Laney High School and the April Firing
The next firing of the wood kiln is April 1-2. This firing includes the work of students from the Laney High School ceramics program taught by Alan Boyd. For the past two years, 100 students make work from stoneware clay, glaze it and assist in the firing of the kiln from supplying wood to stoking. I visit Laney twice during the semester to explain what we are doing and to bring them the glazes. The students have to do the work. We reserve half of the kiln for their pieces. The unloading is on April 5 at 5:30PM.
The kiln is stacked and there are over 200 pieces inside. I plan on closing it up this weekend to let it “sit” and dry for a couple weeks and then away we go!
24th NC POTTER’S CONFERENCE
Throwing Master Zhan Shaolin
We attended the 24th NC Potter’s Conference in Asheboro, NC from March 4 through 6. The theme was unique, it featured master artists and craftsmen from Jingdezhen, China, the home of Ming Dynasty porcelain. Of the 1.5 million residents of Jingdezhen, 440,000 are involved in the ceramic industry there. Watching the master thrower who in a normal day turns 2,000 pounds of porcelain into pots and the overglaze master who deftly worked his magic with enamels on the glazed and fired pots… it was a very enlightening conference. The tradition of porcelain production through the imperial dynasties and the communist totalitarianism of Mao to present day China is quite a legacy in itself. The throwing and trimming masters are true 
craftsmen, having served apprenticeships while the overglaze and underglaze painters are the artists who decorate the pieces.
The Traffic Light Post in the photo is an example of the cobalt blue underglaze. These are not sections, but rather full size pots, assembled and fired as one unit. The masters of Jingdezhen produce large works, including bowls 72″ wide and vases 20 FEET tall.
Additionally, the overglaze work of master Feng Shangjin is shown in the delicate shrimp painted on the surface of the glaze. Working in the overglaze enamels, the colors intended are readily seen by the artist, it is like painting on a canvas with oils or acrylics and mixing in the colors .
Overglaze painting
January firing was a huge success
The firing on January 28-29 went GREAT! We unloaded yesterday evening to a lot of fan fare and excitement by the other folks in attendance. Today was spent cataloging and prepping the pots for delivery to Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts in the Cotton Exchange, downtown Wilmington. We had some very nice results with the shino and blue glazes, the pots near the firebox mouth as well as some of the new glazes, including yellows and oranges. Thanks to Pat Hutti, Dan Pastore, Amy Britt, and Jerry Parnell for their efforts in stoking the fire.
Kiln Firing #21
Friday afternoon, start of the firing
We started preheating the kiln on Friday at 11:45AM and proceeded to fire through the night. We reached temperature (2385 degrees F) at 4AM. Pat Hutti is the firing master for the night shift. When I relieved him at 5:30AM, we maintained the fire for about 3 more hours, to provide a soaking atmosphere for the wares. For the 70 cubic foot kiln, we burned about one cord of wood. The opening is at 5:30PM on Wednesday, 02-Feb. Pictures will follow…
Welcome to the Sunny South
Loaded and ready to go...
Just being south does not mean it is always warm. We have a wood stove to be installed (for next year) but should have had it in this year…. For now the kerosene heater is doing the job. The kiln is loaded and the door is sealed. The firing will begin on 28-January and complete on the 29th. The opening is on 02-February at 5:30PM
Weather or Not
We are working towards the next firing of the wood kiln which is January 28-29 and it is pretty cold in the studio these days. Coming up also in January, we are doing a miniatures show at the Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts gallery in the Cotton Exchange in downtown Wilmington, NC. It has been a lot of fun making the miniatures for this show and all the artists in the gallery are participating so it should be great. My miniatures were fired in the gas kiln along with a load of ware for the Christmas sale with the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild instead of in the wood kiln… But we will be firing some mini’s in there in January.
Copper Red Miniatures
Here we go…
-
- The Kiln at Pumpkin Creek
-
- Handled Bottle
-
- Teapot and cups
I make wood fired stoneware and porcelain in Castle Hayne, North Carolina. I have been a clay artist and potter for about 35 years.
Pumpkin Creek Pottery was established in 2006 BUT did not become a full fledged business until 2009 when I left the corporate world for a more subdued life style… Okay, really I retired from Corning, Inc. and set out to do what I always wanted to do and that was to be a working artist.
Currently all of my work is available through two outlets, one is direct sales and the other is through Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts located in the Cotton Exchange in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. PCPFC is a co-op of 18 local artists working in clay, fiber, wood and jewelry so we all share work at the gallery which gives us an opportunity to meet all the folks who purchase our wares.
We are also on the web at www.pumpkincreekpottery.com
