Augusta

Saturday dawned early, but not before I did. I was out of the house before 6 and started on the 70 mile drive to Augusta Ky. All went well but about 5 miles from the show a deer jumped out of the bushes in front of the van. I thought we were both in trouble but after a small bump, she ran off and later I couldn't find any damage to the van. It was as close as I have come to a big deer crash and it was close enough that I don't need another.

Set up and check in went well and about 10AM folks started strolling down through the show. It was cool, breezy, and partly cloudy so there was a pretty good turnout. I sold a cookie jar, a pitcher, some baking dishes, a square casserole, a big bowl but not one mug or cereal bowl until 2PM when mugs started selling. I didn't sell a cereal bowl all day and mine are really nice. You never can tell what people are going to want. It is a beautiful site with gardens on one side of the street and art show on the other. The ferry docks at one end of the show and there is always that anticipation that George Clooney will come back to his boyhood home for the day. It is a nice little show.

Last year I had sold a LARGE baking dish/serving bowl to an older woman named Jane. She was walking with a cane and needed help getting the pieces she bought to her car so I had carried them to the car for her and wished her well. This year, Jane pulls up in front of the booth in a golf cart that her son was driving.They both started carrying on about how much she likes the big baking dish and how often she uses it for cobblers and casseroles. She said that she uses 8 cans of green beans to make green bean casserole in it! That's big. She was hoping to get another but I didn't have one that big so she bought the biggest one I had. I love it when people are happy with their pots and I really love it when they use them.

I didn't get rich but I did ok and it is always pleasant to show there.. One thing I did learn is that I need lights. We were set up in the shade on a cloudy day and it was a little dim in the tent. I picked up some battery powered LED lights this morning and will try them next time.

This morning, I woke up too early but too sore to go back to sleep so I wrote a poem instead. If I don't make it big in pottery, I can always fall back on the lucrative field of freelance poetry.

Early to bed
early to rise
oh my aching
back and thighs.
I used to be
strong like oxes
had no trouble
loading boxes.
Does no good
to sit and grieve.
think I'll take some
more Aleve.

 

Day of Reckoning

Well, I reckon I'll have to make another big bowl. The 25lb bowl made it through bisque but got a rim crack in the glaze firing.Other than that it looks fine and I learned a lot about handling and glazing large ware.I'm not the first guy this has happened to so I might as well blame the clay like everyone else does! No cracking would have been a lot better but I am really not heartbroken about this. It was a learning experience.


On the other hand, the blue, the green , and the ketchup glazes are working great.I got good coverage and nice color on everything else in the kiln and with minor tapping, all the lids are unstuck.Actually, this part of the load is a lot more marketable than a huge bowl and a lot easier to carry. If any of you are in Northern Ky Saturday, stop by Augusta for Art in the Garden. It's supposed to be a beautiful day. Thanks for reading.

Death in the Afternoon

My friends Josh and Marie are excellent potters, brewers, and slayers of evil doers.They celebrate all this with an annual Memorial Day picnic. There is not a lot to say other than I'm glad they invited me and enjoy the pictures. Oh yeah, if you are free next Saturday, I'll be at the prettiest art show around. ART IN THE GARDEN in Augusta Ky. From Ohio, you can go east on the AA highway on the Ky side or go out route 52 in Ohio and take the ferry. Hope to see some of you.

WIN SOME, LOSE SOME

That telltale plunking sound I heard when I was loading the big bowl must have just been my heart skipping a beat. The big guy came out fine. However (here comes a cautionary tale) I did have a 12 lb pot blow sky high. I knew it was not dry but I gave everything an extra long preheat that should have dried out a wet mule BUT I put a teapot inside it. I think the tea pot kept a portion of the big pot from drying completely. From the looks of the damage, the bottom of the pot exploded, lifted the tea pot until it crashed against the shelf above it.The teapot  broke to smithereens then fell back to where it came from.. All damage was contained inside the big pot and there was no kiln damage. You live, you learn, you adjust. Unless you are a man then you just keep doing the same stupid things and hoping for better results. Thanks for stopping by.

WISH ME LUCK

I don't know if it is from nurture or nature or a combination of the above but many of my gender seem to have a problem asking for help when needed. We will hurt ourselves moving things that are too large or break things that are two awkward before admitting defeat. Since we last talked I have tried things both ways.

Putting a 22 inch bowl in a 24 inch kiln seems simple until you try to get your hands out and by then it's too late. I should have called a friend and used a sling to put the big bowl in the kiln. The last move of sliding my hands up and around was tighter than I expected. I may have heard that telltale plunk of breaking greenware but I can't find a fracture so I'm firing today. Wish me luck.

Project number two has been something I wanted to do since I built the barn. The building sits on fill with a a bank dropping off behind it. I have been wanting to build a retaining wall, fill behind it, and put more usable space behind the barn. Last week fortune smiled.
I talked to a crew that replaces utility poles and ended up with 11 of them in my front yard on the condition that I move them out of the right of way immediately.Usually workers around here just cut poles down and the cut them in 2 or 3 pieces. That's what I was expecting anyway. I found out these guys had a crane that would pull a 26 ft pole straight out of the ground. These suckers were BIG.  I started the tractor, checked the chainsaw and called my brother. This was HE MAN work. Most of the poles we cut in half but some we skidded whole. The little tractor did an amazing job and thanks to lots of help from Norris, we had everything moved in about 3 hours. I even managed to stack some of them with the loader bucket! here is a shot of about half of them.

Next week my friends Josh and Marie have their annual Memorial Day picnic. The extra fun parts- Josh brews beer and they are both medieval reinactors. Armor, clubs and swords all around. It's a spectacle. I'll try to have pictures for you. Have a good week and thanks for stopping by.