2014-03-08 - Saturday - Muddy Fun

Saturday was another Muddy Fun day and we had a really fun crew.  Angela led the class and Deborah, Robin, and I helped out.

After class and a nice lunch at La Shish Kabob I made some pots.

I decided to add a slab to a crackle pot to give me a slightly thicker wall to do some carving on since the crackle pots normally get pretty thin.

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October 22 - Charlotte Charity League sale

Friday night I set up for the Charlotte Charity League Showcase of Artisans show on Saturday.

After setting up my display I went to the studio assistants appreciation get together at Clayworks (and was having WAY too much fun to pull out my camera).  We had a good turnout to honor our great studio assistants and we were able to tell them how much we appreciated all the hard work they did moving us to the new building and setting up everything.

Saturday it was back the the Charity League Sale.  The crowds were sparse, but I got to hang out with some friends from Clayworks:  Dorothy and Robin were also participating in the show.  I also made a great new friend named Frances --turns out she is Cary's (one of our instructors and also a good friend) best friend.

Thanks to Jaime and her friend Rachael for coming by!

Saturday evening I went to Clayworks to make more raku pots.

I didn't have to pay extra for this sunlight midway through the sale,
but it was pretty dramatic.

Dorothy.

Robin.

More raku pots.

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Saturday - Another British invasion

Playing catch up again...

Saturday we (Becky, Kim, and our friend Ann) went to Shelby to attend a workshop featuring the talents of Hannah McAndrew and Doug Fitch at the Cleveland County Arts Council.  Hannah lives in Scotland and Doug in England.  It was a wonderful experience and made even better since their friend and our other blogging buddy, Angela Wolford came all the way from Australia to accompany them.  It was a magical day and it was like we had rock stars in our midst.  There was a surreal quality about it since we have all been blogging together for several years and we finally got to meet face to face.

Doug and Hannah did demos for most of the day and had us all spellbound by their talents and techniques.  They showed us how they throw their forms and how they decorate them and kept us laughing all the way.

We had a great lunch and watched the Isaac Button film while eating.

Then it was back to the workshop and more wonderful forms and decorating.

After the workshop we all went out front and took a picture on the steps and then it was on to a great dinner at the Pleasant City Grill.

All too soon, it was over and we had to say goodbye to our faraway friends and bid them safe travels back home.

A big thanks to Hannah, Doug, and Angela for visiting us and to Ron Philbeck for making it possible.

The demo stage with Doug and Hannah working away.

About 35 people attended.

Doug making a puzzle jug.
It's steaming because he just blasted it with a weed burner.

Doug and Hannah intent in their work.

Puzzle jugs require a lot of work to make them puzzling.

Hannah decorates it beautifully as Doug looks on.

Becky was soaking it in.

Almost finished.

Ta-da!

 A short break.

 

Susan, Jane, Becky, Kim, and Leon at lunch.

Back to work.

Robin and Kim look on as Doug quick-dries his jug.

Same jug with neck and handle added.

Great thumb chock and spiral.

Robin and Jane (in foreground) at Pleasant City Grill.

Ron and Becky.

Doug, Andrew, and Brad.

Gay came all the way from Texas for the workshop.

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Wednesday - Yard Springs Forth

The maple tree outside our window has popped and the bees are all over it.  I tried to video them, but they are too hard to see.  Trust me, they were swarming around those blossoms, just too far away for my camera's resolution.

I have often tracked the progress of the seasons by this tree.  I see the buds fountain out and pop in the Spring, watch the leaves unfurl like wings, witness them turning from chartreuse to become a mature, dark green in Summer.  In the Fall, they don their fire-colored party clothes before going to the ground in the big dance.

The first Spring after we moved here I was waiting for Karen and the girls to come home and enjoying the yard.  I was lying on the bench on our deck looking up through the foliage, enjoying how the light played through the young, translucent leaves.  Alone, they were chartreuse but where one or more of them overlapped they became darker and darker shades of green.  When the breeze toyed with them, the green-on-green kaleidoscope was fascinating. 

I remember thinking how lucky I was to be there at that very moment to enjoy the show and be in my own yard waiting for the family I love to come home.  I am constantly counting my blessings, and that day I got to do it in a nice breeze hearing the insects buzzing and the birds chirping.  A good day.

The second picture is the pain-in-the-ass robin that defecates all over my side mirror while challenging the imaginary male in my van window.  Another annual rite of Spring at our house.  (sigh.)

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2009-08-29 Saturday - Clayworks

Went into Clayworks on Saturday to finish up my glazing for the cone 10 kiln firing that was slated for Sunday night. The usual Saturday crew was there and it was fun catching up with everyone. In between glaze layers I did some hand-building with slabs in earthen red to pass the time.

Robin, Cindy, and Becky.

Turns out the kiln firing has been postponed since there is not enough student work. We will try again for September 13th. The hardest part will be staying away from the studio until September 16th when classes start. It feels like an eternity. Maybe I need to start knitting.

2009-04-18 Big Saturday, Part II

After the sale, I headed to the studio to get some catch-up work done. I worked on my largest pot so far, helped unload the glaze kiln with my painted mugs, and ate lunch. Rick gave me a loaf of his homemade bread so I stopped at Harris Teeter and picked up some ham, cheese, and a bottle of Fat Tire. It turned out that Kim had not had lunch so I was glad I could share it with her and we both loved it. Rick makes really great bread.

When I got to the studio
Scott was out back working his magic.

A great loaf of bread on a great plate.

Sandwich or heaven? Both.

It all went too quickly.

Kim enjoyed it as much as I did.

Robin arrived just as we were finishing.

Ju-Ian posing with my tallest pot to date.

I loved the hostility of this pose.

Having some ribbing fun.

The clay dust makes us all a little crazy.

The mugs I painted
and the creamer sets behind them.

Closer view.