Whistle Creek: Bad Blogger

Monday, March 25, 2013

Bad Blogger

This weekend I had the good fortune to help out at the Baum Pottery/Joe Frank McKee/Glenda Suttman Spring Kiln Opening sale. Joe Frank had come up from North Carolina to do Raku Demos and I was his assistant. He has been doing raku for over 20 years and does some wonderful things with horsehair, alcohol reduced matt copper glazes, and saggar fumed pots.This had been planned for months so I was glad that even with his studio fire a few weeks ago he was able to get away for the weekend. He sends his thanks to everyone for their help and good wishes.The generosity of folks in the broader clay community has been a God send to him and his family. They are not out of the woods yet but they are moving forward. Insurance should settle this week for the structure of the building and some relatively minor damage to the back of the house. A big part of the damage was his kiln which was not even involved in the fire but was in a structure directly behind the studio. It was destroyed by some overzealous firemen who blasted it with high pressure hoses. Not covered. Minerals and chemicals. Not covered. Hand tools some coverage but try to list every tool you had and produce a dated receipt for it. And so it goes. The crowd was good. Sales were strong. Everyone was happy with how well they did. The bad blogger part is that I did not have time to take any pictures. I also have trouble splitting my focus. When I go somewhere to take pictures, that's what I do. When I go somewhere to help that's what I do. I will try to gather some shots from other sources and get them up soon. Here is.the one picture I did get thank goodness this didn't show up until the day after the sale.

In other news, I am still enjoying Sunday night jam sessions with the Queen City Balladeers. I am even trying to join a couple of bands. I talked to Noah and the Counts but they already had enough no account pickers. My next try is going to be with Minnie Moore.She's always at the bottom of the program but she must play every festival in the country! Thanks for stopping by.

1 comment:

Tracey BroomeMarch 25, 2013 at 6:45 PM
So glad to hear things are going well for Joe and his family, but how do you ever replace a potters tools? So impossible.... Sad
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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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