wood(stove) fired pottery

I was staring out the window the other day, looking at the fire pit in the backyard and thinking about how I'd like to get some pottery fired before it got too cold out.  The woodstove plinked in the background, chugging away on this chilly day.  The plinking means the fire is especially hot and the plink, plink, plinks, eventually got my attention.  I turned around and looked at my woodstove in a new way.  (cue the romantic music)

Some of the clay beads I made were dry and ready to be fired so I figured I'd just pop one or two in the stove and see what happened.  They popped like popcorn.  Hmm.  Um, that's not what I wanted.  Not to be deterred, I took a couple more and let them warm up above the fire for an hour before I placed them in the stove.  This time I put them away from the direct flame and built a fire on top of them.  A few hours later after the fire had died down I pulled out two fired beads.  Hooray!

I was so excited I had to try again, this time putting in more beads, and the smallest of my little pinch pots.  I was a little nervous about the pot, thinking that if it were to explode and break the glass on the stove, my husband would find my shenanigans far from amusing.

Once again I let the pieces warm up before carefully placing them in the stove.  I built a good hot fire over them, and continued to add wood while this batch fired.  A few hours later I dug the pot, beads, and a few small pieces from the ashes.

I don't know how hot my woodstove gets so I can't say for certain, but the beads didn't soften when left in water so I'm going to call them bisque-fired.  The black parts aren't soot, they're reduction marks from the firing process and are permanent.  I love them!  I made these as stringing beads for my daughter but now I don't know.  I might like to string them and wear them.

I decided to use the tiny pinch pot as a planter for one of my succulent cuttings.

I think I'll fire the rest of the pinch pots out in the fire pit, but there's a good chance there will be more beads in the woodstove soon.  Plink, plink, plink...

Have a good and warm weekend everyone.

clay play

I had the clay out and did some playing yesterday.  Tinkering, if you will.  Just for fun, just for me.  The sun even made an appearance.

It was just what I needed.

on the workbench

Work has finally begun on my holiday gifts.

These beads are from the clay I dug this fall and once fired will be stringing beads for my daughter.  Okay, to be honest I might keep a few for me to play with too.  I have a few other clay pieces worked up and I hope to have my first firing in the fire pit before we get any significant snowfall.(wish me luck)

Sonia did a nice post the other day about some simple and handmade gifts to consider giving this year, if you're looking for some inspiration.  I firmly believe that gifts don't need to be expensive to be appreciated.  A simple, thoughtful gift is much more meaningful and I'll take 10 minutes of thought over $100 spent any day.  (but hey, if husband is reading, that Wustof knife combines both...)

I've also been working on some wool brooches and am just finishing up the wood bases.  Each wool scene has to have a base that I feel goes with the scene, so it isn't quite as easy as just popping them in whatever I have on hand.  They have to be the right color and shape so I've been out at the saw and sander tweaking away.  (sometimes I drive myself crazy, but this is how I am)

The brooches, along with a few new stones, will be in my shop sometime this week.  I'll post once I know when I'll be adding them.

I'm be back at the workbench today after I finish my coffee and shake off this Halloween candy hangover.  (ohh Charleston chews, I both love and hate you)  There is much to be done in the next few weeks; holiday gifts, book projects, en masse mitten-making... the list is endless.  I'd better get to it.

Have a good day everyone!

woodland pottery class

Last weekend was amazing.  I had signed up for a woodland pottery class offered by the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and had such a wonderful time.  I learned to dig clay, gather tempering agents, and fire pots in an open pit but I learned more than that too, more than I can squeeze into a blog post.  If we ever get together for coffee I'll tell you all about it.  For now, a condensed version.

While in class we worked on small pottery pieces and learned about the history of pottery in our area and how it was used by the Ojibwe.  Really there isn't as much information about this pottery as there is about southwestern pottery.  A wet climate and harsh winters probably play a part in that as the pots would be exposed to some pretty harsh conditions.  It is assumed that the tribes didn't take their pottery with them when traveling, rather they would find a source of clay at their new locations and build anew.  The pots would have been heavy to carry and clay is plentiful here so that makes sense.  I wondered if there were designated potters in each group or if pot-making was a skill that each family had and when the time came, pot-making was just as much a part of their day as gathering food was.  I wondered how they cooked in these earthenware pots and marveled at their ingenuity for slaking, shaping, and finishing the clay.

I made a couple of small pots and a few tiny decorative pieces.  This is local clay that our amazing instructor Nancy dug and provided us.  We shaped our pieces and added decoration using natural materials like sticks and shells.  The texture on the outside of this small smudge pot (above) was made with a bumpy seashell as was the neck design of the small unfired pot below. 

I used the end point of a stick to texture the inside of the smudge pot and when the piece was dried to leather-hard I burnished it with a smooth stone.

You can see that the clay started off a grey color like the unfired piece on the left below, and once fired the earthenware took on a rusty color with black reduction marks.

My little bird turned a lovely orange color, very much like terra cotta, even though he's made of the exact same clay.  Interesting, isn't it?

Sitting in a room making pinch pots and talking about native american culture and history, eating some wild rice soup, digging clay, standing in front of a fire on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs on a crisp autumn morning, mingling with people with similar interests...well that's just about heaven for me.  I enjoyed it so much that I've already started slaking a batch of clay from my yard and tinkering with the clay we dug while in class.

Come on, you knew there would be mushrooms popping up, right?  The clay from my yard is a dark red color so I'm really curious to see how it will look once fired.

If you're in the area you should make a stop at the museum.  They offer a number of classes throughout the year including birch bark basket-making, beading, mitten-making, and much more.  Check out their website for a list of upcoming events:

Mille Lacs Indian Museum

they're on facebook too:

Mille Lacs Indian Museum on facebook

Have a great weekend everyone!