2009-12-15 Tuesday - Clayworks

I got to Clayworks late on Tuesday night and I had lots of work to do.  I saw Becky and Susan as they were leaving and then had the studio all to myself.  I began by glazing some ^10 and ^5 work I had not finished and spent more time glazing than I planned --go figure.  These days I get into a different space when I'm glazing and time just flies by before I know it.  I'm trying to tread the fine line between having a design in mind when I start and keeping my mind open to new ideas during the process.  My next goal is to be so at home with the making and glazing processes that I am thinking about the glazes I will use while I'm making the pot the way Greg talks about in class.  One day, maybe...

I also trimmed some "Empty Bowls" and some yunomi but forgot to take pictures of them.

Another "crackle" pot.

Phoenix with black slip and amber celadon glaze sprayed on it.

A marble is perched on the lid handle.

The scene of the spraying.  It makes quite a mess.

Other glazed pots.

I'm interested to see how this wax on top of the shino works.

It should "ghost" nicely if there is enough reduction.

2009-12-12 Saturday - Multi-Artist Home Sale

[I think this post catches me up again.  I'll try to stay on it.]

Becky, Elaine, Susan and I had a home sale on Saturday and while it was pretty darn chilly we still had a good number of people come through the garage.  We had to take some breaks and head into the house to warm up our toes, but we spent most of the time from ~9:30 until 4:00 outside and it was invigorating.  I think some of my sale mates would have other words for it, but it was invigorating for me.  I believe it was about forty-two degrees.

We had coffee and donuts, Elaine made a pineapple upside down cake (which was amazing!), and we ordered pizza for lunch.

Elaine and Paul went to Mt. Holly and broke down our displays so didn't have to leave the sale.  Thanks again, Elaine and Paul!

Elaine's and Becky's display.

Becky's and Susan's display.

Some of mine.

Amy came by to visit.

Becky bundled up like it was cold or something.

2009-12-06 Sunday - Stephanie's Birthday

We celebrated Stephanie's birthday on Sunday with a small cake and just us.  She requested dinner at Sonic Drive-In and then we came back to the house for cake and gifts.  She will have a party some time in January since her friends are always busy this time of year.  December birthdays are a challenge.

Stephanie loves chocolate cake.

(Who doesn't?)

Birthday girl with smiling hard.

A lava lamp was one of her gifts.

Binkley was eying that cake.

2009-12-04 Friday - Clayworks Holiday Sale

I volunteered to demo again with my partner, Ju-Ian at the 2009 Clayworks Holiday Sale.  It's great fun showing people what we do and answering their questions and (believe it or not!) kidding with them.  This is the sign I noticed after I had been throwing for about two hours.  Who knew?

The students get to submit two pieces to display.

The tall one on the bottom is mine.

This is a pot from my blue period.

My name up in paper.

The construction crew across the street put Christmas lights on the tower crane.

The view across the street.

2009-12-02 Wednesday - Raptor in the Yard

We have a hawk (I think it's a hawk) living in our neighborhood and I caught it in our tree today.  I have seen this bird around for a while now and the squirrels live in fear of it.  I find striped feathers in the yard sometimes so I know there is some hunting happening even though it seems like our squirrel population doubles every year.

Sorry about the light quality, but it was a cold, rainy, miserable kind of day, so the light was horrible when I tried to capture an image of it.

Over the driveway scanning.

Same picture after lightening in Picasa.

Notice the fungus on the limb.  It came down a few days later.

Where I was actually taking the pictures from our front window.

I love my zoom (20x).

2009-11-30 Monday - Mt. Holly Setup

On Monday Amy, Becky, Elaine and I went to Mt. Holly to set up our wares for the two weekend show.  The four of us had our own room and we set up quickly.  After our setup we went to Cracker Barrel for a nice dinner.  Good food and good company.

My meager table.

Becky's aviary.

Note the off-the-shoulder look.

It's going to be really big next year.

Amy's table.

Elaine's shelves.

Clownin' and the Barrel.

2009-11-26 Thursday - Thanksgiving Parade

It's catch up time...

On Thanksgiving we observed a long-standing tradition by going to see the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I knew we had a good parade, but I was unaware that Charlotte's is actually ranked the fourth largest in the country.  Pretty cool, eh?  (For this post I have condensed it for brevity.)

Later in the day we went to Karen's cousin's house for another tradition and had a great Thanksgiving dinner.

Family and parades and great food.  Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays.

Santa and Mrs. Claus always end the parade.