Gems fifteen and sixteen

Before our exhibition, we had busy time. Thanks to long winter and needed kiln repairs we postponed our firing. Mirka has prepared several bigger, sculptural pieces and our studio was crowded with ceramic, waiting there for fire. Finally, We have fired both our kilns twice and, with few exceptions, all turn out to our contentment and joy.

To see pictures  from the opening and to read some thoughts about our concept please visit Mirka's blog.

There are two new gems for my The Gem collection and I am happy to share them with you.

From first bigger kiln I have chose very simple tea jar. Created from technical porcelain it was glazed with high iron, natural slip glaze. I like how ash, which flies through kiln during firing, created yellow-green "hare fur" effect on its face.

The Gem number sixteen is another teapot. New clay which has surprised me in very good way. It is nice to work with and fire love it. Glazed or unglazed, that clay creates lovely colors and fine, silky surface. This teapot is entirely unglazed, with marks of horsetail weed which I put on before firing. It was fired in our charcoal part of the kiln. Covered with charcoal during top temperatures, it is painted with heavy, local reduction. The white mark is where I put refractory clay to separate it from another pot.

And as usually, one more thing...before looking at new pots, please say goodbye to the Gem number five and the Gem number six...

The Nebulae and The Luminous

For more pictures of those new pieces please visit this page. If The Ten Gems of Ten Kilns project is new for you, then please read this post first.

 Gem number fifteen- The Shiny Day

 The Gem number sixteen- The Moon on Cliff

  

 Thank you for reading!

Our tea ware exhibition in Austria

Few months back, we were asked to prepare an exhibition for nice gallery which is part of castle in Dobersberg. The theme is, as you can foreseen, tea settings as art for five sences. I don't know how many of my readers will be around, but you are all more then welcome to be present during the opening. There will be expressive music of Jana Vébrová, profesionaly and with love prepared tea by our friend Tomáš Rajnoch and, of course, some gems from our kilns. Tea ware to see and touch, kettles and water to sing, tea to taste and scent. We will be happy to meet you.

Opennig is this Friday, 17th of May at 7 p.m.. The exhibition will there till 6th of June. For all who can not come to see it live, we will take some picutres of share.

After openning update: You can pictures from the exhibition in this album. Pictures were taken by Michal Zajaček, who visit the openning with his camera and profesional,  photographer's eye.

Thank you for reading.

Unexpected visitor

An early morning tea. Sitting outside and waiting for water to boil I saw someone emerge from bank of the stream, which makes border of our property.... 

Rozárka ( Rosalie) lives behinde that stream and this morning she needed some fresh air...

 ...or our fresh green grass was what she was after...

...or maybe she was lured by aroma of shu in my pot?

Anyway, it was nice morning. Thanks for comming dear Rozárka!











Thank you for reading.