phil and me the 50 lb bags of China Clay. I'm not sure why, but it was hilarious and I could not stop laughing. One of the bags got a hole in it and the white powder got all over my jumper which made me laugh harder. I guess it was just the absurdity of it all. There was over a ton of clay, about 40 big bags and we managed to get it all unloaded despite my unstoppable laughter. Phil kept saying to the lorry driver, "You'll have to forgive her; she's American". The next day we moved all the bags again so they were in their proper place in the barn. I do like the physicality of being a potter, lifting stuff and engaging one's body. Phil always says, "In the next life I'm going to be a jewler and everything won't be so bloody heavy!"
Phil continued to have me work on my repetition throwing, this time with bowls. He made a large and a small form and I made a bunch of each. I decorated the inside with a white slip; while some of them were still wet I dragged my fingers through the slip to make a spiral design. I liked the way they turned out. When we fire the kiln we will stack them inside each other.
On Thursday night, Lynne and I left for Newport to stay with Raymond and Sylvia, her mom and dad. They are such sweet people to spend time with. Although it was late when we got there they made us tea and we stayed up late chatting. After a proper English breakfast Lynne and I set out to go to Claire's in Cranleigh. Newport was halfway there which is why we stopped for the night. After a few hours driving on the motorway we arrived. We were enthusiastically greeted by the newest member of the Elliott family- Princess. The Elliott's rescued the little black lab mix; her previous owners did not have time for her and kept her in a crate all the time. She is such a lovely dog. She is quite small and gets very excitable about food. I made her a treat- some parsley wheat doggie biscuits. I don't even think she had time to taste the treat because she chomped it down so fast. Princess is nearly a year old and pretty well behaved.
Lynne, Claire and I walked to the boy's schools to pick them up. For Mattie it was a special day as all the students got to dress up like characters from a story. He was a prince of some kind with a velvety cape and a feather in his hat. There was a special assembly at his school that we went to. There were kids dressed like princesses, humpty dumpty and Oliver Twist; it was very cute. After we collected Charlie we stopped into a cafe to get some hot cocoa as it had started to rain on the walk home. The boys really love their new pet and she is very good with the boys. At bedtime I slept on the pull-out sofa with princess in the next room.
I woke up the next morning when I heard Mattie singing as he came down the stairs. I got up to fold up the sofa and put it all right again. It was still a bit dark as the curtains were shut and I was still groggy from sleep. I moved to the edge of the bed, swung my feet over the side and stepped in a messy present Princess left me on the floor. Mattie came down and proceeded to wake everybody up by yelling, "Kari stepped in Princess' poo!" Everybody came rushing down; I was laughing really hard between gags as I washed my foot off. We got it all cleaned up as Princess guiltily lay in her doggie bed. What a way to start the morning! I told Claire not to worry- it's all memory making and it's a funny story too! Princess is still quite young and accidents happen sometimes....
After I showered and thoroughly sanitized my left foot Lynne dropped me off at the train station. It took me about an hour to get into London and I switched trains several times, eventually ending up on the tube (the underground subway). The Royal College was a bit of a dull building compared to the grandiose Albert Hall that neighbors it. Once I got inside however it was full of what I like- pots! It was a very big show and well lit too. There was so much to see. I recognized a few faces from Oxford and some of Phil's friends. A man named Jack Doherty did a demonstration of throwing porcelain. He is the president of the Craft Potter's Association. I saw Lisa Hammond and her assistant Yoji Yamada who seemed to be quite busy selling her beautiful soda-glazed pots. I left for a few hours to go exploring London. I walked around in the giant Hyde Park which was right across the street from CAL. It is a really beautiful park with many gardens and trees. Many of the early spring flowers were out and covering the ground. There was pretty flowering trees and lots of brazen squirrels and pigeons. I did some sketching and got nearly knocked over by two big, black, wet, swampy smelling dogs who left a few muddy smudges on my trousers (it was not a good day with dogs). From Hyde Park I walked a few blocks the the Museum of Natural History. The great thing about London is that all the public museums are free! The Natural History Museum has a lot of things like fossils, dinosaurs, stuffed birds, cool rocks and hands-on exhibits. I did not spend too much time there because it was really crowded with school children who were visiting on their Saturday off. I went back to CAL late in the afternoon and sat through a rather dry lecture by Dame Elizabeth Fritsch who is a sculptress/potter. There were also a few videos that I watched that were really good. I liked how CAL was more than just a show; it had lectures, demonstrations and videos. It was all around a really great experience. I got back on the train at about six. It took me twice as long to get back to Cranleigh as on of the lines on the tube had closed and it was all backed up. Eventually, I did make it back, exhausted but happy.
On Sunday it was mother's day. Again, I was awoken by Mattie who was chattering excitedly about his present for his mum. He said, "She is going to be so happy she will just BURST into tears." With presents and cards in tow the boys went up to Claire's room and piled into her bed. I remember doing that when I was little. Simon brought up tea and biscuits and the boys tried their hardest not to get crumbs in the bed.She did like her gifts and cards although her reaction was not quite as dramatic as Mattie would have liked. After a proper breakfast we all went for a long walk in a big estate field behind Simon and Claire's house. Princess seemed to have an endless source of energy as she chased a ball. Mattie and Charlie showed me their very cool hideout, a completely hollow tree. I always wanted one of those when I was a kid. Simon pointed out that most of the trees in the field were older than America.
After we got back from our walk Lynne and I said our goodbyes to the Elliotts and drove again to Newport. We went to Lynne's sister Barbara's house for a big Sunday lunch of roast beef, veggies and yorkshire puddings which are kind of like popovers with holes in the middles. Ray and Sylvia were there as well as Barbara's husband Stewart and their youngest son Alex. Stewart's mom June was there as well. It was a big friendly lunch which was very nice. It felt a little wierd to have mother's day in March. After gifts were exchanged, Lynne and I left again for another 2 1/2 hour drive back to Rhayader. Finally we were back home! Libby and Tess seemed glad to see us as usual. I forgot to say last time that Libby had the lump removed and after doing a biopsy the vet said it was cancerous. The are hoping they got it all. The danger is that the lump was near Libby's lymph nodes so if it spreads there it could get pretty nasty. Libby seems perfectly fine so let's hope the vet got all the cancer out! Phil had been very productive in our absence and we are nearing readiness to fire the kiln. The three of us are leaving again tomorrow to go to the south coast of England to a place called St. Ives. Phil has a solo show there and the Leach pottery is reopening as a museum and artist studios. I will write more detail next week. Things are really busy right now! Until next week,
Take care,
Kari
www.kariinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com
PS- several people have asked for my mailing address here at the Rogers'. It is as follows
Kari Olstad
c/o Phil Rogers
Lower Cefn Faes
Rhayader, Powys
LD6 5LT, UK
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Take two, week five
Hello Everyone,
This week has really flown by...it seems I just sent out my week four update. This week was quite busy with many tasks to do at the pottery. Early in the week Phil asked me to unload a biscuit kiln. I used to do this all the time when I worked at the college and it never took me more than two hours if I remember right. Well, this one took a whole day! For a start it is much bigger than the one at college, plus I had to move all the pots from the kiln shed into the workshop. It was a bit nerve wracking because I put all of Phil's pots on a board and walked them over a bumpy uneven parking lot. I only broke one pot that rolled off the board; fortunately, it was one of mine. We are really running out of space in the workshop and all the bisque pots are on the floor. One has to walk and move gingerly around the place. On Tuesday, Phil and I reloaded the same kiln. I could never get the shelves in that kiln, it is so long I would have to climb in to stack it. Phil's arms are long enough but it takes a lot of strength to put the shelves and pots in. Re-loading took most of the day.
On Wednesday, Lynne and I resumed our roles of lovely, lady lumberjacks and moved wood out of the shed. When we were done that we cleaned out all the stuff in the shed and rearranged it to make more space. There was all kinds of stuff in there like old bricks and washing machine parts plus old hay and stuff like that. Phil is getting a delivery of raw materials soon so we made room to house that. Later we will go through all the existing raw materials and re-organize them. Phil plans to install shelves in the barn and keep bisquited pots there.
On Friday Phil left for a place called Uppingham to the Goldmark Gallery (http://www.modernpots.com/). They are the biggest seller of his work in the UK and have made a video about Phil and his work. They were having a showing of the video plus some talks and a show of potters represented by Goldmark. He did not come back until Saturday night. On Friday, Di came back and we finished splitting wood. It was horrible weather, rainy and windy but Lynne and I being the resilient lady lumberjacks we are, braved the elements to get Phil's wood moved. We finished by mid-afternoon.
Phil has a new and fun assignment for me. To get me to work on my repetition throwing Phil has me throwing stock mugs for the pottery. He made a prototype mug and had me copy it. I worked on it for several days, finishing them off today. I decorated them with stamps and sprigs. It is interesting to throw someone else's pots. I guess I did not realize that I had such specific ways of making my own pots, especially when I pull handles. I tend to make thinner handles while Phil makes his quite thick and with a ridge in the middle. So, I have been making handles and mugs like Phil's. It is a really good learning experience.
On Saturday, Lynne performed in a choral concert with a community choir. Julie Braham and Jeremy (the neighbor) were also in the concert. Since Phil was not able to go I sat with Julie's husband, Jason. The concert was in a big old stone with wooden vaulted ceilings and pointed arches. The nearly 40-person choir was accompanied by a large scratch orchestra consisting of cellos, violins, trumpets, etc. They performed Handel's Zadok the Priest which was written for the King's coronation many years ago and is still performed whenever a new king is crowned. They also performed Hyden's Nelson Mass. It was a beautiful series of songs all performed in Latin. There was four soloists, a soprano, a contralto, a tenor and a bass who sang certain parts with the choir in the background. It was so beautiful with all the voices and instruments intermingling and harmonizing. It was the kind of music that was angelic and sublime. I wondered as I sat in that church how many times that same piece of music had been performed. I really enjoyed the performance. At the end of it, Julie and Lynne were really tired; it took a lot of energy to belt out those high soprano notes. We stopped into a pub for drinks with the rest of the choir and then headed home. The six nations rugby has been on for the past few weekends. Miraculously Wales beat Italy 47-8 on Saturday! I guess Wales has not had a very good team in a long time. Well, another week is beginning and I'm sure it will be full of tasks. I am going to join the choir with Lynne; we start practice on Thursday night. From there we will go to Lynne's parent's house in Newport. Then we are going to Claire and Simon's for the weekend. It is Mother's day on March 2 so we are going to see all the moms. Also, there is a big show called Ceramic Art London this weekend that I am hoping to go to. It is a pretty high end show and many artists will be there. I will spend a bit of time exploring London again. Well, dinner is ready so I'd better get going. Have a great week!
Take care,
Kari
This week has really flown by...it seems I just sent out my week four update. This week was quite busy with many tasks to do at the pottery. Early in the week Phil asked me to unload a biscuit kiln. I used to do this all the time when I worked at the college and it never took me more than two hours if I remember right. Well, this one took a whole day! For a start it is much bigger than the one at college, plus I had to move all the pots from the kiln shed into the workshop. It was a bit nerve wracking because I put all of Phil's pots on a board and walked them over a bumpy uneven parking lot. I only broke one pot that rolled off the board; fortunately, it was one of mine. We are really running out of space in the workshop and all the bisque pots are on the floor. One has to walk and move gingerly around the place. On Tuesday, Phil and I reloaded the same kiln. I could never get the shelves in that kiln, it is so long I would have to climb in to stack it. Phil's arms are long enough but it takes a lot of strength to put the shelves and pots in. Re-loading took most of the day.
On Wednesday, Lynne and I resumed our roles of lovely, lady lumberjacks and moved wood out of the shed. When we were done that we cleaned out all the stuff in the shed and rearranged it to make more space. There was all kinds of stuff in there like old bricks and washing machine parts plus old hay and stuff like that. Phil is getting a delivery of raw materials soon so we made room to house that. Later we will go through all the existing raw materials and re-organize them. Phil plans to install shelves in the barn and keep bisquited pots there.
On Friday Phil left for a place called Uppingham to the Goldmark Gallery (http://www.modernpots.com/). They are the biggest seller of his work in the UK and have made a video about Phil and his work. They were having a showing of the video plus some talks and a show of potters represented by Goldmark. He did not come back until Saturday night. On Friday, Di came back and we finished splitting wood. It was horrible weather, rainy and windy but Lynne and I being the resilient lady lumberjacks we are, braved the elements to get Phil's wood moved. We finished by mid-afternoon.
Phil has a new and fun assignment for me. To get me to work on my repetition throwing Phil has me throwing stock mugs for the pottery. He made a prototype mug and had me copy it. I worked on it for several days, finishing them off today. I decorated them with stamps and sprigs. It is interesting to throw someone else's pots. I guess I did not realize that I had such specific ways of making my own pots, especially when I pull handles. I tend to make thinner handles while Phil makes his quite thick and with a ridge in the middle. So, I have been making handles and mugs like Phil's. It is a really good learning experience.
On Saturday, Lynne performed in a choral concert with a community choir. Julie Braham and Jeremy (the neighbor) were also in the concert. Since Phil was not able to go I sat with Julie's husband, Jason. The concert was in a big old stone with wooden vaulted ceilings and pointed arches. The nearly 40-person choir was accompanied by a large scratch orchestra consisting of cellos, violins, trumpets, etc. They performed Handel's Zadok the Priest which was written for the King's coronation many years ago and is still performed whenever a new king is crowned. They also performed Hyden's Nelson Mass. It was a beautiful series of songs all performed in Latin. There was four soloists, a soprano, a contralto, a tenor and a bass who sang certain parts with the choir in the background. It was so beautiful with all the voices and instruments intermingling and harmonizing. It was the kind of music that was angelic and sublime. I wondered as I sat in that church how many times that same piece of music had been performed. I really enjoyed the performance. At the end of it, Julie and Lynne were really tired; it took a lot of energy to belt out those high soprano notes. We stopped into a pub for drinks with the rest of the choir and then headed home. The six nations rugby has been on for the past few weekends. Miraculously Wales beat Italy 47-8 on Saturday! I guess Wales has not had a very good team in a long time. Well, another week is beginning and I'm sure it will be full of tasks. I am going to join the choir with Lynne; we start practice on Thursday night. From there we will go to Lynne's parent's house in Newport. Then we are going to Claire and Simon's for the weekend. It is Mother's day on March 2 so we are going to see all the moms. Also, there is a big show called Ceramic Art London this weekend that I am hoping to go to. It is a pretty high end show and many artists will be there. I will spend a bit of time exploring London again. Well, dinner is ready so I'd better get going. Have a great week!
Take care,
Kari
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Take Two, Week Four
Hello Everyone,
Spring is here! There are daffodils and crocuses everywhere. Although there have still been frosts and it is chilly I can smell that distictive scent which is the change of seasons. It is a bit different than at home becaue here it is more of a farm smell- like damp hay. It is a pleasant smell to be greeted by. Today was an exciting week. I made press molded bottles at the beginning of the week while Phil worked on making pots for the salt chamber of his wood kiln. On Wednesday we went to Aberystwyth, a bustling seaside town. Phil is on the planning board of the Aberystwyth Ceramics Festival which is held biannually. He had a meeting about the festival and asked if I wanted to wander about the town. It was a very sunny lovely day. I walked around the shops for a bit and did some shopping. I finally was able to find some really nice organic welsh knitting wool in a little natural foods store. I am going to try making a sweater with it...I've tried to make sweaters before unsuccessfully so hopefully it will be easier this time. Phil told me of a few places I should look at including the Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (The National Library of Wales) (http://www.llgc.org.uk/). After having to ask directions several times I trudged up a huge hill. I would like to think I am a fairly active, healthy person but that hill really was a killer. I thought I was going to have an asthma attack by the time I conquered it!
The library was this huge stately building. Phil told me they have some great art shows there. There was a permanent gallery that had mostly paintings by Welsh Artists. Kyffin Williams is one of Phil's favorite painters and also a personal friend of his. Phil has some of Kyffin's work on his walls so I was quite familiar with it. Its interesting because almost all of the paintings were dark in color. Greens had a lot of blacks and brown in them. Its interesting because the Wales I see is not dark at all but vibrant and bright. There was even two JMW Turner paintings who is a famous British impressionist painter. They were some of his earlier paintings and did not posess any of the trademark qualities of his bright ethereal later works. Since the library was on a hill there was an absolutely beautiful view of the sea. It looked interesting because you could hardly tell where the water ended and sky began. It was just this sort of misy, blue-grey canvas of landscape. From the library I went to the Aberystwyth Arts Center. It is a university building. I noticed many of the people spoke Welsh. They have a great little ceramics collection on display including work by Leach, Hamada, Cardew and other influential artists. I did some sketching of the pots and observed. I saw Lucie Rie and Hans Coper pots there for the first time. I met up with Phil a few hours later and we rushed home because Lynne and I had a girly evening planned.
Lynne's good friend Pauline had got tickets for us to go see the Soweto Gospel Choir (http://www.sowetogospelchoir.com/ ) in a place called Brecon. We went out for dinner first then headed into a smallish theatre. While the lights were still dim a male voice started singing in African and was slowly joined by the other choir members. When the lights went up there were about 20 Africans dressed in exquisite, brightly colored clothing. I can't even describe the singing. It was so beautiful it just made me cry. I did not know what they were saying but their joy, energy and life just burst through the auditorium. Most of the songs they performed were Christian worship songs although they did sing some Bob Marley and a few other contemporary ones. They danced as well as sang. They took turns doing the solos, vocal and dance. Each member had such an amazing voice; they could easily have recorded solo albums. They had percussionists, a pianist and several guitarists.You could tell they were all having such a great time performing. They were smiling so big and high fiving each other. They were such beautiful people with amazing voices and spirits. All the money from their performances went to an aids charity that helps African children affected by the disease. I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt so blessed and touched by the experience. On the way home Lynne told me about two trips her and Phil took to Africa. The first time they went it was for Phil to teach a workshop to locals after the apartheid. The British government sent artists to South Africa to help the people there become self sufficient. The second time they went to Ethiopia with a charity to set up a pottery in a village. Lynne said that it was one of those trips that just changes your life. The African ladies thought Phil was like a god because he had come from so far, could make good pots and was very tall. They were always giving him little gifts and things. Lynne said one day during luch all the ladies just started singing, much like the gospel choir. She said that for such a poverty and war stricken nation there is still so much hope among the people there. Seeing the Soweto Gospel Choir was such a great experience; I would highly recommend it if any of you have the chance to see them. They even won a Grammy award in 2007.
The next day Lynne and I had to haul a HUGE pile of wood out of the barn so it could be cut up for the wood kiln. It took us two days to accomplish that task. We had a good time and got our exercise too! On Friday, Phil had to make the five hour drive to St. Ives England to drop off about 80 pots for a solo show he is having there in March. While he was gone, Di the Rogers' gardener came by with a chainsaw and sawhorse and the three of us cut and stacked all the wood. It took the better part of a day but we got it done. We will be using all of it when we fire the wood kiln on March 23. I think I am having some kiln firing anxieties as I had a dream last night that I was firing the Bailey kiln at college and forgot to put the cone packs in. Cone packs are these special things that indicate what temperature it is inside the kiln because they melt. If you don't have them its still possible to fire the kiln; its just more difficult, especially if you are not very experienced like me.
Over the weekend, Lynne and I hung out while Phil was gone. We had to go to Llandrindod to pick up some sedatives for Libby. Our furry grey canine friend has now been deemed "Lumpy Libby" as she has a little lump on her ear. The vet came by and said she should have it out. So tomorrow Libby will go in for a surgery and will also have her teeth cleaned. Poor girl...I also made quite a few pots in Phil's absense, tumblers, cups, baskets and teapots. When he came home today he said, "When did you make all that? We will certainly have enough pots to fill the kiln!" He came home from St. Ives with gifts for his girls. He got Lynne a special cookbook and a wood fired mug for me made by Svend Bayer, a potter who lives in a place called Sheepwash, England (giggle). Phil got to see Svend unload his wood kiln over the weekend. It was very nice of him to get me a souvenier. It has little feldspar bits and is a reddish gold color with carbon trapping on the outside and a blue-green nuka liner glaze. It is a lovely little pot. Well, it is nearly time for the Antiques Roadshow to come on. Last week this guy brought in a pot that I though was wretchedly gaudy but the appraiser said it was worth 100,000 pounds (200,000 dollars)! What a lucky fellow. I hope you all have a great week!
Take care,
Kari
www.kariinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/nhthrower
Spring is here! There are daffodils and crocuses everywhere. Although there have still been frosts and it is chilly I can smell that distictive scent which is the change of seasons. It is a bit different than at home becaue here it is more of a farm smell- like damp hay. It is a pleasant smell to be greeted by. Today was an exciting week. I made press molded bottles at the beginning of the week while Phil worked on making pots for the salt chamber of his wood kiln. On Wednesday we went to Aberystwyth, a bustling seaside town. Phil is on the planning board of the Aberystwyth Ceramics Festival which is held biannually. He had a meeting about the festival and asked if I wanted to wander about the town. It was a very sunny lovely day. I walked around the shops for a bit and did some shopping. I finally was able to find some really nice organic welsh knitting wool in a little natural foods store. I am going to try making a sweater with it...I've tried to make sweaters before unsuccessfully so hopefully it will be easier this time. Phil told me of a few places I should look at including the Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (The National Library of Wales) (http://www.llgc.org.uk/). After having to ask directions several times I trudged up a huge hill. I would like to think I am a fairly active, healthy person but that hill really was a killer. I thought I was going to have an asthma attack by the time I conquered it!
The library was this huge stately building. Phil told me they have some great art shows there. There was a permanent gallery that had mostly paintings by Welsh Artists. Kyffin Williams is one of Phil's favorite painters and also a personal friend of his. Phil has some of Kyffin's work on his walls so I was quite familiar with it. Its interesting because almost all of the paintings were dark in color. Greens had a lot of blacks and brown in them. Its interesting because the Wales I see is not dark at all but vibrant and bright. There was even two JMW Turner paintings who is a famous British impressionist painter. They were some of his earlier paintings and did not posess any of the trademark qualities of his bright ethereal later works. Since the library was on a hill there was an absolutely beautiful view of the sea. It looked interesting because you could hardly tell where the water ended and sky began. It was just this sort of misy, blue-grey canvas of landscape. From the library I went to the Aberystwyth Arts Center. It is a university building. I noticed many of the people spoke Welsh. They have a great little ceramics collection on display including work by Leach, Hamada, Cardew and other influential artists. I did some sketching of the pots and observed. I saw Lucie Rie and Hans Coper pots there for the first time. I met up with Phil a few hours later and we rushed home because Lynne and I had a girly evening planned.
Lynne's good friend Pauline had got tickets for us to go see the Soweto Gospel Choir (http://www.sowetogospelchoir
The next day Lynne and I had to haul a HUGE pile of wood out of the barn so it could be cut up for the wood kiln. It took us two days to accomplish that task. We had a good time and got our exercise too! On Friday, Phil had to make the five hour drive to St. Ives England to drop off about 80 pots for a solo show he is having there in March. While he was gone, Di the Rogers' gardener came by with a chainsaw and sawhorse and the three of us cut and stacked all the wood. It took the better part of a day but we got it done. We will be using all of it when we fire the wood kiln on March 23. I think I am having some kiln firing anxieties as I had a dream last night that I was firing the Bailey kiln at college and forgot to put the cone packs in. Cone packs are these special things that indicate what temperature it is inside the kiln because they melt. If you don't have them its still possible to fire the kiln; its just more difficult, especially if you are not very experienced like me.
Over the weekend, Lynne and I hung out while Phil was gone. We had to go to Llandrindod to pick up some sedatives for Libby. Our furry grey canine friend has now been deemed "Lumpy Libby" as she has a little lump on her ear. The vet came by and said she should have it out. So tomorrow Libby will go in for a surgery and will also have her teeth cleaned. Poor girl...I also made quite a few pots in Phil's absense, tumblers, cups, baskets and teapots. When he came home today he said, "When did you make all that? We will certainly have enough pots to fill the kiln!" He came home from St. Ives with gifts for his girls. He got Lynne a special cookbook and a wood fired mug for me made by Svend Bayer, a potter who lives in a place called Sheepwash, England (giggle). Phil got to see Svend unload his wood kiln over the weekend. It was very nice of him to get me a souvenier. It has little feldspar bits and is a reddish gold color with carbon trapping on the outside and a blue-green nuka liner glaze. It is a lovely little pot. Well, it is nearly time for the Antiques Roadshow to come on. Last week this guy brought in a pot that I though was wretchedly gaudy but the appraiser said it was worth 100,000 pounds (200,000 dollars)! What a lucky fellow. I hope you all have a great week!
Take care,
Kari
www.kariinwales.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Take two, week three
Hello Everyone,
Where did I leave off last week? Ah yes, John and Sue had left and it was up to me to guard Marston Pottery and the dogs during the creepy, dark Rhayader nights. I managed alright (even if I did sleep with my light on a few times). I was met with an interesting problem on Monday, the day I was to start doing tasks for Phil. He had asked me to do three things- make 12 press molded bottles, mix up four batches of clay and pug about 500 pounds of aged clay so he could use it. I thought I would mix the clay up since it was a nice day Monday and the shed I would do it in is unheated. Lo and behold, I went to open the old wood door and it was jammed shut. It seems that during the howling winds, the door slammed shut so hard it went past the door frame and was royally stuck. What was I to do? All of the tasks he asked me to do required my entry to that shed. I leaned, I pulled, I prayed but the door did not budge. When Phil called to check up on me I told him my predicament. He sounded quite cross about it but did not really have any advice except to "pull really hard" (been there, done that). Despite the fact that he got a bad cold in America, he said the workshop went well. He even joked that some of the ladies there liked him so much, they threw their knickers at him (it would seem in that case that Phil Rogers is the Tom Jones of pottery). For the rest of Monday I made press molded bottles with the small amount of clay I had left in the workshop. I got a friendly call from Lisa Hammond in London checking to see how everything was. She knew I was on my own for a bit. I love that potters are so helpful towards one another; I have found it to be true in the states as well.
The next day, with a newfound determination, I tackled the problem of the door. I found an old hammer and attacked the door with it. There is a space between the top of the door and the doorframe so I sort of hung onto the door and whacked it from the inside with the hammer. Eventually, it stubbornly opened. I won the battle. I was able to pug all the clay and make the press molded bottles for the rest of the week. I had been able to make a bunch of teapots and a new series of forms. I threw a wide, short cylinder with no bottom. After the clay stiffened, I altered the shape into an oval or square then added a slab bottom. I made two big casseroles and 15 smaller boxes with a flange and a slab lid. I am very excited about these and feel I will be able to explore them more.
Phil and Lynne arrived home Friday at noon. I made some nice soup, floury herbed rolls and banana blueberry bread for lunch. Tess and Libby were so excited to see them! The weary travelers were nearly knocked over by the overexcited pups. It was good to have them back! They brought me some nice presents including a cookbook put together by the staff and artists at Clay Art Center, the place where Phil did the workshops. By nine o'clock Phil and Lynne were both dozing on the couch; they had after all missed a night of sleep. Between his cold and jet lag Phil was absolutely knackered.
This Sunday the three of us drove to Newport, Wales, the hometown of Lynne and Phil. Lynne's dad, Ramon was turning 80 and they had a family party for him. It was a lot of fun. They treated me like one of the family, they even made me get in the big family photo. Claire, the Rogers' daughter was there with her husband and two little sons. The party was at Lynne's sister Barbara's house. She has three sons who were all there. Lynne's brother Chris was there with his daughter Beth and Phil's dad Ray was there too. It was a happy party. Claire hired a stretch limo to pick Ramon up from his house. He was very suprised and loved it! Claire also made a special cake that looked like a rugby pitch. It was complete with a Welsh flag, little rugby players and goal posts. Lynne and Phil got Ramon a digital photo frame. Lynne spent the entire day before the party scanning and photoshopping old pictures to upload to the frame. Raymon and his wife loved it. When they did a birthday toast Ramon acknowledged my presence by singing, "Here come the Yanks". He is quite a cheeky guy and a lot of fun. It was great to meet all of Lynne's family and see Clarie again. I hung out with her five year old Mattie a lot and read him a few stories.
Phil and Lynne both grew up in Newtown and met when they were teenagers. It is a very industrial town quite different than Rhayader. It is in south Wales sort of close to Cardiff. It was about two hours away from Rhayader. It was a nice party and we all had a good time. This week I think I have more press molded bottles to make and some clay to mix up. Hopefully nice weather will continue. Crocuses and daffodils are coming up everywhere and Phil's pond is full of frogs making noise. We even had one day in the 60's! Sounds like the snow is really coming down back home in NH! Have a great week and be safe on those snowy roads!
Take care,
Kari
Where did I leave off last week? Ah yes, John and Sue had left and it was up to me to guard Marston Pottery and the dogs during the creepy, dark Rhayader nights. I managed alright (even if I did sleep with my light on a few times). I was met with an interesting problem on Monday, the day I was to start doing tasks for Phil. He had asked me to do three things- make 12 press molded bottles, mix up four batches of clay and pug about 500 pounds of aged clay so he could use it. I thought I would mix the clay up since it was a nice day Monday and the shed I would do it in is unheated. Lo and behold, I went to open the old wood door and it was jammed shut. It seems that during the howling winds, the door slammed shut so hard it went past the door frame and was royally stuck. What was I to do? All of the tasks he asked me to do required my entry to that shed. I leaned, I pulled, I prayed but the door did not budge. When Phil called to check up on me I told him my predicament. He sounded quite cross about it but did not really have any advice except to "pull really hard" (been there, done that). Despite the fact that he got a bad cold in America, he said the workshop went well. He even joked that some of the ladies there liked him so much, they threw their knickers at him (it would seem in that case that Phil Rogers is the Tom Jones of pottery). For the rest of Monday I made press molded bottles with the small amount of clay I had left in the workshop. I got a friendly call from Lisa Hammond in London checking to see how everything was. She knew I was on my own for a bit. I love that potters are so helpful towards one another; I have found it to be true in the states as well.
The next day, with a newfound determination, I tackled the problem of the door. I found an old hammer and attacked the door with it. There is a space between the top of the door and the doorframe so I sort of hung onto the door and whacked it from the inside with the hammer. Eventually, it stubbornly opened. I won the battle. I was able to pug all the clay and make the press molded bottles for the rest of the week. I had been able to make a bunch of teapots and a new series of forms. I threw a wide, short cylinder with no bottom. After the clay stiffened, I altered the shape into an oval or square then added a slab bottom. I made two big casseroles and 15 smaller boxes with a flange and a slab lid. I am very excited about these and feel I will be able to explore them more.
Phil and Lynne arrived home Friday at noon. I made some nice soup, floury herbed rolls and banana blueberry bread for lunch. Tess and Libby were so excited to see them! The weary travelers were nearly knocked over by the overexcited pups. It was good to have them back! They brought me some nice presents including a cookbook put together by the staff and artists at Clay Art Center, the place where Phil did the workshops. By nine o'clock Phil and Lynne were both dozing on the couch; they had after all missed a night of sleep. Between his cold and jet lag Phil was absolutely knackered.
This Sunday the three of us drove to Newport, Wales, the hometown of Lynne and Phil. Lynne's dad, Ramon was turning 80 and they had a family party for him. It was a lot of fun. They treated me like one of the family, they even made me get in the big family photo. Claire, the Rogers' daughter was there with her husband and two little sons. The party was at Lynne's sister Barbara's house. She has three sons who were all there. Lynne's brother Chris was there with his daughter Beth and Phil's dad Ray was there too. It was a happy party. Claire hired a stretch limo to pick Ramon up from his house. He was very suprised and loved it! Claire also made a special cake that looked like a rugby pitch. It was complete with a Welsh flag, little rugby players and goal posts. Lynne and Phil got Ramon a digital photo frame. Lynne spent the entire day before the party scanning and photoshopping old pictures to upload to the frame. Raymon and his wife loved it. When they did a birthday toast Ramon acknowledged my presence by singing, "Here come the Yanks". He is quite a cheeky guy and a lot of fun. It was great to meet all of Lynne's family and see Clarie again. I hung out with her five year old Mattie a lot and read him a few stories.
Phil and Lynne both grew up in Newtown and met when they were teenagers. It is a very industrial town quite different than Rhayader. It is in south Wales sort of close to Cardiff. It was about two hours away from Rhayader. It was a nice party and we all had a good time. This week I think I have more press molded bottles to make and some clay to mix up. Hopefully nice weather will continue. Crocuses and daffodils are coming up everywhere and Phil's pond is full of frogs making noise. We even had one day in the 60's! Sounds like the snow is really coming down back home in NH! Have a great week and be safe on those snowy roads!
Take care,
Kari
Saturday, 9 February 2008
Take two, week two
Hello Everyone,
This week has been an interesting one.Lynne and Phil left for America early on Wednesday. Prior to that Phil was in super-speed-mode trying to get everything done. He is a little behind so he is feeling pretty stressed that he had to go to America. We had to finish packing all the 80 pots for his St. Ives show. He had quite a few large bottles that are several feet tall which presents a packing nightmare. He said next time he should make the pots to fit the boxes instead of trying to find boxes that fit the pots. He had a bunch of jugs to make and some bottles to finish. I cleaned the workshop and the showrooms so that it would be somewhat easier for Phil to come back to. Jason is planning on doing another firing soon and he asked if Phil and I had any pots we wanted to put in his kiln. I gave him two shallow bowls to put in his salt kiln. On Monday night the three of us went over to Jason and Julianne's for dinner. They had lamb for dinner which I'm sure was delicious but I just could not bear to eat it...I've grown rather attached to all the sheep here. After supper we went to the sitting room. Jason and Phil got out a bunch of old records like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and popped them onto the record player. We all sang along for a bit to the familiar tunes. Phil said when he was about 13 he loved the Beatles and had all their records and scrapbooks. He told me once his grandma even made him a knitted necktie that were all the fashion when the Beatles were popular.
It feels a bit like spring here. It rains all the time and little snowdrops and crocuses are yawning and stretching out of the soggy ground. We did have kind of a freak day on Thursday as it was sleeting, hailing and raining. That was the day that John and Sue came down. They live in Stoke-on-Trent which is about 2 1/2 hours away. The Rogers met them when John came on a summer workshop Phil used to do every summer at his house in Rhayader. John and Sue are the dog/house sitters and come here several times a year when Lynne and Phil go away. They are a very nice couple. They have a married son who lives in Texas who is not much older than me. Just as I talk to my parents on a computer program called Skype, they did the same with their son almost daily. While they were here I made teapots. They went much easier this time and I tried some different types of handles. I also had ideas to make some oval casseroles with slab built bottoms. Phil gave me a list of tasks to do while he is gone. I did my own throwing last week and will do all his stuff this week. He and Lynne will be home on Thursday or Friday. John and Sue stayed until Sunday when they made the trip back to Stoke. It was nice having them here. I have to say it is a bit creepy at night when I'm here by myself. It is so dark here because there is no light pollution. Sometimes Libby and Tess will start barking in the middle of the night and I don't know why. It does make your hair stand on end. Fortunately, Phil says in the almost 30 years he's lived here there has never been any kind of horrible crime.
My sleeping has finally returned back to normal. Now Lynne and Phil are going to have that same problem when they return. Well, I have a long list of things to do before the boss gets back- make 12 press molded bottles, pug clay and mix up a bunch of new clay too. I'd better get going on that. Until next week....
This week has been an interesting one.Lynne and Phil left for America early on Wednesday. Prior to that Phil was in super-speed-mode trying to get everything done. He is a little behind so he is feeling pretty stressed that he had to go to America. We had to finish packing all the 80 pots for his St. Ives show. He had quite a few large bottles that are several feet tall which presents a packing nightmare. He said next time he should make the pots to fit the boxes instead of trying to find boxes that fit the pots. He had a bunch of jugs to make and some bottles to finish. I cleaned the workshop and the showrooms so that it would be somewhat easier for Phil to come back to. Jason is planning on doing another firing soon and he asked if Phil and I had any pots we wanted to put in his kiln. I gave him two shallow bowls to put in his salt kiln. On Monday night the three of us went over to Jason and Julianne's for dinner. They had lamb for dinner which I'm sure was delicious but I just could not bear to eat it...I've grown rather attached to all the sheep here. After supper we went to the sitting room. Jason and Phil got out a bunch of old records like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and popped them onto the record player. We all sang along for a bit to the familiar tunes. Phil said when he was about 13 he loved the Beatles and had all their records and scrapbooks. He told me once his grandma even made him a knitted necktie that were all the fashion when the Beatles were popular.
It feels a bit like spring here. It rains all the time and little snowdrops and crocuses are yawning and stretching out of the soggy ground. We did have kind of a freak day on Thursday as it was sleeting, hailing and raining. That was the day that John and Sue came down. They live in Stoke-on-Trent which is about 2 1/2 hours away. The Rogers met them when John came on a summer workshop Phil used to do every summer at his house in Rhayader. John and Sue are the dog/house sitters and come here several times a year when Lynne and Phil go away. They are a very nice couple. They have a married son who lives in Texas who is not much older than me. Just as I talk to my parents on a computer program called Skype, they did the same with their son almost daily. While they were here I made teapots. They went much easier this time and I tried some different types of handles. I also had ideas to make some oval casseroles with slab built bottoms. Phil gave me a list of tasks to do while he is gone. I did my own throwing last week and will do all his stuff this week. He and Lynne will be home on Thursday or Friday. John and Sue stayed until Sunday when they made the trip back to Stoke. It was nice having them here. I have to say it is a bit creepy at night when I'm here by myself. It is so dark here because there is no light pollution. Sometimes Libby and Tess will start barking in the middle of the night and I don't know why. It does make your hair stand on end. Fortunately, Phil says in the almost 30 years he's lived here there has never been any kind of horrible crime.
My sleeping has finally returned back to normal. Now Lynne and Phil are going to have that same problem when they return. Well, I have a long list of things to do before the boss gets back- make 12 press molded bottles, pug clay and mix up a bunch of new clay too. I'd better get going on that. Until next week....
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Take two, week one
Hello Everyone,
I am glad to be back safely in Wales after an enjoyable month at home in the good ol' "603" (NH). I left Logan on Jan. 22 and arrived in Wales on the 23rd. My parents and my boyfriend Dan saw me off at the airport. I checked my suitcase and had a big backpack full of Stonewall Kitchen syrup, jam, etc (mostly in glass) and homemade fudge as gifts for my friends here. When I went through security the guy told me I had to check it as it contained liquids. Rushing as not to miss my flight, I left security, checked the bag, saw Dan one last time and finally boarded. It was a 6 hour flight but with the time change it was much longer, over 12 hours. I watched a few movies and tried unsuccessfully to sleep. When we finally landed in London I was exhausted.
Next came the dreaded inquisition that is called "customs". On my first trip, the customs officer gave me a difficult time. He asked me loads of questions and seemed not to believe that I was really coming to the country to study with a master potter. He treated me like I was a criminal immigrant but eventually let me in. This time, Phil had written a letter on my behalf explaining that I was not being paid and that I would be leaving in three months. Confident this would convince them of my innocence, I walked up to the counter, knackered but hopeful. I was met by a sour faced Indian-English woman who was even worse than my former interrogator. She asked how much money I had and told me it wasn't enough although I assured her it was enough last time. She asked me over and over the purpose of my trip. I spoke honestly as I had nothing to hide but she talked to me as if she suspected me of being a terrorist or something. After reading Phil's letter (which did not seem to impress her) she said she needed to talk to her boss. I started to panic thinking they might not let me in the country. After what seemed like forever she came back. After a bit more interrogation she finally stamped my passport with some special stamp and grunted at me to pass though. Phew! That was close! I found my way to the baggage claim and pulled my suitcase and backpack off the conveyor belt. Much to my chagrin, my yellow backpack was all bluish-purple. Sure enough, a bottle of blueberry syrup meant for Phil was smashed and got all over everything! Also, a small glass tube of tea tree oil had broken and a pot meant as a gift for the Rogers. If only I had taken a few minutes to pad all the stuff. I felt like drop-kicking the whole sticky mess across the airport but instead, I calmly brought it into the bathroom and cleaned it up, reeking of blueberries and tea tree oil. Thank God for the kindness of strangers; a kindly Latino janitor gave me some paper towels and a garbage bag to line my juicy, sticky backpack with.
I had pre-bought a train ticket that left London at 10:45 and it was only 6:30. With luggage in tow I plopped down on a bench and let out a defeated sigh. A smartly dressed black man sitting next to me asked if I was alright. I told him of my traveling woes and he chuckled. We chatted for a bit and he showed me where I could catch my train. Eventually I took the tube to the London Euston station where I had to wait more. Again, a kind stranger, a businessman on his morning commute, offered to carry my heavy suitcase up a terribly long set of stairs. I must have looked as weary as I felt!
After a few changes, I was finally on the train to Caeswrs, Wales. Remember on my last journey the doors wouldn't open when I was meant to get off there? I prayed that wouldn't happen. It didn't....something worse did. I drifted off into a much needed sleep. I awoke with a start and realized with dread that I had slept past Caeswrs and was at a place call Mccuntlytth (all very hard to pronounce). I got off there and tried to call Lynne. She did not have her phone but Phil answered and said he would try to get a hold of Lynne. After about 1 1/2 of waiting in the train station, Lynne walked in the door and said,"Come on you". Finally, I was almost home!
It was good to be back. Libby and Tess nearly knocked me over in their excitement. Phil was in the workshop making jugs. He said I was probably the only person who missed the stop at Caeswrs twice. He said he was glad to have me back. He was even more glad when I brought out all the goodies I had for them. Up the stairs one last time with my heavy bags and I was in my old room. The bed looked so inviting but I knew I had a few hours yet before I could become reacquainted with it. We had a nice dinner of ratatouille and watched East Enders. I called it an early night at eight pm and slept straight through until 11 am the next day! I had after all missed out on an entire night's sleep.
Since I have been away for a month Phil has a lot for me to do. I mixed up some slip for him and moved a load of pots that he is planning on putting in a solo show in March. It is in St. Ives, England. They are re-opening the Leach pottery so we will be going down for three days to attend all the events. I am hoping to meet lots of people there. I had to take an inventory of the nearly eighty pots, numbering them and writing descriptions. Phil and I photographed some pots, mostly Shimaoka pots who was a pupil of Hamada. Shimaoka just passed away in December I think. Phil will have quite a few of his pots in the Hamada sale. They will probably be in high demand now that the artist has passed on. Lisa Hammond delivered four soda fired jugs that I made and fired at her studio in London. I posted pictures of them on my website www.karispottery.com.
The weather here has been quite a change from back home. It has been mild in the 50's although quite breezy. Before I came there was some heavy rain and even flooding in the midlands. That has since stopped, thankfully. Phil and Lynne will be traveling to New York this week for nine days. Phil is doing a two day workshop at Clay Art Center in Port Chester. I will watch the house and the pups although two of the Rogers friends, John and Sue will be here with me for about five days. I will have a lot of time to do my own work. Phil has left me a to do list as well. I am looking forward to getting back into throwing this week. All kinds of new ideas are flying around in my little potter brain.
Phil is doing much better he has physical therapy once a week and has even been having acupuncture although he says he has more faith in the drugs. He has been teasing me mercilessly and can't seem to take it when I dish it back at him. Tonight Lynne said,"Now get along children". We do have loads of fun though. I made a nice chicken soup this afternoon. I popped in a Katie Meloa cd Phil made for me and happily chopped up veggies and the like. Katie Meloa is a very talented singer Phil introduced me to last time I was here. I like her music very much. Well, Monday morning comes early so I best be getting ready for bed. I'm still catching up on my sleep and have been unusually tired the past four days. Until next week...
Take care,
Kari
I am glad to be back safely in Wales after an enjoyable month at home in the good ol' "603" (NH). I left Logan on Jan. 22 and arrived in Wales on the 23rd. My parents and my boyfriend Dan saw me off at the airport. I checked my suitcase and had a big backpack full of Stonewall Kitchen syrup, jam, etc (mostly in glass) and homemade fudge as gifts for my friends here. When I went through security the guy told me I had to check it as it contained liquids. Rushing as not to miss my flight, I left security, checked the bag, saw Dan one last time and finally boarded. It was a 6 hour flight but with the time change it was much longer, over 12 hours. I watched a few movies and tried unsuccessfully to sleep. When we finally landed in London I was exhausted.
Next came the dreaded inquisition that is called "customs". On my first trip, the customs officer gave me a difficult time. He asked me loads of questions and seemed not to believe that I was really coming to the country to study with a master potter. He treated me like I was a criminal immigrant but eventually let me in. This time, Phil had written a letter on my behalf explaining that I was not being paid and that I would be leaving in three months. Confident this would convince them of my innocence, I walked up to the counter, knackered but hopeful. I was met by a sour faced Indian-English woman who was even worse than my former interrogator. She asked how much money I had and told me it wasn't enough although I assured her it was enough last time. She asked me over and over the purpose of my trip. I spoke honestly as I had nothing to hide but she talked to me as if she suspected me of being a terrorist or something. After reading Phil's letter (which did not seem to impress her) she said she needed to talk to her boss. I started to panic thinking they might not let me in the country. After what seemed like forever she came back. After a bit more interrogation she finally stamped my passport with some special stamp and grunted at me to pass though. Phew! That was close! I found my way to the baggage claim and pulled my suitcase and backpack off the conveyor belt. Much to my chagrin, my yellow backpack was all bluish-purple. Sure enough, a bottle of blueberry syrup meant for Phil was smashed and got all over everything! Also, a small glass tube of tea tree oil had broken and a pot meant as a gift for the Rogers. If only I had taken a few minutes to pad all the stuff. I felt like drop-kicking the whole sticky mess across the airport but instead, I calmly brought it into the bathroom and cleaned it up, reeking of blueberries and tea tree oil. Thank God for the kindness of strangers; a kindly Latino janitor gave me some paper towels and a garbage bag to line my juicy, sticky backpack with.
I had pre-bought a train ticket that left London at 10:45 and it was only 6:30. With luggage in tow I plopped down on a bench and let out a defeated sigh. A smartly dressed black man sitting next to me asked if I was alright. I told him of my traveling woes and he chuckled. We chatted for a bit and he showed me where I could catch my train. Eventually I took the tube to the London Euston station where I had to wait more. Again, a kind stranger, a businessman on his morning commute, offered to carry my heavy suitcase up a terribly long set of stairs. I must have looked as weary as I felt!
After a few changes, I was finally on the train to Caeswrs, Wales. Remember on my last journey the doors wouldn't open when I was meant to get off there? I prayed that wouldn't happen. It didn't....something worse did. I drifted off into a much needed sleep. I awoke with a start and realized with dread that I had slept past Caeswrs and was at a place call Mccuntlytth (all very hard to pronounce). I got off there and tried to call Lynne. She did not have her phone but Phil answered and said he would try to get a hold of Lynne. After about 1 1/2 of waiting in the train station, Lynne walked in the door and said,"Come on you". Finally, I was almost home!
It was good to be back. Libby and Tess nearly knocked me over in their excitement. Phil was in the workshop making jugs. He said I was probably the only person who missed the stop at Caeswrs twice. He said he was glad to have me back. He was even more glad when I brought out all the goodies I had for them. Up the stairs one last time with my heavy bags and I was in my old room. The bed looked so inviting but I knew I had a few hours yet before I could become reacquainted with it. We had a nice dinner of ratatouille and watched East Enders. I called it an early night at eight pm and slept straight through until 11 am the next day! I had after all missed out on an entire night's sleep.
Since I have been away for a month Phil has a lot for me to do. I mixed up some slip for him and moved a load of pots that he is planning on putting in a solo show in March. It is in St. Ives, England. They are re-opening the Leach pottery so we will be going down for three days to attend all the events. I am hoping to meet lots of people there. I had to take an inventory of the nearly eighty pots, numbering them and writing descriptions. Phil and I photographed some pots, mostly Shimaoka pots who was a pupil of Hamada. Shimaoka just passed away in December I think. Phil will have quite a few of his pots in the Hamada sale. They will probably be in high demand now that the artist has passed on. Lisa Hammond delivered four soda fired jugs that I made and fired at her studio in London. I posted pictures of them on my website www.karispottery.com.
The weather here has been quite a change from back home. It has been mild in the 50's although quite breezy. Before I came there was some heavy rain and even flooding in the midlands. That has since stopped, thankfully. Phil and Lynne will be traveling to New York this week for nine days. Phil is doing a two day workshop at Clay Art Center in Port Chester. I will watch the house and the pups although two of the Rogers friends, John and Sue will be here with me for about five days. I will have a lot of time to do my own work. Phil has left me a to do list as well. I am looking forward to getting back into throwing this week. All kinds of new ideas are flying around in my little potter brain.
Phil is doing much better he has physical therapy once a week and has even been having acupuncture although he says he has more faith in the drugs. He has been teasing me mercilessly and can't seem to take it when I dish it back at him. Tonight Lynne said,"Now get along children". We do have loads of fun though. I made a nice chicken soup this afternoon. I popped in a Katie Meloa cd Phil made for me and happily chopped up veggies and the like. Katie Meloa is a very talented singer Phil introduced me to last time I was here. I like her music very much. Well, Monday morning comes early so I best be getting ready for bed. I'm still catching up on my sleep and have been unusually tired the past four days. Until next week...
Take care,
Kari
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