July 13, 2007 Potters Talk

Welcome to Potters Talk, Highwater Clays e-newsletter! Potters Talk was designed to give customers up-to-the-minute information on sales and new products while sharing information and tips.

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Clay Countdown

Highwater Clays summer sale ends on July 31. Act now!

Highwater is offering deals on the following popular Skutt Kilns and Brent and Shimpo Wheels:

Skutt Kilns - KM1027, KM1227, KS1027, KS1227, and KM1227PK.
Brent Wheels - EX, CXC, C, and B.
Shimpo Wheels - RK-Whisper and VL-Whisper.

Highwater customers also receive a free three-piece tool set and 12 bat with the purchase of a Shimpo RK or VL. Call 828.252.6033 or e-mail clay@highwaterclays.com for details.

Mention that you heard about the sale through Potters Talk to enter a special drawing.
See the latest Highwater Clays catalog or call our customer service specialists at 828.252.6033 for more information. Mention you saw this discount in Potters Talk to enter a special drawing exclusively for our Internet customers.

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Mix It Up! Click here for Highwater Clays glaze mixing advice.

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Book Recommendation
Dont you hate shopping at mega booksellers, where the person on the other side of the counter doesnt know cone 6 from a hole in the wall?

Highwater Clays employs potters like Les Powell (Smoking Turtle Studio), who works with our clays, uses our tools and knows the books we carry. Les is a highly read potter with decades of experience and when he recommends a book, you can be sure its worth having on your bookshelf.

Mastering Cone 6 Glazes is a great book for formulating glazes, he says, explaining the popularity of this glazing style. Cone 6 glazes became big in the 1970s, when many potters went electric to offset the high cost of fuel. A lot of potters wanted Cone 10 effects using Cone 6 [but] this was easier said than done.

Mastering Cone 6 Glazes outlines the challenges of achieving predictable results, offers suggestions and even includes a material analysis. Cone 6 glazing is one of the most popular styles right now and Mastering Cone 6 Glazes is a great potters resource.

Mastering Cone 6 Glazes is available through Highwater Clays.

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The Grandmaster Comes to Odyssey

There is only one Grandmaster of Clay.

James Watkins earned the title the hard way, one lyric piece of pottery at a time. From Aug. 13 - 17 you can learn from this master ceramicist at a workshop entitled Environmental Inspiration at Odyssey.

Watkins is a Fulbright scholar, world lecturer and a celebrated potter with more than 30 years of experience. He has taught at Ho Chi Mihn City University of Architecture and the Shigaraki Institute for Ceramic Studies, Japan. He has displayed work at the Smithsonian Institution and the White House Collection of American Crafts.

Using jazz and lucid dreaming as inspiration and drawing heavily from trips around the world, Watkins collects experiences for his work. The idea is to become focused on everything around you, he explained in an interview with Texas Tech University. If you have that awareness you never run out of ideas.

Watkins guides students through their own inspirational landscape, a place where the unexpected is welcomed. Lots of times when youre working with clay you have an idea what you want the glaze to look like and what you want the surface to look like, but the fire can do something unexpected. something even beyond your own sensibilities.

Details
What: Environmental Inspiration with James Watkins
When: August 13 to August 17
Cost: $350 plus $75 registration fee

Other opportunities: Watkins work will be displayed at the Odyssey Gallery through August. He will hold a public lecture there on August 14 at 12:15. A gallery reception will be held August 16 at the gallery from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Click here to watch a small video interview with Watkins.
Happenings! Other workshops at Odyssey include Becca Floyds I Can Throw...Now What?! Click here for Odysseys Late Summer workshops.

Call Odyssey at 828.285.0210 or e-mail the director at odyssey@highwaterclays.com for more information.

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The Highwater Gets Around Contest

When we say we make the EARTHS BEST CLAYS, we mean it. We scour the globe to find the best ingredients for our clays. We draw customers from around the world because theyre searching for us as hard as we are for them.

We value their loyalty as much as they value our dedication.

Were proud of our customers. Thats why were asking you to send in photos of yourself from around the globe in your Highwater Clays logo wear. These photos will be posted in Potters Talk and on our new Web site. If another customer recognizes where the picture was taken, both will be entered into a special drawing.

Send your pictures to: randy@highwaterclays.com to enter.