Copyright and other blogs currently being worked

Happy Year of the Dragon. Here is my Dragon Girl Bird sculpture from 2018.

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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Why not do three glazes here?

I've enjoyed selling many (lost count, and for a hobby pottery, that's a lot!) three glaze bowls.
I even tried doing the same on the outside of some mugs, not quite as popular (plus a bit more expensive because you know, you have to make a handle too.

So a nice young woman asked if I could make a plate with the same glaze combination.  Of course, I said.  Actually I did glaze overlapping on plates for a set for a person who comes to Montreat, NC every summer.  But the specific glaze combo was what she meant.

What is Painter doing here?  She is three colors, that's why! (See below for more on this lovely kitty)


Sorry these are the quickie shots at the studio when I picked them up.  I just wanted to share how I do them.
Lower right green, which looks sort of turquoise here, is Matt Bronze Green, and I dip the whole plate in it first, up to the halfway mark...not an exact line.  Let it get dry to the touch.  Then dip next at a turn away in the Raspberry red.  It overlaps where you see black mottled glaze...again halfway into the glaze bucket. 
I can pour the glaze over the plate if I'm careful, and there's not enough in the bucket to do the dip, or if the plate is too large.
I have to let this stage dry a bit longer, because now the bisqued plate has absorbed quite a lot of moisture from these glazes.  Either half an hour or blow dry very slowly, so the glaze doesn't flake off and I have to start all over!
Then the last dip, again just 1/3 turn around goes into the Satin White, which produces a white over red that actually turns green.  The 1/6 of the plate next shows pure white glaze, and then the last area is a shiny bright translucent green.
So out of the three glazes, the plate now has 6 colors going around the wheel.

I've also experimented with black, plum and nutmeg, with some very interesting results.  I'll show them to you'all soon.

Oh, Painter cat is available to give to a good home.  I dearly love her, so her welfare is high on my list as I move to a smaller place.  My older cat, Muffin, is 18 years old, and so I want to take care of her the rest of her life.  I thought Painter would be her replacement but after 4 years, Muffin is still hanging on.

Painter belonged to a dear friend who died about 4 years ago.  I took her thinking she could be an indoor/outdoor cat, which she was used to.  But I lived during that time pretty close to a busy street...and so she's had to deal with 2 rooms and about 4 windows to the outside. Painter (or Panther) is spayed, and may be 5-7 years old. Painter is playful, but thinks everyone is a cat and doesn't mind being clawed a bit...especially when she is tired of playing.  She loves to sit on my lap when I'm at the computer, and she also purrs me awake by sitting above my head on my pillow in the morning. 

If you know of anyone who could love this sweet lady, I think she would be happier in a home where she could roam a bit.  Please email me if you do...blackmtnbarb AT gmail DOT com.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Marsha Cozart, potter


Marsha has some lovely new pieces, including a huge casserole and lots of things with polka dots.  She also has some of her traditional designs being displayed...so come over to the Mud Buddies booth any Sat. morning from 9-12, till the end of October.



And on Nov. 21 Marsha will have a double size display of her work for the Holiday Market, 10-1:30, special hours.

PS, I'm moving this week, so it may take longer than usual for your comments to be posted!

Thought for today:


How fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!
Robert Browning

Monday, September 28, 2015

Cathy Babula, pottery

You would not believe how much new pottery Cathy has been making!
Please stop by the Tailgate Market each Sat morning up till Nov. 21, and there will be many new pieces displayed for your selection.

PS, I'm moving this week, so it may take longer than usual for your comments to be posted!

Thought for today:


The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and their destination.
John Schaar

Sunday, September 27, 2015

the force of nature

Yesterday the Mud Buddies did not set up their tables and tent at the Tailgate Market in Black Mountain.  It had been raining since Thursday night, continuously.

Sorry if you wanted pottery this week, I do hope you'll return next week!
Pottery by Pat Levi, Mud Buddy

Our season is winding down, but we still have a lot of new pottery for sale each Saturday for the whole month of October, and up to the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  That will be our last Sat, and we have a double size booth for the Holiday Fair, so don't forget to get gifts and decorations on Nov. 21, or before.

See you at the Fair!
PS, I'm moving this week, so it may take longer than usual for your comments to be posted!

Thought for today:


Mountains and oceans have whole worlds of innumerable wondrous features. We should understand that it is not only our distant surroundings that are like this, but even what is right here, even a single drop of water.
Dogen Zenji