Sunday's work

I am not doing too much today but I did get my new burners put in place. I am hoping this improves my control over my firing some. It appears the orifices in the old burners had gotten smaller. Probably due to carbon build up or something. (I really don't know but that sounds good.)
I also set some things out in the sun to help them dry a bit faster. I hope to unload yesterday's bisque later today and get the next and last one loaded.

I'm off to Sarah's parents for supper in about an hour.

That's it for now. Sunning teapots.
New burner in place. Pots in the sun.

Circle meeting

The Circle of Eight met here last night to have dinner and go over somethings regarading two exhibits we have coming up. It was fun to get together and we had lots of laughs and good conversation as the night went on. All eight were here minus Dale who had to stay home to get ready for a show that he is doing today. It's awesome being part of a group of like minded individuals who want to help and support one another. I can't tell you how much I need this in my life. Being a potter means many hours spent alone in the studio, so when I get together with my friends it really nutures my soul.

Today I am firing a bisque and I hope to get my shelves scraped and work on my new burner setup. The sun is shining and it's a bit cool out. My 11 year old neighbor Michael told me yesterday that the weather was "just right". I agree.

There is a music festival going on in town today but I will miss it since I'm on a pretty tight schedule getting ready for upcoming shows. I need to allow myself more time for these things so I can maintain some sanity and not deprive myself of things I'd like to do. It's hard to time things just right.

I talked to everyone last night about some glazes that I would like to test to add an element of color to my pots. I got some ideas and hope to mix some tests for the next two firings.

Well I better get on with it. I have a visitor coming today from Chapel Hill to buy some pots and I need to tidy things up a little.

Have a great weekend.

Coming to my Senses

There is no way I am going to maintain my sanity and fire twice before the 1st. Actually I could do it but it would leave me no time to pack or do many other things I need to do to get ready for ACC. Yesterday I felt like my head was going to explode. So when Sarah got home we analyzed my options and I decided I'd fire once. I didn't have a great show at the Barn Sale last week so I have plenty of inventory. I'll get a good bit of the new stuff fired and have plenty for ACC. It feels good to have made that choice. I can take a little better care of myself now.

I don't think most people realize how much time and energy potters spend on their work. We are hard workers. I know I could manage my time a little better and things may be easier. I have a hard time making decisions sometimes too and can waste a lot of time staring off into space waiting for some divine inspiration. No luck with that yet. I was reading my friend Jen Mecca's blog this week, she's a full time mom and a full time potter. That's two full time jobs, I have no idea how she gets anything done. It does help to have a good partner and both Jen and I do, which is a blessing. Well enough about all that.

My new burners came yesterday. I will go to the hardware store tomorrow and get new fittings to get them all hooked up. Today, I have a bisque to unload and load and yes more pots to finish from yesterday. I am looking forward to having supper with the Circle of Eight tonight.

That's it for now. Happy Friday....I think the sun is going to come out here today. Yea!!

The End is Near

No I'm talking about North Korea or anything like that. I mean that I am finally, finally at the end of my making cycle. Yea!! Yesterday was a bit trying as I threw 8 teapot bodies before I got 4 that I liked. And when I came back from lunch Karma had shredded some plastic and made a general mess of the studio floor. I bet I swept 3 times yesterday. Anyhow, today I am putting handles on some small ovals, assembling my teapots and throwing some mugs and yunomi. I also have to scrape my kiln shelves so I'll be all set to load on Saturday. Lots to do still, but I am glad the making part is at an end. I need a break to refuel my pottery brain.

It's dreary out again this morning and I'm waiting for the fog to lift or burn off before going out to walk Karma. I am going to miss the long sunny days of summer. I hope we have a mild winter and that it isn't damp and wet all season.

If you have a high speed connection and want to see a funny pottery video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXnS0erWfJE
My friend Lester sent this to me and it's really cute. I guess this is sort of a Japanese version of SNL with skits etc. It's amazing that the general population in Japan knows so much about pottery that they can spoof it on TV. If you did that in the US people would be so not interested, unless you blew up all the pottery at the end or had some semi-nude Victoria Secret model taking the pots out of the kiln.

Okay got to head down for breakfast and out to work.

Dreary

I am lingering inside a bit longer this morning. It's damp and rainy out and I'm in no hurry to take the dogs out. I'll get to them after I have my breakfast.

Today I will be finishing up some pots from yesterday and getting ready to go teach this evening at Clayworks. I am planning on showing my students how to make candle stick holders and goblets tonight. I am having a good time teaching and have been asked to stay on for the next round of classes that will start this winter.

I stumbled back upon Andrew Douglas's blog last night while surfing the web. I can totally relate to his struggle with pitchers and handles.

Well that's about it for now. I probably won't get a chance to post again until sometime tomorrow. Enjoy the day.

Productive Monday

I had a good day working in the studio. I made several slab, oval serving bowls first thing and got two rectangular ones layed out and started. I then got to work on the wheel making the things on my list I need to finish up for this cycle. I can see the end of the road and will have it all made by Thursday. I am firing on Sunday so I need time this week to glaze and clean up down at the kiln. I'll be bisquing on Wed and again while I load the kiln on Saturday. That will be in anticipation for my second salt firing the next weekend. Busy, busy.

Above is a picture of the owl candle holders all ready for the bisque. I am getting excited about the American Craft Council Show which is the first weekend in November. I am going to have plenty of pots for that show and hopefully have some left over for the Carolina Pottery Festival here in Shelby the weekend after that.

The Circle of Eight gang is convening here on Friday night. That will be fun. It also means Sarah and I need to clean the house a bit.

Check back throughout the week to see if I am staying sane.

Problems

I have been lucky over the past few years in that I've had no major problems with glazes, slips, clay, or firing. Knock on wood. So today when I unloaded my bisque and saw that my slip was flaking off some pots I realized my luck had run out... temporarily. I made a switch to a new white slip a couple weeks ago when I ran out of my other and didn't have the right materials to mix up a new batch. Well this new white doesn't jive with my flashing slip when they are layered. So I lost a few nice slab trays today. Tomorrow I will make more and on Tuesday I'll get the materials I need for my old white slip. Live and learn.

Sunday morning

Sunday mornings are so nice. It's the one day I enjoy a good cup of coffee and relax and have a long morning without having to think about going off to the studio.

Yesterday I did the Claymatters Pottery Sale in Charlotte. The show went okay for me but I'd liked to have sold more pots. The highlight was that a lady bought one of my nice slab serving dishes to send to her brother who is a professional chef in Texas. I think he will really enjoy using it. I always love to hear that my pots are going somewhere to be used.

I also got to visit with other members of the guild and my friends from the Circle of Eight. Five of the Eight were there and I have to say that we all have very good work.

I showed some of my drawings to my friend Ann who came by to see my pots. I haven't really shared my sketchbook with anyone other than Sarah and a few other people. It was fun to get some feedback from Ann. She really liked my drawings of buildings and my more detailed drawings. I am still thinking how some of this is going to work it's way onto some pots. I will probably dedicate some serious play time to this in December and January.

Time for more coffee. See ya.

Friday Morning

Where has the week gone? I have been cranking in the studio. Below are a couple images from the week. The first one shows some owl candle holders. They will get slipped today and the features will get incised in. The next shot is of some tankards that I hope to get handles on today.

I spent a good amount of yesterday throwing and assembling some pedestal type candle holders. I'll try and get a picture of them up later. I made 15 of these in all, 5 each of 3 sizes. For me that's over kill and I was regreting it last night at 7pm when I was finishing the last one up. I am making them because I think they may be good sellers at the ACC show. That's not a very good reason for me to make pots. I want to make what I want because I am excited about it, not because I think it may sell. In the past I have found this to be the best way for me to work and that in the end, the work I am excited about is the work that sells. Anyhow, I was excited about these when I started, maybe I should just have made a smaller run.

I have a show in Charlotte tomorrow. This is with the Carolina Claymatters Pottery Guild and will be held at the McAlpine Business Park off on Monroe Rd from 10 till 4. I have not even packed the first pot, I have a busy day ahead.

I fired a bisque yesterday and I am beginning to see the end of the list for all I want to make for my two firings at the end of this month. I think I am all finished with the stuff I was putting off. I need to make a few teapots, some tea cups, and small vases and bottles. Next Friday is my last wet day I think. I am excited about seeing some pots come out of the kiln. I took time Wednesday to order a new set of burners for my kiln. I hope they arrive next week. I'd like to get them hooked up before my firing.

That's it for now. Check back in from time to time to see what's happening. Have a good weekend.

Monday Night

What a weekend. We had a stray dog show up on Friday and she is still here. I think I have found a home for her. She is a pit bull, chocolate, and very sweet. She is sort of skidish, I wonder if she was mistreated, but she has no scars so I don't think she's been fought. She likes Karma, but I am nervous and keep her on the leash.

On Saturday I got an email letting me know my friend Tom Gray had a heart attack that morning. He is home now and I hope to get to talk to him in person tomorrow. Tom is a VERY important person in my life and so I am wishing him a full recovery.

Sarah and I went to the County Fair on Saturday too. It was sort of a wash. It's always a blast to people watch, the Fair really brings the locals out of the woodwork. Sarah's favorite part was going to the livestock barn and looking at (and petting) the Brahman bulls. She said "we should get one, they are so sweet." "And tasty too," was my reply. Just kidding, no bull.

I got some work done in the studio today. I have a board meeting at the Arts Council tomorrow and then later I have to teach at Clayworks. Hopefully, I will get a few hours in tomorrow to finish up what I started today.

That's it.

I woke up in a bit of panic thinking about getting everything made and fired before the end of the month in time for the ACC show in Charlotte. I went down and lit my bisque kiln and came in for some tea and journalling time. That seemed to help some and I figure I'll be as ready as I can be and that will be that.

To perk me up more I tuned into KEXP Seattle. Where else can you hear the Pixies at 7:30 am?
I am off to the studio now to make some slab trays, and servers, and finish up yesterdays pots. I really need to get some speakers wired in there from my laptop station here in the house.

Thursday morning

It's going on 10 am and I am finishing up my morning tea. I got a bit of a late start, but the dogs have been fed and walked and so have I. I did a couple drawings this morning too.

I had a pretty productive day in the studio yesterday, even with a bum finger. I need to get started on some vases of various sizes today. I have some jars to finish too.

We got our DSL connection last week and I am having a blast zipping around the web. Last night I was looking at Danny Gregory's site and found out about Stephen Whitshire. He is amazing. Check out the videos of him drawing if you can. The human brain is capable of such incredible feats. Most of the time I feel like I'm using about 1%, if that. If those damn voices would quiet down maybe I'd get up to 2%. Ha.

I am also enjoying listening to WXPN out of Phiadelphia. Great programming.

Well, it's taken me forever to peck this entry out. My jkl; hand is one finger short which is slowing me way down.

Have a great day.

Smash

Monday evening I was helping my dad clear a fallen tree out of my grandmothers yard. We were loading a big log into the bucket of the tractor and I put my right hand in the wrong place. The result was the tip of my index finger getting smashed. It hurt terribly. Right now it's swollen, purple and white, throbbing, and I will be having the fun experience of loosing the fingernail sometime soon. Just thinking about it makes me woosey. Typing is a problem. I did manage some pots yesterday using a rubber finger cot to keep it all covered up. It's not the best time for me to be injured as I have several shows to prepare for and need to be working.

Monday

I had a great weekend. I went to Charlotte for a couple days for the Ron Meyers' workshop. Ron is one of my favorite potters. I am a little embarrassed to say that I have been to 5 of his workshop demos. The first was back in 1994 or 95 I think. He captured my attention very soon after I had started making pots. I love the way Ron handles clay. His pots have been touched by his hands over and over in the process and it is left to show in the final pot. I like his immediacy with the material. He is direct and intentional. He has a great sense of play, whimsy, and humor.
Needless to say I came home inspired to work. I feel that over the years I have absorbed some of what Ron does into my work. I don't want to make Ron Meyers' pots but I would like to make pots in the 'spirit' in which he does.
Anyhow I am off to the studio to catch up on things from last week that have been wrapped in plastic for the whole weekend.

Back to work

I got back in the studio on Monday and made a several boards of bowls. Yesterday I got the feet cut on them and made some mugs, salt jars, and bird dishes. It looks like I'm going to try and fire twice in October to get ready for shows I have in early November.

Sale Weekend

I had a good turnout for my Pottery Sale over the weekend. Thanks to you all who made it to the studio. I always want to have some photos to post from the Sale but it seems I get so caught up in talking to folks, and wrapping up pots that I forget to take any. Oh well, maybe next time.

Today I need to get the studio set back up in work mode so I can throw a few pots. I have one show in October and 3 in November. I need to get busy and figure out a firing schedule. I still have a nice selection of some items but I do need to stock up on some things.

More later.
Ron

New Pots

I unloaded today. Good firing with some new exciting pots. Tomorrow I will be getting the showroom and studio all set up for the sale. Lots to do.

Anyhow here are some of the pots. Owl candle stick holders.
Trays with incising. I really like these! Sorry about that glare.
Two new teapot shapes.
Same idea but the one on the left is Oribe inspired deco. I like both of these a lot.

Mugs with incised flower design. I am into this idea of drawing and incising on the pots. I can't wait to make some more pots and see where this goes. Sarah was very excited about all of these too. It will be interesting to get some feedback from my customers this weekend. And from you all also. Comments??

Pots

Here are a few more pots from the firing. Candle holders. I'd never made these before.
Jar.
Oval baker with incising.
Small jars with new knob idea. Nice firing on these.
Oops. Here these are again.

Loading, etc

Here is a shot of the kiln all loaded up from Monday. I finished firing Tuesday around 3:30pm and I think it all went well. Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind as I had to go teach last night in Charlotte.

Today I have a couple of visitors coming and I need to unpack from last weekend's show and start cleaning up the studio and around the house.

Tomorrow I will unload the kiln so come back to see how it all turns out. I'll be sanding, dusting, and pricing pots and moving things into the studio tomorrow and Friday. It is nice and cool this morning and the temp is only supposed to get into the 70's. Nice.

Lots to do so I better get on with it. I am already late for Karma's morning walk.

Quick

Quick Entry
Yesterday I loaded the kiln.
Today I fired and now I am off to Charlotte to teach.
It's been tiring and looks like I'll be getting home late tonight.
I'll post some pics tomorrow from the loading, and check back on Thursday for pots!!!!
Sale this weekend!

Circle of Eight Show

Circle of Eight had our first group show yesterday in Charlottle. We had a great turnout and everyone was excited and encouraging about this new venue the eight of us have started.

The day was beautiful and folks started showing up alittle before 10 am. It was really cool to see all the pots set up around the yard, we are each very accomplished potters in our own right and the work certainly reflected it. We had a good crowd for most of the day with people coming in to buy pots for themselves and some who got an early start on their Holiday shopping.

At the end of the day the eight of us all felt the sale had been a huge success and made plans for our next meeting to discuss when we'd like to do this again. We also found out we have been asked to do a group show in November in the Davidson area. More on that when I get more details.

Busy Times

I am trying to get ready for two upcoming shows. One is this weekend in Charlotte with a group of 7 other potters. We call ourselves Circle of Eight and we are having our first group show on Saturday the 16th. If you want info. email me ronpots2 at yahoo dot com. I am really excited about this group. We formed sometime last year and have big plans for ourselves. We get together from time to time to have dinner and talk about pots, marketing, shows, exhibits, etc. It's a good support group, and we are able to help each other solve problems, critique our work and realize that we are not alone in all of this as individual artists. We just found out that we got accepted to show at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference which will be held in Louisville, KY in March 2007. The show will feature the 8 of us plus 8 predominate potters in the field who influenced each us. It's a very big deal. (More on that sometime later)

My Fall Sale is September 23 and 24 here in Shelby. I hope you will make it. I will have a very large selection of pots. I am firing next week and will post pictures from the firing on Thurs or Friday. This new clay body I am using is great. It gets some super nice orange peel texture and shows off the incising well. I have lots to do around here before then whipping the place into shape and getting all set up.

In addition to these things I have been working on a grant to buy a new wheel. It's due tomorrow and I think I have it all together. I am teaching in Charlotte at Clayworks once a week, and serving on the Board at the Cleveland Co. Arts Council and as a member of the Travel and Tourism group in Cleveland Co. I have never been this active in so many things at once. Not to mention the two committees I'm serving on at the Arts Council. It's a lot but it's doing me some good to get out of my studio and be around other humans.

Okay I gotta go box up pots and load a bisque. Have a great day.

New Beginnings

Here is my sweet wife leaving this morning for her first day at her new job. The position is with Behavioral Wellness in Shelby. Now, instead of the hour drive to Charlotte she had for her internship, she has a 10 minute drive into town. And she's getting paid!!! Yea!! I am so proud of Sarah. I am fortunate to have such a great woman in my life.


I also have something new (and that pays) starting tonight. I have been asked to join the instructor staff at Clayworks Studios in Charlotte. I will be teaching intermediate wheel throwing for the next 10 weeks. It's once a week, but I hope in the future that maybe I can pick up another class. I am looking forward to getting out and interacting with students and sharing some of what I know about clay.

Process: Bisque firing

I bisque fire all my pots before glazing and then firing in the salt kiln. For many years I single fired meaning I would load the salt kiln with greenware and fire to maturity, skipping the bisque. I stopped doing that a few years for a number of reasons. Anyhow I fired my bisque kiln this past week and thought I'd put up a few pics. Most people fire bisque in an electric kiln, I don't have one so I built this chamber out of soft brick and made a lid out of ceramic fiber. There is a burner in the back that shoots the flame in under the shelf on the bottom. The lid has a hole for the 'chimney'. It's essentially an updraft kiln, very basic, and yes it fires unevenly but not enough to matter (for me). Bisque kiln

Here are the pots on the top shelf.

All these pots were in the kiln. Around 60 in all. Bisqueware is nothing great to look at, pink and plain. I'll be firing my salt kiln next week. That's when the magic happens.

One Year

Today is the one year birthday of my Blog. Yea! I've posted 155 times in the last year. I guess that's pretty good.

Not much exciting happening in the studio today. I fired a bisque and brought my clay in out of the racks. I had a nice group of visitors from out of town. I need to start taking some photos of folks who come by. We had a good visit and they headed on up to Morganton.

Big news!! Sarah got a job offer!! It looks like she is going to take it. I think we are both very relieved. It's here in Shelby and has lots of what she is looking for.

My sale is on the 23 & 24. Postcards go out tomorrow so look for them in your mailboxes next week.

Thursday, Back Home

I've been away for a few days. I'll try and get a decent post up tomorrow sometime. Check back. Thanks!!

Sprout

I've been in a weird mood today. Cranky sort of. It's been a good day so I'm not really sure why I feel so emotional and raw. We had some friends from Charlotte come by today to get some pots and have lunch. That was a nice visit. And I had two customers drop by and buy pots. That was really great because we need the money and I have a good selection of pots in the studio that I like seeing go out to good homes.

Something's going on with me but I can't put my finger on it. We are going out of town for a few days starting tomorrow. We took the dogs to be boarded this morning. The vet was really busy so that was like a whirlwind, "here they are...see you later." I hope they do okay.

I had this memory the other day about when I was a kid back on the farm where I grew up. I had a sand box that my dad built. I guess it was about 8 ft square and filled with white sand. I had lots of die cast metal tractors and plows and trucks and stuff. I loved playing out there. I'd make rows with the tractors and then I'd go down to the real tractor shed and find some stray soy beans to plant. The memory is of these soy bean plants. They would pop up so green and fresh, two leaves each. I had little rows of them. I'd never let them grow into big plants, I guess I tilled them up. Anyhow the image of the soybean sprout has been moving to me lately. Growth, life, innocence, childhood, summer, tenderness...these are all words that come to mind. Anyhow, it's good to remember.

Clyde Edgerton

Last week I went to the library to return some books. I had nothing in mind to check out. So I said to myself, "I'll walk through the stacks and see what catches my eye." I like doing this, I find some good books this way. Here's what caught me that day. Redeye by Clyde Edgerton. I was pretty much hooked by this drawing on the cover by Laura Levine. Nice eh?

Looking in the jacket I read that Clyde is from NC. Cool. I never read local authors. Don't know why. I read Redeye in about two days. It takes place in south west Colorado around what in real life is now known as Mesa Verde (which Sarah and I visited a few years ago). It's set in the late 1800's. Anyhow it's a great read. I'm not so good a giving synopses, so I won't bother (maybe this is something I'll work on). Just get it and read it. You'll be glad you did.


Okay now I am reading Clyde's first book, Raney. It is set in 1975 in a small NC rural town. Not unlike where I grew up. Well maybe a little smaller. Let me tell you I can relate to so much of this book that it's scary. I found myself laughing out loud before I was on page 10. There are issues of race, ignorance, religion, naivete, marriage and all sorts of things. It is humorous and serious both. Being raised in the South I have experienced and heard much of what is written here, most of it from my own family or close neighbors and friends.
The main character is Raney, 24, newly married to Charles, a "booklearned" young man from Atlanta. Raney's family is typical rural NC. Charles has "new" ideas that challenges much of what Raney knows. Again, read this, it will stir you up one way or another and make you laugh all the same.

That's it for tonight.

From the Studio

Here are a few pics of some things I've been working on.Bird dishes, slipped, ready to fire.

Here's my studio mate hanging out.

This is a bowl shape I'm trying out. Weird handles. It's kinda big, made with 12 lbs of clay.

These are sort of new teapots, combining ideas from a couple influences. I like the simple boxey shape of the body, I'm sure I'll get some comments on these spouts from my pal Tom . Anyhow, I have ideas for decoration for a couple that will be in the Oribe style, but with my own take on it.

Today I made some 4.5 lb bowls, some 12 lb bowls, sections for a large 2 pc jar, and finished up some trays and small stuff I made yesterday. It was a good day. I am sort of biding my time, waiting for my clay to come out of the racks. I could have 2 firings before the sale but I'll probably just pick out the most important things I want to fire and only have one.

Catching up...trying to

Sorry for the duration between posts. I have been working in the studio making pots and doing other various things around the house. Last Friday I drove to Asheville and picked up 1500 lbs of dry materials to make clay. On Saturday I mixed up what will amount to around 700 lbs of wet clay. As soon as this comes out of the racks I'll go ahead and mix again. I want to get ahead of the game before the weather turns cold.

I'll take the camera out to the shop today and take some shots of pots in progress and get them posted up here later.

The showroom is very well stocked right now. I have 6 shows between now and the first of December. I am looking forward to my next Home Sale which is Sept. 23 and 24. Postcards will go out soon. Of course you are welcome to come by anytime. The showroom is self service if I am not around.

Check back later for some images and probably a blurb on Clyde Edgerton, a NC author whose fiction I am enjoying.

Pots from August Firing

My digital camera arrived yesterday. So now I am back in business with some images from last weeks firing. This firing had lots of work made with this new clay I have been trying out. I mixed up a big batch and I really like the pots that were made with it. It's higher in silica so the pots are a bit more shiny and have great orange peel texure when they get hit with the salt and soda. The incising shows up nicely tooRectangular tray shape I am trying out. Made with the new clay.
I made this big jar at the Folk School. It's made with some clay I got at the Folk School. It got some great marks in the firing.
I really like these bowls. My titanium slip(yellow) looks great on this clay.
This is the other side of that big jar.
More new vases made with my clay. That yellow slip rocks when it gets blasted with salt.

More Pots From August Firing

This oval baker is made with the high silica clay. It is awesome!!
I made this bottle at the Folk School. It got some great marks in the firing. It was made with commercial clay.
New vases made with my new clay.
Big oval. I think you could use this to put your magazines in. See how this new clay allows the incised lines show up? Just what I've been looking for.
Another bottle I made at the Folk School. Trying out some different handles/lugs.

New Camera!!

Yea! Here's a drawing of my new camera.
Pictures from my last firing coming up next.

Pots

I unloaded the kiln yesterday after lunch. I was really happy with most everything. This was the first firing with most of the pots being made from this new higher silica clay that I mixed up last month. It did great. My slips look nice on it and it gets some good flashing and takes the salt well. The atmosphere in the kiln was all over the place it seemed. The front bottom was neutral to oxidized, the front middle and top were nice and reduced and the back was cooler as usual and more neutral. So I had a variety of pots even if they were made from the same clay and had the same slip on them. The best pots were some small vases and some new bowls. I'll be sure to post some pictures once my camera gets here next week.

Today I'll be sanding the bottoms and bringing everything in to the showroom.
Tomorrow my friend Lester from Charlotte and I are heading up to the Penland area to visit a friend of mine who is taking a wood carving class. We will visit some potters in the area too and basically hang out and have a good time. I am looking forward to it

Today is Sarah's last day of her intership! Yea!!!!! No more driving back and forth to Charlotte everyday. She is still on the job search. Next week I am hoping we get to take a bit of a vacation. She certainly deserves one.

Have a good Friday.

Ready to Fire

I loaded the kiln today. At lunch I took timeout to order a new digital camera. Now I'll have a way to get some pics up here again. I don't know when it will arrive but I'll be sure to put up some images from this firing asap.

Friday

Today was pretty low key. I went to the grocery, cleaned up the kitchen and bathroom (both have been neglected), took Karma to the park for a walk, and fired a bisque. I also did some drawing and Karma had her first training session with the invisible fence.

I am looking forward to having a firing next week. It's been over a month and I am ready to see some new pots in the showroom.

Sarah is on her way home from her 36 hr shift at the hospital. It will be a laid back evening here for sure as I am betting she is tired. I am grilling some quesadillas for supper and we'll probably just watch the tube for a while.

Well none of that is very exciting but thanks for reading it anyhow. See ya.
Have an awesome weekend!!!!

Rockin'

I was talking to some people recently about the band I used be in, The Trust. This was back in high school in the late 80's. It was a cover band, Top 40, and we had some original stuff. So I dug out this photo for kicks. Was I a rocker or what!? Too bad I'm not standing up or you could see my spandex pants with the lightning bolts on the legs. Ha! Anyhow we had tons of fun playing out. I still have this drum kit but it's in storage at my dad's house, we don't have room to set it up. Well enough reminiscing. By the way I have some autographed 8x10's for $20 each for the first 100 responses. :-)

Strengths

I read something good in Danny Gregory's book, The Creative License, this morning. It say's, "Don't be obsessed with originiality. Be yourself and you will be originial. Acknowledge and celebrate your uniqueness. Keep burrowing deeper and shaking up you perceptions."

For a long time I worried about having my own style, something that was recognizable as mine the minute you saw it. I would try to come up with things, designs, decoration, this or that. It was frustrating and fake. Somewhere along the line I more or less gave it up and just made stuff. I still hear that voice from time to time but it's not as powerful. I have figured out that I just have to make the pots I like, the way I know how and in the end, after some years, they do become me. And I am usually surprised when people tell me my pots are recognizable because of certain qualities.

My new information, (Play on my strengths), has led me to thinking about my strengths in more detail and actually putting words to them. I have also been trying to put words to things that I like about pots and what I strive for. I know what I like when I see it, in my work and in others, but it is difficult to place a specific word on what it is.

Here's a list I started about parts of pots and what I want to achieve or to examine more closely.

Lips: Comfortable, inviting, lickable, undulating, moving, fat, kissable. (ha, I hadn't realized how sexy this might be)

Feet: Casual, smooth, torn, touched, atypical, inviting, planes,

Bottoms and bottom edges: Touched, dented, patterned, handled, revealing, exposed

Interiors: Voluminous, holding, womb-like, continious,

Exteriors: Movement, planes moving, stretched, skin, torn, exposed,

Handles: Inviting, thin-thick-thin, exciting, atypical, comfortable, spacious, tiny, questioning,

That's pretty fun so far. This is a good list to have in my studio to use when I make stuff, I can look and say, "okay was I able to get some of my desired qualities in these pots?"

Gotta go for now. More later maybe.
Ron

Confidence

A couple weeks ago I was hanging out with another potter at the Folk School. He has been making pots about twice as long as me or more and has lots of experience traveling and working in the field. He had a pot I wanted and I offered to buy it. He said he'd trade. I said okay, but as we weren't at a show I had nothing for him to pick from. So he tells me just to send him something. I felt awkward and asked what he'd like. "What do you make that's good?" he asked. Well my low self esteem kicked in and I said something like 'I don't know'. This went on for a minute or two and finally he said, "Be confident, send me something you like. That will be fine."
I think that is the first time someone had told me to be confident. (Actually awhile back another potter had told me that some of the new work I was making looked more confident.) Anyway this has stuck with me. Be confident.

Later as we were in the workshop looking at some pots I asked the potter for feedback on some bottles I had just thrown. We decided some of them were too generic. He pointed to some other pots and said "you do this well, and this", identifying specific parts of the pots. "Play on your strengths and see where that leads you." Good advice. I have kept this in mind as I have been working.

So my two new pieces of information are: Be confident and Play on my strengths.

I have more on all of this but it will be in the next post. Stay tuned.

Mid Week

I have finished making pots for my next firing. I have another bisque to fire and then I'm all set. Yesterday I had some fun playing around with some figurative ideas. I made some small sculputures, 6-8". I feel like I had some good and orginial ideas with these. They were fun and not at all serious. I finished up some mugs and plates and got some things glazed.

Karma's invisible fence is all set up. I have to put the flags out today and I guess I'll begin training her this evening. My neighbor also got an invisible fence. I helped him trench in his wire last evening. We have some neighbors that aren't so considerate. I wish this county would pass a leash law.

I still haven't bought a camera. I would like to post some pics soon.

New Journal

I got a new drawing journal last week while I was at ASU with Sarah. I did this drawing of the bookstore while I was there. I didn't know how to handle the building on the right which was mainly a plain brick wall. It was fun drawing out in public, something I haven't done much of yet.

Catching up

The last few days have been busy. I had to be somewhere almost everyday last week for a meeting of some sort. I did manage to get started putting Karma's invisible fence in but the ground is hard as a rock so it's slow going. I will finish up tomorrow.

Today is Sarah's birthday. Right now she's exercising here birthday right to relax and nap on the couch. She needs the rest after being on the go during the week. I made her Eggs Benedict for brunch today. It was my first time poaching eggs and making a hollandaise sause. She said it was great, and I thought so too. We'll have to go for a long walk later to work some of that butter off. Last night we went out for sushi, much better for the arteries.

I will be back making pots this week. I need to knock out a couple bisque firings so I can fire the salt kiln soon.

Last night I had a dream about doing these great drawings of buildings seen from above, and a drawing from a high angle of cars in a parking deck. I also dreamed about doing some lettering forming the name 'George'. I don't have a clue what that's about. Maybe I'm being brainwashed somehow.

Donation

A while back a local customer asked me if I would donate a pot to a HIV/AIDS gala in Washington DC. Her son lives in the DC area and is a supporter of the Whitman Walker Clinic there. He was in charge of this banquet and was looking for centerpieces to be auctioned off to raise money for HIV/AIDS. I was happy to donate for this cause.

Yesterday I received a letter from him saying that my vase went for $575.00 and was bought by the editor of People Magazine. Wow! I can't tell you how good that makes me feel. He went on to mention that he recently visited the editor in NYC and that my vase was on her desk full of flowers.

I am glad I was able to help with this benefit. I am also glad I got the letter yesterday, it was really a boost to my self esteem and brightened my day.

Sawmill

I did this drawing of the old sawmill while I was at the Folk School

Monday

Got back in the studio today. Made some things and as the day progressed I had to make some of them over as the first ones were failures for one reason or the other. I tried making some bigger pieces on the homemake kick wheel I brorrowed from a friend a while back. It was near impossible. There is no splash pan on it and as I use copious amounts of water I soon had a mess on me and on the fly wheel below. No traction ensued. So I gave up and got back on my treadle. I finished it but it was a bear. I am now on the look out for a used electric wheel to make these bigger pots on.

There was an incident with Karma after lunch that launched me into a frenzy and I felt like my brain swelled up and was about to explode. That deepened and to relieve some frustration I came in and wailed on the couch cushions with the whiffle ball bat. That was I little trick I learned back in my therapy days. I know people think I am calm and centered and all that ,but I gotta tell you I lose it some days. No shame in that.

Tonight I made some more pots and Karma and I had a nice walk and play time. Sarah went to her mom's for supper and I finished firing my bisque kiln.

I am looking forward to some reading and then to bed.

Back Home

How nice it is to be back home. I had a good time assisting Leon at the Folk School last week. The weather was nice and it was wonderful to be in such beautiful surroundings. We had a class of 11 students so I did lots of assisting. Leon worked hard teaching and we both gave lots of personal attention to all the students. I think everyone went home happy. Of course it was also exhausting and I did not take much time for myself. I would have liked to have done more drawing. I did manage a few drawings of some of the buildings on campus.

The Folk School is such a great place, the food is good, there are nice people from all over the country and even the world. The gardens were in full bounty, I felt inspired to do better in my garden in the future. I highly recommend going sometime and taking a class.

I made a few pots, I didn't get to my umbrella stands, but I think I'll be able to soon. I mainly enjoyed working with the students during the days and just hanging out socializing during the evenings. I made lots of new friends who I hope to keep in touch with.

Today I will be in the studio working on some cups and other small pots. I am bisque firing today also. I have several meetings this week so my time in the studio will be limited. I did install my window unit air conditioner yesterday. It took all of 15 minutes to do. I don't know why I've waited. I will be more inclined to work in there during the day now I think.

Have a great day.

Off to the Folk School

I will be leaving in a couple hours to go to the Folk School. The class I will be assisting with is called Making Big Pots: Throwing with Fire. The throwing with fire part has to do with heating up the pot with a torch that Leon has designed. Basically you throw the pots in sections that are heated up and then joined. That way you can make big pots in one sitting. Leon Nichols was one of my first instructors at the Folk School. He makes very large classically shaped pots, some up to 6 ft tall or more. I am looking forward to assisting him this week. Leon lives in Charlotte and we have been friends ever since I took his class back in the early 90's.
I am hoping to make a few pots while I am there. I would specifically like to make some umbrella stands.

Sarah and I went to the last night of the Real to Reel Film and Video Festival in Kings Mountain last night. I went on opening night on Wednesday. This is the 7th annual and it keeps growing. It's an awesome festival with films coming in from all over the world. There are amateur and pro divisions in feature length, shorts, animation, and documentary. Some of the film makers even come. This year we had two films from Israel, and one of the film makers came to speak. These two films were shown last night and were very moving and inspiring to me. If you are a film buff then this is a great festival to know about, check out the website for more information.

Well that's gonna be it for a while. I don't know if I'll have access to a computer this week or not. I'll catch up when I get back home.

A day early/My blank cell

Guess what? I'm not supposed to be at the Folk School until tomorrow. I was all packed and ready to go this morning when my ride didn't show up, so I gave him a call and low and behold we are leaving TOMMOROW! So right now today feels like a blank comic cell, nothing filled in, nothing planned, just space. That's a new feeling for me. My brain is saying...do this, and this and this and this. I am just doing nothing which feels good for the moment.

Here's something I have been thinking about: As I've said before I've been journaling since 11 grade. I've never really gone back and read any of my journals. I don't intend to either. I do know that for the last 7 or 8 years my journaling has dealt with my "issues", things I've wanted to improve about myself, my co dependancey, guilt, worry, family stuff, work stuff, in general lots of psychological dealings. This has been good in many ways and has provided much personal growth. But after a while it seems it's all I write about. I am getting tired of it and I think I'm getting ready to change the way I journal.

What will be different? Well for one there will be more drawing, listing, playing, cutting and pasting, maybe even some color. It will (hopefully) be more positive, about living in the moment, and about being creative. It will be about accepting where I am at the moment. How awesome and healing that will be? Lots I imagine. It will be Fun. There will be NO judgement. I will banish the little voice in my head that says, 'someone will see this someday', or 'that's no good, better not do it'.

I think now is a good time to begin this, there are some things changing in my life, slowly. Much of it is just acceptance. Other things are: Sarah finishing school, us deciding to live here for several more years, making new friends, drawing and doing more creative work other than just making pots, looking forward to travelling, having a new dog, getting ready to lose another, and taking action in general.

So today I'll enjoy my blank cell for awhile then I'll begin to fill it in alittle at a time.

Wrapping up the week

Wednesday and Thursday ended up being great days in the workshop. I made some good teapots and I feel like I got back in the swing of things in general. Today I finished up the pots I made since Wednesday. I feel good about getting back in the groove and I'll probably be ready to fire the kiln the first week in August.
I am heading to John C. Campbell Folk School for a few days so I'll be away from the computer. I'll catch up on my blogging when we get back.
Have a great weekend.

Sweat

My teapots bit the dust, all but one. I don't know what I was thinking when I made these things but they were way too big. They were so big and gawdy when I got the handles and spouts on them. I kept one just because it didn't look too terrible and I have a customer who keeps asking about a big teapot. Maybe this one will be for her.

So tomorrow I'll make some smaller ones, same shape and they will be good I bet. I have to learn these lessons over and over it seems.

It's so hot here I can hardly stand it. I have a window unit for my studio, but haven't put it in yet. I'm trying to be Mr. Tough Guy. I had some customers come by today, I was sweating like a horse the whole time they were here. How embarrassing.

I made some really cool bowls today with incising. I can see this leading to my next tangent.

I sure hope gas prices level out or something, I'm not going to be able to afford to fire my kiln. I guess I'll have to find some new outlets for my work to offset the costs.

Well this wasn't a very interesting entry, hope I didn't bore you to sleep.

be me

Yesterday I finished up my dinner plates and bowls and made some teapots. I made 8 and kept 3. I don't do well when I try to make stuff that 'isn't me'. The first couple teapots I made we one's like some I had seen recently at a gallery. I thought they had a cool shape and I was going to try and copy them. No luck. They looked very contrived and out of place. Not me. So I went on to do a few more just out of my head (I don't have a standard teapot shape at the moment) and came up with a few that felt right but were sort of heavy and dumpy. So I trashed them and threw 3 more that were a bit lighter and stood up and didn't look so flabby around the bottoms. I haven't put handles or spouts on them yet. I'll see today if I have any keepers.

Drawings are of this mornings cup of tea, in my favorite Joe Bennion mug. And yesterday's cereal.

being

Well maybe I couldn't be a brain surgeon, but I could prob. be some sort of doctor or highly respected individual. In Japan potters are valued as much as lawyers and businessman. Here we are hardly noticed by society as a whole. Pots don't have the history and importance here like they do in the East. The Japanese eat differently than Americans do to. They eat as much with their eyes as they do their mouths. There are all kinds of pots for food in Japan, and of course the tea ceremony prizes the ceramics used. Us Americans are happy with food wrapped in foil and tea served in styrofoam cups. We are often in a hurry, eating in the car or in front of the television. Cultures in the East have a deeper sense of what beauty is all about too I think. Maybe it's a connection with nature or just the way the world is viewed. It's fairly early for me to be going on about all this. Something to think on for the day though. Maybe I'll get back with more insight later. I think the whole issue of beauty would be good to talk about. Look around today, what do you see as beautiful in your surroundings? Is is possible to slow down enough and appreciate the scent and sight of a flower in bloom, or the clouds in the sky? Can we see the beauty in one another, in children, animals, insects? There's beauty to be found in the crack in the sidewalk or the paint peeling off of side of a door.

Here's another experiment, eat in silence today, one meal, no conversation, no tv, no newspaper. just you and your food. Be present, taste it, what's it like? what are you thinking about as you eat? food or work? maybe draw your lunch before you eat it. Experience your lunch; think about where each component of the food came from, who grew it, who harvested it, packaged it, transported it, prepared it, served it. Think about the rain, soil, sunlight it took to grow it, about the clothes the farmer wore when he planted the seeds, about the fuel his machinery used, where that fuel came from. You get the idea.

Have fun today. Be present. I'm gonna be a potter.

Potential

Today I managed to get back in the studio for a while and make some pots. I made some slab square bowls and a large rectangular slab bowl on a hump mold I finally made last week out of plaster. I have been wanting to do this since seeing some nice pieces of this nature in a book on David Leach that I read awhile back. I also made some dinner plates. Tomorrow I expect to get in there and make some more plates, and attempt some teapots.

My drawing today is of a cupboard in the kitchen.

It's hard to eat a fudgesicle and type.

I was thinking today of what it would be like to live in a huge city in a tiny apartment. How would I decide what to keep? I could probably do without a car. I'd miss being able to walk out the front door in the middle of the night and pee under the moon and stars. I bet I'd get overstimulated from all the people and noise. I thought that I could get a job as a garbage man. That would be a nice job. Get up early. Collect the garbage, ride on the back of the truck. No worries to take home after hours. Sarah said I wouldn't be living up to my potential. Heck, I'm not doing that now. I could be a brain surgeon if I wanted to. Who needs to live up to their potential, that's gotta be highly over rated. I just want to be happy, do what makes me feel good, have a nice life, and be healthy. Which is sort of what is going on right here and now, so I doubt I'll be going to NYC or Chicago or Boston or where ever anytime soon. It would be fun to try it out though.

Family Picnic

Yesterday Sarah and I rode up with her parents to Banner Elk for the Ramsey family picnic. This is Sarah's mom's side of the family, most of whom I know and love. We had a good time visiting with everyone and had a great meal. The weather was awesome, probably in the mid 70's and Sarah and I had a nice hike in the woods.

Last night we watched Everything is Illuminated. Great movie. The main character, Jonathan , travels to the Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis in 1942. This is more of an independent type film, great camera work, beautiful scenery, interesting characters, including a cool dog...Sammy Davis Jr., Jr. Watch it!

Speaking of dogs. My 11 yr old lab is not doing so well. According to the vet he is having some neurological problem that causes him not to be able to control his hind legs very well. If this gets worse we may have to have him put donwn.
Kharma is doing fine. To relieve some of the stress of keeping her contained in my studio and worrying about her running out of the yard, I ordered us an invisible fence on Friday. It should be here next week. I am hoping this works for us.

Sarah is off to a yoga class in Charlotte this morning. She has a job interview tomorrow. So put out some prayers, positive energy, cross your fingers and toes, or whatever you feel appropiate, we are really hoping she gets this job. Thanks!

Challenging subject

The toilet is really difficult to draw. Especially head on like this. The whole foreshorting thing totally throws me.