Brand New Day

The snow has melted. The wildflowers are in bloom. We’ve been roaming the mountain in wonderment as the warmth of the season brings life to this place. We discovered a bitter cherry tree grove just down the slope from where we will build our house. Fragrant and humming with bees and butterflies. No wonder the deer like the spot in the meadow where the bitter cherry trees grow. We put our book on trees and plants of the Pacific Northwest to good use these past two months. Our first spring on the mountain did not disappoint. 

We switched our clay from cone 10 clay which requires a higher temperature to process to a clay that can be baked at a lower temp. Cone 6 clay will make it easier to fire at altitude - as we can reach 2162 degrees a bit easier than 2350 degrees. The new clay has been a lot of fun to learn. We used Georgie’s Trail Mix Cinnamon which is really red, Laguna RSMC which looks more light brown and Laguna Speckled Buff - which is tan with speckles. We are really pleased with the clay. We used speckled buff before but the others were new to us.

Switching clays required new glazes - that also melt at a slightly lower temperature than our old glazes. We are thrilled with the new line up of colors. They are proving to be reliable and they look amazing on all of the clay bodies we are using. We can’t wait to share more photos of finished ware with you tomorrow on our Instagram channel. The kiln is firing as we speak.

Learning as we go, being flexible to adjust on the fly, and being present for all the little joys - we saw a Fox the other day! Mack has discovered lizards and we got our septic site approved for our house build. Our old house in Minnesota sold quickly and we closed last week. So thankful for the blessings this spring has delivered. 

Summer is arriving on a heat wave and we can’t wait to spend more time here discovering the beauty of twilight, gazing at the stars and making more pottery when the sun comes up.

The next shop update will be Saturday June 26th at 8am pacific (11am eastern).