Is it beer-thirty yet?

Fired last spring, finally photographed today! I hope they find a new home soon.

Wood firing!

Patience has paid off for me. 

I made these covered ovals back in May and really wanted to wood fire them. I was anxious to see them finished but I resisted glazing and firing them in the gas kiln. Next week I will have the opportunity to fire them in David Stuempfle's wood kiln. The tumblers behind them will also be going in. I threw the tumblers a year ago when I was doing demonstrations for the NH Potters Guild at the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. A company in Vermont donates the clay and last year a good bunch of it was Laguna B-mix for wood. These should come out nice and toasty. The ovals are Highwater P-10... I am not sure exactly what these will look like, but most likely not as toasty as the B-mix. Jeff has a gigantic pot to fire.


The temperatures have been cooler here, but the humidity has been, in my opinion, oppressive. The lawn needed mowing (again) and last night there was a nice breeze so I decided to tackle it.
After the mowing Jeff and I had a nice cool treat...

Carolina Brewery - Oatmeal Porter. We had to go to Greensboro the other day to pick up a cup we purchased from the By Example show at Green Hill Center for the Arts. While there we took advantage of our time and did what we call "good grocery shopping". There is a new Whole Foods in Greensboro and they carry Carolina Brewery beer. Since we don't even have a grocery store in Seagrove, and the ones in nearby Asheboro don't have a great selection, we consider an afternoon of grocery shopping in Greensboro a great day out!

and the beer tasted even better in our Samantha Henneke and Mark Hewitt tumblers :-)

24 hours

Our friend Rob was visiting from Murfreesboro, NC and asked us if we would go to Asheville with him. His friend Leigh Anne has a solo exhibition of her paintings at the Flood Gallery and the reception was last night. We really had no business leaving town, with a big show coming up, but with this oppressive heat who could say no to a trip north? and I had NEVER been to Asheville!
Rob (also a potter) generously helped us out in the studio for two days so that we could hit the road. At 2:00 on Saturday we packed our bags, closed the shop, and we were off on an adventure.
The gallery is on Roberts St., next door to the Wedge building. This old building is home to various artist studios, as well as a craft brewery. So of course the first stop was for a couple of beers on a hot afternoon...

Rob, Leigh Anne, Shelley - a fun group to hang with!

very cool railing along the walkway, leading the Wedge Brewing Co....

and look... Rob found Element Ceramic - Design Studio!

Mexican Style Korean food?

Back at the Flood Gallery... Floor to Ceiling - Leigh Anne Chambers

All of these works are painted on linoleum... as in linoleum you would put on your floor! Leigh Anne incorporates the imprinted design of the linoleum in these paintings. In some, the linoleum was left uncovered in areas, I think if you click on the photos to enlarge, you can see how well that works into the painting. Most are VERY large, although I do think the grouping of six is my favorite. The show runs through July 31st. If you have the opportunity to visit Asheville, you really should check it out.

Then it was time for a night on the town. We started off with a yummy dinner and drinks at The Market Place... then a walk through the streets.

 we looked in the window, but didn't go in... maybe Rob did.

(but only to buy a lighter)

 I think Jeff is explaining the wonderful qualities of Himalayan salt to Rob

The shop window was filled with salt lamps

Next trip we will do breakfast here, heard it's really good.

 We wanted to go to Jack of the Wood to hear Shovels & Rope but couldn't get in. We ended the night with music and drinks at Tressa's instead. After a few hours of sleep at the Holiday Inn we hit the road for home. 

It was a whirlwind 24 hours, but man did we have fun!

3 Potters, 3 Bloggers, 3 Beer Lovers - "An Online Pottery Show"

Potters Gary Rith, Lori Buff, and I have been tossing around ideas of how to do a show together, despite the fact that we live hundreds of miles away from each other (and have never met in person!). We finally decided to do a virtual show, using Etsy as our venue, and beer mugs/steins as our theme.
Our show went on line yesterday and you can see it on our very own new blog:

POTTERY PALS

This is just the beginning of an adventure for the three of us! Please add the new site to your blog roll to see what the three of us are up too. Our plans are to do a number of shows each year and each with a specific theme. We are excited about how this will motivate us to stretch our creativity in clay in new directions... who knows where it will take us! Perhaps in the future we may invite other potter/bloggers to be guest artists.

All the mugs and steins are available for purchase through Etsy...click on the mug you want to purchase and it will take you directly to that potters shop. If you order this weekend, depending on your location, we may be able to ship in time for Fathers Day. Wouldn't Dad love a new mug?

...now we need to figure out how to have a virtual opening reception that involves beer, wine, and cheese... ideas anyone?

back from a short bloggy break

We unloaded the kiln on Friday and everything was looking good. Jeff wants to back off on the glaze reduction next time, a few of the greens were a little muddy but acceptable.

Our mug order came out great and we delivered it on Friday night. If you are ever in Greensboro stop in Sessions at 1820 Spring Garden Street. Enjoy a cup of coffee or a cappuccino in one of our mugs. They also have a fabulous beer selection and a really cool atmosphere.

Here a couple of pictures from last week's firing.

 

I love this pig with the shino/ash glaze combo...

and the infamous sponge holders...

Both are available in my etsy shop. The sponge holders are a limited edition so get them while you can, I don't plan to make anymore (unless they fly off the shelves at the speed of lightning).

As for my blogger frustration... I have decided that for now I will resize all of the photos I want to use on the blog and keep them in a separate folder... when I get the time I will figure out how to get a larger header again... I want my pretty blue mailbox back for spring!

Growlers!

Isn't that a fun word to say? I didn't even know what a growler was until I was contacted last year by someone representing a micro-brewery. They were looking for a potter to make growlers with their logo stamped onto them. So if you didn't already know, you probably figured out that a growler is a re-sealable beer bottle. Long story short, this company had no clue what handmade specialty items would cost, so we didn't get an order from them.
Since then, Jeff has had growlers on his mind. The challenge is making them and getting the stoppers to fit securely. You definitely don't want your home brew to lose it's carbonation! The other challenge was finding a quality ceramic & rubber stopper supplier. There aren't any in this country so I think the shipping cost was more than the stoppers.

This one is my favorite and one of the larger that he has made

These are a little smaller, above with ash glaze & shino, below in shino and photographed with two of my tumblers.

Clicking on the photos will bring you to Jeff's Etsy shop, where these growlers are for sale. If you are a home brewer you will enjoy and appreciate having these... we tested them out and they pour really well.

Hey it's Saturday, so "BOTTOMS UP"!

Claymatters

Last night we drove in the rain to Charlotte for the Carolina Claymatters Pottery Guild's holiday meeting/party. Wow, that was a mouthful! We joined the guild last year but never went to any meetings. It was a pleasant evening, good food, nice people.

Each year they have a pottery gift exchange and give out door prizes... we came home with some new loot...

Wouldn't you know that this year it was decided that they would no longer serve alcohol at Guild meetings... so this was the first booze free event. Evidently it was a controversial decision and we heard through the grapevine that it hasn't ended yet. Of course if it goes to a member vote ya'll know who side I will be on!

I wasn't thrilled to head out in the rain for such a long drive, but in the end I was glad we went. We were, and still are, very connected with the NH Potters Guild and enjoy the connections made from being part of a group. I made a promise to myself not to get involved in any volunteer work with this guild until my term as treasurer is up for the NH guild... yes, I am their long distance treasurer. Nobody wants the job, so they are fine with me handling the money from a distance!!

Happy Sunday, let's hope the sun comes out soon in NC.