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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.