Anticipation

Tomorrow morning I leave home about 5:30  to go to ART IN THE GARDEN in Augusta,Ky. It is a beautiful show. It is set on the banks of the Ohio river and as the tents line one side of the street, restored riverfront homes with beautiful gardens line the other. I have done the show a couple of times before and it is usually worth the 75 mile drive. It is not a show where I expect to get rich but it is soooo pretty and I get to at least briefly see friends who come up from the Maysville area to exhibit.There is a big show the same day nearer Cincinnati. SUMMERFAIR is many times bigger but it doesn't have the charm that you find in Augusta. From the artist point of view, there may be more money there but it looks like a lot of work and a lot of traffic and frustration too. It may cut into our crowd. On the other hand they charge $5 to park and $8 to get in the gate. We are free. I'm trying hard to keep all this in perspective. Regular readers will recall that a month ago I had my best show ever. I doubled my " really good show" numbers from last year. Am I spoiled now? Will the rarefied air of Oz prove so sweet that I am disappointed with the dusty air of Kansas? Will I spend all summer chasing an illusive dream? If you are in the area stop by and find out. Have a nice weekend and I'll give you a review early next week.

Went to a picnic and a fight broke out!

Every year my friends Josh and Marie have a big picnic on Memorial day Saturday. Lots of nice people and very good homebrew but before it's over a big fight always breaks out! There doesn't seem to be any reason for it. Everyone is getting along then all of a sudden they are picking up anything they can swing and going at each other. The amazing thing is they all come back next year and do it again! Check out the pictures and you will see what I mean.

AS THE KILN COOLS

It has been a little while since I have posted because there hasn't been much to talk about. After Spring Fair, I threw myself into the unexpected task of making pots so I would have stock for the Augusta, Ky. show on June 1. I thought I would have pots until July but the down ( or up) side of having a successful show is you have to replace what you sold. It's mostly mugs, cereal bowls and some big salad bowls. Not a lot of excitement. I got a bisque started yesterday and while it cooled today, I got the urge to spark up the grill and smoke some pork. I prefer shoulder but Costco had a great deal on sirloin roasts. They worked just fine and cooked a lot quicker than a big shoulder roast would have. Five hours over Cherry wood smoke and here's the exciting part.......

I can't guarantee there will be any left to take to Augusta but I will guarantee it is the prettiest little show you will ever go to. Right on the Ohio River. You can see the gardens in the restored homes on Riverside Dr. and meet all the artists right across the street.You can watch sternwheelers ply the mighty Ohio,  you can walk in the footsteps of Nick, Rosemary, and GEORGE !!!!!! Clooney!, and have a great day of southern hospitality.

Weekly Update

Hello everyone. Thanks for all the comments last time. Funny how a guy talks about getting a couple of extra bucks in his pocket and suddenly he hears from all the ladies! But seriously folks... This has been a busy but not very exciting week at Whistle Creek. I've been throwing a lot of mugs and cereal bowls to replace those that sold last week. I did a small glaze firing with nothing remarkable in it too.With so little to write about, I'm also throwing in a video of a song I've been working on for Sunday night's jam session. Confidentially, I share these more as a way of showing my friends (you) what I've been doing and maybe introducing you to some songs you may not have heard. I'm not pretending to be professional, just having fun. Hope you are too. Here is a link  to a cover of a Gillian Welch tune Red Clay Halo.

Blind Hogs and Acorns

Yesterday was "Opening Day" in Cincinnati. No, not baseball, pottery. The Cincinnati Clay Alliance has SPRING POTTERY FAIR on the first Saturday of May every year and it kicks off my summer show season. It is a pottery only street fair with 60 club members showing their wares. It is always fun to show with all your friends and with pottery, there are so many different styles and approaches that I never feel that we are competing with each other.Your friends may stop in your booth and "give you the business" but later they will actually send you some business if a customer is looking for something that you make.  There is an old saying in the antiques business that the best location for an antiques store is right next to a bunch of other antique stores. I think it holds true for potters too.

We had gorgeous weather and a big crowd pretty much all day. It started about 11am and the next time I looked up it was 2pm. My friend Judy stopped in to give me a quick break and even went up the street to get me some coffee. Little things like that are a big help and really appreciated.Then it hit again and the next time it slowed was 4 o'clock. One of the best things about this business is the customers that come back year after year telling me about how much they love the pots they bought last year and asking for more. I had plenty of them. What a day. It's good for our fragile egos to get boosted every now and then. I was juggling cash and burning up the square. I ended up with 17 credit card sales. Before the square I usually had 4 or 5. The new black pots with the red wheat pattern on them nearly sold out! The new "pop up" dishes sold well too. I'm going to have to make more stuff before the next show! In the end not only did I hit a new personal best but nearly doubled my old one. I know you all want to know so here it is.. I was squarely between OMG and Holy Shit!!! What a day. Love,  respect, and money all at once. Some years and pounds ago I used to do long distance bicycle rides. By the end of the show I felt like I had ridden a century. I was totally exhausted but very happy. Many many thanks to all the volunteers who helped put the show together and of course to my wonderful customers. Here are a few pictures from the show. The first 4 are my booth with the new banner and base unit. The others I will try to identify if I can remember who's who.

 Karen Herbert

 Linda LeGendre

 

Rachael Wells

 

Teri Kern

 

Pat Holm ???

 

Sarah Horn

 

Josh and Marie Hamaker

 Anne Courtnry

 

Peggy Mahoney

 

Nick Perino

 

Penni Lowery

Marcia Fanthorp's scraffito plates looked great in person