Mazers a Medieval Drinking Vessel

Making Mazers

Medieval Drinking Vessel

Interesting how handcrafted Mead and Mazers are coming back in the year 2020! Here is a little video to show you how they are made, step by step.

Ah! At Home on the North Shore

Ah! At home on the North Shore

Turning to the Past

Have you seen the winter edition of Ah! At Home on the North Shore? I have the honour of being included in the 'Off the Wall' section. Crystal and I enjoyed a delightful visit at my studio. She is so engaging, warm and passionate about our community. Crystal captured the essence of my work with her story entitled ‘Turning to the past’. 

Ah! At home on the North Shore tagline is ‘from design ideas to food and wine, health and fitness to art and culture you will find it all AT HOME’. 

I love how the magazine connects us; we meet our neighbours, share ideas, celebrate our home and share our stories. We are all so blessed to live on the North Shore. Thank you Crystal for your curiosity, creative writing and illuminating our vibrant community.

Handcrafted Cigar Tray

Uncle Leos Brewery

Thank you Rebecca

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Steps to make

Pottery Throw Down

Atlantic Canada Potters

Hosted by Craft Nova Scotia.

Potters joined Craft Nova Scotia on Zoom at their wheels and/or workbenches and the public was invited to watch, ask questions and comment. 

Julie Rosvall, Program Director and host, started the event by introducing Craft Nova Scotia and the current exhibit at the Mary Black Gallery. Potters from around Atlantic Canada were then introduced and showed a behind the scenes look into their studios. 

Each potter had 6-7 pounds of clay. All at the same time the potters started their creations with a time limit of 20 minutes. Each artist made something completely different, throwing large and small, coiling and hand-building. Watch the video to see the potter's hands at work, and the vessels taking shape.

Throwing, Altering and Glazing

Off the hump

During the event I threw using the technique called ‘off the hump’. In this technique, a large mound of clay is placed on the wheel and roughly centered. The form is created from the top of the hump, this makes creating smaller pieces easier.

Small Bowl

Here is the small bowl that I threw during the event. After the bowl was leather hard, I trimmed the bottom foot and carved a design. It was glazed with bronze, celadon and gold luster.

Bud Vase

This little vase has a lovely round belly. After it was leather hard, I trimmed a foot then added castings from a sprig mold to the rim. Once it was bone dry, thin layers of Terra Sigillata were brushed on. After the bisque firing, I dripped copper oxide wash on the carvings and glazed the inside white. Once it was glazed fired, gold luster accents were added and the piece was fired for the third time.

Pinnacle Top

The pinnacle is used to top a butter dish. It is thrown like a ball and is hollow in the middle. Once it is leather hard, it is carved and a hole pierced to ensure the air does not get trapped and cause breaking during firing. This butter dish was handbuilt using clay slaps and decorated with sprig molds. It was designed to hold one pound of butter.

Thank you Wendy

The Great Atlantic Canadian Pottery Throwdown was the brainchild of potter Wendy Johnston, who is part of the current Craft Nova Scotia member exhibition, Craft Year 2020, at the Centre for Craft Nova Scotia's Mary E. Black Gallery.

Artists

It is so fascinating to see artist work. Even though our raw material is the same, each individual approaches the process differently and the resulting creations are delightfully unique.

Craft Nova Scotia

Craft Nova Scotia is the officially recognized provincial crafts organization, with a mandate to encourage and promote crafts in Nova Scotia, and to increase the public awareness and appreciation of craft products and activities. We are a registered non-profit charitable organization.

#CraftNS

@craftnovascotia

Mazer

Mazer a Medieval Drinking Vessel

Terra Sigillata