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Clay Coyote

We make art you can cook with

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All Aboard! A Night for the Arts

January 20, 2018 By Kylie Lawson

Every year, the Hutchinson Center for the Arts holds a charity gala called Night for the Arts. There will be local celebrities, professional artists, entertainment, and plenty of hor d’oeuvres and drinks will be served.

This year it will be held Saturday, February 17th with a “Love Boat” cruise ship theme. Guests are encouraged to wear costumes such as vacation wear, nautical themed, 70/80s attire, or come as star-studded celebrities. This event will take place at the Crow River Country Club with VIP guests boarding the ship at 6:30pm and general passengers boarding at 7pm.

Individual tickets are $75/ticket and Corporate Table VIP Tickets are $800/table.

Corporate sponsors this year include Citizens Bank and Trust Co., Melchert, Hubert, and Sjodin, New Era Financial Group, Inc., Vivid Image, Welcome Home Management, Factory Direct Furniture, Pride Solutions, Stearnswood, MITGI, American Family Insurance, and Hutchinson Manufacturing.

In the past, “celebrity artists” from the community have come to the Clay Coyote to make a piece to be auctioned off at the end of the night during the live auction. Past artists have included Jim Fahey, Dr. David Mach, Anthony Hanson, Dr. Cris Remucal, Dr. Chuck Neufield, and many others.

photo of a older man painting pottery photo of a man sitting at the pottery wheel sculpting a piece photo of a man holding a pottery bowl upside down and posing                                         photo of a man sitting at a pottery wheel holding is finished piece in the air on a pottery wheel bat                   photo of a man holding a pot while glazing it

This year, the Clay Coyote welcomed County Commissioner Joe Nagel to the studio. Joe has been an active member in the community since he moved here almost two decades ago. His passion for community service is something very close to his heart. He was the board chair for the McLeod County Alliance for Domestic Violence, vice chair for the Hutchinson Center of Commerce and Tourism, involved in the Hutchinson Youth Basketball Association, and countless other organizations. Joe also works for the Hutchinson Police Department.

Joe spent the afternoon with Betsy learning about pottery and glazes, and how to put the two together.

photo of joe nagel and betsy mixing glazes  photo of joe nagel holding a piece of pottery and turning it so the glaze runs around it

A few practice trials of glazing were needed before the real deal. Nerves are high, but after some time and Betsy’s help, comfortability set in and his masterpiece was made.

photo of joe nagel pouring glaze on a piece of pottery  photo of joe nagel pouring glaze on a piece of pottery

No spoilers on how it turned out! You’ll have to attend the gala to see the piece for yourself!

To buy tickets please visit the Hutchinson Center for the Arts website or call them at 320-587-7278.

All aboard!

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Filed Under: Events, The Studio Tagged With: all aboard, anthony hanson, auction, celebrity artists, charity gala, chuck neufield, clay coyote, community, community members, corporate sponsors, cris remucal, crow river country club, cruise ship, david mach, giving back, glazing, glazing pottery, handmade, hutchinson center for the arts, jim fahey, joe nagel, love boat, making pottery, night for the arts, pottery

First Firing!

September 22, 2016 By Morgan

Gas kiln firingGet your hot pots! Katie Teesdale and Levi Yankosky recently fired up Big Red, our cone10 reduction gas kiln! Big Red took the summer off to rest and relax after 20+ years of putting out the amazing pots from Tom Wirt and Betsy Price that you know and love.  But just this last week we fired her back up again for a test drive with Katie and Levi’s pots.

Here are some fun photos from the firing and unloading (aka Potter’s Christmas).

There will be more kiln openings in the coming weeks, stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram pages to find out dates and times. And come on out to The Gallery to get your hands on some of these brand new pieces!

Katie and the conesKatie is holding the cone pack, all of the cones fell over so that means we reached cone 10.

To learn more about reduction firing we turn to Ceramics Arts Daily, who writes “The science of what happens in a reduction kiln and the resulting color palette might not be exactly what you think it is….Reduction is the process of electrons being donated to a metal/element/surface through some set of reactions, while another component in the same set of reactions is oxidized (electrons lost). This is your defined set of oxidation and reduction parameters. In a gas kiln, albeit natural gas or propane, you are using some set of hydrocarbons and oxygen.” Read the full, fascinating article here.

Levi admiring his potsEvery potter holds their breath for a moment when they first open up the kiln. Did it work? Are all the pots stuck to the shelves? Did my reds burn out?

Here’s Levi looking at one of his pots, it turned out beautifully!

PS: Click here to see a firing chart by color (we have one on the wall by the kilns).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Our Story, Potter's Life, The Studio Tagged With: ^10, big red, ceramics arts daily, cone10, firing, gas kiln, glazing, Katie Teesdale, Levi Yankosky, reduction firing

Levi’s Pottery in the Gallery

September 7, 2016 By Morgan

Levi Yankosky PotteryLevi Yankosky joined the Clay Coyote Emerging Artist Program on September 1st. Levi is a self-taught potter from rural Minnesota. Levi has been working as a production potter for Dock 6 Pottery and Kerry Brooks Pottery in Minneapolis.

Levi’s been discovering his pottery path through continuous trial. He’s finding his forms, testing out new concepts, and learning new techniques every day.

Because of his willingness to chip in and help out, Levi was invited over the summer to participate in a wood firing with Wisconsin potter, Zac Spates. Levi got the wood fire bug and can’t wait for the next opportunity to try it again.

Levi’s pottery in the Gallery reflects his artistic journey. He’s got glazed pots, soda fired pots, and wood fired pots. His mugs, tumblers, bowls, and bottles are on sale in the Gallery.

Levi Yankosky glaze processIn the coming months, Levi’s going to spending most his time learning about cone 10, reduction firing (which we’re known for here at the Coyote). He’s already spending time with Betsy, taking copious notes on her finishing techniques and trying out a few traditional Clay Coyote glaze combinations and some new twists.

Come out to the Gallery any day of the week to get your hands on his work. Or stop by our booth at the 42nd Annual Arts & Crafts Festival, it will be held Friday, September 16th and Saturday, September 17th in Library Square (directions). While you’re in Hutchinson, make sure to check out the Crow River Winery’s epic corn maze, it’s open daily through October 31st.

And both Levi’s and Katie Teesdale’s pottery will be available for sale online starting mid-September. Get your holiday orders in now.

PS: Katie and Levi were featured on Page 2A in the Hutchinson Leader this week. Please take a moment to read the article.

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Filed Under: On the Horizon, Our Story, Potter's Life, The Studio Tagged With: Arts & Crafts, clay coyote, cone 10, corn maze, crow river winery, glazing, Levi Yankosky, Library square, pottery, reduction firing, Studio, wood firing

Studio Update: One Month to Go

July 30, 2016 By Morgan

four pottery wheels
Lined up and ready for their debut!

Holy hot July! We’ve been working like crazy on the new Emerging Artist Studio (PDF) and want to share a few photos from our adventures.

 

Studio Additions

TLB Construction put up the new walls, insulation, and windows before we had to take a few days off for the Minnesota Pottery Festival, but now we’re back and we’re counting down the days until our three new artists start.

Continental Clay shipped us our three new Whisper-VL wheels and stools from Shimpo. These babies we’re test driven during this year’s Pottery Olympics and let me tell you they are so quiet and smooth.

Also, after a ton of research and advice from other potters we ordered our new sink. It’s stainless, with galvanized legs, and three bays. Next up we’ll get our Gleco HV system. I can’t wait to see the whole thing installed.

Studio Sink
New sink at the loading dock!

 

Next up in the Studio

Over the next two weeks, we’ll do some more drywall, taping, put a mote in our concrete to create a better drainage system, add gutters, install the new energy efficient lights in the Studio, pour the new floor, paint, and bring back all the tools from storage. Wow, I’m tired just reading it. Good thing we have so many awesome helpers, it’s true, “many hands make light work.”

 

Emerging Artist Update, There’s still time to Apply

Wall of pottery
Emerging Artists: Imagine your work displayed in our Gallery!

In other news, we’ve been interviewing artists for the three Emerging Artists positions. We’ve talked to potters from California, to New York, Colorado to Wisconsin, Kansas City to Virginia, North Carolina to Texas, and tons from our home state of Minnesota.

If you’re a functional potter, who likes to work with highfire, cone10, reduction glazes, and you’re looking for a Studio to launch

your small business please reach out via email to [email protected]. There’s still time to get your application in, but the space is filling up quickly.

For more information download our 1-page flyer (PDF) or 2-page information packet (PDF).

 

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Filed Under: The Studio Tagged With: apply now, emerging artists, glazing, handthrown, incubator, opportunities, pottery, remodel, sink, Studio, throwing, wheels

Understanding Glazing…

March 18, 2014 By claycoyote

See a list of our current glazes, here.

We have a variety of glazes that we offer as options for your stoneware pieces. Each of these glazes has gone through extensive testing. The process of creating a new glaze can take anywhere from 6 months to years! Glazing is a science as well as an art, and we hope this post helps you to understand the chemistry of glazing, and what options we can offer.

Glaze:  A vitreous (melted glass) substance fused on to the surface of pottery to form a hard, impervious decorative coating. The first image is how our mocha swirl glaze looks after the last firing. The 2nd image is how it looks before it is fired.

1glaze2

The different colors of our glazes are the result of chemical reactions that take place when we “fire” our pottery. Glazing is not at all like painting. Think of it more as glass than paint. Unlike paint, we are not working with a pigment where the color you see is the color you get. The color develops chemically as the glaze melts during firing. It comes from interaction between the gas, oxygen, and glaze ingredients. The colors in the glaze come from the metal oxides (such as iron oxide or copper oxide) we add to the glaze mixture. Each is varied by the other ingredients in the glaze. Think of it like baking. You need the perfect combination of ingredients and temperature to create a certain color.  We cannot “match” colors.  There are limits to the colors available in high fire glazes and as explained above, the process is not totally controllable.  Variation is the one guarantee.

Pattern: Each glaze pattern is created through a variety of glazing techniques. Betsy uses brushes, sponges, and squirt bottles to apply the glaze. She also dips some pieces and pours glaze onto others. Each of her methods creates a different pattern. This is an area where we are happy to help you make modifications on your piece. If you don’t like a squiggle, we can omit it. Maybe you like a little more of one color and a little less of another. We have already tested these patterns and slight variations are an option. We can discuss ideas you may have to see if they are doable. Remember to think of glaze like watercolor paint. Lines are blurred, and there is a fluidity with the medium. Here is an example of 2 plates with the same pattern using different glazes.

glaze3

 

 

 

 

Firing: Betsy has 20+ variables to consider when glazing and firing. Any one of these can alter the color of the glaze. Two of these variables are the wind speed and direction. The wind changes the way the kiln breathes. The way the gases leave the kiln affects the chemical reactions and therefor the color. This is one of many uncontrollable factors which affect the firing. Temperature and humidity are other variables which can change the chemical reactions during a firing. Outside forces are not the only variables Betsy needs to consider. Where she place the pots inside the kiln also affects the coloring. Pots placed lower in the kiln are closer to the flame and therefor hotter, while pots on the top shelf fire at a cooler temperature.
Inside the kiln, chemical reactions are taking place. Some of these reactions can not always be controlled. Flashing is the transference of a material from one pot to another during firing. It is caused by a material becoming volatile during firing, in which some of the volatilized material settles on the same or a separate pot. This result is a flash of red on another piece. Our yellow salt glaze is the most susceptible to this. It doesn’t happen often, but we see the pieces that flash as special. Some potters intentionally induce flashing, especially during pit firing.

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Filed Under: Potter's Life, The Gallery Tagged With: clay, clay coyote, clay coyote gallery, clay pot, dinnerware, functional, glaze, glaze chemistry, glaze flash, glazing, handcrafted, Hutchinson, hutchinson mn, Minnesota, wedding registry

Clay Coyote

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Phone (320) 587-2599

Mail PO BOX 363, Hutchinson, MN 55350

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