and where do I begin...

I guess this story starts on Friday...
We left for Charlotte mid-morning, arriving in plenty of time to set up our booth and be ready for the opening of the Festival in the Park at 4:00 pm. Friday night sales were slow and we weren't surprised, it was the same last year. Saturday brought overcast skies in the morning, drizzle mid-day, and steady rain by 7:00pm. The show closed an hour early and we were at Mac's Speed Shop enjoying barbecue and beer by 9:00pm. We weren't too disheartened, last year Sunday was our best day. Sunday we awoke to blues skies and perfect temps. After draining the water off of our tent roof, emptying out the pots that filled with water, and hanging our wet shopping bags out to dry, we were open for business. The festival was packed with people, but not our people! When all was said and done, we covered our booth fee and expenses, and made a little money... but not the kind of money for the amount of work and time put into this show.
We won't be going back next year.

We got back to Seagrove around midnight. I was driving, towing the trailer behind us. Jeff said "Pull into the driveway as close to the big wood fired pot... that's not there".

Yep, that's right. The pot was gone.

This one right here:

By midday we found out that Johnston and Gentithes, down the road from us, also had one of Fred Johnston's big pots stolen from the front of their gallery. These are pots valued at 1000 plus dollars each. We both reported the thefts. The pots will probably turn up at a flea market or consignment shop somewhere. I hope the thief is stupid enough to try to fence them locally. We have posted the photo on our FB pages, hoping that someone will recognize the pot if it turns up somewhere.
Jeff and I are keeping our spirits up and trying to find the humor in our not so fortunate weekend.
Sometimes all you can do is laugh.
And then go back to the studio and make more pots.

Which would you prefer; loading a bisque kiln or a glaze kiln?

of course you low fire potters get to have it both ways... bisque and glaze in the same kiln!

Jeff is great at loading the bisque kiln. When I load it, he can always rearrange and squeeze in a few more pots. I would much rather load the gas kiln for a glaze firing... which will be happening this afternoon. One more firing before Festival in the Park in Charlotte, NC.
I better get to work!

loosen up

When i am making mugs to carve, I throw them pretty tight and straight. It makes the surface easier to work on. It's lots more fun to throw a loose mug body. I can just let go and enjoy the process, always keeping in mind that there is a fine line between loose and sloppy. These swirly mugs will be finished with a shino and ash glaze combination.

One week from today Jeff and I will be at Festival in the Park in Charlotte, NC. The info is in the side bar on the right. Crossing our fingers for great weather.

recovering...

Jeff and I have survived another outdoor show. I wanted to post some photos sooner, but I woke up with a stomach bug on Monday and spent the day napping on the sofa. Tuesday, I took things slow.

We had great weather for Festival in the Park, bright sunny days and not too warm. 

 Our booth location was shady and we backed up to the trees, which meant we could store boxes and stock behind us without anyone seeing the clutter. Our booth walls are set up so we have space to exit from the rear and reach shelving that we have for extra stock. The booth to our left was a no show, so it was nice to have the extra space when setting up and breaking down.

When we were in NH in August, our host Lou, gave us four empty oxygen cylinders (he is a respiratory therapist). Jeff filled them with sand and screwed an eye bolt into the top. A great alternative to the cement blocks we were using. They blend in with the tent and tuck in out of the way.

Freedom Park in Charlotte is beautiful. The booths are set up along a walkway that goes around the small lake.

 The crowds were thick everyday. Sometimes it was hard to even walk around. Jeff forewarned me that the last time he did this show people were not buying on Friday night. He was right... we had one sale.

 Sales were slow on Saturday and I was starting to get really irritated with the festival goers questions. I lost count of how many people asked, "Did you make this stuff?", or the best one... "What do you call this?". If we got a dollar for every "nice work" or ""nice booth" comment we would have needed suitcase to take our money home in.

 As you can see in the photo above, our neighbor was a "make a candle" guy, and next to him was face painting. Unfortunately, on our side of the lake they mixed these types of vendors in with the craftsmen. The candle guy's booth was busy all weekend with kids waiting in line to make a candle in a jar or wine glass. We also had the kettle corn guy a few booths down. Sometimes the line snaked all the way down to us. Jeff has a friend in NH who is a glass artist and a few years ago he bought a kettle corn set up and started doing fairs. He said when he opens up for the day everyone says "Yay, the kettle corn guy is here!". In all his years selling his glass art, no one ever said "Yay, the glass guy is here!".
The food vendors make way more money than the artists.

Thankfully, Sunday redeemed itself. Many of the people who visited on Saturday, returned and bought something. We actually came home with money in our pocket. The next show we do will be an easier, one day show and we will be using a simple booth set up with covered tables and my abstracta unit. I sometimes question whether a fancy booth makes a difference in sales or not. I would like to know other artists thoughts on this.

A well deserved treat after a tiring weekend... good sake, Asian dumplings and spring rolls

... and now it's time to get back to work.

Festival in the Park, Freedom Park - Charlotte, NC

The gas kiln was fired on Sunday and for the most part with good results. I am really happy with how the ginkgo leaf bowls in the green glaze and shino came out.

 I was afraid after seeing the pattern fired in wood and salt, that the green glaze wouldn't live up to my expectations! I didn't commit all them to this firing, but I will glaze the rest for the next firing along with the mugs I have finished.

Photographing shiny glazes is so hard. I tried the spraying with hairspray trick once but didn't think it made much difference... and then you had sticky pot that needed to be washed! If anyone has any suggestion or hints, I would love to hear them.

This firing had a lot of new piggy banks. This is a new color combination - nuka and shino with copper red over the shino. 

He is available in my Etsy shop, clicking the photo will take you there.

Jeff and I have a busy day ahead. We will be loading pots and our booth into the trailer. Tomorrow we head to Charlotte for the Festival in the Park, at Freedom Park. This is a three day show and the weather is looking good. If your in the Charlotte area, stop in and say hello.

Strictly Functional 2012

The 2012 Strictly Functional Pottery National is now online, click here if you haven't seen it yet. Jeff is in good company, a couple of New England potter friends are also in the show... Maureen Mills and David Orser.

Jeff based his entries on knowing that Jack Troy was the juror and he definitely made the right call. A large number of the pots in the show are wood fired.

wood fired tray by Jeff Brown

Today is day two of glazing and then on to loading the gas kiln. Our goal is to fire tomorrow. Next weekend we will be in Charlotte for Festival in the Park. This is a first for me, Jeff did it 12 years ago. I hope it's a good show, it's long... Friday evening, Saturday till 9:30 pm, and all day Sunday. If you are in the Charlotte area come out to the park!