I bought this Blue Bird ball mill kit a lot of years ago….like 32 years. I threw a jar for it and got these porcelain balls made. W hen I fired the jar it didn’t shrink as much as I had calculated. It sat out by my kiln for a winter or two before I tried firing it again a little hotter to see if it would shrink the little bit needed to make it fit the carriage. I assumed that the dense vitreous nature of the porcelain would have prevented the clay from absorbing any water…..WRONG. It sounded like a rifle shot inside the kiln. I had to shut it off and unload the kiln so I could remove all of the little bits of porcelain that were distributed in and around all of the pots inside. After that I had a hard time working up the energy to retry the jar. This much later I find I have not so much use for a large ball mill so I am offering it for sale. I’ll post a price when I can figure out what that would be, unless someone contacts me with an offer.
I went to Coleville last week with Lee and got three tons of clay and dry materials. I also picked up this used slab roller. Actually it had not been used but had been previously owned by a fellow who fancied the idea of being a potter and got a whole studio full of new gear and then never did much with it. The canvas sheets that are used to roll the clay are completely clean and new. It will ge tused a lot here.
I have been making a few slab pots using an old baker’s rolling pin that Karma Distefano gave me thirty five years ago. I’ve had it in my head for a while to get a slab roller and make some new molds. With that order of dry materials is 200 lbs of potter’s plaster.
A few of my past slab pieces.
OK, here is the Bennion Family’s 2011 “Letter”. It is mostly images and that is what it is. Lee and Joe both took trips to Europe mostly to visit Louisa. We find that traveling separately works as we don’t have to find someone to house sit. We really can’t leave the house untended because of all of our animals. There are 11 animals including horses, dogs and chickens all needing attention at least twice a day. The dogs are the big problem because they share the house with us. Joe had four river trips two of which Lee was on. Lee had three river trips. One of them was with friends and not Joe. The garden was a great delight and a lot of work as was the orchard. Working with the land to produce food has always been a passion for Joe. Lee is getting into it through the orchard. Both worked hard on pruning, organic pest control and picking and preserving the fruit. The pottery and painting end of things has been gratifying too. Providence continues to shine on us in material as well as spiritual ways.
Lee got her new Mom’s Stuff shop built and made her first batch of salve there just before the Christmas holiday. She also launched her new web site for Mom’s Stuff. Business has blossomed and she now has a nice place to make salve and pack orders. She wants to continue to grow the business by word of mouth so please think about sending a link to her web site to your friends. The girls continue to thrive. The big news there is that Adah came back from New York and is currently working at Wasatch Academy and studying at Snow College. Zina is still working there also and is very busy with it. Louisa is living the high life in Southern France where she live up in the French Maritime Alps of Haute Provence. She busies herself helping friends who run a bed and breakfast inn there, making music and writing. Here are the images. God Bless you all and have a prosperous and happy New Year.
OK, I’ve been distracted for a long time. I’m recovering from a knee surgery so I have to sit around a bit. I’ll see if I can’t give you readers something to look at. For now this is well worth the time.
After 80+ firings the wall between the 1st and 2nd chambers of my wood burner needed repair. I spent Saturday tearing it down, cleaning brick and laying it back up again. I’ll be fitting it with some reenforcing iron Monday and then getting ready to fire on Wednesday.
Yesterday I finished trimming the last of this summer’s pots and loaded a bisque today. I’ll be loading the wood kiln Monday and Tuesday in preparation for the Spring City Arts Studio Tour held September 10.
Mark your calendar and make plans to come out to Spring City for the day. There will be a lot of art going down.
Here are some pics of the last few day’s production. Enjoy.
Out walking early with my good dog Ernie this morning I was reminded that summer is slipping away. I did not wear a sweater but could have. It was still quite dark at 6 am when we headed out. Orion was well overhead as was Jupiter. It was not long ago that the sun was rising at six. It still feels very much like summer once day has gotten underway.
The long hours of late afternoon are getting shorter too and the shadows longer.
The best thing about this time of year is the table fare. It reminds me of why I make pots and garden.
The Spring City Bluegrass Festival was held a couple of weeks ago from noon until 10 pm on a Saturday. It was all this and more.
About the time of the bluegrass festival the man who built this wall and carved the stone crossed over to sit with the grandfathers. Benson Whittle was as good and kind a person as I have known. Ben made art passionately all of his life working in many mediums. A few years ago Lee and I got to take Ben on the Colorado River with us. It was a high point for all three of us.
THe leaves have not started to turn yet, perhaps because the summer was so late in getting here. It will happen soon. The peaches are on and that is a sure sign.
This is not a food blog, but since potters can’t seem to stay out of the kitchen here is one of my signiture recipes. Years ago I was having dinner with ceramics collector, dealer and critic Garth Clark. He commented that he loved having dinner with potters because their kitchens and pallets are so interesting. “Painters on the other hand will eat any damn thing.”
I like to start with 1.5-2 lbs of boneless country style pork spare ribs.
I cube the meat and sear it in an iron skillet with 2-3 cloves of garlic diced.
When the meat is well browned I cover it with water, reduce the heat and add 3 T medium hot or hot New Mexico ground red chilis (Hatch, Bueno, Chimisa etc), 1 t rubbed Mexican Oregano, 1/2 t ground cunim, and salt to taste.
After the meat has cooked on a low heat for three hours add 3 heaped tablespoons of good quality natural chunky peanut butter. If you use some crap like Jiff or Skippy expect your chili to taste about like that. Simmer on low heat for another hour so the flavors can meld.
This chili now only needs warm corn tortillas and a spoon to enjoy.
