Display at Potomac Library

A variety of pottery is on display through August 31, 2016 at Potomac Library in Potomac, Maryland. If you are in the neighborhood, drop by and take a look. Always nice to be able to show my work in a nice setting.

Salt Kiln Rebuild

Today was day 1 of the rebuild of Marianne's salt kiln -- where I am fortunate to be able to salt fire my pottery. The old kiln went down in a jiffy. We'll see how fast our merry band of four can put the new one together. We plan to start construction of the new kiln in mid-July. The old kiln was having structural and design issues; while we have tried a variety of fixes over the past two years, it was time to bite the bullet and rebuild it. We are consulting with Will Baker who is a master kiln builder. Between now and mid-July, Marianne will be getting new bricks, angle iron, and all the other items we need. This is my first kiln build and I'm looking forward to learning a lot.

Salt Firing Goodies

Unloaded a salt kiln firing today; lots of goodies that will be available at future shows and events. The firing was done at Marianne Cordyack's kiln in Shannondale, WVa. Also firing with us was Clay Walthall. Lots of new ikebana vases . . . I'll be spending the next few days adding kenzan or frogs. Will also be adding bamboo and driftwood handles to the box tops. Later this summer, we plan to rebuild Marianne's kiln; her rebuild two years ago resulted in some design issues that make firings less efficient, fuel-wise, than they should. We've done some interim adjustments, but realize a rebuild is the logical thing to do. More on that later.

Spring Garden Market at American Horticultural Society, River Farm, Mount Vernon, VA

Well, the gardeners did not let a little rain, ice, or snow keep them away from the AHS Spring Garden Market. Anyone can buy plants in 60F and sunny weather; today we found out who the real gardeners were. This was my second year at the Market and I'm looking forward to next year (sans rain, ice and snow). Had a great time talking with gardeners, plant vendors, and customers. Always enjoy the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia and the birds of prey they bring to show and talk about. And despite the snow, River Farm was simply beautiful.

Four Minutes of Fame

They say everyone gets 15 minutes of fame; well, we got four. We were invited to appear on a WTTG Zip Trip segment promoting Visit Loudon and the Lucketts Fair. It was a great opportunity for show some of my recent pottery and Mary's dolls.

Wood-firing at Baltimore Clayworks, November 2014

Here are a few pictures of pottery from the wood-firing I participated in at Baltimore Clayworks in November 2014. Our group was organized as a special topics class at Lorton Workhouse under Brian Grow. I was pleased with the firing results -- my first time wood-firing -- and with everything I learned about wood-firing.

National Capital Orchid Socity Show -- Collaboration with Hsi-Mei Yates

Hsi-Mei Yates and I were asked to create a number of small plates and one large plate that were part of the awards given at the National Capital Orchid Society show. The show was in Greenbelt, MD, during October 11-12-13. I drove over today to see the show and the plates and was blown away by the varieties of orchids on display. And, it was really nice to be able to see the awards along side the winning plants -- sort of completing the circle for this commission. Each plate was a separate work of art by Hsi-Mei; no duplicates. Pretty amazing artwork. We worked in low-fire clay so we could minimize any loss of color during the glaze firing. We hope to work with the Society again for next year's show.