This year our Spring opener is Saturday May 6th and Sunday May 7th 10 – 5 both days. We have joined the Earth Arts tour again this year We have pottery for sale We will have produce for sale And Joyce Halvorson will be here demonstrating black smithing and selling her work
Spring Opener at Keppers Pottery and Produce Saturday May 6th and Sunday May 7th 10:00 – 5:00 Participating in Earth Arts Tour Hosting Joyce Halvorson, blacksmith New Pottery and Fresh Produce
This time of year Ken starts to wrap up making pottery. The call of the the many tasks awaiting him outdoors sounds more and more loudly. Yes, there is planting, and there is clean up, bed prep, getting out things put away last fall, repairs if necessary. And all the apples, plums, grapes, etc need trimming and pruning! Today Big Red appears to be helping!
Ken has been making mixing bowls. He started with the smaller bowls and then made some larger ones. Making bowls, like all pottery, includes several steps from mixing and wedging the clay to throwing the pot. Then, after it has dried some to a leather hard consistency, Ken trims the bottom of the pot – in this case large mixing or bread bowls. He shapes the bowl, and trims the …
Greetings from the Garden! This box has pie pumpkins, onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, beets, celery root, parsley, and salad mix Field Notes. Happy Ground Hog’s Day, Imbolc, St Brigid’s Day, St. Blaze, Candlemas – or whatever you may call it. This midway point between solstice and equinox is when the days lengthen dramatically, the cold doesn’t last, and Ken starts monitoring temperatures in greenhouses. We are in transition and can feel spring’s approach. The …
Ken’s pug mill of 40+ years needed repairs this week. A pug mill has an auger that mixes clay to a uniform consistency and a vacuum pump that sucks surplus air from the clay. The resulting clay needs minimal wedging (like kneading bread) before it can be used Ken had to take it apart He got out the manual The bearings needed to …
Ken processes clay found on our land . First he dries the clay completely and then works the clay into a slip about the consistency of cream or yogurt, then he screens it for impurities and next he has to dry the slip to clay. He has been leaving open buckets to dry, but he repurposed some screens These were sprouting racks for grain for the livestock. He has some newer, improved screens, …
