Peter Atwood on mon 12 oct 98
Howdy all,
I want to start out by saying how much I've
been appreciating all the good advice that I
find on this list. The recent posts on s cracks
have really piqued my interest and in particular
the many different solutions that have been offered.
I recently threw a bunch of small bowls and plates
off the hump and had a lot of s cracks. Very
frustrating. Now I will try compressing the bottom
at the end, adding a small amount of clay to the
foot after trimming, burnishing the bottom after
trimming and sand and balloon trick. Maybe I'll
get scientific about it and see which of these
methods is best for me.
I've been having a hard time getting into throwing
lately mostly because I have a show coming up next
week and it has been requiring all of my attention.
The show is going to be in the Barnes Gallery of
Leverett Crafts and Arts in Leverett, Mass
(5 minutes north of Amherst, 20 minutes east of
Northampton) and is going to be my first solo
show. I will be exhibiting about 18 tabletop
fountains.
Most of my fountains are high fire although a
few are cone 6 and a couple are raku. I've spent much
of the summer working on bowls and towers and the
problems of fitting the pumps and the tubing and
learning how water flows and falls. It has been a blast!
At the same time there have been many challenges in
getting trhe glazes to work out.
Glazes are so damned tricky. I find that I like the
simplicity of raku the best. Maybe it's because
raku reminds me of my training as a blacksmith when
I was 21- taking things out of a hot fire and doing
something to them is very natural to me.
I'm getting the hang of this high fire stuff though.
Some of my glazes actually come out consistently now!
Since I started in clay last October I have been
continually amazed by the challenges of it all.
The complex chemistry, the subtleties of form
the inventiveness of people have been amazing and
have really awakened my own creativity. I have met
so many great potters and people who appreciate pots.
What fun!
Everyone is welcome to come to the fountain show.
The reception is from 3-5 on Saturday October 17.
Email me for directions.
Refreshments will be served including my own
homemade honey mead which has been aging for about
one year and is just now starting to peak. For those
who don't know, mead is a white wine that is made from
honey, yeast and water and is probably man's oldest drink.
Absolutely delicious.
--Peter Atwood
fountainman@hotmail.com
http://www.realrates.com/fountain/
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beth williams on thu 15 oct 98
Hey Peter!
Just checked out your website and your fountains are great! Have one
question though - how do you waterproof your raku? My experience has been
that raku leaks like a sieve!!!!!!
Good luck with your show!
Beth in NC
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