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.