Diana Thomas Ceramics

A Peek In The Studio

2011-11-17T00:11:00.000-05:00

Bisqued and ready for the next step

Pots ready for waxing and glazing

Next for the bisque kiln

Just finished and ready for a quick dry

I am getting ready to glaze for the next

load for the wood kiln- I was hoping to have

the new gas kiln ready to go, but

hopefully that will happen soon. Shortly, I

will be going to 2 shows- the Old Church

Show in Demarest, NJ- curated by

Karen Karnes, and then to Boston

for the CraftBoston Show organized

by Society of Arts and Crafts. I'm

looking forward to a great firing...hoping

also that this mild weather lasts another week

to see me through this next work period!

More box shapes drying quickly!

Drying here is one of my favorite, classic box shapes-
I'm also hoping that you'll notice my heavy
duty banding wheel! It was made for me by a very
talented and close friend.
I love it and use it all the time!

Old is New Again!!!

2011-11-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

The small shed where the kiln was housed

The amazing feat-2000+pounds of kiln!

I am very excited about a "new" old kiln I recently purchased...it is smaller than anything I have used in the past, but I'm sure I will adjust to a new and different cycle of making work and firing it. Instead of working and waiting sometimes for months to fire new pieces, I will be able to fire and see results in 7-10 days...if not sooner. I rented a u-haul and drove down to Cape Cod, had a forklift pick the kiln up (all 2000+pounds of it) and load it into the truck. I drove the 6 hours back to Maine, where I hired another couple of guys with tractor and forks, along with a lift truck to pull it off the truck and position it on the concrete pad! It was all very exciting, and a bit anxiety producing at the same time. Alas, now I need to build a roof to protect the kiln from the elements, and I will be off and running! It is a small alpine- with a swing door.....no need to brick the door up after each load! I am anxious to fire it, but am running out of time before winter. So, I may have to wait- we'll see! Here are a few photos of getting the kiln onto the u-haul-

Moving down the alley

On the truck!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T13:47:00.000-04:00

Wyatt the Penguin!
A Halloween greeting from my house to yours! I hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the creepiness of it all! I enjoy making my son's costume each year...this one did double duty in keeping him warm on the chilly trick-or -treat eve.

Now for the fun stuff...

2011-11-01T13:43:00.000-04:00

Various clays ready for mixing

All the clay potters use comes from our beautiful earth. How it gets from the ground to the studio is more complicated, and potters from around the world deal with this part of the process in many different ways. Many years ago I was a resident artist at the Baltimore Clayworks. When I was there, I met a great Jamaican potter who used to go to Baltimore-Washington airport to dig his clay (among other places). He would come back to the studio, and spend many hours cleaning and screening the clay to make it workable. It was labor intensive, but he yielded beautiful results. Many others (myself included) bought our clay from a supply company in 50 pound boxes- it was wonderfully de-aired, and ready to use. These days, my husband and I buy our clay dry, in powdered form, and mix it together to achieve the character and properties we want. Things we consider are temperature, color, plasticity, strength, shrinkage and coarseness. We recently had over 5000 pounds of 50 pound bags delivered- it was then hauled down to our basement for storage- and slowly over the next 8-10 months we will use it all up! Here are some photos to visually explain some of the process:

The dry stuff in the mixer

Clay and Water

Ready for the pugmill

Voila!

Good-bye Old Sign

2011-06-13T15:23:00.001-04:00

I am saying good-bye to our old road sign that we have had advertising our pottery for the past 7 years. While it has served us well, it is time for a new one...Here are a few photos of the old sign, along with some of the spring flowers that grace our gardens. I have also included a few shots of the gallery, showing my wood-fired pots, along with those of my husband, Rob Sieminski.

Spring Visitors...

2011-05-20T17:08:00.000-04:00

Stopping to snack

Gallery Visitor

Did I hear Sale???

Summer in our gallery here at the pottery is a busy time, with many people visiting. We are open most days from 10-5, or by appointment. People come from all over the country and often stop in on their travels around the state.We never quite know when someone will come walking up our driveway, but it is always a welcome sight and we have met many wonderful people since our gallery opened 7 years ago. We look forward to the coming gallery season as it is a time filled with great anticipation of who may come and what will be sold- we always have high hopes! While the first visitors of the season were a welcome bunch, they were not much in the pottery buying mood. They were more interested in the young birch and apple tree leaves that were just budding. For us, however, they are always the most welcome of visitors. They stop by often, sometimes even spending the night just outside our sun porch.

Spring Is Here

2011-04-19T18:25:00.001-04:00

One of the many things I love about living is Maine is the intensity of every season of the year. Each one has it's special beauty, and they all are equally vocal in announcing their arrival. Spring is no exception...fast and furious, it is sometimes here and gone before we even had time to blink! My family and I took a short trip up the road today to spend a little time at one of our favorite spots- Small's Falls. It is a series of cascading water falls hemmed in by colorful and magnificent rocks. This time of year the water is especially high. In the summer months it is a great place to picnic or swim, with many people coming from afar to jump off the high rocky cliffs for a refreshing dunk in the deep pool just below the middle fall.

Finally...A New Post!!!

2011-04-05T17:27:00.000-04:00

Icicles threatening the window-what a sight-some more than 4 feet in length

CraftBoston Spring 2011

It has been a VERY busy winter...we have had lots of snow here in Western Maine. I have been busy making new work, with a firing completed a few weeks ago. It was a tough one- due to circumstances beyond our control (i.e. "the flu") we were unable to maintain a path up to the kiln throughout the entire winter. All it took was not clearing the snow after one storm, and it was too late! The next time we tried we could not break through---aaaaaargh! SO, when it came time to fire, part of the prep time was spent shoveling, and shoveling , and shoveling....the firing took longer than usual- 20 hours, but the results were great. Then it was off to CraftBoston Spring down at the Seaport of Boston. A wonderful and fun show hosted by the Society of Arts and Crafts.

Faceted Jar with Flashing Slip and Copper Glaze

Box with Crater Glaze

Faceted bowl with crater glaze

Box with crater glaze

Jar with Dimpled Top

I was especially pleased with the way the cratered glazes I have been experimenting with turned out in this firing.

CRAFTBOSTON HOLIDAY SHOW!!!

2010-12-07T09:06:00.000-05:00

Come one, come all to Boston! I'm leaving tomorrow for Boston and will be setting up for the weekend show hosted by The Society of Arts and Crafts. I will be among 90 or so exhibitors setting up a booth at the Cyclorama, part of the Center for the Arts in downtown Boston. SO, make your way there for some wonderfully creative holiday shopping! http://www.craftboston.org/ Check out the website for more information and directions to the show....SEE you there!

Firing and Booth Photos

2010-10-06T09:24:00.000-04:00

I just came across some of the photos I took of the last firing and realized I've been neglectful in sharing them with everyone. I'm gearing up for another firing scheduled for the begining of November...summer was very busy in our gallery and around our house and studio. It was one of the nicest summers we've had since we moved here almost 12 years ago. The days were very warm and sunny, and we were outside as much as possible. At night the temps dropped , making it perfect sleeping weather...it really could not have been any better! It is now fall, and we are surrounded with amazing hues of gold, red and orange...I'm hoping for an indian summer, but I can already feel old man winter traveling our way. Here are some photos of the kiln firing and some booth shots from the spring and summer shows...

Auction Has Begun...

2010-09-21T20:38:00.000-04:00

O.K. Let's go! The auction to support Drew Johnson and alleviate the monstrous hospital bills that ensued after a traumatic accident in which his foot was amputated has begun! It is now the time, only one week, to scroll through the many wonderful ceramic pieces that were donated by artists all over the country. Please take your time and look over all of the wonderful work and bid, bid, bid! Have some fun and buy some wonderful clay...till next time-Diana
P.s. The link for the auction is on the previous post...scroll down and you will see it!

Benefit Auction

2010-09-14T09:06:00.000-04:00

Today marks the start of the preview for the Drew Johnson Benefit Auction. Hundreds of ceramic artists and clay related businesses have donated work to the auction to help raise money to pay for Drew Johnson's medical bills after his terrible accident. Go to http://claylink.com/zen/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=142&sort=20a&page=1 to view all the wonderful work that has been donated. Come join the fun and buy something wonderful for yourself or an early holiday gift! Scout it out now so that you will be prepared on September 21 when the bidding begins!

Here I am....

2010-06-11T22:44:00.000-04:00

Hi- Here I am. I have not forgotten about anybody, but life has been busy in a way that does not involve a computer...so, stick with me-keep checking, because I WILL BE BACK... (I hope that did not remind you of the Now Governer of CA)...regardless...Thanks for sticking with me-Diana

More On The Way...

2010-03-19T19:40:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone..It has been awhile (once again) but I have been very busy. I have good news- I just finished loading the wood kiln and I will be firing tomorrow! My hands are raw and by body is tired, but I am very excited about the firing. It is one of my very favorite days- I get up before dawn, sometimes in the middle of the night. Out where we live we can hear the quiet, and it is wonderful. We are having an early spring this year in Maine and the ground is thawing. Things are quite a mess out there and I will have to put planks down in order to traverse the terrain without looking as if I was mud wrestling. I don't mind- it was wonderful loading the kiln with my shirtsleeves pushed up- mudding the door was great since my fingers weren't frozen...aaahhhh the pleasure of it all! Seriously, the owls have started hooting once again (I heard them for the first time after the winter just last night), and I will watch the sun come up as I stoke the fire. I will post photos of everything, including the firing, in a few days.....and then of course comes the unloading, which I will also share. 'til then, Ciao....

Reconnecting with a friend

2010-02-02T13:46:00.000-05:00

I had a very good thing happen to me a few weeks ago. After 15 years or so I reconnected with a very good friend- I don't know why or how we ever lost touch, but somehow we both moved enough times to lose track of what the other was doing. My friend, Madhvi Subrahmanian, and I met while we were both graduate students in very small programs at schools in Dallas, Texas. Madhvi was studying with Peter Beasecker at Southern Methodist University, while I was completing my degree at the University of Dallas. Between the 2 schools we had 3 grad students in clay/ceramics. This was both to our advantage as well as disadvantage...as you might imagine. We sometimes got together and fired the wood kiln, or gave each other critiques of new work...most of the time we were supportive friends giving advice or encouragement. When we graduated we also had the good fortune of sharing a rental house while we attended the summer program at Alfred University. Our main instructors were Val Cushing and Marilyn Lysohir (who has an amazing article in the newest Ceramics Monthly about her most recent exhibition, "Good Girls 1968"). For 6 weeks we lived in the lovely, small town of Alfred, NY. We rented the "house with the hand"- a nice house on the edge of town that had once had a big, beautiful elm tree shading it's front lawn. When the Elm blight killed off many/most of the large trees, the owner of the house had the enormous trunk carved into a giant arm and hand, complete with wrist watch! It was quite the mile marker-easy to give directions. The 6 weeks were magical- we were able to completely immerse ourselves in glaze classes and in developing our work....
After that time, I lost track of Madhvi until just a few weeks ago when I googled her to see if I could locate her. To my happy surprise I found a gallery in Singapore where she was getting ready to mount a solo exhibition- I wrote to the gallery and received an excited reply from my dear friend. A few days later I received a file showcasing the amazing show. It is called "Organic/Abstract" at Gallery Chemould-
http://www.gallerychemould.com/exhibitions.html
I encourage everyone to view this wonderful show....

A Fresh Start

2010-01-26T15:49:00.001-05:00

Happy 2010 to all....I've been out of touch lately. I've cleaned the studio though and it is time to get down to the business of making pots. I usually like to start with something simple. Pieces that get my hands and my brain warmed up...so this morning I sat down and made some simple porcelain bowls. It was fun, and my mind was already speeding along imagining how beautiful they will look when I take them out of the kiln.

In my last kiln load I began to experiment once again with "crater glazes", and had a few quite successful pieces. I was restrained in my experimentation as I really needed the work to come out looking great for the November/Holiday Shows I had on the schedule. Now that I know what's happening(uh-oh...did I really say that?) I am feeling bolder for this next firing. I hope to have several hundred large tea-bowl style pieces that I can go crazy with the glazing on. I've taken a picture of my work table-

A few Pot Photos....FYI

2009-12-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

Hello again...thought I'd share a few photos of the pots I make...

Hello and Welcome!

2009-12-04T07:42:00.003-05:00

O.K.-Here I go.....This is my first posting-I want to say hello and welcome. I'll quickly introduce myself...I'm a potter living and working in the western mountains of Maine with my husband(who is also a potter-view web site http://www.robsieminski.com/ ) and wonderful son, Wyatt. We welcome visitors year-round to our gallery called Bog Pond Pottery, come visit! Here are a few pictures of the place-it's very quiet, mostly surrounded by trees and wild animals...we often see moose and even have them sleeping just a few yards from our home. We love it here, in spite of harsh winters that can make firing the kiln very difficult. I'll get into more of that later-seeing as I will be firing in early March. I'll be exhibiting in the Philadelphia Invitational Furniture and Furnishings Show (www.pffshow.com) March 27-28. I have many ideas for new work and am eager to get into the studio. My last firing was at the end of October, and since then I've been to several shows. While I really enjoy the shows, hearing what others say, selling the work, and seeing what others are making- the best part of the job is making work, especially when ideas are flowing and there is time enough for development. So, onward I go...I'm off to start the fire and warm things up(literally). Until next time-Diana