A new beginning…

After 5 months of working on the house, in the last 2 weeks I have been very glad shift my focus back to my pottery studio.  I have spent a number of days building tables and shelving, installing my kilns and cleaning flood silt off tools.  I was very fortunate to have received grants from several generous organizations including CERF+, Central VT Community Action, REbuild Waterbury, Frog Hollow and Burlington City Arts.  These grants allowed me to purchase the materials and equipment that I lost in the flood, bringing me up to speed much more quickly than i would have been able to on my own.

This week I have actually been able to get my hands dirty and make new pottery. I am making new work in preparation for spring but I am still balancing my time between throwing new pots, making glaze and finishing the installation of kilns.

It’s been 5 months since I have paid any attention to my pottery business including this blog.  My studio, home, neighborhood and town were all severely flooded on August 28 when Hurricane Irene raised river levels to epic proportions here in Waterbury, VT.

My pottery business was a total loss.  My equipment, including kilns, wheels and pug mill, among many pieces of smaller equipment were ruined. My tools, collected over 20 years were mostly ruined. My materials, glaze materials and clay were lost.  My stock of sellable pottery was a partial loss – many pots were chipped or cracked.  I recovered some pots, which went to some galleries where I sell my work.  I spent 5 months working as the general contractor in the recovery of our home, which is my grandfather’s home, which was his grandfather’s home and has been in our family for more than a century.  This house and my grandfather also made it through the flood of 1927.

Over the last five months we have done a complete overhaul of the first floor and basement studio.  Reframing, drywalling, refinishing wood floors, rewiring, updating plumbing, painting and fully re-insulating the house as well as rebuilding the kitchen and bathroom including building cabinets and tiling has taken up all of my time.  It has been an insane amount of work, but as I write this post on February 4th, we’re basically done.  I have a long list of small things to attend to but overall the house is back in great shape.

The series of photos here shows the flood waters on our street as they were receding on the morning of August 29th, the view down the stairs into my basement studio the day after the flood, some of the post-flood chaos in my studio and the attempts to clean up and recover some my pottery from the summer months.

New intermediate/advanced and beginner pottery classes starting soon.

I have two new pottery classes starting at the end of this month – a thursday morning class for intermediate and advanced students and a thursday night beginning pottery class.

Intermediate/Advanced Wheel

Ages 16 and up

Thursdays, September 29 – November 17

9:30am – 12:00pm

Number of Weeks: 8

Limit: 8

Location: BCA Clay Studio (250 Main Street)

Classroom: Wheel Room

Instructor: Jeremy Ayers

$250 / $225 BCA members (clay sold separately @ $20/25lb bag, glazes and firings included)

 

Refine your wheelwork in this morning class for intermediate and advanced potters.  Students will learn individualized tips and techniques for advancement on the wheel. Demonstrations and instruction will cover intermediate throwing, trimming, decorative and glazing methods. Class size will be kept small to provide individual attention to personal development.  Students should be proficient in centering and throwing basic cups and bowls.  Over 30 hours per week of open studio time included in addition to the class! 

 

Wheel Throwing                                                                                                                                     Ages 16 and up                                                                                                                                 Thursdays, October 13 – December 8 (no class 11/24)

6:00-8:30pm

 

Number of Weeks: 8

Limit: 12                                                                                                                                          Location: BCA Clay Studio (250 Main Street)

 

Classroom: Wheel Room

 

Instructor: Jeremy Ayers

$220 / $198 BCA members (clay sold separately @ $20/25lb bag, glazes and firings included)

This eight-week class is an introduction to clay, pottery and the ceramics studio.  Students will be working primarily on the potter’s wheel, learning basic throwing and forming techniques, while creating functional pieces such as mugs, vases and bowls.  Students will also be guided through the various finishing techniques using the studio’s house slips and glazes.  No previous experience needed!  Class includes over 30 hours per week of open studio time to practice. 

 

Pottery on display at Shelburne Vineyard.

I have some new pottery on display at Shelburne Vineyards with photographers Tim Kranz and Mark Chaney.  There is an opening reception and wine tasting at Shelburne Vineyards on Sunday Sept 11 from 2-5 pm.  Come join us!  It will be a fun part of a long hard week.

New Pots for July and August

I’ve been working on photographing my own pottery – which has had serious ups and downs.  The shinier the pots are the harder it has been.  I had some good success this afternoon.

 

Artist Market 2011

I’ve had two great weeks at the Artist Market so far.

Come find me in City Hall Park on Saturdays from 9-2:30.

 

 

Pitcher!

Sprucing up the place…

I’m painting tables and starting to get the studio ready for VT Open Studio Weekend – May 28 and 29.  It will be the first time I’ve opened my studio to the community -  you should come visit.

I’ve also begun working with wet clay again – pictured here are new ice tea cups and bases for cake plates.

Striped Tea Cups

Here are some glazed pots unloaded from the kiln today.

These are cup and saucers made for an Artist’s Market customer.

 

New teapots, sauce boats and mugs.

I’ve been back to working with wet clay over the past two weeks and have a new group of carved and trimmed sauce boats, small teapots and more additions to my ever growing army of mugs.

Its just 8 weeks until the Artist Market begins along with VT Open Studio weekend.  I believe this will be either my 7th or 8th summer at the Artist Market and my first time having my studio open for the Open Studio weekend.