Things go in the Studio

One more layer of straw and mud have been added to the oven. So far we have had 7 pizzas, 3 calzones and 2 loaves of bread. Every baking effort is a delicious learning experience and the response from our friends is quite good. Next we will order the hydraulic lime for the exterior shell.


Every year, I am the official maker of the Bramwell Oktoberfest awards and I am busy making...For the past couple of years, I have been experimenting with handbuilding the awards. The pots pictured here are handbuilt, i.e., built using slabs of clay.


The bottom photo shows a thrown cup. It takes years to learn the art of throwing a pot... Handbuilding has a quicker learning curve. I always assume folks will go for the thrown cup, but after a weekend of friends stopping over and picking their favorite, I can tell you the handbuilt cups are the winner. Feel free to offer up your opinion-I'd love to hear from you and it's so easy to post a comment...



And a random aside... Several years ago, my dear friend Mary's mother died rather unexpectedly. It was her wish to be cremated. My friend asked for an urn-yes, I just so happened to have one on the shelf... I went through an urn phase several years ago. Anyway, over the weekend, I had an unplanned visit with my friend, Gene. His sister died a few weeks back and she too chose to be cremated. The plan was to take her ashes to the ocean, but they haven't been able to get there yet. He let me know that his sister is in an urn made by me, and is happily placed on the mantle until they can make it to the ocean. I feel very honored but it's also a bit strange. So as of today, body count=2. Wow. My mother, who loves all things macabre thinks this could be my calling...

Another Summer Trip...

Just back from a week in Pittsburgh, where a good time was had by all. Of course, eating is always on the to do list when visiting a city and my favorite Pittsburgh eating experience was Lidia's-nothing else came close. After consuming the best pasta I've had, I visited the Society for Contemporary Craft. The staff could not have been more accommodating, taking time to bring pots out from the back and giving me a personal tour of the current show. While there, I got a Deborah Schwatzkopf bowl, which I love. Deb throws her work, cuts it apart and reassembles it-an exercise in patience.


Once home, the sand was removed from the interior of the oven and the first fire was built. The initial firing was both steamy and smoky. It's hard to believe that the whole thing didn't crack apart and blow up, for it was still quite wet, but it simply became hard. We had our first go at making pizza, and every crumb was consumed-yum... Now we can continue adding clay to the exterior, which will make for better heat retention.