Friday was the first day of my Holiday Sale. I'm off to a good start. Who knew goats and clotheslines would be such a big hit??!!
Today we'll be here from 10 am till 5 pm and Sunday from Noon till 4pm.
There are still plenty of pots on the shelves and Sarah has a nice selection of jewelry too. I'll try and get pictures up later.
The address is 757 Wallace Grove Road Shelby, NC 28150
if you need to Mapquest.
Really it's a small piece of Devon. Doug sent over a mug and some clay with friends of mine who visited his pottery recently. What shall I make with this lovely woodland clay?
Look at my clean studio. Niiiiiiiice. I wish it would stay this clean.
Time to hit the kitchen and start some things for tomorrow's big feast.
What a week.
A few more pots from the other day. 
The kiln is going now with the last load for the Holiday Sale.
I found out yesterday I that have received a grant from the Arts and Science Council. I had applied in late summer. I'll use the money to take a workshop in 2009. I am pretty excited. There were 120 applicants and 20 were selected.
I totally forgot to post yesterday. Much cleaning was accomplished but I still have to finish the workshop. I have pots to glaze today too.
My Holiday Sale starts on Friday. See times at right.
I had a request for directions from Charlotte, NC so here they are:
Take I-85 south
Take Exit 10 B (hwy 74)
Go to the third light and make a right on hwy 74 business.
Go to the third light and make a right on to hwy 180 north/ North Post Rd.
Keep on 180 until you reach Hwy 18. Turn right on Hwy 18 North. (this will be 4 lanes)
After 18 goes to a two lane go almost 1 mile and turn left on Wallace Grove Road.
Pottery is on right. Look for sign.
Address is 757 Wallace Grove Road. Shelby NC 28150 if you need to use MapQuest.
I finished all my deco-rotation today, including these plates and a dozen mugs. Now it's down to a couple firings and I'll be all set for my Holiday Sale weekend. (Except for getting the studio and showroom all cleaned up, which is going to take a couple days.)
I'll be unloading a glaze firing in about an hour so I'll try and get some pics up.
Cleaning up today in the shop I found these two old pots. This poor thing was dated 1993.
This pot was probably in my first salt firing, or at least an early one. Maybe 1996. 
Sarah and I have been laying these stone between the house and the studio this weekend. We made pretty good headway but I doubt we'll be completely finished in time for the sale this weekend. Maybe though. Tomorrow I'm going to get gravel screenings to sweep in the spaces of this first area so it can take some traffic.
The studio door is there on the left so that area is in good shape. 
This is probably the most stressful week of my year. Thanksgiving cooking to do, my pottery sale, and it seems we always have some kind of project in the works too. I am firing a glaze kiln tonight. Mostly plates. I'm gonna have about 30 plates at the sale and I'm hoping to sell them all. I'm having a hard time keeping any in stock.
Well I hope you all had a great weekend. I'll be posting this week as I try to get everything around here tidied up and ready for the Sale.
These are the lyrics to the song Dan mentioned. I had not heard it when I made the drawing, but I'm glad to know it now. Thanks Dan.
Old Hogan's Goat
Old Hogan's goat was feeling fine,
Ate six red shirts from off the line;
Old Hogan grabbed him by the back
And tied him to the railroad track.
Now when the train came into sight,
That goat grew pale and green with fright;
He heaved a sigh, as if in pain,
Coughed up those shirts and flagged the train!
I was pleased for the most part with my firing. Well I was actually really happy with it all. Only one loss. I am trying new things with my surface to liven it up a bit. I am finding that I like working on the surface more than I thought I would. Coming from such a long non-deco period this is surprising to me.
Of course I'm also learning as I go so I am trying to embrace that part and take the good with the bad. I feel like I'm also giving myself permission to make these pots more of my own as I grow. It's nice to see that happening and a good feeling. 
I had a few preconceptions about what I wanted this work to look like when I started back in February. I am noticing I am letting some of those go as I discover new things. For instance I really wanted to have a deep watery glaze coat. Like a lead glaze. But since I've been playing around and experimenting with glazes I've found that I like a thinner coat of glaze, a sheen sort of. It reminds me a bit of the thin salt glaze from my stoneware work. (Of course you can't really tell that much in these photos.)
It's fun for me right now to just allow myself to be in this process and to make work and play some. I think I'm at a point in life where I am trying to take myself less seriously. Or maybe it's just a phase. Either way I may as well enjoy it.
Alex won the contest yesterday. I hope you'll hop over to her blog and see what she's up too. Alex seems to have her hands in many things, clay, paper, wool and more. Very inspiring.
New pots out of the kiln sometime today.
I've finished making dinner plates and mugs for my upcoming shows. Now for a few jars and small bowls. I think that will be it then. Oh, and I have an order for 80 soap dishes....whew gotta get slabbing.
Inspired yet again by Keri Smith I have decided to have a Contest.
Yea! We love contests right?
Okay so the first person to respond in the comments will win a small pottery something, or a pen and ink sketch or watercolor or something along those lines ie original something handmade by me.
Here's the contest...
First off you must be a person wearing purple socks.(You can go put some on if you want).
Then you have to stand up and say "I get great satisfaction from my purple socks" . Out loud. (yes even if you're in your cubicle at the office. Pump you fist in the air for good measure.
That's it. Go.
The pots are in the kiln and hopefully I'll have some new work to show you on Friday.
In the workshop Sunday, Cheri pointed out how many people are "Dissatisfaction Specialists". Pretty catchy huh? I noted that I'm certainly one of them. I feel as though I never really allow my self to be satisfied. Even for a moment. That's not very good. I thought as an example all the work I've done this year on the slipware and how much I've accomplished. With each kiln load I think I've allowed myself to be briefly content but what really goes through my mind is 'okay what's next?'....' get on with it.'
Of course many will say that we should never be satisfied, how else would we keep getting better, or moving forward?
Is that the point of life?
Not for me to say.
What I would like to do is allow myself to enjoy moments (or even longer periods) of satisfaction. This would be a much better way for me to live as opposed to being dis-satisfied much the time.
The workshop was centered around this statement, "The focus of my attention determines the life I have." We discussed awareness and attention and did exercises that helped us focus our attention or direct our attention to certain areas. Namely, the body, emotion, mind, and mind content.
I feel like I could go on about all this but that's probably enough for tonight. I'm out of tea and it's time for some reading and then bed. So that's all my thoughts and such for this Monday. It's been a good day in many ways.
The shelves are filling up with pots in various stages of completion. Yesterday was pretty hectic. (So much for coming home and being centered!)
Anyhow, today was a fresh start and new wet pots are being produced after a morning of decorating and unloading a bisque.
This is purely an entry to get me a chance to win a knife from New West Knifeworks via Steamy Kitchen. Check out the contest here.
We do own a New West Knife that I got a few years ago. I really would love to get one of the Phoenix knives (hence this post to get me 2 chances).
Okay I'm off to the shop. Pics later I promise.
Nic's latest episode is up on his website. Scroll down to watch the video of the kiln loading. Quickest I've ever seen . Love the twangy music too.
I'm looking forward to the firing episode and of course the unloading.
Sarah and I had a great weekend in Asheville, NC. We went primarily to attend a workshop by Cheri Huber but of course we made time for many good meals and some shopping. The weather was cold and windy and it even snowed a bit on Sunday morning. It was so nice to get away from home with one another and I think we both came back feeling centered, directed and refreshed. We need to get away more often.
It's going to be a busy week ahead in the workshop. I'm looking forward to it.
You've probably given up on getting a post from me today, but guess what?.....Here it is!! (I'm sooooo sure you have much more to look forward to on a Friday night than my meager blog posts) (If not then , well....thanks for peeping in.) (I'm home alone tonight and am looking forward to cooking myself a nice Chinese dinner and watching a movie).
On with the post...
This is number 12 dinner plate, all footed and surrounded by the trimmings of his 11 brothers (or sisters, or whatever).
Didn't get far on the slipping today. I'm hoping to get 12 mugs decorated before we leave tomorrow to go on our weekend holiday.
Kari Smith!!! Yea!!!! Kari's new book came in the post today. I've already dug in and am having fun. Kari's books help me with my ideas, and open me up to new things. Hopefully I'll share some here soon.
Okay.
Have a good weekend.
Really. You must!
This book came in the mail today. Yeaaaaaa. Mary Wondrausch (according to Hannah and Doug) is the Queen of Slipware. I'm looking forward to tucking into it tonight. I've seen MW's pots online but I'm looking forward to the day I get to see some in person. 
I tried not to over do it today in the shop. I've only got 1/2 day tomorrow to work and then all day Friday. Sarah and I are heading to Asheville, NC on Saturday for the weekend. Much needed get away.
So a dozen mugs and plates and 6 serving bowls. Hopefully all this will be finished, slipped and decoroated before I leave on Sat. I'd like to also have some bakers under plastic waiting for me when I get home, and some jars too. So that's on the agenda for Friday.
Now for tea and Mary Wondrausch
I remember years ago my friend Tom Gray told me he used his drill to put the holes in his colanders.
I've been putting holes in the footrings of my decorated plates just in case anyone wants to hang them.
Today I gave the drill a go, worked great and quick.
I replaced our old spoon jar with this new one yesterday. We had out grown the old one and I thought it'd be nice to have some of my latest work in the kitchen too.
That honey pot is one I made a couple years ago. Salt fired, no decoration, a good, functional, straightforward pot.
In our conversation yesterday Doug and I touched on the subject of constraints in our work. Doug mentioned his materials and I suspect he means the clay he uses and his choices of slips and glazes. I'm sure he'd also say the way he fires his pots and the shapes he makes. Working within certain limits gives much more freedom than some would imagine. It narrows things down enough for you to find your place but gives you enough room to explore and experiment without getting lost in the vast universe of ceramic possibilities.
I have expanded my limits this year to include more decoration and experimentation with forms that I would not have made in the past. The main constraint (I'm not sure that's the word I should be using, but I can't think of another just now). The main constraint for my work is still that it should be a functional pot. The pots should be welcoming to use and should work well. I'm pushing that a bit these days with shapes that are not as common as my old pots and of course the decoration has moved in.
It just occurred to me that I have placed some limits on how I am decorating but I haven't really given it much conscience thought or consideration. Maybe it's too early still. I am still experimenting, but I am doing so within the boundaries of decoration that is drawn on the pot, through the slip, sometimes adding stain and glaze later. I haven't really considered the subject matter constraints or if there should even be any. Something to think about.
I'm getting away a bit here but I guess that's fine as I think I've made my point and you can see how this idea of working within limits gives boundaries and freedom.
Well, off to work. More later on this maybe.
Monday. Not as productive as I'd liked for it to have been, but I did get all these plates decorated. I went back and worked on that first one some, adding some dots around the flowers. These were a bit dryer than I'd have liked them to be but I managed through it all.
The truck is unpacked from Saturday's show and I still have a good amount of pots. Certain things anyhow. It looks like this week and next will be plate making days as well as some platters, small bowls and jars. And mugs. I want to have a mug sale on Esty soon so I'd like to have all new cups for that. 
Had a good chat this morning with Brad Lail who is in China still. He's doing well. I'm looking forward to getting together with him when he gets back to Cleveland County in a few weeks. He's learned so much and has had a great experience, and it's not over yet.
Doug and I also had a good chat session this afternoon. (No wonder I got so little done today, Skyping people all over the globe!) Doug's getting ready for a firing this week so keep a lookout here. I've sent a jug over for the firing but I don't know if it's gonna get there in time for the loading. Oh well, it will have to wait for the next firing then.
Well Sarah's just gotten home from work so I better run. More later maybe.
What a day! I had a very good show at the Carolina Pottery Festival today. About 1700 people made their way through the show and many of them were buying. I had good reactions from most everyone who had not seen my slipware. The pots with the goat imagery were a big hit and sold early as did a couple of large platters and mugs galore. I had one lady who got a huge kick out of a beaver mug. She kept picking it up and laughing. Which is good. I want my pots to make people happy.
Tonight we're kicking back with some Chinese takeout and a DVD. Good to be off my feet.
Thanks for everyone who came by to see me today. I really appreciate you all in supporting me in what I do.
Not much to show off right now. Just home from setting up at the Carolina Pottery Festival. If you're looking for something to do tomorrow come on out.
Here's the link
I'll get some pics posted of the show later in the weekend.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hi ya,
I've started organizing my photos with Flickr. It's pretty cool.
So far I've uploaded some images from my last trip to Minnesota during the Minnesota Potters Tour. I've also uploaded some pics from Rock Creek Pottery. I think it will be fun for you all to see all these as they do pertain to pots, potters, or pottery events.
Oh, and I've put up a bunch of Ron Meyers' pictures too, these were taken at workshops or conferences.
I'm planning on getting more images up of my work and also of my journal pages. I'll be editing the current content too, so if something is sideways or out of focus I'll get to that soon.
That's it for now.
Karma stayed up way too late last night watching the election coverage.
I got the rest of my pots packed up for the show this Saturday.
And I made a dozen plates.
Other than that, I pretty much watched television, layed out in the yard, drew some, and drank tea. It's been a good day.
Paul Jessop sent me this image and the text. I drew in the fish and changed the text a little. He, he, thanks Paul.
I am so proud this morning. Sarah and I are both very emotional and excited. I am feeling grateful and hopeful. To me this feels like such a new beginning. I was moved to tears to see the Obama family on stage last night and moved again and again throughout his speech.
"Yes We Can"
I began to think of the power of that statement as I lay in bed last night. The word "Yes" is a powerful affirmation. One single word. No matter what it is applied to, that statement, Yes We Can, Or Yes I Can has the power to change. I guess I'm mostly talking about this from my personal point of view, I've suffered from negative thoughts and depression for years. The words "No" or "I don't know" or "I can't" are like a loop on a tape that runs through my head, even when I'm not aware of it.
This morning I am saying "Yes I Can". I am so inspired by the man who will become our President in January. I am inspired by the people of this nation. I am hopeful of this new beginning, because it is a new beginning in many ways. I am not naive in thinking it will be all daisies and gumdrops. But I, along with many others feel great joy and determination right now to be the best American I can, the best person I can. We are all one people, one nation, one world. Yes.
I had a small load come out of the kiln this morning. Mostly some cups, jars and more serving bowls. I stained the incised lines of this bowl and covered it with a thin coat of glaze. I really quite like this and will probably start incorporating the stain on more pots.
I also like the tall foot on these. It gives it some distinction.
Okay so this first pot may be a little too cutesy for me. But anyhow it's not a bad pot.
I'm throwing these with 8 lbs of clay and then throwing a foot on them later. So really it's a nice sized serving dish with a substantial foot. I've started decorating in the footring too which is fun and a little surprise for those who take time to look. (and they're signed, very rare). Ha.
Karma and I went for a little stroll around some of the fields near the house yesterday. It was nice and clear and warm enough for shorts. 
