October 13 - Sunday - Raised garden beds

On Sunday, Nick came over and helped me build new raised garden beds.  We used vinyl coated hog wire and silt fence material to make the walls and we built them around the existing beds.  It's always fun spending time with Nick and we had a lot of laughs while he showed me how to build the beds like his.

Next I have to get a load of compost and use some of the leftover hog wire to make rounded tops to keep the deer out.  I can also put plastic over the top to make a greenhouse that will extend the Fall growing season well into the Winter.  I'm looking forward to growing lots of vegetables.

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2013-01-13 Plant Rescue

On Sunday Nick, Rick, and I went on a plant rescue trip.  Project Idlewild is a non-profit that helps rescue native plants before the bulldozers come in for new development.

Sunday we were in a tranquil pine forest where I kept drifting off the task at hand to drink in the peace.  We dug out lots of Christmas ferns and had to lug them up quite a grade to the road.  Despite the hard work, it was a wonderful day to be out in the forest and I'm looking forward to going back.

Nick and Rick at the bottom of the grade.

Hauling in quite a catch.

 

My bundles.

Some spent puffballs on a stump.

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2010-04-10 Saturday - Front yard - The Carnage

Three years ago a good friend of ours dug a dogwood out of the woods behind her house in Waxhaw and gave it to us.  I planted it in the front yard and mulched it, and watered it through the drought.  It was small, but it had two branches full of leaves on a thin trunk.  I was hopeful.

Last year a squirrel pulled one of the branches off it which accounted for half of the tree.  I shook my fist at the squirrels (a regular event at our house), cleaned it up, and watered what was left.  It was unbalanced, but it was alive.  I was hopeful.

Saturday I was out in the front yard and noticed that a branch had fallen from the willow oaks (a way too regular occurrence).  Only one branch had fallen in the whole yard and it fell on my half a dogwood snapping the remaining portion off completely.  I shook my fist at the willow oak, shook my head, and threw the branch away.  I just pray that the dogwood will have the same will to survive that the hollies I am trying to eradicate exhibit and sprout anew.  I am cautiously hopeful.

To compound matters, I got another dogwood from my friend Nic (who also helped me plant it) and there is currently not one leaf on it.  Perhaps I am just not meant to have a dogwood in the yard.

I remain hopeful.

The perpetrator and the victim.

The victim, the carnage, the horror.

2010-04-09 Friday - Clayworks Spring Sale

Friday was the annual Spring Sale at Clayworks.  It's a venue for studio artists and teachers to sell their wares and have a bit of socializing at the same time.  I always love to see how well everyone cleans up since most of the time we see everyone in their clay clothes.  I still wear my clay clothes at the sale since I am generally there to demo.  I love demoing at the sales since it's a chance to have some fun on the wheel and talk to everyone while I'm doing it.  Imagine that.  (It has a lot to do with that extrovert thing.)

During the height of the sale it got pretty crowded up front by the pottery but I was in the back doing the demos, so my pictures are all after the crowds had dissipated and I had taken a break.

After the sale I went over to Twenty Two to meet Elaine, Paul, Scott, Will, and Barbara.  It was very nice time and I had my first Ellie's Brown Ale on tap and that was quite nice too.  I would like to go back there soon.

Amy Sanders and Greg Scott.

People shopping and chatting.

Julie Wiggins' work.

Go team celadon!

Tomoo Kitamura's work.

Paul, Steve, and Michael.

Joe and Julie.

Fred and Becky.

Kim, Shelley, Nic, and Tomoo.

Paul, Elaine, and Steve.

Nic enjoying the spinach dip bread bowl.

Paul, Nic, and Becky.

I was trying to get a picture of Nic and Becky talking

and Paul absolutely stole this picture.

Elaine's pottery.

Pretty flowers in a pretty pot.

Quite an impressive list of artists on name tags.

2010-04-07 Wednesday - Part II

Wednesday night was the first night of class and folks were also getting ready for the big Clayworks Spring sale.  It was nice to get my hands into clay again and seeing my other Wednesday night cronies.

I also caught up with Shelly moving her sculptures to the back and snapped a few pictures.

What can I say about these to do them justice?

Just look at the pictures and enjoy.

I threw some tumblers, and talked to Nick and Kim.

I think Nick lost his hair in a poker game...

2009-12-22 Tuesday - Clayworks Glazing

Tuesday was glaze-a-thon night at Clayworks.

We started out with a smaller version of our holiday get together with Amy, Minke and Nick.  We had some snacks and sampled a Kentucky bourbon, chocolate, pecan pie.  It was delicious.  Thanks Amy!

After snacking Nick and I started glazing some pots.  Soon Greg showed up to join us.  We were talking and glazing, glazing and talking, and having a beverage or two.  Glazing always takes longer than planned (with or without talking and drinking).  We finally cleaned up and left a little after 1:00 am.

When I arrived the Christmas-light-decorated crane

was turned parallel to the roof of the building

and the moon was right at the end of the boom.

I wish I had my tripod so I could get a non-blurry picture of it.

The DELICIOUS pie.

Amy and Minke snacking with yours truly.

After applying the spotted shino I had to wait

for the pots to dry before the next layer.

Greg was regaling us with some great stories while painting pots.

Nick was in "Whisk-y Town" cleaning up the glaze on his latest planters.

"What?"

2009-12-17 Thursday - Raku at Clayworks

We had a raku firing at Clayworks tonight and while it was a bit chilly, it went well and everyone had a good time.  Amy brought lots of snacks, we had wine, and lots of laughs.

We didn't have too many pieces to fire tonight, but the first firing took a long time since we were having so much fun socializing.  Julie and Greg were loading the gas kiln.  They work so well as a team there was nothing for any of us to do but stay out of their way.

Elaine and Paul.

Greg and Becky.

Nick and Pan.

Nick's planter.

(And you think I use lots of marbles!)

Elaine smoking her cat in sawdust.

Elaine dusting the smoldering sawdust off her cat.

Amy, Julie, Becky, and Greg having some libations.

Nick's unique planters.

Did I mention Nick is a botanist?

2009-09-29 Tuesday - Clayworks

I was at Clayworks on Tuesday night working on some new forms. I threw a couple of low phoenix casseroles but I'm not sure if I like them enough to keep them. I also threw a closed form in craggy crunch that I flattened to make more of a "canvas" for decoration. I've been thinking about a flattened bottle form for a week or so to create that canvas.

Becky had talked to me about a possible collaborative project for her cave art. She said she wanted to try some larger areas to decorate and I immediately thought of this shape. I hope it works for her but I will be glad to try another shape if she needs it.

Nick was there and we enjoyed our conversation while working on our respective projects. Being a botanist, Nick thinks about plants a lot and makes some great planters for them.

It was a good evening, but I stayed WAY too late. Go figure.

Round, flat, and closed.

More of a side view.

Nick hard at work.

Nick's planters that we raku fired on Sunday.

2009-09-27 Sunday - Barrel/Saggar/Raku

I went to Clayworks on Sunday to help out with the barrel/saggar/raku firings and finished off three possible lids for one of my crackle pots.

Becky and Elaine loaded the barrel and started that firing before I arrived. By the time I got there it was smoking nicely and the pieces inside were at the mercy of laws of physics.

We did saggar firing in the raku kiln. We brought it up to ~1150 F like Andy Smith taught us at his workshop and the results were tremendous. Becky was thrilled with her birds and I think Nick nailed it when he called them "stunning".

Next up was the raku firing. We brought the kiln up to ~1750 F while we watched the glazes get juicy and then lay down. Becky and Nick were happy with their pieces but unfortunately all but one of Amy's slab pieces cracked. I think the earthen red she used could be part of the problem since it has no grog, and couldn't survive the thermal shock, but I will check with Greg Scott on that theory.

Becky also did some horse hair work on some of her birds and Cindy's cats. They came out nice, but we should have let them cool a bit more before removing them from the kiln.

In between the firings I worked on my lids for one of my crackle pots. I ended up making three very different lids to compare. I like all three of them for different reasons so I don't know which one I will pick.