Posts By: Dan Finnegan

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… Read more »

What have I done to my classic teapot??? Birdlets – 5″ h

Fresh from Toff’s oven! Click for bigger, juicier photo

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… Read more »

    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… Read more »

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… Read more »

I just returned from an exhausting and exhilarating evening at LibertyTown as we opened this month’s exhibition. Well over 600 people came out to view the 195 pieces(!) that were submitted. Elizabeth and Beth did an heroic job of hanging the show. It is wonderful to see how strongly this scale appeals…both to artists and to the… Read more »

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. 7 lbs. of clay Yesterday we pressed pears and apples for cider…today is getting ready for tonight’s opening at LibertyTown. Tomorrow I’ll get back to… Read more »

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’! Casseroles Some say jugs…others… Read more »

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… Read more »

    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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

(This is my new teaball…a genius idea and totally unconnected to the following post…) 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… Read more »

    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… Read more »

    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.    … Read more »

Hannah, Paul and CAKE!     You might want to avert your eyes from this post (Caution: contains 22 photos. That’s 22,000 words if each is worth a thousand!) So, I’m back at my desk on Winchester Street in the good ol’ US of A. I’ve been back home for a week now and I’m just now… Read more »

    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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

    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… Read more »

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… Read more »

 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…. Read more »

I’m not sure what kind of bird these are really, Steve Cymrot called them crows. I think of Heckle and Jeckle (check ’em out on youtube)  sometimes…and I don’t think that I’ve shown any good photos of the birds that came out the last firing but they’ve been a big hit and I really enjoyed… Read more »