After moving to New Hampshire in 2000, I took a ceramic course at the New Hampshire Art Institute (now part of the College of New Hampshire).   There I found a group of potters who introduced me to Shino glaze. Shino glazes were used by Japan potters during the 16th and 17th centuries.   They were known for their characteristic warm earthy tones, speckled surfaces, and subtle crawling effects. Unfortunately, the recipe for the glazes faded away around the late 17th century and became lost. Through extensive analysis of surviving Shino pottery scholars attempted to piece together the lost recipe. In the 1930s and 1940s, two Japanese potters, Toyozo Arakawa and Hajime Katō, developed the first modern Shino glaze by studying Momoyama Shino pots. Working independently in 1974, Virginia Wirt, a student of Warren MacKenzie at the University of Minnesota, developed a glaze formula that emulated the characteristics of the Japanese Shino glaze.   Her glaze, which is now referred to as Am

 I forgot this blog existed, but rediscovered it today as I was trying to navigate around a new hosting plaform for RockPondPottery.com.  SquareUp changed their subscription model last month.  To continue with a custom domain name, the annual cost nearly tripled.  They are still hosting my site under a no cost subscription, but the url has changed.  One now only can find my website using a sub-domain.  Translation, the website is now www.rockpondpottery.square.site I know.  Just doesn't give the audience the same feel.  But for now that is what I have.  Untill I find a new hosting partner.

In Paris, upgraded to the upper deck to get us out of those God awful emergency row seats down below.  Very comfortable.  Ahhhhhhhh. Touchdown at 6:15p pm...Boston...7.5 hour flight.

This is a picture from the center of Devil's Bridge looking at a restaurant in the upper right...you can see the patio chairs. The garden below the restaurant is where the chef grows what he serves. Unfortuately for us, it was just after the mid day serving was closed until 5.

The travel books say the Olargue (o LAR gah) is one of France's most picturesque towns.  This stone town built by the Romans certainly has the most cats.  Plus, going from the town hall to the inner parts of the town makes one feel like a mountain goat. May must not be season yet as the town was completely void of people.  It was the 2 hour lunch time, but we met only one shop owner in a one hour exploration of the town. The second picture was a sample of a Rue in the town...that wasn't going up or down. The third picture is from one of the cliffs above the town...looking down at Devil's Bridge...a structure built by the town inhabinants in the 13th century.