Castle Rock ART FEST

Since Functional Ceramics is my Interest, here are the Artist’s I am aware of that will be there this week.  19th Annual ART FEST right here in Castle Rock, Colorado on Sept 6-7.  Hours are Sat 9am-6pm and Sunday 9am-5pm  Admission is is $5.00 for Adults, $3.00 for kids and under 12 FREE!

89	Alexander	Steve	Colorado Springs,	CO	Ceramics, Functional
129	Klind	Gloria	Hinsdale,	MT	Ceramics, Functional
203	Kuhns	Jeff	Silver City,	NM	Ceramics, Functional
151-152	Livingston	Rebecca	Huntsville,	AR	Ceramics, Functional
94	Sabaliauskas	Regina & Gint	Evergreen,	CO	Ceramics, Functional
191	Judy	Mary	Morrison,	CO	Ceramics, Functional
51	Marshall	Daniel	Pine,	CO	Ceramics
60	Boyd	Cristine	Denver,	CO	Ceramics, Functional

 

Hope to see you THERE!     http://www.castlerockartfest.com/

Platter with Under coat and Wax Resist Combined

Here’s the platter.  I combined the black under coat with wax resist.  I painted on this combo into the carving of this platter.  Let it dry, and it dried blacker than usual for an undercoat.  Than I dipped the platter in Purple,Olive and Cream.  My Olive is a thinner glaze and to get the purple and cream at Cone^6 I use a thicker glaze.   Not really sure if I like it but it sure is different than my usual work.  ANd it is not an everyday piece so as a center piece well. . . it could work?

 

New Pottery fresh out of the Kiln

   

Pie or Quiche Plate in Purple and Olive Glaze and Queso Dip Jar.

   

Here’s that Appetizer Theme.  I really like the Razzberry Glaze with cream.  Oops my cheese is almost already Gone!

Here’s the dinner set I am working on for 12.  I have 8 Dinner plates and salad plates so far.  4 more of each to go.

Crackers and Appetizer Trays PART 2

Staying with that Wine and Cheese THEME. . . here’s another version of a cracker or Appetizer Tray.   

   

I used those Extruded Handles I made the other night and came up with a different design for this tray.

The Pattern I came up with I drew out on a piece of paper to get the shape.  I folded the paper in half to get both sides of my pattern equal.

     Than I rolled out a slab of clay for the bottom of this tray.  I used those handles for the sides of this tray and also for the the handles on this tray. 

Than I got bored and did something totally different.  I took a slab of clay and cut an OVAL design out of it.  I than rolled a Lace design on the clay as a pattern.  Took this slab and placed it on a river rock to dry and added 4 round balls of clay for feet.  Attached them with slip and scoring the bottom.  Than took a stamp and squished the feet to allow them to lie flat.

   

So Now I have several Different Cracker or Appetizer Trays.  Same Idea of a tray but several different ways to make them.

Cracker or Appetizer Tray

So back to my focus on CHEESE and WINE.  A few posts back, I began making Cheese Plates with domes.  I like to take a functional shape and make something different.  I don’t get excited about throwing the same shape.  So I have a NEW EXTRUDER now and made handles last night.  What to do with those?

     

The cheese Dome/plate had a stamp design on the plate lip and dome.  I wanted this Tray to match that.  I used a flat piece of clay for the bottom and extruded handles for the sides.  I also put handles on this tray as well.  The stamp was an added feature mostly to hide the seam but also to match the cheese plate design.  I think I might add FEET for better presentation as well.

 

Here’s a great web site for making easy Appetizers. 

 http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1831906

My Favorite one is this recipe for Sweet Potato Squares with Lemon garlic Mayonnaise.

Ingredients

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 32 (1-inch) cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound spicy smoked sausage, cut into 32 (1/2-inch) pieces
32 wooden picks
Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
Garnish: fresh thyme sprigs

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Place sweet potato cubes on a lightly greased 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Drizzle potatoes with 2 Tbsp. oil, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Toss to coat.2. Bake at 450° for 15 to 20 minutes, turning cubes twice.

3. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Drain on paper towels.

4. Place 1 sausage slice on top of 1 sweet potato cube; secure with a wooden pick. Repeat with remaining sausage slices and potato cubes. Serve with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise. Garnish, if desired.

 Yield

Makes 8 appetizer servings      Anne Trulock, Madison, Georgia , Southern Living, SEPTEMBER 2008

SUCCESS Bumper Jack Extruder

So I had a bent bolt at the top of my extruder.  I had to fix that, other than that, well it has been very simple.

     

Things I did Differently than Mary Kate Sullivan

1. PVC pipe was 4 inches thick and 12 inches tall.
2. I reinforced the bottom with metal clips that were “L” shaped
3. I tried a store bought DIE Scott Creek 8 handle die and it works well
4. The bumper jack was a floor model
5. I changed the box to match the larger PVC Pipe

That was it pretty simple and it works.  Not perfectly, there is no cap for the die so a little squishes out like a golf ball size or less.  I also used reclaimed clay since my first clay seemed to dry for this process and not very plastic.  Soft clay worked fine if I didn;t walk far and had a slab to put it on.

   

First Mistake Bumper Jack Extruder

  Well it had to happen.  ALways when you are starting out, there’s a learning process called,sadly, Trial and Error.  My Error so far with my extruder is the BOLT.  The second time I used this extruder, it bent up at the TOP.  My welder friend gave me this bolt, hand made, so I thought it was REALLY really strong.  Hummmmmm  maybe not so strong?  Everything else about the box seems to work but this bolt couldn’t take too much pressure?

Daryl  Baird has a Book out called THE EXTRUDER which I haven’t gotten yet but can’t wait to get, I’m in line at the Lib for it.  Popular book cause I’m having to wait :O.  I like to review my books before I by them.  In this type of market, no sense in buying something I might not use.  For example, John’s Mastering Cone 6 Glazes.  I got the book at the Lib first, than I saw his Free site for computer software, I tried that for 6-8 weeks.  I bought both the book and Software.  I wouldn’t have purchased it tho if I hadn’t tried it out first.  I like to know that the Author is there for me, AND his work means something to me first.  Right or Wrong that’s the way I function.

Daryl runs a grp called clayExtruding http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clayextruding/ great start for beginners like me!  So I posted my dilemma regarding my first mistake with my extruder.  I’m not sure if it’s because the bolt wasn’t strong enough or maybe I need to make more of a box to hold the black part.  Most likely the clay I use is too hard for extruding?  I am wondering tho if extruding might be a good place for my reclaimed clay?  It’s softer and more plastic than what I like to throw with?  HUmmmmm. . .

  I did reinforce the bottom of my extruder with those Metal “thingy’s  A guy at the hard ward store recommended them and I think that was a good thought!.  Didn’t move a bit, not once.”  So the box,plunger,bumper jack, (even tho it’s the floor kind) all work.  Oh and the store bought die (whew).  Just that darn BOLT to ponder. . . . .

Dies for my Bumper Jack Extruder

  So you can see in this photo the FLOOR of my extruder.  Mary Kate Sullivan reiforced that floor for a “slot” for SQUARE dies to fit in.  I just put 2 sides so far since I wasn’t sure about dies yet.  I didn’t know how thick to make them or why some were beveled,etc.  Still have alot ot learn here.  I did do one thing well tho.  I used a 4 inch PVC pipe where Mary Kate only used a 3 inch PVC pipe.

  I really like the Scott Creek 8-Handle die and that is already made.  I think it has the most value for the money because instead of just one die, you can use 8 different dies in one.  SO it was my most expensive piece of this extruder but I think well worth it since I know NOTHING about dies or making them .                                                                                                                                    This is the back side of that die to allow for only one handle at a time and easy to change.

  So you can see it fits perfectly on my 4 inch PVC pipe.  Plus now I know how thick to make my die slot on my box.  I wasn’t sure about the thickness so I didn’t reinforce that just yet until I knew more about my dies and what I will be using.  Looks like both circle and square dies will fit.  I might make a sleeve for my circle dies, like someone suggested so all the dies are basically square than,we’ll see?

Bumper Jack Extruder for less than $25.00

     

Well this is my attempt at making a Bumper Jack Extruder.  I thought I would not have access to a welder but my welder Friend (D and D) came through and welded the bottom of the plunger and the top.  It was a trade for large bowl and queso dip bowl.  The rest was bought at home depot for under $25.00  The Bumper Jack was found and FREE at the local  Salvage yard in Sediala called Top Line Auto.  They were great.  The idea of this bumper extruder came from an article from Mary Kate Sullivan,  She was not a welder and wrote an Article about how to make one with out any welding.  She would have used wood for the bottom of the plunger instead I had it welded on .  She also used 3 inch PVC white pipe I use what was on sale which was 4 in.  So I made wood adjustments as well for it all to fit in it’s wall mounted box.

Now I just have to make some dies and try it out. . . . I’ll let you know how that goes.  I am thinking about clay dies which would be easier for me than cutting them out of metal,wood, or highway signs.

Knowledge is Accessible for everyone

That is my belief.  I also believe that everyone has the right to knowledge no matter what their background is or how much money they make or don’t have.  So my blog,my work, and myself will be shared with what ever knowledge I do have.   I have learned that once people publish articles, well those rights are with the publisher and author unless express written permission is granted.  Here is an example of what I have learned tonight.

Copyright of Pottery Making Illustrated is the property of American
Ceramic Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to
multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s
express written permission. However, users may print, download, or
email articles for individual use.

However, I am of the belief that Knowledge is to be shared.  I believe in Education and that is for EVERYONE not only those who can afford it, like our PUBLIC LIB system.  So someone may not be able to share a glaze recipe or article but I think that someone CAN share a way for you to access that information.  Here is a great site to help you do just that.

http://connection.ebscohost.com/content/article/1021161104.html;jsession  EBSCO is a way to access your Lib anywhere in the United States and gain information regarding articles,books,etc.  I found this information when I was searching for a Bumper Jack Extruder.  I found information by Mary Kate Sullivan which is very useful for me.