The pelicans topping the columns before they go into the vault. Marci thinks they have crowns on, I think they are 'mortar boards'.

The room

Just brush it into the mold until you get the thickness you want and then let it dry. The paper fibers keep it from shrinking too much and cracking. Usually, it will just pull away from the mold all by itself.

When the piece is nearing leather hard, you can use a rib to smooth the surface if you want.

I preferred to use really "gloppy" slip with lots of lumps and leave the texture and the brushstrokes in. It gave it a really scuptural quality.

These are the latest in my experiments with a technique taught us by Walter Ostrom.

The white maiolica glaze is layed over the same maiolica glaze with the opacifier directly replaced by a coloring stain. Since my maiolica glaze has a tendancy towards shivering when too thick, the dips and pours have to be really quick so as not to get too think.

I think the effects can be really nice, even where there is no decoration the stained glaze has "poked" through in pinholes and little crawls that have healed over in the soak to make a really interesting surface.

The technique works really well over texture too, breaking on the high points to expose the black glaze.

There are a lot of possibilities!

[Reuters]
This "Ex Voto" plate was recently discovered near Bagnano in Tuscany.

It is beieved to be the only known tribute to Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of potters for revealing the secrets of CMC gum.

It shows the saint with his three great miracles; turning a gold ingot in to a serpent by telling it to take it's true form (in the border), making flames and water come out of a pot while using it to explain about the trinity (earth, fire and water) and also revealing the secrets of CMC gum.

The potter who received this blessing is not depicted on the plate but it is belived that the "Ex Voto" was painted in gratitude to the saint by a young apprentice, judging by the amaturish quality of the painting and by the fact that it doesn't appear to fit any local styles..

The "Ex Voto" currently resides in a private collection in Belgium.

"Ex Voto" Plate, "CMC Gum Saved My Life", 24cm, Maiolica with trailed black glaze.

Terra-sig between two layers of maiolica glaze. For some reason the sig wrinkles all up under the glaze and makes this terrific texture. It also bubbles as well. I break the bubbles, grind them down a little bit, fill them with thickend maiolica glaze and then refire.

This is not a production proceedure, sometimes they have to be refired twice to get rid of all the bubbles and then then most of them crack.

I need to do more work on this but it's not in my priorities right now.

By the way, this was photographed with the apparatus below.

- The "background sweep" is just a piece of grey construction paper cut to fit the width of the box, the longer the sheet the better. As close to neutral grey as you can get. OR You can use white.

- The light source is a 70 watt halogen desk lamp.

- The Black piece makes the shadow on the sweep behind the pot, just folded over and stapled the ends to keep them together. You can move this around until you get the shado where you want it.

- It's not shown here but I use a very large old white handkerchief across the top of the box and shine the light through it as a filter. A fold of cheese cloth would do the same.

This is the original manufacturer of Leach Treadle Wheel. It was originally designed and built by Dicon Nance at the Leach Pottery. When he left the pottery, he left the plans with David Leach who later sold them to Woodley's. These wheels were exported all over the world.

I believe that Woodley's is still in business but no longer make the wheel. Apparently it was a pet project of the father and was discontinued when he retired or died.

Now the only manufactures are in the US; Doug Gates, EdMfg, Billy Martin and Waves of Grain.

This is a really well constructed wheel! I had to take it apart to get it into my studio. The construction is mortice and tenon held together with carriage bolts. Even after taking it apart and putting it back together again, the wheel is rock solid.

The pan ingeniously locks into the top of the frame quit firmly but also just lifts out.

One odd thing is that the wheel is manufactured in the UK but the bolts seem to be metric.

The picture above is of the shelves in Enzo's kitchen that holds a small part of my collection of functional pieces from friends and acquaintances.

These pieces are in daily use and are a constant reminder of these people.

The People are, Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Carla Flati, Sakaegi Masatoshi, Diek Pierce, Tony Clennell, me, Carla Flati, Sarah House, Richard Burkett

Vincent Fontaine, Pascal Geofroid, ?, Gail Nichols, Mishi Lowe, Ron Roy, Suze Lindsay, Kent Mclaughlin, Joe Molinaro

Liz Willoughby, Liz Willoughby, Dick Lehman, Bacia Edelman, Carla Flati, Gay Smith, Skef Thomas, Diek Pierce, John Baymore

David McBeth, Marta Matray Gloviczki, Michael Sherril's Son, Layla Kaplan, Pascal Geofroid, Giovanni Cimatti, Bulldog Pottery, Liz Willoughby, Isabel Merrick

Mariann Gunnemark, Gay Smith, Ron Roy, Jack Doherty, Tom Buck, Ruggles and Rankin, Lynn Bowers, Vincent Fontaine, me, Nan Coffin-Welty

? Mark Peters, Mariann Gunnemark, Kobbi Nissim, Mark Peters, Mishi Lowe, Sekporn Tansripraparsiri, Mishi's Friend, Lori Leary, Nan Coffin-Welty