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Wood fired treasures

August 26, 2018Wood FiredDavid

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otterpottery

74 Johnson Avenue
Markerville, Alberta -
Phone 403-638-5177
A nice combination of glazes. To me it suggests th A nice combination of glazes. To me it suggests the Northern Lights in a starry sky. Not too much and not too little to suggest the lights dancing around the rim. SOMETHING NEW! Join us for the new revamped #Sundre #potteryclasses starting the week of May 27th. I have changed one class to making pottery using molds with one class on the wheel. We have space available for every evening 7 to 10 pm if you would like to come and have some fun creating. Mid-Day classes will be available starting in July. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics #potteryglazes #slipcasting
These French butter dishes and garlic keepers fit These French butter dishes and garlic keepers fit in the fridge for travel and take no room on a small table once you found your destination. Spending summer in the Sundre area? Join us for #Sundre #potteryclasses starting the week of July 9th. For the summer, classes are available afternoons and evenings. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics #exploresundre #camping #resorts
This lantern is slab built. The graduation in the This lantern is slab built. The graduation in the sizes of circles suggests hay bales in fields stretching off into the rolling distance. A candle at night reveals light chasing itself around the surface. Join us for the #Sundre #potteryclasses starting in mid-May. Space for creative fun is available every evening, 7 to 10 pm. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics #potteryglazes #extruder #clay #sculpture #lantern
Here is a student`s work from the classes that end Here is a student`s work from the classes that ended in December. With the vibrant, cranberry glaze highlights on this small serving plate, it stands out and sings. I have changed the date of the upcoming pottery classes to start the week of January 21st. To enroll, have a first, second and third choice of days that you are available. With only 5 students per class it helps if you can be flexible. Join us for #potteryclasses in #Sundre. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #arts #January #mug #plates #trays
We had some good weather and got a raku firing don We had some good weather and got a raku firing done. It is always exciting to get a very quickly finish pot. Instant gratification. Be ready for unexpected surfaces, colors and of course – lots of fire! For the #potteryclasses in #Sundre I don’t teach raku. You can’t predict the amount of wind here. We have #giftcertificates available for the Pottery classes after #Xmas Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #arts #Christmas #raku
Keep your butter fresh, covered and on the table a Keep your butter fresh, covered and on the table at room temperature. Three different styles and sizes of keepers are made. The Butter Dome (as shown), French Butter Dish, and a Butter Block that can be made to hold up to a full pound of butter. We will be at the #Bergen #christmasmarket, 10 kms south of #Sundre on November 24th. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #arts #butterdish
Some of the students work from #Sundre #potterycla Some of the students work from #Sundre #potteryclasses . Anyone interested in a Wednesday evening class? With a minimum of 3 people we can organize one for your group.
The November #potteryclasses in #Sundre are bookin The November #potteryclasses in #Sundre are booking up. For information and to enroll go to http://www.otterpottery.com/pottery-classes/ . Another horse hair pot. Another beautiful reminder. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #horsehairpottery #lessons #art #horse #remembrance
Reposting due to poor picture quality. Learning to Reposting due to poor picture quality. Learning to combine glazes takes time. Not too much and not too little. Join us for the #Sundre #potteryclasses starting the week of March 25th. We have space available for every evening 7 to 10 pm if you would like to come and have some fun creating. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics #potteryglazes
This is a barrel fired disk I made several years a This is a barrel fired disk I made several years ago. Of all the work I have done, this is my very most favorite piece. Unfortunately, the #potteryclasses here in #Sundre do not demonstrate barrel firing. One of the most popular designs is of the classic ying and yang. The opposite dark and light of the same shapes that are intertwined. The inference of a duality in nature and mankind. That is too simple of a symbol. This disk has a pattern of 3 interlocking similar shapes. One who is aware sees that there are more than the standard 2 conditions. This piece resonates the most with me. It is made of clay as we all were at one time and we will be again. Even more so, the disk is cracked and being held together. Sometimes we are well connected and other times we are grasping at the fragments to keep them together. Not all the fragments are there but lost in the ashes of the firing. In barrel firing the wood that is added as fuel supports the layers of pottery. As the wood burns away, the support is lost, and the pottery settles down to the bottom of the barrel. Or, the wooden support can suddenly give, and the piece falls through space to land on the ashes at the base. Whether, the clay broke because of heat shear or the impact with other pots in the fall – one never knows. Afterwards, I couldn’t find all the pieces in the ashes and coals. Pottery classes are available all summer. There is a one day, two day or a 6 week course available. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #barrelfiring #pitfiring #rakuclay #Sundre #lessons #art #Raku
Another view of this bowl. Learning to combine gla Another view of this bowl. Learning to combine glazes takes time. Not too much and not too little. Join us for the #Sundre #potteryclasses starting the week of March 25th. We have space available for every evening 7 to 10 pm if you would like to come and have some fun creating. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics #potteryglazes
Having not worked with porcelain much it was time Having not worked with porcelain much it was time to make a plate. Porcelain is fickle, so I heard, the plate didn’t develop the dreaded S-Crack. I’ll attribute that to luck. But after throwing this I applied porcelain orange slip and a red slip at random. The red needs some adjustments! Trimming the inside of the plate revealed the color combinations against a bright white. Join us for the next #potteryclasses in #Sundre starting the 3rd week of March or so. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. To be the first to find out the date, leave your name and email address and you will be added to our mailing list. .#Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #porcelain #porcelainslips #wheelthrowing #plates
A slab built pitcher. I love how it is leaning int A slab built pitcher. I love how it is leaning into the wind and the glaze is running back like rain on the car window. Another project at the #Sundre #potteryclasses. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #handbuiltpottey #lessons #arts
I have 2 mugs left over from a recent commission. I have 2 mugs left over from a recent commission. Wanting travelling mugs, I attached short high handles. These are a pleasure to hold and so comfortable. They can fit in your car’s cup holders too. Join us for #Sundre #potteryclasses starting the week of March 25th. I already have people enrolled for Wednesday evening 7 to 10 pm if you would like to come and have some fun creating. Other days are available. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics
When people start to learn pottery, you start simp When people start to learn pottery, you start simple then progress to more difficult. Pinch pots come first, then slab building, coil assembling and then on the wheel. Working on a wheel uses a lot of the techniques you started with. The #potteryclasses I offer here in Sundre, start with pinch pots. It is a good place to start to see when you squeeze clay, how you do it affects the direction it moves. While people are struggling with making a vase I work along with them to show how to not end up with a bowl. I connected two demonstration pinch vases quickly and created this ogre’s head. People discover that pinching clay in a controlled way is not at a kindergarten level – but maybe a grade 5!! I have pottery classes here in Sundre starting July 1st. There will also be some classes aimed as a day camp for kids. Book Early! #Sundre #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #potteryclasses #sculpture
You can cover any color glaze body with a slip (cl You can cover any color glaze body with a slip (clay mixed with water so that it is a slurry) of a different color. Here I have used white and black stained porcelain slip over the tan clay body. It makes it silky smooth and your glazes pop. Join us for the #Sundre #potteryclasses starting the week of March 25th. We have space available for every evening 7 to 10 pm if you would like to come and have some fun creating. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics #potteryglazes
The order that you apply the glazes gives differen The order that you apply the glazes gives different effects. White over black gives the speckled pattern. Extra interest is added by the random crawling of the black glaze on this butter dish. We will be at several #christmasmarkets in the #Sundre area this year. On November 18th at the Sundre #market. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #arts
The long flowing lines left by the harrows follow The long flowing lines left by the harrows follow the contours of the landscape. This sculptural, black raku piece shows the shadows of machinery dragged across fields. But, the synchronizing of the lines as they flow up and down, twisting around the hills make me think of the lingering shadows left behind by a murmuration. Join us for #potteryclasses in #Sundre. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #arts #Christmas #raku #newyears #farming #sculpture #murmuration
Here is an enlargement of the white over black gla Here is an enlargement of the white over black glazing from a butter dish I posted. For those of you that always look for faces, this is going to keep you busy. Enlarge it for extra fun! Saturday December 15th, 10 am to 8 pm, several local artists work will be available alongside my pottery at Otter Pottery. We have been at several #christmasmarkets in the #Sundre area this year. We have plenty more pots that weren’t shown. #market #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #arts #Christmas
A set of 3 nesting bowls with the Northern Lights A set of 3 nesting bowls with the Northern Lights and a starry sky. A panoramic view of the lights dancing around the rim. There will be #Sundre #potteryclasses starting the week of May 27th. I have changed one class to making pottery using molds with one class on the wheel. Still 6 lessons. We have space available for every evening 7 to 10 pm if you would like to come and have some fun creating. Mid-Day classes will be available starting in July. Visit http://www.potteryclasses.page for details. #Olds #Didsbury #Carstairs #Innisfail #Bowden #Reddeer #Calgary #pottery #handmade #art #wheelthrowing #ceramics #potteryglazes #slipcasting
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