The last leg of the trip

 Jeff is on his way home! Last night he messaged me with these photo from Shibuya Station. He was in Tokyo, waiting for his train to the airport. He says Shibuya is Times Square x 10.

The Hachiko monument is located in Shibuya Station. If you don't know the story of Hachiko, I recommend the American made movie, Hachi: A Dogs Tale. It's a very sweet film, based on the true story about a dog and his master.

Jeff requested spaghetti with italian sausage and tomato sauce for his first meal at home. I guess he has grown weary of kimchi, rice, and fish!

Photos from Japan

Jeff was in Mashiko this week and these are the only photos that I have seen so far...

I must have misunderstood, I thought he said this was a POTTERY trip, not a POTTY trip.

Name your pig

 We unloaded the gas kiln in the late afternoon on Sunday. Most of the load was orders and it was a great firing... thank you kiln gods and Jeff, who stayed up all night to get this firing done before his trip.

These are few samples of the "personalized" piggy banks. I was relieved that "Anne" came out perfect. This was a re-do. I totally forgot to add the flowers to the first one, and didn't realize it until it was bisqued. If you know someone named Anne that needs a piggy bank without flowers, I have one ready and waiting for glaze! At least Anne is a common name. I am sure it will eventually sell.

 I had some fun with the underglaze on this piggy. It will be available in my Etsy shop tonight...

I took Jeff to the airport yesterday and he landed in Tokyo in the early morning (our time). He is staying with a potter friend in Naga and will visit Mashiko tomorrow. On Thursday he will fly to Seoul. It was a stressful week preparing for this trip. There was so much to do and we both came down with head colds at the beginning of last week. We felt like we were moving in slow motion. To save our sanity we took some things off of our "to do" list. We postponed the stripping and painting of the kitchen cabinets job. Better to focus on getting healthy. The cabinets can wait until Jeff returns.
I am certain they will still be there, in all of their peeling paint glory.

My consolation prize for staying behind was a shopping trip to IKEA! Since I was already in Charlotte, it was an easy decision. I didn't go crazy but did come home with new towels and shower curtain for the main bath, along with place mats and a runner for the dining table. I will actually NOT have a "photo taking set up" on our dining room table anymore! We have a good size office where we can keep it set up and out of the way. Now to see if we will actually eat at the table...

2015 Firing of Hamada's Kiln

Last month Jeff packed up a few pots and shipped them off to Mashiko Japan. He was invited by Doug Black to have these pots fired in Shoji Hamada's noborigama kiln. The kiln was heavily damaged in the  2011 earthquake and was recently restored. The kiln had also not been fired in 40 years. It was quite a celebration and Jeff was really honored to be able to participate. He is hoping to be able to pick up his pots on his next trip to South Korea.

These are the finished pots, along with Jeff's "bitmoji" head, rising from the sake bottle. At least smartphones are good for a little fun!