A Few New Jacks

 I did a Raku firing with the help of a friend yesterday, and got these two out of the firing. I just posted them to my Etsy store!

 This guy, below, I fired in my electric kiln. I'm having fun with the skull-ish faces!

ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store.

New in the Shop

New copper jack-o'-lantern in my ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store. More will be added in weeks to come, so keep an eye out!


And remember, if you're a Hauntcast subscriber, you get a special 15% discount!

Happy 4th and Other Things!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! I hope it's wonderful, safe and full of great friends and great food!


In other news this here pumpkin came out of Monday's Raku firing:

I put him in my Etsy story this morning, and he was gone in less than five minutes. He's going to go live with Chris and Jeff Davis and their brood of kitties!


I got a few disappointed posts on that one, so I'll be making more of the Raku variety with evil faces similar to this guy. Later today or tomorrow, I'll be putting another jack from Monday's firing in the shop, so keep an eye out.


Lastly, I guess no one is interested in a giveaway, because I'm still not hitting that 260 follower mark. Sad panda. I was in a giving mood. *dramatic sigh*

New Pumpkins on Etsy!

I only lost one pumpkin to thermal shock this time. The other three are now available in ShellHawk's Etsy store! Free shipping, too.

(Almost Spring) Cleaning



Josey supervises the Great Studio Cleanup 2011

This past weekend, I took some time away from my latest sculpture to clean out my studio space.



Lacking the cabinets I would dearly love to have, this is about as clean as it gets, for now. I can walk without tripping over debris. There's a minimal amount of clay dust, because I washed down and mopped the floor.



Why is that important? I plan to work with clay for a very long time, and the thought of developing silicosis is horrifying. It's an occupational hazard for potters and other folks who work in clay for long periods of time, so I am really conscious of maintaining a low clay dust level in my work space. Dog hair is another, less harmful, matter! ;o)

I managed to go through a bunch of the "mystery clay" I had inherited from the guy who sold me my ceramics setup. The various clays were rock-hard, and though I can reconstitute them by throwing them into buckets of water and re-wedging them, the fact is, I only have so much space to work with. Taking up more floor space with buckets is just not worth it!

The neat thing about going through the old clay was finding the ones I am willing to reconstitute, i.e., the ones with actual labels on them! I ran across a cone 10 porcelain, which is a great find. Maybe I'll get to that later this year.

Meanwhile, I started playing with some new pumpkin pots for the upcoming season. Thanks to my new teacher, whom I love and wish I had known about sooner, I am now able to make some very simple lidded forms. Here's a picture of the ones I threw Sunday, unfinished, of course. They have to dry a bit before I can trim them and carve the faces. These will be Raku jack-o'-lanterns, so start saving your pennies for when they go up on my Etsy store!

More studio adventures to share tomorrow! (And let's face it, if I post about the studio, you won't have to hear about The Great Puppy Saga of 2011! ;o))

New Pumpkins on Etsy!

Hey, All! I just listed a bunch of new pumpkins on Etsy, so head over to ShellHawk's Creations and get yourself a Halloween treat!

Raku Firing a Minor Triumph

I've been busy gathering the last of the parts and supplies I would need for firing up my Raku kiln on this past Saturday.

First, we had to assemble the kiln for the first time. Some of my friends from past ceramics classes came over to help and watch. My friend, Gary, had already made two other portable Raku kilns, so I was very happy to have his help.

You start out with kiln wool and landscaping cloth. I had made some "buttons" to put some high temperature wire through, to hold the wool to the wire of the landscaping cloth.

We then whipped out my new Raku burner, which Mr. ShellHawk commented would be handy for a zombie invasion, as long as the propane tank held out.

We put down some backer board, then started arranging the fire bricks I'd gotten. Eventually, we'll be putting down a cement pad, because the heat from the firing split the backer board and made it unusable.

We got the kiln loaded with the ware I'd already bisque fired and then glazed. We set the burner in its place down at the bottom of the kiln where I'd cut the access hole for it.

We fired it up. To the left, you can see the cold kiln with the burner just turned on. To the right, you can see the ware heating up towards where the glaze starts to flux (or liquefy).

Once the glaze hits that point, the top of the kiln comes off and I pull out the ware with a set of tongs. I consider it a win that I came out of the firing with both my eyebrows and my arm hair. The temp in the kiln reaches around 1800 degrees, and it simply has to be turned off before I can even get close.

With the help of my friends, I put the glowing ware in a metal trash can filled with organic material-in this case, hay. The ware sets the hay on fire instantly. One person piles more hay on top and the other slams the lid down afterwards. You can actually hear the fire sucking all the oxygen out of the can.

Later, I pull it out to cool.  There's another shot of me pulling ware out of the second firing.        

Here are some pics of the finished ware in my new photo tent. I plan to iron out the wrinkles in the backdrop, but otherwise, it seems to work fine. As for the ware, I'm a little disappointed with the uniformity of the glaze; I had hoped for more color and variation. I think I can adjust that if I add some larger pieces of organic material.

Now, out to the studio to make more of these guys!

This one is now in the shop!

Only 142 Shopping Days Left Until Hallows!

A few new guys in the shop, and I've created the "Hanging" section. You really, really, need one of these! And my Raku guys need new homes, too, so take a gander and fall in love!

Hungry Fang, Too...

I took my Hungry Fang design and treated him to a Raku facial. You can pick him up for cheap, since he's a "second" and has a couple of cracks in him. Click on the Etsy badge and check him out!

Good News, Bad News

So the good news is that I have some new Raku pots out of the Tuesday firing. The bad news is that some of them cracked and a couple need some repair. The good news for people going to West Coast Haunt Convention, is that I'll be selling them there as seconds, at a discount, with full disclosure. They still look cool, and I hear that damage that happens during the process of making art makes it more valuable. But what do I know?

Come out and see them, and me, and Guy from House Bloodthorn starting on Friday. Be there or be square!

In the Shop

Pumpkin love has hit the shop. Click on the Etsy badge to go to the latest shop listings. I just finished a Raku firing on Friday, so there are some Raku Jackos available.

100th Follower Giveaway

It happened! The 100th follower has joined my little coterie of fiends, and I promised you a giveaway for your trouble. Your prize is this little fella, fresh out of the Raku kiln this past Friday. He will be a hanging pot when he's done, which I think makes him extra-special. For those not familiar with the Raku glazing and firing process, you can look here at this post.

Here's how you enter the giveaway, and each way will get you an extra entry:

1) Become a new follower of this blog.

2) Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter.

3) Become a follower of mine on Twitter.

4) Blog about this giveaway.

5) Mention this giveaway in your Facebook Status Update with the web address.

6) Leave a comment on this blog entry.

For any mention of my giveaway, please leave me a web address so I can follow up. If you wish to remain anonymous, please leave me a way to identify you later.

Winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 9. Good Luck!