Lucy Fagella Pottery

Studio Entrance in Spring

lucyfagellapottery — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:57:38 +0000

I can show you a photo… but I wish I could somehow fill your sense of smell with the sweet scent of lilacs that permeate my studio entrance. The weather this spring must be perfect for lilacs here in Massachusetts, because everywhere I see lilac bushes they have abundant blooms!

I have made some signs for my entrance, finally. One for the gate, so that you know it’s the studio, and not to come knocking at the house entrance. The other is just a welcome sign at the door. I made these just before the Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail a couple of weeks ago. I thought people might like the welcome sign, so made an extra which sold on the trail, (also had an order for one). Yesterday I made one for the order… and some extra just in case, maybe I’ll put them up on etsy!

Then of course… my studio entrance is not complete without my studio dogs!

Filed under: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail, garden, studio dog, studio entrance Tagged: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail, ceramic welcome sign, Lilacs in Bloom, lucia pottery sign, lucy fagella pottery, Lucy's studio dogs, pottery studio entrance, pottery studio in spring, red dot ceramics

Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail… Some New Work

lucyfagellapottery — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:47:07 +0000

Two days until the 2013 Pottery Trail. This year is our 9th annual tour of nine potter’s studios throughout Western Massachusetts. We have invited eight guests this year… all very well-known. See my earlier post for who the potters are! Get get all the details on our beautiful brand new website! And come out to see us, even if you’re not local… just check our sponsors for great B&Bs to stay!

So here is a little sampling of what you will find on the Trail at my studio!

Filed under: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail Tagged: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail, Blue Cremation Urn, Blue pottery, blue serving bowls, ceramic cups, ceramic mugs, ceramic urns, green mugs, Lucy Fagella open studio & pottery sale, red dot pie plate

Berry Baskets and Berry Bowls

lucyfagellapottery — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:06:14 +0000

The Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail is two weeks away! One of the items (a customer favorite) that I have been making are berry bowls and baskets. Here are some drying on my work table, and a couple of finished ones.

Berry Season is almost upon us!

Filed under: berry basket, berry bowl Tagged: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail, berry basket, berry bowls, berry season, berry strainer, ceramic berry bowls, Lucia Pottery, lucy fagella pottery

Gettting Ready for the Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail

lucyfagellapottery — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:53:11 +0000

Our 9th annual Pottery Trail is at the end of the month! Have you seen our brand new website?

We have so many guest potters this year… it’s going to be a great one!

From North to South, the potters and the guests are. Mary Barringer, Todd Wahlstrom, Molly Cantor, Daniel Bellow, Steve Earp, Lucy Fagella, Tom White, Hayne Bayless, Sam Taylor, Tiffany Hilton, Adero Willard, James Guggina, Eveline Snyder, Francine Ozereko, Kristen Kieffer, Donna McGee, Mara Superior.

April 27th and 28th 2013! See our website for all the details, and a printable brochure and map!

Filed under: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail Tagged: April Events in Massachusetts, Art Events in Massachusetts, Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail, Massachusetts Pottery Tour, Pottery tours, Western Ma. Pottery Tour

In Yankee Magazine

lucyfagellapottery — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 04:08:03 +0000

If you live in the Northeast you probably have heard of Yankee Magazine. It has been a mainstay in New England since 1935!

I am honored to be in the current issue, March/April 2013.

New England’s Finest. The Made-in-New England Kitchen, tools and serving pieces from local artisans.

Filed under: Press, Yankee Magazine Tagged: ceramic salt cellar, french butter keepers, green butter keeper, green salt cellar, Lucia Pottery, Lucy Fagella, Made in New England, salt cellar, Yankee Magazine

Pottery Apprentice

lucyfagellapottery — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 02:46:08 +0000

I have been wanting to share some photos of my apprentice’s work, Gemma Farrell. Gemma is really into drawing images via a sgraffito technique. Every thing she does is by hand… no they are not decals! The images vary from realistic body parts, including hearts and ovaries, to birds, and feathers! You can find her work at Pinch in Northampton MA. I keep telling her she needs to sell these to Cardiologists!

Filed under: apprentice Tagged: cardiology images, carving images in pottery, Carving into clay, ceramic art, Gemma Farrell, Lucy Fagella, Lucy Fagella's apprentice, medical drawings in clay, Pinch Northampton, pottery apprentice, Pottery Apprentice Work, red pottery, Sgraffito

Studio Dog

lucyfagellapottery — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:56:49 +0000

So, do you think my dog Daisy wants to throw a pot?

Oh but Mom Pleeease!!!

Filed under: studio dog Tagged: dog potter, lucy's dogs, Pottery Studio Dog

Teaching my Apprentice about Kiln Repair

lucyfagellapottery — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:55:44 +0000

Today my apprentice Gemma Farrell got her first look inside of the control panel of my L&L Kiln. I really feel it’s important that my apprentices know every aspect of the pottery business, plus walk away from the two years with great pots. Gemma already has the great pots, (which I will show off in the next post.) She just needs the biz end of it… the part they don’t teach you in art school.

It was definitely time to change the element wires and the thermocouples. How did I know this you might ask… well the first sign is that the element wires are starting to grey and flatten in areas… but still work. The most notable reason to change them now, is that the kiln is taking longer and longer to fire… a sure sign it’s going to break down soon. The other reason to really, really change them now is that I do not have a big show coming up this month. It seems that kilns tend to break down in the middle of a firing, right before an important show or the holiday season! My next big show is the pottery trail at the end of April… and I better have the kiln heathly for all the firings coming up!

Whew, take a look at that old thermocouple compared to what it looks like new… won’t be long before that’s a goner. It’s been over a hundred firings… when that time comes along I know it’s time to take a look at them!

Filed under: apprentice, kiln, kiln repair, kiln room Tagged: changing element wires, control panel of electric kiln, electric kiln repair, fixing an electric kiln, getting ready for the Pottery Trail, L&L kiln, Lucia Pottery, lucy fagella pottery, lucy repairing kiln, pottery apprentice, thermocouple on kiln, when to change a thermocouple

Big Pots, Shellac Resist, and the Flu

lucyfagellapottery — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 05:30:06 +0000

Why did I make big pots the first day of the flu? Well I knew I was only going to get sicker, so while I could, I made ten little pitchers, five large urns for resist work, and three other large urns. The second day of the flu I made lids, and slept. The third day I trimmed all the pots, and slept. The fourth day I slept, trimmed lids, joined knobs, and carved urns. The remaining ten days I’ve slept, carved urns, took photo’s and slept… and vowed to get a flu shot next year!

Here are some nice shots of the urns in process. It’s a very long process, between the throwing, trimming, and carving the feet and rim. Once the pot dries completely liquid wax resist is brushed on to create the floral pattern. (This process is known as shellac resist or hydro abrasion). Then comes the long process of rubbing away the clay with a sponge, (which I thought would be a nice sitting down job while not having much energy). Where there is no resist the clay slowly gets etched away.

Here is a finished mini version of the large urn… a little keepsake in my son Andrew’s hands. To see more of these and other urns visit my website and or LuciaUrns on etsy.

If you want to see a nice little video on this method, check out Ron Philbeck , “Hydro Abrasion” He explains it very well! http://youtu.be/d_HHrNdPGIk

Filed under: making an urn form on the potters wheel, shellac resist, studio shots, urns, white on white pattern pottery Tagged: hydro abrasion in pottery, Lucia Pottery, Lucia Urns, making cremation urns, making tall forms on the potters wheel, porcelain cremation urns, Shellac resist, urns by Lucia Pottery, Wheaten Terrier watching pottery, white funeral urn, white keepsake urn, white on white porcelain, White on White urns, white pattern pottery

Plate Setters

lucyfagellapottery — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:04:37 +0000

I recently had a question from potter Joel Cherrico asking me about the plate setters I use for dinnerware sets, (that I don’t actually like to make… sorry folks they are just too time consuming).

I think I got these setters from my favorite ceramic supplier, Sheffield Pottery. The plates are currently used daily in our kitchen.

For more on dinnerware sets see a post I wrote a couple of years ago on what a potter makes per hour. I gauged it on a dinnerware set. http://lucyfagellapottery.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/what-does-a-potter-make-per-hour-dinnerware-set-final-results/

Filed under: dinnerware set, plate setters, plates Tagged: ceramic dinnerware, ceramic lunch plate, ceramic plates, dinner plate, plate setters, porcelain plate settings, pottery by Lucy Fagella, small plate