Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Don't Be a Dick
Here's a new one headed to Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville, NC for their Containment 2 show . . . titled "Don't be a Dick".
Saturday, January 22, 2011
File Me Frigid
Ha! Today I had a very very cold learning experience. I'm helping a local school start up some raku firings, and we assembled and test fired their purchased raku kiln by Olympic today. Its a cool little getup that came welded onto a little rolling cart so it can roll in and out of the building. It was a really cool, make that cold, getup today as we were out in the near freezing windy courtyard for an inaugural firing.
So we get it all connected and in place out doors and try to fire it up, and there is just no gas at all coming of the pilot orifice. We try everything we can think of but this simple setup with a Baso safety valve is not giving us gas.
Troubleshooting 101: take everything apart then put it all back together. I get back to where the regulator plugs into the propane tank back it out, then screw it back in and it feels a little looser and screws in a little further and we hear a little whoosh of escaping gas but I can't screw the plug in any further to seal it. Bust out the wrenches and tighten it a couple turns and we are ready to roll. Kiln lights up perfectly just like you'd expect.
At this point we're a little too chilly to hang around outside and futz with it more, but I bet that if I screwed it in and backed it out a couple times with the wrenches, then I could tighten it by hand like I've done in the past with every other propane tank I've ever used. I think maybe since it was a brand new tank and brand new fitting on the regulator, they were just a little too sticky for the hand tightening to work until they'd been worn in a bit.
Go figure, and while you are at it....file me under Frigid! It was a fun learning experience but I wish it had happened in Cancun and not lying on cold concrete all morning!
So we get it all connected and in place out doors and try to fire it up, and there is just no gas at all coming of the pilot orifice. We try everything we can think of but this simple setup with a Baso safety valve is not giving us gas.
Troubleshooting 101: take everything apart then put it all back together. I get back to where the regulator plugs into the propane tank back it out, then screw it back in and it feels a little looser and screws in a little further and we hear a little whoosh of escaping gas but I can't screw the plug in any further to seal it. Bust out the wrenches and tighten it a couple turns and we are ready to roll. Kiln lights up perfectly just like you'd expect.
At this point we're a little too chilly to hang around outside and futz with it more, but I bet that if I screwed it in and backed it out a couple times with the wrenches, then I could tighten it by hand like I've done in the past with every other propane tank I've ever used. I think maybe since it was a brand new tank and brand new fitting on the regulator, they were just a little too sticky for the hand tightening to work until they'd been worn in a bit.
Go figure, and while you are at it....file me under Frigid! It was a fun learning experience but I wish it had happened in Cancun and not lying on cold concrete all morning!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A bunch of MudFire folks have some pots in a new show at Gallery Walk at Terminus here in Atlanta, one of the biggest, swankiest new buildings in town. My set of pots is above. Here are the curator's notes and artist list from the brochure...
Georgia Clay
Georgia has a long history of clay being used to produce vessels of all shapes and sizes. Our agrarian roots spawned the tradition of using earth to make functional objects like pots, jugs, mugs, platters and vases for everyday use. That tradition still runs deep in Georgia, but there are also artists who are using the medium in new and innovative ways. The art form that these artists explore is not necessarily “functional,” but a more sculptural, artistic expression using clay, porcelain and ceramics as the medium. Some artists use their clay form almost as a three-dimensional canvas on which to paint and draw their thoughts and ideas while others seemingly push the physical limits of what clay can withstand in order to make gravity defying sculptural objects.
All of the artists in this exhibition are schooled in the tradition of their craft but have chosen to explore a more unconventional direction in their artwork. Represented by galleries such as The Signature Shop in Buckhead and MudFire in Decatur, these artists are nurtured in our community and are flourishing in their artistic explorations.
– Anne Lambert Tracht, Curator
ARTISTS
AJ Argentina | Eileen Braun | Glenn Dair
Martin Dawe | Debra Fritts | Jennifer Graff
Krista Grecco | Erik Haagensen | Ron Meyers
Andy Nasisse | Mario Petrirena | Barry Rhodes
Adrina Richard | Stefan Ritter | Luba Sharapan
Kirsten Stingle | Gregor Turk | Pandra Williams
Georgia Clay
October 13, 2010 – January 14, 2011
case study at TERMINUS 200
Monday, July 26, 2010
Busy Summer, AKAR
Holy infrequentness of posting batman!
Guess its been a busy summer, not the least of which is the big Hooper plates project. I took his family crest, and made six prototype platters all using different decorative techniques. Sent 'em out, got 'em back, and got to work duplicating the winner 13 times. Its not done yet but almost done and done enough to breathe easy finally. Here's a peak at the in process...
Just got back from southern Minnesota for a wedding, survived my first mid-West summer extreme storm with 90 mile an hour winds and hail, enjoyed a free first class upgrade from Delta on the way home (bloody marys!) and got home to find a non-descript envelope...
...INVITING ME TO SHOW AT AKAR GALLERY!
Very exciting, in fact let's say just as exciting as having San Francisco artist Diana Fayt come to MudFire to teach for back-to-back weekend workshops starting Thursday.
Guess its been a busy summer, not the least of which is the big Hooper plates project. I took his family crest, and made six prototype platters all using different decorative techniques. Sent 'em out, got 'em back, and got to work duplicating the winner 13 times. Its not done yet but almost done and done enough to breathe easy finally. Here's a peak at the in process...
Just got back from southern Minnesota for a wedding, survived my first mid-West summer extreme storm with 90 mile an hour winds and hail, enjoyed a free first class upgrade from Delta on the way home (bloody marys!) and got home to find a non-descript envelope...
...INVITING ME TO SHOW AT AKAR GALLERY!
Very exciting, in fact let's say just as exciting as having San Francisco artist Diana Fayt come to MudFire to teach for back-to-back weekend workshops starting Thursday.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Plate a Day
Yipppeeeee!
One of my big platters was featured recently on the A Plate A Day blog. Check it -- and a lot of other really cool plates -- out on the blog. Scroll down a few entries to #362 from Thursday May 8. A Plate A Day
Let us add a parting thank you to Kyle Carpenter for catching this while I was on vacation and mentioning it.
One of my big platters was featured recently on the A Plate A Day blog. Check it -- and a lot of other really cool plates -- out on the blog. Scroll down a few entries to #362 from Thursday May 8. A Plate A Day
Let us add a parting thank you to Kyle Carpenter for catching this while I was on vacation and mentioning it.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Vent it!
Here's a great reminder of why its important to vent your kiln & kiln room. Take a look at what a few years of kiln fumes did to our heavy gauge stainless steel Envirovent blower. Here are "before and after" pics with the replacement...
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Painting, Fish Test
Super excited today! Yippppeeeeeee!
I've been working on some new things and had some awesome test results out of the kiln today. The goal is to come up with some design motifs and ways of extending and complementing the line drawings with more depth...particularly for larger pieces. The thing that has interested me most is the look of water color overlayed with pen and ink. I think this started with a painting in a high school art exhibit that I juried last year.
Let me see if I can dig up the photo right now. Yes here it is. Sadly I've lost the artist name. This was a small detail of a huge painting. But I love the crisp lean lines on top of the color.
Here's my first test result. I'm not sure if it'll be color little monsters and cartoons, maybe some, but I'm really eager to try some abstract and some more expressive fire pots and some calming nature is likely too.
From a technical perspective I couldn't be happier! All the colors stayed true, no weird interactions, the color layering worked well, everything stayed smooth and shiny, fine detail stayed fine. Happy happ-E. Time to start testing my 80 jars of mason stains and spend some time in the notebook composing.
I don't know why I picked a fish for my first test, it just worked out that way. I'd like to capture fire, water, air, earth somehow, have a series of each. How varied can I get with the decoration and still have it be Erik Pottery with the same materials and forms? This is what I'll be drifting off thinking about in a few minutes.
Peace, good night.
I've been working on some new things and had some awesome test results out of the kiln today. The goal is to come up with some design motifs and ways of extending and complementing the line drawings with more depth...particularly for larger pieces. The thing that has interested me most is the look of water color overlayed with pen and ink. I think this started with a painting in a high school art exhibit that I juried last year.
Let me see if I can dig up the photo right now. Yes here it is. Sadly I've lost the artist name. This was a small detail of a huge painting. But I love the crisp lean lines on top of the color.
Here's my first test result. I'm not sure if it'll be color little monsters and cartoons, maybe some, but I'm really eager to try some abstract and some more expressive fire pots and some calming nature is likely too.
From a technical perspective I couldn't be happier! All the colors stayed true, no weird interactions, the color layering worked well, everything stayed smooth and shiny, fine detail stayed fine. Happy happ-E. Time to start testing my 80 jars of mason stains and spend some time in the notebook composing.
I don't know why I picked a fish for my first test, it just worked out that way. I'd like to capture fire, water, air, earth somehow, have a series of each. How varied can I get with the decoration and still have it be Erik Pottery with the same materials and forms? This is what I'll be drifting off thinking about in a few minutes.
Peace, good night.
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