Bonsai Potter

AUTUMN

2012-01-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER...

2012-01-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

Its good to look over some pictures from the golden days of autumn.

RESTORED WHEELBARROW

2011-12-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Graham Eagle for the metal (all that remained of his original wheelbarrow). This was a fun project and it has come in handy for moving pots around the garden. Nice to have a wheelbarrow with a tire that never goes flat between uses.

2011-12-03T16:54:00.000-08:00


Mame bonsai pot - 7 x 4 x 3 cm

RECENT POTS

2011-12-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

PINK MONKEY FLOWER

2011-08-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

Planted in a ball of moss it produces flowers annually. Its a favourite wildflower, found along moist seepages and streams in the mountains. I need to identify the cream coloured plant - anyone know?

For some, summer means rolling in the grass

2011-08-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is Morgan, on Wigeon Creek, north of the Pitt River in British Columbia.

SUMMER MEANS WATERING!

2011-08-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

And it means growth, feeding, flowering, fruiting, wiring and pruning!

JUNIPER IN AN UNGLAZED POT

2011-05-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

More recent work.

2011-05-07T22:49:00.000-07:00

This Juniper is shown here two years ago after a year in training. It was a collected garden plant.its showing a lot of new growth here. Recently I put it in a new pot of mine and changed its position to show off the trunk line and deadwood. I'll have photos of it for my next post.

A White Pine repotted into an unglazed pot of my design

SPRING TIME MEANS REPOTTING

2011-05-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

...and there is a lot of it to do. I repotted several trees for clients into my pots. I'm also getting a lot of my own trees into their new pots. Its always exciting to see the change in the image of a tree placed into a new pot that complements it. The bigger trees I've moved from their nursery pots and put into shallower wooden boxes. Those that have been in training boxes for the last few years can now go into proper pots. Some trees just need a different look.

This Scots Pine has been worked on through part of the last two growing seasons and got a new pot last week. Still needs a few years to develop and refine yet.

Deep snow covers the garden

2011-03-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

Cold Arctic air meets moist Pacific air and the result is snow. Its gone now and the stars are out tonight. Sunshine tomorrow.

FROST and POTTERY

2011-02-25T23:30:00.000-08:00

This is what a pot has to withstand at below freezing temperatures. Can you make out the crystals of frost in the soil? Pots must be made of a clay that fires densely enough to absorb no water, or else this is the result. This is a commercial pot from China. The shape is fine - the sloping walls directing the expanding ice upwards rather than outward. But the porosity of the clay is the weakness here. When choosing a clay I choose the lowest porosity stoneware I can. I fire it to the point where it becomes as hard as stone. None of my pots have suffered any damage from freezing.

Ready for glazing and firing

2011-01-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

Part of the next kiln load almost ready to go. I'll glaze some, stain others and leave some unglazed as well.

Also I'll be doing some test tiles of new glazes and glaze combinations. Its always exciting to see what the firing does to a new glaze - even to a familiar glaze - you just have to wait and see if your vision of the result is close or not to the finished result. Sometimes its better, sometimes worse, but its always interesting!

Hand Carved Rectangular Bonsai Pot

2011-01-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

Unglazed pots with oxide coloring

2010-10-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

Virginia Creeper in fall colour.

2010-10-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

Japanese maple in autumn

2010-10-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

Fresh Pots

2010-09-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Pots fresh from the wheel are drying slowly as cool autumn weather begins. When they're dry I'll be glazing some of them, staining others and then firing them all. No bisque firing, just once up to around 2250 degrees F.(cone 6).

Bonsai bench for a client

2010-09-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

A slab of cedar makes a fine bench for a friend's bonsai collection.

Magazine cover photo opens my eyes!

2010-08-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

I always thought that Japanese sumi drawings were stylized! Oops

Porcelain

2010-08-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

Porcelain

2010-08-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

HOME MADE SLAB ROLLER

2010-08-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Add caption

I found a video on Youtube of a slab roller - here's my version of it - it works really well for making an even thickness slab quickly!

Here's the link from New Earth Clay Pottery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOCoivzq_pg

An accent plant

2010-08-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Beautiful materials

2010-08-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

Porcelain pot for mame bonsai

2010-08-18T18:58:00.001-07:00

Mame bonsai are the smallest of bonsai, some ridiculously small. This is a larger pot at 4 1/2" x 1 3/8".

New pots from the firing

2010-08-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

The next day.

2010-08-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

The top layer of yesterday's firing.

Into the fire

2010-08-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Just turned on the kiln for a firing. Here's a last look before I closed the lid.
I'll open it at noon tomorrow and see what happens in the fire. The bottom
one isn't a bonsai pot. It lacks the drain hole and wire holes you
need for a bonsai. If I remember to take a picture as I unload the kiln I'll post it.

2010-08-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is my back garden studio- pretty tiny! I built it a few summers ago. Working in it requires the same kind of discipline as living in a small boat; returning tools to their proper places after each use, no accumulations of possibly useful stuff lying around on work surfaces. Really I could use a barn.

Getting Started

2010-08-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is to share my interest in bonsai pots and bonsai. Over the past couple of years I've been learning about pottery, teaching myself to throw pots on a wheel, glazing, how to fire a kiln and how this all applies to bonsai pots. I haven't found a lot of sources that apply specifically to bonsai pots, but some good advice from experienced potters has been a great help. I'm going to be posting pictures of my pots over the next while as soon as I sort out the issues involved in making presentable photographs!

Bonsai Potter

AUTUMN

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER...

RESTORED WHEELBARROW

MORE

RECENT POTS

PINK MONKEY FLOWER

For some, summer means rolling in the grass

SUMMER MEANS WATERING!

JUNIPER IN AN UNGLAZED POT

More recent work.

SPRING TIME MEANS REPOTTING

Deep snow covers the garden

FROST and POTTERY

Ready for glazing and firing

Hand Carved Rectangular Bonsai Pot

Unglazed pots with oxide coloring

Virginia Creeper in fall colour.

Japanese maple in autumn

Fresh Pots

Bonsai bench for a client

Magazine cover photo opens my eyes!

Porcelain

Porcelain

HOME MADE SLAB ROLLER

An accent plant

Beautiful materials

Porcelain pot for mame bonsai

New pots from the firing

The next day.

Into the fire

Getting Started