2017-01-19 - Thursday - New pots

Thursday I worked on finishing up some pots and made a lid and a tumbler out of some leftover craggy crunch clay. There's always something to be done.

The tall one is a nod to Nick Joerling, though not near as graceful or fun as his work. Everybody has to start someplace.

.

2017-01-13 - Friday - New pots

Friday night I had a lot of fun just playing. I made some familiar forms and tried one multi-part piece inspired by Nick Joerling.

Onward.

.

2016-05-18 - Wednesday - Pots

Wednesday night I made a pale attempt at one of Nick Joerling's closed form vessels. I had all the parts, but it lacked all the grace and whimsy of his pieces. I never intended to keep it, just try out the technique. After taking this photo I squashed it and put it back in the clay bag. It sure was fun going through the process.

I decided I need some larger (medium-sized) bowls so I threw a couple of them with some really stiff cone 6 clay.

.

2016-02-28 - Sunday - Second day of Nick Joerling workshop

Sunday was the second day of the Nick Joerling workshop and it was just as good as the first. I learned a great deal and I had several "breakthrough" moments. Thank you to Nick for sharing all his knowledge and skills with us. I'm inspired.

The workshop was sponsored by the Carolina Clay Matters Pottery Guild and was held at Central Piedmont Community College.

.

2016-02-27 - Saturday - Nick Joerling workshop and sunshine

Saturday was day one of the Nick Joerling workshop. It was great. I've admired Nick's work for quite a while and it was very interesting to see his process. He gave us lots of information and quite a few laughs.

On the way home I noticed the sunlight on some overhead wires but I had to zoom in with my phone to get them. The phone lens normally pushes everything back.

.

August 25 - Saturday - Keep moving

Saturday was an important day.  It was a Muddy Fun day with both morning and afternoon classes and it was also the night of the big Clayworks fundraiser.

We had a great turnout for two Muddy Fun classes with lots of people eager to learn about playing in the mud.  It's great to be a part of our Muddy Fun sessions and help people learn something new about clay and about themselves.  People either think it's very easy or very hard to throw pots.  Like most things, it's actually somewhere in the middle.  Some folks have dabbled in it in college, some have never gotten close to a wheel.  Some take to it immediately and some struggle.  The one thing they all have in common is the adventurous spirit to try something new.

We couldn't do Muddy Fun without a group of dedicated volunteers.  Angela is a wonderful teacher and we can't thank her enough for volunteering so much of her time to run the classes.  Thanks also to the rotating group of caring volunteers who help Angela by wedging all that clay and assisting her in her teaching role.

We rely on our volunteers for so many things at Clayworks and we couldn't do without them.  Thanks to all who give their time and talent.

Saturday evening we had the annual Clayworks fundraiser at Hodges Taylor gallery with a raffle, a silent auction, food, and libations.  Christie Taylor was very kind in allowing us to take over her gallery again.  It's a wonderful space and we always have a great time there.

We had a raffle for a beautiful Ben Owen piece with strong ticket sales.  Speaking of volunteers, Susan Benoit goes above and beyond the call to sell our raffle tickets before the event and she and Rae Stark do a great job of selling them at the door.  Thanks to both of them for their hard work, and thanks to Ben Owen for the donated pot.

The silent auction had a slew of gorgeous pieces.  They came from inside and outside of Clayworks, spanned a wide range of ideas, and created a stunning display of talent.

The conversation was lively and I caught up with several people I hadn't seen in a while and met some new folks.  The food was delicious (thanks again to the volunteers!) and the libations flowed freely.  It was a stellar evening and was over all too quickly.

We cleaned up, packed up the leftovers, and it was like we were never there.

Thanks again to all involved for a wonderful event.

Eager students getting the preliminaries.

I found Justin and Greg in the other classroom
talking about pottery --go figure!

There's always a crowd at the food table because it's so good.

Kimberly and Steve discussing art.

Lots of mingling.

Some of the artwork:  Becky's llama and Ralph's wave.

More art from all over.

Large Adrienne/Greg collaboration and Nick Joerling pieces.

Here's a photo of the unfired piece
in the studio with better lighting.

Cary talking to Greg.

Our raffle ticket team, Susan and Rae.

Kary and Michael discussing art or beer.

The Ben Owen raffle piece.

The TransAmerica building's
homage to The Big Bang Theory.

By the way, this is a the Rebecca Jones
piece that I purchased in the silent auction.

I was too busy trying to win it to take a photo at the gallery
so here is a cell phone photo of it on my shelf.
I love it.

.