bluegillpottery

Potter's Palette at NC Pottery Center

2012-01-23T10:36:00.004-05:00

If you look really hard, you can see my painting at the top left corner. Hope you're able to either attend online or in person! Probably preaching to the choir here, but having the Pottery Center is a huge benefit for the craft of pottery in the state and I'm honored to support it.

I'll also have a set of ginkgo trays at the benefit that show how I portray these images in clay.

Grow to cut cycle

2011-12-20T14:53:00.000-05:00

I have a unique relationship with Pam, my neighbor and the hair stylist who has cut my hair for the past 21 years. She knows that I will call her every 6 mos. or so for a trim and sometimes that stretches into 12 or more months if things are just too hectic in my life. I began growing my hair out last year (again) and finally got it to a length that was long enough for me not to be totally shorn, but would be 10" (the length needed for Locks of Love)minimum for a donation. They won't make my hair into a wig because it is really grey and these wigs go to children, but they will sell it and the money will help the program.
So, I'll be looking a little different if you see me at the studio!

Update on create

2011-12-19T14:48:00.004-05:00

Drop in pieces that will fit in the holes on the top of the piece. They hold two different

sized candles.
All the trees in place. Lost one of the trees and had to repair. Drying slowly and hoping my hands will be very steady when I set this in the kiln and again when I get to the glazing parts. But, as Scarlet O'Hara would say, "I'll think about that tomorrow"

Open House today and tomorrow, 2-6pm

2011-12-10T13:02:00.001-05:00

2 to 6 pm
Hope to see you!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
4522 Wilkinson Blvd.
Gastonia, NC 28056
704-824-9928

The Creative Process (in pictures)

2011-12-08T11:35:00.000-05:00

Putting the ideas on paper. Eating and drinking and being surrounded by pottery helps! Covered jar in background is a Ron Philbeck pot I use for my sugar bowl.
I had already slabbed out the sides of the piece the night before and had the general idea of the shape. Although, to be honest, I flipped the sides over a period of about an hour, mulling over which direction to make this piece.

Ideas for the base, decoration and different little containers for candles, etc.

Carving on one side started.

Little drop-in pieces that will go in top holes. Prototype of candle holder built. Needs lots of refinement!

Trees formed and setting up, waiting for carving and placement.

View of top of piece with 4 of 8 trees in place. The little holes are for clay stubs that I bore into the trunks to help stabilize them on the top. Learned this the hard way when previous tree piece fell off due to inbalance and only being attached at base.
The large holes will be used as is for flower arrangements or with a drop in piece to convert it to a candlabra.

View of carved front with tree springs place. Awaiting dark clay spring for bases of trees.

Come out and see the work in progress this weekend!

Open House, Sat. Dec. 10, 2-6pm

2011-12-07T13:21:00.003-05:00

Just a quick view of some of the smaller gift items I have in the studio.

Come out and browse on Sat. Dec.10 and Sun, Dec. 11th.

I'll have hot cider or hot tea in handmade mugs and cookies,

and will be providing free gift wrap for your pottery purchases those days.

Hope to see you and your friends!

Santa's helper

2011-11-27T13:19:00.001-05:00

Cherokee (Santa's Helper)

Bluegill Pottery Studio open 2-6pm today!

Shelby Star Story on Festival and potters

2011-11-11T21:33:00.002-05:00

Story in Shelby Star about local potters and the Carolina Pottery Festival, which happens tomorrow. Tried to do a link for you, but you'll just have to look it up yourself. Search for Connected by clay, Shelby Star and you'll see a slideshow and a little blurb about a few of us in the area.
I'm all set up and ready to sell pottery! Hope you can make it out. Looks to be a great day.......See ya there

Great story in the Shelby Star

2011-11-11T21:26:00.000-05:00

Vickie Gill. Born in Shreveport, La, grew up in New Orleans and has lived in Gastonia since 1982. Specialty: Photo : The Star Online : The Newspaper of Cleveland County

Oxidation vs. Reduction

2011-11-03T20:12:00.004-04:00

Oxidation oranges, rusts and ambers

Reduction yellows, reds and temmokus

More reduction colors
Recently my friend, Bobbie, asked me to help her fill her gas kiln with some work. She usually asks about once or twice a year in order to get a firing done more quickly, since her kiln is pretty large and takes quite a few pieces. I'm always happy to round out her load because I miss reduction firing sometimes and it makes me think differently about the pieces I make. I tend to do a little less decorating and let the kiln work it's magic more. She opened the kiln on Halloween Day and I got to ask "Was it Halloween or Christmas?", a saying from Ben Owens, III that we first when we took a class from him at Penland.

"CHRISTMAS!" was her answer.

These pots will be available at the Carolina Pottery Festival on Nov. 12, in Shelby.

Pottery Festival Billboards

2011-10-27T11:53:00.006-04:00

These are the billboards that are scattered around the Gastonia, Mt. Holly and Belmont area. The pot featured on the billboard is Linda Dalton's, from West End, NC. We're excited about the festival--please spread the word to your pottery friends and lovers (lovers of pottery or your lovers of potters, whatever works for you--isn't the English language great, it's so encompassing sometimes!) about the Festival. You can like it on Facebook and you can sign up for the emails at the blog, http://www.carolinapotteryfestival.blogspot.com/

Ok, I have tried to link to the Facebook page about 6 times now and am not getting it correct, so you'll just have to look for Carolina Pottery Festival on Facebook. It's NOT the Carolina Claymatters Pottery Festival. They're the other guys that were formerly known as the McAlpine Barn Sale. A great bunch and you can like them too, but make sure you find the real page for us!

Fall arrangement

2011-10-26T11:44:00.003-04:00

Love these little squash/gourds. They are so bright and cheerful. They came home with me from the Claymatters sale and are brightening up the front hall. If I'm lucky, I can probably reuse them for the upcoming Carolina Pottery Festival in Shelby in November. Great props!

Potter's Palette

2011-10-17T00:02:00.002-04:00

Got an invitation to send an artwork on canvas to this show, which is a fund raiser for the NC Pottery Center.

This is the finished 12"x12" mixed media painting I sent in. After much staring at the blank canvas and one false start, I decided to try and capture an image I use in my pottery, which is leaves on a water surface. The ginkgo leaves are ones I gathered last fall to use on pottery (I freeze them to preserve them. ) They were at the height of color then.
Sorry about the light reflections off the surface of the canvas. I used a high gloss finish over the whole painting.

Weeks of work

2011-09-29T09:25:00.004-04:00

These were the scenes in my studio the last few weeks as I finished the wholesale orders and shipped out to the galleries in North Carolina, Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Missouri that had placed them. I breathed a deep sign of relief on Monday as the last of that batch went out.

Over the past few years I have opted to do less retail shows and more wholesale business and I've found it changes the way I make work and especially the way I feel before I open a kiln.

When doing specific pieces--1 maple tray in blue in small--you can't make one piece. I always double the amount and usually triple or quadruple it now. Murphy's Law certainly applies when doing specific orders. And the kiln opening is sometimes fraught with anxiety--did all the mugs come out right or will I have to go back and remake them and I may be watching the deadline to ship them out go right past me?

When making work for retail shows, the pressure was different. I always wanted to come up with new work and always seemed to be opening the kiln on the morning I was leaving for a show, hoping for magic. When it was magical, it was great, but sometimes those pieces sold and I only had a few moments to savour the piece. And if the piece or the firing wasn't great, I had enough work for the show and I could experience the remorse later.

So the pieces seem a lot dearer now because of the work and hope invested in them and because they are already sold/placed.

Today I start some new pieces for the upcoming Claymatters show in October and that's really exciting. And I'm trying to make pieces each week for wholesale that I can "have in inventory" and I plan on basking in the glow of the good wholesale orders that I completed for at least a day or so! Then I'm going to "Get up and do it again, caught between the longing for pottery and the struggle for the legal tender" as an alteration of the Jackson Browne song goes.

receiving help

2011-09-22T21:45:00.002-04:00

A long while back I had an arrangement with a lady who wanted to use studio space and she exchanged cleaning the studio for it. It was great and I forgot about all the everyday things like washing the floor mats and cleaning the toilets and could really concentrate on work. Then she decided to move out west, so I added those tasks back on to my "to do" list.
About a month ago I answered an ad in our clay guild newsletter for someone who needed studio space as a sculptor and would be willing to exchange work for it. We met. Everything seemed to work for both of us as far as the arrangement. My wheel has never been cleaner.
This past weekend I didn't get into the studio until late and she had already gone. She asked me to make up a list of things to do, and I just ran out of time. When I went into the back bathroom, neat stacks of boards, dusted lights, orderly cleaning products were lined up against the wall instead of being strewn all over. My back porch had all the recycled boxes broken down. The little room that I keep the bubble wrap and the huge bags of peanuts in was also neatened up so beautifully that it made me want to weep. My thoughts ranged from amazement at the glory of it to the fear that she might find me so untidy that she wouldn't be able to continue our arrangement.
Sometimes it's hard to ask for help. Sometimes it's harder to receive it. And then sometimes you get exactly what you needed when you couldn't even begin to think how to verbalize to yourself or another what they could do for you that could help.
Sometimes you get very lucky.

Clay dig, or clay dog?

2011-09-02T09:18:00.003-04:00

What boredom makes a dog do.

The guilty look. No, I didn't do this. You're imagining it.

Guess I'll have to start bringing chew sticks to work with us. I'm sure chewing clay is not part of a recommended diet. All of a sudden it's his new thing, though.

Patterns

2011-09-02T09:13:00.002-04:00

Saw these great textiles at the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City. I was there 8 years ago, but they built a whole new addition that was pretty great. Really enjoyed it. Will post some more shots later.

A whole lot of shaking going on

2011-08-23T14:17:00.003-04:00

Just experienced my first tremor on this side of the country. Been through a couple when visiting LA and one when in Indianapolis a long time ago. Didn't think this part of the country had THOSE kinds of problems! Now I need to run to the studio to make sure nothing shifted in the kiln. What a new curve to throw into the mix. Hope everyone is ok out there.

Tallying time and help for a question

2011-08-22T10:49:00.003-04:00

I've gotten quite a lot of orders from wholesale galleries in the last month, so I am up to my elbows in clay, trying to sort all the pots needed, see what else I need to make and generally move them all from a state of dirt to a state of art exchangeable for dineros. During all this craziness, my husband (always the businessman) asked a pointed question on if this all was profitable. What a question!
Anyway, I decided I would tally all the hours and see how this all pans out with expenses, time, etc. I read an article in the last Ceramics Monthly or Pottery Illustrated on a clay person who had recently done this and thought I should do my own study for my own satisfaction. If anyone can remind me of which issue this was in, that would be great. I'd like to review it and it is probably in a stack somewhere.

Conversations with kids about clay

2011-08-18T10:03:00.004-04:00

Kids say the darnedest things about clay sometimes. Over the past few weeks I have done some lessons for a summer camp and some private lessons and really enjoyed the feedback from the kids I spoke to and what they thought. Here's some of their comments:

"Wow. This is so cool. If you need help I could come and be your helper." Victoria, 11 or 12 years old. "I just love your leaves. They are BEEUTIFULLLL!" deep sigh...(Leaf shaped clay bowls)

"I can use my allowance to buy one of these, you can buy the other and maybe mom will buy this one for me." commented Vicki (a different one, but around age 11, ) on a visit to the gallery with her grandmother so she could pick out pottery for her birthday. This little girl wanted POTTERY for her birthday! Note: her grandmother bought one piece and she did use her own money to buy another, but mom had already gotten her a birthday present.

" I could come after school and help you out. I could clean up or help you make things. I can give you my cell phone and you can call me." Dean, just turned 13. And he did give me his cell phone number.

Besides being very sweet, these conversations were inspiring to me. They reminded me of the joy that clay can bring to others and how much kids are able and desire to help when they are excited about a subject.

Perfection

2011-07-21T09:18:00.003-04:00

I just read a great post by Whitney Smith about the idea of perfection in your work and how it can twist your soul and body into unbelievable torture trying to accomplish the idea of that. Wonderful post and it really hit home because I have just shipped out several orders and this idea always plagues me after I send work out.

Pottery Lottery

2011-07-13T23:12:00.004-04:00

Mixed Sets are really popular right now, at least according to my custom orders. This was a set of canisters I recently completed. I also am 1 plate short of completing a dinnerware order that has 3 handbuild scalloped edged plates, 6 handbuilt triangular salad plates and 3 thrown, squared plates with carving on the rims and then 6 bowls to match. The green and honey-gold glaze tie them together, but each plate is different and like a small painting.

And then there's the order for 2 different plates, to coordinate with other plates from other potters.

I like it. It's an individual world with people being able to have something unique and lovely but not the same as anyone else.

Gosh, these people have won the pottery lottery, because the odds that almost anyone else out there has something similar are about one in whatever the population of Earth currently is.

Pretty cool. I am feeling extra super duper cool about being a potter right now. Plus, I had a darn good kiln firing yesterday.

Salt and Pepper Project

2011-07-06T17:59:00.000-04:00

These are some finished salt and pepper shakers that I have been experimenting with. The project itself was inspired by an article in Pottery Making Illustrated from May/June 2010 by Keith Phillips.

They are the kind that don't have holes in the top, just a small funnel in the bottom. They were a lot of fun and I have been using the new Chartreuse glaze I've been developing in various combinations with my other glazes. Lots of fun.

Light Show

2011-07-05T22:51:00.002-04:00

Great Fireworks Show last night, courtesy of G-town.

Hanging with this crowd of mud-slingers this coming weekend!

2011-06-19T16:07:00.003-04:00

Tomato time

2011-06-13T22:20:00.004-04:00

Had the first tomato sandwich of the year. Sorry, no pictures. I ate it too fast. I admit I was pushing it a bit as our tomatoes were only just turning ripe. But it was good and really brings home the fact that summer is here. Loaded a kiln while the weather seemed calm. It's a challenge with those pop-up thunderstorms!

Here's a nice luncheon salad for you. Of course, it should be served in a handmade bowl!
1 ripe tomato
several fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp of feta cheese
dash of salt and pepper
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar

chop up the tomato and basil as fine or as coarse as you like and throw in, dash over and drizzle on the rest of the ingredients. Enjoy!

An afternoon of rain and throwing pots

2011-05-27T21:21:00.003-04:00

No pictures today. Just a wheel in motion all afternoon as the sound of drumming rain comes in from the kiln porch where a glaze kiln is cooling. Perfect. Time for mind and hands to come together over a soft undulating mound of clay. No other pots to glaze or trim or detail. Nothing else between the clay and me. A sketch of experimental pots in front of me, pushing the limits for a set of canisters for Carole. More wall vases to explore glaze combinations. Squared off plates as part of a set of dishes for Nan. Shows, finished wares, pots in the appreciative hands of people, all reduce down to this--the rhythm of the wheel and clay.
Don't get me wrong, I love handbuilding but it is a different pace and a different rhythm.
Beautiful. This is why I got into clay and why it still ensnares me in it's magic.
The rhythm of the wheel and clay.

Handles on Teapot

2011-05-12T11:52:00.000-04:00

Working on some teapots that have been in the studio patiently
waiting on me to cane handles on them. Using twist ties to hold the cane in place while I bent and wrapped it. Ron
gave me this tip a while back. I used to use clothespins, but when the cane is too thick they tend to fly off at the most inopportune moments.
I'll have this one and some more pieces at the Claymatters Barn Sale on Monroe Rd. in Charlotte on Saturday. Will post a few more images of HOT out of the kiln work later.

North Carolina Pottery Center Auction Piece

2011-04-30T11:05:00.003-04:00

Back and front views of the piece I sent off to the North Carolina Pottery Center for their annual auction. It's called "The Theft" and illustrates my fascination with crows and their amazing personalities. I think they're in the "larger than life" catagory of birds. Very cheeky!
The berries are a red clay that makes a nice contrast to the white background. Enjoy using it, except for it's tenacity to stain your hands and anything else it touches.

Tree Covered Jars

2011-04-19T21:58:00.001-04:00

Some of the finished tree covered jars.

Web Presence, new buzz word

2011-04-18T10:33:00.002-04:00

I've been immersed in reading about all the ways to coordinate your web presence through social media, blogs, websites, profile pages, etc. This is in an effort to make my website more effective and to introduce an online retail site. It also comes as a result of a long conversation with a friend about ways to improve retail services/sales for my husband's business, Wilkinson Animal Hospital. I've been pretty actively involved in his business since it opened in 1987. I even was a receptionist for a summer. But now I do his bookkeeping and take staff photos and lots of other small jobs. Since it's our main source of income it tends to take priority over the amount of time I have to spend in the studio, depending on what's happening at the vet hospital. But it's also flexible in the hours and that compensates for the time out of the studio. Lots of ideas churning around about "optimizing our web presences" for both businesses with out it becoming another time sucking machine that keeps us from doing the things we love most about our work. My to-do list is fairly long, so I better get moving!

Life smells grand

2011-04-15T06:58:00.003-04:00

Why don't you let me sit in the front seat? It would be so much easier to lean my head out the window and eat your french fries and tell those cheeky dogs how fast I could run if we were to race.

Listen to the wind blow

2011-04-12T22:01:00.002-04:00

Got a little crazy around here last weekend. Luckily only had minor breakage and I think my tile furniture is still usable.

Stowe Botanical Gardens

2011-03-22T21:42:00.004-04:00

Persian Inspired Plates with underglazes for colorants.
Variety of new work that is now at Stowe Botanical Gardens Gift Store.
Includes salt and pepper sets, cupcake/candle stands, small covered jars with a botanical theme.

It was really lovely out there when I dropped work off. The spring flowers and trees were all in bloom. I have some more photos of the Gardens I will post next.

After and Before

2011-03-16T20:16:00.009-04:00

New Koi Plates I have been working on, using underglazes to add more vivid coloration. Trying to capture some of the beauty of the markings. Not all underglazes turned out exactly as I thought they would. Expected more yellow/orange from the bottom plate and it is very subdued in the glaze firing.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-03-02T10:06:00.008-05:00

Stylish Blogger..here I go!

Jen Mecca sent me an email the other day about being one of her "Stylish Blogger" picks. I have been stewing over who to send to and also what to say. In the meantime I went out of town, so, out of sight, out of mind. Having procrastinated long enough, here are the rules and my 7 scoops:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award being by providing a link to their site.
2. Share 7 things about yourself that other bloggers might not know.

3. Give the Award to 15 newly discovered or interesting blog.
4. Notify each of those blogger to present the Award.

7 Scoops about Me:

1. Whining drives me crazy. I come from a notoriously non-sympathetic family.

Which is not to say they don't have EMPATHY, because they do, fantastically. However, we all have a very short attention span for whining about conditions in life. Usually you will be treated to a "Suck it up. Life is hard. Life is not fair. Stop wasting time and get out there and DO something about it."

2. I lived in 7 different houses in 2 different states in 12 years. No, I don't come from a military family, we just moved quite a bit until we finally settled down in New Orleans.

3. I love books so much that when a hurricane was threatening to come inland to N.O. when I was in 7th grade, I stacked all my books by my bed so that I could evacuate them with me. How I thought I would get them into the car in that state of emergency is beyond me now. I probably knew my sister or parents wouldn't help carry them or listen to my woes (see #1 above).

4. A grown man once threatened me with a gun when I was in the sixth grade. My dog had run into his yard and he was threatening to shoot him and I got in front of my dog so he couldn't. As an adult I look back at that and think, "What the heck was he thinking?" Of course, he may have been holding a BB gun to give him the benefit of the doubt.

5. I started reading a series of books by Dorothy Dunnett when I was in high school. There are 6 books in the Lymond series and 8 books in the Niccolo series. For you, dear reader, I added up all the pages and they amount to a total of 3046 pgs. and 4484 pgs. respectively. And I have read the first series about 4 times minimum and the second series twice. 21152 pgs. A little scary when I think about it.

6. My favorite protein food is cheese. And yogurt comes a close second. I love cheese. All kinds of it. Heaven would be a cheese trip around the world. I can now satify my desire to catch up on my favorite cows and farm life by logging onto the Stoneyfield Farm website.

7. Have always disliked my middle name. Was very happy to replace it with my maiden name on documents after marriage.

A Word for the family

2011-03-02T09:54:00.002-05:00

I just got back from a great 10 days away from the studio. I had a show in Mississippi, planned by my sister with her home as the location. It was great. Lots of sales and some orders to complete and great feed back on new work. Then my sister, my mom and I took a cruise out of Mobile, Alabama. We all shared a room and three of my sister's friends had the cabin next door to us.
My family never ceases to amaze me at how supportive they are of everything I have ever undertaken. I laugh more with them than almost any other people. And it still surprises me that this isn't the case with everyone. Anyway, my thanks to some of the MOST AMAZING PEOPLE I KNOW!

Bowlarama

2011-02-08T21:09:00.005-05:00

These are some new bowl shapes for me. As you can see from the top photo, I went through my old pottery magazines and pulled out things I wanted to try. Since I am making bowls for the Cleveland Co. Bowling for Dollars event this month, I thought I would do a little experimentation. Don't know how I will glaze them, but think I'll keep it simple and let the form speak.

I started cleaning the studio back in August, 2010. This past month I finally got all the things that I had decided I wasn't going to use either sold, donated, or thrown away. It felt really good to have more space. In the midst of the cleaning I found some things that had been buried. These included:

Photo light stands

Bags of glazes that I wanted to experiment with and had never gotten into liquid form (copper reds in oxidation, slip glazes, an oil spot glaze)
Second, third, and fourth replacements of needle tools, scratch tools, trimming tools

Chamois

Lamp parts

Glass containers

Reduced my magazines down to a handful and plan on trying out new things every month from the clippings. Kind of a self enforced workshop.

The clean up also spawned new projects in the studio. Currently working on a plaster table for recycling clay, a new soft light box and a speedy set up for the light box for taking on the fly photos. Well, that's the update on what's happening at Bluegill. Got a show in Mississippi this month and hope to get some photos of glazed pieces before I leave for that. Stay tuned........

Hand Made

2011-01-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

New Year Resolution

Leaves, Koi Plates and a Sunset

2010-12-08T22:26:00.007-05:00

Large Crescent Tray with Two Koi. One of my last custom orders for the holidays. Now safely on it's way to the west coast to bring handcrafted joy to someone I've never met but is beloved by family members who commissioned this project.

These three Koi plates were a new venture. I wanted to try the various colors that Koi come in, rather than my standard orange. I don't know what the attraction for these fish is for me, but I do think they are pretty magical. When I was a kid, the next door neighbors had a type of fish pond/grotto in their yard and I was fascinated by it. I've taken loads of photos of Kois in other ponds (mostly as a fuzzy fleeting image, since they don't hold still very long) as a reference point, so that is one of the projects I'll be working on in the new year. Tree plates are on the list and prototypes have been made but not yet fired.

Managed to gather some beautiful leaves from the yard before all the cold weather turned everything brown and crinkly. I want to work towards some complex surfaces like these in 2011. Mother Nature usually is a hard act to follow, though. She's had quite a bit of time to develop her palette and technical coloring skills.

All the holiday shows/festivals are over for me and all the holiday orders completed. There is definitely a sense of the year drawing to a close. I snapped this shot on the way home from the studio about 2 weeks ago. So lovely watching the colors deepen as the light faded from the sky.

The rest of the year will be spent cleaning and organizing and keeping the studio open for those folks who need locally made pottery! Drop by after the Lowell parade this Saturday or on Sunday from 1 to 4pm. And you can catch me in the studio during the week from 1ish to 6pm. Always best to call ahead to make sure I haven't had to run out to handle a pottery crisis of some sort.

Thanks to all those galleries and individuals who purchased Bluegill Pottery this year!

Covered Jars

2010-10-01T18:20:00.000-04:00

Pagoda and Koi topped jars.

On a roll with these. I also have some tree topped jars that I am excited about but will post later.

Opening the kiln to the trees

2010-09-30T22:08:00.005-04:00

New work from the kiln. This was one of those wonderfully not so great days. Meaning there is much potential for the future, but not everything worked out exactly as planned. Welcome to Lesson No. 1, Pottery 101. I lost a tree in the top sculpture. One came loose when glazing and I held my breath that it wouldn't slip off during the firing. But alas, one tree down on the kiln shelf. I will do this again and smaller versions of it. Just have to refigure how best to attach the trees so accidents don't create felled forests in the studio.

Thanks!

2010-09-26T20:11:00.003-04:00

It was great to see everyone who came out to buy pottery on Saturday and all those nice potters who showed up to take some of my extra "pottery makin' stuff" off my hands. I'm really excited about having table and counter space and not wandering the studio looking under piles of things for that certain tool that I have misplaced!
Had a lot of questions about whether I was closing shop, moving, not making work anymore, etc. If you were wondering any of those, the answer to all is "No". Still here, still making work--planning on being like Beatrice Wood and working until I'm 100 or so.

Glazed Koi Vases

2010-09-23T21:45:00.001-04:00

Liked the "sprig" fish and hope to do more. It's hard to represent them well in a 2-d photo.

Will use these colors on some of the covered jars that have koi knobs on them.

Fall glaze colors

2010-09-22T21:00:00.000-04:00

New Gourd Vase Forms
Same forms, just a different palette for the fall.

Doing some of my mix and match glaze work and hoping magic will happen. I like 1-3. Glazes 4 & 5 were not that different from the original one I started with. Probably only I would be able to tell the nuances of color difference, so these are a no go. No. 3 has some real potential as a nice dark amber with a bit of unexpected color from rutile. 1 & 2 are satin and I may end up trying them on the experimental sculputural work I'm trying out.

My method for developing glazes is to mix a half and half mixture of existing colors and see what occurs. Then get more complicated and try a 1/3 mixture of three different glazes. The drawback is if you like the results and decide to mix up a large batch, you end up with a list of 12 to 20 ingredients.

In the Middle

2010-09-21T21:25:00.007-04:00

Covered Jars and Sculptural Piece with details.

Pretty excited about these-they're bisqued now and just waiting to be glazed.

Crossing the proverbial fingers!

Koi Fish

2010-09-01T13:51:00.004-04:00

These are pieces recently completed in greenware stage. I had a contact from someone in England that was interested in images of fish on ceramic pieces. She is authoring a book on the subject and found my work on the web. I rounded up various images and sent to her. Anxious to see if any will work. Would be lovely to have work published, don't you think? Anyway, had the inspiration to do some more koi pottery. A change was incorporating the fish as a sprig-type decorative element on the body of the piece. We'll see how it works.

Throwing--ain't it grand

2010-08-11T22:53:00.003-04:00

I've been back in the studio for a week now. Wednesday to Friday brought a fair amount of friends, well-wishers and folks who needed some pottery in the front door. It's now settled down to my old routine and today I got to throw. It was sweet. There is just something magical about watching that clay change from a mound to a vessel. It still gets to me, even when it's me doing it.

Lots of thoughts about the studio were whirling around as the pots came off the wheel. I have decided to go through all my STUFF. If it were a little pile of stuff, there would be no need to use capital letters. Obviously I have acquired more than I need and I intend to fix that by redistributing the wealth. Check in here for updates on what will be offered (very reasonable prices and some free stuff) as I reduce my studio footprint. And hey, it's not just for pottery making people. There will be books, sewing/craft items, storage and display units, etc.
Projected date is September 25.

Seeing into the future

2010-07-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

I'm looking into the future and it will soon be filled with some serious pottery making. Back at last from my long absence from the studio, I will be throwing again in little over a week. I have had a great time, pursuing a long term goal of taking classes on human behavior, the mind and spirit and overcoming barriers to one's own purposes and goals on any front of life.

When I first decided to take time out from the studio, I wasn't sure I could endure months on end without a hands on approach to creativity. What I discovered along the way is that I have had a certain driveness about having to "make" things. I realized I wasn't going to dry up and blow away if I wasn't actually making pots everyday. Taking the "must" out of the creative process will give me more freedom to do better work and I am really looking forward to exploring that.

Exciting News at the Pottery

2010-06-10T22:48:00.003-04:00

Well, no, I'm not back in the studio making work yet, but apparently someone was so desperate to get in, that they broke a window, cut themselves climbing through and set off my burglar alarm. What excitement!! Luckily the police are very good in my area and always arrive promptly and my friends at home got the window immediately replaced and Jim was a champion for taking care of the alarm details. Great friends are a treasure indeed.

Looks like nothing was taken, they were just hoping for money.........HA! That was a big strike out. Guess they'll take pottery studios off their potential "cash cow" burglary candidate lists. Of course, my main concern, once it was apparent that everything else was ok was "Did they knock over my bookshelves getting through the window or bleed on my favorite pottery books?

Thank goodness for all the great, honest people in the world. You have to keep that in mind when a random act of unkindness happens to you. Three cheers for nice people!

New Work in Asheville

2010-05-22T20:47:00.002-04:00

Well, I am still out of the studio (will be for another couple of weeks) but new work should have arrived at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville. Lots of appropriately beautiful yet extremely functional work ready to be put to good use!
On the pottery perusing level, I have been following Sequoia Miller's blog (look at the May 12 post for pictures) about these cool boxes he is putting together for a show. I love the concept of grouping many objects together, so that the presentation is a story all it's own, but individually you can OWN just one piece or make your own grouping with two or three.
Also found a great book by Peter Cosentino called The Potter's Project Book, which has things like salt pigs, chess sets and other delightful projects, even a puzzle jug. Some inspiring ideas for when I get my hands back in clay. Isn't it crazy how fast the year is heading towards the halfway mark?

Reading roll

2010-04-05T18:52:00.005-04:00

Getting a library card to me has always been like getting the okay to raid the candy store. I mean, you can check out any book on any thing......What more could a person ask for who loves to read? I'm still one of the hard or soft cover hold outs. We got Katie a Kindle for Christmas, but she has storage issues, so I can see her need for digital books. I love flipping the pages, getting to the end and seeing what type face was used, the feel of the paper. Gosh, working at a printing company will do that to you, I suppose. I mean, I had to learn how to put a 16 page and 32 page signature (individual pages printed on one large sheet of paper) together in order to print them correctly when they were folded and bound to put into a magazine or book.

I know there's lots of people who like to listen to books on tape but I'm not one of them. I really love the reading, and for me it's much faster. After all, you read using vision and light, so theoricately you could read at the speed of light, whereas you can only listen at the speed of sound! Recently I have been working through Robert B. Parker's novels, concentrating on the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall series. They are quite addictive because they are such a fast read. I love the terse, concise dialog between the characters. While doing this post I had to look up something about Mr. Parker and found out he had passed away in January. When an author or artist dies, then all the future stories or works they could have created are no more. I know that is true of the death of anyone--all those potential futures just wiped away. I will miss not knowing what Jesse Stone will do in Paradise, just like I miss Lt. Joe Leaphorn from Tony Hillerman's series.

Cheeky Birds

2010-03-30T22:25:00.003-04:00

One of the "wild life" that makes eating lunch full of adventure. There are also grey herons and seagulls and smaller white birds that are even more threatening than this big guy. They hover and swoop and land on your table, beadly eyeing your sandwich. I think they are the Florida version of NC bears that have been fed and become a real problem. Besides not knowing when they will streak out of the sky and nail your food, they also can wreak revenge by letting loose a shower of bird doo. Oh so appetizing.....But I have gotten some nice reference shots for carving work on pots.

Connected Part Two- The Elegance of the Hedgehog

2010-03-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

I finished a lovely book, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" several weeks ago, just as I was reading a book by Bernard Leach entitled "The Potter's Challenge". The first book was written recently and is a work of fiction and the Leach book was published in 1951.
My favorite moments of the "Hedgehog" were the lines of the characters that spoke about moments of stillness of spirit and beauty and contemplation. In fact, a conversation between two of the characters was about why a Dutch Master's painting was so engaging to the viewer. It got me to thinking about why I love the artwork and music that I do. What threads run through the different mediums that work their magic on the viewer?
Then Mr. Leach managed to shed some light on it for me. In talking about how as a modern creator/artist/artisan (whatever title you are comfortable with) he says,
"We have to learn to put the thinking apparatus, our intellectual box of tricks into proper relationship with the intuitive parts of our mind. When they are properly related to each other we can still live in a world of thusness, or let us say, wholeness."
So those interactions with beauty, art or music, which sometimes stop me like the singing tone of crystal or porcelain in the still air and resonate through me are those moments of wholeness in the artwork.
He goes on to say
"I write of beauty, and truth and thusness. I think the final word I would use as a criterion of value in the world of art, if I were reduced to a single word, would be the presence of life.... It is a force that goes beyond all arts or artists. It is the ultimate standard and it is attainable."

I find great solace in the fact that it is attainable and know that all those shards and seconds and misfits and not quite rights are just mileposts on the road to bringing that life into the here and now of my pottery.

Mr. Cherokee

2010-03-21T22:45:00.003-04:00

Jim sent me this nice photo of Cherokee. He's enjoying the spring time and great weather, waiting for me to get back to the studio and greet all you pottery lovers coming in to visit.

Connectedness Part 1

2010-03-03T10:52:00.010-05:00

Connectedness is a topic I have been mulling on for quite a long time. So I thought I would give it a shot as a serial post. But to keep myself on track instead of just rambling, I decided an outline would be in order. Here it is:

Part One: Thoughts on connectedness and James Garner, past and future; not really connected to pottery except through my love of him and my love of pottery.
Part Two: The Elegance of the Hedgehog and The Potter's Challenge
Part Three: The Book of Hours and Scrapbooking
Part Four: Texture and the details of leaves
more as needed...... or maybe you should suggest something?

The mythologist Joseph Cambell talked about making lists as a way to sort things out (at least that's what I remember). You can read more about him in the book, "Joseph Campbell, A Fire in the Mind". I think from this exercise of list making you find connections between things. I tend to keep some running lists in my head, using the brain/mind as a file sorter and filter. Sometimes the lists are more felt, than realized. Sometimes the convergence of lists hits you like a brick over the head.

Anyway, I have this running list of work I have made in my background, so while browsing through a new pottery book "20th Century Ceramics", I turned a page and was stunned by a photo of a 1906 earthenware vase by Thorvald Bindesbell.. This pot is an homage to Hokusai's print. The "stunned part" was that I made a pot, very similarly shaped, using the same breaking wave patterns and the same color patterns quite a while ago. My pot sits on the mantle of my in-laws' fireplace. Wish I could show you, but no digital images. Maybe no slides, even, because I have never documented every piece that I made.

It has the same black background but texture created by carving. So I have been beating my brains, trying to figure out if I had seen this pot and subconsciously it wafted it's way into my work or if I was so influenced by the Hokusai print (I have had a copy of it hanging in my studio since 2000) that I strove to put that image on a pot of my own and now it looks like a copy of a long dead potter's work. The kicker is that I don't ever remember looking through the book I saw it in (first publish date 2003), I know I've never seen it in person and don't remember the image from elsewhere. I'm almost positive my pot predates 2003, because the clay body was one that I used while I took classes at Gaston College. It was a beautiful toasty body, part Gold Art and Red Art, that Keith Lambert used to have us make. I know I bought materials to make up a bunch of it before I stopped taking classes because I would no longer have access to the clay mixer. So I was using it and firing it in my kiln at home, taking the reduction glazes we used and the clay body and working in oxidation and at a couple of cones lower.

Now I know that I have looked at South American, Polynesian and Oriental pots and seen similarities in the design patterns that probably cropped up independently of one another. That's a whole big subject--the independent thought or invention of cultures, technology and art that have occurred through the ages. I'm not thinking about that large a connection. I'd just like to know if mine was independent or subconscious.

Oh, the James Garner thing: I have always loved him. Watched and loved Rockford files. Saw that it was scheduled to be remade as a TV series with Dermot Mulroney as the Jim Rockford character. Everything old is new again?

Mosaics on the outside

2010-03-01T10:49:00.008-05:00

These are images of a beautiful mosaic being installed at the Children's museum, next to the Pen-Free Tampa Museum of Art. Hope the kiddies get more respect from museum management than their parents do! Anyway, I got to stop and chat for a few minutes with a woman who was helping the artist do the installation. She said they did the pieces at a warehouse, using Wonderboard as the backer for the mosaic. When I saw the panels, they were already mounted and I could see screwheads that were being covered up by glass pieces, as well as some damaged glass that they were having to remove and replace. Very magical. The link goes to an article, which gives the monetary costs ($75,000) and how payments would be made ($5000 down and $17,500 over a four year period.
I don't know a thing about public commissions of installation work, but this woman had a bunch of people working with her part-time and I'm wondering how this is economically feasible unless you have a boatload of these things going over a 12 month period, enough to float your materials, living/travel expenses, hired help and the inclusion of Murphy's Law costs. Anyone have any ideas about how this works?

A Pen-Free Museum in Tampa, by Golly

2010-02-27T17:03:00.006-05:00

New Tampa Museum of Art
Sketches of Greek Pottery

Dutifully observing the "No Photography" Sign on their permanent collection by drawing, standing up, balancing a sketchbook and purse with nary a seat in sight.

More nice pots and thoughts about pots before the security caught me WITH PEN IN HAND!

"Ma'am, is that a pen you are holding?" quoth he.

"Why yes" said I.

"You can't use a PEN in the museum. You'll have to go downstairs and get a PENCIL" said he.

"You're kidding" said I, restraining myself mightily.

Gee, what would they have done if I had pulled out my trusty BLACK PERMANENT MARKER!Really, I can understand the fear that some kid might decide to write "Johnny was here" on the derriere of a female nude sculpture, but a tame grey haired lady with a sketch book and ballpoint is not much of a security threat.
What is the job of a museum these days? I thought it was to nuture appreciation of art and history and to educate. How can it be that we are reduced to the simplicity of gawking idiots, unable to record any nuance of light and shadow, the way the piece curves up from the belly, the lip and foot proportions, or how the handle joins at just the right spot because we have a pen in our hand.

Rumors of snow

2010-01-31T11:43:00.002-05:00

I've heard rumors and first hand accounts of snow in NC. In fact, I have a video that I'll try to load on here later, with the famous Cherokee Gill, retired race dog extraordinere, cavorting in the white stuff. It was sent as a little birthday gift, since Cherokee is at home with friends while I am gone. My heart goes all soupy and sweet when I see a dog around here, evidence that I am missing my great big studio buddy. Anyway, check back later in the week since I have to figure it out and it may just remain a big mystery if the technology is too much.

Fog and Hot tea

2010-01-22T18:59:00.003-05:00

It's been a lovely foggy day in Florida. We had a great big storm last night, and cool air moved in to create this Englandy looking atmosphere. I've always had a thing for fog. I've always liked hot tea. Hmm? Was I really supposed to have been born in the South or am I really just a misplaced Brit with a slightly funny accent?

Impressionism inspiration

2010-01-09T11:31:00.003-05:00

Since I'm not working with clay in the near future, my thoughts turn to painting and drawing. Just before I left home I took my car to the auto car wash for a well-deserved bath. I love the fact that they have great vaccum cleaners. So powerful it sucked up my ball point pen. I wonder if the job perks include dividing the small change or even bills, jewelry, etc that make their way to the bottom of the vaccum cleaner? Anyway, while riding through, I thought how cool that soapy world looks, so took some shots for future reference.

New Days, New Years, New Decades

2010-01-02T09:33:00.005-05:00

Everything is new again! I have been cruising the blogs occasionally to see what's been happening out there. I have been on vacation, enjoying some well deserved time with family and starting on a study of courses that will occupy me and keep me away from the studio until the end of May.

Today I walked around the neighborhood (Florida, not NC) and it was a breezy, chilly, sunny morning. Quite nice. Don't know if the FL natives like this cold spell but it suits me just fine.
I have to figure out how to load my camera pictures on this computer, so no new images for a bit.

There was a great article in Ceramics Arts Daily last week about mass production of pottery design. I read it with interest. It really covered the good points and bad points of such a self-financed venture. I can see how satifsying that would be for an artist/craftsman that had the goal to bring well-made work to the marketplace at large quantities. I did have to explore some of my own prejudices about the concept, but realized that I enjoy a lot of products that fall in that middle space--well designed, aesthetically pleasing and in an affordable range.

They are NOT the same as the individually made cup. But I would reach for them and the experience would be more pleasing than that cylinder that comes in a rainbow of colors. I think the thing that I would miss most about the experience is the story behind the work itself. I do think of the person or place or time that I got a cup or mug from and to me, that is an important part of the drinking/eating experience. Now, I'm not saying that I have a concious remembrance every time I drink, but it's there, in the background like ambient music or a soft pillow. Maybe it's just "padding" for the everyday battle of life!

Anyway, I appreciated the article. Take a look for yourself. Tell me what you might think. Have a great day!

A Year of Bluegill Pottery Calendar Giveaway

2009-12-07T08:57:00.003-05:00

Here's what February could look like on your wall in 2010. All you have to do to win this full color calendar of 12 months of Bluegill Pottery work is to register at my open house this coming weekend. I'll be open 10am to 4pm on Saturday and 1 to 4pm on Sunday, so come out, look around and register! Oh, and you can even buy things for yourself, friends and loved ones!!!

Crow Clock in the Bird Series.

Bluegill Website Update

2009-12-06T00:18:00.002-05:00

I finally was able to get my website updated last month. Many new photos in the gallery section and changes to gallery hours, class info, etc. Have a look at the new stuff, then it will stay the same for a while, since my blog is really where all the new work is featured and the website changes at a snail's pace.

I'm trying to decide on changing my email program from Constant Contact to Vertical Response. I set up a VR account for the Carolina Pottery Festival and it worked very well and was economical to send out show info. I think that I don't use my CC enough to warrant the expense. I will miss all the nice templates in CC, though. There is always a learning curve with a new program, and frankly my patience in learning curves is a bit worn thin.

After/Before or What it takes to make it saleable

2009-12-05T01:24:00.004-05:00

These are the pieces I dropped off this past Monday at the Cleveland County Arts Council for their Handmade for the Holidays show. I think it's a nice selection of work with new bird themed pieces, impressed fish trays and some sweet little plum blossom trays that I have coupled with a red bowl. The beehive shape is for knitters or crocheters to house their wayward thread skeins in.

Before it could become a saleable item, it had to go through a bit of post kiln magic. You're seeing many things in many different stages in this shot. It's funny that I took this photo on Monday and when reading Ron's blog today, I see he has his own bit of chaos going on. Is it something in the air, or just the time of year when creativity and clean collide? Creativity seems to win at my house, hands down.

In the cause of full disclosure, I have not been paid or recompensed by Panera Bread for drinking their tea and showing it on my blog. I also had a bagel with cream cheese and darn if I didn't have to pay for that, as well.

Will you be there?

2009-12-04T08:33:00.002-05:00

Working on some great pieces for this holiday open house.

Come and bring your friends.

I'll have lovely pottery in all shapes, sizes and prices.

Even a few wonderful, but slightly flawed pieces with reduced prices (only a very few from the last firing)

Also some really beautiful new "donut" semi-precious stone necklaces on satin cording and co-ordinating earrings.

And "snowflake", gingerbread men and heart ornaments for the tree.

(The snowflakes and hearts are in a white/delft blue glaze with an impressed design-

very lovely, if I do say so myself!)

New Work at the studio

2009-12-03T09:44:00.004-05:00

A berry in the mouth is worth two in the bush. Old Crow proverb.

Cedar Waxwing come to feast on my Bradford Pear. An early memory of Spring.

Big Bird Jar

Just a few quick images of more bird work.

I have been swamped with making/firing/finishing in order to get all obligations done in studio before the holidays. You can see some of this new work at my Holiday Open House at the studio, Dec. 12 (10am to 4pm)and Dec. 13 (1 to 4pm).

I found my picture in the post office

2009-11-19T09:49:00.003-05:00

And, no, it was not on a most wanted poster or a dead beat parent notice. They have copies of Gaston Woman near the p.o. boxes, and I usually glance at it to see if I know who has been featured. "Surpise, Surprise" as Gomer would say. It was me. Had no idea that they would take info from the article in the Gaston Gazette and make a feature story for the magazine. Very nice indeed. Moments like these and when folks are making nice comments on your work do indeed balance the bad kiln firings and other negative stuff that goes along with putting your heart's work in the public eye.

Thanks Gazette!

Bird Banks

2009-11-17T01:05:00.004-05:00

Quick shots of the bird banks that came out of the kiln on the morning of the Festival. I actually toted (carried or took with one, for those not familiar with Southern slang) these to the show and home again when I couldn't figure out how to finish them. I put a hole in the bottoms, so the coins could be removed. I've found some cork plugs that work and am pondering other options. My pottery buddies, when asked for technical advice, said they used to remove their pennies by slipping a dinner knife in the slot and teasing the money out. Sure would make life easier to not have a hole, but would slow down the drying times.

What a great day!

2009-11-15T11:53:00.004-05:00

Well, it's Sunday and I feel refreshed after a FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP! I feel like I have been on one of these mountain tops and the trail leads down the mountain at a soft, easy grade.

That should tell you that the Carolina Pottery Festival has now come and gone, only to return in 364 more days. The festival was great yesterday. Initial reports were that many folks were happy with the turnout and the sales and the public seemed happy, too. I saw lots of people carrying multiple bags around, so it looked like a lot of pottery found it's way into new homes, or soon will!

Thanks for all the great people who visited my booth and it was nice to see you again, or meet you for the first time. I hope your friends, family and yourselves enjoy all the nice pieces you took home with you yesterday.

It's off to a Carolina Claymatters guild meeting for me today, after I unload the van so I can reload 500 lbs. of clay to start on orders for the holidays or galleries. What a lovely, lovely day.

What a great state for potters and pottery lovers!

Fresh Hot Pottery, Get your Fresh, Hot Pottery!

2009-11-13T23:09:00.002-05:00

Just a very quick post, as I have been working like mad for the past two weeks and tomorrow is the Carolina Pottery Festival. I set up today and everything is really looking good. I was still working on changes to my display up until today. I have now have commissioned work cooling in the kiln for some folks coming out tomorrow and some awesome bird pieces that I have to figure out how to complete (how to put the bottom plugs in the bird banks). Anyway, hope you can come out. Pictures tomorrow or Sunday

Let's get it right! Carolina Pottery Festival is Nov. 14th

2009-11-08T00:27:00.005-05:00

Well, the very nice article that the Gaston Gazette published about the festival only had one thing wrong-WRONG DATE. I'm hoping that all these postcards and the signage, the blog, the website, the potters participating, the emails, etc--all that hard work that has been going on for months counterbalances the article's inaccuracy. I know one couple came into the shop today and told me about the article, which came out on Friday. I also had a phone call from someone who drove to Shelby for the Festival and all they found was a bunch of barbeque.

I need all the help I can get on this one, so if you read this blog and can send a shout out to your friends and lists, THE FESTIVAL IS ON NOV. 14TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carolina Pottery Festival, Nov. 14th

2009-11-06T15:00:00.000-05:00

I'm getting ready for this. Hope to see you there.
You can sign up for the mailing list at www.carolinapotteryfestival.blogspot.com, or contact me by email and I'll add you to the mailing or emailing list.

2009-11-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

Kylix forms I am playing with. A kylix is a type of wine drinking cup with a broad relatively shallow body raised on a stem from a foot and usually with two horizontal handles disposed symmetrically. The word comes from the Greek kylix "cup," which is cognate with Latin calix, the source of the English word "chalice". Only moderate success, as I threw them in one piece like I do my goblets and I have had 3 of 4 with interior CRACKING issues.
Ughhhhhh.

I am still working on bird ideas. This covered vase is one I want to explore more. Working on sketches for bird clocks and money banks. I even thought it would be cool to do a bird chess set, but couldn't figure out which birds to use. Maybe you could give me your suggestions?

My Love of Red and Green

2009-11-05T12:06:00.003-05:00

My love is a red, red leaf that drifts to grass in fall.

A fleeting flag of color that soon will wilt and pall.

But oh the joy it gives to me, while gazing on the grass,

Emerald green and ruby shimmer in shades that will not last.

The Up side of ups and downs

2009-11-04T00:00:00.002-05:00

I have another kiln, so I can pop these underfired guys back in tomorrow morning and get going again. Yes, it is a pain in the rear. Yes, it was a waste of energy and I hate firing things over. But it could be much worse. What was that song? "I heat up, I cool down........"

The down side of ups and downs

2009-11-03T23:55:00.004-05:00

I opened my kiln today, expecting versions like the first photo. Instead, I got these underfired pieces. My kiln go-to guy, David, thinks it is a relay. So, he'll be around on Monday to make all well, I hope.

Happy after Halloween, confessions of mom of grown children

2009-11-01T10:43:00.004-05:00

Thought this was an appropriate image for the post halloween blues! It's from the Mint Museum's show of Contempory Ceramics that I visited last month. Hope none of you feel like this today from the overload of sweets. I do have to confess that I didn't even have candy last night for the treaters. I had to work late to finish glazing some orders, then it started to rain very hard, so I just turned off the lights and SKIPPED HALLOWEEN! Some neighbors told me they only had one trickster come to the door, so I was glad I don't have all that sweet loot at the house and have to eat it.

However, back when the kids were home, it was always fun to go through their candy (it was for their own good, of course) and sneak out a few of my favorites. I like chocolate and snickers, reeses, special dark chocolate, nestles crunch and those little peanut butter filled, candy coated stripy things were my favorites. I am old enough to remember when the stripes were actually on the candy and not just printed on the wrapper like they are now. Our oldest, Katie, would organize and COUNT all her candy, so it was very hard to get a little evening treat from her. Spence had his all jumbled up in a pumpkin and you could cull through it and take a little treasure pile for future snacks. Of course he would probably say he knew I was taking it, but he didn't have the list of inventory like Katie, so it was hard to prove! This morning while searching for tea bags I discovered the chocolate and windmill cookies I bought at the grocery several weeks ago. Oh happy day......Here's treats and tricks to you all.

Strange Deer Tales

2009-10-31T00:00:00.002-04:00

It must be a night for deers. As I was driving home, I saw a movement in the median, then a small buck made his way across the opposite side of the road. How do you know it was a buck, you ask? By the small set of antlers on his head.
When I watched the evening news, I found out that a deer broke into the indoor pool of the old high school, which was converted into apartments. Apparently he/she jumped through the roof of the pool and landed in the pool, where a security camera caught it lapping the pool a couple of times.
Several years ago I was driving to my sister's home in rural Mississippi, very far back in the woods. She warned me that they had had a lot of deers on the roads and to be on the lookout. It was very late at night and I really didn't want to wreck my car by hitting or trying to avoid a deer, so the last few miles I drove slowly and would honk the horn every few seconds. She thought it was hysterical when I told her of my deer-evasion technique.

Low Down on the Festival

2009-10-29T10:28:00.002-04:00

I've been working to get all my Carolina Pottery Festival tasks done. I handle the publicity and mailing. Every year the to-do list starts about a month after the Festival and extends for another 11 months. Right now I am finishing up the mailing of the cards to our public. We have tried to update our mailing list to take off old or unreachable addresses. We keep the list in an Excell spreadsheet. This year I conned my sister into helping by entering the new addresses. I had a stuffed grocery bag full of returned mail from last year to delete from the old master list. When we combined both lists and I culled the duplicates, it got down to about 5200 names. So I am on the last 1000 of those in attaching stamps. Next year, we'll go back to sending out by bulk mail, which is less expensive but doesn't return bad or changed addresses. You could call this housekeeping of a sort, I suppose. I know that before I got involved with the creation of this Festival, I had no idea of the amount of work that goes into it. It has made me appreciate every show I do, since I have the low down on what has to happen just to open the doors. We have a great group of Board of Directors that pitch in and the Cleveland Co. Arts Council sends tons of wonderful volunteers on the day of the Festival to help with admission, manning the doors, booth sitting, etc. I'm looking forward to this year, but somewhat concerned about how the economy and folks' perceptions about it will play out. When you feel personally responsible for how over 100 potters do at a show, it can make you a bit nervous.

Some music I'm listening to

2009-10-27T23:00:00.004-04:00

Well, just returned to NC from Florida. I wanted to see Spencer before he left on tour again. While there I got to hear some new music he's working on, for the next album and for background to the documentary that was filmed of Tides of Man. He and the band will be going out with Jonny Craig (from Emarosa, but who is doing a solo tour) as an opener and back up band in November, so they are all busy learning new music for that tour.
He told me about this group, Calexico and then we found out that we both really like Ray Lamontagne. You can check them out through the links. I had heard "Trouble" and "Let it be Me" by Lamontagne on the radio and tried to find out who the artist was. Finally managed to scribble his name down on a tiny piece of paper that promptly disappeared into my purse. Jim swears my purse has a 5th dimensional door that swallows matter like my cell phone, since I can never find it when he calls.
Tomorrow is a long day back in the studio, catching up.

Hot Glass

2009-10-21T22:54:00.006-04:00

Jim just met this artist, Marlene Rose, down in Florida. She works in casting glass and I really think her work is beautiful. You can see some of the process she and her crew go through at this link. Be sure to check out the photos of her work. The cast forms are created in sand and molten glass is poured into the sand forms. Some day I would love to explore glass........and encaustic painting..........and forging (blacksmithing). So many desires and so little time.

Birds on the brain

2009-10-20T23:57:00.003-04:00

When I was working on the Poe project, I got rather involved with birds. Specifically bird heads. Recently I've found myself making little heads whenever I have scrap clay. These start as pinch pots, which is pretty ironic, since I have always hated making pinch pots. But there is something very satisfying about making these little guys. They drew some attention at the Claymatters sale and the two crows found a new home with a professed Crow Lover. A nice little hawk went home with a little boy. They seem to be getting larger and larger. One even found it's way to the top of a covered jar.

I think it's funny how ideas stew around for a while before they manifest themselves in physical work. I know I got all excited about creating clay boxes (this was perhaps a year and a half ago, or more like 3 years ago, given my warped sense of passing time) and started frantically writing down lists of series of boxes to make. One of those line items on my list was "bird boxes"

I went to the Claymatters meeting this past weekend and watched Barbara Chadwick Bland do a demo of how she creates her little clay houses. All that bird/box/house stuff was swirling away and I thought........ bird house boxes. Not birdhouses. Bird house boxes. Hmmmm, I'll have to ruminate on that a bit.

Fall Open House, Saturday, Oct. 17

2009-10-16T01:56:00.003-04:00

Well, this piece won't be there. A happy lady took it home with her last weekend. But there will be some very fine other pieces. Come on out and see for yourself.

10am to 4pm, come rain or shine. No race track traffic to battle around my studio. Just calm music, beautiful pottery and nice people. See you!

This is how we do it...

2009-10-16T01:35:00.004-04:00

Sure wish I had the Samantha "wiggle your nose" presto-change0 thing going on sometimes. Oh, heck most of the time. Especially when it comes to loading in and out. Somehow loading out pottery isn't as much fun as Jackson Browne had when the roadies came to take his piano. Had a little trip down memory lane when I went searching for this link. Jim and I saw him on the "Running on Empty" tour in Louisiana. Karla Bonoff opened for him, and it was like two great concerts for the price of one.

Speaking of load outs, Spence and Tides of Man are on their second tour and doing the load in and out every night. Now there's some dedication to your craft. He had a nice write up in the Gaston Gazette yesterday.

Last Saturday

2009-10-16T01:30:00.004-04:00

An image of my new set up, using hollow core doors and a happy pottery lover, going home with a piece of magic from the last kiln firing. It was one of three pieces that just sung as it came out!

Carolina ClayMatters Pottery Sale, Oct. 10th

2009-10-09T13:14:00.001-04:00

Hope to see you here. I have been working crazily firing new work for this show and for the open house at the studio next week. Hence, no blogging. A fresh kiln load emerging today. Bring dry weather with you when you come!

The Feeding of the 'Roos

2009-10-02T08:50:00.001-04:00

Feeding time at the OK Corral. Don't get between a kangaroo and it's trough. They have a mean back kick.

A joey in it's momma's pouch. That looks like a back breaker to me.

Jim is checking out the wildlife, seeing if it's friendly.
Later in the trip we visited the Hinterlands, which is the land back of the coast. There we saw kangaroos in the hills, jumping along. We figured they were similar to deer sitings in the mountains here.

Ravin' for Poe

2009-10-01T01:17:00.009-04:00

Raven Box with Poe's Journal, Front and Rear Views

Detail of door, and nest with emerging baby crow

Two of the journal entries, watercolors with torn edged paper and clay covers for journal

Click to enlarge any of the images.

Raven Iced Tea Set, with tray, four tumblers and four spoons with crow decoration.

Changes in Event Dates

2009-09-29T23:41:00.005-04:00

I've had a couple of changes in my event listings, so if you had your calendar marked, it's time for an update!
You can see some new pieces in Shelby during the month of October in the Ravin' for Poe Exhibit.
My Fall Open Studio will only be ONE DAY--Saturday, Oct. 16.

I'll be at the Hen House Sale on Dec. 4 and 5th as a guest. Thanks Jen!

My Holiday Open Studio is moved to Dec. 12 and 13th.

A new venture for me is sending work to Snow Farm's annual Fundraiser.

Lots going on.......I better get busy!

Carolina Clay Connection goes to the Mint

2009-09-23T00:25:00.012-04:00

Here is a sampling of a show of contemporary Native American art at the Mint.

We enjoyed a great tour by docent Verna Witt, who is a member of our clay group.

You can click on the small images to enlarge them, but don't be surprised if they are a bit out of focus, since I was shooting without a flash or a tripod.

The difference between throwing and handbuilding

2009-09-23T00:11:00.003-04:00

I enjoy both, but it's a lot easier to do the laundry when I'm handbuilding.

The Birds

2009-09-15T09:49:00.004-04:00

I have to say I have been carried away by this exhibit based on Poe's work that will be in Shelby in next month. This is a covered box I am glazing today. It will contain a handmade journal that I plan on doing some watercolor and calligraphy inside. Yesterday I was working on a gallery order and found myself making bird heads from scrap clay in between the trays and bowls. The birds, the birds! I have one more set that I am constructing for the exhibit. We can have two entries. Will send up photos of that later.

Trying to tie all the networking together

2009-09-12T18:52:00.001-04:00

This is a test because I have tried to tie Twitter, my blog and my Facebook pages together in order not to have multiple entries. Hope this works!

Fighting Mother Nature

2009-09-09T09:10:00.003-04:00

We are back from Australia and it was a lovely trip. I am still fighting the time difference. I thought I had breezed through the adjustment after staying up for 24 hours straight or so, then sleeping like a baby the first night home. However, it's been up at 4:00am since then and being really tired at random hours.
Also, I have been battling black ants in the kitchen. This was a thing that would go on intermittently before we left. A caravan of them would greet us at all hours of the day as they hiked across the countertop, searching out morsels of food. We would spray, wipe, vaccum, clean all surfaces and they would disappear for a bit. Then we would find them in another spot. I swear they were like Vasco deGama, looking for the new world, only they took many different routes!
They were our welcome home party, along with the rotten apple and banana that I forgot to take out of the fruit bowl before leaving. Those little devils are like really persistent guests, they refuse to leave.
I will post some pictures and thoughts of Australia as I get more organized and some real sleep. Didn't get to see much pottery while there, though. Glad to be home and back in arm deep in clay.

Taking a Holiday!

2009-08-17T21:48:00.004-04:00

Thanks to all who came out and all the nice feedback about the new work at my open house. We leave tomorrow so it has been a bit crazy here. More photos of new work to come, but I thought I would leave you with a parting shot of the finished face pot. I was pleased with the way she came out.

Catch you up in a couple of weeks.......

Preview

2009-08-13T02:28:00.004-04:00

The fluorescents make this look yellowed. This bowl has a design painted in the greenware state. I used a mix of dark and light rutile and a pinch of granular rutlile, with water added to paint on. I am really liking this. I think the color has more depth than underglazes (though I experimented with them, too, and you can see that on Saturday). As with any new work, I will be making some changes, but I'm pleased with this enough to keep it going.
Exterior of the above bowl. Color is more real in this shot.

Plate carved with desert and rain symbols. I'll only have one of these at the open house this weekend.

I was excited to realize I could enlarge images in my viewfinder to see if they were grainy when blown up. Now I can preview minute details of the pictures right on the camera

Little knobs

2009-08-13T02:18:00.004-04:00

Little knobs. I started a series of jars about "curious" animals and things in Australia. There are some amazing stories out there. Here you see dingos at the top, a honey ant in the middle and the fearsome kangaroo at the bottom.

When I was a kid (somewhere between 9 and 11), my dad bought a set of gently used World Book encyclopedias. I was in knowledge heaven. I remember reading about kangaroos, how tiny they were when born, and how they blindly climbed up through their mother's fur into the pouch. I told my parents about this, and they said "No way". I was thrilled to show it to them in print. Now the story has come full circle and is on one of my covered jars.

A sample of new work

2009-08-06T11:07:00.006-04:00

Some before and after shots.

An after and before shot. The bowl below was decorated with yellow ochre where you see the bright bands of yellow. I was very excited until it came to me in the middle of the night that when fired, the ochre would turn brown, since it is a weak form of iron oxide. And it did. So I am trying a rutile wash on the next pots (more bowls and mug forms). Some of the little reddish dots also "moved a bit" down the side of the pots and I tried some glass runs in the bottom of the bowls but they were too thick so I have some serious crazing.

The thing I love about new work is the excitement and push to bring the vision into the physical world.

The thing I hate about new work is the trial and error.

Invite to my show

2009-08-02T19:55:00.003-04:00

Here's the invite to my show in 2 weeks.

4522 Wilkinson Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28056

August 15, 10am to 4pm

August 16, 1 to 4pm

Celebrating a series of new pottery work,

inspired by dreams of the landscapes and textures of Australia.
Come and bring your friends!