Thursday, December 22, 2011

Onward ...



Planning and staging the annual holiday open studio can wear me out, so I often spend the next few days before Christmas relaxing and finishing up Christmas shopping. This year, with entries due in early January for the State of Clay show in Lexington, Mass., I wanted to fire one more time. So Tuesday I started throwing. Low pasta bowls, big serving bowls, teabowls ... I've got enough as of today to fill the kiln next week some time. Maybe just before New Year's Eve.
The teabowls can go pretty much anywhere in the kiln, and people always buy them. Funny thing, people now rummage through cups in the gallery or on the Coffee Obsession shelf, looking for "that thumb hole thing you do." Years ago, when I was a year or two into making pots, I pulled a temmoku teabowl from the kitchen cabinet at the home of Dennis Davis, my first clay teacher. (We did lots of raku workshops at Dennis's place.) It turned out to be a Warren McKenzie bowl, with a dimple pushed into the side. From then on, any time I needed a coffee or wine cup at Dennis's, I'd search out Warren's cup. And I stole the dimple idea from him, using it occasionally, always giving him credit when someone commented on it. Now, people think it's my own trademark. Funny how those things happen.
Tomorrow I need to finish Christmas shopping ...

5 comments:

ang design said...

love that!! and pinched it!!!

Dennis Allen said...

And I thought you had just tried to pick them up while they were still soft.I learn a new trick every day.

cookingwithgas said...

that is a trick that has been used here for many, many yaers- wonder if it was pinched!

Barry said...

My thumbprint cup may very well be my favorite. :)

gz said...

At least with a studio sale you don't have to pack it all up, cart it to whereever and set up...!!
Those bowls are looking good!