Whistle Creek: Home Again

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Home Again

My whirlwind tour of the Carolinas continued after leaving Seagrove. I rolled into Charlotte on Saturday evening to spend some time with our daughter and her husband. Sunday started with a nice brunch and moved into a trip to Home Depot and planting a little garden in the afternoon. It was a nice low key day with plenty of time for catching up. Monday was the big day of the visit. Kate teaches Art at Hough High School in Cornelius and it was time to start the unit on Ceramics. I was guest lecturer and demonstrated wheel throwing for a total of about 125 students.They were attentive, well mannered, and we all had a good time. It is nice to feel like your grown children still need you.

Tuesday morning I headed off for home with a detour through Asheville. My friend Lori Theriault is part of VILLAGE POTTERS in the river Arts District and she was happy to give me the grand tour of her new studio. It is a big old factory building and the potters have a beautiful flower garden at the entrance that welcomes you as soon as you drive up. The building is totally renovated inside with a nice little gallery, studio spaces, kilns (including a new gas kiln), classroom space, a glaze area and just about anything a potter could want. It's on Lyman not far from 12 Bones BBQ. I met several of the other potters and everyone seemed very nice as well as very talented.If you are in the area, stop by(or stop and buy.)

My final stop in North Carolina was Highwater Clay. I was very pleased that Cobalt Carb. is on sale at $19 a pound ( Cobalt oxide $33) This is way down from a year ago so I stocked up a bit, got some of my favorite Forbes Wax and headed for home. I did make a stop in Campbell County Tennessee but it did not require a trip to the courthouse or the woods this time. Quickstop Beer, Bait and BBQ looks just like it sounds but it has the best lunch in the county. You can get well fed for the trip to Ohio for about $5 and it is just off I-75. Just don't go for the ambiance.

Here are a few pictures including a very nice mug that Mark and Meredith gave me and a jug from Sid Luck. You are not allowed to take pictures of the faces of High School students so there is only one from Monday.

2 comments:

Tracey BroomeApril 12, 2012 at 7:50 AM
Sid Luck was the first person to teach me to throw on the wheel and then a couple of years ago I was in a show next to him, so intimidating! But what a nice man he is, very kind and humble. I have a few of his pieces that I use every day. Glad you had a good trip to my home state :)
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Dennis AllenApril 12, 2012 at 9:43 AM
He was very nice.I like the plain straight forward style of pots that he makes. Even though he was on his way out to demo at the NC Pottery Center he took time to give me the grand tour of the kiln and swap some old teacher stories. I am amazed at the number of nice people I have met through pottery
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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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