Plumbing

Last night I came home about 9:30 and the kitchen faucet was dripping. I thought, " someone should fix that."Well. by morning, I had decided the old taps had seen better days so I might as well replace the faucets. Thus began a sequence of events that blends all my plumbing experiences with what is commonly called the DOMINO EFFECT. The smart plumber doesn't spend much time on his back, he pops out the sink, replaces the faucet set with a few turns of the wrist, puts down a bead of caulk and DONE. The smartest thing I could have done is let it drip. I went to Home Depot, bought a nice new faucet set and all the associated small parts I would need. When I got home and pulled the sink I was very proud of myself and pleased with how it was going. Then I noticed the underside of our 20 year old expensive composite sink looked like this.

 

 

 

It was too deep to epoxy and too bad to ignore. Back to Home Depot with Tina to pick out a sink. Nothing we liked, off to Lowes. Found a sink, bought every additional thing we could possibly need including extra 30 inch feed lines so I could extend the old ones and hook things up before I mounted the new sink. Got those fitted up and did a pressure test. The old lines leaked. Back to Lowes. Feed lines ok now. Time to mount sink. That is the end of working in a standing position. Try to connect the pipes under the sink. Drain from sink ends up about 1/2 inch to the left of the pipe coming out of the wall. Another trip to the store, leaks in the drain system. More trips up and down. Thank goodness Tina was home and helped run to the basement to turn on the main valve then turn it off again so I could chase another leak. I am exhausted. Nine hours and over $400 later, we have a drip free faucet with leak free drains. 

Yes you can use it !

Old Joe Clark had a house

16 stories high

every story in that house

was filled with.......

WHISTLE CREEK
CHICKEN PIE DISH

Add Chicken Stew with onion, carrots, celery potatoes broccoli and cauliflower

Top with biscuits

Bake at 350 until it looks like this

This may turn out to be the single serving size baking dish ( 12 " ) Good Stuff ! Oh, I forgot to mention it's vegetarian. Well at least the chicken was primarily a vegetarian with just a few bugs and worms on the side.

Aftermath

I had two shows this weekend. Bellevue Ky, and Loveland Ohio. I have done them both for the last 5 or 6 years and they are usually pretty good shows. Some years they end up on the same weekend. Two set ups two knockdowns two days in the booth. Bellevue is an up and coming community that is being revitalized by hard working community oriented citizens and a government that tries to help people do things instead of telling them why they can't. The show is right on the Ohio river with the best view anywhere of the Cincinnati skyline. They have the best volunteers anywhere and they are always happy to help carry your crates and set up your tent. The fan base is very loyal and I have people coming back year after year. I have one guy who has come every year and spent $50 or so to buy a birthday present for his Mom. He tells me she gets really excited about what pottery she is going to get each year. I love it. I also see other folks who are building sets or stopping by to order something to pick up at my next show. I probably had 15 returning customers and next year I expect 20. We had a shower about 2pm and steady rain from 4pm on. It still turned out to be one of my best shows of the year. Mugs, big bowls, cereal bowls, pitchers jars bakeware and a few plates. It was a good mix of sales and it comes from developing a consistent look to my ware, making good honest pottery and not chasing trends or the pot of the day. Other people are welcome to make anything they want and more power to them. This is just the path I have followed in establishing a brand. I managed to get off the lot by 6:30 with a lot of help from Matt. (one of the volunteers who put in 12 hrs.) I could barely walk when I got home. I made an early night of it and Sunday started a little after 5 am.

Loveland has been revitalized with a bike and hike trail that runs across a good portion of Ohio. You see a lot of dog walkers and bicyclists. Neither of these groups buy a lot of pottery but they give the area a good vibe. They do draw a good crowd of buyers and I did well but not what I had done Saturday. Several friends and return customers came by but it was mostly new business. It was a long hard day coming right after a long hard day. My booth was under a big tree. Had it been hot that would be a plus but with one neighbor having sides on and another using Pro Panels it was a little to dark to made pottery sing. Lights next year. Also coming off Bellevue, my stock was a little picked over. I think I ended up maybe $250 short of what I had done Saturday but all things considered it was a good day for me. My friend Trish was right across from me and I was happy to see that she was slammed all day. I had to cart stuff across the park but there were a bunch of volunteers to help and I'm old enough not to be too proud to gather some of them when needed. I think it was about 6:45 when I pulled out and finally headed home.

I have people ask about shelves all the time here are some booth shots. The two big units have frames that fold flat and the tabletop unit has a panels that quickly attach with carriage bolts and wing nuts. For instructions on making some, search this blog for SHELVES. I'm gonna go now. I have to make more stuff.

Large ammo box full of gravel
Nice weight, about 50 lbs

Bad, Bad Blogger

Wow, it seems like forever since we visited with each other. Where have you been? Oh wait it is my fault. I've been the lazy , well make that uninspired one. Hope you are all well. Late summer has kind of taken over here. I'm busy getting ready for some fall shows. I had a very good show in Yellow Springs a few weeks ago. Good weather, good sales, and everything went as planned. For some reason though it really seemed to beat me up. I could barely get out of the van when I got home about 7:30 and the next morning was worse. Next weekend I have a Saturday show in Bellevue Ky and a Sunday show in Loveland Ohio. They are both good shows for me but I am not looking forward to setting up and knocking down twice. I always say an art show is just a day in the park. A day in the park with three hours of hard labor at each end. I have had a few nice pots come out lately.

Very nice dinner plate I did 8 and they all looked like this !



One of my favorites
 

I've been running a 4 for $ special on cereal bowls
Not making a lot of profit but moving product and getting people into my brand.
It should pay off long term.

Heartbreak of the week 15" tall beautiful outside and a blowout inside!

 

In other news I am no longer teaching at The Middletown Art Center. The new director did not want to recognize firing credits that I had earned under my contract. To make it short, I went over her head to the board and prevailed. Later in the summer, I received a new class schedule in the mail and I wasn't on it. I thought that was a very classy way of letting me know. Frankly. I will miss my students but I am enjoying having Thursdays free. I have been going to jam sessions and doing some open Mics too. Here is a recent example. Hope to see you soon.

 



 

Gauges

Seems like forever since I have had anything to say on here. I've been doing some jam sessions and even a couple of open mics in my quest to totally embarrass myself and annoy as many people as possible. It's working. I have also been a regular contributor to the now massive CLAY BUDDIES forum on Facebook. People seem to have trouble with consistency so I thought I would offer some tips on that.

1. You cannot make consistent pots if you do not weigh your clay16 oz and 18 oz will yield very different results. If you pug your clay, measuring the pug is a quicker alternative.

2. Lids that fit come from consistent measuring. Make lids to a specific size and make fixed gauges for each size lid you use. It's easy and cheap. Here is the most simple gauge you can make. It costs nothing to make and gives results as accurate as you will ever need. Use it for the lid and the seat and you will be happy with the results.

Here is the deluxe version for those of you who must have a caliper. Just one nail at each end. Use as an inside/outside caliper and it will leave you a tiny bit of wiggle room.

I know lots of people who throw to a "needle" Usually this involves setting up a mound of clay next to the splash pan, doing some not too accurate measuring and sticking a knitting needle through the lump of clay followed by more adjusting. Here is an easier way. A board with a hole in it stays clamped to the table. PVC pipe drops into hole. skewer of your choosing goes through horizontal hole in pvc and is fixed in place with a drop of silicone caulk. Make a different post for each size pot you make multiples of. If the post wiggles, wrap the butt of it with tape until it doesn't wiggle.

That's it kids. I've got a show next week ( Yellow Springs Ohio Aug.8) so I need to get busy in the studio. Hope these tips save you some time and effort. Thanks for stopping by.