I like sharing the space in my kiln with all those painted plates. It means that I can fire however many of my pieces are ready without wasting electricity or waiting until I have made enough to fill the kiln. Last week I added Bill Thomson’s large plate for a re-fire and then when all the packing was done I found that I had one plate left over. I really didn’t want to leave it out so I risked standing it on a three-prong stilt, on a kiln post and hoped it wouldn’t get dislodged! I was lucky and Mina’s plate was just fine.

You can see the top shelf as I opened the kiln, and then after I’d removed the plate. The post and stilt just allowed enough room for the height of the plate.

Here are all the pieces in that firing. Eric took all the Raiders’ plates in to town on Saturday.

Today Alan and I had a pleasant day delivering almost everything else around the Lower Mainland. Ten ordered jugbirds went to Crafthouse YVR at the Airport, four new Papua/New Guinea jugbirds were left off at the Museum of Anthropology to be taken over to Alcheringa Gallery in Victoria, and after a little stop to enjoy the view over English Bay, we found a parking spot on Granville Island.

At the Gallery of BC Ceramics there was an Ice Cream Social going on! Potter Karel Peeters has made umpteen affordable and very colourful ice cream bowls and today purchasers could have a $5 serving of the best ice cream included in the $28 price of each bowl, free! Here is the bowl I couldn’t resist! The ice cream was provided by Earnest Ice Cream, located at Quebec and 2nd avenue. Karel’s solo show of more sculptural work opens at the Gallery on Thursday June 30th, 5-7pm, this was just a tantalizing sample.

I left some new plates for sale at the gallery, and took a few new jugbirds to Circle Craft Gallery in the Netloft Building. Much as I’d like to revert to stoneware clay and make some more work for a future salt firing, I think I’d better concentrate on making more earthenware jugbirds for these two galleries – or they won’t allow me to be represented by them any more!