text: Fine Mess Pottery: April 2015
  Ugh, I don't know about this:
  The Great British Pottery Throw Down is part of a new season of BBC Two season programmes announced on Tuesday.
  Made by the team behind The Great British Bake Off, the six-part series aims to find pottery's hottest stars.....the channel hopes The Great British Pottery Throw Down will repeat the success of The Great British Bake Off, which migrated to BBC One.
  Cox will be joined by Keith Brymer-Jones and Kate Malone - two of the UK's pottery scene's most renowned potters.
  Each week, the 10 contestants will create a "Main Make", wherein the potters hope to translate a slab of clay into glazed glory, culminating in the reveal straight from the kiln.
  Those whose clay creations fail to impress will leave the studio until the final, when one person proves themselves to be master of the wheel.
  Cox said: "Clay, mess, passionate potters and the team behind Bake Off. What's not to love?
  "There's something really raw and exciting about grabbing a lump of clay and creating something unique out of it."
  "Pottery's hottest stars." LOL ALL DAY.
  I'm not a big reality TV fan in any case. I think it's degrading, boring, and often fake. I hate that it turns everything into a competition, and am not excited to see my passion represented in it. I mean, think of ten fine potters you know. Could you possibly choose a best one? Based on one work, that was made under a time constraint?
  Still, silver lining: at least people meeting us for the first time will have some reference other than "Ghost."
  Posted by Lori Watts at 4:32 AM 0 comments Links to this post
  I made some plates back in February, using a mixture of red underglaze and porcelain slip. I promised to post the finished results, and lo, here they are:
  The claybody was less grey than I expected, but that PINK! Can't complain about that bright cinnamon pink.
  Labels: plates, Unloading Day
  I tried out Chris Dufala's monoprint technique last night in class. (I have a long standing tradition of trying things for the first time in class. Hilarity ensues! Sometimes.) Chris has a detailed step-by-step at this link, which is way more helpful than my fumbles might be, so I'll just briefly describe what I did:
  Paint an image on plaster. You have to think backwards, because whatever you paint first will be the top layer. So, the black outline and shading on the rose was what I painted first, and then the red behind it.
  Let it dry to not-shiny. Pour thin slip of the claybody you are using over the image - a thin layer! My first mistake was using too much slip.
  Slap an already-rolled slab quickly onto the slip layer. I found it helpful to compress the slab downward with a rib or fingertips. Maybe a roller.
  Peel the slab up. God willing and the creek don't rise, your image will be on the other side!
  My images only partially transferred, giving them a deteriorating, peeling-wallpaper kind of look.
  You all know how I love the Law of Entropy! Deteriorating patterns & images are what makes my world go 'round. So I loved the little slab images too much to throw them away but they weren't big enough to make something out of themselves, so....Throw a pot to use them on!
  This is what I love about going to NCECA, and workshops generally: when you can take someone else's technique, and use it to make your own work stronger. It's nothing like copying - what I make couldn't be further from what Chris makes, and the uses I hope to put this to are completely different from what he is doing.
  Though this was an off-the-cuff pot, I can see this in future "real" work (as opposed to demos.) Maybe not with the tear-throughs...maybe cut windows, looking through at a peeling floral pattern.
  Whatever it ends up being, you'll see it here first!
  Posted by Lori Watts at 8:09 AM 0 comments Links to this post
  Labels: Philosphy, Something New, Teaching, Tips and Tricks
  Some people are eating ham today. Some people are dyeing eggs. Some went to church. Me, I made flyers and postcards.
  That's right - pottery tour stuff again. There's an incredible amount of little fiddly work that needs to be done, to make it all come out right. But who am I kidding? I get a great deal of satisfaction in making it all come out right.
  Check out the postcards!
  There are three, one each for each leg of the tour. The backs will list the participating studios with their addresses. I ordered them from Next Day Flyer last year and that worked out pretty well, so will probably do that again.
  This isn't usually my schtick; missing deadlines is more my thing - but I happen to be aware of a handful of shows you all might be interested in:
  The 2016 NCECA Invitational: Unconventional Clay: Engaged in Change. I guess the word "invitational" doesn't mean what I thought it means, because this one has a call for entries. The deadline is soon - April 16th. Apply here.
  The 2016 NCECA Student Juried Exhibition: Entry deadline September 23rd, 2015. The call is not yet open on the website but when it is you will find it here.
  In the Kitchen - an exhibition at Hood College in Frederick, MD. October 22 - December 4. Entry deadline, August 31. Apply here.
  The Slip Cast Object Revisited. Plinth Gallery, Denver, CO Entry deadline, April 10th
  Tabletop, An international juried exhibit of ceramic works designed for food, drink, and the table. At The Art League, Alexandria, VA. Entry deadline May 1. Apply here.
  The Strictly Functional Pottery National. September 26 - October 31 at Kevin Lehman's pottery in Lancaster, PA. Entry deadline June 1. Apply here.
  That's it, that's what I got. If you like being reminded f entry deadlines, you don't want to count on me - but check out Carole Epp' Musing About Mud - that's kind of the go-to for stuff like this. Ceramic Arts Daily also has a Call for Entries page, but it's fairs and festivals and gallery exhibitions and some rinky-dink stuff, all mashed together.