Posts Categorized: News

I don’t seem to have the time to organize thoughts into words these days, so I’ll let my little camera do the talking…with all the news in the world I’m feeling blessed and worried all at the same time. Fat and juicy handle. Pies and planters.

5lb. +  3 1/2lb. + 1 3/4lb. = 10 1/4lb I can’t face any more ‘feathers’ at the moment so I’ve put the birds aside to make some ‘real’ pots…8 pie dishes (that’s for you, Marie N.!) and three large planters. I need to fill up that big-ass kiln!

The wood pile has been growing quickly now that Jason and his muscles have joined our crew. We’ve spent several days running back and forth to the old lumber yard I mentioned a while ago to collect fuel for the kiln…free for the taking! This stack is 5′ high by 4′ deep and close to… Read more »

I’m not sure who first suggested to me that I turn a piece that I had made upside down, but I’ve been doing it for a long time! Stacking forms on top of each other is another way to try and see things differently. I think that ‘seeing‘ is the most important part of a… Read more »

24″ high Detail Before… After…I tried to make the wings appear to overlap…it’ll be more evident when glazed.

In case you thought I’d forgotten how…7 and 8 pounders.

At 44″ this is hard to photograph… A detail in the shade I made 8 of these so far…still need stoppers I think this ‘slate colored junco’ must have been stunned as I was able to get within a few inches of it.

A couple of months ago John Bauman wrote a post about making mugs and I’ve had it in mind to respond ever since. John makes an argument for a simple straight sided cylinder with a turned foot and he extolls the virtues of those horrible diner mugs (the ones that often come filled with tepid… Read more »

Jason and I fetched more wood for the kiln yesterday and there is a few years worth on the site now! Wood has been a struggle lately and my friend Rudi’s connection to the old saw mill in Massaponax is the gift that keeps on giving! We will go back again next month for more. … Read more »

1976 – Tempe, Arizona I must say that blog awards strike me as silly at best. In fact, I’m not too big on awards of any kind…somewhere in my attic are the various ribbons etc. that anyone making art for decades accumulates. Years ago I got a best in show award at a local fair…my… Read more »

I’m starting to get an idea of what full time bird making is like. I am used to making LOTS of pots when I get to the studio…some weeks I’d throw and finish a 100 pots or more. That’s the Winchcombe way and it has served me well all these years. Now it can take all… Read more »

OK  kids, it’s time to mark those calendars and make a date to join us as we spend a weekend with these two masters of red clay Hannah McAndrew and Doug Fitch!  You can join us here in Virginia…or with Hollis and the Cape Cod Potters in Massachusetts to the north of us, or with Ron in… Read more »

It’s been several months since I’ve made pots (such is the life of an art center owner) and this week I’ve been slowly working in my studio, trying to build some momentum. The studio starts out somewhere between 32 degrees F. and 40 when I arrive, but my little heater gets it up to the… Read more »

I spent a couple of hours on the wheel today…the first pots I’ve made since my November firing. I need to ease back into a routine…I have so many ideas at the moment that it’s hard to slow down and be as focused as I’d like to be.  Feast your eyes on these beautiful appendages!

Hugh Milway, son of Toff and my favorite godson will graduate from Durham University later this year and before putting the engineering degree he is earning to use he is determined to see the world and go exploring. A man after my own heart! Stock photos of previous rally-ers So some time this summer he… Read more »

I like the way the decoration emphasizes the handle shape. I spent an entire day at the Met in New York and took dozens of photos of pots…mostly looking at handles. I’ll post more as the week goes by. If you read the literature that the Met provides, you would wonder if there were many… Read more »

Times Square I’m still a bit worn out from my trip and still reveling in the glow of big city life. As much as I love my small town I am always energized by a visit to any city of note, I love the energy, the cultural life, the food(!), the architecture and the people watching…. Read more »

I’m off to New York City for a couple days of museum visiting and theater attending. See you when I come back. Coming Soon; “the Mongol Rally”!

I’m off to New York City for a couple days of museum visiting and theater attending. See you when I come back. Coming Soon; “the Mongol Rally”!

In 1994 I traveled to western Massachusetts to do an ACC show with a body of work quite different from the useful pots that I am better known for. My first interest in clay was as a sculptural material and  while I have made my living as a functional potter I have never let go… Read more »

Mighty busy these last few days: meeting with city officials all week hoping to get some support for LibertyTown, First Friday opening reception, Bowl-o-rama Saturday (we make bowls at LibertyTown for Empty Bowls), new helper Jason arrived Saturday evening to move in to his new digs, late night playoff games courtesy of my wonderful DVR and today… Read more »

After my last firing I barely got photos of the birds taken before life just got too hectic. I never did shoot any of the ‘real’ pots so I’m playing catch up now. Sadly, a lot of good pots are already gone, but there are plenty of gems left.  side-handled casseroleI’m more than ready to… Read more »

Over at the Whynot Pottery blog, Meredith and Mark have lost leave of their senses and have written a very flattering description of their visit to Fredericksburg last week. They have obviously ‘drunk the kool-aid‘ and fallen under my spell! Thanks so much for the visit and the too kind words. More reasons to love… Read more »

It was so great to meet Meredith and Mark today…they are on an extended holiday journey and kindly included us in their plans (and returned pots from the blog show). I gave them the full-on tour which includes a walk through LibertyTown, lunch next door at Primavera and then the 11 mile drive out of… Read more »

Hello there, old friends. The combination of a gimpy computer and a hectic holiday season has conspired to keep me from any posting lately. I hope that you enjoyed seeing photos of John and Yoko and Allen Green in the meantime. A nice teapot group.    We had a stellar December at LibertyTown and our… Read more »