Horse Hair Series Potter – October 2011

Below find my latest pottery I wanted to share in my continuing learning of the Horse Hair Process.

In this Pottery process, actual horse hair is used to make the vivid black lines. The three vases were burnished when the pottery was in the green ware stage which means firm but still damp clay. Burnishing is accomplished by a metal rib, a spoon, a smooth rock or nylon and gives the finished piece a sheen. The piece is then bisque fired which is the first firing. Before burnishing, I applied Terra Sigilata which gives the piece a whitest look. The decorative bowls were not burnished.

Bisque ware is heated to 1100 and then strands of taunt horse hair are applied quickly before the piece cools down. Scant sprinkles of sugar can then be applied if desired. The next part of the process is spraying on the Ferris Oxide. The piece is cooled. The Final step in the process is spraying with Polyurethane clear satin finish or you may use high gloss.

Burnished White Terra Sigilata Horse Hair Vase with two Vases Burnished White Terra Sigilata Horse Hair with Ferris Oxide ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Burnished White Terra Sigilata Horse Hair Vase

Bisque Horse Hair Bowls with Ferris Oxide

The Fall Harvest

Fall Harvest time is one of my most favorite times of the year. This year we marked Harvest with three small ripe tomatoes (picked when just a show of red), five small green tomatoes and thirty tiny green tomatoes (before the frost) four small yellow summer squash, twelve serrano peppers, four small cucumbers, one cucumber (large enough to make a boat), six small green peppers, and two small green pumpkins (just larger than a baseball). Now you might think, that is not much, but, we were grateful. You see, we have rabbits that sneak in our yard, and now quail and worse yet, we have squirrels. So, you see that it was us racing to get the small veggies, before they were all gobbled up by the critters

Although our roses bloomed a little less this year, at least, they did not get eaten by the critters! They were late blooming, but in September, we were able to enjoy theses and a few other.

Race for the Cure

General Conference Sunday, October 2, 2011, I was able to “Walk” in the Race for the Cure. I have been able to Run-Walk the Race for the Cure since 1996 – so – this is my 16th year. My first race was when we lived in Bettendorf, Iowa where I Ran-Walked the Race on Arsenal Island in Davenport, Iowa. My finish time was 36 minutes for the 5K Race. This year my time was about that for the two miles that I walked – I am babying my torn meniscus.

My inspiration is my sister, Suzan Morrell, who fought Breast Cancer that year so I am glad to Celebrate her life. Another Celebration in the Race is for one of my former Seminary students, Jaycee Taylor.

I also remember others that have any type of Cancer. I look forward each year to this worthwhile event!