2009-09-09 Wednesday - Busy Saturday

This Saturday Hal Dedmond and Corine Guseman are having a sale and a wood kiln firing and the Mint Museum is having the Fifth Annual Potters Market Invitational. Both are going to be great events. I don't know how I am going to get to both of them. Maybe I can swing by the Mint early and then head out to Lawndale... but I still want to get to the farmer's market in the midst of all this. Logistics, logistics...

Whatever you choose to do, please go to at least one of these and support local potters.

2009-09-01 Tuesday - Sunset

I was walking out of Lowe's on Tuesday night and noticed the strangest sunset I've ever seen. I only had my cell phone with me so I quickly got a couple of shots with it. That line of demarcation between the blue on the left and the lighter blue on the right is something I have never witnessed.

I stood there for a good 3 or 4 minutes just absorbing it and I only saw one other person who noticed it. I called over and said, "Pretty strange, eh?", and he said, "It's like someone is holding up a big hand in front of the sun."

I couldn't have said it any better. We stood there and enjoyed it for a another minute and then we got into our respective cars and drove away.

It slipped my (more and more slippery) mind until today, but here it is.


You really have to look around, stay in the moment, and enjoy each one. Every day.

2009-09-02 Wednesday - Mooning

mooning: verb

Dictionary.com: to act or wander abstractedly or listlessly: You've been mooning about all day.

Cambridge Dictionary: to move or spend time in a way that shows a lack of care and interest and no clear purpose: She's been mooning around the house all weekend.

With the studio closed to students until September 10, I've been mooning around here lately so I thought I would take advantage of it.

Full auto at 1/8th of a second doesn't work with a full moon.
Too bright.

Switch to manual and 1/125th of a second.
(I also cropped the photo.)

Even 1/30th of a second didn't help Jupiter much.

Much closer to home, an insect on the back porch light.
1/250th of a second to not pick up the full 60 watts of light bulb.
This light is actually bright white, but with
the increased shutter speed it looks orange.

Detail of insect on light.
The light quality makes it look brown,
but it was actually a bright green insect.

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.

2009-08-26 Wednesday - Clayworks

Went to the studio tonight to handle some mugs and glaze some pots. Saw Becky and Elaine there and got to see their work from Susan Halls' class at Penland. It's quite amazing! I can't wait to see what they will produce with their mad new skills.

Becky's dog, Brutus and
the rabbit Susan Halls made.

Elaine's cats.

You can see the rest of their class work here.

2009-08-26 Wednesday - Yixing Teapot demonstration

Part 1a of an Yixing Teapot demonstration by Mrs. Zhou Gui Zhen from Dingshan.


Part 1b

2009-08-25 Tuesday - Clayworks

I worked on handling some of my mugs and promptly forgot to take pictures of them.

I also brought my Gary Rith tea set in to show some folks. Only one person was there tonight, and she really liked it. She's trying to stay anonymous since she doesn't like having her picture taken. I will bring it back tomorrow night since more people will be in the studio since many people want to see it.



Check out Gary's blog here.