Happy New Year

Hi everyone. Happy New Year! Life has been busy around here lately. After Holiday Fair I had a small order of baking dishes to get out. All you potters know there is no such thing as a small order. You still have to make a kiln full of stuff so you can fire effectively. So that took a week. The getting ready for Holiday Fair and hurry up throwing session left the studio a shambles. That took another week. When we were in Charlotte for Thanksgiving, I promised our Daughter Kate that I would make her a fixture to mount some bathroom lights on that also covered up where the wires came out of the wall to feed some old hanging lights. That was some work over a couple of days then three days last week to go back to Charlotte, install the fixture, deliver the baking dishes, and have Christmas with Kate and her husband Lucas. A good time was had by all and Kate even remembered how much I love Eastern N.C. style pulled pork from BUBBA'S. She gave me a tub of it to take home and it has been great.

Now, I am back home. I'm teaching a kid's class and an adult wheel class so that will help get me out of the house this winter. I'm also starting to throw this summer's inventory. A couple of years ago, I decided to throw a bunch of pots in the winter and just pile up the bisque ware. Best Idea I had in a long time. It helps my consistency to make several dozen mugs, bowls, or plates at a time and in the summer, if I am running low on a certain item or color, it is quick to glaze up a load and fire it. Oh, I almost forgot. For the second year in a row, I have received an honorable mention from TOP POTTERY BLOGS. I think it is based more on the number of posts that get reviewed than on total quality but I certainly will take it.

I have also been going out to Plain Folks Café and singing on Sundays. This is supposed to be a jam session but other pickers have not been showing up so several times I have ended up doing an hour and a half by myself. As they say it is good training. Any day the audience doesn't throw things is a good day and folks have been pretty nice. I've even gotten the occasional tip. No, it wasn't " shut up and put that thing away" I don't claim to be a great talent, but I do like to introduce people to some good old songs that they may not have heard before. Here's one of them now. http://youtu.be/np8EVnaV2yg