Jugtown Pottery!

there were two places on this trip to seagrove that i absolutely wasn't going home without visiting. one was ben owen's studio and the other - jugtown pottery!  as many of you know jugtown is steeped in north carolina pottery history and you can learn more about it here.  jugtown also has new hampshire connections... in 1968 the organization country roads, inc. purchased jugtown.  nancy sweezy, founder of country roads, came to jugtown to oversee it's operations.  nancy sweezy lived for sometime in wilton, nh.  in addition to that, one of the current owners, pamela owen, is from mont vernon, nh.  pam went to high school at high mowing, the waldorf school in wilton, nh.  she and her husband vernon, along with son travis, are the main potters at jugtown.

it's hard to tell from this picture but this is an old horse-drawn pugmill

the setting of jugtown is beautiful... the trees were just beginning to leaf out.  i imagine this week it is lush and green there.  the log cabin above is the gallery and to the right is another cabin with a pottery museum.  to the left are cabins that house studios and glaze rooms and of course there are a number of kiln sheds.  jugtown was featured in the PBS series Craft in America, season two. if you have the opportunity to see it you will enjoy every minute of it... it's available through netflix... i think i am beginning to sound like a commercial!

sunny days...

it's a sunny saturday here in new hampshire although not as warm as i would like it to be... the weather last week in seagrove, nc was perfect.  each morning i woke and enjoyed breakfast and coffee outside on the wrap around porch of the log cabin.  it felt so good to feel the warm sun on my bare feet...

jeff and i enjoyed our lazy mornings and by noon we were out on the road visiting with all the local potters. next stop... jugtown!

super-size me!

on our last visit to David Stuempfle's studio it was raining cats and dogs and i was only able to take some interior photos... when we were there on sunday the weather was cooperating.  david makes BIG pots.  david has BIG kilns to fire those pots... 

hey jeff... watcha doin' inside that kiln?!

a visit to STARworks!

located just outsided of seagrove, nc is the town of star.  star is the home of a really cool place called STARworks.  STARworks is a textile mill transformed into an entrepeneurial center for ceramic materials and research, a glass studio, biofuels center, as well as a micro-eco farm.  nancy gattovi, executive director gave us a tour of the whole facility.  this organization is really going places.  jeff said if he had access to a glass studio like STARworks, when he was in high school, he would be a glass blower today and not a potter!

STARworks ceramics is run by Takuro and Hitomi Shibata.  Takuro was gracious enough to give us an extensive tour of the clay facility.  not only do they sell Highwater clays and many materials and tools, they also manufacture clay bodies made from local north carolina clay.  we couldn't leave without filling whatever space we had in my equinox with bags of clay!!!

above is a pic of jeff standing in front of the huge filter press

this is in front of the BIG pugmill

one of the things i noticed while we were touring STARworks was there were bicycles scattered throughout the interior and exterior of the building... nancy told us that the bicycles are there for the people of STARworks to use to get around town! also in the front of the building was a jogging/walking path made of recycle rubber (i think it was tires).  jeff and i were so impressed by this organization and the people we met there... if you are ever in the area be sure to stop in.

a visit with Ben Owen...

what an amazing week!  i have never seen so many pots and talked to so many potters as i have in the last week. we did not have internet access in the log cabin so i have been unable to post anything to the blog or facebook.  this afternoon we packed up the car and said good-bye to our log cabin home in seagrove.  tonight we are visiting with jeff's sister in king, nc.  tomorrow we head north.  

last thursday we visited Ben Owen's studio and gallery and were fortunate enough to be able to spend some time chatting with him.  his gallery space is gorgeous and his kilns are AMAZING!

the ben owen pot on the right is jeff's birthday present from me (it's a beauty!)... the sake bottle and cup to the right were made by jeff

i have lots more pictures to post from our seagrove adventure so be sure to check back here for new updates.

we have arrived in seagrove!

we arrived at jane and frank's in the wee hours of the morning on tuesday... after catching up on some sleep  we went in to asheboro to pick up a few things - a hairdryer (mine nearly caught fire at the hotel in jersery!) and windshield wipers (realized on the rainy ride they were in rough shape) and of course we absolutely had to have lunch at bojangles... jeff's favorite southern fast food joint.  he promised me that we wouldn't eat there everyday... although i have to admit their chicken & biscuits are yummy!
we then headed into seagrove. our first stop was The Great White Oak Gallery owned by potters bonnie and benjamin burns.  they have a beautiful red glaze... be sure to check out their website.

from there we went visit  Dan Triece, Dirtworks Pottery .  Dan's gallery has his own work as well as the work of other potters, jewelers and craftspeople.
later in the afternoon we headed over to the log cabin where we will be spending the next few days.  it is very rustic and hasn't been occupied for sometime now.  we did a little cleaning up and today we will settle in for the rest of our visit.  we are looking forward to experiencing pioneer life surrounded by potteries!!

not sure if we will have an internet connection for the next few days but be sure to check in for updates.

headin' south...

jeff and i hit the road last night around 8:30.  we left new hampshire in yet another wind and heavy rain storm... we drove as far as new jersey.  it was about 12:45 when we arrived at the hotel.  i bought a GPS this winter and we trusted it to navigate us through new york city and in to jersey.  we did just fine and didn't get lost.  when i woke up this morning i looked out the window of our room to this lovely view....

we are staying in a holiday inn express in north bergen, near the lincoln tunnel.

this morning we are stopping at a computer store to pick up a new screen for jeff's laptop... he was going to order it two days ago and realized the store was in jersey and would be on our way.  the shop opens at 11:00 and then we will drive on to asheboro, nc where we will visit with a friend.  asheboro is nearby seagrove so i will consider us having reached our destination late tonight.  i think we have 10 hours of driving ahead of us today... looking forward to it, we have lots of fun together on the road.
...and i promise more interesting posts to come!

road trip preparations...

sunday night jeff and i are hitting the road again to seagrove, nc.  the next two days will be spent packing and tying up loose ends here in nh.  tomorrow i will pick up and deliver a real estate contract (yay...that means income next month!) and jeff will be teaching a throwing workshop in mont vernon.  i also have to get to the studio to check on some work in progress.... either finish it or wrap it well enough to keep until i get back... when you are a potter there are always pots to check!  are they at the right stage to assemble parts?, are they ready to trim?, or do they need to be misted with water to save for a later date?... it is always something...

below is a bowl i started during nh open doors back in november 2009 and fired just prior to christmas... photographer ken kartes and seamstress, concord arts diva katy brown were visiting the studio while i was throwing a couple of these large bowls.  i am not crazy about the glaze combo...and the next ones will be better!

graduation day!

it's official!  i am a keller williams BOLD graduate :-)

...and tonight is my "friday nite" so i am CELEBRATING!

CHEERS!

counting down the days...

today is the last day of the real estate class i am taking - the last monday that i have to be up at 6am and out the door at 7:30... HOORAY!  i have learned a lot about myself in this class...not necessarily what the course outline intended and i am okay with that.  i enjoy selling real estate - it can be a fun rewarding job.  i love, love making pots, talking about pots, selling pots, hanging out with other potters... i could go on and on...

in six days jeff brown and i are hitting the road to seagrove, nc once again.  first few nights we will stay with jeff's friend jane at her home in asheboro then the rest of the week at a log cabin/pottery studio that jane owns in seagrove.  i think the pottery highway picture was taken near the studio.  we are getting really excited about the trip and we plan to visit lots and lots of potters.  the last trip we didn't have time to visit jugtown so they are definitely on the list!

chillin' on a saturday nite

i promised a pottery post so here it is...

got to the studio late in the day and decided i needed to start recycling some clay scraps...recycling is messy stuff but so rewarding in the end when you have freshly pugged clay to use!

assembled some oval bakers that i started yesterday...this will be my first attempt a creating one with a lid... i will keep you posted on whether this will be successful or not...

here is a long narrow one that i just finished attaching a bottom to...

and here is the best part... chillin' with dinner, listening to miles davis, after a productive day...

bowl by brian gricus, homemade soup by jeff brown, plate by john zentner, cheesy garlic bread by ME, cheap white wine in a sweet, little, nugget of a cup made by jz, glazed and fired by ME! happy saturday night to y'all!

de-cluttering

it's a gorgeous almost spring-like day here in new hampshire. my plan was to do some laundry, go for a walk and then head to the studio for the day. i got a little sidetracked by my incredibly disorganized office... it was getting to the point where you could hardly see the desk top anymore. it took half the day to sort through stuff and put things away.

...i was too embarrassed to take a before picture

...the fun thing is my friend cindy called to chat and she was organizing her clutter as well... so we were able to catch up on stuff and get our work done at the same time!

...off to the studio now to assemble some oval bakers and get some more glazing done. i promise that the next post will really be about pottery and not this boring mundane stuff.

stormy weather...

... february was quite a month. john's birthday on the 17th, my league of nh craftsmen jury the 22nd and then we were hit with a phenomenal wind and rain/snow storm on the 25th. we lost power here on bow lake for nearly four days. the storm immediately brought back the memories of my last week with john. many of you know that he passed away during the ice storm of 2008. he was in my dreams two nights ago and it was only the second time since he has been gone. the first few months after his death i so wanted to dream of him and i was saddened that i did not. i belong to a young widows grief group and have learned from others that my experience is not unusual. it was a weird dream, of course, and in it john didn't speak.

it dawned on me today that this stage of grief is like the frost heaves in the road that we have here in new hampshire... they start with little bumps that overnight turn into huge heaves with peaks and valleys...if you drive too fast over them they toss you around and can cause damage... then almost over night, the frost heaves are gone and the road is nearly smooth. that is how february felt for me.

i am looking forward to march and smoother travels.

close up of the bottom of a wood fired oval baker... because after all, isn't this supposed to be a pottery blog?