Pots for 'Clay in May'

Sorry for the lack of blogging, we have somehow lost our camera during the extended group firing. Not surprising really considering how tired everyone was by the end. There were a couple cameras at the firing that looked just like ours so we're hoping somebody accidentally picked ours up and took it home. I'm sure it will turn up soon.
Luckily for us we have this camera here that I just found. The camera is my fathers and I had promised to send it back to him about..... hmm six months ago? Sorry Dad, we'll have it in the mail soon.
The firing came out well for our first time with that particular kiln. The firing was really for our friend Krista Loomans so we aimed for a much heavier reduction than we normally do with our kiln here. I believe Krista was pleased with it all. It's taking me a while to adjust to the different palette.

I really enjoy the light flashing orange and salmon color we usually get. We've saved a couple of the pots from the firing for ourselves. We'll put them into daily use and see how they are after we live with them for a while. As a general rule I tend not to trust my judgement of pottery until I've lived with the pot for a while.

There is a great quote from Hamada:
"Taste' and "feeling": the former is a part, the latter is the whole.
If one is observing a pot or any good article, one must be aware that "taste" is only partial viewing, while perceiving the "feeling" of an article is seeing the whole. The person who is preoccupied with good taste will respond to the details and incidentals of the object he is viewing, but is too close to see the whole object properly. The person who is concerned with feeling stands aside and allows the work to make its natural impact on him..... Good taste is a formula, and almost anyone can develop the ability to have good taste or to create good taste. But it is not so with feeling.... Therefore, criticism or appreciation by people who deal essentially in taste is of little real value to the craftsman, whereas any genuine criticism of a work's feeling gives the maker cause for serious thought."


So I'm attributing our reservations with the heavy reduction to taste. We've grown quite accustomed to seeing our pots in a certain light. We'll keep some around the house in daily rotation and see how they grow on us over time.


Back to the present. We've got a gallery full of nice pots, both from our last firing here as well as a handful of pots from our firing with Krista. I hope everybody can make it out to Mineral Point for "Clay in May". All of the local potters are opening their studios up for the day, and we're hosting a party at our place (open to everyone--that means you) afterword with live music, s'mores, cookies, and lemonade. We'll also be giving away juice cups to the first 50 people who come to the party.


Hope to see you all tomorrow.
Joe