Snow Happens - Mahwah, NJ, Port Chester, NY and A Detour

As soon as we heard the weather reports and saw all the milk, bread, and eggs disappear in DC, we sprinted out of Washington early before the accumulation of the 3 feet of snow and the big snowball fight.  We were feeling pretty good about our narrow miss so we decided to take a detour through Philly for the heck of it.  After a few hours riding in circles and ending up in Chinatown, we decided it was time to head to the Garden State: NJ.  We had absolutely no snow on the way (pretty sure we will not be able to say that on the way back) but we arrived ready for shinos.  Side note:  The northern hub was very grateful for the raccoon.

After a fun day touring Mahwah and eating authentic NY style pizza, or pizza pie, we headed to Port Chester for the Shino Redux 2010 opening.  It was quite a turnout for the reception and we had a nice surprise visit also with friends from Connecticut, Michael and Mary.  Then Malcolm gave his always entertaining talk about the shinos in the show and the origin of American Shino.  Met a lot of new friends and the Clay Art Center is a great educational facility with a long history.  Thank you Reena, Leigh, and Doug for the tour and a great show!  Thank you Malcolm for being Malcolm!  Here are a few of the shino pieces we had a chance to take pictures of.  It was a diverse show with carbon traps, crawls, wax resists and some experimental combos. 

  

For a complete viewing of the exhibit online, visit the Clay Art Center -Shino Redux and for more candid images from the show there are some on my facebook page.

Now it is time to turn our attention back toward trying to get home. Looks like they have been working hard in PA and DC but if we can't make it through, then I am becoming an asphalt man in Jersey!

Smithsonian Museums - Freer/American History

We had an absolutely wonderful day in DC on Thursday.  Rode the Metro in from Maryland and actually got off at the right stop!  Ate lunch on a bench in the sunshine on a snowy National Mall and then went over to the Freer/Sackler galleries.  Great exhibitions going on there.   One called "Black and White" (Chinese ceramics) which I gained a lot of inspiration from with the carvings and those hare's fur glazes.  And the "Cornucopia" exhibit of Japanese ceramics was a teabowl delight.  Interesting fresh water jars with delicate handles were on display also.   The Peacock room is another must see with it's jewel colors and ceramics -floor to ceiling.

 

At 2:30 we had an appointment at the American History Museum to look over some pieces and documents that were my great grandfather's.  In 1969, the then Museum of Cultural History at the Smithsonian brought Henry's shop and contents to DC  for an example of rural life in the south during that time period.  The shop and wheel were unfortunately off site in storage during our visit but we were taken behind the scenes to view some of their ceramics collection.  As we went through the door, I had to admit my heart started to race.  As I looked around, I was standing in the middle of a room full of salt glaze from Pennsylvania, NY, and the South.  Hard to describe in words totally how this experience felt for me but it was AWESOME!  Bonnie, the Deputy Chair, then showed us their most recent acquisition, a Dave the Slave poem pot from SC.  And, yes, I got to touch it and hold a lot of other great pieces. 

As Bonnie pulled from the southern collection, there was a Meaders chicken in front of Henry's pieces that I had to look at that was a nice example of  Arie's work.   She then began to pull Henry's milk crocks and jugs, and then a bag that contained sacks from the Illinois Lead Shot Company (chilled) that were used as counterbalance on the scales to weigh clay. Henry's shop was once used for a chicken house so I was glad to see the bags were nicely preserved.  After we left the ceramics room, she then pulled the accession file with the letters, diagrams, and photos they had available.  Very informative especially concerning the wheel.
We thank the Smithsonian staff, in particular Bonnie Lilienfeld, for their hospitality and their time.

Next Blog Stops:  Mahwah, NJ and then Port Chester, NY

ROAD TRIP! SHINO REDUX 2010

Summer of last year, I was invited to submit a few images of my shino work to be considered for inclusion in an exhibit curated by Malcolm Davis, Shino Redux 2010.  Right before Christmas, I received an early present that I would be included in the show being hosted at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester NY. We have been looking for a good road trip, so if weather is permitting and life, then we will be on way with a full itinerary. 

THE TENATIVE STOPS


Seagrove, NC to Washington, DC - Freer /Sackler Gallery and the Smithsonian Archives Cultural History     
At the Freer it will be a visual treat with all those great Asian ceramics.  At the Archives, hopefully a private behind the scenes viewing of an old potter's shop that belonged to my great grandfather. It is dismantled now but they have the logs, the diagrams, pictures, pots, wheel, and his tools. They acquired it in 1969 and I have yet to see it in person. Should be a full and inspirational day in DC!


Baltimore, Maryland to Philadelphia, Penn to Mahwah, NJ
Philly will be a lunch stop at the Reading Terminal Market then possibly the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Then to Mahwah, NJ. I call it my northern hub since my sister-n-law is putting down roots with her fiance there.  She is in a pretty good location for NY and provides a cot and a couple of hot meals to a traveler.  I'll make sure I pack my best pair of overalls for the introductions to her NJ family.  Wonder if they like raccoon? 


Port Chester, NY - Clay Art Center
Opening reception of Shino Redux 2010.  Can't wait to see all the pots and sculptures! Malcolm is rumored to be coming and it should be a carbon trap/shino delight for an addict like myself.  Most of the pots will be for sale, so it is going to be REALLY hard not to break the budget here!    


Mahwah, NJ to Seagrove, NC
Straight shot back since Monday's a school day.  A few McDonald's and a couple of gas breaks and we'll be heading home full of ideas and probably broke.


Will take lots of pictures and hopefully will have some great stories to tell.   I may have to learn to "tweet."  

The Salvage Yard: Metal Crates

I believe most potters are scavengers at heart.  They love to recycle and reuse anything they can either out of necessity or creativity.  I fit both categories and am always looking for a find.   My father-n-law offered me one recently with these metal wire baskets.  I am thinking not just storage units but small gas kilns.   I am about to move my large gas kiln and need a place to turn over some pots with a space for glaze reduction experimentation also.  Add in a couple of Big Bertha weed burners and some kiln brick (salvaged from a glass factory) and we could have lift off. (maybe literally) I'll let you know

Adam Cam

Chris Luther Pottery would like to introduce it's newest blog team member, Adam Luther.  He is a ten year old who loves tech equipment and negotiated with impressive persuasion for a spot on the blog. With a parental editing clause included in his contract, he will cover what's going on in Seagrove such as pottery events, school stuff, etc through videos and pictures.  Look for the "Adam Cam" in the sidebar for his updates!

Never, ever, ever,....again

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions because like "they" say 90% are broken within the first week.  But I am pretty resolute about the following:

I will never, ever, ever again.

...get a six year old an alarm clock with a foghorn alarm.  He had his plan and we were trying to help him fit in with his older brothers which meant he was going to get himself up in the morning and get ready for school.  Ok first off:  We forgot to remember the golden parental rule of asking in detail what that exactly meant to him.  To us it sounded great..to him that meant: Get a Spongebob alarm clock (check.)  Get up at 5:00 am and be ready for school by 5:30 am even though school is only a minute away and starts at 8:00 (check.)  And make sure to set the most annoying alarm sound there is on that aforementioned clock to wake up to (check.)  If you have never been scared out of bed by a foghorn before, I don't suggest it.  First thoughts are you are being invaded and then evacuation.

...plan to put up siding on a building during the coldest month of the year.  Needless to say, this is going to be put off until the weather reaches above 32 degrees for three hours straight.  So to the pine trees - you have a reprieve.

...turn pots on a back porch measuring 9x10 with a German Shepherd.  Right after I get the go ahead:  me, my wheel, and my coffee can of tools are leaving the washing machine, piles of clothes, and a large swishing tail to it's behind behind.  My inventory should increase exponentially.

And to answer a friend's question:  My word for the new year is progress.

Holiday Kiln Opening : Glazing, Firing, and First Results

I usually fire between two - four glaze loads of wares before kiln openings.  The weather has pushed me up to unloading the last gas kiln on Saturday morning, but my wife has "implied" that I secretly enjoy the adrenaline rush during the last seconds-which this one will be. The first unloads were the big pots that had some interesting results, and a big disappointing one.  First though, the good.  The gourd vase looked monochromatic at first but when it was turned there was a bold red streak with an interesting "rat tail" design in the glaze.  It reminds me of the rat tail handles on some the older art pottery pieces.  There is a nice large 3 foot vase with shinos, blues, and ambers.  And me being the shino fanatic I am, I have to mention the smaller crane neck bottle that came out with some crazy carbon trapping which I may have to hide for myself.  And then there is the bottle, oh the bottle....  She looked great before the unload but as she was being taken down to the showroom I saw the damage   Although my new "studio model" is still standing at 4 feet 6 inches and weighing in at 70 pounds she was knocked out by some very fine cracks that unfortunately ganged up on her. 

Gas kiln II is cooling and contains the big teapots, the one pound teapots, vases, and the small bowls.  There is also a smaller kiln to be unloaded with jars, trumpet bowls, and mugs.  Preview will be online this afternoon with the gourd vase, big shino vase, crane neck bottles, pod bottles, and swirl handle vases.  Colors are rose reds, turquoises, the layered shinos, ambers, golds, and a new light green. (Enole Green)