Umbrella Stand of Birch Trees

We are in full production right now. The studio is packed with work in different stages. Here is an umbrella stand I'm working on:

Every Picture Tells a Story

Sculpting the flowers in bas relief

 We took an order for larger daffodil vases than we usually make. It is designed to have a daffodil motif around the neck using the press mold we made a while ago to make the flowers. They were outsized on the new pieces so here we show how we made two new press molds specifically for the larger vases. Of course then we will have them for other pieces. The largest flowers would look really great on an umbrella stand. Here's a peek at the process.

and placing them on a thick slab of clay

Sides of the mold will be clay slabs

Flowers are cleaned up and without undercuts.

Boxes made to contain plaster

Volume of water and plaster are figured.

Weighing the pottery plaster

Slacking in the plaster slowly

After slacking plaster in, it is allowed to sit.

Drilling begins at 3 minutes.

Plaster is setting up.

Checking consistency and thickness

Thickening up

Ready to pour

Release any air bubbles by jiggling the table.

After plaster is hardened, cutting away the clay mold.

Pulling off the original

Drying the mold.

Kiln Firing 10/24/11

 This firing was devoted to gallery orders. The glazing was beautiful... lots of trees and Classics.

Our next firing, coming up soon, will replenish some of the Classics stock we usually have on hand. With the holidays almost upon us, I'm hoping to add a web page that will show the pieces we have on hand so our last minute shoppers can pick and choose rather than order.

Back to work

After a deep sigh from losing my dad, I return to work amazed that we still have a business and orders to fill. Our apologies for our absence have been graciously met with condolences from so many people. Thank you.

Here are some photos of our last firing. We were able to send an order to the MET a little late and are now playing catch up with our other fall orders. I have to pinch myself to realize that everything is alright and life goes on.......







However, I will no longer make the California Poppies as that was dedicated to my dad.
cherie

A Couple of Kiln Loads

 Despite ourselves, we have managed to get a couple of nice kiln loads out. Take a look:

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Well! what an unusual month we have had!! Our studio has been operating at half strength because of family matters and weather issues. Tropical Storm Irene hit our area hard. We count ourselves amongst the very fortunate to have only had no power, water or cable for a week. Others nearby are suffering a lot. Please note that we have cancelled out of two of our September shows, Long's Park and Clothesline.
Here are some photos of our participation in the annual Saugerties Artists Tour. We did have a good response; about 100 people came to mill around and even to purchase some nice pots! The photos though only show the setup because Steve had to handle it alone this year.

Good Job, Steve!

Finish Line

We finished our order from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on time despite ourselves!! Amazing. It was picked up by FEDEX yesterday.
Now we will be focusing on our upcoming studio tour as part of the Saugerties Artists Tour August 13-14 from 10 am-5pm