In process

Here you see a large pot I made in my usual way: I threw a base and then added coils, throwing each as I went along. I threw the top separately and added it last. Arranged around the pot you see some natural stuff I've picked up here and there. The large jar contains ponderosa pine ash from the lodge fireplace at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon! My daughter secured it for me just this past May. I intend to formulate a blue or green ash glaze with it. I will run some tests to see which I like better. I've never used any kind of pine ash in my glazes, only hardwood ash, so I'm curious to see what it does.

The ridges on this pot I made by coating the freshly-made pot in slip and then combing it with a kitchen utensil I have. I like the deep ridges it creates and the undulating pattern that is not rigid at all. These will catch the ash glaze and create a more interesting surface.

Also shown are some very old broken bottles I dug out of a downtown street. The city is putting in a new street and uncovered an old dump, probably dating back to around 1900. The neat thing about the glass made back then is that it tends to melt at a higher temp than the more energy-conscious glass in modern bottles, which can run right off a pot. I can grind this to make a glaze or use small pieces on selected areas of my pots.

I'll post more on this as I go along.

It's an election year

So vote for me! I've entered the "Art in the Round" competition, which is online. You can view me on it at http://artintheround.wordpress.com/learn-more-about-the-artists/rosemary-forrest/ and follow the links to see the other artists as well. Even better, YOU can be part of the jury, just by signing up! How's that for democracy?

March of the Lil' Guys

I make these for my two-year-old granddaughter, who carries them around in a pouch, lines 'em up, assigns personalities to 'em and generally loves 'em. So I'm making more to sell. They are amazingly sturdy for ceramic items. She is not gentle with them and takes them outside, knocking 'em around on the sidewalk. Though one or two have dings, none has broken. These are greenware, made while I watched the Olympics. I'll use underglaze on some and each will be different. I think what she likes about them is their individuality. She actually calls them by their glaze name, which I find exceedingly funny. "Where's Shino?" "White Bird is first." And so on.

Letting it SHOW!

I've spent the week searching for shows to which I could apply, then researching those shows, filling out the applications, writing way too many checks for booth fees and getting very well acquainted with the folks at the Post Office. I'm doing a local show the first weekend in September and will have a pot in the invitational show for our local Westabou Festival. In November I'll be going to Florida to do the "By Women, For Women" show and hopefully either the DeLand Festival or the Halifax Festival in Daytona. Maybe both. I've also applied for a show near Macon, GA, and one in Watkinsville, GA. Unless all these shows accept me I'll also do a show on St. Simons Island. I don't know if I'll sell many pots there but, hey, it's the beach!