Salt Jars 2020

 We are working on a way to sell pottery and tiles, but it is slow.
For now I am going to post here with prices plus shipping.

Let me know, by email, if you are interested in a piece.
Don't post any personal information here.

Email:
contact@whynotpottery.com
meredith@whynotpottery.com

We are happy to help.
We can take a CC with a Square invoice.
Or check by mail.


42.00 each

There goes Febuaury

 Here we go just flying into March, I can not tell you where the days go. We use to make pottery and raise kids, a few animals, garden, and all. Now I think about living in an apartment and walking everywhere.
I think about it and I wonder if I would quickly become bored.
We voted yesterday, I have always voted, I was brought up knowing that it is important to vote.
Do your research, read, study and go vote.

I just took out a batch of salt jars, pigs, containers, does a jar need a lid? out of the last kiln firing, I love using mine and noticed last Christmas that all of them were gone. I made some for the gas kiln as well. I'll post when we have those out.
I am working on a tile sign for a customer. I am so slow that they check with me now and again to see if I am still breathing.
Next up for the time is the glazing.

I have been thinking about making some Biscotti and thought I need to look at the recipe shared with me by a fellow potter. We love this one but it does have butter. I think I am going to look for one with oil, more traditional. I would love to get them nice and crispy. Any one have one they love?


Biscotti
Base recipe:
1 Cup Sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs or 4 egg yolks  ( I use 2 eggs)
1/4 cup milk or liquer
3 cups flour sifted
2 TBSP. baking powder

Preheat oven to 375
cream sugar and butter add eggs one at a time.
add milk
add dry ingredients.
Shape into a wide log on baking sheet that has been lightly greased and floured. ( or use parchment paper)
Bake- 20 minutes or until golden brown
turn oven down to 300
Remove, cool slightly and cut into slices.
Return to oven for 10-20 minutes
depending how crunchy you like them.

Our favorite variation:
decrease sugar by 1/4 cup and add 1/2 cup maple syrup
1tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup orange liqueur
 1/2 cup toasted pecans
cranraisins if you like. 

Keep dry, I would love more sunshine if you can spare a little
M

The salt jars are out

Just some quick pictures of the salt jars and friends.
Later!
M

where are the salt jars?

 They are right here, waiting for me to find the time to get some glaze on them.
A small kiln was unloaded today with some tiles, shaving mugs, cream and sugar sets and a few trays.
More is coming, just hold your horses.
Things take time.
Stay tune.
M

Salt Jars

I needed a break from the tiles and we needed to fill the kiln up for a firing so I threw myself into some clay work this past week. It seems that no matter how hard I try I have not forgotten how to throw a pot.
I was working with one of the students this past week making closed forms, it made me think I need to make some of those myself.
So I did.
Wrapped up until tomorrow when I need to go back and write SALT on them.
Short and Sweet.
M

Salt

There are always those items that sneak up on you as a new favorite for customers, family and friends. I started making these about 5 years ago just as a thought for something new. I kept one, I use it all the time. It sits beside the stove for ease of use, but it can easily be moved to the prep area when I am baking bread or sweets. I usually don't put writing on pots but I made an exception for this item since I could see it as a one use item, until a customer said they would use it for sweetener. I have to think about that one...maybe as a custom order.
We are well into winding down as we take care of deep cleaning in the studio. This is a good time to look at some pots that are in the bisque stage and decide if they are going in the trash bin. The deciding is always the hard part, but as soon as I let it go that thought is gone.  I wonder if we spend too much time trying to save a pot that needs to just go.

Back to cleaning, filing, and in general getting ready for another year.
Cheers!
m
 

Quick shots

 Here are some quick pictures of some of the pottery fresh out of the kiln. We are in full pack and ship mode right at the moment. While trying to use the post office site it seems it was out to lunch yesterday. That put us a little behind, but fortunately it is still early in the month. The week leading up to Christmas gets tight and mishaps are more likely to happen. Last year it was a late mailed package that we had to file a claim on. I had a feeling about that one as I packed it, knowing how close it was to Christmas day. If I can give any advice it is to get it in the mail now.
Speaking of which it is back to the shipping department I go.

Tea Pot and Jar Mark

Salt jars Meredith

mugs a plenty Mark

Oh, those favorite large mugs  Mark

Just a quick view in the kiln

Monday, Monday

 Mondays are good days to start on the next load of pots to help fill the kiln. While Mark is busy working on teacups, I am working on a batch of salt jars.
The teacups will go out for an order due in November. The salt jars are heading to our gallery here, and if not sold,we will take them to the show we have coming up in November at the Luck's Bean factory on 705, less than 2 miles from us.

The teacups will be made one with a handle and one without. The thought of the one without is that it needs more ridges in the body to make it easier to hold on to the cup.

Mark makes some tumblers in this style and those ridges feel good in the hand and do make it easier to hold.

I need to get back to work but not before I share a late butterfly with you that was busy visiting the flowers. He or she was so quick I had trouble getting very close.

This is the warmest October that I can remember.
 For once I am ready for fall, ready for cooler weather.
It's time.

A day for planning

It's time to plan a firing for Ms. B,
even though she is a smaller kiln than the old workhorse kiln we had, now retired, we try to keep the same habits we always used. We still feel it saves us time in the long run to know which pots are going in the kiln with a side shelf of extras that are on stand by as fillers for that hole or two, or as a replacement for a glaze gone bad.
We have a board that we marker off back in 1982 for just this job and it still works great.

 The new layer to the planning is taking a picture with the camera or phone to look as we are loading to be sure we are getting the pots in the right placement.
The top picture will be the top of the stack. The picture to the right will be used about midway up, 6 inches in height. We also make sure the pots will fit under the height requirement. Learning to make like items makes the work of planning easier.

 There is nothing worse than having one pot that is too tall for the shelf to toss off the loading and leave us looking at or for a pot to take it's place. It is also best if you notice that too tall pot before you put the shelf down.

I am working in some red clay right now. These pots will help me fill out the electric kiln when I am glazing and firing tiles. I found that just trying to fill up a kiln with tiles takes too long. We have slowly been adding some thrown pottery to the mix to help move things through at a quicker pace. The idea is to keep these shapes simple, useful items such as mugs, bowls, spoon rest, birdhouses, sugar jars and salt jars. I am sure a few more items will find their places in the mix.
We have fired some pottery with the last two firings of tiles, I am pretty sure that it will make my life a little easier, maybe, I hope, of course, what could possibly go wrong.....
More pictures as things move along.
Cheers!
M

Salt Jars

This has become my new favorite pot in the kitchen. It is easy to use, easy to move around and I really like having a spoon for the salt.
I have plenty of these to choose from for our spring open house coming up in April.
We hope to see you there.
M

Reminders for the New year.

 How well do we think we will remember something?
There are many times when I am working on tiles that I think I will remember how I applied the glazes, until I sit down and pick up a brush.
As soon as I pick up the brush, all the remembering seems to walk away.
I was taking pictures on my camera as I go along and placing them on my computer, but the computer is in my office at the house.  Too far away to be useful when I am in the moment.

 In the past year I discovered that I could snap some pictures and leave them on the cell phone.
Those are not the best pictures ever taken, but they fill in the gap of my brain, and they are much easier to access when I am in the studio.

I have been working to add some new tiles this past year and having the pictures close at hand helps me to see what I liked and what I did not like.

It also works to text a picture to a customer.
I know many of you probably already do this.
Boom!, right to face book and other social media.
I am an old dog learning new tricks.

I have a few days before I head back to the school.
I will be teaching 3 days a week through the next semester then I have some decisions to make on what I will do next.
Do I stay or do I leave?
Big question for me right now.
There are always new things to ponder with every new year.

I am off to see if the studio is warm.
Potting in January is always a challenge.

For the record books

 We are enjoying the most beautiful fall weather I can remember in many years. Then again, my memory can fail me as easily as the leaves float from the trees.
The past three weeks have brought out all the colors.
I always want to bring those colors into the pottery, the tones are so beautiful and rich.

October will fast give way to November, then we are all in a down hill slide to winter.
Get out and enjoy some of these days as they unfold.

More salt jars in the works.

We'll let you know what is up next.

Cheers,
M

October brings color

 I was looking out the back window that faces the hill behind us and noticed the bits of color in the trees. I can see the season of fall is here.
This is the time of year that I tell myself to look at the trees everyday.
It doesn't take long for those bits of color to blow into burst of color.

The kiln is out and has been sorted. Here, there and everywhere.
We have filled the shop,set some aside and sent some off to Southern Pines.
We are tossing them out there like fallen leaves to land in new homes.

 One of these birdhouses has left the coop already to fly to Texas to join the iron red birdhouse from the firing before this one. The birdhouses have been a fun addition to the other pots.
I think that Mark has settled on this loop as a good way to hang them. We  found that some of the ways we finished the tops made for some interesting and clever way to fix them for hanging. 

 There are always mugs.

We did get some rain last weekend and more this weekend.
From the rain came all sorts of fungus coming up in the yard or planters.
This one  was covered with rain drops making the drops look like they were beads.

We are back at work making tiles, soap dishes, and maybe more birdhouses.
More to come.

 

Cheers!
M