Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Sunday July 16th On Sunday, I arrived early at the studio, before 7 AM. In-Chin and his students were busy glazing scores of pots for Sunday’s wood kiln. His output is unparalleled. I glazed and put wads of refractory clay on the base of four pieces: the three plates that came … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 21
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Saturday July 15th It’s the weekend, all greenware is in the bisque kiln, and things are slowing down in the studio. I busied myself trimming the nine plates that were now leather hard. The surfaces of the plates were rough from the trimming, so I either burnished the rough areas or … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 20
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Friday July 14th This morning was overcast, with 100% humidity and almost no breeze. All the pots were still quite wet — not a good sign, as today marks the last chance for us to put pots in the bisque kiln in time to be glazed. I decided to put all … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 19
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Thursday July 13th This morning I trimmed and applied black slip to the mugs, trimmed two bowls, and made another plate using the bisque mold — this time I added a spiral to the square-and-triangle design. Two slipware teacups I had in cone 10 oxidation kiln were now out of the … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 18
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Wednesday July 12th I arrived at the studio at 6:00 AM for a three-hour kiln shift — loading wood, watching the temperature rise 20 degrees, then letting it cool 10 degrees before adding more wood. Additional TAs were available for kiln-sitting, so I could leave early. To get an idea of … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 17
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Tuesday July 11th Studio potter, Ryan Greenheck presented the morning demo which focused on showing tips and techniques for throwing mugs and a teapot. His meticulous, technical approach provided a sharp contrast to In-Chin’s more self-expressive and fluid style. Ryan uses his craft to run a business, and so much of his … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 16
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Monday July 10th Visiting artist, Lisa Orr presented the morning demo. She has a free-flowing style that includes the liberal use of bright colors. She’s profoundly influenced by Mexican art, having grown up near San Antonio, two hours from the Mexican border. It was fun to watch Lisa throw, for she purposefully … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 15
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Sunday July 9th Sunday was a clear, cool, low-humidity, glorious summer day in Alfred. I spent as much time outside as possible, but I did make it to the studio in the morning to remove the plastic covering the drying “circle mold” plates. Today was the Alfred Farmers Market, complete with … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 14
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Saturday July 8th Today I returned to the studio after a two-day trip back to New Jersey to see son, Jonathan and his wife Iris, who were visiting from Durham, North Carolina. It was a quiet Saturday morning, with not much activity. I was pleased to see that the soda kiln … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 13
Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Wednesday July 5th After an evening and night of careful stoking by student volunteers, in the morning the wood kiln had become warm to touch. The wood pieces (shavings from a saw mill) are about a meter long and of small diameter (~2-4 cm). Wood is inserted through a hole made … Continue reading Alfred Ceramics Day 10
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