Revisiting past work

I've just been reading Linda Starr's blog,  about pit firing and remembered some past efforts of my own.  Not something I have done a lot of but always enjoyed the result when I did.
I have a couple of images on my portfolio blog, AnnasCeramicPortfolio down under 'Early Work'.
I also have these which made up a fountain in the garden and are still going strong after all these years, of course we rarely get frosts here.

These were wheel thrown using a mix of a grogged white stoneware and terracotta clays then burnished, bisque fired, reburnished and pit fired.

Tooo Humid!

It is over 80% humidity and still showery here today which means nothing is dry enough to trim!  My electric heat gun had a hissy fit and whined, "I'm too hot" after just one bowl, gave up, had lunch, tried again and did one more bowl before it started to overheat again :(
So, I have handles on a couple of mugs from the other day and several mug bodies and a few other things that didn't want to be mugs.  Hope I can fit in some trimming tomorrow and put some pedestals on those bowls.

Bowl number two - pedestal to come later

Little one in front didn't want to be a mug - when trimmed will be a little vase

Mug bodies dry please (but not too much)

this post is also for Mud Colony, and my Facebook page.

The Generosity of Potters

Yesterday I went with friends from the Port Hacking Potters Group to visit Toolijooa Old School Pottery just past Gerringong on the NSW Illawarra coast.

Roger Graham and his wife, Pauline, made us welcome with a cuppa and showed us around their workshop.  Roger is quite an inventor and has produced some remarkable tools to make his work easier.  He happily shares many of these on his website: Toolijooa Old School Pottery

Being the generous soul that he is, he gave each of us a gift.  A test tile holder for which he has made up his own extruder die.  Here is a pic - I think it is brilliant.  His tile are flat rectangles with a hole thru so when fired they can be threaded on a wire taking up less room.

(I forgot to say I'm sharing this post with Mud Colony - a great ceramics blog group started by the wonderful Adriana Christianson) Do pop over and check it out - lots of great post links.

Detail of bisque fire holder

Each holder will take 3 test tiles and easily fits between other pots

In the other direction

As I said in the previous post we then went off in the other direction and ran into some summer snow... it was great catching up with family and having time to think about some new work.  Hope you enjoy the travelogue - more clay soon I promise...

Heading out of town again

Some mountains a change of weather approaching

Lake Jindabyne was man made to feed a huge Hydro Electric project just after WWII

I believe this type of snow is referred to as Sago

Enough to make tracks

then the sun came out again

State number three, Australian Capital Territory..

Back to the coast again

Two Road Trips Across Three States

As is the case with many families, ours is spread around, both across the country and across the world. My husband and I have been catching up with a few which resulted in lots of driving, firstly from Sydney NSW to Brisbane, QLD and back - next was in the opposite direction thru the ACT to the Snowy Mountains in Southern NSW where is snowed which is not unknown but as it is our summer doesn't happen all the time - fortunately we had a day at home in between to take appropriate clothing :^)  Here are some snaps from the car or near the roadside...

Half way to Qld. Look closely for the Water Hen on the river bank

Close up of a Straw flower in a Qld garden, a cultivar of a native flower.

Sugar Cane growing close to the road

Close up of Paper Bark Tree

A beautiful gum tree at a roadside stop

Great driving weather along with the other holidaying drivers

Happy New Year

Wishing all the best for 2012.  I hope it is a really good year in every way for you and your family.