tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57569976205030763362024-02-19T03:50:53.952-05:00Liberty StonewareA pottery blog about making, experimental archaeology, farming, and musings about historic pottery!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.comBlogger266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-50077794369618521942018-08-25T20:58:00.001-04:002018-08-25T20:58:02.594-04:00NEW WEBSITE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's official- I finally finished my new website! Check it out:<br /><a href="https://libertystoneware.com/">https://libertystoneware.com/</a><br />
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Probably more updates and such to come as I learn more about website development, and possibly some blog entries down the road, but I plan to archive this blog and shift my focus to the above website. Thanks everyone for your support and interest! <br />Best, BrendaLiberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-4294998449682465732018-07-24T12:59:00.004-04:002018-07-24T12:59:49.796-04:00Work in Progress - Almost There!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brenda salting the wood-firing kiln </td></tr>
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My new website is not quite up and running yet, so I apologize for the very long delay. I've been using Instagram a lot lately (look for me @libertystoneware ) rather than Facebook, so that is a good way to stay updated on photos and things I have been up to! Thanks for your patience!<br />
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In the meantime, here a few photos of new pieces from some recent kiln firings:<br />Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-62651957737601450552017-11-07T21:16:00.001-05:002017-11-07T21:16:01.768-05:00Stay Tuned! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My studio near my pottery kiln is finished, so I am working on new things, and I am in the process of creating a new website and hope to have it up and running soon.<br />
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In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any questions or inquiries. Thanks!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-69237183536574173022016-11-10T21:11:00.002-05:002016-11-10T21:11:21.579-05:00Crazy Couple of Weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been to three ceramic conferences in the last couple of weeks, and the auction house I work for has a <a href="https://jeffreysevans.hibid.com/catalog/69915/november-12--2016--americana-and-fine-antiques/">HUGE Americana sale</a> this Saturday. It's been a wild ride. Let's just start with the crazy floral arrangement in the above photo. I had the chance to see this at the <a href="https://thewadsworth.org/">Wadsworth Atheneum</a> this past weekend during the <a href="http://www.americanceramiccircle.org/">American Ceramic Circle </a>Symposium. That floral arrangement? IT'S CERAMIC!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of those petals are CERAMIC!</td></tr>
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The basket that it sits in was made in Meissen, Germany in the 1740s, and the basket was then filled with CERAMIC flowers made in Vincennes, France around 1750, and mounted on the gilt base. Isn't that wild?!<br />
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The first conference I attended was the <a href="http://www.transcollectorsclub.org/">Transferware Collectors Club</a>, which was held in Charlottesville, Virginia.<br />
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Montpelier and Monticello hosted the group, and it was great to take tours again of the buildings, but then have the chance to see the archaeological collections and watch very knowledgeable individuals help identify the patterns being excavated on the sherds at the two sites. <a href="http://www.transcollectorsclub.org/resources/HallidayPickleDishMilsey2011.pdf">Richard Halliday</a> gave a great presentation on the entire process of copper plate engraving, which was absolutely fascinating.<br />
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Then it was off to the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts for their southern ceramics symposium and a good lineup of speakers and tours.<br />
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Perhaps the highlight of the weekend (other than the opportunity to speak) was the chance to do pottery demonstrations with <a href="http://www.josephsandpottery.com/">Joseph Sand</a> who talked about alkaline glazing and making large pots and <a href="http://www.newsalempottery.com/">Hal and Eleanor Pugh</a> who talked about lead-glazed red earthenware.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel Ackermann, Curator of Collections at MESDA</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angelika Kuettner, Associate Curator of Ceramics and Glass at Colonial Williamsburg</td></tr>
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I had a good time getting two curators at my wheel and going through the throwing basics with them, too!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt-glazed stoneware urn made at the Lambeth Pottery in England</td></tr>
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This past weekend at the American Ceramic Circle symposium I enjoyed getting to see colleagues from all over, listen to good lectures, and see the great collections at the Wadsworth. There was also this incredible exchange between two contemporary potters, but I will have to save that for another post.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little (big) man on the left!</td></tr>
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Somewhere along the lines, Halloween happened, and I took my little man out to see other kids' costumes, and he picked up on the idea of ringing the doorbell and taking a piece of candy, and also saying "thank you". Shall I crash next week? No, we have<a href="https://www.jeffreysevans.com/auction_schedule.php#2016_Dec_3"> another auction in a few weeks</a>!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-27577045206951500612016-10-07T21:15:00.001-04:002016-10-07T21:15:58.290-04:00Dear Diana Gabaldon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been listening to the Outlander book series while driving back and forth between <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2016/09/among-living.html">North Carolina and Virginia for work</a>. The content has been a pleasant way to pass the time and the historical inaccuracies or material culture flaws have been able to be brushed off. Until now.<br />
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I'm into book six of the series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and I started to have suspicions about what could come when Brianna was trying to figure out how to make pipes for a water system. Of course, when I first heard this I thought, "well, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/delaware/wat.htm">Moravians in Pennsylvania had figured out how to do that in the 1750s</a>" (the book series at this point being in the 1770s). And then, since the characters are living in North Carolina, they mentioned the Moravian potters in Salem, and I thought, "oh, no, I know where this is going."<br />
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When Brianna started digging a pit for her "groundhog kiln" I thought I was going to go crazy while driving down the highway! I understand the need to empower Brianna and give her the ability to use her engineering degree and her knowledge of things she knew and learned in the future, but building a kiln (and I assume making pottery) without any background or training is going a bit too far for me. She had a glassblower make the piece for her mother's surgery, why didn't she build a glass furnace and blow the piece herself? I'm not even to the point of whether or how she makes the pipes, but am worried she is just going to hop on a wheel and make them, which just flummoxes me.<br />
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Not to mention that she supposedly went to the Moravians and talked to them about their pottery and their "groundhog kiln". I have issue with this on several levels.<br />
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Let's start with the kiln. The Moravians didn't use a groundhog kiln<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2010/09/getting-all-fired-up.html"> as we think about one today</a>. The kiln site excavated both in Bethabara and Salem showed a rectangular base, and was more than likely a tall, rectangular up or downdraft <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2011/09/salt-glazing.html">like one of the German kilns</a>, only smaller. I personally think the one currently in use for <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2011/06/earthenware-kiln-firing.html">demonstration at Salem </a>is too short of a stack and should be much taller. They could have also been using what is sometimes called a "beehive" kiln, which a lot of early American earthenware potters employed. I don't have the reports or books on the kiln excavations from Salem and Bethabara at hand to double check the floor, but I am SURE it was NOT a "groundhog". The concept of the groundhog kiln as far as I understand stems mostly from the <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2011/06/90-foot-long-kiln.html">kilns</a> used <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2011/07/kiln-footage.html">at Edgefield in the early 1800s</a>. The term "groundhog kiln" wasn't even in use.The earliest reference I could find on Google books for the term "groundhog kiln" was <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=J0TnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22groundhog+kiln%22&dq=%22groundhog+kiln%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxrt2zm8TPAhXMcD4KHTuHCgI4eBDoAQhOMAk">1944</a>, and I suspect that it doesn't go much earlier than the late 19th-century.<br />
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Now let's go back to Brianna supposedly going to Salem and talking to the potters about their kiln. There isn't a chance one of those potters would have talked to her! The industrial quarters of the Moravian communities were off limits to many visitors, particularly women. Both the Pennsylvania and North Carolina Moravians used a system of having a "Fremden Diener" meet visitors to the town and guide them through the area based on their sex. In Bethlehem, as I understand, women went to see what the women's choirs were doing, and the men went to see the industrial things. I don't imagine this differed much in North Carolina. Much less that the Moravians were a closed community, meaning they did not allow visitors to freely wander through the town- some never made it past the tavern or inn, and may have only had the chance to attend a service at the church or listen to the music. The idea that Brianna went and learned trade secrets, much less enough to BUILD A KILN is flabbergasting. I didn't just go <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2012/08/kiln-building-progress.html">about building a kiln</a> without years of research and the help and assistance of many potters and kiln builders.<br />
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We'll see if I make it through book six. I might lose my mind when Brianna magically fires up a successful kiln at first go. Sorry, Diana Gabaldon, you lost my ability to have any focus with these inaccuracies!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-57278479825575551132016-09-08T11:04:00.001-04:002016-09-08T11:04:33.125-04:00Among the Living<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As silent as I have been here for so long, and as embarrassing as it is to see when <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2016/02/dreaming-about-dishes.html">my last post was</a>, I thought I would let you all know that I am still among the living! There have been some big changes since February, and though I made a few posts about it on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Liberty-Stoneware-146003778763199/?fref=ts">Facebook</a>, I am sorry that I remiss in doing so here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-pO-mTrFaHXHdmYnOhMBJMe0ha9KEJ3W952UAjujpx15WNxRs2tsgVkCK1aWULITNcUQYkJxsCPiQ5ntQv9rUZd8jJy0ZnvNRavTy8IshMVXJ-wrL-vDz0pMw6gISrHI9awNm6tmQOiK/s1600/IMAG0044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-pO-mTrFaHXHdmYnOhMBJMe0ha9KEJ3W952UAjujpx15WNxRs2tsgVkCK1aWULITNcUQYkJxsCPiQ5ntQv9rUZd8jJy0ZnvNRavTy8IshMVXJ-wrL-vDz0pMw6gISrHI9awNm6tmQOiK/s320/IMAG0044.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Where have I been? Well, I accepted a job as the Head of the Ceramics Department at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JSEAuctions/">Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates</a>. It was an opportunity that I didn't feel I should pass up and an experience I thought would be worthwhile pursuing. You might notice that if you follow the link that it is in Virginia, which has given rise to a lot of traveling between two states, but fear not, we are keeping the farm for now, and I am not taking down my kiln!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIt4vUXS57sV9lsJkhkXQwlqnRS2RuXDAWXUVYI3qHOaJxjyAo5XuSa_DchwNYJy6igGyKVb4CSoeFauijIESc5N4_rhJ19iHf_lmzAjBqYfkraljJ08tC0_Co6emfZtAl7ZTDVRMa6QGK/s1600/IMAG0391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIt4vUXS57sV9lsJkhkXQwlqnRS2RuXDAWXUVYI3qHOaJxjyAo5XuSa_DchwNYJy6igGyKVb4CSoeFauijIESc5N4_rhJ19iHf_lmzAjBqYfkraljJ08tC0_Co6emfZtAl7ZTDVRMa6QGK/s320/IMAG0391.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A case loaded up with ceramics I cataloged.</td></tr>
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What am I doing? I work at an auction house cataloging a majority of the ceramics that come in for consignment. We do about 15 auctions each year, and around half of those will have ceramics in them. The auction house specializes in glass, so the other part of those sales are for glass. In some respects, is very different from working in a museum, particularly the pace, which is one thing that still throws me off occasionally. In other respects, it is similar to museum work and researching objects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P8jV38X3KjE/V9FmLHKZ0iI/AAAAAAAAPds/L8Gdm0ei3MU0pwsykKieNz5TM7h9q1X1gCLcB/s1600/IMAG0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P8jV38X3KjE/V9FmLHKZ0iI/AAAAAAAAPds/L8Gdm0ei3MU0pwsykKieNz5TM7h9q1X1gCLcB/s320/IMAG0016.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful white salt-glazed stoneware plate I got to handle and catalog for a sale earlier this year. </td></tr>
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Handling so many things is probably one of the highlights of the job, and getting to learn about such a variety of material is kind of exciting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creamware coffeepot with floral hand-painted design.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FL2goX6cf4/V9FmLjmD62I/AAAAAAAAPd0/Y6gUcQLpRqsS8zLjPWbf9tP2w6rhQTxmQCEw/s1600/IMAG0981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FL2goX6cf4/V9FmLjmD62I/AAAAAAAAPd0/Y6gUcQLpRqsS8zLjPWbf9tP2w6rhQTxmQCEw/s320/IMAG0981.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Hall English teapot with paneled, molded sides. </td></tr>
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Though my passion for stoneware still remains, I have found an interest in creamware and learning more about pearlware and delft or tin-glazed earthenware.<br />
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I've had some time to do a few workshops at <a href="http://www.historiceastfield.org/index.php?content=workshops">Historic Eastfield</a> for their "<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2013/06/dish-camp.html">Dish Camp</a>", the <a href="http://www.historic-deerfield.org/discover-deerfield/summer-fellowship-program/">Historic Deerfield Summer Fellowship</a>, and with the <a href="http://www.winterthur.org/?p=636">Winterthur Program</a> incoming class. I was particularly honored to do the <a href="http://www.winterthurprogram.udel.edu/">Winterthur program since that is where I graduated from with my Master's</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i__YwPE_3lvdGKTX5Q-XytDxChG5kwZwJtTNfax4mOcokKyPAfoTzRzG42Jk4VYnrZqaqcFbG0RF3PPngXXfScT5VEyXlmbdmgEawFodI4XSPFuu2X1piqJaAd-pWULGv9Mbehl1tzqT/s1600/IMAG1261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i__YwPE_3lvdGKTX5Q-XytDxChG5kwZwJtTNfax4mOcokKyPAfoTzRzG42Jk4VYnrZqaqcFbG0RF3PPngXXfScT5VEyXlmbdmgEawFodI4XSPFuu2X1piqJaAd-pWULGv9Mbehl1tzqT/s320/IMAG1261.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying some different shapes for baskets.</td></tr>
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And I am still making pottery. It soothes my soul and gives me the opportunity to focus on some new forms, hone some older ones, and try some new avenues. So, stay tuned for the new adventures!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fLLxvh-cCI/V9FrcNVtQII/AAAAAAAAPeY/lCQQht_aTUQYR4CxSv8xqq4ScFaCC1XBQCEw/s1600/IMAG1260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fLLxvh-cCI/V9FrcNVtQII/AAAAAAAAPeY/lCQQht_aTUQYR4CxSv8xqq4ScFaCC1XBQCEw/s320/IMAG1260.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are never enough mugs!</td></tr>
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There has also been a lot of this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Kd3Pi_ND_M/V9FmL-pQduI/AAAAAAAAPeM/0NBREjU4dAYoS7A_OeQfA89KBJI89gnnQCEw/s1600/IMAG1011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Kd3Pi_ND_M/V9FmL-pQduI/AAAAAAAAPeM/0NBREjU4dAYoS7A_OeQfA89KBJI89gnnQCEw/s320/IMAG1011.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engineer in training.</td></tr>
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And a lot of this, as my son has become enamored with tractors (go figure!):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CnuDtMaXcn8/V9FmMD2wH9I/AAAAAAAAPeM/qdNZ0QP6jRMe1olXG2kKlWkg-QqAkuNyACEw/s1600/IMAG1144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CnuDtMaXcn8/V9FmMD2wH9I/AAAAAAAAPeM/qdNZ0QP6jRMe1olXG2kKlWkg-QqAkuNyACEw/s320/IMAG1144.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A love of tractors!</td></tr>
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It's really hard to believe that it has been over <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2015/02/small-potential-potters-hands.html">1.5 years since he was born</a>. Motherhood is the best project I have done yet in my life, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. <a href="http://www.westmoorepottery.com/">Mary Farrell with Westmoore Pottery</a> has told me on numerous occasions that raising her children was the best thing she ever did, and I am fully in agreement. We haven't done the "baby in the clay" photo shoot yet, but I am sure it is coming!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-18877394208699635252016-02-22T08:42:00.002-05:002016-02-22T08:42:54.320-05:00Dreaming About Dishes<br />
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I used to dream in German when I was studying the language in college. Now I dream about pots on occasion, and sometimes the dreams are so vivid they stay with me and then I have to make them come true.<br />
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I have been thinking about Helios clay from <a href="http://www.highwaterclays.com/">Highwater Clays</a> and the fact that it salts well. So, I had a dream about a few tests with low, somewhat wide dishes with no glaze on it when it goes in the kiln to test how well the salt may sit on a flat surface of Helios.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjddzkOJ5ZtLxOjPCzhieaGhUKlrbqNAn9jEm9IqiUoFa-yVvDynKub4_qYHZLPERSfrOh_LLe8xZ26Vr4SMtmVwJ3YU-YUZ7VByCDNiyxHdZRfcAK-9Cb16VnqJg64TJ7De3ZdOoe-xdZ/s1600/IMAG1647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjddzkOJ5ZtLxOjPCzhieaGhUKlrbqNAn9jEm9IqiUoFa-yVvDynKub4_qYHZLPERSfrOh_LLe8xZ26Vr4SMtmVwJ3YU-YUZ7VByCDNiyxHdZRfcAK-9Cb16VnqJg64TJ7De3ZdOoe-xdZ/s320/IMAG1647.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I also wanted to see what the cobalt slip would look like in an abstract pattern, and to top it off, made a ruffly rim. If all goes well, I will fire the kiln up in a few weeks and see what happens!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glazed too late and the wall separated</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glazed the interior and exterior too soon and the wall collapsed</td></tr>
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It's nice to be dreaming about pots since my pots have been putting in my place in my studio. The battle of the heat vent has been going on for some time, and trying to keep things just right under the plastic has been somewhat disastrous. I posted the above photos on<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Liberty-Stoneware-146003778763199/?fref=ts"> Facebook</a> recently of what happens when you a.) let a pot sit too long and then glaze it and b.) rush things and glaze the interior and exterior too soon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBc_YrYYuI9Y9OkXOJo_8xMOmmd7H6SnwwOepw0mZATkIdTiToV9v3z37cuq75QqcXFEG_ehi7I-v9DZSyjIIABTNGngMQ7z2wI8WJO21mWZ48sh475wwO18dy_ZCwUaWWtDKEuMFRMqfP/s1600/IMAG1641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBc_YrYYuI9Y9OkXOJo_8xMOmmd7H6SnwwOepw0mZATkIdTiToV9v3z37cuq75QqcXFEG_ehi7I-v9DZSyjIIABTNGngMQ7z2wI8WJO21mWZ48sh475wwO18dy_ZCwUaWWtDKEuMFRMqfP/s320/IMAG1641.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice, thin wall!</td></tr>
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The plus side of that was getting to see the nice, thin walls! In closing, I dreamed about a pitcher/vase form the other night so stay tuned!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-24116407778545746882016-02-07T11:04:00.004-05:002016-02-07T11:04:41.397-05:00Mother Potter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ya'll, <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2015/02/small-potential-potters-hands.html">I had a baby</a>. It's perhaps the biggest and by far the best project I have ever done, and it seems to change constantly. Having a child has put me in my place and taught me that I am not really in charge of my life, but also to step back and realize that I don't HAVE to fire a kiln every month, or get torn up that I am not in the studio every day. These revelations, as much as they make sense, have taken me a long time to really accept. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wDQzCxGVXxQ/VrdVtvn053I/AAAAAAAALYs/c1WHjAUOvis/s1600/IMAG1550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wDQzCxGVXxQ/VrdVtvn053I/AAAAAAAALYs/c1WHjAUOvis/s320/IMAG1550.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My one year old!</td></tr>
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Mattias, my son, turned one last weekend and I have been reflecting a lot on the last year. To be honest, this past year has been mentally challenging to me on several fronts. As a female potter, I had several, if not numerous, people ask me before my baby came whether I was going to give up pottery entirely. I've had people assume that when the baby came, I wouldn't be doing any shows, firing any kilns, or selling pots. Perhaps it's a bit of feminism embedded in me, but all of those things were things that I did NOT want to happen, and I would bristle a bit every time someone would assume a mother has to give everything up once baby comes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc2qiowPpOJcc07Q9GO9fb4UFpLeEb9px_BvMFvT2Z29y1iTUp6WBjMc2EMQfNA4pDU6Jj31abCQJQRsNHRShyphenhyphenyyrNQG9QF8Jn11tWy6SQl13ReWCTw6liR31_U8EFC8sdHBV3iin5-DZ/s1600/IMAG0294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc2qiowPpOJcc07Q9GO9fb4UFpLeEb9px_BvMFvT2Z29y1iTUp6WBjMc2EMQfNA4pDU6Jj31abCQJQRsNHRShyphenhyphenyyrNQG9QF8Jn11tWy6SQl13ReWCTw6liR31_U8EFC8sdHBV3iin5-DZ/s320/IMAG0294.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping baby with arcs of wadding.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making dishes! </td></tr>
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I was blessed at the beginning of my motherhood roller coaster that<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2015/04/clean-tools.html"> my son gave me the opportunity to make lots of pots.</a> I got to fire with <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2015/05/on-farm-new-pots-and-motherhood.html">other potters in three kilns over</a> the spring and summer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jNrx3_yIzWYM_Y33-DMBJkRXn5d0-wpPECQam1t45UI_B71-tm33BapaWurQPXesEPDqehFq6hHGSPSY_wOGcU46Mps7g0Z_3SPhUrnua8UC1_yv20IYgB827PxIjRb1y0t85WddM2QP/s1600/IMAG0536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jNrx3_yIzWYM_Y33-DMBJkRXn5d0-wpPECQam1t45UI_B71-tm33BapaWurQPXesEPDqehFq6hHGSPSY_wOGcU46Mps7g0Z_3SPhUrnua8UC1_yv20IYgB827PxIjRb1y0t85WddM2QP/s320/IMAG0536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne Partna of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueHenPottery">Blue Hen Pottery</a> with Mattias at a firing of her kiln. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOdPmM4D9LE/VrdX6uymvcI/AAAAAAAALZM/V5BCMw8Jeaw/s1600/IMAG0810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOdPmM4D9LE/VrdX6uymvcI/AAAAAAAALZM/V5BCMw8Jeaw/s320/IMAG0810.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mattias in front of the freshly fired kiln at <a href="http://www.josephsandpottery.com/">Joseph Sand Pottery</a>. </td></tr>
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It was a good opportunity to introduce my son to new kiln designs, for him to meet new people, and for me to feel like I was kind of in the groove of things. When I couldn't get lids for jars finished for almost two weeks (having to keep said jars damp the entire time), it was nerve wracking. That case, especially, showed me patience. I did one show at the Old Salem Pottery Fair on the Square.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8sIKmwThwg/VlvACvsr52I/AAAAAAAAK6Q/N7fz6qK8uc8/s1600/IMAG1069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8sIKmwThwg/VlvACvsr52I/AAAAAAAAK6Q/N7fz6qK8uc8/s320/IMAG1069.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mattias an I next to my kiln.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhncUVHDEuUBHkk_WakZodsHzph5WNpREAQBqB6KRAuFwmvcaPkeX8oD8MWrKokg67ft0hyphenhyphendaYJnxkDjWB9OPgUKKl2nr8CDB-iyGpY3ycPqKlIj5l_wOBXX5j0oBAM2hjLZMA1MZS2ON/s1600/IMAG1101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhncUVHDEuUBHkk_WakZodsHzph5WNpREAQBqB6KRAuFwmvcaPkeX8oD8MWrKokg67ft0hyphenhyphendaYJnxkDjWB9OPgUKKl2nr8CDB-iyGpY3ycPqKlIj5l_wOBXX5j0oBAM2hjLZMA1MZS2ON/s320/IMAG1101.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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However, <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2015/11/missing-in-action.html">when I got to load up my own kiln, though</a>, that was a totally different experience and feeling. It was exhilarating and cathartic, kind of like giving birth to a child. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New vases in 2016.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baskets.</td></tr>
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I've been back in the studio this year, but I may be stepping back from my schedule that I kept several years ago of firing every 4-6 weeks. Perhaps I will only fire 2-3 times each year, but I have decided that it will be better to concentrate on my new family member and use the time I have in the studio to make pots that I enjoy or want to try out. Stay tuned, there's more news to come. Here's to life's adventures!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-55004014423438418592015-11-30T09:23:00.002-05:002015-12-03T22:29:48.404-05:00Missing in Action<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My own kiln, recently fired, November 2015</td></tr>
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It is sort of embarrassing to see the date of when I last made a post! Dear Readers, I thank you for bearing with me. I promise there are some great photos to come, and of course, perhaps a baby update (with photos)!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2L1pv8bszw/Vlu6G0pDDvI/AAAAAAAAK4g/8C_bmHd_v0g/s1600/IMAG0943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2L1pv8bszw/Vlu6G0pDDvI/AAAAAAAAK4g/8C_bmHd_v0g/s320/IMAG0943.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly-thrown pieces of pottery.</td></tr>
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I have been intermittently making pottery and finally fired my own kiln this past month. Firing my own kiln was an amazing experience just from the standpoint of filling the kiln with all of my own pottery and doing an activity that I so thoroughly enjoy. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XwMxhjRBniQ/Vlu_0Emi31I/AAAAAAAAK6E/2g1TdDon60g/s1600/IMAG1101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XwMxhjRBniQ/Vlu_0Emi31I/AAAAAAAAK6E/2g1TdDon60g/s320/IMAG1101.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porcelain ornaments in the recent kiln firing.</td></tr>
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I have a show coming up on Sunday, December 6th at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market. That is always a fun show with great crowds and vendors. Come by for a visit!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Below are some photos I made of pottery I hope to get listed on<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LibertyStoneware"> Etsy</a> this week. Stay tuned.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwkJ2xYZoXlTE8W_QydhUKuxiBy88w7u4TED0HMjrDTawk-eqPdjXPW0uYHA1z74pRIsnpGcXfYZqNy5wxK00Et7b6_9eaj87uKXXamc_vFftGROktl-j1xMVktFUz8p9xyQ6YXp3-l9p/s1600/IMG_4278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwkJ2xYZoXlTE8W_QydhUKuxiBy88w7u4TED0HMjrDTawk-eqPdjXPW0uYHA1z74pRIsnpGcXfYZqNy5wxK00Et7b6_9eaj87uKXXamc_vFftGROktl-j1xMVktFUz8p9xyQ6YXp3-l9p/s320/IMG_4278.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of my conclusions after taking the above photographs was that I like the Farmall tractor as a background. I like the color contrast and the linear features. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fa422NDlu5k/Vlu89G2_UtI/AAAAAAAAK5s/BmHZEJx8FDM/s1600/MESDA3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fa422NDlu5k/Vlu89G2_UtI/AAAAAAAAK5s/BmHZEJx8FDM/s1600/MESDA3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook photo from the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MuseumofEarlySouthernDecorativeArts/">MESDA Facebook page</a>. Robert Leath installing the Edgefield ceramics section,</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook photo from the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MuseumofEarlySouthernDecorativeArts/">MESDA Facebook page</a>. Cases not yet on the pots in part of the gallery. </td></tr>
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My work at the <a href="http://www.mesda.org/">Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA</a>) continues, and I moved into a position in the research department. Installation of the William C. and Susan S. Mariner Southern Ceramics Gallery at MESDA was completed about one month ago. When MESDA's director, Robert Leath, said that this is the leading exhibition of historical southern ceramics, he wasn't kidding. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Completed installation and photo of the opening for the new gallery. Facebook photo from the<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MuseumofEarlySouthernDecorativeArts/"> MESDA Facebook page.</a> </td></tr>
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People who attended the opening of the gallery were in tears to see the gallery, and stunned by the breathtaking display of the South through clay. It really is a sight to behold and I am fond of visiting the pots during my work day just to say "hi."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoFa2bVyHYXye5ySId8A55dSQrEdqJzLRNRLt10fsLTgEHHYotdavfFU2IbkLOZtNnvWqi8dC2mgB3z8UjQRfyKJGh-nPyegPjucTYJ4CcEpKsONH6jq5x6s72ZNV9l1MgzZrqWkRiZCca/s1600/IMAG1165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoFa2bVyHYXye5ySId8A55dSQrEdqJzLRNRLt10fsLTgEHHYotdavfFU2IbkLOZtNnvWqi8dC2mgB3z8UjQRfyKJGh-nPyegPjucTYJ4CcEpKsONH6jq5x6s72ZNV9l1MgzZrqWkRiZCca/s320/IMAG1165.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My son, Mattias, testing out the space in a cardboard box.</td></tr>
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My son, who is getting SO BIG, has taken a liking to cardboard boxes, and I foresee him wanting to help with all of my packing for holiday pots! Thanks to all of my readers for sticking with me, and I hope to get back to writing about some more of my research and pottery adventures!<br />
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<br />Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-29493908860015266632015-06-11T14:35:00.000-04:002015-06-11T14:38:28.106-04:00A Little Kiln Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A very kind person with a kindred interest in pottery history and kiln furniture sent me a wonderful package recently. It contained sherds and kiln furniture from several pottery sites in Missouri.This is like Christmas for a nerdy person like me. <br />
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What's even better? Nearly every piece in the box was individually wrapped! <br />
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There's an assortment of pieces from two creek banks on the eastern side of Boonville, Missouri. As I understand, there were a number of potters working along the creeks including Marcus Williams, George and Nicholas Valrath, Nicholas Lauer, H.W. Valrath, J.M Jegglin, and August A. Blanck. These potters worked at various times, but between the 1830s and the 1890s. The pieces from these various potters' operations tell so much about their kiln firings and their pottery production. Here are a few short highlights:<br />
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Who wouldn't be excited about a brick?!<br />
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It's not just any brick. It's likely a brick from a kiln as several surfaces on the brick show layers of wood ash and likely salt fumes. <br />
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In the photo above, check out the cross section of a thick layer of salt and wood ash built up on one side of the brick. <br />
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The above piece seems innocent enough, but it is so incredibly exciting to me. <br />
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It was a piece of kiln furniture that was at the early stages of its life going to be cut up into smaller pieces of kiln furniture. The cut pieces of kiln furniture that I was sent tended to all be about the same thickness.<br />
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Above is a rim showing the mark a small square piece of kiln furniture left on a piece when it was used in the kiln firing. In the roughly 35 different pre-1860 stoneware kiln sites I have looked at I have only seen small square pieces of kiln furniture used at 3 or 4 sites, and have observed it on some pieces of intact pottery. It's a tedious process making small squares (I know because I use them!), but they seem to serve a good purpose of covering a small area on the surface of the vessel, which makes it less likely that the pots would stick to one another along with the kiln furniture. <br />
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I was almost giddy when I saw the piece above. Can you guess what it is?<br />
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Hopefully the two views above may give you a better idea. It's two rims that got fused together with glaze. However, they were two rims from two bowls that were stacked, nested inside one another!<br />
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These bowls were similarly glazed to the bowl above- the underside of the exterior rim was dry, allowing the bowls to be nested inside of one another during the firing. I suppose if the base did not come in enough though, or the dry section of the underside of the rim was not wide enough, the glaze would fuse the pieces together. I sure hope there was not a large stack of bowls that suddenly became one giant stack!<br />
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The two photos above are great to see because it tells me something about the kiln firing. On the rivulets left by the wood ash and salt you can see tiny crystals. Crystals don't typically form on the surface unless the kiln has been cooled very slowly. When my kiln was first built and a little tighter, I recall having this occur just once on a few pieces after a heavily-salted firing. The kiln took a few more days than usual to cool and I got some crystals. <br />
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Though most kiln furniture was likely made during the loading and rolled and shaped to fit each various piece going in the kiln, the plethora of rim shapes and various shapes of kiln furniture made up never ceases to amaze and amuse me. <br />
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This particular piece just happened to nicely fit onto one of the rims in the box, so though it probably was not used together during a particular firing, it is possible that the two shapes came from the same pottery shop, so the kiln furniture would not have varied much from firing to firing. <br />
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Though not made ahead of time like the flat, cut pieces could have been, the little barbell-shaped pieces below are always great to handle because you often get to see a lot of fingerprints on them. <br />
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<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2012/01/making-kiln-furniture.html"> Check out this post from a while back about making this shape of kiln furniture. </a><br />
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Jug stackers are always fun to find because it definitely gives you an idea of <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2011/12/collar-or-jug-stacker.html">what the jugs would have looked like as a result of using them. </a><br />
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In other notes, we are avidly getting ready for our<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/p/kiln-opening-and-farm-tour.html"> farm open house and pottery sale </a>in a few weeks, so come visit if you are in the area! <br />
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Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-52774525545242804482015-05-12T13:23:00.002-04:002015-05-12T13:23:28.300-04:00On the Farm, New Pots, and Motherhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/p/our-farm.html">The farm</a> is in full gear as the weather has heated up and our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is into its fourth week.<br />
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Mike is working on developing beds for permaculture which will enrich the soil with perennial vegetables, fruits, trees, and bushes, and help retain water on the farm. <br />
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We split two of our beehives recently and now have 5 hives if all goes well. We are really hoping that for the <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/p/kiln-opening-and-farm-tour.html">farm open house in June</a> we will be able to harvest some honey to sell again this year!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/matthewkellypottery">Matthew Kelly</a>, and Curry at the front of the kiln.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2015/04/clean-tools.html"> Joseph's kiln firing</a> went well and he had a great pottery sale with some beautiful pots. I was pleased with the work I put into the earlier part of this year getting things made and into Joseph's kiln. Here are some new pots for the spring:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mugs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eIhOX423V4k/VVIldbcJjfI/AAAAAAAAKLI/xHy1kB4nsC8/s1600/IMAG0374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eIhOX423V4k/VVIldbcJjfI/AAAAAAAAKLI/xHy1kB4nsC8/s320/IMAG0374.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vases</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Compost Crocks</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine cups</td></tr>
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I was reflecting this past weekend as I celebrated my first Mother's Day
(Hallmark holiday, I know, but it was still sweet), and realized I have
a lot of pots in stock and my little person is growing VERY quickly. There's a saying that the first three months of child's life is sometimes called "the fourth trimester" and I believe it. There's still a lot of soothing, cuddling, bouncing, some fussing, and a lot of development for your arms and back with lifting (he's sleeping well though, I promise!). We've just passed the three month mark, but much of my days seems to be spent like this:<br /><br />
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Don't get me wrong, I love it! However, it does make you step back and assess things. So, I am going to
not push myself to work like a crazy person and fire my kiln in June, but
rather get a few things done and in a few other kiln firings with other
potters, help to get projects on the farm going/done, and watch my son change daily in front of my eyes! He and I both will be at the<a href="http://www.oldsalem.org/events/event/pottery-fair-on-the-square/"> Pottery Fair on the Square this weekend at Old Salem</a>, we will have our <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/p/kiln-opening-and-farm-tour.html">June open house and pottery sale</a>, and he is at the <a href="http://gsofarmersmarket.org/">Greensboro Farmer's Curb Market</a> most Saturdays, so come visit!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-83822973072364313532015-04-17T21:21:00.001-04:002015-04-17T21:21:41.026-04:00Clean Tools<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clean tools</td></tr>
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I keep thinking, "where have the past several months gone?", and then I remember that <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2015/02/small-potential-potters-hands.html">I have a small person in my life</a>! Maybe shooting for a post once each month is a good goal for now! Time does seem to be flying by. I have had better chances<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberty-Stoneware/146003778763199?fref=ts"> at uploading photos to Facebook</a>, so if you want more frequent cute photos of Mattias, and updates on work, be sure to keep your eyes out there. <br />
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My weeks have been largely measured by how old my little man is and how big he has been getting! However, he has also given me the chance to clean my tools, get in the studio, and start making some pots.<br />
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Sometime in February I got back in the studio and started making pots. Luckily, my little man did not mind sitting and either sleeping or watching me work around the studio. <br />
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I focused most of my energy on getting a few gaps in my inventory filled and fluffed up for the <a href="http://www.oldsalem.org/events/event/pottery-fair-on-the-square/">Pottery Fair on the Square show at Old Salem in May</a>. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorated mugs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Making a lot of pots meant that it took me several days (plus several extra days of wrangling a child) to decorate all of those pots. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5hj3YyX8H5KRV1LflK7vWWZiQWV51a0v1q8_UlM4qOSlpzG5ab-CBI5QWFWa-pSz2SULC1kgyk0o_mc__7tAxSmipyEyc0VGqSMrA34c8diMmUi174nZbbJSbMSzGONCS6nQi8obAov7/s1600/IMAG0294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5hj3YyX8H5KRV1LflK7vWWZiQWV51a0v1q8_UlM4qOSlpzG5ab-CBI5QWFWa-pSz2SULC1kgyk0o_mc__7tAxSmipyEyc0VGqSMrA34c8diMmUi174nZbbJSbMSzGONCS6nQi8obAov7/s1600/IMAG0294.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mattias overseeing me making wadding for Joseph's kiln firing </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DeZ2THfsTjY/VTGosWqdUtI/AAAAAAAAKGs/laH-rBFs4BY/s1600/kilnloading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DeZ2THfsTjY/VTGosWqdUtI/AAAAAAAAKGs/laH-rBFs4BY/s1600/kilnloading.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me spotting large pots being placed in the kiln</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was hoping to fire my own kiln, but have decided to push it back to June. So my pots went into <a href="http://www.josephsandpottery.com/">Joseph Sand's</a> big monster kiln. I have been on a few adventures lately and have gotten a few fun new historic pottery acquisitions, so I will try to do some more blog posts in the not-so-distant future! Stay tuned for photos from the kiln firing, too! <br />
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<br />Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-42350757950215880642015-02-27T10:13:00.000-05:002015-02-27T10:13:03.104-05:00Small Potential Potter's Hands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Needless to say, the last four weeks have been quiet here on the blog! I had my baby on January 30th! Mattias (Muh-tie-us) George was born at 5:13 a.m. and has been growing like a weed! He has fairly long fingers, so maybe he has potential as a potter, or a great fiddler!<br />
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He also has big arms, so again, maybe potter potential, or perhaps a burly blacksmith. <br />
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We are all doing well and have been enjoying the snuggle time while it has been cold and occasionally snowy outside. <br />
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I didn't think I could find something I enjoy more than working at a museum and making pottery, but I have. It's being a mom! Expect to see Mattias at pottery shows, at the farmer's market, and our farm open houses this year- so come visit and take in the cuteness! I'm hoping to be back in the studio soon and firing the kiln in April. Stay tuned!<br /><br />Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-55143328084170310722015-01-27T09:32:00.003-05:002015-01-27T10:12:55.512-05:00Influences<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmQGdqEqomNzavVj5db_VRKx8u3y2sMujD59XCtv7OmN9dF7brChgCdeREhluhrnkRllv0q_WbIiRpItUqVF8K7eRmG3x9y52qnm8CINM9xUGPZSA3XqyGQd9mhwSq_irMNJIdsuRM_Mg/s1600/babybump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmQGdqEqomNzavVj5db_VRKx8u3y2sMujD59XCtv7OmN9dF7brChgCdeREhluhrnkRllv0q_WbIiRpItUqVF8K7eRmG3x9y52qnm8CINM9xUGPZSA3XqyGQd9mhwSq_irMNJIdsuRM_Mg/s1600/babybump.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gigantic watermelon baby bump.</td></tr>
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Okay, so the last couple of weeks have completely blown by and I can tell you that they have been deeply entrenched in the new experience of baby getting ready to make its debut! New discomforts, lots of nesting, napping, and a little time to think about pottery here and there. I never thought I would slow down, but baby has made me do so, which has been a good thing. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhCL79BX4OxxTEjeNXrk6pNewH0sRH8OPZG6TX7ivXj1nuPCKWnf-AQ1GmB4SkH5_HjvXCFnIFq73-QRTacKPtyVsrw1pY39-dCdrqxq0p3xA_7TDpgdsSk7Fc3KC9b-GNkcNnYVoVIgb/s1600/pitcher1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhCL79BX4OxxTEjeNXrk6pNewH0sRH8OPZG6TX7ivXj1nuPCKWnf-AQ1GmB4SkH5_HjvXCFnIFq73-QRTacKPtyVsrw1pY39-dCdrqxq0p3xA_7TDpgdsSk7Fc3KC9b-GNkcNnYVoVIgb/s1600/pitcher1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pitcher made while at Berea</td></tr>
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Recently, someone challenged me to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberty-Stoneware/146003778763199">Facebook</a> venture of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/3potsadayfor5?source=feed_text&story_id=757879656813&pnref=story">#3potsadayfor5</a> where<br />
This got me thinking a lot about the influences I have had on my work and the various approaches I have taken in the last 10+ years I have been working in clay.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QDD1q-X-opo/VMefTMBXuOI/AAAAAAAAJsM/z4l_vS5mtLs/s1600/mug2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QDD1q-X-opo/VMefTMBXuOI/AAAAAAAAJsM/z4l_vS5mtLs/s1600/mug2.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mug made while at Berea</td></tr>
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The most influential experience I have had thus far was the four years I worked as an apprentice production potter in the <a href="http://www.berea.edu/art/ceramic-apprenticeship-program/">Ceramics Apprenticeship Program at Berea College</a>. I know of no other program quite like the CAP and am grateful I had the opportunity to participate in it. Above are a few pots I made while at Berea. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ERUOU7UkAiQ/VMZZOvKH9aI/AAAAAAAAJqk/z6-ONw3v8CU/s1600/IMG_3206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ERUOU7UkAiQ/VMZZOvKH9aI/AAAAAAAAJqk/z6-ONw3v8CU/s1600/IMG_3206.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter Hyleck pottery </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter Hyleck pottery </td></tr>
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The head of the program for most of the time I was there was <a href="http://www.berea.edu/media-relations/walter-hyleck-retrospective-1967-2008-headlines-trio-of-ceramic-exhibitions-opening-at-berea-college-march-16th/">Walter Hyleck</a>. He started the program in 1970 and for me was a great mentor and professor. I greatly appreciated his critiques, his honesty, and being able to watch his own work process in the studio. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GolCDavoSU/VMZZaMsHNTI/AAAAAAAAJrU/TjLH_oKEvcI/s1600/IMG_3212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GolCDavoSU/VMZZaMsHNTI/AAAAAAAAJrU/TjLH_oKEvcI/s1600/IMG_3212.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter Hyleck mug</td></tr>
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On an Art Department field trip to Washington, D.C. Walter Hyleck took us on a trip to see the <a href="http://www.baltimoreclayworks.org/index.html">Baltimore Clayworks</a> in Maryland where his son, <a href="http://www.matthewhyleck.com/">Matthew Hyleck</a> worked. I really appreciated that field trip and returned to Baltimore Clayworks to take a wood-firing course with <a href="http://www.baltimoreclayworks.org/artists/resident/dugan/dugan.html">Jim Dugan</a> in the spring of 2010. <br />
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I mostly worked with<a href="https://www.akardesign.com/creators/moreinfo.asp?iCreatorID=438&iCategoryID=1"> Philip Wiggs</a> who was the resident potter for several of the years I was there. I only briefly had the pleasure of working with <a href="http://www.tinagebhart.com/">Tina Gebhart</a>, and for the time I got to spend with her, I so appreciated the engaging conversations we had about the technical and chemical aspects of firing, making, and clay. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jodie Hagenberger mug</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carla Brunsell mug</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/GeorgePottery86?ref=pr_shop_more" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3AcT00H5n0A/VMZZXK_kUmI/AAAAAAAAJrM/NPxqk6dyoWs/s1600/IMG_3211.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/GeorgePottery86?ref=pr_shop_more">Katherine Smither- check out her Etsy Shop!</a></td></tr>
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Perhaps one of the best aspects of the program was working with a variety of other people from different backgrounds and with different creative eyes. Not everyone in the Ceramics Apprenticeship Program were Art majors (myself included), so it was fascinating to see how everyone approached their work. We were also able to make our own forms and try out different glaze techniques. So, when we started, we started with mugs. We made several designs, and then had critiques. I thoroughly appreciated the critiques and it really helped develop stronger forms. No one had to make a particular style of mug, and the forms we made could be uniquely ours, but still functional, marketable, and aesthetically pleasing. I tell people when they ask me how to make a better mug that they should make 50 or 100 of them because I am a full believer in being able to make more than one of an item first before you push its boundaries and explore different techniques- consistency is key. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handled jar based on an historic design, made at Berea. </td></tr>
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Berea College was also where I started dabbling in making historic reproductions. Walter Hyleck once told me that he would not bail me out of Federal Prison if I went on to make things that were exact reproductions and warned that I would have to find a way to make the pieces slightly different or well-marked if I ever pursued it seriously. You may chuckle, but it is a Federal offense and there have been people jailed for it! Some day I would like to get back to doing some reproductions.<br />
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Now, back to nesting and napping. Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-85787564896685196582015-01-05T10:23:00.000-05:002015-01-05T10:23:34.536-05:00Don Carpentier Tribute- the Half Saggars <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don showing the engine lathe in his pottery shop.</td></tr>
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The world lost a giant in 2014 <a href="http://www.historiceastfield.org/index.php?content=sadnews">when Don Carpentier passed away</a>. Don Carpentier was the mastermind behind <a href="http://www.historiceastfield.org/">Eastfield Village</a>, and a maker of <a href="http://www.greatamericancraftsmen.org/articles/pottery.htm">reproduction English mocha/dipped wares and shell-edge potter</a>y. Eastfield was host to a series of workshops each year, focusing on various aspects of historic craft and architectural preservation. One of the workshops was focused on ceramics and pottery production, and was fondly nicknamed "<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2013/06/dish-camp.html">Dish Camp</a>." As a plug, the ceramics workshop as well as many of the other workshops are slated to take place this year. I will post more information when it becomes available. <br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demonstrating kiln furniture and stacking at Eastfield in 2014.</td></tr>
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I first attended the ceramics workshop in 2009, and <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2011/06/dish-camp.html">first presented in 2011.</a>
Don was one of the few potters and skilled craftspeople that I have
found such a strong connection with because of his interest in historic
pottery, his experience in making reproductions, and his intense passion
for learning. There are also few people I have met who get quite as
excited about kiln furniture as I do. I think I was most heartbroken
when Don passed because I lost such a kindred spirit and a mentor.<br />
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Don had ALS for the last several years of his life and for the past two years that I saw him we communicated through various aspects other than speech. <span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">We once had a whole conversation in the dirt, drawing out ideas and wiping them away. </span></span>In the summer of 2014 he had an Ipad that he typed things onto, but he still communicated on paper. I enjoyed our paper communications since we could banter back and forth through pictures, words, or just plain understanding what the other person was trying to say because we understood pottery on a similar level. Above is a photo of a conversation we had about half-saggars, excavated from a waster dump associated with the Bissett family of potters from New Jersey. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of kiln furniture Don excavated in New Jersey. Courtesy, Don's Facebook page. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of kiln furniture Don excavated in New Jersey. Courtesy, Don's Facebook page. </td></tr>
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Don realized a few years ago through genealogical research that he descended from several prominent family of potters from New Jersey- the Bissett's and the Price's. Their exact history was obscured for so long because focus had been paid largely on the Morgan and Van Wickle potteries in New Jersey. However, Don being his lovely exploratory self, sought out more information about his family and began to break down some of the previous research on New Jersey stoneware. Above are a few photos of kiln furniture from a house site associated with the Bissett family near where the pottery operated. Don also wrote a great article on his research in the<a href="http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/the-morganvan-wickle-pottery-a-case-of-mistaken-identity/4091"> Maine Antique Digest in 2013</a>, but the link is currently blocked unless you are a subscriber. If I get a direct link I will be sure to change it. You can read<a href="http://www.crockerfarm.com/blog/2014/08/don-carpentier-1951-2014/"> some notes on his research and collecting in a great tribute written by Brandt Zipp from Crocker Farm</a>. <br />
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So, back to those half-saggars."Half-saggars?!" you might say? Don't worry, I said the same thing! They are purposefully-made, not fully round pieces in the same shape as a regular saggar. The edges are mostly clean-cut, and salted, so they were definitely used in the manner in which they were made. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiln furniture bar with piece of saggar attached.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imprint of adjoining rim on base of kiln furniture.</td></tr>
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Above is a piece of kiln furniture that had a piece of a saggar left on it as well as the imprint of an adjoining saggar rim. Don came up to me while I was photographing the kiln furniture after
most everyone left on Sunday. He saw me puzzling out the pieces and began placing them together so that I could wrap my brain around how they worked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Felp8ENwuI/VKqcGnix5eI/AAAAAAAAJn8/WvzXdzAnrGo/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Felp8ENwuI/VKqcGnix5eI/AAAAAAAAJn8/WvzXdzAnrGo/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Placing a few half-saggars and kiln furniture together.</td></tr>
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I have never seen anything like this before or since, and
am glad I took the time to measure the half saggars while I was there last summer. <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2010/12/surmising-saggars.html">Saggars, as I have so frequently thought of them</a>, are often fully round, and often enclosed (no holes or perforations) if not being used in a salt-glaze atmosphere.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RnL121gG0wM/VKqrXVVaN1I/AAAAAAAAJpA/J4aWrw5tlxU/s1600/BissettKilnFurnitureSaggars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RnL121gG0wM/VKqrXVVaN1I/AAAAAAAAJpA/J4aWrw5tlxU/s1600/BissettKilnFurnitureSaggars.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rough sketch of how the half-saggars and large bars may have interacted.</td></tr>
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Saggars also tend to have a bottom of some kind, but instead, these saggars made use of thick, long bars that crossed the saggars to make a slotted floor. It makes sense that this type of saggar would make use of more room and leave less empty space. Don wrote on our note I included above that they (the potters) were "desperate people," but perhaps they were just good engineers and figured something out that others had not. He also wrote "It must have been a site[sight] to see!" and truly, it probably was quite a sight when they had the kiln stacked up. As I was leaving <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/07/traveling-potter-part-ii.html">"Dish Camp" last year</a>, Don tapped me on the shoulder
and guided me to a box of kiln furniture from the Bissett site and told me to take it home for my kiln furniture teaching collection. I
have a few small sections of these half-saggars in my collection now with the gift from Don,
and hope that the other materials will stay together with his NJ pottery
collection as a teaching tool. I wish I could have gone with him on his last expedition to excavate materials from near the pottery site in New Jersey. <br />
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Also, the week of "Dish Camp" was the beginning of when we started telling people I was pregnant. I will never forget the gleam of joy on Don's face when I told him. After giving him a hug before I left Eastfield, I told him to take care. He looked at me, smiling, pointed to my stomach, and mouthed, "you take care, too!"Thanks for all you did, Don, and for the short years I got to know you. Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-2764734136542919672015-01-04T17:38:00.002-05:002015-01-04T17:38:46.899-05:00Happy New Year and Updates <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcBiZIq_64F9Iutia9lmXE7KhEgcIu2FMRf0LXBuOJPQ277YBD1JcP27_BxYDLUh5NCJBic_rEbmQjebmr2-qDbLlxwgcuw83LtWZi7vLXHBTY3o-HMs-sCYH6QGLOasDPiOyw9mIxUkX/s1600/IMG_20141207_104334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcBiZIq_64F9Iutia9lmXE7KhEgcIu2FMRf0LXBuOJPQ277YBD1JcP27_BxYDLUh5NCJBic_rEbmQjebmr2-qDbLlxwgcuw83LtWZi7vLXHBTY3o-HMs-sCYH6QGLOasDPiOyw9mIxUkX/s1600/IMG_20141207_104334.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set up for the Greensboro Farmer's Curb Market Holiday Show in December.</td></tr>
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Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for making 2014 a good year. We had support for <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/03/help-raise-our-barn.html">fundraising to get our workshop/studio/barn building underwa</a>y, great sales, and wonderful helpers for the kiln firings. I am happy to share that my blog was listed as one of the<a href="http://www.potterymakinginfo.com/news/top-pottery-blogs-2014/"> top blogs of 2014 through Pottery Making Info</a>. I am especially grateful for this since I feel like I dropped the ball when it came to posting about halfway through the year last year. There really is something to be said for the term "pregnancy brain" I think and I certainly feel like about eight months of last year completely flew by. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rkCMRIXgPW0/VKm7kjziSyI/AAAAAAAAJlI/TB6IpYse8mQ/s1600/IMG_20141207_084656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rkCMRIXgPW0/VKm7kjziSyI/AAAAAAAAJlI/TB6IpYse8mQ/s1600/IMG_20141207_084656.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is siding on the back side now, and windows in all of the empty window wells.</td></tr>
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I am also happy to share that the barn/workshop has been coming along. Since discontinuing work in the studio in November, the workshop and holidays sales became our focus. We now have a roof, most of the windows, some siding, and doors. Projects always take much longer than we anticipate, but it has been kind of fun to see my future studio slowly coming together and anticipating moving things out there by the spring.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tv8ywyOCqH8/VKm-BrhzbdI/AAAAAAAAJlk/BMOj8kijwRs/s1600/GrandmaandBrenda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tv8ywyOCqH8/VKm-BrhzbdI/AAAAAAAAJlk/BMOj8kijwRs/s1600/GrandmaandBrenda.jpg" height="320" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My grandmother, me, and her future great-grandchild when I saw her in September of 2014. </td></tr>
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The New Year rang in with a bit of a sad note when my grandmother passed away on New Year's Day. My first concrete memory of playing in clay was at my grandmother's house when I was very little. She had a steep hill behind her house that led to a creek bed. She told me to stay out of the creek, but of course, what child can resist? I would find myself clamoring along the creek and grabbing hunks of the rich blue clay that is in Southern Ohio. She would be slightly mortified when I returned from the clay banks, and made me keep my clay creations outside on the back patio. So, I have been thinking of her fondly on many levels, even in clay. Just so you know, the blue clay in Southern Ohio is not stoneware. I learned later in college that it is a rich, orange-red earthenware! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GmbQkJ-G0Pk/VKm7nFb-DFI/AAAAAAAAJlQ/5fZRHNltVEQ/s1600/20141214_165655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GmbQkJ-G0Pk/VKm7nFb-DFI/AAAAAAAAJlQ/5fZRHNltVEQ/s1600/20141214_165655.jpg" height="320" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The baby bump in December!</td></tr>
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Finally, as an update since I have been quiet on here for some time, the countdown to baby starts this coming week! I've been told that babies come between 37 and 42 weeks, and this coming week is 37 weeks. So, needless to say, this past month or so, has also been a lot of preparing for a new, small person to bring into our world. The baby's nickname at work has become "Kiln" and my favorite reference to me being pregnant thus far has been "one in the kiln" (as opposed to "one in the oven"). Here's to hoping the New Year brings wonderful things to you all, and that I hope to keep you all up to date on my research and pottery-making adventures as well as our forthcoming new family member!Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-57700149007293980092014-11-14T16:14:00.001-05:002014-11-14T16:14:08.397-05:00Kiln Results, Farm Open House, and Pottery Sale!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gV3t7Ee5wF0/VGZs0Rnv09I/AAAAAAAAJiQ/NrmDwpcLkX8/s1600/November2014Postcard2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gV3t7Ee5wF0/VGZs0Rnv09I/AAAAAAAAJiQ/NrmDwpcLkX8/s1600/November2014Postcard2.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
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Be sure to make it out on Sunday, November 23rd for our annual fall farm open house and pottery sale! We'll be doing a walking tour <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/p/our-farm.html">of the farm</a> at 2:00 p.m., but general tours will likely take place all day!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small mugs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84BzTahYgF8LfQnDeSyDXuVeYhGkRsLIT_uzxIVXsnSXAu03sLWeDJrjdjPiFqgjlZmtSudgVurLKImEdWzUatB2UnOv_edKsTICCNc4IHeGV6cYYe2MXHdn2FlSudJdRR0NsKQHrX_0h/s1600/IMG_2531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84BzTahYgF8LfQnDeSyDXuVeYhGkRsLIT_uzxIVXsnSXAu03sLWeDJrjdjPiFqgjlZmtSudgVurLKImEdWzUatB2UnOv_edKsTICCNc4IHeGV6cYYe2MXHdn2FlSudJdRR0NsKQHrX_0h/s1600/IMG_2531.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small pitcher</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g--LB2Ad3lg/VGZswv0obpI/AAAAAAAAJh0/aUhZy6GSNHI/s1600/IMG_2536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g--LB2Ad3lg/VGZswv0obpI/AAAAAAAAJh0/aUhZy6GSNHI/s1600/IMG_2536.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lidded Jar</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdKZN4yhGl6RkiJ_ybrBSLqJ55NiZP45V8XkQvFzTHQfiI2WabiWiErpZ15VnXhIJxf9dC50U81gys0LTyXp6nrBHnoeX0zwzKHOxZSUPJlGVGPHAR220f1bpWIFs8a8clbhMaB86A8Wh/s1600/IMG_2539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdKZN4yhGl6RkiJ_ybrBSLqJ55NiZP45V8XkQvFzTHQfiI2WabiWiErpZ15VnXhIJxf9dC50U81gys0LTyXp6nrBHnoeX0zwzKHOxZSUPJlGVGPHAR220f1bpWIFs8a8clbhMaB86A8Wh/s1600/IMG_2539.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorated square bottle</td></tr>
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I recently fired my wood-firing salt glaze kiln with wonderful results. I
am really quite pleased when the blue slips turn really blue! <br />
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I made a few mugs with a glaze I developed from clay excavated at our farm. It's a really beautiful green glaze and I decorated it with a lovely little slip trailed wheat design on two sides.<br />
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We will also have some of our<a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/03/help-raise-our-barn.html"> fundraising bottles and bags of wheat if you would like to support our efforts to finish my studio and the barn workshop</a>! <br />
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Of course there will be lots of beautiful porcelain ornaments to peruse! The colors turned out particularly well on those in this recent firing. <br />
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You can also come out and see the wild development of my small person that is due in January! I hope you can come visit! Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-63260927490479494322014-09-21T11:31:00.001-04:002014-09-21T11:31:31.124-04:00Life Lessons <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The last month has flown by! I gawked when I saw that I had not posted a blog since August, and feel remorseful. What has been going on? Well, the biggest adjustment is certainly the small person developing inside of me. Fatigue seems to be my biggest hurdle I have had yet, and though I am about halfway there, the energy levels do not seem to be returning! Appointments and classes have been going on, which keeps me away from the computer and the studio, but makes for a pleasant reflection on this big change! Everything that has been going on has certainly been teaching me one of life's lessons- don't sweat the small(er) stuff. <br />
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I am happy to share that we had our first ultrasound, and the small person is healthy and quite a wonder to watch moving around on a screen!Above is my favorite image of all of the ultrasound images- look at that TINY HAND! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squared fundraising bottles</td></tr>
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I got back in the studio and have been rampantly making pots for a kiln firing in early October. I have high hopes to fire another kiln in early November, and then that will probably be the extent of making for this year. Anyone with holiday requests better make them ASAP! I also started teaching at Salem College this fall. I am teaching a
course on Gallery and Museum Management, which is an enjoyable
experience to work with engaging students and gain more teaching
experience. It's a lot of work, too! <br />
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An exciting upcoming event is the <a href="http://alamanceartisans.com/studio-tour/">Alamance County Artisan's Guild Studio Tour</a>. I am participating on the weekend of the 11th and 12th, so you can come out to the farm, see my studio in progress, and We'll also be out at<a href="http://www.risingmeadow.com/special_events.html"> Rising Meadow's Farm Fest next weekend</a>, Sunday, September 28th from 11-4:00. <br />
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I fully intended to post a <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LibertyStoneware?ref=hdr_shop_menu">whole bunch of things on Etsy</a>, and relist items every day- make my presence a little stronger, and have great pieces available for sale. I got some things listed a little while ago, but everything else went by the wayside.I'm hoping to get back on that soon, so keep your eyes peeled! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berea College mug I picked up while in Kentucky </td></tr>
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I went to Kentucky at the end of August where I did some research at two archaeological labs and had a great (though fast) weekend visiting with collectors, friends, scholars, and Berea College! There have also been some sad things going on, such as the loss of <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Don-Carpentier-dies-historian-potter-5718195.php">Don Carpentier of Eastfield Village</a>.I have a commemorative post in progress and will try to get that up soon. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sneak peek at the earthenware firing results</td></tr>
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So, my life lesson right now is to try not to stress the smaller things that don't get done. My apologies that this does include blog posting, but I definitely want to update you on the earthenware firing, and some more historic pottery tidbits. I have not abandoned you, dear reader, just bear with me! Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-84668176974394973062014-08-19T13:14:00.004-04:002014-08-19T13:14:57.040-04:00Earthenware Experiment- What Went in the Kiln <br />
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As I mentioned in one of my <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/07/updates-in-photos.html">earlier sporadic blog posts</a>, I have been playing with earthenware in the studio lately. It's been something in the back of my mind for years to try earthenware in a wood kiln. This is mostly because through my kiln furniture research <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2012/03/kilns-gone-wrong.html">I knew that many early stoneware potters were also making earthenware, but all in the same kiln</a>. So, the biggest quandary I had was what would earthenware look like in a salt kiln environment?<br />
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After spending a day cleaning the kiln and shelves last week, the kiln got loaded up last Friday and the fires started on Sunday. <br />
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I used the <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/08/decorating-technique-marbling-on-lids.html">marbled technique that I recently made a post about</a> both on lids and on the sides of some mugs. All of the pots in the photos to come have been bisque-fired, so these are not the finished products.<br />
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I ended up having an issue with a white slip that I tested. It may have been a reaction to the clay I was using at the time of the slip tests (Highwater Lyman Red), but either way, I ditched it because I could not keep it from cracking and flaking. I did fired several bowls that had cracking just to see if the flux (3134 Frit) in the slip would heal with a glaze in the kiln. We shall see. <br />
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I switched to a very basic white slip and started using Highwater's Earthen Red clay, which I thoroughly enjoyed throwing with. I kid you not, it's like chocolate pudding between your fingers. The switch proved worthwhile and I had a smooth slip that dried well and played nicely even after the bisque firing. <br />
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I am testing several clear glaze recipes. One recipe uses mostly white clays as its base, so it turns a very white color after glazing. The other is basically 3134 Frit and Redart, making for a brown-looking glaze. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I played around a little bit with some manganese, by sifting some raw manganese on top of the glazed surface, and sponging it after mixing it with a white slip. The mugs above have lines of sponged manganese and green slip. I anticipate a deep purplish brown/black, but will wait to see what actually turns out.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Other decorated wares included a few squared bottles and some slip trailed and marbled dishes. I was really excited to see how those turned out in the bisque kiln, and am hopeful for their survival in the firing. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You might think I sound a little pessimistic about how this all might turn out. I'm not pessimistic as much as I am hesitant. There's not really a lot of people wood-firing earthenware here in the states and I think it has a lot to do with our restrictions on lead usage. Lead and lead variants like galena are very forgiving in their fluxing and melting temperatures. They don't craze a bunch, or have major reactions like pitting, flaking, or pin-holing. Those things are what I have heard can happen with earthenware in a wood kiln, particularly if it reduces. As one potters once told me, "it's hard to keep a wood kiln out of reduction" and my kiln has that very issue. We didn't seem to have a lot of reduction during the firing this go-around, but will not really know until we open it up. <br /><br />
So, fingers crossed, I teamed up with <a href="http://bluehenpottery.com/">Anne Partna from Blue Hen Pottery</a> and together we made enough pieces to fill the kiln. Here are some photos of the stacks in the kiln:<br />
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I did an overnight gas preheat, which I have found heats the kiln up to around 225 (F), dries out the interior, and starts to heat the brick up. Heating the brick up seems to be what takes the longest with this kiln because I used all hard brick. The more the brick is heated up, the faster the kiln will roll to the end. The firing proved to be a little lengthier than we were anticipating, but it was still not as grueling as a stoneware firing. We are unloading later this afternoon, so stay tuned! <br />
Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-14206563722500586692014-08-06T10:30:00.001-04:002014-08-06T10:30:36.418-04:00Decorating Technique- Marbling on Lids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've always loved marbled paper. I vaguely recall making some when I was younger, and always love to open really old tomes with marbled paper on the interior of the books.<br />
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I made these lidded jars that were similar to the <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/01/52-form-project-week-1.html">lidded jars I started with the 52 form project</a> (not totally defunct, mind you!), except these jars are earthenware. I'm <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/07/updates-in-photos.html">working toward an experimental firing this month</a> with earthenware in my wood kiln (that has heavily salted walls!). <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White slip in bowl</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dots of colored slip on surface</td></tr>
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For these jars, I thought it might be fun to see if I could marble the lids. I took a shallow, wide bowl and put about 1 inch of white slip into the bowl. I then dotted the surface with red and green slip.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bamboo skewer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">zig-zag dragging of the bamboo skewer through the slip</td></tr>
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Taking a bamboo skewer, I dragged the skewer through the slip in order to create a marbled look (I basically moved the skewer slowly across the surface in a zig-zag pattern).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greenware lid</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going for the dip</td></tr>
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Then I took the lid, flipped it over, and dipped it into the surface of the slip, pushing slightly until the slip reached the edges of the lid. The lid and the body of the jar were in the green state- so not bone dry, but not wet, just right in the middle. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta da! </td></tr>
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Voila! It didn't pick up the marbling as I thought it would, but it made for a really fun pattern! Here is another attempt with just red and white slip:<br />
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With one bowl of slip I found I could do about 4 lids before the slip became too muddled and needed to be refreshed. I am excited to see how these might turn out in the upcoming wood-fired kiln! <br /><br />
<br />Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-44531554180314208672014-07-31T21:04:00.001-04:002014-07-31T21:04:05.853-04:00Updates in Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes it is embarrassing to see how long I go between posts. Since I have been so delayed in doing even weekly updates, I thought I would share a bunch of updates with photos. The biggest update I have to share is the following announcement our dogs made on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberty-Stoneware/146003778763199">Facebook</a> recently:<br />
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Yes, this means yours truly is going to have a baby sometime in January. Needless to say, that has been a fairly major distraction from posting! It should make throwing pottery pretty interesting later this fall, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Compost crocks</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mugs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging planters</td></tr>
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<br />Shortly after returning from <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/07/traveling-potter-part-ii.html">my ventures in New England</a>, I gave a presentation at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts' Summer Institute on Kentucky pottery. I enjoyed that thoroughly. It took me a little while to get back in the studio, and when I did I got right back to making lots of pots. This was in preparation for a firing this coming weekend with <a href="http://jsspottery.com/">Joseph Sand</a>. <br />
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I participated in Blowing Rock's Art in the Park in mid-July, which turned out to have 60 degree (Fahrenheit) weather and rain. Needless to say, the crowds were not quite as expected, and it was a soggy day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slip trailing on large bowls</td></tr>
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Just before the Blowing Rock show, I cleaned the studio up, wiped down the wheel really well, and got out some new clay. For a long time now I have had in the back of my mind the want to fire earthenware in the wood kiln for several reasons. One, when I have seen wood-fired earthenware pots I have always felt them to be warm and inviting. Two, for a purely experimental reason, I want to see whether the salt that is now coating the interior of my kiln will flux and off gas onto the earthenware at all. Call it a bit of experimental archaeology, but I am incredibly curious to see what happens. The firing is coming up in a few weeks in mid-August. I'll be joining forces with<a href="http://bluehenpottery.com/"> Anne Partna from Blue Hen Pottery</a> for this venture.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marbled and slip decorated dishes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slip decorated bowls</td></tr>
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Making earthenware has given me the opportunity to play with a lot of slip trailing and marbling that I have also wanted to experiment with for a long while. <br />
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Earlier this week I helped Joseph Sand load his large kiln and will be on the firing crew on Saturday. So, here's to rolling into August with the hopes of more posting to share some of my experiments in the world of earthenware and keep you updated on the developing human being I am incubating. Thanks for reading! Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-12077571582873533202014-07-09T21:08:00.001-04:002014-07-09T21:08:03.263-04:00Traveling Potter Part II<br />
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My hope to have this posted mid-week last week clearly did not happen. Another part of <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/06/traveling-potter-part-i.html">my traveling adventure last weekend</a> was to <a href="http://www.historiceastfield.org/">Don Carpentier's Eastfield Village</a> in Upstate New York. <br />
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Each year, Eastfield Village hosts a series of <a href="http://www.historiceastfield.org/index.php?content=workshops">lectures and workshops</a> centered around various aspects of the structures and collections there. One such weekend is generally focused on ceramics of one kind or another, and is fondly called by many, "Dish Camp." It is a great experience that is unlike any conference. It's a laid back environment with presentations in an historic church. People bring archaeological material as well as intact pots to talk about various things or to get other opinions on what they have. The lectures are by people from various aspects of the ceramics world- collectors, scholars, researchers, archaeologists, enthusiasts- and it makes for a great weekend of learning and camaraderie. <br />
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I had the pleasure of presenting some of my newer research on Kentucky and Ohio River Valley pottery production There were some great speakers this year talking about a variety of things from archaeological adventures in Burslem, England to new aspects on Philadelphia-made earthenwares. <br />
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<a href="http://www.piedpotterhamelin.com/">Rick Hamlin from Massachusetts</a> came to talk with Dave Graci about Whately pottery, and he also demonstrated a few pottery making techniques. <br />
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I did a pottery demonstration, but also demonstrated how kiln furniture
functioned in the kiln as well as a demonstration of stacking pots with
kiln furniture. <br />
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One thing I try to make sure to point out during a demonstration is how the thickness of the walls vary and also that the heft of an historic pot is not always because the potter could not throw well. It also had to do a lot with the clay and whether it had enough plasticity to have high walls, or absorbed water and slumped some at the bottom making for thicker foot profiles. <br />
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Each Saturday evening attendees are treated to a period meal cooked by kitchen demonstrators from Old Sturbridge Village. Dinner is served <a href="http://www.historiceastfield.org/index.php?content=thevillage01">in the historic tavern on site</a>, and often accompanied by music! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tend to have shop envy when I visit Don's shop! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don showing how the engine turning lathe operates </td></tr>
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On Sunday Don showed everyone his shop and we watched several videos demonstrating his pursuit to learn how to build and operate a potter's lathe and an engine turning machine for making engine-turned creamwares as they did in England in the later 18th and early 19th-centuries. I thoroughly enjoy attending "Dish Camp" and highly recommend anyone interested in historic ceramics to go for a unique experience! <br />
Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-32142694607006236232014-06-30T20:49:00.001-04:002014-06-30T20:49:59.769-04:00Traveling Potter Part I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been horrible to leave you all in the dark for the last month. Needless to say, there's been a lot going on and I will try to catch you up this week. For the past 5 days I have been in New England traveling first to Upstate New York for <a href="http://www.greatamericancraftsmen.org/">Don Carpentier's Eastfield Village </a>ceramic workshop (which we fondly call "Dish Camp"). Last night I arrive in <a href="http://www.historic-deerfield.org/">Deerfield, Massachusetts</a> and had the opportunity today to work with the students in their <a href="http://www.historic-deerfield.org/discover-deerfield/summer-fellowship-program/">Summer Fellowship Program</a>. Slowly, I have been working to try and reach out to programs and conferences for doing workshops to talk about historic pottery, demonstrate pottery making, and particularly talk about kiln furniture and historic kilns. It is really fun to start to see things coming into fruition.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talking about kiln furniture</td></tr>
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I first did a presentation for the students about my background, my work in museums, and my hands-on experience and approach to material culture as a potter. Then we went into a workshop space where I talked about kiln furniture, showed various pieces from my collection, and talked about how to recognize how pots were fired by marks on their surface.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacking pots with kiln furniture</td></tr>
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I then did a little demonstration with stacking pots in order to show the function of kiln furniture and how the various shapes interact with one another and the vessels.<br />
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After showing the students the basics of handles and throwing a vessel on the wheel, I got them on the wheel and making handles. Prior to coming, I made mug blanks in order for them to gain experience with pulling a handle from the side of the mug. <br />
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Particularly for students studying objects in museums, I think learning the various aspects of pottery production is important. Even understanding the basics can change your approach and understanding of an object. <br />
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Above are their final products from the afternoon, a bowl-like form, and
a handled mug! And for kicks, here is my face after my attempt to join
two sections resulted in the base being too wet and collapsing:</div>
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More to come, stay tuned!<br />Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-32773032920246530002014-06-10T21:37:00.001-04:002014-06-10T21:37:27.218-04:00On the Farm- Stoneware Sherd! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What could be more exciting than receiving a text from the farmer telling me that he found the neck and handle section of a jug while planting sweet potatoes?! Above is the marred remains of said jug section, but boy, was I excited! Do you see what I see?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unglazed interior of the jug </td></tr>
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First, we'll get out of the way that it is stoneware. It is also salt-glazed. The interior is not glazed which generally tells me that it pre-dates 1850, since that is when it starts to become more common to see pots glazed on the interior. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marbling in the broken section showing the possibility of rolled clay</td></tr>
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The handle is particularly awesome for many reasons. One, is that the end of the handle where it broke has this beautiful marbled texture that almost looks like the wedge of clay was rolled before being attached to the bottle and pulled for a handle. Does that make sense? The potter took a hunk of clay, rolled it into a fat snake-shape, then attached it to the neck of the jug, and pulled the shape of the handle. I don't know that this is for sure how it happened, but it makes sense to me and visually seems to match my theory. <br />
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The handle is also quite thick, roughly 1 1/4- 1 1/2 inches across at the top, which makes me wonder how large the jug was that needed such a thick handle!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot the cobalt blob at the upper part of the handle?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cobalt blob circled </td></tr>
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Another reason is that it has a blob of cobalt on the upper part of the handle where it joins the vessel. This tells me that it is probably not English, as I don't know that I have seen an English jug with a blob of cobalt at the handle juncture. <br />
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And then we come to perhaps the most tantalizing part of this piece- the evidence of kiln furniture! Can you make out the subtle chance in surface color and texture to the right of the handle remain in the photo above?<br />
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That subtle change in surface color and texture tells me that it is a touch mark, most likely where a piece of kiln furniture touched the top of the handle. Not just any piece of kiln furniture, mind you, but a bar!<br />
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Combined with the very dry surface of the rim, the touch mark and dry rim tell me that a bar was used to stack this jug in the kiln when it was fired. Check out a <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2011/12/bottle-stacking.html">blog post I did a few years ago on this topic to get an idea of what the kiln furniture looked like</a>. I'm not coming to the conclusion that this piece was made in Fayetteville (per the linked blog post), but I don't recall seeing stacked jugs like this much in Virginia (off the top of my head, maybe in Alexandria), and am not sure about Tennessee. The neck doesn't match the pieces from Fayetteville, either, so we'll toss that thought until we (hopefully) find more pieces! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had a great turn out for the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.757244294296755.1073741846.109053382449186&type=1">Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Triad Farm Tour</a> last Saturday and Sunday. This <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/p/kiln-opening-and-farm-tour.html">coming Sunday is our own farm open house and pottery sale.</a> Lots of new pots, seconds, and older pieces at deep discounts! Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5756997620503076336.post-84626992452164832232014-06-02T15:50:00.001-04:002014-06-02T15:50:32.873-04:00On the Farm- Events and Barn Update <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barn at sunset with wheat in the foreground</td></tr>
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Yesterday, with the help of some generous friends who donated their time and strength, we put the walls up on the second floor of the barn. Barn building and farm projects have absorbed most of my time and energy lately and have kept me out of the studio. Bear with me while I pause on the <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/2014/04/52-form-project-week-11.html">52 Form Project</a> and work toward getting back in the swing of things! <br />
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Raising a wall requires a lot of hands to put the walls together, stand them up, and then hold them in place while they are stabilized and nailed in. It's a bit risky and tricky, especially on the second floor being so high up! <br /><br />
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We're trying to get things ready for the <a href="http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/tft/">Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Triad Farm Tour</a> that takes place this coming weekend. There will be about 17 farms on the tour, giving people the chance to caravan with others and go from farm to farm, learn about a lot of different farming practices, see different kinds of plants and animals, and maybe taste some fresh veggies and other food! <br />
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Our own <a href="http://libertystoneware.blogspot.com/p/kiln-opening-and-farm-tour.html">farm open house and pottery sale</a> is coming up the weekend after, on Sunday the 15th. <br />
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My brother decided that our barn currently looks more like
a Super Mario Brothers castle than a barn, so in his honor, I leave you
with the ever-unforgettable tune of the Super Mario Brothers (if you get through 34 seconds, you'll see a castle):<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0q5uDKtI1Go" width="560"></iframe>Liberty Stonewarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04115724725585149977noreply@blogger.com0