Potters Talk: New Contest, Tech Tip, Web Hints, Workshops

Highwater High Marks

The new Highwater Clays’ Web site was launched successfully on Jan. 2. We received 12 times our normal visitors within the first 24 hours and Web orders have poured in. thank you to all who have aken the time to give us your feedback.

Jay Frankenfield was our very first customer on the new site and won a free copy of “The Potters Eye” by Mark Hewitt and Nancy Sweezy. Jay thinks the new site is wonderful, adding: “Everyone at Highwater has always been so helpful and great to work with.”

Jay is a functional potter. For the past seven years he has taken classes at Appalachian Center for Crafts in Smithville, TN, and is an active participant in the Upper Cumberland area called Art 'Round Tennessee. Visit the Art Prowl Studio Tour to learn more about Jay and this exciting group.

Where in the world hasn’t Highwater been?

It makes sense. Our world-class clays have been sighted across the globe. In this third installment of our T-shirt contest, we ask readers to think beyond national borders. The first person to correctly identify where the following picture was taken wins his or her own Highwater shirt. Please send your guess to Randy Moser.

(Click thumbnail to load larger picture)

Find of the Month!
Leach Style Treadle Wheel

You won’t find this hand-made wheel on Ebay or at youraverage ceramic potteryretail store. A real piece of history, this English Leach style kick-wheel has a geared crank, which allows the potter to drive the flywheel by pushing a horizontal bar backwards and forwards by foot.

The operation is very similar to an oriental- style kick-wheel, with the advantage that the geared kick-bar can allow constant and higher speeds. It is possible to throw large and small pieces with this wheel, it is virtually silent and has many of the advantages of the kick-wheel.

What price history? How does $1500 sound to you? Call 252.6033 or e-mail us now! (Click thumbnails to load larger picture)

Feel like venting? Read our kiln vent tech tip.

Fired Up with Paul Frehe
(This issue’s tip comes from a Tom Kerrigan workshop)

Looking to apply a raised glaze design to the surface of your work? This little trick can make your life a whole lot easier: Mix sand into your glaze.

Use just enough sand to give your glaze the body it needs and apply it by dabbing it on with a small brush. If your design is bold, you might even apply it with a bulb syringe.

Odyssey’s 2008 Workshop Series

Top-caliber teachers are in high demand, and Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts scours the globe looking for exemplary instructors.

Jill Allen comes to Odyssey from the Oregon College of Art and Craft, in Portland, where she teaches and manages the school’s studio. With permanent collections at Universitat der Kunste Berlin Gallery, in Germany, and Penland School of Crafts, Allen’s work has been called fresh and quirky.

Her class explores fast building techniques and is intended to help students break through creative blocks. “Sometimes artists have a difficult time getting started,” said Odyssey Managing Director Cynthia Lee. “Jill’s class will help students jump-start their work and show them that they can draw inspiration from everyday objects and personal artifacts.”

Other instructors for the 2008 Workshop Series include Holly Walker, Lana Wilson, Janis Mars Wunderlich, Liz Summerfiled, and Tip Toland. For a complete list of classes, visit Odyssey online, call 828.252.603 or stop by the center at 236 Clingman Avenue at the River Arts District.

Highwater Web Hint: Our search engines scours keywords, subject lines and part numbers. When in doubt, check part numbers in our Volume 3 catalog, then search the site for the most up-to-date price information.