Summer Break

Gone Fishing

rcboisjoli was put on hold for ten days this July as a much needed break was taken. Although no actual fishing took place for us, the little trip took place in a fantastic fishing area, on northern lake Superior. We had lots of fun, made some friends and took some souvenirs too. The area is rich in mineral deposits and quite famous for silver mines and amethyst crystals.

Below is a sample of a native Thunder Bay area clay. We are not quite sure how it'll look when fired, but we have a bit of processing to do first, mainly removing the twigs and sand from the river bed we climbed into.

Most people think clays are just dug up and used in our studios, but the commercial clay we use is fabricated. The supply houses supply use with refined and designed clay products. Our suppliers use industrially mined minerals and clay components with years of testing to create the perfect balance of materials. They are created specifically for different applications, techniques and for a variety of firing temperatures. This grey blob will be the first “natural” clay body we’ll have worked with.

Below is one of the furry little friends we made at our welcoming camp.

One sad event often happens when we leave the studio, our plants get too thirsty! This sad droopy guy used to be an impressive jade plant. The jade plant especially enjoyed the extreme light and dry heat of the studio that usually destroys most other plants. We salvaged the main stalks and hopefully we can grow another happy plant again.