Pots and plants by Kitoi

Sacramento C&S Show and Sale May 7th-8th

2011-05-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

My top winner! 1st place, Best Advanced Succulent, Best Madagascan
Succulent. Plant measures 16" in diameter. I wanted to show this plant
but not in the commercial pot it was in. Attempted to make a container
2months ago that cracked badly during the 1st firing. The next try I put
in the kiln too soon and it exploded. The pot it in now I made on Apr
27th, force dried and fired it on May 2nd. It was staged on the 4th and
transported to the show on the 6th.

Two new bonsai pots

2011-04-19T00:51:00.001-07:00

A 3.5"x1" deep literati

A 4"x1" deep oval

Something different

2011-04-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Purchasing pots

2011-03-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

I set up a simple site to sell my wares, have a look...

Pottery by kitoi

There's also a link on the right of the page, pots for purchase.

1st public sale!!

2011-03-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

My 1st public sale Saturday March 19th at the Caro Desert Nursery in Littlerock CA. It will be a Potter's Sale and Plant Auction. I'm the only potter from N.CA the rest are from the L.A. area.
Sale is 9am till dark, auction starts at 1:00.

I'm bringing about 90 pots, ranging from 1" to 12" diameter. Here's a few samples

More pots

2011-03-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

Fondue pots

2011-02-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

These will be going up for auction tomorrow at Armijo High School Band's Crabfeed fundraiser

Largest thrown bowl

2011-02-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

For me anyway. 14in diameter x 7in deep

Donation project

2011-02-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

My son's high school band is having a crabfeed the end of February and was asked if I could make some for the auction. Made up 6 butter melters that were bisque fired over the weekend. Made up some glazes yesterday that will be applied this coming weekend.

New pots

2011-01-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

I don't do much trimming normally but after making a few bowls for gifts over the holidays I need some practice. Made a few bowls yesterday and trimmed them this morning.

Plectranthus ernestii

2011-01-11T05:23:00.000-08:00

I've had this plant for about 10yrs, purchase as a branching seedling swimming in a 2in square plastic pot. It has been in that same container the entire time till a few days ago when I decided to stage it. It's not terrible hard to grow unless you live in a hot summer area (which I do). During the hotter months I keep under a bench with a northern exposure so it does not get too hot. Gets watered periodically, maybe every 3-4wks so it looks a bit dried out by the time the next drink comes around. Never fed, only freshened soil and placed back in the same container about 5yrs ago. Stays exposed to the elements during the winter where it get rained on and fattens up.

The pot is a 3in oval

Commission complete

2011-01-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

It's taken some time but it's finally finished! Drying time at this time of the year takes so long but it does reduce the incidence of unwanted cracks in the bottom. This is a 12in diameter round container destined to support a ponderosa pine.

Now that the show is over....

2010-11-17T04:25:00.000-08:00

...it's time to get back into the mud. Made a 14" diameter bonsai on Sunday that I'll trim up today. Got invited to a bonsai sale Dec 4th so I'll be making some shohin and mame pots this afternoon. Then I'll need to stock up for another bonsai sale in April. Stay tuned for photos of my latest creations.

Trimmed foot and texture detail

2010-10-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Unexpected results

2010-10-18T04:40:00.001-07:00

Experimenting with various materials to advance my cracking textures. Most the time sand leaves a course surface

but this black reptile sand melted giving the it a smooth lava like texture. Will be doing more tested with, maybe some square or rectangles. Got lots of ideas...

My next commision, test pots

2010-09-28T04:44:00.001-07:00

Got a request for a 14" diameter bonsai pot, he wants the fissures to golden yellow and the dark brown with a rim. After some thought I made these to see how easy/difficult it would be to create.

1st attempt the rim came out too heavy and the walls too vertical

2nd came out much better, nice round shape with a finer rim.

One more test before starting the large pot, stay tuned....

Saggar test

2010-09-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about saggar firing and found a guy in England that does it in an electric kiln. After seeing his work I thought it was time I tried. Using an old stoneware nursery pot, kiln batting and a kiln shelf (for the lid). Now I just needed a shino recipes, selected Malcolm Davis just because of the least ingredients. Not sure how to apply the glaze and how many coats to get the best results I simply brushed it on.

Not bad, just need to play with glaze application some. Most exciting thing is I can now do some reduction work!

Conophytum springbokensis

2010-09-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Purchased this for a $1, not really into Aizoaceae but I was told this one quite old.

Looks pretty good in one of my 3in round pots

Pachypodium brevicaule

2010-09-03T13:10:00.001-07:00

Purchased this beauty in 2006, the winter of 2007 it rotted. I cleaned out all dead tissue and was left with half the plant. I was told the only way to save it was to graft it onto lamerei. I'm not a fan of graft so I attempted to root it. After 16mo it started to push new foliage, I knew it had finally rooted and flowered soon after

Made a simple shallow bowl to be able to show it off

While it looks kinda cool I wasn't happy with the presentation. It needed a wider container, I started playing with ovals until I created something worth of this baby.

2 months later I entered it in the 25th Inter City C&S Show and won a blue ribbon and outstanding specimen!

Adenia spinosa

2010-08-24T05:46:00.001-07:00

Have had this plant for years in a 14in terracotta pot and decided to repot into a container I made 2yrs ago. How knows why I waited till now to combine the two. Pot is 16in wide by 3in deep.

Before you get all psycho about me drastically pruning the roots let me tell you I did not have to. The taproot had rotted some time ago and was sending out new roots so none were harmed in this staging.

Seyrigia humbertii

2010-08-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

Purchased this specimen 2yrs ago from a private collector, it was nice but I wanted to something more with it
Last year I decided to add it to my list of 2010 show plants. After some thought and some major pruning this is what I ended up with...a blue ribbon winner at the Inter-City C&S show.

The pot is a 6in oval

cracked bonsai

2010-07-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Astrophytum commission complete

2010-06-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Took me some time to figure out what type of pot to make. Created 2, the 1st was too formal and did not look right with this gnarly of a plant. I looked at habitat photos to come up with this design and staging. The is 12" diameter and 3" deep. The owner was very happy with the way it turned out, so happy she is inviting me over to find other plants I can stage.

Next big project

2010-06-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, a 25lb block of clay transformed into 16" diameter crackpot. It's either going to house a large Operculicarya or Cyphostemma (may not be big enough for the Cypho), all depends on the final look.

Couple new pots

2010-06-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

To be a 4in tall cylinder

This one will be a 9" oval bonsai

My next commission

2010-05-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

A 30+yo Astrophytum that I will design a container and stage it for Mrs. V. The craziest myriostigma I've ever seen, she says the right arm started to twist and go prostrate some years ago.

Euphorbia enormis

2010-05-23T09:38:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite recent pots, have looked through all my plants to find something when I came a cross the enormis. Only problem the roots were 4” deeper than the 1.5” depth of the pot. Got my pruners and remover the fattest roots and repositioned the thinner ones. Pot is 6” wide

Euphorbia decidua

2010-05-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've had this plant for a couple of years and kept it in a 6in nursery pot till today. This latest creation came out of the kiln this morning. Caudex is 2.5in wide.

Tear Down Time lapse

2010-05-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with time lapse photography for a few weeks now, trying to get the settings right so I could do the short video of the tear down of the Cactus and Succulent show last weekend.

Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Show Tear Down from Kitoi T on Vimeo.

Low fire

2010-04-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Received a request to make some low fire pots. Oxides don't melt at 1922f so I added some 3134 frit to reduce the melting point of the manganese dioxide.

Chop or my signage

2010-04-24T05:13:00.001-07:00

Have been busy making pots and getting ready for the 1st C&S show of the year. The Sacramento C&S club show and sale is May 1st. There's a load of pots in a bisque fire this morning and will fire again on Wednesday so I can a have a couple pots done by Friday for setup.

As you can see this is how you can identify a Kitoi pot. I've been attempting to design a stamp but have not been happy with the results so far. I'll keep trying....

Disappointment

2010-04-12T04:31:00.000-07:00

After many hours and effort this is the result. This 18" oval cracked horribly....but why? having sharp edges along the fissures I'm guessing the damage occurred on the cool down.

Shallow Bonsai Pots

2010-04-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of bonsai containers from my last firing. Both are 1.25" deep and both oval. The 1st one has a 12.5" diameter. A Jatropha is destined for this pot.

The 2nd is 7.5" wide

Drying Big pots

2010-04-03T04:43:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd better post something to show I'm still at it.

My next project is a large oval, finished dimensions will be approximately 18"x 4" deep. The intention is for an Operculicarya to be staged in a wind swept style, hopefull to be completed by the August for the Intercity show in L.A.

Here are a few more large pots drying

The plastic under the bottom pot is too keep the feet from drying too fast while resting on a sheet of plywood, if the plastic was not there the wood would wick moisture out too quickly causing the feet not to bond properly.

Dorstenia gigas

2010-03-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

Dorstenia gigas, 31cm tall x 6cm at soil level

Bud detail

Pot detail

Favorites from my last firing

2010-03-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

3" round, love the way the fissures twist and lift

3.5" oval, the mixture of RIO and manganese give it a rock look

8" oval, cracks from top to bottom

6" round, not sure why I just like it

5" round, great ash glaze!

Oxalis gigantea

2010-03-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

Out of the kiln

2010-03-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

pinched and cracked

2010-03-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

A 5" square pinched crack pot using Cassius Basaltic and pistachio shino

Winter protection

2010-03-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Had a few inquiries on how I protect my plant during the winter so here it is. I attach 1x4 recycled plastic bender board in 20ft lengths and fasten them every 4ft to the raised bed. The beds are 10ft across so the top of the hoop is about 6ft tall. My main goal is to protect plants from rain.

Once that supports are up I use 6mm poly sheeting to cover leaving the ends open for air circulation. The flow of air through the "tunnel" helps reduce humidity, cold damage and insect infestation

If you don't have raised beds you can lay 4x4 on the ground and attach bender board to them (plants were not left on the ground).

Successful bisque fire

2010-03-08T04:34:00.001-08:00

Out of 21 pots one cracked unintentionally. These pictured are the smaller (under 7"), my favorite is the one in the middle of the center stack. The way it fissured is beautiful! The larger oval pots (10-12") came out perfect, it was the 12" round the has a significant crack in the bottom. Not bad enough to throw out but not worthy of sale.

The commission pot (10.5" oval) came out without issue and will be stained on Tuesday and fired again on Friday or Saturday. T is so excited to receive this pot for his prized Bursera.

21" diameter altered

2010-03-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

Started out as a 21" diameter round form, now it is a 22" oval x 2" deep Added dry clay for a little surface texture. Now the drying process begins, needs to be slow so nothing cracks.

21" diameter

2010-03-02T09:37:00.001-08:00

A 21" diameter pot thrown on my kickwheel, it's a 1/4" from the frame. This will be altered to make a 20" wide x 2" deep soft cornered rectangular bonsai pot

Pots a dryin'

2010-02-28T04:46:00.000-08:00

I've been making larger pots lately. The oval at the right is 19" wide and the stack of ovals are 12-14" wide.

Next commission

2010-02-17T05:26:00.000-08:00

My latest commission build. When all is said and done it will be a 10" wide oval x 3.5" deep (inside measurements). Now the slow process of drying begins, the client is very anxious to get the pot for his Bursera.

Kiln problem fixed

2010-02-01T04:34:00.000-08:00

The issue with the kiln and the error code turned to be a stuck open relay. A technician from Clay People came out last week and replaced them all. Glad they did house calls because it would have been a big effort to transport to them. My wife fired a load of bottles yesterday and all went well. Here's her site, the Melted-Bottle.

New pots old plants

2010-01-30T17:16:00.000-08:00

Pelargonium radicatum in a 2.5" diameter pinched oval.

Othonna euphorbioides in a 4" oval

Tylecodon pearsonii, 3" diameter cascade

Paperclay and rice

2010-01-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

Instead of throwing out some ol' rice I mixed with some paperclay

Bad kiln

2010-01-22T05:56:00.000-08:00

The last few loads have been my wife's glass so the kiln doesn't go over 1455deg. I did a bisque fire on Monday and got an error code "err8", the manual does not show this. Called Cress, they said it was because the temperature failed to rise, could be caused by a broken or damaged element. Tuesday I turned the kiln on and kept an eye on the temperature reading. It got 1690 and would not increase then the err8 flashed on the screen. Next I opened the kiln to see if any of the elements were out.

All the coils are glowing , so now what? I close the lid and turn it off the power, the fan stopped so I assumed it was off. Went back to the garage 3hrs later and the kiln was still hot! popped the lid and all coils still glowing. Unplugged it this time and called the manufacturer again, the tech said it was a relay causing the problem. I'll do another test today and call him back.

In the mean time I put my partially fired bisque pots into the small kiln, will take two loads to get them all.

This is half the amount. I'm experimenting with making cracked ovals, so far so good. I'll do some glazing and staining over the weekend then fire next week. Also starting a large oval tomorrow, a 22in diameter is the proposed width.

Winter staging

2010-01-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

Pelargonium klinghardtense
Pelargonium rapaceum

Aloe plicatilis

Tylecodon reticulata

Electric vs kick wheel

2010-01-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

About 2wks ago I purchased a used potter's wheel of Craigslist for $75, motor ran smooth it just needed mounting bushing to be replaced. While inspecting the housing I saw it was an old Spirit wheel put out by Leslie's Ceramics, so I put it in the back of my truck and headed over for some advice. One of the stock workers came out and gave me a brief history of the wheel and about them being discontinued. He also said if I need parts they have plenty of old machines in back. Purchased 8 bushings for $26 and now I have a functioning pottery wheel!

I've been throwing on a kick wheel for about 14 months and half way decent at creating a pot, so I though it would be easy to transition to an electric model. Started small, about a pound of clay. The speed will definitely take some getting used to....and there's no in-between, it's either stop or full speed. So I lost a few from centrifugal force but I started to get the feel of it and wanted to see how much clay it could handle. Sad to say the drag of working with 5lbs was to much for it, not the motor but the coupler, the part makes the wheel spin can't handle the torque. Maybe if I used my fingers tips more to shape than the palms of my hands there would be less drag.

I made about 15 1-2lbs pots over the last week at the cabin. When I got home Sunday I tried the kick wheel,with 10lbs of clay. What a difference, I had much more control. Every was much easier to handle, I do like the slower speed better.

Anyway, I'll have to take some photos of the pots I made...stay tuned.

Going International

2009-12-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

It's official...I've gone international!! Shipping these pots are going to France today.

Pelargonium carnosum

2009-12-20T09:07:00.001-08:00

Received this plant a few years ago bareroot. To establish it I placed it in the six inch pot on the left with pure pumice, then the 6 was placed inside the 8 behind it to keep it from toppling over. I've looked at the plant for years and thought "how in the world am I going to stage that?"

A few months ago I made this pot and an experiment, it turned out ok but had nothing for it so I placed on the the shelf. This morning while looking around I saw the carnosum and took it over to the table thinking "what to do." As I was browsing through the pots I held up deep pots and it just didn't look right, then I saw this one at the bottom of the stack and thought it might work.

Winter growers

2009-12-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

Unexpected surprise

2009-12-12T04:04:00.000-08:00

Another commission pot that was supposed to shiny with some green variegation, instead it is has a stony matte finish. After it came out of the kiln I contacted the the customer and emailed a photo, she said she was happy with it. I delivered it last night and she loved the finish, now if I can recreate it....

12" wide planter

As far as I can guess...the only thing different was the clay. Since it was a last minute commission I used paperclay so it could be force died. Made it one day, bisque fired 36hrs later, glazed and fired it again in 48hr. This pot was complete in less than a week.

Cone 6 ash glaze

2009-12-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Cone 6 ash glaze with an oxide wash over the top

Cone 6 vs 10

2009-12-05T04:02:00.001-08:00

Ash glaze fired to con 6 oxidation

then fired to cone 10

Pistachio shino

2009-12-01T04:51:00.001-08:00

Shibui ice inked

2009-11-30T03:01:00.000-08:00

Purchased this glaze months ago and finally had the time and the pieces to do a ^10 firing. This 5" square bonsai pot was made with paperclay, walls are 1/4" thick and perfectly square.

Dragon matte test

2009-11-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

Testing dragon matte at ^6 over a RIO wash

Dragon matte without wash

Transparent green over dark fissured clay

Tylecodon paniculata

2009-11-27T14:28:00.001-08:00

One my bigger paniculata staged in a recent creation, pot diameter is 7"

Out of the kiln

2009-11-17T03:20:00.001-08:00

Cassius basalitic 6.5" round

Dover white 4.5" round

Dover white 2.5" octagon

The following are all made with Stoneware 1c

6.5" octagon twist

5.5" round

6" slight oval

6" round
4" round

Roots

2009-11-11T05:54:00.001-08:00

Received a shipment yesterday of various roots/tubers, Tylecodon, Eriospermum and Boophane. All winter growers so I'll pot them up today and they should waking up shortly.

cdbc variation

2009-11-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

A variation of a recipe I received from a flickr member. This was two coats brushed on, one more would may have been better.

Othonna Euphobioides

2009-11-07T12:48:00.001-08:00

This is one of my more challenging stagings. When I got it about 5-6yrs ago it was tall and rank. The roots had grown out of the drain holes and into the soil at the nursery, plus in a bit too much shade. Instead of chopping it up I removed the lower branches and let the plant desiccate so the limbs would have some flex to them. After about 8wk sitting bareroot I wired it to the pot and around the rock as well as changing the position of the branches. It stayed bound up for 2yrs and bindings were removed in Sept of this year.

Among the first pots I made in 2007 and is 12" square x 1.5" deep and glazed blue to contrast with the greenish yellow flowers.

Gift of Orchid

2009-11-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

My sister wanted an orchid, her birthday party is tomorrow and this is our gift. Made the pot last month, purchased the plant a couple of days ago and staged it this morning. Was worried the pot was too small but looks nice IMHO, what do you think?

Customer image-Monadenium ritchiei

2009-11-05T02:00:00.000-08:00

A friend purchased a couple of pots from me last week, he was kind enough to share it with me and allow it to be posted it here. Great job Mr. T!

A few winter growers

2009-11-02T03:05:00.000-08:00

Had to take a better photo of my most recent repot

Another Ceraria pygmaea

Tylecodon hirtifolius

underside of foliage setail

Tylecodon paniculata, a branch had broken off. I placed on top of some soil and a couple of months later it struck root.

Tall crackpots

2009-10-31T16:41:00.001-07:00

Ceraria pygmaea

2009-10-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

Picked this up in a trade approximately 10yrs and staged in this 6" diameter pot about 5yrs ago and there it stayed...

Until today...staged The Ceraria in one of my crackpots, a 5" oval. Thinned out the canopy of branches and shortened them about 2". I'll let it gorw out some before I remove any more limbs.

This container was an experiment to see if I could make an oval form from a round pot, it worked and I set on the shelf and forgot about it. A couple of days ago I was looking at the Ceraria and the pot color, I got the idea to glaze it with a similar color of the original container.

Pots are drying

2009-10-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

I have about 20 pots drying currently, largest has a 18" diameter and not in this photo, biggest here is 14" wide. All are crackpots except the top right, it's made with rice as a burn out material leaving an interesting surface texture. A variety of clays used this time around, Black Mountain, Cassius Basaltic, Stoneware 1C, Santa Fe, ^6 Frost porcelain, Toki Paperclay and Dover White.

Commission pot complete

2009-10-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

The final dimensions of the commission pot are 11" inside diameter with a 4" depth, manganese wash to highlight the fissures and opted not to glaze the rim. Staged the Operculycaria, pruned to shape and delivered it last night....and forgot my camera!! Grrrrrr...

Received an email from a grower with an Alluaudia montagnacii that had a height of 12", he wanted a black with vertical fissures. Had this pot sitting on a shelf waiting for an idea what to do with it. A manganese/3124 frit wash was applied to make the cracks and surface darker. This pot is 4" wide.

Pistachio shino on Black Mountain crackpot

2009-10-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Mirabils jalapa

2009-10-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

1st time this Mirabils has flowered for me since bonsaied 2yrs ago. Pot is 12" wide, caudex 6" diameter at soil level and 6" tall.

More from my last firing

2009-10-23T04:55:00.001-07:00

3.5" round, manganese wash applied too heavily

2" tall square, should have stayed with 2 coats of glaze the 3rd caused the some running onto the shelf

3" square, chattered with oxide wash

5" round thrown rice pot

3" tall octagon

4" tall round RIO wash

1.5" tall kiln accident, over fired the clay causing the gasses to escape too rapidly and pitting the glaze. Love the look!

2" round porcelain

Some glaze test pots

2009-10-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Iron matte with saturated iron on the rim

Translucent green with green crawl over manganese wash

Desert sage

Pistachio shino

Another Pistachio shino

Black mountain body with clear satin on the ribs

Manganese dioxide wash

Peking blue crackle orchid pot

Cassius Basalitic body naked (no stain, no glaze) dirt pot

A storm's a comin'

2009-10-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

Our 1st rain of the season is scheduled to hit Monday evening so I brought in all my resent creations that were drying outside. There spread out under a tree and did not look like I had that many but when they are all grouped together there's quite a few, 40 in total. Now where to put them? I'll probably bisque them as it will be easier to stack with out breaking any.

Also have a load in the kiln now, mostly a test fire. Trying a 3 new recipes and a couple of commercial glazes as well as a few oxide washed pots. We'll so how they turn out in the morning. I'm doing a slow cool fire so the kiln will run for about 14hrs, the load was started at 2:30am.

Commision pot, bisque firing

2009-10-05T20:01:00.001-07:00

Bisque firing was successful! no explosions, no cracks and no separated feet. Now onto the glaze samples, I have a couple of colors in mind so I'll do some test tiles this week to how they work the clay and the oxide wash. Stay tuned....

Leutchenbergia principis

2009-10-04T17:07:00.001-07:00

You now me, I'm no cacti person but when I saw this and the size of the trunk I had to have it! This baby is 20" tall, has a base diameter of 5" and 2 branches. The guy I got it from told me it was field collected approximately 30yrs ago.

Now to make a pot worthy of the beauty....

Loading the kiln

2009-10-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

For a bisque fire this morning with a variety of pots, some cracked, a few chattered, a smattering of altered shapes, a couple of handbult and one commission pot.
Besides the custom job there a few pots I'm eagerly anticipating there finish. Out of all the crackpots in the load the one I'm excited about is the brownish pot in the center of this shelf. Had no idea it would fissure the way it did and have no idea how it is going to turn out.

A few small pots

2009-09-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Tylecodon reticulata, 3" wide pot

Othonna cacalioides, 2" wide pot

Peperomia species, 1.5" tall pot

Euphorbia waringiae, 2" tall pot

Euphorbia ambovombensis, 2.5" tall pot

Euphorbia capsaintemariensis, 2" tall pot

Not your mother's terracotta

2009-09-30T17:09:00.001-07:00

This pot was from my 2nd attempt at crackpots using terracotta created back in May of this year. Hard to believe I just started this technique at the end of April. Anyway, it's not quite right for this Pachycormus but it will do till I make some more. I think it would look better if the container was a couple inches taller and an inch or so narrower.

Need to reposition some of the branches next, stay tuned....

Operculicarya commision update

2009-09-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

The round pot (have 2 more just in case) is just about ready for it's 1st firing, still need to do some work on the feet so maybe another week before it goes into the kiln. One thing about making bigger pots they need way longer to dry, if I do it too fast it will crack.

As a reminder, this is the Oppie that the pot is intended for.

Carved foot

2009-09-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

Trimming the base and feet has not been my most favorite pottery task so a lot of times I add the feet at the hard cheese stage. Was looking through some flickr images when I came across some photos of Japanese teabowls with carved feet. Was intriqued by the results they were getting so I gave it a try.

Digitostigma caput-medusae

2009-09-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

Made this pot just to see how difficult it would be, now once finished I had no plant that would look right in it.

Till I purchased a grafted Digi, the graft fills about 2/3 of the 6" depth pot. Recognize this Rich?
This was made from scrap black mountain clay that I mixed with tissue paper resulting in what is called "paperclay". The fibers in the clay make stronger bodies and bonding as well as reducing weight. I wanted to make the walls an 1/8" thick and could not have done that with traditional clay, it would have been too brittle. The texture on the outer surface is from slip made from the scraps and brush on diagonally. The grog(sand) shows up do to the brush, it wipes away the fine clay that makes the surface smooth.

Cacti is not my thing but I was intrigued by the form of this one. I also have a seed grown plant that has some nice tubers, when it gets larger I'll make a pot for it to show off its attributes

Greenware 12" diameter bowl

2009-09-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

Tried a variation of the sand technique with a rim this time, although I think it's a little too wide. We'll see after it after it's bisque fired as it will shrink some.

Also using a new clay (to me), Laguna's Santa Fe. A cone 5 medium coarse stoneware that fires to tan in oxidation, and was easy to throw with.

Yucca endlichiana

2009-09-22T03:51:00.000-07:00

Another plant I picked over the weekend, Yucca endlichiana, rarely seen in collections and not offered for for purchase very often especially in this size, although I did find a couple of seedlings last year. This plant is roughly 15yrs old so it slow grower, it was dug up from a raised bed so in pot pot culture it be even slower. Also plant is hardy here in zone 9b so I can leave it out all winter without worry.

Normally the tuber/caudex it buried but it can raised for staging purposes without causing ill effects. Pot color is not right but it was all I had, I made a couple of different shaped containers last night for it's permanent home. Will update photos when those pots are complete.

Lovely bark texture!

Curly threads of the leaves are very nice also.

BIG Ceraria namaquensis

2009-09-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Purchased this large specimen from a private collector over the weekend, it was removed from a raised. My truck bed is 5' wide to give you an idea how large this plant is. The white root is from a near by Adenium that grew through the Ceraria roots. I'll the let fresh cuts dry for a week before potting up and start some shaping. Will also try to root some of the cuttings. Staging in one of my pot will take place in the spring.

Large oval bonsai crackpot

2009-09-02T05:36:00.001-07:00

Began with 12-15lbs of Cassius Basaltic clay

Form to a 16" bowl with no bottom, then was bagged to let the walls firm up enough to be handled and shaped

A batch of papreclay was mixed up to make the bottom and feet

4 days later it is dry enough to shape into an oval, it is now 18.5" in diameter

Paperclay was kneaded, wedged and rolled out to a 1/4" thickness. Then cut to size to fit into the bowl. I apply the bottom of the pot inside so no seams are seen from the out side of the pot and not to disturb the cracked textured outer surface.

Bottom is blended with the walls.

Ready to be bagged again to equalize moisture content and firm up enough to flip over to apply feet.

Visitor in the garden

2009-08-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

A Preying Mantis sunning himself on a Dorstenia gypsophylla

First commisioned pot and staging

2009-08-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

This Operculicarya decaryi was dropped off today for me to create a bonsai pot and stage. Stay tuned for progression photos!

The new front

Bare rooted to see what lies beneath

Raised and rocks repositioned

Delospermum sphalmanthoides

2009-08-28T04:31:00.001-07:00

In addition to making pottery and growing succulents my other hobby is photography. As with everything I do I like to experiment with different techniques.

A little reflection play, an easy setup as long as you have a piece of glass and black fabric

and a macro shot showing flower detail

Greenware Bonsai Crackpot

2009-08-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

At the show I had many inquiries about larger pots so I thought I'd better get practicing. My largest bat is 12" so that's the largest base I can produce till I pickup some bigger ones. Made 3-4 simple cracked pots but wanted to try something a little more formal.

Made this pot last night, it has a 13" outside diameter and after firing will have a an inside diameter of about 11" and 3" deep, once it dries some I'll get started on the base and feet. Looking pretty good so far.

Aloe chortoliriodes

2009-08-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here's one Aloe you won't see very often. Picked this a few years ago when I visited San Diego at a small C&S nursery. I've read it only flowers after a fire. It's hardy here to 28f and painfully slow growing, doesn't help matters being staged in such a shallow dish. The pot is 1" deep by 7" wide and is made with Cassius Basalitic clay and was fired to ^04.

Ipomoea arboresens

2009-08-21T05:32:00.000-07:00

Purchased this plant online at the beginning of 2007, when it arrive it had thick large roots so it had to go into a 12" container to get re-established.

April of "09 I wanted to attempt bonsai treatment so I chopped the taproot off and majority of thick roots to get it to fit in a shallow 8" pot.

The pot was definitely too wide for the plant so in June I moved it to a 4" diameter pot, but before doing so I had to removed roots again to get it to fit in.
One tough plant to be able to go through two major root prunings and still survive.

Update 8/29

Foliage fully open

Close up of the base

Show plants

2009-08-20T04:21:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the plants I entered in the Inter-City show

Fouquieria fasciculata-1st place-outstanding specimen

Petopentia natalensis-1st place-outstanding specimen

Cissus tuberosa-1st place

Fockea edulis-2nd place

Pachypodium baronii v. baronii-1st place

Cyphostemma segmentatum-2nd place

Ipomoea arboresense-1st place

Pachypodium lamerei-2nd place

Show of shows!

2009-08-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! 1600 plants entered this year and roughly half (probably more) were fat plants. Incredible specimens, from a 7ft tall Fouquieria purpusii to the tiniest Euphorbia. Saw a new hybrid Fourquiera purpusii x macdougallii in flower with beautiful pink clusters. Charlie and Debbie Ball entered 7 of the most impressive looking Bursera simplicifolia I have ever seen, each one in a pot made by Charlie. Larry Grammer stole the show with his impeccable staging and beautiful plants, he had at least 5 plants on the trophy table.

The sales area is always a treat, one thing about SoCal vendors they provide material that you can not get anywhere else and I brought home quite a bit of them. At last count I had 40 plants and have of those were from Tim Harvey’s table, he had Cyphostemma humile, humile dolichipus, a beautiful sp. Cf. simulans and bainesii x juttae. I was able to get them all, although I did give Gregg one of the bainesii after he could not find any that I may have missed (those puppy dog eyes got me ;o). Some of the other plants I got were Dorstenia gypsophylla and gigas, Stathmostelma praetermissum, Moringa boriziana, Pelargonium bowkerii, Othonna furcata, Pachypodium ambongense, Dendrosicyos and a large Boophane. If that was not enough I also went to a couple of private collectors and brought home more, those plants are Adenia ballyi and pechuelli, C, uter, D, gigas, Aloe pillansii, Peniocereus greggi, Digi caput-medusa and a Euphorbia that I can’t remember.

The following are specimens I picked up from private collectors and banquet auction

I've been searching a decent sized reasonably priced Aloe pillansii for years...and now I have one! It measures 30" from soil level to the tallest leaf, trunk diameter is 3.5"

I could not pass on this Dorstenia gigas, 40" tall with a 7" base

Normally I would not even think of getting a cacti, but this Penoicereus greggi is perfect and big! It has an 8.5" diameter!

Another plant I could not leave. Sure it's been grown with too much TLC but I'll fix that ;o) This Cyphostemma uter is difficult to find in any condition, it is 40" tall. I'll be taking cuttings over the weekend.

Here's one you rarely if ever see available, Adenia pechuellii is a jewel! It had a 4" diameter and needs a good trim.

I won this at theauction put on the Inter-City clubs after the banquet, it's newly introduced Jatropha species. Has an 18" spread and ready to bonsai!

This one is labeled Euphorbia hopetownensis, can't find out much other that it's found north of hopetown, it has some potential. It stands 12" above the pot.

I've only seen this at one place for sale and it was too small and too expensive. This is a fat rooted cutting of Adenia ballyi I purchased from a friend collection.

24th Inter-City Cactus & Succulent show and sale

2009-08-14T03:36:00.000-07:00

The 24th Inter-City Cactus & Succulent show and sale is said to be the best and largest of all shows on the west coast. Attended last year for the 1st time and was amazed by the amount of plants entered, 1500 specimens!! I enjoyed it so much I'm entering 10 of my finest plants are staged in my creations and packed for safe transport to the Los Angeles Arboretum for the annual show. Looking forward to a great event, meeting new friend and visiting old ones. I'm driving down this morning at 5am.

Will be posting photos by mobile phone if I can figure it out, if not I'll post them on Monday when I return.

Death Valley crackpots

2009-08-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Not the desert but the clay. Thought I give Death Valley a try since it's a high fore body and most of my firings are going that way. It's a medium course clay that is easy to throw, fires to a reddish buff in oxidation.

This was a technique I read about called "dry throwing", using no water at all. Interesting look but don't think I'll do it very often.

This one was going good till it started to twist off just above the base, was able to salvage it and will be go for a trailing plant to drape over the side.

Cracked this one with sodium silicate

Builders sand was used to add texture here

A few handbuilt pieces

2009-08-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

Made these over the 4th of July while at our cabin in Anderson Springs, no wheel so I handbuild when I'm there.

2.5" tall flattened coil

1.5" tall cracked slab pot

4" tall cracked pinch pot

6" round crackpot, this technique was inspired by a Mark Smalley vase which he kindly shared with me. The base sagged a bit under the weight of the walls during firing, should have made the base thicker than a 1/4". Next time...