Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

As the Holiday comes to a close, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New year. Here in South Dakota we are have fun in the snow I believe we had 11-15 inches over the past couple days and about the same to come in the next couple days. Roads are closed, no travel advised. Snow plows have parked except for emergency situations where they go out in front of the responders. Rescuers have gotten out their snowmobiles for both in town and out of town. I shoveled twice today, my wife twice and we had it snow blown once. Anyway, thanks for a great year, and hope to see you next year!

Chad & Kiesha

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Holiday Show/Sale

Up in Smoke Pottery just returned from Worthington, MN dropping off a few pieces for their annual Holiday Show/Sale at the Nobles County Art Center. The show opening is Sunday December 6th from 1-4 in the afternoon. (weather dependent) If you are in the area, be sure to check it out.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Piper Custom Framing

Just delivered a load of new pieces to Piper Custom Framing, Jon and Beth do a great job down there. If you are in the area check it out. Or you can order online from them as well. Just click on their link on the left.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Made in South Dakota

Up in Smoke Pottery is now available online through Made in South Dakota. It is part of the State's Tourism department. The site itself has lots of interesting and unique South Dakota made products. Here is the link to my store, I do offer free shipping at this time.

www.upinsmokepottery.madeinsouthdakota.com

I also am putting a link in the links category.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Firing Results



Here are some of the results from recent firings. Couple from the Pit at the beginning of the month and on Wednesday we did a quick "burn ring" pit. It is a hybrid of a pit and barrel firing. If the weather cooperates we will try to do a couple more of those firings also I will need to test my new clay body. If you have any questions/comments let me know.


Monday, November 9, 2009

November firing pics



Here are a couple photos of the firing we did couple weekends ago. We forgot the camera on firing day, so we didn't get any before shots. Once I get them all cleaned up and waxed I will post a couple more photos.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

November firing results

Well we did it. We ended up firing on Sunday afternoon. Started by digging a new pit. We eliminated the dung, salt logs, and saggars in this firing. We played with increasing the ratio of bananas, also played with baking soda vs salt. We also had several other "test" in this pit. Luckily we are just firing for a little stock so we did not need a big turnout. The baking soda did not produce or facilitate the colors as the salt did. The bananas did not do as they had in the past. The stoneware did not handle the firing as well as it had in the past. We will add the dung and salt logs back into the mix next spring. We have a few finishable pieces which I will post some of the pics later this week. On the bright side, the new pit design worked wonderfully, burned evenly and created a even bed of ash for the pots to finish in. We had a chance to bury pit #2 so it can return to the prairie landscape. And best of all the cows stayed away this time!

Friday, October 30, 2009

One more firing this fall

Well, we are going to do one more pit fire this fall. We are planning on Monday 11/2. The weather looks to cooperate, with only a slight chance of rain on Sunday. We were thinking about Saturday, but it rained almost all of Thursday, overnight, and chance of snow on Friday. That may make it a little damp to get into the pasture. We may even have help on Monday. A fellow potter from Luverne, MN is wanting to pit fire a couple pieces and we were happy to oblige. She may even venture out and partake in the fun. I guess you can say she is the guinea pig for a pit-firing seminar we are supposed to do next year. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Well, here are the results of the recent wood firing. We reached cone 10 in about 9 hrs and maintained temp for another 12 or so. We had a great amount of ash on the pieces as you can see on the face cups. The sides are bare, there is a rutile wash over the face area. The vase is one of my favorite shinos, although it did not perform as normal, but still turned out okay. The house numbers did not get as much ash as i would have hoped, but it gives them a nice rustic look.




Friday, October 16, 2009

Wood Fire

Well it is that time of year again. About once a year We decide to play with some high fire work, I use the same clay body, but I do play with glazes. This year it is a wood fire, I participated in about 6-8 of these, various degrees of success. This year I am doing "snot cups" again, typically I have finished them in the gas kiln, but timing is right for the wood fire. I also have new house number tiles, and I did throw in one vase with a glaze i really like. Tomorrow it will be lit, and it will be my responsibility to watch it overnight. If things turn out I may post a couple pics in a few days.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Bemidji Community Arts Center

Well, spent between 12-13 hours in the minivan on Friday for a trip to Bemidji, MN. We went up to deliver some fresh pieces to the art center. It was really a beautiful drive and encourage anyone to hasn't driven there. We didn't spend much time there just straight up to the gallery and back, with a brief stop in Fargo for some Christmas shopping, and then back home. Yes Christmas shopping. Anyway here is the link to the art center in Bemidji.... www.bcac.wordpress.com

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Representation in Omaha!

Up in Smoke Pottery now has great pit fired pottery and saggar fired pottery in Omaha, Nebraska! We have reached an agreement with White Crane Gallery in the Old Market District in Omaha. It is a awesome little shop in the passageway. If you are near Omaha, it is worth a visit.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Sidewalk Arts

Thanks for a great Sidewalk Arts. It was great to meet and chat with you. That concludes our festival schedule for this year. We now will decide where we will be next year, keep checking the blog for updates. We have a couple gallery things in the works, dates and details will be released as they are finalized.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Sidewalk Arts

The weatherman cannot make up his mind on what is going to be like so I guess I will bring my Weather Rock. Hope to see everyone this weekend in downtown Sioux Falls for Sidewalk Arts. Up in Smoke Pottery will be in booth 71, which will be just outside the east Pavilion doors unless that changes before we set up. Here's a couple pics of some of the recent work that we will have down there.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

New Piece

We will have new pieces for the Sidewalk Arts next weekend. We have been playing with making tiles and framing them. I spent today making the frames, we are going with simple wide width frames much like the Craftsman style. The tiles I have done so far are 3" x 6" and a couple 3" x 3". The tiles turned out really neat, we may have a couple in our home to accent the walls. I might post a few pics when I get them completed, or you may just have to wait until Sept 12 to see them at Sidewalk Arts.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Pit Fire part 1

I have been asked at recent show to show a few photos of the process. I know some people do not believe I use white clay, but you can see for yourself in picture #2. These are from the firing we did on 8/24/2009.

Here is a pit, yes it truly is a hole in the ground.
This is the base layer, organics such as leaves, grass, etc plus sawdust and the first colorants.

The pieces are set in the hole, notice a few paper bag saggars in the mix.
Now add some wood, and some more wood....
light it up and watch it burn.

Pit Fire part 2


Once the fire is going we let it go. We watch to make sure the grass doesn't start burning outside the pit area. This fire was very hot, the dark orange flames put the temperature of the fire between 1800-2000 degrees (according to a old book from 1905). The pots are not at that temperature just the flames at their base.



Here are photos of some of the pieces, notice there is not a lot of color yet. The pots go in white, initially turn black from the smoke and as they heat the black burns off at about 1000-1200
degrees. The clay will remain white until it cools more of the color becomes apparent.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Pit Fire part 3



Above is the the pit when we went back in the morning.



Here are some of the pieces out of the pit. They will be washed and waxed later.
I Hope you enjoyed the photos of our recent firing. It was not our best for color but you at least get an idea of the process. Thanks for looking and feel free to comment or send me and email with any questions.
Chad

Sunday, August 23, 2009

ART ROCKS!!!!

It was a great weekend for the show. Great weather, it was so nice to be on the ground of the Rock County Courthouse. There was a steady flow of people to visit with, I enjoyed meeting and talking with you all. It was also a great weekend.....Up in Smoke Pottery won Best in Show! That was a honor. Tomorrow back to the pit to get stocked up for Sidewalk Arts on Sept 12. See you there.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Luverne Art Rocks!

Up in Smoke Pottery will be at Art Rocks in Luverne, MN this Saturday from 9-4. Our booth will be somewhere on the Rock County Courthouse Square. There is a 2nd art show event downtown Luverne, that means lots of great art to look at hope to see you there!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Good News

Up in Smoke Pottery is in negotiations with a long standing gallery in Omaha. We will keep you posted as it progresses. Also don't forget Art Rocks in Luverne, MN is coming up on Aug. 22. It will be held on the courthouse lawn this year. I believe I heard there will about 22 artists on the lawn, and there is a separate show at the coffee house with a few more. Look forward to seeing you there!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Vintage Iowa Uncorked

It was a hot weekend, with 15 hours or so of live music from some great Omaha area bands. It was great to meet so many new people. We had fun and even have a picture in the Daily Nonpareil of a couple looking at our work! I'm sorry I didn't catch their names, I blame the heat. The newspaper web site is http://www.southwestiowanews.com/. I did not get a chance to sample any of the many fine wines offered but I heard great reviews of them and saw lots of wine being carted off.

Friday, July 24, 2009

New show added!

Up in Smoke Pottery will be at the Western Iowa Wine trail on Aug 7-8th. It is 3-9pm on Friday and 12-9 pm Saturday at Ditmar's Orchard outside of Council Bluffs, IA. There will be 7 wineries and several artist booths. Check out the link below to find out more info and directions. Hope to see you there.


http://www.westerniowawinetrail.com/

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Brookings Summer Art Festival

Thank you for everyone who came out and saw our work. It was a great weekend and we enjoyed talking with you. Now we are getting ready for ART ROCKS in Luverne, MN on Aug 22nd. Hope to see you there. In the mean time you can view my work at these fine galleries...

Piper Custom Framing in Sioux Falls, SD http://www.pipercustomframing.com/
Prairie Moon Gallery in Luverne, MN http://www.prairiemoongallery.com/
Shop 426, Bemidji, MN http://www.bcac.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Well just about have everything packed for Brookings. The Displays have been updated, added a vertical accordion shelf, new skirts for the tables. The last firings have been photoed, inventoried, labeled, priced, and packed. Below is a few of the photos of the most recent firings, all of which will be in Brookings. We are looking forward to seeing you there. We are in booth #79, Up in Smoke Pottery, I'll be the one in the orange shoes.

Recent Firings 1







Recent Firings 2

Thursday, July 2, 2009

It is official

We have been accepted for Sidewalk Arts in Downtown Sioux Falls. It will be on Saturday September 12th from 9-5? We have been assigned Booth 71 which is directly outside the east entrance to the pavilion. We will be in Brookings next weekend, the 11th and 12th in Pioneer Park for the Brookings Summer Arts Festival. There we will be in booth 79, which is ENE of the band shell. See you there!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

June's Pit Fire

Well, I did it, not possibly the best idea to fire the pit in a thunderstorm. In case you didn't catch the hint...IT RAINED! I reached the pit and the skies were light gray, weatherman said i had until 3 pm, it is 9am so I began. I dug out the damage from the cows and began the layers, When I had about half the pit filled, the wind picked up. I was at a point of no return with out losing the chems and other materials so i continued as fast as I could, hoping i could get it lit and fully engulfed in fire before the rain hit. I didn't make it. My son was busy chasing down the tubs and paper as the wind blew them across the county. I lost several newspapers, a box of banana peels, and lots of paper bags. As i put the last of the wood onto the pile I was at nearly at 45 a degree angle against the wind. I tried lighting the paper but the rain had won, i was soaked. I gave up and headed to my parents to wait out the storm.
4 hrs later i was able to return to the pit, the cows that are in that pasture decide the wood pile was fun to climb on, there was a cow standing on top of the pit. It ran off as i got closer. The edge of the pit was caved in with hoof prints, I'm was sure most of the edge pieces were destroyed. There was also plenty of fresh manure on and in the pit, which is good in the storm i didn't throw any in. I did manage to get it to light. I let is burn for about an hour and I covered it since i had to get back to town for kids activities.
We went back this morning, and it was better then expected, there were only 4 broken pieces. Somehow the network of wood held the weight of the cow(s). The color were not as bold as our previous firings, I think the rain had rinsed the colorants either away or diluted them to lessen their potency. I post a few pics next week or so when i get them finished.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Rained out again!!

Well the weatherman was partially right, the rain was done by noon, but it was much more than the .1-.25 of an inch expected. Kiesha allowed me to take "her" good van in the field and get it covered in mud. The cows had destroyed the salt box kiln and trampled the wood pile. I guess the wood is "preseasoned" for the next firing. I cannot figure how or why the cows move the pottery shards all over the area. We are planning on trying on Tuesday again, it is supposed to be in the high 80's and 90's the next two days to dry the ground out a little. There is a still a 20% chance of rain in the overnights until then.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Here we go again....Maybe

Well, we are going to shoot for Sunday afternoon for a Pit fire. I cannot think of a better way to spend fathers day then roasting a bunch of clay pots over a large open fire. There is however a 20% chance of rain, but we will not worry about that. We will keep you posted....until then.

Monday, June 15, 2009

RAIN...

Well I was planning to fire the pit tomorrow to have a few more pieces for Brookings Art Festival, but mother nature has other plans. It has been raining most of the morning today and supposed to continue as scattered showers for a couple days. At least I have a couple more weeks left to fit it in.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Well, it was a typical Buffalo Days experience, cold and rainy. Although it was my first as an artist I have worked in a booth there for many years. Thanks to all of you who braved the weather and stopped by. I know I was soaked and chilled to the bone by 10 am. Our next show is Brookings Summer Art Festival on July 11 & 12. As for now we are in booth 79 in the NE sector of Pioneer Park, in Brookings South Dakota. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

It has been a busy week, here at Up in Smoke Pottery! We finally have caught up cataloging the first few firings. We have also packed up for Buffalo Days this weekend in Luverne, MN. We will be in the City Park from 9-4 on 6/6/09 for Arts in the Park. Hope to see you there. If I have done it correctly the photo box on the upper left side should be updated as well in case you want to see more of our work. I am also posting a couple pics of recent work.

Friday, May 22, 2009

May Pit Fire

Well, I squeezed in another pit fire this week. I actually completed it in under a day, the 30 mph winds assisted in the cooling and mostly like fueled the fire so it burned faster. I did not notice much change in the results, but I will know more in a few days when I wash the pieces. Next week we are planning to do a few saggar firing to stock up for the summer shows. I'll post a few pics when I get a chance. Thanks for looking

Friday, May 8, 2009

Buffalo Days

Join us at Buffalo Days in Luverne, MN on Saturday June 6th. It is their annual arts in the park festival. We will have booth set up displaying lots of our work for this year. I look forward to meeting all of you there!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Pit Fire Results

Well, we finally had time to clean and seal the pieces from the last pit fire. Here are a couple of the photos from the pit and some of the finished pieces. Thanks for looking.

Pieces in the flames, they appear white now, but the colors appear as they cool.



Here are some of the results....Remember all colors are derived from vapors getting trapped in the pores of the clay while it is hot. There are no glazes of any kind.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Well, the 1st pit fire of the year is complete. The weather complied just enough to let us do it. We had to dig a new pit since the vehicles could not cross the creek to our normal pit we have used in the past. This pit is a true pit and we needed to jump into it. It was so deep initially we hit ground water and had to fill it in to get a solid base. When we returned to open the pit, it had filled part way with water submerging most of the pots. We only fired about 35 pieces, of which about 30 survived. I think we were too rough loading it and broke most of those in the process. We did get some awesome reds on some of the pieces and several blue areas. The oranges were not as prevalent this time, will have to work on that. Over all not bad considering the weather, we have several nice pieces which I will take pics soon and post.
We also played with a salt box kiln. The results were mixed. I will continue to play with it and try to get the results I think it should produce.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Pit Fire

As you may have guessed we have not gotten out to the pit. Schedules and weather have not been cooperating. But, never fear, we have the van loaded and ready to go. We are going 1st thing in the morning. They are forecasting rain, anywhere between a 20%-80% chance in the afternoon. We are hoping to have the pit covered before the rain falls. We may squeeze in a barrel firing and maybe a saltbox. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Open House

First off want to thank everyone who made it out the open house in Cedar Falls, and thanks to Beth and Steve for having us there. It was a great time.
On our way back we stopped at the Prairie Moon Gallery in Luverne, MN. We updated her selection with a few newer pieces, she still has one of the best pit fire pieces I have ever done. If you are in the area, check it out before she buys it herself.
The weather is looking like we might be able to get to the pit, planning on next weekend if we can get across the creek. Hopefully we can and we will have some new work to post.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

It been crazy this week and I believe the next couple weeks are going to the same if not worse. I am currently spending any/all free time in the studio trying to have enough pieces for a couple pit firings to fill the vacancies in some of the galleries. Speaking of galleries, Remember Friday night in Cedar Falls is the open house, come if you are able. Also we delivered a round of fresh work to Piper Gallery here in Sioux Falls. Check them out at http://www.pipercustomframing.com/

Monday, March 9, 2009

Mark you calenders, here is the official announcement of our open house in Cedar Falls, IA! Sounds like fun hope to see you there.

Thursday, March 5, 2009











Here is a couple of newer pieces from the last couple firings. Couple of the foil saggar, and a couple blackware pieces. I am enjoying the blackware still searching for the ultimate end product but these have been a hit. Don't forget to mark your calenders for March 20 in Cedar Falls, IA. My wife and I will be there at the
Element Portraits Studio for an open house. Come and say hi and look at our work. There is a nice selection there currently and we will bring some more with us for the event. Hope to see you there!