Whistle Creek: Ready for Spring Fair

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Ready for Spring Fair

This Saturday, the Cincinnati Clay Alliance kicks off the outdoor show season with our Spring Pottery Fair. Nearly 60 talented potters on one street. I have been getting ready for weeks and I think I'm in pretty good shape.The pots are priced and packed. The finish on the new shelves is dry. The truck is loaded and I still have room on the seat for a couple of last minute additions.The problem is that after a few years of this, I haven't figured out what to leave at home and what to take with me so I end up taking almost everything I own .If I had a long bed truck I would just take more.At 5 o'clock the show ends. Then I will start 2 hrs of repacking and reloading and the truck will look the same as it did in the morning. If you are in the area Saturday, stop, buy,(not a misspelling), and help me reduce the size of this load! It should be a great show rain or shine. We have gotten a huge amount of publicity this year so hopefully we will have a crowd regardless of the weather. Jake Speed and the Freddies will be playing 12 to 3pm and there will be demos and prize drawings all day.Free show, free parking Fun Fun Fun. I'm in booth 12 near Myrtle Ave.

2 comments:

Tracey BroomeMay 5, 2011 at 5:11 PM
The weather here says sunny and 70's hope it's the same for you. God luck with the show, I have the opening of the Farmer's Market, should be a good weekend, here's to selling lots of pots!
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Dennis AllenMay 5, 2011 at 5:24 PM
Thanks Tracey.God luck to you too.Hey, that can't be bad can it?
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Why Whistle Creek

Whistle Creek is near the area where my ancestors settled in East Tennessee. It is about 6 miles west of I-75 and 8 miles south of Jellico.At various times the land was claimed by England, France, Spain, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky,Tennessee, the Union,the Confederacy, and the Cherokee.My family was there around 1800 and possibly before.My brothers and I still own the top of the mountain and it is still very rough country. I named my studio Whistle Creek in memory of the Allens who scraped their living from the earth and managed to keep it for two hundred years.

Bricks,Bricks, Bricks

I have two loads of kiln brick at home and one more to go. Weather permitting I will get some help from my newly retired brother and haul the rest home next week. I'm still early in the planning stages for the kiln. I haven't decided yet whether to make the firebox perpendicular to the arch a la John Theis managama and groundhog kilns or to place it parallel to the axis of the arch. I do know that with #2 three inch arch brick It will be a 3"6" sprung arch on top of low walls with a sunken firebox. If i can find a saw that will cut 41/2" I can rip some of the arch brick to fill in the ends of the courses and use the arch brick on edge to make 9" thick walls. Any input appreciated.

The Pitcher and the Nun

Yesterday a couple of sweet elderly ladies came into my booth and fell in love with the pitcher from the last woodfiring. (See last Blog entry) They said they wanted to give it as a wedding gift, then they said the fatal words-" Do you take Mastercard? " I replied-" No, but I want this piece to go to a good home and I believe that if I send it home with you, you will send me a check." They agreed and we exchanged info. It turned out they were nuns.Instead of mailing me a check, they brought back a check and some homemade candy a couple of hours later.It was nice to make the sale, but even nicer to send out a little faith in mankind and have a good deed returned.

Ohio Slip

More Spring Fair Prep....

Today was spent loading a bisque kiln with pots I have been throwing the last few weeks.They are made with a really nice red clay that a friend sold me when I couldn't get earthen red at Highwater. I should be able to glaze Monday and fire the whole load again next week. This is the only clay that I fire in the electric kilns but it gives a look that a lot of people like and I can fire economically. This plus pots on hand and pots I have been glazing for the gas kiln should be plenty for spring fair so now I can concentrate on the booth.

Spring Fair

The main project of the week was to try to finish throwing a batch of red clay that I have been working on so I can get the pots fired and glazed for the big Spring Fair sale that the Clay Alliance is holding on May 2. This is the big annual sales event for the club and I am very happly to be included this year but I do feel a little pressure to up my game and have a booth that doesn't look like a yard sale. Once I get the pots fired, I will have to spend some time focusing on display space and building some nice shelving. The sale is 11 to 4 at the corner of Madison and Woodburn ( DeSales Corner) Just take 71 to Edwards rd., Edwards to Madison, Right on Madison and you will be there in a few minutes. You will have a great time and get to meet 40 of the best potters and ceramicists in the region. More info at http://www.clayalliance.org/.

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