The Inspirational House Guest

Last week was the North Carolina Potters Conference. If money was plentiful, I would have definitely attended this year. Tony Clennell, Sunshine Cobb, and Steven Godfrey, were presenters. Even though I didn't get to attend, Jeff and I had the pleasure of hosting Tony after the conference. We lured him to 505 E Main with the promise of Jeff's famous barbecue. He took the bait and stayed with us for two days.

Monday night we invited a few potter neighbors over and we all feasted on a smoked shoulder, slaw, roasted veggies, and plenty of beer and wine to wash it all down. Lots of stories were shared.

I mentioned last week that I have been feeling "scattered" and sort of in a slump. A change of a pace, and a few days of inspiring conversation, has kicked my ass to get back to work. I have spent a couple of days making pots that were not piggy banks or sponge holders.

This evening I photographed these pots of Tony's that are now part of our collection. Pots in person are the best, but I really enjoyed photographing them, and seeing them in a different light. 

Southern Comfort

And I am not talking about whiskey!

I had never tried grits until I moved to North Carolina. Let's face it, the name doesn't sound appealing, and on their own they aren't very pretty to look at. My first experience was with shrimp and grits and that's when I fell in love. Every so often I cook some grits for breakfast. So yummy with an egg. What would have made this breakfast over the top? I little crumbled bacon, but that's not something I keep on hand on a regular basis. A sprinkling of chopped green onion added a nice fresh flavor. Served in my favorite Ron Philbeck bowl, those grits are looking quite attractive.

Jeff and I ended our day with a drive into nearby Asheboro for early voting. It's great to get it done with no long lines. Early voting times coincided with the exhibition at the North Carolina Potters Conference. The gallery was jammed packed with people. In no time at all, nearly all of presenter Tony Clennell's pots were sold. Lot's of red dots on the other presenters work as well. I would have liked to attend the conference this year, but money is tight. Maybe next year.

worlds largest burrito...

Seriously

You have to agree that this thing is gargantuan!

Jeff and I are playing hosts this weekend to our friend Wendy from NH and her friend AnnMarie who is a student in Raleigh, NC. Wendy and AnnMarie are attending the NC Potters Conference in Asheboro. Last night there was an opening reception for the conference exhibition and afterwards we decided to get some mexican food and a few margarita's at Burrito Brothers. When the waiter brought AnnMarie's vegetarian burrito we all fell into a fit of laughter. It was big enough to feed a family of four. She put her best effort into it, and brought the rest back to our house... perhaps she can have a midnight snack tonight.

Jeff is working at the conference today and tomorrow so I had the studio all to myself.

I dreamed about making these flower design baskets a few days ago. I took it as a sign that I should created them in real life. I liked them better in the dream. One ended up in the slop bucket.

Jeff recycled some clay the other night and threw a couple of pig bodies to test it out. I decided to turn them into sitting pigs. The piggy banks are still selling well in my Etsy shop and I thought it would be a good time to mix them up a little bit. Etsy has changed how you can advertise within the site now. It's like facebook ads, you can promote certain parts of your shop and set a weekly budget. I started to experiment with it and so far it has paid off. I also like that you can start and stop your ads at anytime... no big commitments. Etsy has definitely helped us get through the slower winter months. I am happy with the steady increase in sales and I like that I can do it from the comfort of my living room, with a warm fire burning in the wood stove.

this and that...

 I have soft spot for little ceramic things...

I adore this small dish. I would use it for an Asian dipping sauce or a catch all on my dresser. I really like little unique pieces like this. I just wish there were more people in the world who felt the same way!  I may have to keep it for myself.

The weather was great today so I took a few photos outdoors. This is one of the soap dishes from the last firing. I can think of a few more uses besides a soap dish, but that was my intent when making it.

Jeff has been busy making vessel sinks...

 I love this one! It's like his bowls only BIG. Someday we will have one in our own bathroom. It's going to get the shino/turquoise glaze combo.

Jeff is working on a sink order right now. This one is a drop in sink with an overflow...

 I thought you may want to see how he creates that on the underside. This sink when finished will be similar to this one:

Jeff also makes disks to fire these sinks on...

So much behind the scenes work!
That's what's been happening around here this week. Tomorrow a friend from NH arrives for the NC Potters Conference. It's always fun to see our New England friends.

New Acquisition

John Glick butter dish

Jeff brought this home from the NC Potter's Conference. John Glick was one of the presenters. We both really like Glick's work and have a few of his pots.

I am handling the Glick butter dish with great care.

I have been on a breaking spree lately. I have recently broken a bowl, sake cup, tumbler, martini glass, and just the other night TWO mugs fell out of the cabinet while I was putting some away. My track record with butter dishes is not good either. Right now I have resorted to using a Pfaltzgraf covered butter tub and of course that probably wouldn't break even if I tried.

I have declared that the breakage curse is now over... it's safe to take out your good dishes and invite me over for dinner.

wee little pigs

Literally, these are wee little pigs

about 3 1/2" long! too small for coins but wouldn't they be perfect for dropping in little wishes written on paper? Or a place to keep those fortune cookie fortunes that are just too good to toss.

I have been working in the studio by myself for the past three days. Jeff was volunteering and attending the North Carolina Potters Conference in Asheboro. Since he was up and out of the house early, I made it a point to get into the studio earlier than usual and be productive.

I was inspired by Michael Mahan's post on making pear jars in one piece, and decided to give that method of making covered boxes another go. John tried to teach me some years back but I was never successful. The first go around this time ended up in the scrap bucket. On the second attempt I dug out my Bill Van Gilder book and reread his tutorial on the method. This time I was more successful!

I am going to make some more this week, this time working on throwing them a little thicker so that my gallery isn't so thin. I also need to pay more attention to what the underside of the cover will look like while I am closing it in. Behind the boxes, bowl and cup, are some soap dispensers that I finished. Tomorrow I have 7 or 8 more of those that should be ready to carve. Everything has been drying very slowly.
Let me know what you think of the round boxes and if you have any tips on throwing one piece covered boxes & jars, please comment!