2016-06-08 - Wednesday - Flowers and fires and clay

Wednesday I stopped to check on our Rose of Sharon hibiscus. It's very happy and blooming quietly in the corner of the fence. Not bad for a volunteer. I really like this plant. The blooms only last a day but there are hundreds of them. It's a very happy plant.

In the evening I was at Clayworks. I know, go figure.

Greg was firing the raku kiln and I caught him standing behind the flame. He looks like some sorcerer casting a spell. If you've seen any of his raku pieces you know that's a pretty accurate description.

I went inside and threw a lump of Pure Catawba clay from STARworks. My friend John Freeman gave me a piece to try and I really liked throwing it. The way it held the texture and got crackly without having to use sodium silicate was surprising. I may have to purchase some of this to explore it further.

The little guy was made from the trimmings of the large one. Waste not the dirt.

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2016-02-12 - Friday - Early Friday Morning Periscope

Thanks to Michael Kline (the king of all pottery social media) I have started using Periscope. There are a LOT of potters using Periscope now. I've watched Michael Kline paint pots, Will Baker throw ramen bowls, and Adam Field glaze Onggi jars, among others. They're all streaming live video from wherever they are and we viewers can comment, ask questions, and "applaud" by tapping the screen.

Michael Kline has taken us on a tour of STARworks clay facility. Adam Field has given us a tour of the Archie Bray gallery,and the Turman Larison Contemporary Gallery in Helena while they were having an opening.

It's exciting. There's almost always a potter online doing something and we can peer in on them. It's like a very laid back, ongoing mini workshop. If nobody is currently online you can watch the recordings for twenty four hours before they disappear.

Thanks to all the presenters who are letting us into their worlds.

I wanted to include this screenshot of Adam Field (the churro king) because it has the word albatross in the comments which makes me giggle every time I see it.

2014-12-06 - Saturday - Stephanie's Birthday

Saturday we drove toward Star, NC to check out the glass ornament sale at STARworks. We were running late and by the time the folks at STARworks had time to call us back we found out the event was over. Since we were almost there when we got the news we went on to Seagrove and visited the NC Pottery Center.

From there it was off to Asheville, NC to meet Stephanie and her boyfriend Brett for her birthday. We met at the Tupelo Honey Cafe where we enjoyed a very nice meal. After dinner we went on to Cullowhee for birthday cake with her roommates and then to the motel.

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