Wadding, Kitty Litter & More

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Another step I learned this year regarding doing a wood fire kiln is wadding. img_60221

Little peces of wadding are placed on the bottom of each pottery piece to allow the piece to stand slightly above the shelves.

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The small space below each piece, created by the pieces of wadding, helps the flow of the fire, ash and air to circulate better in the kiln.

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Photo courtesy of Beth Genung

Each wadding piece is made of clay and kitty litter!   Meow.

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We Periscope’d portions of the wood firing. Follow PottersofPeriscope to catch live action (https://www.periscope.tv/), but use the iOs or Android App if you can (less complicated).

Post Wood Firing Kiln

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The fall wood-firing, led by Tim See and Shawn McQuire, came to a smooth ending earlier this month The team of potters met at 9am to unload the kiln and were done by the time I arrived.  Here are some photos of the empty kiln.​

Wonderful Journey

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Gratitude and thankfulness permeate the wonderful journey of creating Pottery. From handling the raw clay to receiving feedback from folks who have one of my finished pieces in heir hands, I am truly blessed and humbled.  

Thank you to everyone!

Cairns Teapot and Teachers

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Staying on the Path

The enthusiasm of a teacher is priceless. Seeing and feeling the love a teacher as he or she shares passion or joy about a subject can propel a normally shy kid to ask questions or conduct further research at home on Google, or even step to the front of the class forever changing his or her life. This is what happened this year regarding teapots and…. cairns.

Cairn: Per Wikipedia, a cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones.

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The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn (plural càirn). In modern times, cairns are often erected as landmarks, a use they have had since ancient times. However, since prehistory, they have also been built and used as burial monuments; for defense and hunting; for ceremonial purposes, sometimes relating to astronomy; to locate buried items, such as caches of food or objects; and to mark trails, among other purposes.

To me the cairn illustrates the importance of Staying on the Path.

My pottery teacher is a master potter. He is world re-known for his art, has exclusive clients, and most of all he teaches what he loves and loves what he teaches. This year his students were asked to create a series of pieces that tie-in somehow with one another.  I completed my assignment, starting with these concepts: earthy, elemental, chakras and concluding with geology, rocks, and cairns! Making rocks isn’t as easy as you would initially believe. I had a great time exploring the nature of rocks, type of rocks, rock history, even rock stories and questions, including How did that rock end up like that? What forces affected the shape and texture? Any fossils in those rocks? and so on.

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At the conclusion of class I had created an incense burner that had a large rock base with a deep well (almost like a water collector but works to hold the ashes), a pot with a cairn lid topper, and a teapot, all with the cairn theme.  All conveying that important message: Stay on the Path.

Now here’s the thing, I never made a teapot before (or an incense holder and am new at making lids); however for some reason I was compelled to make a teapot. I don’t drink tea often.  In fact I didn’t even know the difference between a tea kettle and a teapot.  BTW, in the U.S.A., a tea kettle is a vessel for boiling water for tea, while a teapot is a vessel for brewing and serving tea. However I do know that there is an ART to enjoying tea – from selecting the type of leaf to make the tea from, to the temperature of the boiling water, to how long and how the tea seeps, and so on. Yes I do have an awareness of the art but I am not fully knowledgeable nor practiced to any great extent.  Yet here I jumped in with both feet to make my first tea pot  – with the cairn concept.

 Here is where I share with you that the teapot I made, with the cairn theme, is a soulful and artistic expression combining the cairn message and the ART of enjoying tea. This teapot was also created without me providing any heads-up to my instructor, who by the way is very well know for making amazing teapots.  So as you can imagine, when I readied my pre-bisqued piece i received ‘The Look‘.

So here it is, my artistic expression of combining the Art of Tea with cairns, a.k.a. Staying on the Path:

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Can you see the cairns?

Revisiting creates renewed Appreciation

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Sometimes things “speak” to you, or call to you. Something may just catch your eye. These are special moments because somewhere in your heart or mind there’s a call to duty, perhaps more so a call to honor.  Honor that moment. Honoring those moments is honoring you because you are giving attention, mindfulness, energy, love to that part of you that said, “Hey, look at that!” 

Now you’re a pretty smart person and you  really don’t want to “waste time” on much of anything, you’ve got too much to do, see, be, etc. So when YOU call on YOU to take note of something then there is a very good chance that you will benefit in some way by taking note of it, by recognizing your valuable attention could be invested in a moment that could very well produce substantial ROI (return on investment). 

In other words by sending a little more attention to that thing that caught your eye or simply to that moment, you are allowing YOU to be rewarded with a treasure from universe, from your heart or soul’s intent. 

The experience is very akin to opening up a mysterious treasure that you KNOW benefits YOU, and sometimes others as well. Maybe you won’t “see” the treasure immediately but rest assured that the benefit, however big or small, becomes a part of you to access or utilize. 

So how did I come to relay this carat of wisdom?  The answer is its not unusual for me to become inspired or “tuned in” to the moment when I ALLOW my attention, energy, focus to follow what caught my eye.  Today as I was leaving to go to my day job I noticed one of my newly created coffee mugs on the photography table. 

Now, I had thought about this mug earlier today, at sometime during the night, perhaps in between dreams. So this morning I picked up the mug and brought it to work with me. Just doing that made me feel joy because I was honoring me, by honoring creation in the form of that mug.

While drinking my first cup of coffee at work I was observing the “drinkability” of the mug, from how it sat in my hand to weight and balance, to the feeling of the rim of the mug against my lips as I sipped my coffee.  Within a few moments I found myself in awe of creation of this mug on a level that was more than the sum of its parts. I was honoring me and my loved ones, and I was honoring Creation. 

A mug that I created earlier this year inspired me to thank Creation and to share with YOU one of the easiest ways to exercise Love. 

Thank you fancy-handled green and blue mug! 

Appreciation of Creation

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The other day at my ‘9 to 5’ I found simple joy as I walked back to my office with my hand-crafted wood-fired wheel-thrown pottery coffee mug.

Simple. Joy.

I gazed at the hot coffee swirling around inside my mug. And I was happy to know I’d be soon drinking the coffee, as it cooled down a bit.

I marveled at the mug in my hand, admiring the handle, the curves, the tapering base, the strong bottom, and the slightly protruding rim that my lips contoured with every sip.

A smile was on my face as a co-worker came around the corner.

I was happy to share in that brief moment that I was simply enjoying my mug.

I was in appreciation of creation.

Here is a link to my current wood-fired series of pottery creations: www.etsy.com/shop/oneidasharkpottery.

 

Storytelling, teaching the generations

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One of the great majestic mysteries of creating something, even in pottery, is the impact of the result. The resulting feeling of seeing the final piece in your hand, can begin as awe, shock, delight, or even disappointment – however, in another moment, another day, and even in the hands of someone else that very same piece can bring forth another set of feelings, and when those feelings or impressions are shared then a whole new experience/feeling/appreciation is available to savor. 

This process is part of the heart-based experience, and is as equally important and necessary and cherished as the first moment of intent (e.g the moment the potter first asks, “What am I going to make?” as he or she then grabs a chunk of clay).

As I remember the process of creating this vase I can see myself at the wheel while being surrounded by other potters and artists sharing their lives, their energies, their loves.  I know that this vase, as small as it is, represents their stories, my story, perhaps a chapter of the bigger story, in every mark, line, location, and depth.  

The next wonder is where this little case will find a home, what functions will it serve, what new stories will it be able to create.  

Simply Beautiful

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My first wood-firing pottery experience was and still is, simply beautiful on many levels.

First was the clay, the creation of pottery pieces that included mugs, a pitcher and a couple pots/vases. This process of course was fun, daunting, and so cool.

Then came the prepping of the pieces, which included using pig-iron glaze on a few pieces upon the suggestion of a veteran wood-fire potter. The experience, info, and creative ideas shared were like icing on a cake.Then came the packing of the pieces for transport to the wood fire kiln.  I savored every moment.

Next was the actual wood firing experience….  let’s just say that my mind was blown by the amount of hard work and dedication that was shared among the potters and volunteers, as well as by the generosity by the land owner allowing a huge wood fire kiln to be built on his land. I honor all those who had a hand in making dreams come true.

Now, as I gaze upon some of my finished pieces I feel all this and more, because the new dimension of seeing and holding the pieces have every bit of that love, respect, and joy.

Thank you.

 

Three out of approximately 20 wood-fired pieces created.