I would begin with “gather ’round the table”; a fitting phrase to bring friends and folks together to share a moment of fun, refreshment and discussion.  We sometimes forget that children engage in different ways, so I am weary when I think they may not care or are not paying attention.  But then the questions come, and I realize by them “gathering”, they have learned and take a little bit of me out into the world.

So, bring the children to the table, teach them what you know; they may help keep what is important from the past alive so their future will be balanced with reason and understanding of our history.

]]> http://beetreepottery.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=531 0 http://beetreepottery.com/blog/?p=521 http://beetreepottery.com/blog/?p=521#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2013 03:09:19 +0000 Tom http://beetreepottery.com/blog/?p=521 Continue reading →]]> Is there any doubt?   A dog is a friend, protector, therapist, cheerleader and playmate.   They become part of the family and are sometimes better to have at the Thanksgiving table than human family.  Their cherished value has been known and written about for generations;  grateful human companions have remembered their friends in paintings and sculptures. Folk artists have captured endearing characteristics of these friends in clay and wood and have given us wonderful objects that make us smile when we see them.  The redware dogs pictured here, are inspired by folk potters of the mid 19th century.  They were perhaps used as doorstops or paperweights.

 What can be better than your best friend bringing you a basket with your favorite libation?

And here is another; there   seems to be a theme .

I was reluctant at first to try my hand at these sculptural figures, for fear of not succeeding I suppose.  But after doing a few, I too have found the allure of making man’s best friend bring a smile to my face.  And to be fair, I also like cats; have recently come into three barn cats, and enjoy the smiles they bring to my face in their barnyard antics.  Do I see redware cats in my future?  Check out the post before this one to see the “king of the cats”.   He’s smiling and definitely makes me smile!!

A friend of mine has challenged me to make some mid 19th century redware animal figures, which were used for paperweights and doorstops or just made for fun.  I have to admit, I was reluctant to get going; but once I did, they kind of grew on me and became not only a challenge, but a fun challenge; perfect for the winter rest.  The lion is the second of the animals and is the most challenging because of the thrown body and head.  Once those are assembled and he has his head about him, he gets other lion parts like his tail and mane, which is made by squeezing clay through a garlic press.

To tell you the truth, I was so happy when I opened the kiln and saw that he had survived and had not become a ‘lion bomb’. (exploding lions can be a real mess)  His beautiful smile was looking up at me saying, “all is well Tom, you should have a lie down”.   So I think I shall, keep ‘lion’ around, because it really does rejuvenate the creative spirit.

Smile. Rest. Create.

Winter will be soon be gone.

Redware lambs, dogs, and monkeys riding dogs, (sorry OZ fans, no flying monkeys) to come in future posts.  Oh, and a bear or two  too!

Behold throughout the heavens

there shown a holy light!

It came to me afterwards, that it would be very interesting and challenging for me to create a piece every year using the song as an inspiration.

So, yep, you guessed it.  For 2013 I am working on  a Two Turtle Doves piece.

I figure a piece like this a year for the next 11 years will be a nice legacy to my pottery.   And, can’t you just wait to see the last piece!!??       

Hope you follow along with me on this journey.  My goal will be for  you to see some other interesting pieces too!

           Merry Christmas!! and a Happy Holiday Season to All!!

OK, let me recap.   I buried the Olla next to one of the pepper plants and did not water any other way, except through the exposed Olla spout.   The drought was brutal, leaving all plants, and animals incredibly thirsty.  The pepper plant on the right is the one with the Olla buried next to it.  It seems that the roots of this plant definitely benefitted from the water seeping into the ground.  Not only was the plant double in size, it had twice as many peppers for the yield, and the wild petunia that came up next to it was happy also.  The petunia was also competing for the moisture, yet the pepper still outperformed the “no Olla” pepper.   So, is this a conclusive thumbs up for the Olla?  I have to say, although limited in scope, the drought made this a very easy comparison to make.   No rain from above meant the only way of getting moisture was through the Olla.   I think I’ll make some more, but certainly don’t want to be testing  them through any more droughts.  My final humble opinion:

Ollas  1        Drought   0

Go Team!

Here are some salt glazed banks in the style of the mid 19th century that I will be bringing, along with many other pieces of salt glazed stoneware and 18th and 19th century style redware.

Great way to spend a summer day.  Yes, it’s supposed to be hot, but there is always a nice breeze blowing across the fields and we are under plenty of shade trees that help cool the spirit.  So come on down to the beautiful home of the Shakers, you’ll enjoy.

You can bank on it!

For more info:  www.shakervillageky.org

So, Michelle asked if I ever put owls on my sgraffito plates or would I?  I told her I hadn’t, but immediately thought of a plate I had seen that was made in the early 1700′s in Staffordshire England.  When I showed her a picture of the original, she said she was in.  And I agreed.    The original is so quaint; the mother owl, her six owlettes and then for some reason, a small strange bird of another species.

Who knows what was in the potters mind, but it sure gets our attention 300 years later.  The original was slip trailed, but I was asked to do an interpretation of the plate in sgraffito decoration.

Here is my best attempt at an image of the original.

Here is the sgraffito plate that is my interpretation.  Just gotta love that odd little bird looking to be an amazing owl.

So, Michelle is actually the wise owner of the new plate.  But Whoooo is the maker of the original 300 years ago?   We will probably never know.         Just another  great British   “Whoooodunnit”.

That is the question.  Well, the first question is really, What the heck is an olla?  Well, I wasn’t even sure myself until I did a little digging.  (pun intended but you won’t get it yet until we dig a little deeper)     OK;  I was at a local arts festival and my friend April came to my booth and asked me if I could make ollas.   In past posts you’ll remember noting I am the potter that always says, “sure”, and then pauses and says,  aaaaaa, “what’s an olla?”  She proceeded to tell me about these pots that are buried in the ground and provide water to the roots of plants.  OK, now she really has my attention.  POTS and GARDENING, that’s two of my  passions and what these posts are all about.  After doing a little more research, I found this idea has been around for quite awhile, with history going back to the Spanish bringing the idea to the indigenous people of the Americas.  I knew that earthenware pots would seep very, very slowly if liquid was left in them, but have read that the Earth, or dry soil would actually draw the water out faster.  Makes sense.   So I told April we would go on an olla journey together and document what happens in both our gardens with a few test ollas.

Here are the brave ollas, lined up for their group shot before they undertake their underground mission.  There are no holes in the pots, other than the one to pour the water in.  I made little clay caps to fit over the holes to slow down evaporation through the top, and to keep mice from using the ollas for wild nighttime skinny dipping parties.  The research I did explained how people would cover the holes with rocks or shells.  In the past few weeks, deer have knocked the plug off at night, perhaps smelling the cool liquid in the pots.  We, I forgot to mention, are actually in a severe drought situation, making this a great year to test the ollas validity. 

Here is an image April sent me of her olla buried next to her peas.   She lives about 20 miles from me and has completely different soil makeup.  Her garden is very sandy and ours is very heavy clay soil; so this will be a good test for both soil types. 

Here is one of April’s ollas waving goodbye.  The pots can be buried right up to the water filler hole.  Every few days, just check and fill.   Pretty easy so far.     I was able to have a good test offered up for my olla placement by our wonderful, plant eating deer friends, who live in the nearby woods.

Behind the olla, you can barely see what was a beautiful, lush, leafy green pepper plant before the deer ate it down to a green stick.  Also, there is one a little bit further east that was eaten too.  So, the olla goes by one green stick and the other green stick does not get water.  Pretty good test I think.  These images were taken a few weeks ago and we still have not had any rain.  It is truly getting very sad for all the farmers and all critters looking for water.  It’s hard to be upset at the deer for knocking the plugs off; I just wonder if they are really trying to stick their tongues in to the ollas to get water?

Here is my olla up to its neck in its mission.  I have to say, the green stick has leafed out and is looking better.  I will post images of both plants in a few weeks and let you decide if ollas are  Oh Yeah!!! or Oh No!  In either case, help us all in this part of the country by saying a little prayer for rain.

This image was taken through the access door to the window. One can only see this view if you have the super secret access code, and your thumbprint is scanned into the security system.  So, this is probably the only time you will see the pots from this angle.

The march of the tea pots.

So, come on down to Main Street; I would love to have you reflecting on my pieces!