All Fired Up Pottery

Making Forms

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:28:00 +0000

I was up at 5 am this morning. Danny forgot his glasses and came back to get them. Might as well get up, I was wide awake by then. I decided to clean up the pottery wheel and throw a form I had been wanting to throw for some time. You use these forms for making other objects. This one below will be used to make a open weave pottery basket. I think you'll really be surprised. The pictures below are of a freshly make greenware pot. It has to sit for at least a week to completely dry. During that time, I'll get Kojak to come and replace the breaker in the breaker box so we can fire it. After that, I think I'll make a movie of the basket making. Can't wait to see how it turns out. J

Getting Back

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:26:00 +0000

Do you know what this picture is? It's a picture of an idle pottery
wheel. I hope to get it going real soon. I've been very tired lately,
my asthma is way out of control and I don't feel good most days. I
have some really good ideas for some new pieces, so hopefully I will
be able to start something soon. Keep dropping by and keep your
fingers crossed.

Gettin' Ready but Still Idling!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:46:00 +0000

Well, this is Jen again. Just stopping by to let everyone know we are trying to get started again doing some pottery. What with Ambre's classes and my work, we haven't been able to do much. I have an order for some Christmas mugs, so I will be posting again soon. In the meantime, everyone have a great Thanksgiving and thanks for stopping by.

Idling

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:48:00 +0000

Hello, everyone! This is Jen. Just checkin' in! Sorry the blog has been in idle mode for a while. There has been a lot going on here. Ambre' hasn't had much time to make any new pieces. Kojak has found a new job with DirectTV. He has been in training for a few weeks now out of town, so Ambre has had the kids all by herself during the week and studying hard on the weekends for her class. I have a few pieces made that have not been fired yet but I also have been sick with a flareup of my asthma and very busy at work. They let our clerk go a few weeks ago and I have had to do her job and mine too. This past week the site manager took a week off, so I have been doing his job also. Very tired by the time I get home. Hopefully before long we will have some new pieces to display. In the meantime, please bear with us as we get through this harsh period. Thanks, Jen

New website

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:17:00 +0000

I just wanted to let everyone know that I started another blog today. This one is for Poppy and I to post news and happenings about the family. The name if Hodge's on the Hill and the address is www.hodgesonthehill.blogspot.com. Come and visit. I promise I will try to keep it fresh.

Well here they are....

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:51:00 +0000

The pictures aren't that great but the pots turned out so nice! Thanks for stopping!

Funky Pots from Foothill Country

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:46:00 +0000

Well, here are a few pieces that I'm working on. They are currently in the drying stage. I will be bisque firing them soon and will hopefully get them glazed and finished. They will all have the same glaze effect as the pot picture below except I will be trying out some different glaze colors. The pot below was dipped in glaze and then scraped in places to reveal the natural clay color underneath.

I really fell in love with the design of this pot. Apparently so did Beth!

These two are vases.

These are going to be tumblers. They are just the right size and fit perfectly in the hand. Each one of these new pieces is different in pattern or shape.

That one on the right says things like Faith, Hope, Love, Laugh!

I just thought this one was so sweet and whimsical!

The next 3 pictures are of the same cup from different sides so you can get the full impact. I love it!!! And absolutely true!

Just in case you couldn't make it out...the top line reads 'Haley, James & Cameron' and the bottom reads 'My cup runneth over. Ps. 23:5'

And again the next 3 are of one cup.

Top line: Live~Love~Laugh
Bottom line:Well~Forever~Often

I just love the versatility of pottery and these pieces are no exception. They are not the usual "stick-them-on-a-shelf-and-never-use-them" pieces. They are functional and fun! What more could you ask for?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the lastest installment of 'Funky Pots from Foothill Country'. Leave me some love and your opinions. Thanks, Ambre

Jennifer's New Pieces

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:01:00 +0000

Well, I have some new pieces to show, so let's get started. This first picture is of the Japanese style teapot I made. I changed my mind at the last minute and painted it with Poppy Fields Crystalline Glaze. I just need to add the bamboo handle and she's all set. I think it turned out very well.

I made two more rice bowls but instead of painting them red, I tried another effect that I think turned out well. The inside of the bowls are done in Peacock Eyes Crystalline and outside is Stormy Blue. Yeah, Yeah, I know it doesn't look blue. But this is fired to cone 5 and this is the effect that you get. I still think they turned out well.

The next few pictures are of a set of cups and creamer and sugar. They are dipped in raspberry and nutmeg. I overlapped the two colors a little and that is the effect in the middle.

The next three pictures are of some new birdhouses that I made. They were a lot of fun to make and kinda whimsical.

The top of the birdhouse in the middle was done by coiling ropes of clay. The weird thing about this is that the glaze on the top of this is Stormy Blue. I'm wondering if the blue effect we got with this is because I dipped it in clear glaze too. I'll have to do some trials and see. Anyway, do you remember the platter below?

Well, how do you like it now? I had a hard time deciding what to do with it. But finally decided to dip it in Brown Glass and trim in white.

That's all I have for right now. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave your comments. We will probably be showing and selling all these new items at our next sell. So if you see something you like let us know.

Coming Soon!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Unloaded the kiln this morning. Beautiful stuff. Will have pics up later this afternoon. Thanks for stopping by. Jen

A few new things.....

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:35:00 +0000

We fired again finally but it's all mine. Mom is working on getting her stuff painted so we can get them in to fire this week. This first one was my favorite piece from this run but it's gone already. I gave it to Beth for her birthday cause she loved it so much.

Below are the tops for the windchimes I'm putting together. I think they came out really nice!

These are a set of bowls that I made and they turned out beautiful! They are dipped in Ryoko and Moss Green.

Bowls again!

And this is a platter that I did as an order for a lady. It came out nice.....the edges came out not as curved as they were supposed to be but it's still a beautiful and functional piece. It's also done in Ryoko and Moss Green! I am really digging these colors!

Well, that's all I got for now but I hope we have more to show you soon!
Thanks for stopping in! Ambre

Waiting!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Waiting!!! Waiting!!! Waiting!!! I hate waiting. It's a cruel thing, this waiting. We are still working on some upcoming pieces and waiting for them to dry. We have a few pieces that can be fired to glaze and a few pieces at the college that are already fired but not picked up. Class is tomorrow night. Sorry for the inconvenience, but we will have some posted as soon
as possible. Thanks, Jen

FIRING!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:45:00 +0000

Well, it took longer than we hoped but we are firing a bisque load as I type. I've been glazing some jewelry pieces all evening. I found out there is a glaze that I can put on greenware and I only have to fire the pieces once instead of twice. Nice huh? I guess we'll see once they come out. We've got some other pieces in there that need to go to the college and be glazed, so hopefully within a couple more days, we'll have some finished pieces to add to the blog. Be on the look-out. See ya later, Jen!

Things To Come

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:46:00 +0000

Well, I know it's been awhile since I posted. Things have been a little hectic around here. Ambre has been studying a lot. She had her final exam in micro-biology last Thursday evening. She's really been worried about that. But we have been going to pottery class on Wednesday nights and trying to make things here at the house when we can. The following are a few of the things we have in the works. They are all greenware right now. We will be doing a bisque firing sometime today. The first one is a birdhouse that I made. I'm trying new styles. The roof was done in three pieces that were joined together. The next picture shows the detail on the roof.

I made the detail with a pine cone. It kinda looks like a thatched roof. Really neat. I have two more at class that are similar but with different roofs on them. I'll take some pics and post them next week.
Your gonna love these! Their windchimes. Ambre came up with these. Can't wait to see the finished product.
Here is another pitcher that Ambre made. These are really popular. And very beautiful.
This is a few coffee cups and a chili bowl that I made. The next picture show a sugar and creamer to go along with the cups.
This picture below is of a new kind of teapot that I made. I made it in the style of the Japanese teapots. I can't wait til it's done. I think I'm going to do it in a deep red trimmed in black with Japanese writing on the sides. It will have a bamboo handle when done. Also working on some teacups to go with it. I'll show those later.
We're going to do one more sale out on the road. Then we'll be working a lot to get stuff ready for the Hilltop Festival in October. We are hoping that we can make it into the Hickory Show coming up in March. That show is very hard to get into, but we are hoping that we can. That's all for now. Keep checking back, we'll try to get more on the site and we'll be firing again and hopefully these pieces can be seen by midweek finished. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave your comments. Jen

Today's Results!

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0000

Hi! Everyone! Well , we were back out displaying our pottery again today. I think next time we may start a little later. The only customers we had to begin the day were looking for directions. The real customers showed up after 2pm. We had a pretty good day and sold a lot of stuff. At least we came home without one huge box and one container empty. Yeah! I made some more little pieces with my jewelry pieces. I made another key chain with my dark beads and a zen piece attached. It sold first thing this morning. But after that we were afraid no one was going to come. There was a long dry spell. Then afternoon rolled around and here they came. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed meeting all the new people that travel thru. Below are some of the pieces I worked on today. Ambre is wearing one right now, so it is not here.
The one on the far left is for Gabby. They came by today and she picked out her piece and asked if I would make her a necklace. We got a lot of requests for special items and an invite to furnish some pieces for a new shop opening in Inman, SC. We are really looking forward to it. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave your comments. Jen

A New Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:19:00 +0000

I made some beads and things. And after they were fired I made this. What do you think?

The beads have variations of black and light brown. They turned out stunning. I made some red ones too. Will post those later this evening. jen

We're doing it again!

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:34:00 +0000

We're doing it again ya'll!!! We're gonna be out there again this weekend selling some pottery. So ya'll come on by and check us out. We had such a good time last weekend and I hope we'll do even better this weekend. See ya there!

Independance Day Sale Done!

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:10:00 +0000

Well, it's over. We made it through the whole two days and really didn't have any bad weather to speak of. It drizzled a little on Friday afternoon. And was cloudy and overcast this morning. It was drizzling this morning but by the time we got to the store it had stopped. It wasn't so awful hot today either. Here are a few pics of our tables after we got them set up. This last one is of a hawk that came by and settled on a pole across the street. Sorry I couldn't get a closer pic of him. Anyway, we want the thank everyone who stopped by and especially those who made purchases. We appreciate your business. Hopefully we will have the shop finished before long.

Oh, and just to let you know. We are thinking seriously about doing this again in about three weeks. We really enjoyed it. And got to met some really nice people. Thanks again for stopping by the site and please leave your comments. We like to hear what you think! Bye now! Jen

Beautiful New Pieces

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:26:00 +0000

Well, they are done. We were so busy that we could not post before going on our special Independence Day Sale. So I took pictures as we were setting everything up. We had a really great day. Ambre sold a few of her birdhouses and one of the feeders. Traffic was especially slow today, don't know whether it was due to the price of gas or that everyone had plans to spend the day with friends cooking out. There were a lot of trucks hauling big cookers today. So here we go.

Here are a couple of coffee mugs I made a few months ago and decided to finish up for our special sale. They were dipped in cobalt then white. I think the white got a little to thick on these. But they turned out pretty good.

This is that large vase that Ambre made. She dipped this one in cobalt blue then drizzled rutile green on it to get this effect.
These two turned out great. The pitcher on the left is one that Ambre made. She dipped it in floating blue. Can you see the top edge? The glaze broke into another color. This causes a beautiful two toned effect. Now the other piece is mine. Ambre calls it my spittoon (did I spell that right?) Ambre dipped it in cobalt blue then raspberry. It looks great and on the inside you can really see the raspberry.
Ambre tried something new with these two. She made the bowl and I made the pitcher. She dipped both first in raspberry and then in white. They both have a pinkish tint to them.
I love these two pieces. I made them both. The one on the left you've seen before. It's my garlic jar done in Herb Garden Crystalline glaze. I decided to try the same glaze on my pitcher. Turned out great, what do you think.
This one is beautiful. You have to see this up close to really appreciate it. Ambre dipped it in floating blue and matte iron yellow. It is truly a great piece.
These two pieces are Ambre's. The vase is done in Little Loafers clay and painted with Cappuccino Mint Crystalline glaze. Go back up to pictures # 2. See the brown cup in the picture? That was done in Speckled Brownstone and also painted with cappuccino Mint. That's the difference in glazes used on very different clays. The little cup next to it is done in Tahiti Grape.

These little beauties were made by me. Ambre throws her houses in one piece. I threw these in two pieces. First I throw a cup type bowl and curl the top inwards. Then I throw a lid off the hump and attach the two together. The two on the outside were stained with red iron oxide. The middle one was done Terra Cotta underglaze and dipped in clear.
Here are Ambre's bird feeders. I painted to two on the left, and Ambre dipped the other two. She really disliked the dark one and said it was ugly. Well, guess what, it was the first thing she sold.
Ambre made the one on the right and did the little squigglies. I think its gorgeous. I made the other two. One is done with Christmas Red and the other is done in Herb Garden.
A very large birdhouse made by Ambre dipped in Ryoko.
Ambre dipped this one in cobalt and drizzled rutile green over the top.
Here is one of Ambre's bird villages. We were heartbroken when we opened the kiln and the base was cracked. It's still all together and sealed but has a huge crack in the base. Well, that's all for now. We'll be back out there tomorrow. Have a great 4th and be safe. Jen

Special Note From Ambre: I wish you all could see these pieces in person. While these pictures are nice they really do not do these beautiful pieces the justice they deserve. I am sorry if that sounds like bragging, but I must tell the truth. And while I'm on the subject of truth, my word was it ever hot today? It was smoldering, we are exhausted but we are going out again tomorrow! It's so nice to chat with all the people that come by to see us. Meeting new people is always fun. Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence holiday, love to all and I'm going to bed now....but only because I want to be up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Well that and I'm very close to falling out of this chair nad sleeping in the kitchen floor. Goodnight Neverland!

Come out and see us this weekend......

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:30:00 +0000

I promise you won't be disappointed. We have 2 new glaze loads of some very wonderful pieces. We have been so busy getting everything fired and ready for this weekend that we have not been able to post any pictures. It's almost 2 AM now as I'm typing this and I should be in bed but I wanted to invite you all out to see us one more time. I think I might need to set the timer on the coffee maker.
Okay, sorry I got side-tracked. Mom and I will be there from about 8 am on Friday and Saturday mornings into the evenings. When the mosquitoes start biting I'm usually ready to head indoors. I am a bullseye for those things. So anyway, if you're out and about on this Fourth of July weekend, stop by and see us!

Mom's pendants

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:30:00 +0000

Remember these? We fired them last night.

Here they are now. Much prettier, yes? I have this feeling these will be gone pretty soon.

There are more of them in the kiln, including some crosses but I wanted to save those for when I post the pictures of everything that fired last night. I will have them up later today.

Pics.......

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:25:00 +0000

New pieces coming out today, pictures will be up this afternoon. Stop in and check them out.

A Peek at Things to Come

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:15:00 +0000

We're firing again!! We fired a bisque load yesterday and we're firing as I write this. Tomorrow and the next two nights we will be firing glaze loads. I thought I would give you a little peek at some of the things we are working on right now.
The first is a pitcher which I made and a vase which Ambre made. I painted my pitcher to match the garlic jar in Herb Garden Crystalline. Ambre did hers in Cappacino mint.
This cute little birdhouse is one that I made. I painted it in Herb Garden and did the leaves in dark green highlighted with mint green. The bird feeder, Ambre made, but she allowed me to paint it. I think it turned out pretty good. The birdfeed will still need to be dipped in a clear glaze, and the leaves on the house will need to be painted with clear, but other than that they are ready to go into the kiln.
Here's one the bird villages that Ambre is working on. It's really time consuming on these pieces. When you use underglaze and regular glaze for that matter. If you brush it on, it has to be brushed on three times to get the maximum coverage.

Now, don't freak out!!! Ha! Ha! I know it looks kind of garish right now but once it's dipped in clear and fired, the colors with sorta of blend together and soften up a bit. Also, the bluish color on the leaves is actually light green. It has to be fired to bring out the green in it.
Here's another garish one. These are the plaque type birdhouses that I like to make sometimes. This one is supposed to resemble the sun. Hopefully when it is fired and the yellow and orange kind of blend together I will get that effect. Keep your fingers crossed.
Ambre likes to make jewelry pieces and has done some beautiful Raku pieces. I decided to try my hand at making some. I had a few made and we bisque fired them last week. When Ambre started the kiln the next day, she painted a few of my pieces and threw them in there just to see how they would turn out. Well , she sold all but one the next day. Here we have some more pieces looking very dull right now, but they well be shiny when done.

Here is a couple of close-ups of the jewelry pieces. As you can see they need to be shiny. The ones that look as if they have bumps on them, those are the crystals in the glaze that burst and cause special effects on the piece. Well, that's all for now. Just stay tuned, we should be able to share some finished pictures by Thursday or Friday. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment. We really love to hear from you. Jen

For our local folks.....

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:37:00 +0000

We will be having an Independence Celebration Sale on Friday and Saturday, July 4th and 5th.
We will be set up outside the Stop & Go on the corner of US 221 South and Tanner St. in Rutherfordton.
We will be there from 8 AM - Until on both days.
We will be displaying a lot of new pieces unloaded just this week!
Come by to see us and be the first to get a crack at the new stuff!
Thanks!

PUPPIES

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:16:00 +0000

They're here! And they are adorable. We have 3 boys and 1 girl.

The 3rd from the left is the girl!
I want the one on the far right.

Okay now she's on the left and my little man is next to her. All that brown just kills me. Casey is such a good little mommy!

Are you ready for this?

noreply@blogger.com (Ambre and Jennifer) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Well, here they are! They all turned out so unbelievably well, it really makes us feel good when we open the kiln to find such awesome things. Okay, here we go!

This is a jug that I made for Kojak. It is dipped in Floating Blue. The blue in it breaks to reveal a dark brown over ridges! It is awesome but also unpredictable.

Coffee mug. I painted it with Tahiti Grape!

This is Mom's garlic jar! I painted it with our new crystalline glaze, Herb Garden. We have fallen in love with one. It's the best piece out of this load, I think! You can't really tel but it is a minty green background with dark green, golden yellow, blue, and light brown specks! It really is lovely!

This is my pitcher. I think it is dipped in Ryoko and Twinkly blue. Twinkly Blue is not really blue though, it is more of a light green.

Birdhouse in Floating Blue, can you see the breaks in the blue that show brown?

This is another birdhouse that I think I dipped in Matte Iron Yellow and either Moss or Twinkly blue. Cute huh?

This is one of my birdfeeders. I know it is Matte Iron Yellow but can't remember what else.

I dipped this mug in Floating Blue and the unpredictable happened. It turned more brown that blue. I still love it though.

This is my tall pitcher, dipped in Ryoko and Moss Green.

This vase is also Ryoko and Moss.

This birdhouse was dipped in Twinkly Blue and nothing else. See, it's more of a green than blue.

This is my cookie jar that has been sitting on a shelf for a while waiting to be glazed and fired. i think it turned out really nice!

This is the front view of one that I tried something new on. It is dipped in....well, I don't remember. Anyway, I placed a piece of stained glass on top of the handle.

And this what happened. I like it, it's different but I think I would like it better if I had dipped it in a darker glaze. Tell me what you think?

This the other vase I did. I think it's Ryoko and Moss but with my memory I can never be sure.

So, we would like to know what you all think? What's your favorite piece? New glaze combinations, yah or nah? Your opinions matter greatly to us!

Note: We have PUPPIES! Casey had them late last night! I will post a picture later, they are way too adorable!