The Blue Glaze Plays an April Fool's Joke on the Lonely Potter

In January the Lonely Potter began glazing some bisqued pottery with blue and green (celedon) glazes, and, with some trepidation,began filling the "big" kiln. He had not had good luck with the blue glaze, and he wasn't sure why. Did he put it on too thick? Did he fire too hot? Too fast? Too slow?  Were the surfaces contaminated with grease from his hands? Dust from the air? If it didn't work, could he bring himself to throw it out, after all of the time and expense put into making it?

Filling the Kiln

It took two months to finish filling the kiln and get up the courage to fire it. On Friday he fired it. Let it cool on Saturday. Opened it on Sunday.

Once again, the blue glaze had done strange things. It had crawled, bubbled and developed pinholes. The first few cups were very disappointing. As he went deeper, however, the quality improved. 


The green glaze was beautiful. It tended to pool at the bottom of some bowls, creating the same green/blue depth less effect you get when you look into a deep mountain lake.
Best of all were the results from a new technique he had tried, called chattering. This involved letting a sharp edged tool bounce along the surface of leather hard clay as a pot spun on the wheel.  This creates an evenly distributed design cut into the clay. To show the chattering effect off, he just rubbed color or used a light slip on the chattered areas. You can see some chattered pots in this picture.
As for blue glazes, there was a different blue glaze, with a smokey, mottled effect that the Lonely Potter tried on one plate. It turned out beautifully, so I think the Lonely Potter will be able to throw out the "April Fool" blue, and use this "Smokey Blue" instead.

Smokey Blue plate on upper left.

There is drama in every kiln load the Lonely Potter opens. Let's hope this was the end of the blue glaze saga.

The Lonely Potter and the Art of Winter Eating

If you want to lose weight, you may not want to spend the winter at the Lonely Potter's house. Nights are long, days are short, and the kitchen is a cozy place to hide from the blasts of cold weather. Here you will often find the Lonely Potter, and sometimes me, getting all creative with food.

Here are some samples of end of winter dinners we have had lately;

Schnitzel

Stroganoff

Chicken & Dumplings

And those are just some of the main courses. Then there were the pies, and the breads, and the waffles...

Of course, not every meal is blog worthy. We have had our share of left overs, but on the whole, when it comes to food, the Lonely Potter does not suffer.  The down side is that we are both beginning to notice that our clothes are fitting a little tighter than they did in the fall.

I suppose the first day of April is as good a day as any to start thinking about food that is good for us, instead of just good. More salads, less pasta. More water and less wine.

Ah, well, let's hope the joys of summer make up for giving up the pleasures of winter.  And let's hope I can still fit into last year's gardening clothes!