Brandon asked a good question of a previous post of mine.  I mentioned that I raw glaze and that I glaze the insides first with a liner and later slip them. His question was, ‘how do you keep the slip from getting on the glaze’? It is a probably doing things backwards, but here’s why I do it and the photos to illustrate how. 

I used to get some handle cracking, but I now glaze the inside shortly after I apply the handles…everything rehydrates equally and…no cracking! Then I wipe the glaze back about an 1/8 of an inch inside. I like a clean line at the rims of my work and I can’t get that in a more conventional way unless I’m willing to use a lot of wax (which I’m not). Put your slip on first, then glaze inside and the glaze sort of spills out over the rim in a way that doesn’t please me. So,  below is my ‘system’. After I pour the slip I use a brush along the rim to pick up the excess so there are no big drips when I turn it  on it’s base. Does it take  a little longer to do? You bet it does! Does the finished result make it worthwhile…it does for me.

Don S. came by the studio to show off his newest purchases. Some very nice juice cups. So how about a little quiz…name those makers!

150 of you gentle readers are now following this here blog! When I first began writing I told myself that I would do it for my own edification and if anyone were to read along that would be a bonus. The truth is that I’m ridiculously flattered that you take the time to check in, whether it is on a regular basis or sporadically. Reading and writing in the blogosphere has been a very enriching experience and I continue to find it a bit of an obsession. I have new friends and I get to stay in much closer touch with old friends. There are folks I’ve yet to meet but look forward to one day being face to face. Thanks for coming along.

I use 2 3/4 lbs of clay for the body of these. 1/2 lb for the spout and the same for the lid. The tiny one is 1/2 lb, fully functioning, of course!

I also made and finished another bird, a mere 2″ high. Too cute! No photo today. Stay tuned…

One of the benefits of making so many mugs is the having the opportunity to slip and decorate a lot of work in a brief time. Throwing the second 50 mugs was a breeze…combing the second 50 was just the same… confidence grows and everything happens with a surer hand. That’s one of the great pleasures of repeating forms… mind and hand really get in synch, although, the truth is, the less my mind is involved the better the result. There are almost 100 decoration variations on a couple of themes here. I resist repeating precisely, but like the comfort of exploring the familiar, adapting to different shapes and sizes. 

Slip with drip.

I add the liner glaze shortly after the handles…everything rehydrates and equalizes. Handles don’t crack that way.

Racked and ready.

A tableful.

aerial view

    I spent the last week in near total immersion, making mugs for the masses! When I worked at Winchcombe everything was produced in big numbers, production being how the pottery survived all these years (200+). Eddie Hopkins could make and handle 500 small mugs in a week!!! Sid Tustin made a million pots in his 51 years at the pottery! I’m sure that Ray has done the same. Where do they all go?

    100 has been my number for many years but it is rare that I reach it anymore. When I first made pots here in Fredericksburg I was retailing mugs for $4.50 and wholesaling them for half of that! I had to make a lot of pots to get by. It was great training.

    So, during a week of fantastic autumn weather I hunkered down and did it. 105 mugs thrown in a couple of days and then handled, glazed, slipped and decorated. Raw glazing means that they are ready for the fire now, still a month away, but nice to have them ‘in the bank’.  

I’ve mentioned here before that I reckon that I’ve made many, many thousands of mugs in the last 30+ years and I’m of two minds about that these days. For the most part I am grateful for all the bills that I’ve paid by selling them and I genuinely enjoy how much pleasure that they give to folks. The ‘but’ here is that I sometimes wish that we collected something besides mugs. Everyone collects mugs. I do. You do. We all do. But I wish that there were more teapot collectors and bottle collectors and jug collectors et al.

 Just saying…

And that being said, I still continue to find them interesting to make and explore. If I have a methodology for my pottery endeavors it is to take an old idea and make it new. More on that soon. 

I cross a little creek each day on my way to the studio and I often pause to check out all the turtles sunning themselves on fallen logs. Now, in what seems like an instant, we are into seriously cooler weather (at last!) and these guys will all be heading underground soon for a long winter’s snooze. I stopped the car to check him out and he sped away. They can really motor if necessary. 

I aim to be making plenty of pots in October with a firing in mid-November. My favorite way to spend a month! That means avoiding distractions, staying focused and drinking even more cups of tea. I need hundreds of pots to fill the two chambers of my kiln, although some of the big birds will fill some space. Like this beverage dispenser below…

We have finally gotten some desperately needed rain, which also means pots are drying slower. Both of these suit me…I hate ‘chasing plastic’, uncovering and covering pots all day long.

Yesterday we pressed pears and apples for cider…today is getting ready for tonight’s opening at LibertyTown. Tomorrow I’ll get back to these pots.

Brenda inquired about the rectangular baking dishes in the last post. They are indeed made without a base, reshaped shortly after throwing, and then attached to slabs that can be thrown or rolled out by hand. I do both, depending on my mood! Today I’m pressing apples to make more ‘scrumpy’!

If you put your ear to the ground the rumble that you are beginning to hear is made by the potter/blogger fellowship as we make our way from near and far to North Carolina and the exhibition organized by Meredith Heywood that opens this weekend. Hollis and Dee visited this morning for breakfast as they wend their way south from Cape Cod. They might get the prize for coming the furthest?!

     I won’t be there myself, but it will be a terrific show with the work of 50 potters who also write. Perhaps some are writers who also make pots?

The exhibition is titled: “Clay and Blogs : Telling a Story” and will be held at Campbell House Gallery in Southern Pines, NC for the month of October.

    I also spent some time today on a project that I’m now calling the British Invasion (part II). We are bringing Hannah and Doug to the US next spring (!) for a series of workshops and there are lots of bits and pieces that need attending for it to be a success.

I’ve been passing this sign on the way to the studio for a week or two.  

A while ago I showed one half of the mural that covers most of my old shop on Hanover Street. Here’s the other half for your viewing pleasure.

    As more and more lumber mills add chippers to their production, finding wood for my kiln has become trickier than I’d like. My fuel of choice: soft wood offcuts with plenty of bark…but I end up using all kinds of things. The lack of a consistent source is maddening because it means that each firing has yet another variable to deal with.

    When Rudi mentioned the chance to visit an old lumber yard I was a bit skeptical, and maybe I should still be, but I think he discovered the holy grail of fuel for me! Beck lumber was a big, sprawling mill producing hardwood flooring and frames for box spring mattresses with the lower grade woods. Mr Beck passed away and his wife has sold off most of the equipment and inventory, but no one wants these pine ‘stickers’ and there are mountains of them!!! ‘Stickers’ are used as spacers between all the boards as they were cut to allow them to dry evenly. They are all cut to length (4′ x 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″) and should be perfect for my use. I will see for sure in November when I fire, but mostly I’m trying to figure out how to move a substantial amount of this to my place. I got two trailer loads, which is close to a firing (I think), but if it works there is years worth of wood here!!!  My only complaint is that it is still TOO BLOODY HOT!!! The evenings are nice, though. 

I have been moving along in the studio as well, making baking dishes and small jugs and lidded casseroles…more of the basics if you will.

My friend Ashraf Hanna is studying for a Master’s degree at the Royal College in London this year and he has asked me to ask you to send him any “interesting and dramatic photos of fire and firings along with a brief description” that he might include in his dissertation. Here’s a good chance to show off some of those great shots you’ve taken over the years.

Please send them to Ashraf at 

Jennifer Dyson stoking the kiln at Muchelney Pottery.

The start of a 24 hour fire.

Big slabs in the firebox.

My kiln at the start.

This has been a quiet week, mostly getting some rhythm going on the wheel. It always seems to take a while to get my mind and body on the same page and keep out the distractions that life brings.

   Sadly, a quiet week is still busier than I’d prefer…this week’s list included visiting my surgeon for a check-up, a farewell party for Anna Branner, picking apples in preparation for this year’s cider making, testing soil on the farm for next year’s garden, and spending a bit more time with my chainsaw. Imagine the pots a man could make as a hermit! 

    Why is it that as much as I enjoy throwing, I have to work myself up to begin?  It is always useful to start with something old and comfortable, and I have been making these oversized pie dishes for more than 30 years. They just about make themselves, they are fun to comb, and I love pie. But then, you know that by now. And if you are going to make a pie, a standard 9″ is hardly worth the effort, so bigger, in this case, is better. They also make a helluva quiche…I use a grated potato crust that is tasty…

    I always think of Eddie Hopkins when I make jugs…and Ray Finch…and, added to that list now is Doug Fitch. I think of my belly when I make a pie dish…

A couple of days ago Michael Kline wrote a post about reusing the foam from a cone box….

It reminded me that we used to entertain ourselves around the wood kiln in western Maryland by coming up with overly obvious tips for Ceramics Monthly’s “Suggestions from Readers” column. 

I offer you these photos in that same spirit…  

I want to introduce you to Brenda Hornsby Heindl and her exciting new blog. libertystoneware.blogspot.com 

I met Brenda last March at the Colonial Williamsburg conference on 18th c. salt glazed stoneware. She attended Berea College in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky where she got a good foundation in making useful pots. She is also a graduate of  the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. Her academic interest in historic pottery is a big influence on her own work. Brenda recently moved to North Carolina with her husband to set up their own businesses. I hope that our North Carolina bretheren will give her a particularly warm welcome!  

    As the temperature and humidity drop, my energy rises and it just might be the leading edge of autumn that we are experiencing. Thank goodness. It is always a bit of an interesting adjustment, returning home after significant time away, but throw in the tail end of a virginia summer and I find that I am not overly motivated. Momentum is needed and there’s nothing like picking a firing date to increase the pace of work. I will set that date soon, but it’s easier to stay relaxed until I do. 

    And I need to get this bird obsession out of my system…but each time I make one I think of two new wrinkles to introduce for the next. Years ago I made a series of pots I called ‘Flounder’ pots because of their narrow profile. It seemed obvious to turn a couple into birds. Here are two I finished building today. I might have to set a moratorium on more photos until I have some proper pots to show…maybe even a 12×12 morning to break the spell. 

    Toff and I stopped by Winchcombe on the way to the coach station which took me to the plane station and eventually home. We spoke with Ray for a while, getting his critique of the recent salt firing. Way back in 1978/79 we three spent lots of time doing much the same thing. 

    We were there as Ray was exploring salt glazing for the first time. That was the most intense learning experience I ever got as a young potter. Ray has always held Toff’s opinion in great regard, particularly when building and firing kilns is concerned, and while I provided all the young muscle I got to be a part of the give and take between them as they analyzed and theorized and made further plans as they figured it out.

               We are all three STILL trying to figure it out. 

This is the view down into Ulswater.

To pick up where my last real blog left off… I left Jan and co. in Blairgowrie and headed west to visit Hannah in Dumfries.

    Parry the Parrot here has been a better correspondent than I these past 5 weeks! I have been on the run the whole time and when I sit down at the Milway’s PC I grow quickly frustrated. I’m heading home on Tuesday and I will shortly purchase a new Apple computer, at which time I will write a proper synopsis of this year’s adventures in Britain. It has been wonderful and exhausting and anyone who thinks I come here to sit in the hammock and eat plums is just plain crazy.

    I am extraordinarily fortunate to have such a rich community here, and I am always a bit torn between my two homes back in Virginia and here in the Cotswolds. I often say that I am the richest person I know…and I mean it. See you on the other side of the Atlantic!

We had a lovely day in the capitol city of Scotland. Edinburgh is located on the Firth of Forth (I love saying that!) and has been a political and cultural center since Roman times and has, like everywhere you travel in Brtiain, a long and sometimes bloody history. It is home to Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood (the Queens official residence in Scotland.). It is sometimes known as the Athens of the north because of it’s concentration of intellectuals, writers and inventers. Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and William McGonagall (“The only truly memorable bad poet in our language”!) all spent time here. One of my favorite contemporary  fictional characters is Inspector Rebus, who prowls the city solving crimes and nipping into the Oxford Bar for a pint of Deuchers. Good writing continues to be an important feature of the city, with a fantastic Literature festival. Just now ‘The Fringe Festival’ is in full swing, with music, theatre and comedy performances in every nook and cranny of the city. The Edinburgh Tattoo is a huge assembly of bagpipers who perform each day during the festival. I’d love to hear/feel those pipes in all their glory one day! The tall tower is called the ‘Gothic Rocket’. The pub called ‘Finnegan’s Wake’ was irresistible, so are Jan, Pippa and Phoebe, enjoying a drink with the ghost of Rebus. Thanks for the great company, ladies!

Next: west to Dumfries and the studio/home of a world famous blogger…

Almost three weeks of travelling (and over 1,000 miles) and enjoying myself means that I have been  moving too fast to keep you up to date, gentle reader. I couldn’t possibly fill you in on all the fun I’ve been having, but I’ll begin in Scotland.

    I flew into Edinburgh and was met by Jan Farquhar, one of my oldest friends here in the UK. We took the scenic route to her family’s home in Blairgowrie which took us along the coastal edge of county Fife through St. Andrew’s, where the British Open had just finished. It made me wish that I was a golfer! The golf museum had this crazy group of bronzes, capturing the ‘grips’ of a bunch of famous golfers. The disembodied hands are very odd. We crossed the Firth of Tay through Dundee on the way to her home. 

    Jan and Derek and their two gorgeous daughters ( well done on those exam results, Pippa!) live in a beautiful manse overlooking the town and they treated me with great generosity, excellent home cooking and numerous cups of tea. I’m looking forward to a return visit. Soon! I can’t forget to mention Finn, their excellent canine companion!  

    Blairgowrie used to be a serious mill town, producing linen from flax. Now it is known for what the British call ‘soft fruits’ – raspberries etc. That’s what all those white tunnels are about with the wind farm in the background. We  took  a beautiful drive around Tummel Loch past towns whose names are poetry themselves..no wonder Scotland produced such fine poets. There is music in the language when the Scots speak.

    Toff and Georgie left for Orkney yesterday and I’m now in charge for a couple of weeks. Plenty of time to write about more of my travels and make some new birds in the studio.Tomorrow…Edinburgh.

    I feel like a proud parent introducing you to this fine novel written and self published by Father Paul S. Naumann S.J.. PS was the first teacher to become a real mentor to me when I went to high school. He directed  the theater department (my FIRST love in the arts) and taught classes that ranged from Shakespeare to the existentialists and 17thc Italian comedy.

    The novel follows Crispin and his quest to save the great pine tree that is dying in the forest. He receives guidance from a wolf, a falcon and young man who drives a Pierce Arrow (the only car made in Buffalo, NY!). It’s a fine adventure novel and I encourage you to buy a copy. Or three! They are available through EXLIBRIS or AMAZON. PS spent his life inspiring and encouraging thousands of students and now he’s ‘doing his own thing’ and it is fantastic!

Since I’ve decided to make an entire flock of these critters, I need a tracking system of some sort or other. I once did a ‘100 Fishes” project, a limited edition of small vases, no two alike, numbered and recorded in a lovely book that Paul made for me. Of course, it wouldn’t do to repeat that trick, so I’ve decided that, like the National Weather Service names hurricanes, so shall I name the birds…alphabetically…starting with mens’ names. These smaller lidded guys are, from left to right, Ignatz, Hiram and Knute. Laurence didn’t make it into the photo. Of course, I don’t name them until each is done, since I’d like to think that in some way their character helps suggest the correct moniker.
Dennis Allen suggested, and Megan identified, the similarity between the long necked bird in my last blog post and Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit claymation series. I often show their videos when I teach workshops!

    These are the last things I’ll make stateside this summer, I leave Wednesday for Scotland and then back to my old home away from home in England. Hannah, Toff and Doug are all on the itinerary as well as visiting the pottery show at “the Pens” in Penrith.

Last evening we had a ferocious ‘microburst’ storm that ravaged trees all over town. I watched a neighbor’s ancient oak tree go over in what seemed like slow motion. Another crushed a big fence at LibertyTown and others went down in a very localized area. We’ve been in big drought and I believe that it has undermined the stability of some big old beauties. If you look close you can see the manhole cover that was lifted right out of the ground!

 After some extra large sculptural birds I’m now working on some smaller lidded ones. I have some very small ones to finish tomorrow and I continue to be excited by these regardless of the scale. I have always enjoyed changing the scale of an individual form..there are obvious and subtle differences that keep it  challenging.

I’m trying to figure out how to make a long ‘s’ shaped neck, but this long straight one sure ended up with a lot of character. I added some fearsome feet to it after this photo. It’s about 20″ high at this point.

This is a good ‘before’ photo. There are 4 pieces here…the pedestal, the container and a two part lid.