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

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

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

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

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

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

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