Sunday, November 17, 2013
Invaded !!!
Yesterday the studio was invaded by Girls Scouts. Not big Girls, 7 and 8 year old wiggly giggly bundles of energy. I had been cleaning all week and while I wouldn't eat off the floor ( unless it was a cookie) I thought things looked pretty good. I ended up with 7 girls and 2 moms. Given my available space, that was plenty. It was going to be an hour or so but they came early and we had so much fun they stayed late. We ended up with about a 2 1/2 hr. visit. The girls were mostly interested and had lots of questions which always makes it better. I explained a bit about materials and process, then demonstrated cylinders, baking dishes , trimming, and handles. The last job was to make some "Happy Clams" that I will fire and get back to them. It was a fun fun day for me and I think the girls had a ball too. Now for the part you all like best.....
Monday, November 11, 2013
Here We Go Again
Honest, I'm trying to post on a regular basis but there hasn't been a lot of excitement since Dillsboro. I did finish up a firing of plates and baking dishes that are headed to Birmingham. I was pleased that everything was up to snuff. I had made extra pieces just in case but everything is black, shiny, and flat on the bottom !
Tina has been showing Stuart (one of our English Cocker Spaniels) in UKC shows and he took a reserve best in show among the altered dogs Saturday. He is always ready and loves to show. People just see his attitude when she walks him around town and ask if he is a show dog! She is always flattered and fills them in on his accomplishments.
Other than that, I've got a troop of Girl Scouts coming to visit the studio Saturday. I'll try to get some pictures to share. In the mean time I will continue to have no shame and show you what I've been playing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqFHMze5vv4
Tina has been showing Stuart (one of our English Cocker Spaniels) in UKC shows and he took a reserve best in show among the altered dogs Saturday. He is always ready and loves to show. People just see his attitude when she walks him around town and ask if he is a show dog! She is always flattered and fills them in on his accomplishments.
Other than that, I've got a troop of Girl Scouts coming to visit the studio Saturday. I'll try to get some pictures to share. In the mean time I will continue to have no shame and show you what I've been playing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqFHMze5vv4
Monday, November 4, 2013
Quick Trip
Last Thursday morning, I loaded up the little motorhome and started my annual pilgrimage to the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival in Dillsboro N.C. My friends Mike and Karen Baum have done the show for years and claim it is the best clay show in the country. They should know. The last couple of years, I have gone down to help them with the heavy lifting and pottery wrapping. It is always a great show and we work 'til we can barely stand up.
One of the fun things about taking the camper is that I get to stop at the Raccoon Valley Campground on the way down. It is not what you would call a resort. It is a simple little place where the cable doesn't work and the fees are reasonable but everyone is glad to see you. Oh yeah, I almost forgot Thursday night is the weekly bluegrass jam session. generally old men (and Carol) playing old songs. There are a lot of guys in their 70's and a couple in their 80's who play and sing like they have done it since before bluegrass was ever invented. They have spoiled me for other jams. there are about 15 players and when it is their turn they stand up drop it in gear (usually first gear ,"G" in banjospeak) and cut loose. There is no fooling around, head scratching, wondering what song or what key they are going to do. They go through more songs in a half hour than my Sunday night bunch does in 2 hours. Fast hard traditional bluegrass with the occasional Jimmie Rogers or Hank (the first) Williams and plenty of old time gospel. Even though I had left my singing voice home in the pocket of my other pants they acted like they were glad I came. Really, it is a rare treat to see and hear these guys and I try to get down there a couple of times a year if I can. Just show up, sit down, and hang on!
It rained all night Friday but we missed the biggest part of the wind that came through. The camper stayed snug and I got a good nights sleep. The Smokies were gorgeous. The trees were in full color and the day was just overcast enough that the sun didn't wash out the colors. I rolled into Dillsboro about noon, got some more coffee then went to find Mike and Karen. They had caravanned down from Lebanon Thursday evening with their pal Jim Reinert from Michigan and had hit traffic and weather both. I 'm glad I left when I did.
The WNCPF is organized by Dillsboro potters Joe Frank McKee, Travis Berning, and Brant Barnes along with dozens of friends and volunteers. Loyal readers will recall that Joe Frank had a studio fire last spring. Many people in the pottery community responded with donations and labor and he reports that the new studio is up and almost ready for final inspection. He and wife Kelly send their thanks to everyone for their help and good wishes. This is the 9th year for the festival and it is really well done with an emphasis on quality and hospitality. It is a two day event with fun, games, and good natured competitions on Friday afternoon and a show on Saturday. Many of the potters do the show every year and drive from places like New York, Minnesota, and Texas. This is a nice time for them to socialize instead of just blowing into town in the morning and blowing out and night. Competitions include throwing the tallest cylinder and widest bowls from 5lb of clay in 5 minutes, tallest 1lb and tallest 2lb cylinder blindfolded. Elise Delfield threw like she had been practicing all year and walked away with it. Here are pictures.
About 6:30 we were able to get on the street so we clipped headlights to our caps and started unloading and setting up the booth. Even with a big archtop tent, a lot of furniture and 62 (that's not a typo) cases of pots it went smoothly. Other friends had come down and helped quite a bit. The group from Cincinnati was even big enough that a couple of them helped Tony Holman set up next to us. There is a lot of community and camaraderie among potters. People bond through hard work and there was plenty of it to go around. After an hour, we were fairly well buttoned down and went for a bite and a beer.
I snuggled in about 10 pm and slept til I woke up at 3 to turn on the heat. The next thing I knew, it was 6 and Mike and Karen were already at the booth setting out pots. I got myself together and dived in about 15 minutes later.When we finally looked up and it was almost time for the floodgates to open at 10. I know Tracey asked me to take lots of pictures. There was no way I could even take one of us we were so busy. The crowd hit us and we were swamped all day long. I wrapped pots and wrapped pots. Mike moved back and forth from helping wrap, to helping Karen charm the masses, to talking to wholesale clients. Many former buyers came and it was like a big family reunion all day. I've never seen anything like it. I think the extent of my leisure time was one quick run to the bathroom and back. The show closed at 4 but we kept selling for another half hour as we pulled boxes out and put props away, then the heavy lifting started. We worked hard and fast but it still took 3 hours to pack up. We were not last off the street but we were close. There is a post show pig pickin' dinner and we got there just at the end. I did get a chance to see Gay Smith for a few minutes and say hi to John Baumann. It was also very interesting to talk to Brant Barnes about the impact of the show on Jackson County. He said they expected sales to be over $150K and total impact of over $1 million by the time you fill every motel and restaurant in 20 miles for the whole weekend. If you want pictures of sale day there will be some on the WNCPF web site soon. They had a camera club come and do a competition for best show pics and they plan to post them. So, sales were great, hospitality was great( big Sonic breakfast burritos not a cold box 'o donuts and they brought them to your booth), dinner after the show, and a chance to see old and new friends. That's probably not everything but I need a nap. Thanks for stopping by.
One of the fun things about taking the camper is that I get to stop at the Raccoon Valley Campground on the way down. It is not what you would call a resort. It is a simple little place where the cable doesn't work and the fees are reasonable but everyone is glad to see you. Oh yeah, I almost forgot Thursday night is the weekly bluegrass jam session. generally old men (and Carol) playing old songs. There are a lot of guys in their 70's and a couple in their 80's who play and sing like they have done it since before bluegrass was ever invented. They have spoiled me for other jams. there are about 15 players and when it is their turn they stand up drop it in gear (usually first gear ,"G" in banjospeak) and cut loose. There is no fooling around, head scratching, wondering what song or what key they are going to do. They go through more songs in a half hour than my Sunday night bunch does in 2 hours. Fast hard traditional bluegrass with the occasional Jimmie Rogers or Hank (the first) Williams and plenty of old time gospel. Even though I had left my singing voice home in the pocket of my other pants they acted like they were glad I came. Really, it is a rare treat to see and hear these guys and I try to get down there a couple of times a year if I can. Just show up, sit down, and hang on!
It rained all night Friday but we missed the biggest part of the wind that came through. The camper stayed snug and I got a good nights sleep. The Smokies were gorgeous. The trees were in full color and the day was just overcast enough that the sun didn't wash out the colors. I rolled into Dillsboro about noon, got some more coffee then went to find Mike and Karen. They had caravanned down from Lebanon Thursday evening with their pal Jim Reinert from Michigan and had hit traffic and weather both. I 'm glad I left when I did.
The WNCPF is organized by Dillsboro potters Joe Frank McKee, Travis Berning, and Brant Barnes along with dozens of friends and volunteers. Loyal readers will recall that Joe Frank had a studio fire last spring. Many people in the pottery community responded with donations and labor and he reports that the new studio is up and almost ready for final inspection. He and wife Kelly send their thanks to everyone for their help and good wishes. This is the 9th year for the festival and it is really well done with an emphasis on quality and hospitality. It is a two day event with fun, games, and good natured competitions on Friday afternoon and a show on Saturday. Many of the potters do the show every year and drive from places like New York, Minnesota, and Texas. This is a nice time for them to socialize instead of just blowing into town in the morning and blowing out and night. Competitions include throwing the tallest cylinder and widest bowls from 5lb of clay in 5 minutes, tallest 1lb and tallest 2lb cylinder blindfolded. Elise Delfield threw like she had been practicing all year and walked away with it. Here are pictures.
Sorry, I'm told it's Doug Hubbs
About 6:30 we were able to get on the street so we clipped headlights to our caps and started unloading and setting up the booth. Even with a big archtop tent, a lot of furniture and 62 (that's not a typo) cases of pots it went smoothly. Other friends had come down and helped quite a bit. The group from Cincinnati was even big enough that a couple of them helped Tony Holman set up next to us. There is a lot of community and camaraderie among potters. People bond through hard work and there was plenty of it to go around. After an hour, we were fairly well buttoned down and went for a bite and a beer.
I snuggled in about 10 pm and slept til I woke up at 3 to turn on the heat. The next thing I knew, it was 6 and Mike and Karen were already at the booth setting out pots. I got myself together and dived in about 15 minutes later.When we finally looked up and it was almost time for the floodgates to open at 10. I know Tracey asked me to take lots of pictures. There was no way I could even take one of us we were so busy. The crowd hit us and we were swamped all day long. I wrapped pots and wrapped pots. Mike moved back and forth from helping wrap, to helping Karen charm the masses, to talking to wholesale clients. Many former buyers came and it was like a big family reunion all day. I've never seen anything like it. I think the extent of my leisure time was one quick run to the bathroom and back. The show closed at 4 but we kept selling for another half hour as we pulled boxes out and put props away, then the heavy lifting started. We worked hard and fast but it still took 3 hours to pack up. We were not last off the street but we were close. There is a post show pig pickin' dinner and we got there just at the end. I did get a chance to see Gay Smith for a few minutes and say hi to John Baumann. It was also very interesting to talk to Brant Barnes about the impact of the show on Jackson County. He said they expected sales to be over $150K and total impact of over $1 million by the time you fill every motel and restaurant in 20 miles for the whole weekend. If you want pictures of sale day there will be some on the WNCPF web site soon. They had a camera club come and do a competition for best show pics and they plan to post them. So, sales were great, hospitality was great( big Sonic breakfast burritos not a cold box 'o donuts and they brought them to your booth), dinner after the show, and a chance to see old and new friends. That's probably not everything but I need a nap. Thanks for stopping by.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Summer in Review
Where have you been? Seems like so long since we visited with each other. Oh wait, that was my fault. I seem to get focused on the task at hand and let everything else go in the mean time. This year, it has been construction. Tearing out the heating system, having gas service run and a new system installed (ductwork and all) in a 60 year old house was enough for one summer. We added a lot of patch and paint plus new floors installed and most recently a deck replacement. I didn't do all of this myself but I did do parts of most of it. I squeezed in a few shows and glazed up stockpiled bisque ware to fill in the gaps but really have not thrown many pots this summer. Then we had the government shutdown and the rollout of Affordable Healthcare. I have tried to solve these issues but don't blame me if they keep jumping up. It's your turn to try and fix things. Last week, the last of the major projects was completed and I finally threw a few pots over the weekend. I'm going to get to the "summer in review" pictures but you all need to know that the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival is this weekend in Dillsboro. This is the best show I've ever attended. Great potters and very nice people. These folks are in a higher pay grade than I am but I go every year and help my friends Mike and Karen Baum . It is like running a marathon but I wouldn't miss it. Hope to see you there.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
What's Left
I got a call from someone the other day asking what pots I had on hand. Well. it's the end of my season so things are a little picked over and some other things would be cost prohibitive to ship but I thought I would post some pictures for her to see. In case I'm not allowed to do this, this is not a general offer to sell anything through Blogger. It is just to let Caroline know what I have handy and what prices I would charge her for them. Note some of the greens came through a little too saturated. They are really the same color as the other green pots.
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