Bee Tree Pottery Blog

I was fortunate again this year to be invited back to Washington Catholic Elementary School’s Pioneer Day.   I did a post last year and said how much fun it was; and it really is fun to watch the students in their pioneer clothes play early American games and learn about daily life in the formation of our nation.  This year I taught about the importance of clay and different types of pots for garden, cooking and eating.  All of the students were able to make a redware pinch pot which I then took back to the studio, fired and sent back to them so they could have their own, handmade, (their hands) little redware pot.  Then, I took each one on as an apprentice and taught them the intricacies of attaching clay to clay.  (good knowledge to have if you want handles on your mugs and pitchers!)   But in this case, we made a 19th c. English style Hen and Chicks Bank, where each student made a chick.  A great job was done by all and there were no apprentices fired this time! Thanks to the 32 hands that made the chicks!  And of course, Mrs. Davis sits upon the top teaching all year long!   Kudos to Mrs. Davis for having such well behaved chicks.

This bank will definitely hold coins, but alas, it is better descibed as a “Bank of Knowledge” for what was learned by it’s construction.

Nothing better to start the day than to walk out the door and  be greeted by the sight of a beautiful stand of poppies, presenting their pretty petals to all who pass by, whether birds, insects, dogs or humans, I’m sure all take notice.  Just wanted to share;  - from the garden,  en route to studio,   Tom

This weekend!

Looking for some great art, great people and great music in a great historic town?

Come to New Harmony Indiana’s “Arts in Harmony” event, rain or shine, in the Historic Ribeyre Gym at the corner of Tavern and Main Streets.  Saturday and Sunday, May 5 and 6.

Here is an image of my booth from last year.  I’ll have a bunch of new stuff, including pieces recently done in a salt kiln firing and woodfiring.  (see Burnin’ in Arkansas post)

Hope to see you there!

Just got back from Arkansas firing an above ground, Groundhog wood kiln

 with John Perry and Judi Munn, two of the nicest folks you’d ever want to meet.   John and Judi are the potters at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View Arkansas.     My Turnin’ was done in the Hoosier state, but the Burnin’, aahh, the Burnin’, was done down in the Arkansas!  Wood firing, in my humble opinion, is the best way to fire pottery, not only for the beautiful results, but for the intense process.   We fired for about 24 hours, which was actually a good burn and fired to cone 14 in the front by the fire box and cone 12 and 11 in the sections going back towards the flue.  We fired mostly with cypress, which had us thinking that ash might not build like we wanted, but there was nice ash action throughout the kiln, with even my pieces in the back collecting nice ash deposits on the top of the pots.   

 As can be seen in these two folkware pots, the ash build was nice and we got good melt  during the final soaking of the kiln.   Also, this clay had some iron in it which I think adds to the nice flashing color of rust.  There actually is no glaze in those spots; it’s just the interaction of the clay with the fire.

Aah, the Burn!!

Another way to use the flame and the ash that is flying around the kiln is to glaze the pieces, let the ash settle on the glaze and  let it perform as a flux; this encourages the glaze to ’move’ and sometimes “run like a bunny” as Judi likes to say. 

 Tea set and colander samples with glazes runnin’ like bunnies!

 Below are just a few more images of the kiln, before, during and after shots.  The ‘during’ is definitely the best part.  The team work involved is essential to a good firing; stoking from both sides, raking coals, watching the  cones and draw rings and of course watching the temp rise and fall and controlling the ash and reduction phases.   To sum it up, the Turnin’ is fun, but the Burnin’ is the Best!!!!!           

When firing a salt glaze kiln, what one needs is salt, salt, salt!

My friend Beth Mohr, who I’ve mentioned before, built a salt kiln a few years ago and luckily, for me, lives very close; close enough to haul pots over for a good dosing of the salty stuff.  She was kind enough to let me put quite a few pieces in this time, so I could really test different clays and decorating techniques.   If you follow my work, you know I am very taken by early American wares.  I was shooting for a nice blue cobalt on white look, but what I got was a beautiful mocha and caramel blush look with dark blue cobalt decoration.  We were very happy with the way the kiln fired, even though we were not trying to reduce it much, it must have been in a mild reduction for a good while.   But if you read my post on  “No Expectations” you would know that I am not dissapointed in the least!!

I will have these pieces and more at the Indiana Artisan Marketplace, in Indianapolis next weekend.

So, come by and visit, Booth #311, bring a bag of kettle chips, and we can exchange stories of high sodium diets.

Indiana’s Premier Art and Food Experience will be happening at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis on Saturday March 31, and Sunday April 1.  10-6pm and 10-5pm respectively.    If you come, please stop by and visit, I will be in Booth #311.  For more info,   IndianaArtisan.org

If you don’t know me, I feel obligated to tell you I am a folk potter.  I enjoy using my hands as tools, taking clay, and throwing it into pots or molding the clay into things to stick on pots.    So you may have seen pots of mine with snakes on them.   “Oooh, yuk!”, you may say.    “Oooh, Aah”,  I say.    Don’t get me wrong; I don’t particularly like snakes, but I don’t dislike them either.  They, like all things, serve a purpose on this planet; and to me, in this part of Indiana,  it means blacksnakes around the barn and chicken house, which means less mice. (and sometimes eggs)     I also enjoy historic pottery, which brings us to why I make the snake jugs.   Symbolically, they are to remind one that the whiskey in the jug is good for medicinal purposes, but if abused, it will bite!   Good advice indeed!   Hast thou been bitten??  Well, I thought it might be fun to show the steps in bringing one of these to life.    First, one needs a freshly thrown jug that can be put aside for a few hours until it hardens up a bit.

There is a timing aspect at this point because the clay on the jug has to be moist enough to apply the snake, but not too wet so when the snake is pushed on, it won’t deform the jug.    OK.   Now one needs a snake.   Oooh, yuk!  No, No , No, not a real snake.  I said I was a folk potter, not a crazy potter.

I know it doesn’t look like  a snake, well kind of; but the idea is to roll out a coil of clay in the shape of a tube.  In this case,  about five feet long.   The next thing is to start the modeling process where the head is shaped and the scales are incised one by one.  Yes, I said one by one and there are hundreds on the average snake.  (although I’ve never really counted)   For this particular jug, I want to make the head appear to go into the jug and then reappear as the pouring spout of the jug.  Pretty cool, huh!?   So, if you’re squeamish, skip down a few lines.   The snake doesn’t really go through the whole jug, it just looks like it does so I have to cut the head off…   Oooh, yuk !

Now that we have a snake that won’t give us any problems,  I can confidently handle him, wrapping him around the jug, making a handle with his body and finishing up somewhere lower on the jug with a little bit of relief.  I can only imagine if someone was looking through the window of the studio when I was doing this, they might just rush in to save my life.  (or run away screaming like a little girl)  This is why snake handling is not for the faint of heart.

OK.  So now the snake is contained, the snake has been reattached to  it’s head.   (ok just pretend)   Then I pretty up the head by giving it fangs, which every symbolic, whiskey scaring rattlesnake should have, and color its eyes with black slip.   The snake is now ready to be a righteous snake and save you from the depths of falling into the jug.   Well, not quite, first he has to be fired at 2345 degrees and go through the depths of a fiery kiln in order to save you.  But he does,  Oooh, Yay!

Here is the snake getting ready for his firing.

So, remember, all snakes are not bad, and all serve some purpose.  When you see the snake jugs I make, think of the good that is actually the intent and a little less of the…   Ooooh, Yuk!

Last March I talked a little about how pieces evolve around the studio and am always excited when someone challenges me to make something in a way I have not done before.

“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”  Confucius

So, recognizing I am not the wisest of men, nor the stupidest,  (although there was that groundhog incident; which is a story for another day)  I figure changing what I make, or adding to a form I have been used to, will lead me down a path of enlightenment.  Or, it just might be fun! 

 Case in point:

The storage jar in the middle, with the fun little singing black bird on top was inspired by a jar I saw in the American Folk Art Museum.   The sgraffito design and the bird finial are different, but what was unusual is the angled sides of the storage jar and how thick the sides were which allowed for deep carving.   Well,  I had this at an 18th c. market event and was asked if I could make a lamp in this style.    The result was a really striking lamp with great character, form and function.  It’s fun to look at too!  

As seen on the lamp, the black diamond pattern that encircles what would be a lid, becomes a focal point.    I have done this pattern before and it truly catches the eye with it’s contrast.    So from this lamp, the design is now asked to be made smaller in the form of a sugar bowl.

One can see in the background a plate that carries this pattern around the rim, but the sweet little piece in front is the piece that people want to pick up and touch when they see it.  Perhaps it’s the bulging little belly, maybe it’s just how right it fits in one’s palm.  I’m not sure what it is but it is cute and has already been done several ways in recent kilns.

So to sum this up, I can only say that I am glad not to be the wisest of men, nor the stupidest, because change seems to enlighten me when I am in the studio.  (as far as the groundhog story, you’ll have to ask Ruth.)

Early American redware is a tad peculiar when it comes to tableware; potters felt the need to say something, and say it on their wares they did!  Was it social commentary?  Was it useful?   Was it humorous?  Was it based in a need to remind oneself of religious faith?          Yes!      Yes!     Yes!     and     Yes!

This month, I have put together a small exhibit at The Alexandrian Public Library in Mt. Vernon Indiana that has some examples of redware with words.       

One of my favorites;  “Sing, pray, and go on God’s way.  Perform what thou has to do faithfully.”

How about, ” To love and to be loved is the greatest joy on Earth.”      or    

“Everyone says I have such a beautiful wife.”  

 In my research, I have come across some great pearls of wisdom expressed in very few words.   I have also found some bawdy plates that make me wonder what on Earth was going on with that potter!  (all of the phrases I use on my plates are family friendly)   And then I find some that are in German where something definitely gets lost in the translation.   Nonetheless, the words on redware are always interesting and make me pause and try to connect with the potter of the period.     If you would like your word on redware, I can do that;  and we’ll make  people two hundred years from now wonder, what on Earth was on that potter’s mind!

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Merry

Christmas! 

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