Wood

This is about 4 Cords of firewood that will keep me warm through the long harsh winter of Northern Wisconsin. Actually the wood stove that I installed about two years ago has done an amazing job keeping the studio nice and toasty. There is nothing worse than working in clay in a cold studio. All this wood means that Plum Bottom Pottery is now holding Winter hours which are Friday and Saturday 10-4pm. If the snow is blowin’ you may want to call ahead and make sure I can get the road clear, but more likely than not I or Angela Lensch will be there. Thank you to everyone who stopped by Plum Bottom this summer and fall – it was a tremendous year and I’m already excited to get back into the studio and start work on next summer’s line of work.

I will be firing the kiln in the next week. I’ve been working on some new oval casseroles and teapots perfect for the upcoming winter months so feel free to stop on by and see what’s new. The new work will be in the gallery Friday, Nov. 27th – the day after Thanksgiving.

Firing with Joe

Back into the glaze room for a firing with Joe Singwald. Joe is a potter working down in Algoma, WI. He studied with Randy Johnston at UW-River Falls as has his masters from Utah. We decided to split as kiln load and see what happens.

Things here at Plum Bottom are starting to wind down after a very successful season. Lots of new work and new ideas were explored over the summer and fall. I look forward to retreating to the solitary studio for the winter months to try my hand at some new ideas that have been rattling around. It becomes harder to experiment and keep things one of a kind as you find success with certain forms and glazes. The temptation is to lie back and enjoy the fruits of what you have accomplished. I really want to keep pushing myself right now – as uncomfortable as that may be. We’ll see what happens.

Nose to the Grindstone

Copper Reds

New work is in the gallery. 110 new porcelain pieces found their way into the gallery here at Plum Bottom. After getting back from Penland School of Craft it was a bit of a challenge to get back to work in the studio. I just put my head down and started working. A month later some nice pieces came out of the kiln. I really believe sometimes the most important thing in your work evolving is to do just that, work. It was a valuable lesson to not judge the work too harshly while in process and be thankful for an opportunity to express myself creatively – even if at times there is more struggle than inspiration.

A Few of the 350 Test Tiles

The Joy of Test Tiles!

It feels good to be back at Plum Bottom after being at Penland School of Craft. I spent over a week mixing and testing different glaze combinations. I really wanted to get a feel for the individual raw materials that go into glazes. After a few days of lecture by Jeff Zamek I developed an idea to mix 350 different glaze combinations to gain knowledge into this arena. Nancy O’Neill a fellow potter out of Washington D.C. thought “The Project” sounded worthy of her glaze mixing skills and lent her insight and expertise in this enormous undertaking. Truth be told, it was a bigger project than first anticipated, so much so that I am still waiting for half of the results to be shipped to me. A misfiring of one of the kilns while at Penland forced me to leave without all the finished tiles. What I feel this study gave me was a better understanding of the materials that make up the majority of glazes. This knowledge will lead to the development of my own palette of glazes that I hope to begin experimenting with this winter. Some of the fruits of this labor will hopefully start to be seen next spring on the newest line of porcelain work. So with that I’m back to work in the studio.

New Porcelain Work

Here’s a peek at a couple of the porcelain pieces that came out of the kiln(click the pics for larger images). I got really nice copper reds. I also have been experimenting with the above black and cobalt blue glazes. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the results. You can see the majority of the new pieces on my website www.plumbottompottery.com. On Friday I am off to Penland School of Craft for my week long class with Jeff Zamek. It’s a class on glaze chemistry, I’m hoping to get a better understanding of the raw materials that go into glazes t gain better control over my glaze colors and textures. I’m excited for the class but also excited to go back to Penland. I studied there with Cynthia Bringle for two months about two years ago. I also want to see Nick Joerling, an old friend who does beautiful ceramic work. With all the potters and artists in the area I’ll be like a kid in a candy store. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a few pictures while I’m gone to keep ya’ll updated as to what I’m learning. Angela and Becky will be holding down the fort here at Plum Bottom Pottery so the gallery will still be open everyday 10-5pm.

Glaze Monkey

New work about to be glazed.

Carbon Trap Shino

Time to get back to glazing! I leave for a glaze chemistry class at Penland School of Craft in a week and a half so I need to get some new work out into the gallery. I’ve been working on new textured mugs and a new style of tumbler. New work should be out in the gallery by Aug19th. I will have about 100 new porcelain pieces to display. The pictures above show some of the new bisque work that is about to be glazed. I also wanted to show a picture of a new carbon trap shino glaze I have been working with. I really like the variation I get with the carbon trapped areas and the contrast with the bright orange of the non-trapped areas. You can expect more of these colors in the new work.

Plum Bottom Pottery Overrun with Painters!

Debra J. Groesser painting En Plein Air

Yesterday painters from the Peninsula School of Art’s Plein Air Festival painted the beautiful surroundings here at Plum Bottom Pottery. Over 200 people came to watch the artists in action. It was an exciting day here at the gallery – I always look for opportunities to collaborate with artists in different mediums. I loved seeing Plum Bottom thru the eyes of other artists. I was particularly drawn to the work of Debra J. Groesser(DebraGroesser.com). She found one of my favorite spots to paint on the top of a hill overlooking the entire property. I really enjoyed talking with her about the process of painting en Plein Air as well as art. You can see her work of the grounds here at Plum Bottom as well as all the other artists in the festival on Saturday July 25th from 6-8pm at the Peninsula School of Art.

Summer has arrived – Plein Air Painters here at Plum Bottom Weds. July 22nd!

I know summer had actually been here for awhile, but the gallery has been humming the last few weeks. I’ve also been tangling with a new line of pots that are in the kiln being fired as I write this. 100 new porcelain pieces will be making their debut this Weds. Also if new pots are enough reason to lure you to the gallery  - come and see painters from the Plein Air Festival painting the beautiful surroundings here at Plum Bottom Wednesday, July 22nd from 11-2pm. Until then . . .

New Pots

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! I went to the fireworks in Sturgeon Bay – beautiful. I thought I would post some pictures of my last two firings that I did back to back. I had some really nice results with the carbon trap shino I’m working with, as well as some nice surprises working with blue and black together. Those two colors really play off each other nicely. You can click on the images above for a larger view. I’m already planning another firing in a couple weeks. It is the busy season here in Door County, so I’ve already gotten back to the wheel and started making.

I also would like to invite folks to sign up to receive Plum bottom Pottery email updates, if you go to plumbottompottery.com you can sign up right on the homepage. Once on my list I’ll let you know when new pots are posted on the website, as well as notifications for all the big events here at Plum Bottom.

Lorri Acott-Fowler Sculpture

This is one of Lorri’s sculptures that is currently on display here at Plum Bottom Pottery. She works in bronze and fiber clay creating beautifully expressive figures. This sculpture in particular looks great in the zen garden nestled in among the stones.

It’s a day of rest here at Plum Bottom after the big party for Knock Magazine on Friday. The gallery and studio was packed to the brim. I’ll post pictures as soon as I get them.