Stoneware Pottery Vases

An Assortment Of My One-Of-A-Kind Vases

blue denim vase has little "buttons" down the front

flask shaped pot has a squared neck

slender vessel has lots of little details

stylish jug sports a bow tie and two loop handles

a firing fluke created this awesome glaze effect

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mustard yellow urn has four P-shaped lugs

simple form with natural tones 

little vase had dainty side loops 

plump chocolate and vanilla vase

white pinstripes thru a dark metallic glaze

a graceful flower-shaped vessel

swirly art deco design

ink spot vase

watery brush stroke accents

wide rimmed vase with subtle details

slightly flatten satiny white vase

another cool glaze "defect"

vintage star bud vase

vase has the look and feel of chiseled stone

assorted pots

bottle vase

close-up of fluting

vase

stone farm pottery website

I have a website which is soon to disappear thanks to Apple and their discontinuation of MobileMe.

I will now be posting all of my pottery pictures up here on my blog site.

My First Pyrometer

I finally purchased a pyrometer.

I cheaped out and got an analog one with a needle instead of a digital display. But it doesn't need batteries or AC, plus it has an easy to read dial that shows Centigrade and Fahrenheit at one glance.

Today I installed it on my kiln after rooting around in the barn for bolts, nuts, screw drivers, metal brace, wood and other stuff. The photos above show the pyrometer connected to the thermocouple via a thick yellow wire. The thermocouple goes through the a hole in the kiln brick and is protected by a long refractory tube (you can see the tip sticking out inside the kiln in the last photo).

I have the kiln all loaded with glazed pots. I can't wait to fire and test out my new tool.

Bye Bye Pots!!

random pots under the sun

soon almost all will be gone!

lots of planters....

vases, bowls.... all sold!

Wow! Today I set up a table at the Dublin Fire Company Flea Market and Crafts Show. I took with me 70 pots with deeply discounted prices—mostly because I wasn't fond of my workmanship, or the glazes hadn't turned out as expected, or they were too thick, too thin, warped, or wanting a new home.

I priced everything to SELL! My highest priced pot was $8 which I sold to a vendor set up next to me. Everything else was in the $1 to $5 range. What a bargain! I didn't want to bring anything back to my studio with me. I sold 66 pots!!! Took home only 4 ... and they were small pieces.

Not a bad day at all.

So, thanks to all my new customers and friends, I now have more room in my pottery studio for displaying newly fired pots, plus some cash to purchase a much needed pyrometer for my kiln.

sorry, no rain date

Weeks ago I registered to be in an outdoor Fall Flea Market/Crafts sale which is scheduled for tomorrow. The weather forecast is calling for a low of 33º with 90% chance of rain!

I have all of my pots priced, tagged, wrapped, boxed and waiting to be loaded into my car. I even purchased a new folding table!! I shall wait until 6AM to check the weather update before I decide to go or not.

It's not that I'm a wuss and can't tolerate a little bone-chilling rain. I just don't want to drive there only to find out no one else is showing up to check out the goods. Oh yeah, and there is no rain date for this event. This is the second year in a row I signed up for this particular flea market only to have it be canceled due to rain.

my avatar

This is my avatar...

An avatar as described in some dictionaries is an attitude or embodiement of a person. In the computer world, an avatar is an icon representing a person in cyberspace. On Etsy, an avatar is a small square image that shows up in your public profile and various other places throughout that website.

I use this green winged chalice as my logo for my studio, Stone Farm Pottery. It is a piece I made a number of years ago. I've always felt connected to it in some way, maybe because of the freedom the wings may represent...or because of the M in the circle which stands for Molly (or perhaps, "My Hero"?). I just know that I will never sell this pot. It is my avatar. How can I give that up? Besides, I've printed it on 500 businesscards. Nope, this pot is mine for good.

I am now on ETSY

Here is a link to my pottery which can be purchased on ETSY.

Bisque Firing

Fired up the big kiln loaded full of leather hard pots....most were mine but also had many pieces made by friend's and their children. Kids love playing in clay.

The firing was a success. Now I have lots of orange bisqued pots patiently awaiting their turn to be glazed and then fired to maturity.

Happy Clay!

"I like clay!"

Clay is an amazing medium. It can be formed into endless shapes. It can be dry, brittle, wet, liquid, soft and malleable or hard as brick. It can be carved, pounded, coiled, thrown, molded, rolled and more.

I like working with my hands. I like getting dirty. I like the earth. I like clay. I like the way it smells. I like the way it feels. Sometimes it annoys me. Sometimes I destroy it only to re-work it, re-throw it, and re-enjoy it all over again. Clay is patient.

When I'm making pottery, I think about the clay and the shape and whether it's a good pot and whether the clay is happy about what it's becoming.

I don't want to disappoint the clay.

Ya Gotta Be Tough!

I think it was Katharine Hepburn who once said:

"Avoid your enemies... and an enemy, my dear, is anyone who stands in the way of your dreams!"

Everyone has the potential for being an "enemy". It could be your best friend or a stranger who may innocently criticize your work. They just have to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and a sensitive soul can be thrown into turmoil.

Artists are vulnerable. They create something from nothing then put it out there for all the world to see.

Hmmm, maybe it would be easier to just toughen up. Besides, criticism isn't always bad, it's how you react to it that's important. So stop worrying. It is such a waste of energy! When you no longer care about what other people think, then you are truly free! Believe in your art. If you don't, no one else will. 

You gotta be tough to be a sensitive artist!

Up On Ebay

I have finally gotten around to opening an Ebay account and have put up these 3 pieces so far. I've gotten a nice letter from a fellow potter, and have had a few views...no bids yet, but it hasn't even been a week. You can check out the listings under my Ebay seller ID stonefarmpottery.

Oh yeah.... all three pots sold by week's end!