We had the pleasure of participating in Merry Farm Pottery’s April 2024 firing of their wood kiln. It takes a village to fire a wood kiln and what fun we had with all the fabulous potters who showed up to prep, load, fire, and unload. It is a multigenerational collaboration that warms and expands the heart. We are forever grateful to Micah Thanhauser of@merryfarmpottery for building the kiln and making this possible. 💕💕💕
April 2, 2024
This evening, to the sound of the rain and the crackling fire, my middle adult child, Hannah Moore, and I peacefully decorated eggs. I experimented with using hot sloppy glue as a resist on the shells and dipping them into dye, while Hannah decorated hers meticulously with markers. The techniques and styles differed, but the focus and soothing quiet space between conversational reflection flowed seamlessly in-step and without effort.
This ritual, begun when my kids were just toddlers, is what renews me at Easter. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was happily pushing hot glue into spherical patterns. Thank you, Hannah, for making sure we scheduled a time where I could revel in the creative process, too. 💕It is so easy to step into the role of organizer during the holidays and forget how much fun it is to participate.
I’m practicing doodling while listening in on remote meetings. My goal is to loosen up and draw without the conscious mind interfering - to just flow and let whatever emerges emerge. My hope is that this will crack something new open in my intentional compositions. I’m finding it fun, but challenging. It’s hard to get my inner judge to stop judging.
I just unloaded a kiln full of hanging eyes, 4x4 Tapestry Tiles, and Dragon tiles. 😊💕 All tiles have hangers on the back. Our shop is open today (the 21st) from 10-4, from 10-2 on Thanksgiving day, from 10-4 on Friday and Saturday and from 2-4 on Sunday.
I had fun decorating some dinner plates today. They are raw clay that I covered with white slip and then carved through. I hope they survive drying and multiple firings. 🤞 the photos show the front and back of the plate.
Cinnamon Apple Skillet cake from the @marthasvineyardmagazine Food section online (I subscribe to their “Cook the Vineyard” newsletter) SO delicious and perfect for this cool October day. 💕
The newsletter is compiled and written by @sixburnersue who also puts out her own fabulous writing available through Substack. 💕
I had a blast witnessing and assisting in the first firing of the @merryfarmpottery wood kiln. What a wonderful sense of community and camaraderie a wood kiln firing inspires! The last slide shows the surface on a piece that I had in the kiln. The mermaid relief was raw clay going in. I love the blush from the ash and salt. The glaze on the bottom was made by @creneyceramics and contained some island clay and wood ash. My head is stuffed with ideas for the next opportunity to fire in flame. 😊
The week leading up to my birthday, I rearranged, organized, purged, and cleaned out this space. Now let the fun begin! 💕
An assortment of the pieces unloaded today. 🌸🌸🌸 I was trying out various techniques and these vessels all went through three firings as different glazes fire to different temperatures. I had fun with these!
I unloaded a glaze kiln yesterday. It feels great to be making progress on all the various projects happening in my studio these days. Our shop is open 11-5 Monday-Saturday and 2-5 on Sunday. 😊
