2010-06-14 Monday - Pinehurst

On Sunday we drove to Pinehurst, NC.  Every year the NC Credit Union League has their convention at Pinehurst Resort and every few years we get to go too.  Pinehurst is a sleepy little resort village and is always a joy to visit.  The breakfast buffet is legendary (complete with piano player)  They also have an afternoon tea in the lobby with tea (duh!), coffee, iced tea and cookies.  And they know how to make a cup of tea, which a lot of places don't.  There are rocking chairs on all the wrap-around porches

This year we stayed in a lake view condo and it was beautiful.  I took way too many pictures on the lake including reflections, turtles poking their heads up, water skimmers, ducks (another kind of water skimmer), and great skies.  I even tried to capture some heat lightning without result.

If you get a chance to visit, don't miss it.


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I actually got up at 6:30 am to take these pictures

but it was worth it since the lake was like a mirror.

This is in the main dining room and looks

just like the ones we saw in Murano, Italy last year.

Meredith at breakfast.

The front lawn and circle.

Meredith and Stephanie rocking.

Fancy hedge trimming.

Who's that by the fountain?

Is it Stephanie and Meredith?

Obviously conspiring...

Smiles.

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2010-06-12 Saturday - Joe and Melissa's Raku

Saturday Joe and Melissa had a raku and covered dish party.  Everybody brought a lot of delicious food, good cheer, and lots of pieces to fire.  Joe and Melissa were great hosts and made everyone feel very much at home.  We had a bit of trouble with the burner rig for the kiln, but once the spider was removed from the orifice, everything went much better.  A big thanks to Greg for diagnosing the problem and getting us going again.

It was quite hot and sticky and operating a 1700 degree kiln in that heat was a bit draining, but it was still a great day.  While Joe was worried that some of the pieces got too hot, several beautiful pieces emerged from the reduction buckets.  We discussed the fact that every kiln has a learning curve and you have to do several firings before you really know how it will perform with different combinations of clays and glazes.  It's raku and can always surprise you --it's the nature of the beast.  I think Joe did a fine job.

Joe grabbing a bite.

The kiln waiting for the first load

while the potters work feverishly.

Rae, Tina, Marcia, and Jane ready the pieces.

Tina applying the ferric chloride in her fashionable gloves.

Joe with his buddy Tank.

Getting to temperature.

Firing using a weed burner

while diagnosing the Ward burner problem.

The reduction can and the sand pit.

Greg putting his thinking cap on about the burner issues

while Quinn pulls up roots.

Jane heading to the reduction bucket...

... and there it goes.

Rae taking a piece from the kiln.

Joe making sure it doesn't get away.

Tina carefully transferring a piece.

Greg taking a well-deserved rest after solving our problems.

Horse hair pots!

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2010-06-11 Friday - Clayworks

I went to Clayworks Friday with the idea of throwing some new pots and glazing some new work.  I brought Stephanie with me and told her she could use some of my clay to practice on the wheel so she didn't have to stay home alone.  Unfortunately Kim was cleaning the wheel room and my glazing took way longer than I'd planned so we never got near a wheel.  Stephanie was very patient with me and I owe her another trip or maybe some instruction on the kick wheel in the garage.  I was hurriedly glazing the pots to be ready for the inaugural Terra4m sale.

Let me backtrack a bit:  Terra4m is the cooperative clay group that Kim Marcadis, Elaine Spallone, Becky Story and I have started.  We are coming together to organize sales and further the promotion of our art.  We plan on having a strong web presence, a recognizable brand, and some fun along the way.  More about all that later, but we're very excited and motivated.

Creamer sets, a sponge holder, and a jar.

Despite this picture, Stephanie really was very patient with me.

Nic and Kim discussing studio matters.

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2010-06-09 Wednesday - Vietnam Grille and Clayworks

I met my friend Divakar for lunch at the Vietnam Grille.  If you get a chance, check out the Vietnam Grille on South Boulevard.  I really enjoyed my crispy tofu with dipping sauce.

Divakar is something of a local music legend here and you can hear why on his shows, "The New Music & Indie Label Show" 7:00 - 8:30 and "90 Minutes" 8:30 - 10:00 on 106.5 fm on Sunday evenings.  If there was any doubt about his local music status, check out what Creative Loafing has to say about him.  He also runs Shukla Entertainment and Saathee Magazine, and hosts Nazar Television in his spare time.

Later in the evening it was off to Clayworks for a raku firing.  While there we celebrated Elaine's birthday with a cake that Stephanie baked.  Thanks Stephanie, it was great!

The raku firing went well and results were good.  I had a porcelain piece that I left on the wheel for a bit and while I was gone Ju-Ian placed a small frog on the top of it.  I left the frog on it and fired it with clear crackle on the whole pot and turquoise luster on the frog.  I was very pleased with the result and need to get a picture of the finished pot.  Stay tuned for that.

The Vietnam Grille

Lunch with Divakar.

My crispy tofu.

(I forgot to photograph it before starting to eat.)

People jammed in the kitchen at Clayworks.

Party!

Elaine's cake after slicing.

Hot raku pots after opening the kiln.

One of Becky's birds on it's sawdust nest.

Adding dog hair to the bird.

(Normally she uses horsehair, but this is hair from her sister's dog, Mott.)

Next load coming out of the kiln.

(My frog pot is on the right.)

Another view of the frog pot.

(It's starting to cool, but the inside is still glowing.)

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2010-06-08 Tuesday - Clayworks

New work.

I made a really large oval casserole (that's my lens cap next to it) using little loafers (cone 5).  I hope it makes it through the whole process since it is a bit thinner than I'm used to making them, but it's nice and light.  Adrienne taught us to make these ten or more years ago and I finally got around to trying one.

I also made some pots for Joe's raku party that I had to take home to bisque fire to be sure they would be ready for the party.  I added some medium grog to the little loafers to give the pots more strength through the thermal shock of raku.

Biggest casserole to date

and the only oval one I've tried.

Raku pots.

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2010-06-05 Saturday - Greg and Adrienne's Sale

Greg and Adrienne had a sale and invited Ju-Ian to participate.  Quite an honor, but she's quite the artist.

The sale was wonderful and I wish I could have purchased several pieces.  The whole deck and yard were full of tables which were in turn full of pots.  As you can imagine the range of the work was amazing and I went through it all at least three times.  While some of the displays were under tents, many were not.  The sun was so hot they put pot holders on the tables in the sun.  I thought that was a practical and yet whimsical touch.

I also drooled while looking at their garden.  Their tomatoes are huge and they have a WALL (fence, actually) of raspberries.  We picked a couple of handfuls and they were delicious.

David and Lisa visiting with Greg.

Some of Greg's work.

Some of Adrienne's work.

More Greg.

Ju-Ian's work.

More Ju-Ian.

More Greg.

Festive sale goers (Ju-Ian is on the right).

The raspberries!

(NOT the Eric Carmen ones...)

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