Piedmont Craftsmen Virtual Show - July 25, 2020

Potters are good at being creative, especially during a pandemic. In person shows and exhibitions have been cancelled through the end of the year. We don't do many shows but do enjoy the one or two we do each year. We are juried members of Piedmont Craftsmen and we will participate in their first online show happening on Saturday. The show is on a really cool format where you can actually video chat with the artists during the show! We hope to see you there.

Here are the details:

Piedmont Craftsmen is excited to present our first ever Virtual Fair on Saturday, July 25 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm EDT!

Join us and more than 30 of our Exhibiting Member Artists taking part in this live virtual event. Shoppers and visitors will be able to interact with each Craft Artist face-to-face from their studios, through easily accessible chat rooms via our Virtual Fair platform.

To visit the Virtual Fair, all you need is a smart phone, tablet, or computer with an internet connection. Click on the link to pre-register: https://my.boothcentral.com/v/events/piedmont-craftsmen-virtual-summer-fair Enter your name and email address, and we’ll send you reminders as the event approaches. This event is free to attend.

Good Bye November

November is coming to a close very soon and what a month it has been! I am happy to say that the Celebration of Seagrove Potters show was our best yet. Jeff and I were exhausted by Sunday night, but it was a good tired. The kind of tired that lets you know that you worked hard and it paid off.

We haven't heard what we sold, or if we sold anything, at the Piedmont Craftsmen's show. We did get the official letter that we passed the physical jury process and we are now fully juried members of Piedmont Craftsmen.

With Thanksgiving happening just four days after the show, there was no time to rest. Since Jeff and I are centrally located for his family, we are now the hosts of dinner. We unpacked the trailer on Monday and spent the next three days cooking, cleaning, and making pots.

Just to add a little more work to the mix, Jeff helped David Stuempfle fire his wood kiln the week before Celebration. I put just one cup and a few spoons in the firing. I am pleased with the cup. It has the toasty variations that I love.

I have it in the house with me for now.

 Trying to decide if I might keep it for myself.

I am sure I can find room for one more.

The Race To The Finish Line

We have three deadlines to meet. Etsy orders to ship on Friday, Pottery for the Piedmont Craftsmen's show next week, as well as the local Celebration of Seagrove Potters show. We unloaded a bisque in the gas kiln and started glazing on Sunday, while we had another bisque load firing in our neighbors electric kiln. Since the move we have not wired our electric kiln. It may be time to get that done, although it won't be as easy as one would think, but that's a whole other blog post.

We had a lot of pots that needed to be sprayed with ash glaze. In reality, all the pots for Piedmont Craftsmen had to be sprayed. Jeff got started on some and I took over mid-afternoon. When I flipped the switch on the compressor it made some very strange noises and didn't produce any air. Thinking it had run too long, I shut it down and gave it a rest. Twenty minutes later and still nothing.

Jeff had to leave in two hours to do the evening shift at David Stuempfle's wood kiln.
The next day we would have another load of pots that would need spraying.
Thankfully, there is a Harbor Freight in nearby Asheboro!

I hopped in the car at 3:00 pm and at 4:30 arrived home with a new compressor.

It's a step up from the very old one and on sale, was under $60. While I was gone, Jeff took the old one apart and put it back together.

It's been working fine ever since.

At least we have a back up.

Process

Jeff and I are getting our collaborative work done for the Piedmont Craftsmen's show next month. We will be exhhibiting our work in a group booth, the weekend before Thanksgiving... the same weekend as the Celebration of Seagrove Potters.

Last week Jeff threw a few large platters and shallow bowls. It was so humid that it took forever for them to get to the point of being trimmed, slipped, and carved.

Yesterday I was finally able to get my hands on them.

Jeff had brushed on the slip days before.

I lightly sketch my design with a pencil. It was a little softer than I like to draw on, but we really needed to get these platters done.

Next I carve the ginkgo leaf outline.

 Then I carve away the background. This is obviously the part that takes the longest. I usually like to turn on the radio and listen to whatever is on WUNC public radio while carving. Sometimes I am amazed at how much time has passed when I am finished. I often switch between standing and sitting while I carve. It's a little easier on my "getting old body" to move around a lot.

Done!

One more to go today and then it's back to the wheel.

Happy News!

Jeff and I have been really excited about the collaborative works we have been creating. It seems like nearly everyday he hands me something and says, "Carve some ginkgo leaves on this." We have been so happy with the pots that a few weeks ago we decided to apply to Piedmont Craftsmen, here in North Carolina. Jeff spent a few nights photographing our work (he is a much better photographer than me) and uploaded the application. 

This week we got our letter of acceptance! There were 68 applicants this year, representing a variety of craft media. We were one of twelve that were accepted. This is the first part of the jury process. In November there will be a physical jury during their annual show. We are feeling pretty confident about the next step.

That being said, we got right back to work, glazing and loading the kiln. These pots are pretty labor intensive from start to finish. The interior is glazed in tenmoku and then the rim is dipped in the same glaze. The excess is sponged off prior to the ash glaze being sprayed on. Despite the drizzly weather, Jeff managed to fire the kiln, starting around noon yesterday and finishing in the wee hours of the morning today. We will anxiously await the door coming down on Sunday night.