Bluff Country Studio Art Tour

The Bluff Country Studio Art Tour is just two short weeks away and I'm still busy making new pieces to have available for this fabulous event. Here is all the information you'll need to visit our studio during the tour.  

Where:      Sue Pariseau Pottery at Old Crow Studio
Location:   40051 County Road 12, Lanesboro, MN
When:        Friday, April 27 - Sunday, April 29, 2012
Time:          10am - 5pm each day
Link to map    & follow the signs to location

We are also hosting a special event during the art tour - We're having a Kiln Opening Party!! Please join us on Saturday, April 28th from 5pm to 8pm for all the oos and ahs while we unload the kiln.  We'll be serving pizza and you'll get the first opportunity to purchase pots fresh out of the kiln.

Far From Perfect Pots

There are lots of pots that don't turn out like I'd hoped.  They don't necessarily have any flaws, but they just didn't meet the expectations I had for them and I'm therefore disappointed in them.  I've learned to curb my feelings for these pots because they frequently end up being the ones other people love.  Those people had no expectation for that pot and love it just the way it is.  Kind of like we want to be like just for who we are.  


Then there are other pots that not only don't meet my expectations, but have some serious flaw.  Wood-firing creates more of those pots than some other methods so I've been getting quite a number of those pots as well.  People often ask what I do with pots I can't sell because they didn't "turn out".  Well, anything usable frequently ends up in my cupboard or one of the kids homes.  Those that can't be used are sometimes used for target practice.  

This cracked vase with otherwise great wood fired color recently experienced such a fate. 

 

Nice grouping huh?  

Pots from March Firing

If you don't already know this about me, I'm always a little behind.   I figure if I get a post up about a firing sometime before I have the next firing, I'm good.  Posting the same week I unload would probably be getting it done early don't ya think?  

So here are some of my favorites we unloaded last Friday.  

 Bottle fired on it's side on the bagwall

 New glaze on a tumbler - it's Turquoise Matte Blue

 Amber Celadon square plate with a stamped imprint

 Fluted bowl - a sort of rough first attempt

 This rectangle tray was fired with three small salt shakers on it creating the shadows.

And every firing has to have a few pendants.  The oribe are my favorites and the one dark one is a little used glaze her Persimmon.  I'll have to use that one more.

Overall the firing was a little vanilla for me.  Since the last firing had a pretty strong reduction, I didn't reduce as heavily this time and went a little to far the other way and didn't reduce enough.  Lots of pots glazed with shino but no shino magic in this firing.  Some will get refired in the next firing and we'll see how they handle it.  


Be well everybody.