About.com

About.com is a wonderful resource for potters with tons of great articles, techniques, definitions, pottery projects and more.  I have used the vast resources many times.

Beth Peterson, a potter, writer and teacher is the Guru behind About.com Guide to pottery.

I am excited that Beth has posted and commented on a picture of my Flower Power Casserole Dish in the gallery of her Impressed and Incised article.  I will definately do more of her projects in the future, they are a fun way to try new techniques as well as a great motivator for those times when I feel stuck doing the same thing. 

Creatively, Teresa

Slip Test Tile Results

Hummmm, not what I had expected... 

The picture actually shows the colors pretty well- they are very light and look washed out.  

The green is an olive green where as I was looking for a hunter green.  Except for the dark blue and green, I was hoping for bolder colors.

The vertical lines are a thick coat of each of the slips and the vertical lines are a thinner coat so I could see what the glazes look like on top of each other.

Back to the work.  I loaded a bisque load this morning and will do a little clean up before Drop-in tonight.

Teresa

Much Needed Day Off

Playing with the cats (Oscar, Raku and Delly) left me rolling on the floor laughing with the realization that cats innately know how to slow down and enjoy every aspect of life, weather it be watching a bird or squirrel, playing with a rubber band, knocking pens from the table onto the floor, finding that sliver of sun comming in the window or hanging out with their friends. 

And if they don't want to do something... they don't.

Today I spent the day as if I were a cat- After our morning snowshoe, I leisurly drank coffee, checked email and surfed some pottery sites.  Spent some time looking at magazines in front of the window with the warmth  of the sun my face.  Some time was spent reflecting on life and drinking green tea, watching a movie on "Lifetime, the Womens Network" (makes me laugh), thought about doing laundry- but did not.  In the afternoon Beau  (our 12 year old, crazy, golden retriever) and I enjoyed an afternoon walk over to our friends house.

Unable to keep my hands out of clay, I pulled out the bag, I just happen to have at the house, for a little handbuilding. 

  Flower magnets and buttons ranging in size from 1/2" to about 4" 

 

Tried out a new idea for a napkin ring -Would not it be fun to have a flower napkin ring?

Wishing you a cat like day in the near future!

Teresa

Martis Camp Folk School Forum II

What a wonderful event!  As I told you in a recent blog post, I will be teaching a pottery workshop at Martis Camp in August.

Over the weekend there were about a dozen instructors of different mediums participant involved demonstrations as a sneak peak to what they will be teaching next summer. 

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, meeting many of the members, a ton of kids and the other artists.  I befriended a very fun and down to earth fiberartist, Nancy Hinds who was working on a quilt which will be donated to Project Linus.  Others included:  Andy Skaff, a local oil painter, was painting with people in the sunroom.  Frank Pisciotta, another local, took over the indoor basketball court with his fly rods.  Larry Charles amazed us all with his wonderful drawings of Tahoe life.  Erik Rinkleff carved a 300 lb ice cube into an adorable bear Saturday and carved wood Sunday.  My only regret of the day was not joining in on one of the sessions with Joy Ravelli, owner of the Purusha Yoga Center in San Francisco.

Martis Camp is an extraordinary place, I am looking forward to being a part of it this summer.

Tagged: 7 things

I have been tagged... the rules are for me to tell you 7 things about myself which you probably do not know.  Here goes...

1.  I once skied all day with my telemark boots on the wrong feet- the boots were very uncomfortable even on the right feet so, I did not notice.

2.  I have lived in the Tahoe/Truckee area for 24 years, first moved to the Tahoe City in 1986, lived on Donner Summit for about 6 years and have been in Truckee since 1994.

3.  Peeps are my favorite candy, Easter a favorite holiday.  I really dislike Halloween even though I have a huge sweet-tooth.

4.  We are addicted to watching American Idol... I am constantly asking Stu "Can they sing?"  I think I am tone deaf, I know I have no rhythm yet, I really enjoy music and sometimes dance when I know nobody is watching.


5.  "Catcher in the Rye" is the only book I have read more than once.

6.  I did not like cats when I got Oscar, his sole purpose was to be a mouser in the studio.  Now we have 3 cats, they all sleep on the bed.  Not one of them has ever lived in the studio or caught a mouse.

7.  Until Stu and I married, I did not have a middle name.  A family tradition is for the girls to use their maiden name as a middle.

Welcome to my world,

Teresa Moore Wik

My Way or the Highway

Students ask the most wonderful questions.  I love the intense look on their faces while awaiting that tidbit of wisdom from their mentor.  I try to respond with the answer in a clear, concise way which still allow them to think about it and work out a solution to best fits their needs, their style and personality.  There is no single right or wrong way and very few rules in pottery.

Believe me, I have found most of the wrong ways of doing things... time and time again.  I guess, what I teach is my experience; I demonstrate what I do and explain why I do it that way instead of another.  Often showing  alternative methods as they may work better for someone else than for me.

There are plenty of ways of throwing a vase, trimming a bowl, putting a handle on a mug or skinning a cat.  

Be Courageous!  Teresa

Martis Camp Folk School Forum

I am so excited to be teaching a workshop at Martis Camp this summer!  Over Presidents Day weekend, all of the visiting artists instructing at the Folk School will be in "The Barn" with hands on demonstrations and a sneak peak at the summer session.

I will be teaching a slab building workshop.  Each participant will make 2-3 items choosing from half a dozen fun and functional projects such as birdhouse, planter, pitcher (or watering can), dishes and platters.

I have some samples in the kiln which I'll take pictures of and post this week while I am getting ready for the Forum this weekend.

I won't be at the studio Saturday but, will be there Sunday and Monday.

Teresa

Olive Oil Pourers

I really enjoy sitting down at the potters wheel to throwing a dozen or so of the same item; it is relaxing and fun to play with different shapes, sizes and texture while working through which form will be the easiest to use for functional pottery.

My plan is to have the shape easy to hold and pour without an attached handle.

Below is a picture of the spout which slides in and holds a seal while pouring.  As you can imagine, the top diameter is critical with very little margin of error to ensure proper fit of the spout. 

Can you picture them finished, in color with glaze?

This is making me hungry... a little bread and olive oil before dinner sounds delicious!

Have a wonderful evening, Teresa

Flower Power Pots 2

Flower Power finished pieces

Casserole Dish- the "pink" flowers were suppose to be lavender... seems the purple underglazes all lighten quite a bit at cone 5.

My favorite is the dark blue one with red flower.  Since the flower is raised, I have it opposite the handle of the mugs so you can drink left or right handed.

 

Mountain Scene using underglazes and Cream Rust glaze

Close up of a mountain scene, glazed in Peacock.  Beleive it or not, this is all one glaze; blue where thicker and green where thinner.

 

The flower was painted on using a purple underglaze.  You don't have to recaliprate your screen- it faded to blue while in the kiln.

All in all, i really enjoyed putting the flowers on, painting underglaze was a kick.  I like the way most of the samples turned out.  What do you think?  Which are your favorites?

Painting pottery.... I never would have thought...

Teresa