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

Things can get a little buggy here in Seagrove...

The kiln is firing away this evening. When we were loading  her up last night, this giant daddy-long-leg decided to get inside where it was warm. Not sure if he escaped before the door was bricked in.

Bugs & Birds

Yesterday there was a new visitor to the hummingbird feeder...

One of the hummingbirds was not impressed with him. He flew in and pecked at the praying mantis a few times, then settled on the opposite side to drink. I think he chose the feeder on the porch for the rest of his meals.

By late afternoon the praying mantis climbed down from the tube and settled on the perch. When I woke up this morning he was still there, but hanging upside down from the bottom of the feeder. I think they are the most fascinating bugs!

Meanwhile, on the pottery front, the kiln was firing and we took advantage of the cooler, drier air and did some studio cleaning. The place was a mess since the rush to get to NH this summer. There is more work to do but it was looking much more organized by the end of the day. 

images from MunGyeong

Jeff is slowly awakening from his travel coma and I am getting some photos out of him...

Courtyard in the MunGyeong festival grounds

 Psychedelic beetle

Walkway to the festival entrance. Jeff's hotel was nearby the site and they were able to walk there everyday. 

 Jeff cooked us a Korean style meal the other night... grilled pompano fish, rice, kimchi, along with other little sides of tofu strips and veggies.

On the studio front... I finished a couple of goblets. It's been a couple of years since I have made them. Once I got started I realized I should practice using stoneware before I make more in porcelain. I had a few that ended up in the scrap bucket. Next to the goblet is what I use for slip trailing. Clairol hair color bottles. So far it's what I have the best luck with, besides being inexpensive and long lasting (just like the hair color commercial says!).

what i have learned about NC in 1 year...

after living in Seagrove for a few weeks i posted a list of things i had learned during that short time. since it's been one year i copied the list and added a few things at the end (lines with *)...

the bugs here are MUCH bigger than NH

you can't buy liquor in seagrove ... it's a dry town (i wonder what they sell at the convenience stores?)

the night sounds different... almost tropical (i think it is because of those bigger bugs)

the fruit is sweeter and fresher... i am enjoying lots of blueberries and watermelon this week

there is a lot more pork to choose from in the grocery store

it stays light in the evening a wee bit longer (my imagination perhaps?)

everyone is friendlier... even the people that work at walmart.

the pesticide/insecticide section in stores is HUGE (must be because of those big bugs again)

you can buy snake repellant at walmart (i hope i won't ever need it)

they sell pine needles for mulch at garden centers (in NH we have to pay people to take them away)

biscuits are a food group

*church's have a postcard recruiting program

*cashiers at stores hand me my receipt and tell me to have a blessed day

*greens are sold in HUGE packages just before New Years day

*you can ONLY buy wine (no beer or liquor) in the neighboring town of Robbins (now that's odd)

*i am called Ma'am on a regular basis

*moonshine still exists

*banana pudding is still popular (it had a short stint in the north, about 20 years ago)

*sweet tea is the most common beverage

*fried okra is delicious

*i have considered buying snake repellant (see line 9)

*fall is beautiful

*there really is a spring! (unlike NH)

*winter is short (YAY!)

it's been a wonderful year... i do miss my family and friends in NH and i have made lots of new friends here in the Seagrove area.

Life is Good... just like the hats, shirts & stickers say.

BUG encounters...

i mentioned in a previous post that the bugs are really big here in NC.  there are also bugs that i have never encountered before.  here are a few of our bug encounters from sunday afternoon...

jeff found this one in the yard... luckily he was dead.  this thing is HUGE!  even jeff had never seen anything like it.  if you know what it is please comment and let me know.

this one is really cool looking.  he wasn't very big, maybe 3/4" long.  we don't know what this is either

this spider has taken up residency on the porch.  it was hard to get a good picture because her web is up quite high.  jeff said this was a garden spider.  it's web is very intricate... she sits on that spiral and waits for her victims.  the spiral is very white and perfectly formed... at first glance, it almost looks like a plastic spring.
there are lots of blue tailed lizards (skinks) around, they move to quickly to get pictures.  so far i have seen only one snake... thank goodness!!!

neighborly neighbors...

... brought us tomatoes from their garden (i see fresh salsa in my future)

these are the next door neighbors cows.  they were very eager for jeff to photograph them...

i did say in a previous post that the bugs are HUGE here in NC ... that also means the butterflies are big (and plentiful).