The first pottery of 2011 came out of the kiln Monday morning. This was a light load, and included a big blue bowl and a series of glaze test pieces. The whole load has been photographed and is on my Flickr site.

The glaze test set is a reference for one to 4 dippings of Amaco Potter’s Choice Blue Rutile (PC-20). This glaze likes to be applied heavy to yield the nice faded denim blue. I forgot this and found that it finishes a dark chocolate brown with wispy light blue ghosting with only one dip. So, in the interest science, I did a series of four similar pieces with one to four dippings. The results are all nice, and knowing what to expect with different applications will be a nice addition to the palette.

Another fun piece is the stove-top spoon rest. I’ve made a number of these before, but never felt like I got them just right. The spoon rest in this load is the closet yet. The bowl is ample and deep enough to hold a couple wooden spoons. The backrest is high enough, yet open enough to make it easy to put in the spoon and remove it. When turned to the front makes a nice looking decorative addition to the stove top. I’ll do a few more of these.

Now it’s back to throwing. I’m looking forward to working on improving some of my favorite forms, and trying some new forms. It’s time to start building up some wares for the market, which should open again in late March or early April.