Friday, November 28, 2008

Its not all playing in the mud!

by Eleanor Hendriks

Being a potter isn't all playing with clay -in fact, I haven't touched wet clay in over a week! This past while has been glazing, kiln loading, packing and...

...painting the new table top display my super handy husband built for me...




It's got a nifty hanger for all my Christmas ornaments and it folds flat to fit in the back of my CRV. I've painted my old IKEA crates to match, sewed some table cloths and skirts and loaded up all the pots not already for sale in my Etsy shop. As we speak, my wares are set up at the Kawartha Potter's Guild Annual Christmas Sale in Peterborough.

I completely forgot to take a picture of my display while I was there, even though I remembered to take my camera! If you are in the Peterborough (Ontario, Canada) area, you'll just have to check it out for yourself! If you come on Sunday, I'll be there working one of the cash registers. Introduce yourself and I'll whip some Elan Dollars out of my pocket for you...

The show is on Saturday Nov 29, 10-5 and Sunday Nov 30, 11-4 at the Peterborough Lion's Community Centre, 347 Burnham Street.




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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Shipping out...

by Eleanor Hendriks

My Etsy shop has been hopping lately -here is today's selections of items that are being shipped out to places as far flung as California, Colorado, Ohio, and Guelph, Ontario (where I used to live)...


All boxed up and ready to take to the post office...
I've had to get creative to carry so many parcels at once -I've taken to flinging a large sack over my shoulder -I look a lot like the big red guy -only not so big, or so hairy, or so red -really it's just the sack over the shoulder... and no, I'm not posting a picture of that...

Just a reminder to my American friends -Christmas comes early in Canada -or at least the last minute to ship to the US does. If you've had your eye on something in my Etsy shop , now is the time to snap it up. After the first week of December it is very likely that it just won't reach you in time for Christmas. Canadians have a little more time, but the selection is thinning quickly...

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Come to my Christmas Sale!

by Eleanor Hendriks

My 2nd Annual Christmas Art Sale is coming up fast!

This year's participants are:

Suzi Silhanek, Artistic Lamps, Bobcaygeon
John Poole, Photography, Sturgeon Point
Janice Addison, Watercolour Painting, Seagrave
Anne Kulmala, Recycled Fur Creations, Bobcaygeon
Meg Silhanek, Beaded Jewellery, Bobcaygeon
Morris Young, Woodturning, Peace Point

and me, Eleanor Hendriks, Pottery, Fenelon Falls (North of Lindsay in the Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada)

These 6 artists will join me in my studio two weekends from now, November 7-9. We'll have a Christmas tree decorated with all handmade ornaments. Refreshments will be served -after all it is not a proper art event without food!

Hours are: Friday 6-9pm, Saturday and Sunday 11-6. I'd love to meet a blog reader in real life, so if you are near enough to drop in, send me an email with your snail mail address. I'll send you an invitation with 5 Elan Dollars to spend at my studio....

Have no fear -all that snow that I showed off in my last post is long gone! But I suggest you come on out soon before the snow starts to fly again!


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

I'm dreaming...

by Eleanor Hendriks

...of a white Christmas! Just in case you thought it was a long way off -here's my backyard at this moment...



Of course, because I am a potter and because it takes me a while to finish things, I've been thinking about Christmas since August, but there is nothing like the feel of the first snow on your face to really drive the fact of winter home...

Time to dig out the mukluks !

Sunday, October 19, 2008

So -It's been a While!

by Eleanor Hendriks

Well, I haven't been blogging -not even the (almost) once weekly I keep promising myself -but I'm back -temporarily at least. My apologies to those of you who have been checking in and getting nothing new! That doesn't mean that nothing has been going on at StudioElan though!

First of all, that glaze marathon I mentioned earlier had some lovely results...


In fact, I've done two other serious glazing sessions since then -but in the flurry of pre-Christmas excitement around here I neglected to document them. Many of the things in the above picture can be found in my Etsy shop along with pieces from the latest two firings. You'll have to check the Sold Items for some of them -I've been trotting off to the post office laden with packages quite frequently lately...

These two boxes... ...full of Fruit Salt Shakers and Apple Bowls went off to NorthWest Fine Woodworking Gallery in Seattle a while ago. This long-time cooperative gallery is a great showcase for beautiful fine woodworking and I'm thrilled to have my pieces there. I particularly enjoy these Dancing Tables made by Tom Deady. If any westcoasters are willing to pop in there and give me an in-person report I'd love to hear from you! I doubt that I'll be there to check it out in person any time soon -but you never know...

I'm about to embark on another glazing session and I'm setting myself a challenge. I am going to glaze this series of intricately detailed bowls that I have had sitting around since forever (they were one of the first things I made after moving here and opening the new StudioElan). I've put off glazing them out of fear, but the time has finally come.

I did a test of my new Champagne glaze on a small piece that I embellished in the same way and I'm reasonably happy with it...

I'm going to try a little something on them to bring in a little more colour... wish me luck!

There, now I've commited to glazing them in front of the whole (wired) world. I can't get away with putting it off any longer. Check with me later to see if I manage to follow through!

To those of you who stopped by the studio for my first year as a participant in the Victoria County Studio Tour, thank you for making me feel so welcome (and giving a fair number of my pieces new homes)! If you are in the Kawartha Lakes, GTA, Haliburton or Peterborough areas (or are willing to drive for a great art experience), drop me a note and I'll make sure you get advance warning of next fall's tour and a copy of the self-guided tour map.

And last but not least...

**Watch this space for information about the 2nd Annual StudioElan Christmas Art Sale**



Friday, August 29, 2008

A Friday Treat for me...

by Eleanor Hendriks

...an appearance on a busy handmade goodies blog...

Photobucket

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Time to Glaze...

by Eleanor Hendriks

I am about to embark on a mini glaze marathon... It's a mega glaze marathon when I have two tables full of pots to glaze -I try to avoid those -they make me sweat!!

...and a few results from the last round of glazing -I tackled the experimental jars that I made during my week of freedom...








Lots of food for thought here -but I was happy enough with them that you can find them for sale in my Etsy shop...


Thursday, August 21, 2008

Studio Update

by Eleanor Hendriks

A quick update on a few of the things happening in the studio right now...

A few special projects just finished...

A trophy for a charity golf tournament...


A fire hydant stopperless salt shaker...and yes, that is a target for a dog...


A mini version of my Orange salt shaker...


And a whole batch of pots in progress...




It's been a busy week!!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Free prints with Purchase...

by Eleanor Hendriks

My Etsy friend, Debra Linker, is running a great promotion in conjuction with a lovely treasury she has curated. The deal is -buy something from her treasury and spend more than $30 in that shop and you will get to choose a FREE reproduction print from her shop! She has included my Rustic T-light Holder Set in selection -so if you had you eye on these hurry over to check it out. This offer ends when the treasury expires -Wednesday 3:30 pm EST.


What a great idea -thank you Debra!


Here is the beautifully chosen treasury... (the links won't work -click on the ones above if you wish to check out the shops -be sure to look at Debra's too!)

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Barbara Van Sickle Raku Workshop at StudioElan

by Eleanor Hendriks

It was a pleasure to host a Kawartha Potter's Guild workshop this past weekend. Barbara Van Sickle of Acton came to spend the day with a crew of 11 eager potters. She shared two of her techniques with us -Naked Raku and Copper Matte Reduction Raku. Clouds threatened all day but only halted the heavy kiln action for short periods. In all, Barbara fired more than 10 kiln loads of our work, all the while sharing her knowledge, inspirations, and great stories.

Barbara -full of carefully researched expertise, tips galore and boundless good cheer...
The Naked Raku firings started with kilns full of pots covered in soaking WET slip...

The pieces were pulled hot from the kiln and placed in containers of shredded paper...
...we encouraged smoke (yes, I warned my neighbours) hoping for lots of carbonization on our pieces where the slip layer had cracked...

The slip falls (or is laboriously chipped) off revealing the pattern of the crack lines painted on the surface in smoke...

This piece gets a bath to encourage slip removal...

Some results... PINK?? -probably from some iron in the clay...

Yes -that is a bum...with cracks!

Subtle lines and dots...
Serendipitous variation on an elegant form...

If the Naked Raku wasn't fabulous enough, Barbara also demonstrated her finely honed Copper Matte Raku techniques.
Glazed pieces are removed from the kiln while hot and set on a bed of sawdust -which then ignites...

The flames affect the metals in the glaze, essentially painting the pieces with flames...
Detail of the flame painting...

As the pieces cool in the reduction chambers (fancy moniker for metal cans sealed off with sawdust) the marks that the fire has made are preserved on the surface of the piece.
To experience some of the drama of Raku for yourself, stare at these cans imagining the surprises inside until they are cool enought to touch -25 long minutes!

Finally the moment of truth... just look at those colours!

More results...

And more...

I had a completely wonderful day -all clay talk all the time and the generous spirit of Barbara setting the tone for the day.
My sculptures however came through with mixed results...
The clay I used for the piece on the left produced rather faint smoke markings and a surface that I found totally unpleasant. The piece on the right was made with a different clay. It has an interesting surface that I plan to repeat but the poor fellow lost his head!

My Copper Matte adventures were more successful...

And my favourite piece of the day! This is the little sister to the piece that had the blow out in the bisque kiln, and I'm thrilled with how it turned out!
If you have a chance to see Barbara in action, grab it -you won't be disappointed! In fact, she has said that she has a kiln and will travel -get a group together and she will come to you!! Better yet, get a group together and meet up with her here at StudioElan!

Friday, August 01, 2008

Blow Out at StudioElan...

by Eleanor Hendriks

No, it's not a furniture sale... I had a little disappointment in the studio, this is what happens when I rush a bisque firing with pieces that are too wet.. shards everwhere..

I blew the bottom right out of a piece that I was sure would become a favourite. I should never count clay chickens before they hatch -or assume that a new clay body will take the same abuse as the one I usually use.
Why was I in such a hurry to fire these pieces? I'm planning to use them in a Naked Raku workshop that I will be hosting at StudioElan tomorrow. Barbara Van Sickle is coming to share her raku techniques with some of the members of the Kawartha Potter's Guild. This is the first workshop I have ever hosted and I'm quite excited. I'm hoping to do more events like this. Of course, now I have to go and clean the studio... Why is it that I can be excited about cleaning the studio but hate the very thought of housework???


Meanwhile, shelves are filling with pottery for the fall and Christmas season. I love looking at boards full of freshly finished ware...
I'll be back soon with a report from the raku workshop -if I don't get so involved that I forget to take pictures!!!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Blogroll is Rolling...

by Eleanor Hendriks


For those of you hang on my every blogged word (what?! -Nobody?!) and are disappointed that I've slowed down for the summer you can tune in to more pottery blogging fun. I've added a pottery blogroll -just look to your right ---> and down...

If you have a clay related blog that I haven't included, just let me know and I'll get it in there.

I'll be back soon with some more results from the great experiment week...

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Change of Pace

by Eleanor Hendriks

So my once per week (almost) blog has slid to once per month -I didn't plan it that way but that may the fact of summer life. Of course that doesn't mean that nothing has been going on at StudioElan -au contraire! The large order of Apple bowls is finished and on it's way to final destinations. A few smaller custom orders from my Etsy shop are well under way and my shelves are starting to fill in anticipation of a busy fall season.


Apple Bowls ready to go...


I also had something very special happen this past week -I was relieved of my parental duties from 8:30 to 5:30 each day for 5 days in a row. This is a very rare experience that has happened only twice in the last 10 years. I used this time to experiment -free from concerns about efficiency, saleability and practicality. This is a great way to move forward in one's artistic practice.


I focused on creating decorative elements in the wet and leatherhard stages of making. I tried to incorporate elements of my sculptural work into functional pieces. For many years I relied on painted decoration to play up my rather severe thrown forms. Having promised myself that I won't paint hundreds of anything ever again, I now need to develop ways of decorating in the clay stage. I can't show you everything that I was working on because lots ended up in the slop bucket and even more really only happened in my head. I did however, take a few photos along the way while developing some knob and handle variation for jars.


I started with a row of plain thrown jars and lids (sorry-no picture!)


Then I sat down with clay and a bunch of tools and made all kinds of things that could be attached to a jar to function as lids or handles...


I used these three leaf shapes to complement a roundly elegant jar...

I thought the combination was successful, but I've been trying to push myself to more complex forms so I thought I'd see if I could go further with these...

I thought the holes added some excitement to a previously static form but I didn't like the mechanical appearence of the hole -or the ragged edge that pushing the hole through too soft clay created on the reverse side of the leaf...

So I worked on the holes to create a form that might be more likely found in nature...

And this is the completed jar -well except for the firing and glazing -where another whole series of questions must be posed about what will work....


I raised some questions for myself during the making of this jar that I will have to answer by making some more and trying other variations -is the addition of the holes really the best way to add energy to the form? What other ways could I alter the look of the hole that would make it pleasing? Does the jar shape need to be more lively? Could the lip of the jar be altered in a way that would go well with the leaf shapes and add interest to the jar without compromising it's functionality? What about carving?


Here's six more experimental jars -all with their own questions answered, unanswered and unasked...




Once I have a piece that I am happy with (which is really only determined after some percolating time!) then I go into practical production thinking.


For the jar with the leaf shaped handles the thought process might go like this...

Handforming the leaf shapes was finicky and would be tedious in large quantities -what could I do to speed up the process -make a press mould? weigh or measure the pieces of clay used to form the leaves? Make a template? Restrict this type of ornamentation to limited run pieces?

Creating the ornamental holes was unneccesarily awkward while on the jar -I'd have to figure out how to do this step before attaching the pieces but without damaging them during the attaching process.
How exactly am I going to glaze these? -shiny, satin, poly/monochrome -none of my present glaze methods seem to be suitable -more experimenting required!

And so it goes in the quest to develop new forms -no wonder potters often make the same pieces over and over again!

If you have any questions/suggestions about these experiments I'd love to hear them!
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