October 16 - Wednesday - EcoFab Fashion show

Wednesday night I went to the Mint Museum to see the EcoFab Fashion show.  My friends Elaine and Penny both designed dresses for the show.  Many people from Clayworks were in attendance and we had quite a cheering section.  The dresses were very well made and the models had fun displaying them.

Some of the Clayworks cheering section in the lobby.

Jose Fumero in one of his own creations.
That's Dorothy on the right.

Minke and Daniel.
Minke is wearing Elaine's dress.

Minke with Elaine, the designer.

"Make sure you get the ankle bracelet!"

The back.

Elaine discussing her work.

This skirt lit up.

This is Penny's dress.

Those are clay leaves on the back that
make a faint wind chime noise with movement.

Hey, there's Minke and Daniel again.

Kim and Rae discussing the whole affair.

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February 21 - Thursday dinner with good friends

Thursday I drove from where I was working in Wadesboro directly to Local Dish in Fort Mill, SC to have dinner with good friends.  It was nice to see Minke, Elaine, and Daniel again as its been a while.  It was fun to catch up over a fine meal.

Afterwards we took a stroll around downtown and looked in shop windows.  Fort Mill has quite a quaint downtown.

After a relaxing meal and walk, all too soon it was time to rush off again back to regular life.

Minke, Daniel, Elaine

A nice old building.

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February 25 - Minke's dinner party

On Saturday evening Minke held a dinner party for sixteen of her friends.  It was a wonderfully elegant affair and the mix was amazing.  The energy level was great and the conversation flowed like the wine.  Oh, and the food was delicious.

The evening flew by and before I knew it, it was after midnight and people starting drifting out.  Finally, only Elaine and I were left with Minke and we had even more great discussions.  It's so nice when you have time with friends with no constraints on you.  Even at the studio we have to break away from conversations to get back to work on our art.  There are always things pulling at us and moving us along the timeline.

At 2:30 am, the only constraint we had was our fatigue, and it fell like a curtain.  We said our goodbyes and took the memory of a splendid evening with us.

Thank you Minke, for a magical evening.

Clockwise:  Mashed potatoes in a deep-fried shredded potato basket,
creamed spinach, chicken and mushrooms in crepes,
and pork medallions with apples.

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October 30 - Back to the studio

Sunday I was back at Clayworks glazing a bunch of pots that had been waiting a while.  I tried a couple of glazes that are completely new to me and am anxiously awaiting the kiln-loading to see what comes out.

Mine are on the foreground table.

Minke, Elaine, and Ro were working in the members area.

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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?"

2009-09-13 Sunday - Clay Day

Minke and I started out meeting at the Yiasou 2009 Greek Festival at 11:00 am for lunch before heading to Clayworks. Unfortunately the festival doesn't open now until 12:00 pm so we went to Dunkin' Donuts for a cup of coffee before heading back to the festival. At 11:45 am the waiting line was all the way around the corner of the block, so we gave up and went to the studio.

I glazed some pieces and completely forgot to take any pictures of them because I apparently checked my brain at the door. More about that later. I caught up with Becky and Ann and forgot to take some more pictures. Julie and Greg were loading the gas kiln at 7:00 pm and I was going to head home for dinner and then come back and help.

Soon it was 6:30 pm and I hadn't left yet, so I stayed to help load. The loading took a while, but we got most of the students' work in before closing the door and lighting it. We left it in Julie's more than capable hands.

Now it was 9:15 pm and on the way home I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since my small breakfast. Remember what I said about checking my brain at the door? No food for almost eleven hours --and I never even thought about it. Duh. You'd think at my age I would know better.

Anyway, I am anxiously awaiting Wednesday night's kiln opening.

2009-09-12 Saturday - Lots of Pottery

Saturday flew by in a flurry of great pottery.

Minke and I went to the 5th Annual Potters Market Invitational at the Mint Museum of Art. It opened at 10:00 am and we arrived at about 10:10 to find it already hopping. Many wonderful artists from our region were in attendance and we visited them all. I'm sure I had a silly (ok, sillier than usual) grin on my face as I made each discovery. Everyone was glad to talk about their process and their vision. I have always noted that potters are a really friendly bunch of folks that love to talk about pottery. Go figure. (I could talk pottery until my wife's ears bleed, so I try to limit myself for her sake.)

I ran into several people that I know and was introduced to a few whose reputations preceded them. It was really fun to catch up with friends and share some of the wonders around us.

I am already looking forward to next year's sale.

As planned, Minke and I met up with Ju-Ian at the sale and headed for Dedmond Pottery in Lawndale for the clearance sale and kiln firing. Before hitting the road we needed to get some lunch and I found out that neither of them had ever been to Mr. K's on South Blvd. We went there and had the Big K with fries. I'm glad I could initiate them to one of the simple joys of Charlotte.



After our repast we were back on our way to Lawndale and Dedmond Pottery for the clearance sale and kiln firing. It was a beautiful day and drive and we had some good tunes on the stereo and some great conversation.

Corine and Hal had quite a bit of great pottery marked down for clearance and I couldn't leave two pieces there. We also went into the gallery and I picked up a mug I had to have. The gallery is actually Hal's grandparents' house and is a great place to show their work. Once I had purchased more than I had planned, we headed up the driveway to check out the kiln firing.

I felt bad since I had volunteered a few months ago to help with the firing, but then I never followed up with it (Me? Go figure). I felt better when I saw Hal had plenty of help for this one, but I do want to help with a future firing. They were at it since 7:00 am and we arrived at 1:30 pm when the temperature was about 1970. They were going to 2300 and it had plateaued for a while, but it picked up again and they were well on their way when we left. I was reminded again what hot work stoking a wood kiln is. If the temperature inside the kiln is 2000 degrees it's probably 1800-1900 degrees at the fire door.

I still want to do it.

Corine showed us the studio, mixing shed, kiln shed, and her new classroom. She is going to hold hand-building classes and already has a waiting list. I wish her the best with it and know she will excel at it.

All too soon it was time to head home again. Corine and Hal truly do have a magical place out in the country and I love to visit them. I want to thank them again for having us out.

Minke at the Mint.

Ron Philbeck and Brad Lail.

Greg Scott at the Mint.

Ju-Ian, Corine, and Minke at Dedmond Pottery.

Bargain hunters on the prowl.

Lots of great pots for sale in a peaceful setting.

The gallery in the house.

Hal keeping a watchful eye on the kiln.

Praying at the fiery altar.
Actually, everyone was trying to see the back cone packs.

Here's what they were looking at.
They were trying to see through all the flames
to the very back of the kiln.

A little bit closer.

The flames change the view by the second.


Stoking and firing.


The butterflies didn't seem to mind the smoke.


The contained conflagration.

The rest of the pictures are here.

2009-05-02 Saturday Barrel/Raku/Saggar Firing

Saturday was a big firing day at Clayworks. We did a barrel firing, a raku firing and a saggar firing --all in one day! It was an ambitious schedule, but we Clayworkers are a hardy bunch.

The barrel didn't want to start and after several attempts, and Minke buying more lighter fluid it finally went. The results of the barrel were a mixed bag as usual.

The saggar firing was interesting. We brought the kiln up very slowly, but the bottom pan for the saggar broke into several pieces. The pieces that were saggar fired came out nicely, despite the fractured vessel. We had to let the kiln cool down to about 300 degrees so we could sweep out the sawdust before firing the next raku load.

The first raku load needed to ramp up slowly again since the kiln was so cool. Amy had some plaques to fire and I remembered reading that flat raku pieces have less chance of cracking if they are fired on edge. I'm pleased to say it worked like a charm and her plaques came through the fire fine.

We brought the kiln up more quickly for the second load since it was already at 500-600 degrees and the pots started getting juicy just about the time the heavens let loose. We covered the vent holes with kiln shelf pieces on bricks to keep the rain out of the kiln, but we couldn't chance taking the pots out with all that cold water falling on them. We turned the kiln down and waited. Luckily the storm took a break for about 10 minutes while we took out the pots. They came out of the extra ordeal without any ill effects. I say "extra ordeal" since raku firing is normally an ordeal for the materials involved.

After all the firing was done I glazed a ^10 craggy crunch pot and cleaned up my shelf supports from the other night and finally left the studio at 7:30 pm. A long day indeed.

Amy, Cindy, and Becky readying the barrel pieces.

Elaine builds one of her great coiled pots.

Pete was there throwing another of his great forms.

Minke brought a feast of wines and
cheeses to keep us all fortified.

Everyone is enjoying the repast.

The rest of the crew.

Becky was determined to get the
barrel burning and making "tunnels" to the pots.

Quite the spread, eh?

Even more food.

The first raku load.

The second load when the sky opened.

Rain on the kiln shelves.

Red lustre with flaming moondrops
and a pour of clear.

Turqouise on neck and burgundy matte on body.

Birds and frogs and pots, oh my!