Tavern Mugs

Tavern Mugs drying

I got a request the other day to make 12 "tavern mugs" for a fundraiser. They want them to hold 16 ounces - a pint. So, I made some of my big steins, the kind that I pull the handle from the bottom. I'm not sure what led me to try pulling handles from the bottom of mugs or steins, but I've been doing it for several years now on certain ones.

I like making big steins. I think I'll call them tavern mugs now. I like that. Conjures up images of crusty men with beards and mustaches sitting at round wooden tables in a dimly lit tavern.

So, I figure a tavern mug should have a wide bottom to prevent knocking it over, and it should have a substantial handle that you can grip with your entire hand. Here's some pictures of me making my "tavern mugs."

Attaching stub of clay to bottom

Supporting wall with sponge-on-a-stick

Pulling handle

Attaching to top of mug

Shaping the handle

Finishing join (mug is held firmly onto work surface)

Finished handle

two finished tavern mugs

 

Making more Adjustments to Kiln Arch

Opening the Kiln from the Top

Hi everyone. It's been a while. Guess I've been Facebookin' more than bloggin'. Thought I'd share a little bit of behind-the-scenes work that might be of interest to some folks. I've been dealing with some brick-slipping issues in the arch of my wood kiln. I ignored it for a while - it was just one brick.

However, the brick kept slipping. This being the first kiln I ever built, I asked around and other potters said to not worry. But the brick kept slipping. I decided to open the top of the protective shell where the slippage was occurring. I did this a few weeks ago, and I ended up pushing the one offending brick out of the top of the arch, and replacing it with a new brick of the same shape, slathering some wet fireclay onto the surfaces where it was slipping past other bricks.

I thought the new brick fit tighter, and this might solve my problem. I also got a better view of the key at the very top of the arch which had cracked near the offending brick quite a while ago. What I concluded was that the jagged crack had kept one section of the key from settling back down during expansion and contraction while the kiln heated up and cooled.

I decided to cut into the crack to try to allow the two pieces of the key to settle evenly, but my saw blade would only go about halfway into the crack.

After all this, I replaced the kaowool insulation and the protective shell that I had cut away, and proceeded to fill the kiln and fire it.

Upon unloading, I found that I now had two bricks slipping, and they were slipping further than the previous single brick. So, it was time for more drastic measures. Lucky for me,  kiln builder Andres Aillik of Estonia who helped build some wood kilns in Seagrove was in town. He and David Stuempfle (wood fired potter) dropped by yesterday and we decided the best thing to do would be to cut a small section of the key out of the kiln (including the crack), grind the crack smooth and place it back where it belongs, leaving a small space between it and the other sections of the key.

So, I borrowed Ben Owen's gas-powered concrete saw, drove to Carthage for a new abrasive blade and did what was required. I had to support the section of arch from where I was removing the key, then remove two arch brick on either side of the key section I would remove.

Perhaps, it will all make sense when you see the pictures:

Here's the previous repair with the new brick and crack showing.

Supporting arch for today's repair work

Bricks and key section removed (rope held key section during cutting)

Don't want crud slipping between brick or onto pots.

Finished job. Hope it works.

Preparing for Catawba Valley - Hickory

We've got pots from the wood kiln, pots from the electric kiln, new director's chairs, a new light fixture.... We're almost ready for this year's Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival in Hickory, March 23.
Hope to see some you there.
Here's some pots from the latest wood firing:

Free Wood for Rebeccas

Some of my pallet wood

I've been getting wood for my wood kiln from a local pallet refurbisher who gives me tons of boards - oak, poplar, pine and other hardwoods. He doesn't charge me anything, so I asked him if I could make him a pot in exchange. He said his wife collects Rebecca pitchers, so I said I'd make her a Rebecca pitcher.

Having never made a Rebecca pitcher, I searched for images online and found quite a few pictures of both old and new versions of this popular form of traditional pottery. There are quite a few Seagrove potters who still make this shape.

Here's a couple of pictures of old and new Rebecca pitchers, followed by four pitchers that I created recently which will be fired in the next wood firing we do here sometime in February.

C.C. Cole

Catawba Indian

Royal Crown Pottery

Seagrove Rebeccas

My Rebeccas

More on this Year's Uwharrie Awards

I decided to do some upright bowls for the 1st 2nd and 3rd place winners of this year's Uwharrie Mountain Run. I haven't decided for sure how to glaze, except that I'm thinking I'll stain the outside with red iron. Each bowl is stamped three times with one of my tree stamps and three times with three of the stamps I made this year for the awards. The stamping distorts the bowl a little.

Here's the winner bowls drying on top shelf

8-mile awards are still drying

This Year's Uwharrie Awards

Stamps I created for this year's awards

It's that time again - time to make more than 500 pieces of pottery for this year's Uwharrie Mountain Run, a local foot race across the Uwharrie Trail, a "treacherous" trail according to the organizers of the race.

From their website: Fallen leaves conceal rocks, roots, sticks, and holes. Expect to trip and fall at least once during the day. If you turn an ankle, keep moving. Dutchman's Creek flows along part of the trail and runners will enjoy numerous stream crossings, which may mean wet feet if you aren't careful.

Anyways, we've been doing the awards since the race first started more than 20 years ago. I try to do something different every year. This year, I made a number of stamps commemorating the trail, and I'm making small and medium size bowls that are stamped inside with the stamps.

Actually, Levi (whose running the 8-mile race this year) has made all the bowls already. I trimmed them and wrote "Uwharrie Mountain Run 2013" and "20 miles" and "40 miles" on all the bowls. So, there's a 8-mile, 20-mile and 40-mile race. The 8-mile finishers get a medallion.

I'm going to glaze the inside of each piece, leaving the rim unglazed so I can stack pieces rim-to-rim in the kiln. I ended up trimming the bowls because pressing the stamp into the bottom of a bowl tends to cause the piece to "pooch" outward on the bottom, even after pressing the bottom back.

That was a lot of trimming and writing. We're nearly there. I haven't figured out what I'll do the for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners yet. Maybe something with all the stamps. I'll post again when I finish everything.

Bowls drying upside down, ready for trimming

Levi (and Kenji) hard at work

Medallions with some of stamps

Small bowl finished for 20-mile runners

Making Colanders

Colanders in the making - that's my old and trusty Makita cordless drill on bottom right.

I recently had an order for a colander, so I made eight of them. Thought I'd share the process. I make a bowl, leaving clay in the bottom for a nice foot, and add some small handles up at the top so you can grab the colander without burning your fingers if you're pouring hot pasta into it.

When the pots become quite stiff, that's when I trim and drill holes. If I drill when the clay is too wet, it's a mess to clean afterwards. When it's at the right consistency, the drill cuts cleanly. I do clean each hole quickly with a scrubby when dry just to make sure there's no sharp edges.

Twenty years ago, my then sister-in-law (Martha) gave me a Makita cordless drill for Christmas. I had asked for one for the purpose of drilling holes in colanders. This drill has been one of my best tools. It still works - same battery, same battery charger.

After drilling holes, I use the drill bit to create a channel in the foot to allow liquid to flow from under the colander when set on a plate.

Here's a video: