Lowell Hill Pottery

Continuing the Rowantrees Tradition

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Well, That Was the Kickstarter That Was

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By now you may have heard that my long planned and highly vaunted Kickstarter campaign did not reach its goal. It was an ambitious – and probably unrealistic – goal, but you never know what’s possible until you try. That’s the attitude I had when I launched the campaign, and the one I still have. Fear not, I am not daunted.

So now what?

Well, there is always Plan B. Plan B came about several weeks before the Kickstarter launched and it continues to take shape. Simply put, Plan B involves approaching the bank with a business plan, getting their approval for a business loan, and then getting all the support I can from a different crowdfunding site. Specifically, I am looking into Indiegogo, which offers a number of different crowdfunding platforms. Among them is Flexible Funding, which means that you raise as much as you can but do not have to meet your stated goal. Since bank financing will guarantee the building gets built, Flexible Funding can not only assist in defraying that expense, it can help with the incidentals that come once the building is built.

What really buoys my spirits is the fact that some people have chosen to send monetary support for the building project even though the campaign didn’t end successfully. That money is being placed in a separate building fund and those who sent it will be entitled to the same rewards they would have received from the Kickstarter if they choose to claim them.

Another step I am taking is to keep in touch with my Kickstarter backers. Those who still wish to support the building project will be able to do so once the Indiegogo campaign is up and running. At this point, I know I can raise at least $10,000. The Kickstarter taught me that and it’s good to know.

And in the meantime, I am selling pottery from under a canopy on my front lawn. Why not? The sign is out, it is August 8, and today alone I have sold about $200 worth!

I’m keeping the faith.

The Bamboo Vase

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 I have always wanted to experiment with different surface treatments and the Bamboo Vase was one of my first successes at creating a textured surface. This beautiful vase is water etched. The pattern is painted on the dry pot with wax resist and the pot is then blasted with high-pressure water. The waxed surfaces remain unchanged while the clay around it is etched away. This results in a raised surface pattern. The glaze breaks over the edges leaving the beautiful pattern of bamboo. This vase is glazed in my Celadon glaze.

For the H.P. Lovecraft Fans

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Some time back, I began a series of tiles with relief sculptures of mythological creatures on them. Those remain in progress, but the whole idea – and a suggestion from a friend – got me thinking about expanding on the idea.

This is decidedly not Rowantrees, but the need to express myself artistically and i my very own style is deeply important to me. It’s a body and soul thing. In fact, I often worked on ideas of my own while I was working at Rowantrees. Sheila encouraged that sort of exploration (on my own time, of course) and lent considerable support and advice in those efforts.

So this isn’t all that far from the apple tree. It is, however, somewhat around the bend. I am a recent convert to the literature of H.P. Lovecraft although I have been familiar with it all of my life. Many of my friends are ardent fans and still others play role playing games based on the mythos he created. With that in mind, and with the Kickstarter campaign set to launch soon, I decided to offer something that Lovecraft fans might find interesting and fun.

Enter Cthulhu (if you dare). The best known of the Great Old Ones is the subject of Lovecraft’s novella The Call of Cthulhu.

And he’s a badass.

This is a plate intended for sushi, but anything that floats your boat would probably do fine. The sculpture is low profile so anything that can be set down and picked up discreetly will go nicely on it. Many may simply choose to put it on display and leave it at that. After all, the wrath of a creature like this won’t be assuaged by piling food on it.

Or will it? You decide.

Cthulhu Plate
Cthulhu – work in progress

Cthulhu stares out from his home at R’Lyeh, awaiting the day when the stars align in the right manner to allow his underwater domain to rise out of the sea. He seems anxious for the day as he reaches out from beneath this vessel to snatch it away from you ad claim it for his own.

Because of the method I am using to make these plates, no two will be exactly alike. You can follow the progress of this project on my Lowell Hill Pottery Facebook page. I’ll be posting more about it here as well.

These plates will be made in a limited, numbered edition. Other Cthulhu plates will no doubt surface in the future, but the design will not be the same. The projected price/Kickstarter contribution level will be $100.