Thanks Stu, dreary Sunday morning for us, rained all night and all day.

You are welcome. I feel like making another one too, lots of Victorian elements.

Morandi, or my wife?

@@Vsmithpots well say hello to both but I though she was you wife. Love the cats too. Your wife's work is beautiful 😍.

You will need sharp wire cutters.

Thanks

Thanks and good luck.

Hello Dima, thanks for the compliments. Bulgaria brings up visions of historic buildings and misty landscapes. I hope you are staying safe.

Thanks Connie, I hope I did not make you late for work.

Thanks

Merci d'avoir regardé les vidéos et passez un hiver paisible.

Glad I could help.

Is that ceramic tile edging in his garden? Might be what you need to protect you maple tree. Sausage with garden sage and peppers here and scotch soda bread.

Thanks Freddie. I should have re rolled the slabs for the dishes at the end, they would have been better if thinner. I got my second shot 3 days ago, 11 to go. We opened up to Canada yesterday so we have tourists again, hopefully our covid numbers stay low. Stay safe.

I think some birds like the nest undisturbed but I think it is nice to clean it out. It would be cool to have a camera hole in the roof.

I think hand building has way more potential than throwing on the wheel. The problem lies in how time consuming and thus expensive to make, they are. The time spent on one, is less than half the dollar revenue of thrown forms. I think the importance of having some forms like this in your display compensates for the lower income level.

Sorry Sally, on the other hand may be I helped put you to sleep.

@@Vsmithpots Lolol not a spec

Thank you.

It makes life more interesting as a potter, try everything. I look forward to watching the video. Thanks

@@Vsmithpots Just finished mine and posting the video. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gpaSd66Ux7bUZmw.html I'll have to say it's a design I'm still working on. The final test is for the birds and if they take up residence.

Thanks Rosanne.

Thanks for watching.

Thanks

Your welcome.

Thanks

I like to clean out the house at the end of the season. I have thought about making a bird house castle. Imagine Orthank or Minas Tirith. I would need an oak tree.

Your welcome skywalker.

@@Vsmithpots 'i want to learn the ways of the force....'

Thank you.

Thanks, are you in Nova Scotia?

@@Vsmithpots ....yes I am. I live in Chester Basin. I'm new at pottery but I absolutely love it and need to learn so much more. 🙂

Oh and also, maybe making a first and second floor, this way in winter the space is smaller and less likely to get very very cold -and it makes for two bird families! But those are just suggestions without the actual experience in pottery or bird houses, I'd be happy to read what you think :)

(I just got to the end of the video with your text explaining how to order: you can also put it in your videos description by default, this way even if someone doesn't make it to the very end of a video they will still see all your details and contact infos. It would also help to have your website in the first three lines of the video description to make it easy to click and access. If you want I can send you the youtube tutorial page that explains how you can do this: it's quick and easy and I find it makes life easier to already have the base text you need in the description when you upload a new video ☺️)

You can put the holes anywhere, personal choice.

Yes I do. I did make them in clay and used a coil of clay to hold them at the right height but it added a lot of extra time, so now I cut a piece of wood and it is held by the tapered clay wall sides.

The measurements are in the video. It is when I hold up the stencils.

Thanks, I hope to make some very elaborate houses in the winter.

@@Vsmithpots I hope you do ! Would love to see those 🤣it sure would be a exciting diversion from some dreary winter weather days .👍🏻 hey I have been meaning to message you about a comment in a previous video where you mentioned you used to sell pots to a shop in holmfirth in the 1980s. there is actually still a shop in holmfirth selling local artists work , it has been there since at least the 1980s … it is on the main holmfirth road in the town centre on the left hand side as you travel towards holmbridge , I wonder if it’s the same one you sold your pots to iback then the owners were called Wilkinson . The original sold it quite a few years ago when they retired but it still sells some local artists crafts though the new owners changed the name to the gift horse . How are you getting on with your.leach wheel adventures by the way ?have you been able to get chance to get him out to demonstrate to the passing tourists yet ?

@@pamelagilliland109 It could be the one, I just remember a bus stop opposite. We just got tourists but my studio is still off limits to them, until the mask mandate is over, which is apparently when we hit the 80% double vaccinated threshold. There was a girl called Jane Wilkinson in my school year, that would be a coincidence.

@@Vsmithpots hey ii believe it must be the same shop then , Mr and Mrs Wilkinson had a son called Martin he is a work colleague of my husband ,.I asked my husband this morning if martin has a sister called Jane and he does , she apparently lives in France .. so she must be the same Jane you knew , isn’t it a small world Here’s a personal little story I would like to share with you as it’s kind of linked . last year my husband gave Martin an expression cup I. Had just made ,as a birthday gift . I felt nervous in case it didn’t fit his taste and asked to pass a message on that if he didn’t like it I would make him one to try’s suit his style . , but he loved it and asked if I could make 5 more the same but with their house name on , I decided to make him 5 different ones as samples so he could choose which he liked best ,but his wife and himself loved them all as they were as an eclectic family set . he asked me how much they owed me for them , I decided It didn’t feel right to take a payment as they were meant to be just samples so I insisted They have them as a gift . It felt a big enough reward that they loved them As they were and wanted them in their home . Martin told me at the time that his parents owned the gallery shop in holmfirth which is now the gift horse He asked me to choose a charity so they could donate the money they would have paid . Then later he sent us a most wonderful surprise on Xmas eve , he is an active member of a local brass band and he actually commissioned a quartet of fellow members to play some Xmas carols outside our house . It certainly was a priceless gift in return for the pots I made one I will never forget ….. I haven’t got into selling my pots yet due to the pandemic ,apart from one that sold on preview evening at the holmfirth art week show 2019 and a few pots from the fringe venue stall of the community studio where I started.learning to throw .so my journey is just beginning really wish I had 3 lifetimes to explore it all .there’s so much to learn . Oh the mask issue is holding you up on the leach wheel adventure ,that’s a shame , it’s interesting to hear the different strategies and guidelines different countries take on this issue .. I must admit yours seems to have taken a much more logical, practical and straightforward approach in place to follow than ours .🤣🤣 roll on to the times when this is all behind us all . I’m looking forward to watching your fish firing kiln opening video later today . Love to see your wife’s art work pieces too and it’s wonderful, to see how clearly proud you are of her creations too Happy potting 👍🏻

@@pamelagilliland109 Thanks Pamela, that is quite the small world story. I am still in touch with Glyn Burton from that class of 1975. Our art teachers are both deceased, Anne McPake and Gregg Alum. I assume the students are all over the world. Selling pots is harder than making them. I am lucky these days with collectors from 36 years of selling at shows as well as having a tourist location here. I even find my pieces on auction sites as people pass away and their collections are disposed of. This site has lots of our very old pieces. www.liveauctioneers.com/search/?keyword=Westcote%20Bell%20Pottery&page=1&pageSize=24&sort=-relevance&status=archive It is odd to see your old work. I got good advice from David Leach 30 years ago, he said " Give as many pieces away as you can afford to do". He then sold me a piece. Potters are always on the edge. It has served me well since good will comes back at you down the road. Tips are good too, rare in our field, but it does happen, some times. Stay safe over there, my family is in Penistone and all double vaccinated. Still caution is the key.

Not really, as long as your clay is fired to vitreous condition.

Great…saves me the effort!

It slows down the drying process, basically a wooden cupboard lined with plastic and a tray in the bottom filled with water.

@@Vsmithpots thank you. My husband is a cabinet maker so I'm sure he can make me one.

You should add a little bleach to stop any mold.

Double dipping or over laying glazes. You have one rule, don't glaze too thick. I usually dip thinner for each glaze. That can be done by thinning the glaze or dipping quicker. You will need to experiment. Another bit of advice is to glaze transparent or semi transparent glazes first and then use an opaque glaze over top. I use oatmeal glazes like this. It does work the other way around too but I prefer this way.

@@Vsmithpots thank you I guess I'll have fun experimenting,not sure what oatmeal glaze is bit I'll find out when I go to PSH and see if they can help

The oatmeal glaze recipe is in my video a few months back.

I prefer craft foam paper.

@@Vsmithpots thanks for your reply and video, what density and size of foam paper do you recommend? Amazon? thanks again!

@@acusurfdoc I just got the cheapest, no idea on the weight.

It took a bag of clay to make two bird houses and I used a speckle stoneware cone 6, #455 from Pottery supply house in Toronto. Thanks for watching.

@@Vsmithpots thank you so much