New Work, September Shows, and a SPECIAL SURPRISE!

The summer has come and gone and there has been lots to report on. After an unbelievably successful show in Fremont, I took the next month to rebuild my inventory and focus my energies in the studio towards making new pieces. The vases are just beginning to come out and with positive results. My raku work is stronger than ever and I feel as if my new "streamlined" style of vases really showcases my ceramics in a aesthetic in which they are meant to be seen.

I have two shows coming up for those of you in the Bay Area in California.
The first is next weekend (Sat. September 12th) from 12-8pm in downtown Saratoga at the "Taste of Saratoga" street fair. I will actually be sharing a booth with my uber-talented girlfriend Jeanne who does mixed media collages and other inspiring items. We've been preparing for this show for months so come early and see what we've created before we sell out! Hope to see you there!

The next is the following weekend which is sure to be a ceramic filled festival. I will be selling my pottery on my home turf at the Blossom Hill Crafts Pottery Sale. This 2 day ceramics only event boast some 30+ clay vendors and some of the highest quality ceramic work you will find anywhere. This is my home studio (where all my pottery is made) so a percentage of the proceeds go back into the studio so be sure to attend and support the arts!

The final item of news (and the biggest) is my dream has finally been realized and I've opened up my own guitar school! Yes, that's right...Chris Bryant Guitar School is now open for business in beautiful downtown Los Gatos. For those interested, my day job for the past 6 years has been teaching guitar all throughout the south bay area to thousands of students. I had a vision of opening up a place, but was waiting for the right place (and the right person) to start it with. Together with my partner Jeanne, we have created the most wonderful environment for guitar instruction. It's everything I've imagined it would be and more. For more on the Guitar School, check out our brand new website:

http://www.chrisbryantguitar.com

and please subscribe to my other blog to keep up on the latest with the guitar school!

http://chrisbryantguitar.blogspot.com

That's it for now. Happy mud time everyone. Hope to see some of you at the shows!

Raku redux and future projects

Yesterday I got my first taste of the raku kiln up at Blossom Hill Crafts. It's one of those nice side loading ones from Laguna which was interesting considering I've been using a homemade top loader made from a barrel and kiln fiber for the past 4 months. So I got my vase glazed up, learned the ropes on how to run the kiln without blowing myself to smitherines, and then it was on! I decided to go with a rainbow gloss for my first shot at it...just to see if I could get some different results than what I was getting previously with this really strange shiny copper raku glaze somebody concocted up at the college...it literally looked like liquid powered cocoa when it went on...bizarro indeed. Anyway, I digress! Fired up the burners...waited 15 minutes, turned em up a second time, waited 15 more and then maxed them out. From the only "peep hole" (a little hole on the kiln to glance at how your vase is doing in the heat) in the kiln it looked glossy and ready to be pulled. I was excited...'It's TIME!' I thought to myself. Got my gloves on, readied my surroundings, threw the gas off and opened up the lid. Ohhhhh's and Aaaahss could be heard from friendly observers as I started to take my tongs towards my 1800 degree piece of fired clay. What I DIDN'T see however was the bottom of my vase was looking like a lunar surface which means it didn't get hot enough in the kiln. I actually didn't see it until the moment I placed it in the barrel and flames were igniting which means it's time to close the lid. 'Oh dear...maybe that'll look cool!' I said. 2 hours later I pulled the piece out and saw my results...underfired masterpieces!!! 'This is unacceptable' I thought. 'There must be something I can do!' I inquired to a colleague of mine about what to do about it...his response... "Fire it again!!!!" And so the notion was born that if this piece could survive another firing...it might look cool!' So I darted down to the studio this morning, fired up the kiln a second time and really went all the way with it this time. The result? See for yourself!!! This is the piece after the SECOND firing. Shiny copper goodness!!! I'm happy and glad to have learned how to do things right the first time!

In similar news, I was approached by some friendly people today who wanted to fire 2 pots right as I got the kiln lit this morning to which I replied "Sure!" They were planning on doing a really neat thing called "Horsehair Raku" which consists of firing a bisque-ware unglazed piece in the kiln, getting it nice and hot, pulling it out and placing the piece on a brick and then draping the hair of a horse over it to create a very abstract yet beautiful line effect. I got to witness this process today, which was awesome. The best part about it, one of the people doing it actually owned a horse and offered me a whole grip of horse hair! You can bet I'll be dabbling with this stuff in the near future...and I'll be posting the results as soon as they arrive! Anyone know of a good floorwax? I need it for sealing my next pieces after the horsehair technique is done!!

Here's a sneak peak at some new work just created...and some more coming down the pipe. Like I said, I'll be keeping you updated so until then...clay is the way, happy throwing, and enjoy your blown out cylindrical bliss!

Welcome to Chris Bryant Pottery!!!

New blog, new shop, new opportunities...things are happening so fast around here!!! First of all, hello and welcome to my new ceramic blog. Kinda new at the blog thing but I think I'll get used to it. Gotta get the promotion out of the way for the first post...so here we go!

My new shop on Etsy!!! (Where you can check out and buy all my latest ceramic creations)

http://chrisbryantpottery.etsy.com

My new website!!! (Kinda like an online magazine...updated regularly with new work as they arrive!)

http://www.chrisbryantpottery.com

My girlfriend's shop on Etsy!!! (Visit my uber-talented other half's shop for all your stylish and practical crafty wares!

http://threepaperpigs.etsy.com

I think that's about it for now. Don't forget to check out my shop on Etsy and add me as a favorite. Also, check back often as this blog is just getting off the ground and will be updated with all the latest rantings and creative notions from the mind of a inspired potter. I will leave you with a picture...25 inches, 25 pounds of clay, thrown in 3 sections and fresh out of the raku kiln!!!