Face Jug Re-Fire

Jeff and our friends Paul Haigh and Rose Hardesty, fired a wood kiln in Carthage last month. Luck would have it that it was during the hottest days of July, not the best time to wood fire. Unfortunately they didn't get the reduction they wanted. It's hard to fire a wood kiln that your aren't all that familiar with. Paul had a deadline to meet so Jeff offered to re-fire his face jugs in our gas kiln. Paul came to the studio and loaded his pots in the afternoon. Jeff gave it a good pre-heat until bed time, then continued the firing the next day.

It was a lot of fun to see the door come down, revealing pots that are nothing like we make!

Paul was really happy with the results. He had some Green Man jugs that were just fabulous.

The tiki jug really looks like it was carved from wood.

I had a couple of  lackluster wood fired plates that I made two years ago and were re-fired in this recent wood kiln... they were now fired AGAIN in the gas kiln. Two of them actually look pretty good. I will get some pictures once they are sanded.  Third times a charm!

Hello August

Typically right now, Jeff and I are on the road hauling a trailer to the League of NH Craftsmen's show at Mt. Sunapee Resort, in New Hampshire. Last year we decided we needed a break. I can't tell you how much more enjoyable the last few weeks have been! While there were still firing deadlines to meet, we haven't spent days sanding, pricing, and packing pots. Aside from show prep, we would have to get our personal stuff packed, and our home ready for our wonderful house and gallery sitters.

We spent most Saturdays in July participating in the Seagrove area wide event, "Stepping into the Craft". We had lots of people of all ages sign up for one hour pottery classes. We did three sessions, each Saturday, and most spaces were filled. It was a lot of work, but also very enjoyable.

We will miss seeing our patrons, friends, and family at the fair. As of right now, Jeff and I don't know how long a break we will take. Will we go back next year? Probably not. But who knows about 2021!

If all goes as planned, we will head to New England in October. We will visit with family, deliver pots to a few galleries... and hopefully eat some lobster.

Global Clay Day at the NC Pottery Center

Jeff will be participating in "Global Clay Day" at the North Carolina Pottery Center this Saturday, October, 20, 2018.  He will demonstrate throwing pots in his Korean style kick wheel as well the mishima inlay techniques. Jeff loves to give demos. It brings out the performer in him!

There will be four other potters also giving demonstrations, ranging from raku firing, sculpture, and carving techniques. The event is from 10 am to 4 pm, and there is no admission fee. The pottery center is located just around the corner from our home and studio...

North Carolina Pottery Center

233 East Avenue

Seagrove, NC

Details at: http://ncpotterycenter.org/

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.

Studio Tour Re-cap

Last week Jeff and I worked like crazy to prepare for the Celebration of Spring Studio Tour.  We cleaned the studio and the gallery as well as catching up on lots of yard work.

We had a much better turn out for the tour this year compared the dismal event of 2016. Sales were up dramatically, almost catching up to what they were when we were at the log cabin. I demonstrated carving vases throughout the weekend. Jeff did some throwing demonstrations.

Saturday was perfect weather. Sunday was very rainy, but people still came out to see the potters.

My flowers sort of took a beating in the rain. If you look closely you can see that the birdbath is filled to capacity.

The hosta, on the other hand, thrived with all this rain. 

When I opened the studio on Saturday morning, this luna moth was hanging out on the outside wall, near the front door. It stayed all day to greet visitors. I took it as a sign of good luck.

American Craft Week Continues - Saturday, October 15, 2016

Wood Fired Teapot by Jeff Brown

The Seagrove Potters have been celebrating American Craft Week, which is actually the first two weeks in October. This is the last weekend of events and with good weather predicted, it should be a great time to get out and explore Seagrove. Lot's of studios are offering demonstrations and workshops. We will be serving Korean, Japanese, and Chinese teas throughout the day. Guests will experience the joy of serving and drinking tea from handmade wares. Jeff has a nice selection of Asian inspired teapots and tea bowls available for purchase.

There are also some new cheese stones in the gallery.

And of course there are some nice pots with the ginkgo leaves.

The Results Are In!

Sunday morning the door came down on the kiln. Overall, we are happy with the results. The few issues that we had, had nothing to do with kiln design itself, but with a burner that was not firing clean, and a glaze that has been acting up.

Front stack, there was a stack of plate setters on the top that we removed before I snapped the photo.

We fired a lot of student pots in this round and they all came out great. 

The back stack was pigs and the big pots. We are really happy with the two ginkgo vases. The large vase on the front right, will get re-fired. Jeff thinks it would look best put in a salt firing.

I love the patterns of brick in the catenary arch... it almost intrigues me as much as the pottery inside.

A better shot of the two ginkgo leaf vases. They will both be available for sale during the Celebration of Spring Studio Tour, here in Seagrove, NC. April 16 -17, 2016.

Here We Go!

Jeff and I spent the last couple of days glazing and loading the kiln. The big pots are sprayed with ash glaze and lined with tenmoku. The big pots and three vessel sinks take up a lot of the space in this kiln, but there is still a good variety of pots in there.

It was a pleasant couple of days for working outside, and we are really enjoying the view that surrounds our kiln shed. 

The door was bricked by 5:30 pm. We had an offering of sake to the kiln gods, before calling it a day. The cup on the right was made with clay, dug in our yard. A fitting vessel to toast the first firing.

Jeff lit the burners this morning.

We Have A Kiln Shed!!

Our kiln shed was scheduled to be delivered today. The weather forecast predicted a slight chance of snow flurries. We were so afraid our delivery would be delayed. Let's face it, here in North Carolina, the mere mention of a snow flake and business comes to a halt. 

But that was not the case. Shortly after 7 am the truck arrived.

Two men, in 27 degree weather, got the job done by 9 am!

Jeff and I researched our options for a kiln shed. We could have built a stick frame shed with a metal roof, but the materials alone were more expensive than purchasing a steel frame carport and having it installed. It would have taken days for us to get a shed built... this was up in 2 hours. Later, as money allows, we will put side walls up on a portion of the shed. 

Let the kiln building begin!!!!!

Resourcefulness

 Living the life of a potter often means that you are resourceful by both nature and necessity.

Our electric kiln for bisque firing hasn't been wired yet. Jeff decided that we would bisque in our raku kiln. 

He created a temporary bag wall to divert the flame. It's more time consuming to fire in the raku kiln, but it will get us by for our last glaze firing at the log cabin. Jeff has used this kiln to bisque fire large pots in the past, since it is bigger than our manual electric kiln. He is also considering a glaze firing in this kiln. There are a couple of potters in Seagrove that reduction fire to ^10 in modified electric kilns, with very good results. 

Seeing it an action again, has stirred up my desire to do more raku firings this year. After all, raku was my first love affair with pottery.

The ongoing pain of the studio move

Morning coffee on the patio is done for the year.

Colder weather has finally arrived in Seagrove. Jeff and I were able to move our gallery indoors in the nick of time. There is still a lot of work to do, but at least our sales space is out of the elements. Our necks, backs, and hands are so very sore from scraping ceiling paint. The icing on the cake came yesterday when I stumbled off of the driveway and fell on my hands and knees. This is what happens when I walk, wearing clogs, trying to zip my fleece vest, all at the same time! Today I can add knee pain to my list of complaints. Getting older sucks.

Thankfully we have a reprieve from moving our kiln until we fire again in the next week or so. I don't think our bodies could have done it this week, which was the original plan. We are quite stressed out being kiln-less during this holiday season. Typically we would be making work and firing up until the last minute. The timing of things just didn't work out for us. The wonderful thing about this community is that we have had many offers to fire gas kilns at other potteries. We just might have to take them up on it.

The Celebration of Seagrove Potters show was down for us this year... we had lots of small sales, the big stuff didn't sell. Fingers are crossed that we can make up for it in our own gallery. We need some good sales to get through the winter. Luckily, winter isn't as long here as it is in New Hampshire.
I have to keep looking on the bright side!

Summer Help

Jeff and I have been very fortunate to have an intern for the month of July...

Liz Merritt is a senior at East Carolina University. She came to us through a collaboration between the North Carolina Pottery Center and the University. 

 July is always a busy month for us. We are getting ready for the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair, hosting our anniversary open house, and then this year throw in the ongoing "move up the road". All of this has given Liz the opportunity to experience life as a studio potter. It's not just about making pots. There are glazes to mix, ash to sieve, pots to clean, price, pack, or put out for display. Kilns are loaded and fired. She has experienced the successes as well as a few failures... and the problem solving that went into figuring out why. We did yard work together; mowed the lawn, trimmed trees, and weed whacked. If you have a store front, it needs to look good. Just don't look behind the studio. That's where our glazing set up is located, and it's not pretty.

Liz has also learned that country living includes lots of bugs in all varieties, shapes, and sizes.

She has marveled at all of them, and photographed many!

July is winding down and so is her time here. I hope that Jeff and I imparted some of our knowledge onto her as well as insight into the life of studio potters.

See Liz's work at Glaze and Grow

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Day two of our  5 Year Anniversary Open House and Sale is TODAY!

We had a fabulous turn out yesterday and the sale continues today. The pottery in the gallery is 20% off. Everything under the tent (seconds and older work) is 50% off. We don't typically lower our prices, but reducing inventory will really help with our studio move next month. A young woman and her Mom came and purchased a variety of wares to outfit the the young woman's first apartment. They arrived early in the morning and had the best pick of some really great seconds. They came back in the afternoon and bought a few more pieces.

We will open at noon today and close at 5pm, or later, because we often work into the evening and forget to bring the "open flags" in!

Adding to our happiness is the fact that our clivia finally bloomed! It obviously loves it's new location and wasn't at all happy in a dark log cabin... even though I took it outside each summer. I am really enjoying a sunny and bright house, where plants and humans can flourish. Maybe I can now have a Boston fern that survives the winter.

Cousins in Clay

 Jeff and I took a much needed break on Sunday and went over to Bulldog Pottery's "Cousins in Clay". This is an annual event that they host at the end of May. Along with Samantha and Bruce Henneke's stunning work, there are guest potters from various parts of the country. A special treat this year was Henry Crissman's mobile anagama kiln. Many potters from the Seagrove area had a few pots in the kiln. Each of us donated one pot to help raise money for the Dwight Holland Scholarship Fund. The scholarship gives assistance for ceramic students to be able to attend the North Carolina Pottery Conference.

 The firing is quite short. I think it was about 8 hours and reached cone 11.

The day was gorgeous and sunny, which also meant it was really hard to take photos with a phone. I was sort of shooting blindly! I was happy with all three of my pots, but this is the only one I got a photo of.
Tomorrow I should have some house makeover pics. Things are coming along nicely. I also have good news about my Dad! He was moved to the intensive rehab facility and is doing much better. His brain is pretty much cleared up... no more hallucinations. This place is keeping him busy. Therapy three times a day and they take him to the dining room to eat meals. He can now stand with a walker to move from the bed to a wheelchair. I hope that he will regain his mobility eventually.
That's it for now, check back tomorrow for more house blogging. Happy Monday!

Good Earth at 505

 Our new home was connected to town water prior to our closing. That means a long trench to lay the new pipe... and there was a lot of good looking clay dug up during the process. Jeff brought some back to the studio in February and did some testing. It fired to cone 10!

 Last night I was at the house shampooing carpets, before I left I bagged up some clay for Jeff to process.

Sort of looks like pumpkin pie

All wedged up... we have dubbed it "505" clay, since our new address is 505 E Main St.

Jeff made quite a few purty little cups.

This little cup, made with our 505 clay, was fired in the wood kiln during FireFest. I believe that this is also the glaze that Jeff made from another clay, also found on our property. It's glazed with nuka. The clay fires in wood to a nice toasty orange. We are going to fire a bisque this weekend so that Jeff can take few of his cups, made with 505, to Mungyeong, S. Korea. While there, they will be fired in one the traditional kilns in the area. I can't believe how quickly this trip has come up. So much to do and so little time!!

Celebration of Spring in Seagrove!

The Celebration of Spring Pottery Studio Tour is my most FAVORITE event of the year! The countryside is green, the flowers are blooming. It's a perfect time to get the spring cleaning done in the gallery, rearrange inventory, and put out new pots.

Happy couple with a new vessel sink for their bathroom remodel

It was super busy day. Barely enough time to eat lunch in shifts. We still have some nice pots available and day two starts tomorrow. If you are in the area, please stop in!

Seagrove Potters Celebration of Spring Studio Tour & Kiln Opening

April 18 & 19, 2015

1423 NC Hwy 705

Seagrove, NC

Open both days - 10am - 5pm

The Celebration of Spring Studio Tour is my favorite event of the year. The countryside has sprung back to life, the grass is green, the trees are leafing out, and lots of flowers are blooming. It seems that no matter what the weather, there is a good turnout for this event.

Along with our "standards" from the gas kiln, we will have lots of new wood fired pots in the gallery.

If you are a tea or sake lover, Jeff has some real beauties from the last two wood firings.

There are 40+ potters on the tour this year. Many will offer demonstrations, refreshments, and door prizes. I will be working on carving a large ginkgo leaf bowl, and I am thinking Jeff will throw something big on Saturday afternoon. We have tour maps available in our gallery. Round up your friends and family and make Seagrove your destination this weekend!