One of the downsides that people tend to associate with handcrafted pottery is that it’s fragile. It’s delicate, it’s art, and it’s a hassle to hand wash. At Ellison Bay Pottery Studios, we believe pottery can be art — while still functional. Everything we produce is microwave, oven, and dishwasher safe, making it easier than ever for you to use and enjoy your pottery (and then clean it up, too!).

In December 2020 we started our Facebook LIVE pottery demonstrations and  NOW it's time for those Wednesday mornings to begin again.

Demonstrations are performance art.  I learned that quickly.  John loves to share information and supports all potters, regardless their proficiency, with encouraging words and even a glaze recipe or two.

Back to John's demonstrations: Each day is a day in the life of a Studio Potter, which he proudly represents.  That means that sometimes we can predict or plan for our Wednesday mornings and sometimes we can't  The is an ebb and flow to our pottery/studio lives.  This week we may be glazing.  Whatever we do, we're so glad you're with us.

If you've got a question (about clay and pottery only :) let us know. 

https://fb.me/e/2gYjZxkTc

We're excited to share that we will have our first firing of 2021 this Thursday! John will load the kiln and brick in (close) the door Wednesday He'll get in almost 200 pieces of pottery of varying sizes.

This firing will take the better part of the day and then the cooling period lasts about 36 hours. This means that we'll have our first Kiln Opening in 2021. And you're invited to watch this rare moment (we have 10-11 firings a year).

We hope you can come and experience this special moment in our pottery lives.

#pottery #gasfiring #kiln #handthrownmug #potterymug #potterybowl

Thanks for opening this email newsletter --
John and I started doing Facebook LIVE pottery demos in December, just before Christmas, as a way to reach out to our friends/customers.  We're familiar with the many questions people have asked over the years (this is our 47the year!) and we wanted to address our pottery practice, share the ups and downs of being a studio potter like John, and get back to interacting online like we do here in our gallery.  We do miss having people in our gallery.

We've had fun, actually.  Both if us were nervous and awkward at first.  John slid into his demo mode easily after all.  He drew on the years and years of public demos and teaching pottery and finally both pit firing and raku. I'm lucky to be learning more on the video side and sometimes making rookie mistakes.  It's been fun.

As I mentioned, this is our 47th year here as Ellison Bay Pottery.  John really started something beautiful.  His drive to master all aspects of the process of making pottery made all this: the barn, the orchard, the studio/gallery, teaching pottery and our home possible.
I'll be posting more EBP and John Dietrich stories.  I'm guessing that some of you may have a story or two from your visits here. I'd love to read and share them. 
 
Bye for now---------
Diane and the sleeping Cleo and Bo and Odin. 

PS.- Our special Easter Flower Vase sale starts on Friday (3/26) and ends next Saturday (4/3).  I'll be posting the vases I love the most for the next week.

PPS.  Pottery Emergency??? Call or text 920-740-5859. 

GOT SOUP?

It's not warming up enough to take soup off our dinner and lunch rotation.  We've found a few Gluten free websites which has really upped our cooking game.  Just like everyone else, we get caught in a food rut.  These two sites saved our minds during this pandemic. Best thing about these recipes is that they are so tasty that the whole family will enjoy them.  And the exotic ingredients are usually found in your grocery. Or Amazon-no joke.

The Dizzy Cook   Then there are the moments when the world is dizzy...but it's me instead! We both suffer from vestibular migraines and and this is better than meds! After all it tastes better.

Jump In--The Flavor is Great  Soy Free Mushroom Ramen I crave Ramen, the really god Ramen.  This is checks all the boxes for me.  I can also control the salt! I'm still getting used to that.

A reminder:  Our soup mugs are food safe. This includes dishwasher, microwave and oven safe.  There are rules to follow:  Avoid extremes in temperature.  Don't put hot pottery on a cold surface like stone, some tiles, marble..you get the picture. Soup from the refrigerator  and heated in a microwave isn't cold enough to hurt the mug unless you put it on a cold surface.  Any other questions or comments? You know what to do.

March Surprise   ~    Shop our Spring Pop-Up ~ 'Almost Perfect Pottery'