News

07-17-08 Zanesville report and a small firing of new pots available.

I returned from Zanesville's Pottery Lovers show happier than I thought I would. Until Tuesday, my last day at the show, my sales were way off. I knew the show was probably going to be down since that is the theme of this year's shows and our sagging economy. There were some people who were noticeably absent from the show, but there was still a good crowd of buyers. They seemed to be more cautious about what they were buying, but I am still satisfied with my sales.

Next year there will be some major changes to the show, which I think will only make it better. The show will be condensed to one week of room sales rather than two. The show itself will be moved to the main hotel to keep everything closer together. I am going on what was told to me, so stay tuned for the concrete details as we get closer to next year's show.

New Pots available.

In spite of the lost time in the studio tearing out drywall and insulation from the flooding, I was able to pull together a small firing of new pots for the show. I decided it was time to try some new design ideas I have had floating around in my head for a while. I am very pleased that they turned out better than expected, and the collectors seemed to think so, too. Check out the Online Gallery to see what's new.

Pots on Sale

While at the show in Zanesville, I was looking through my stock of pottery, and decided it was a good time to try and clear out some of my inventory. I put a number of pots on a steep discount, but only sold one. I think it was because I waited until the last day of my visit to try the discounts. So, that means that those of you who could not make the show have the opportunity to buy some nice, collectible pots that are being offered with a major discount. There are two jumbo pieces for 30% off the sticker price, and the last two 10th Anniversary pieces for a huge discount. Finally, there are a couple of pieces that generally don't make it out on display because there is usually a bunch of new pots that take center stage. A Luna moth vase for a 50% reduction, and a Calla Lily vase for a 50% reduction. Click on the highlighted links above to see these great deals.

Next show is Wisconsin Pottery Association in late August. Hope to see you out there....

06-15-08 Disaster in the studio...

Last Sunday, June 8th, we had record rains here in Wisconsin. You might have heard about it on the national news and seen the video of houses falling into the Wisconsin River. Luckily we didn't have it that bad, but we did get flooded. My studio is at my house, and as the water was rising fast, we tried to block its path as best we could. Unfortunately, we ended up with 4 inches of water in the studio and attached breezeway. My van was sitting in front of the studio and was partly underwater. Cori's car was worse. The next day it had an inch of water on the floor after the flood receded. There goes $800 to dry it out. The car's computer was under the seat and needed attention, as well as the seats and carpeting being pulled. The brake lines under the car got rotted, probably from the first time this happened a few years ago and also needed replacing. Here's a picture of my van showing how high the water rose.

Four inches in the studio was enough to saturate the drywall and insulation. There is nothing you can do at that point except cut out the affected drywall and tear out the insulation to open up the wall and dry it out. We also sprayed anti-microbial solution on all the affected wood framing to try to thwart the growth of mold. I am going to leave the walls open for the rest of the summer; partly because I want them to dry completely, partly because it doesn't need to be insulated until Fall, and partly because I don't have the time or money to re-drywall them right now. Here's a couple of pictures of the drywall after we took out the bottom 12 inches.

Needless to say, I have lost a week of production in the studio, and it is still not put back together to where I can work. All the equipment and clay is in the middle of the room. I should be able to get back at it by Tuesday, but this will definitely affect my stock for the upcoming Zanesville show. I am still planning on going, and I still have a few weeks left to work, so I should be able to put together some nice pieces. I need to be away from the studio for 4 days between now and then, which will also hamper my production. Ugh!!

After viewing the damage at Lake Delton, I guess we don't have it so bad. Gotta count your blessings.

Onward...

05-21-08 Finally back in business...

Well, after almost four weeks of my website being dysfunctional, I am back in business. Seems that the DSL connection I was using had a slight glitch. Every time I tried to upload even a small image file, it would choke, thinking it was SPAM. Nothing I, nor AT&T would do could solve the problem, which was in a piece of their equipment. I finally ended up taking my computer to a local repair shop where they hooked it up to their cable broadband, and, *POOF*, everything uploaded fine. After a week of the waiting period for cable, I now have a good connection that lets me publish whatever size file I want.

Thank you for being patient and checking in often to see if the site was back up and running. Hopefully there will be no snags and I can get back into the studio where I belong. I love computers--as long as they work the way they are supposed to. As soon as they don't, I feel a little lost and frustrated.

The latest posting is up in the Online Gallery, Pieces From My Most Recent Firing page.

Next show is Pottery Lovers in Zanesville, OH in July. I'll keep you posted on the progress in the studio. In the meantime, please let me know what you think of the new designs.

Eric

05-01-08 AAPA in Philadelphia and some great new pots available.

On April 26-27 I attended the AAPA convention in Philadelphia, PA. It was the first show I have done in Philly and I was able to make some sales to new customers from all over the area. I did a firing before I left and the pieces could not have turned out better. I had to do the show alone since Cori had to work over that weekend, and the drive was long but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The fine folks of the American Art Pottery Association have once again put on a great show and all of the efforts of this volunteer organization never cease to amaze me. The auction, presided over by Greg Belhorn of Belhorn Auction Services, moved a lot of pottery into new owner's hands. The piece I donated brought in over $700 with the buyer's premium, and the AAPA brought in a record amount for the organization. It is looking like the show may be back to that area next year, but the final details have not been worked out yet. I would like to see this show stay in an area for a minimum of two years to allow dealers to build up a clientel and to make people aware of the AAPA itself. When a show moves almost every year, it is hard to build up a customer base for that area. I'll keep you posted on the location for next year.

In my firing I had many one-offs including a stunning Koi Pond vase that is sure to be a treasured family heirloom. It is featured on my homepage.

There were also a few different manifestations of the Rabbit design and a new Morning Glory border on a few pots. In addition there were some one-off tiles that turned out beautifully. Go to Pieces From My Most Recent Firing page to see the new line-up. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If you are interested in any pieces I would encourage you to act before my next show in two weeks as I don't think many of these pieces will last and there won't be another firing until before Zanesville in July.

I am really happy with the direction my pottery is going, and the response from collectors has been very encouraging.

Next up is Chicago Arts and Crafts on May 17th and 18th.

Hope to see you out there.

03-06-08 GPI Show and Some Great New Pots Available.

We had a good time in Asheville at the Grove Park Inn Arts and Crafts Conference, which took place over the weekend of Feb 22-24. I did a firing of some quality pieces which I packed warm, basically right out of the kiln. The firing was a hot one with temperatures over 2400 degrees F. I love the effect on some of my glazes at this temperature. They get all fluid and some of them run and pool creating different colors in one glaze. Sometimes they pool so much that they jump onto an adjacent glaze. There were only a couple of pieces that did this, so most of them just ran and pooled nicely. Even the ones that ran are keepers.

I have some excellent pieces available from the firing. There is a new Rabbit design for all of you who have requested one. I did three pieces with one layout, then changed the layout for the fourth one which sold at the show. You'll just have to wait for the next firing to see what the new layout looks like, but the other three, which were the first Rabbits I have done, are now available. The very first one is marked "1st Rabbit" on the bottom.

There are also some choice Scarab and Bee pieces, Grasshoppers, pod vases and Dragonflies and a Koi Pond triptych of tiles. I tried to do a wide variety of designs and even had some pieces with a new glaze. It is called Teadust and is a type of Tenmoku glaze that was developed by potter Tom Coleman. The key thing about this one is it has a mossy green texture floating on the surface of the glaze. I did three pieces, two of which sold at the show. The one I still have is a dragonfly and it is a good example of what this glaze is capable of.

Teadust was a huge hit at the show and I look forward to using it on more pieces. As you can see in the picture, where there is an edge like the lip on the vase, the glaze pulls away thinning to a rust color. Where it is thicker it turns mossy green with a deep brown layer between the two colors.

New Glazes

Speaking of new glazes, I have a goal this year. I now work with about 25 or 26 glazes. I would like to test and develop 25 more. I have stacks of glaze recipes that I will be testing. Usually when I get a new glaze it inspires me to think of new designs, or designs I have been thinking of for a long time but haven't had the right glaze. This is always an exciting time in the studio.

One of my pottery heroes is a man named Val Cushing. Val's glazes are some of the most interesting I have seen. Taffy, one of my favorites and quickly becoming a favorite of my customers, is a Cushing glaze. I recently purchased Cushing's Handbook, which is a compilation of things Val has taught at Alfred University. Included are pages of recipes of Cushing's glazes. I am like a kid in a candy store when I read the descriptions of the colors. He is a glaze wizard and with his instruction even I am starting to understand glaze theory and molecular unity formulas. No easy task.

Blasts From the Past

I picked up some pieces that were in a gallery on consignment. They are mostly from around 2003 which is before my accident so I think I threw all but one of them. There are a few mushroom vases, a nice, round pod vase and a Corinne vase. They are all very nice pieces. I have decided to mark them way down and try to find them new homes.

See Pieces From My Most Recent Firing page in the Online Gallery to see the new pots as well as the "Blasts from the past". I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Spring is right around the corner and soon my show season will be in full swing. My next show is in the Philadelphia area in late April. See the Upcoming Events page for more information.

See you soon...

Eric

01-17-08 Making pots again...

I am back in the studio making pots for the upcoming show season. I have been working with a new clay since the beginning of the year, and I think I finally found one that works. My glazes are actually a little brighter on the new clay.

I have begun testing glaze recipes I have had for a long time. When I was just starting out working in clay, fourteen years ago, I was hungry for as much information as I could get my hands on. I got hundreds of glaze recipes from books, magazines, the internet, friends, etc., and squirreled them away. I was cleaning my studio a couple of weeks ago and found a stack of recipes that hadn't been tested. I am really excited about making new glazes, as having new colors in my palette usually stimulates new design ideas.

I am making more chargers this year. I have refined the shape and I think people who like flat work will like the improvements. I have some new designs that I think are going to look great on them too.

I am also making a whole new product this year. I probably won't have any available for the first show, but they should come out shortly after that. I don't want to ruin the surprise, so you will have to wait a couple of more months to see what they are.

Stay posted...

12-28-07 So long 2007.

Well, another year has come and gone. Lots of changes happening in the studio. My shoulder is finally getting stronger after 3-1/2 years of work. I have been able to lift weights and make large gains in healing in the last three months. I am able to throw many of my own pieces, and I am looking forward to making some incredible art in 2008.

Thanks to everyone who took me up on the offer during the Holiday Sale. Some nice pieces went out the door and into collections across the country.

My next show is the Grove Park Inn Arts and Crafts Conference, which happens in late February, in Asheville, NC. This is always one of my best shows and I usually have a great selection ready. I have started making pots in anticipation of a good show.

I am still working on getting custom orders done to make room for new ones, so if you have been patiently waiting for a custom piece, don't despair. They just take me longer. Now that I am stronger, I am able to work longer hours in the studio (although I am still working on building my endurance), so I should be able to knock out the rest of my orders by mid-year. I ended up with a huge backlog of orders over the last couple of years, many of them in the jumbo size, and it is taking some time to finish them. I have to balance making pots for shows, and getting the custom work done too. Thanks for your understanding.

Hope you all have a happy and prosperous new year!

Eric