We Celebrated Spring in Seagrove

The Celebration of Spring Studio Tour in Seagrove was a great success. Saturday was super busy with non-stop people from 10:30 in the morning until 5:00 pm. We worked all day on Friday, in very muggy weather, cleaning the gallery and studio. After all that work I would have been disappointed if it didn't get seen by the masses! Sunday was slower, but pleasant just the same.

We unloaded the kiln on Saturday morning so there were lots of new, and still warm, pots. These are Jeff's teapots that are headed to S. Korea with him tomorrow. I wanted to get a quick photo before they were gone.

My round butter dishes were successful...

and here is one of the new flower power pigs!

Rather silly, isn't she?

Getting Ready for the Celebration of Spring Studio Tour

Jeff and I are doing some collaborative vases for the upcoming studio tour. Jeff threw some larger than I make vases, then handed them to me to carve away...

I always get a little nervous at making that first mark on Jeff's pots. After that first pass with the carving tool, the fear subsides!

Seagrove Area Potters Spring Studio Tour

April 20 & 21, 2013

38 area potteries will be participating. Tour maps are available at participating studios, now and on the weekend of the event. www.discoverseagrove.com

Recovering from the weekend...

Celebration of Spring in Seagrove has come and gone and overall we were pleased with the weekend. The weather cooperated (for the most part) on Saturday and we were able to fire the raku kiln once. I use a bisqued plate to fire pendant tiles. This way the tongs can grab the edge of the plate, lift it out of the kiln, and be dropped into the reduction can. Unfortunately I used a plate that Jeff brought home from a neighboring pottery (I usually make my own)... neither one of us gave any thought to the fact that it may be made out of a clay body that can't take the quick firing of raku. The plate was on a pedestal shelf in the kiln, the edge cracked off and a few of the pendants fell onto some glaze tests below. When Jeff reached in to grab the plate more tiles fell off and onto the floor of the kiln. Long story short, the raku tongs BROKE, the other pair we have had broken some months ago and weren't fixed yet... we had to use fireplace tongs to remove the rest of the pieces. Shortly after cleaning up the disaster we had a huge downpour. It didn't last long but it helped us make the decision to not fire again. At least there were lots of people watching, who hopefully can now appreciate the work that goes into raku firing!
In between all this we were talking to customers and selling pots. One of our repeat customers brought us a gift...

12 pounds of beans from the Indian Market near her home! Evidently the last time she was in, her and Jeff had a lengthy discussion about beans. She even brought us some large jars with labels to store them in! The ironic thing about this gift is that two weeks ago Jeff and I decided we were eating too much meat and that we were going to eat more plant based meals. We have a bunch of Moosewoods Restaurant cookbooks so I have been trying out some new recipes. Last night I made veggie burgers with a combination of black beans & pinto beans.

They were delicious and rather easy to make... and everything is better with tater tots!

Despite off and on rain all day yesterday, we had a steady stream of customers. The weather prevented us from firing the raku kiln and we were actually relieved. Jeff had been up late on Saturday, glazing pots and loading the gas kiln again. On Sunday morning he bricked up the door and starting firing once more. Yesterday afternoon I sent him off to bed for a nap and I took care of customers and the kiln. He leaves for S. Korea in two days and I thought he looked like he was needing a break. The kiln is loaded with an order going to Canada and tea bowls that he will take to Korea. I think I have only a couple of pots in there. The kiln was done at 11:30, which means we had a good nights sleep.
A desperately  needed, good nights sleep.

P.S. from the raku firing I had one nice wall tile... it was the only survivor.

it was a good firing!

oval bakers and covered oval boxes with carved designs

the wedding cake box... looks better in person. I'll take a better photo soon

porcelain cupcake stand

Jeff's tea bowls were awesome!

and of course there is a new litter of pigs... we had some fun with glaze combos this time!

A walk around the pottery...

2012 Celebration of Spring in Seagrove, Studio Tour & Kiln Openings

April 21st & 22nd

Plan to spend some time at our studio, Michèle Hastings & Jeff Brown Pottery, and participate in a raku firing. Click HERE for more details. It's going to be a fun weekend in Seagrove!

Download a map of the studio tour HERE

Ham for Easter Dinner?

It's been a whirlwind of activity for us here in Seagrove. The spring celebration/studio tour is two weeks away, and Jeff needs to get his ducks in a row for his trip to Korea at the end of the month. The pig supply is running low so we decided to work together to move them along more quickly. Jeff threw all the bodies one evening before dinner...

The next day they were ready for assembly, which is where I took over. I first use my clay gun to extrude the tubes that will be become legs, ears, and tails...

I then cut the extruded parts into the correct leg lengths, score and attach them to the bodies. After attaching the legs I smooth and pull them slightly with wet hands so they look a little less like extruded parts.

After the legs I use a whole cutter for the eyes and score where the ears will be placed. As I am scoring and spongeing on water I can't help but think I am the esthetician, manicuring this little pigs eyebrows... don't they look like eyebrows?

I roughly shape two extruded parts into a half moon and adhere them to those "eyebrows". I then pull and smooth them into ear shapes. I like to use a synthetic sponge to wipe away finger marks and excess water. The thing I like about this type of sponge is that it is less apt to bring up the grog in the clay.

With wet fingers his ears get a little whimsical bend...

Tails are attached with a finger squish on the top and of course a little curl!

The best use for a credit card is as a guide for cutting the slot!

Ta-Da! He is done... this little guy got the word BACON branded on his sides.

You may have noticed that I was working on this with paper between the pig and the banding wheel. It helps prevent the legs from sticking and getting screwed up. I usually work on a plaster bat the size of the the banding wheel. I hadn't been able to find it until yesterday afternoon.
It took me about a day and a half to assemble nineteen pigs, I could never work in a production setting! When I am working on these guys I find myself talking to them and telling them what's going to happen next, or apologizing for having to reset a leg! I guess my motherly instincts find there way into the clay.

"Shyard" sale!

Out with the old, in with the new. That's what we have been saying this week. Jeff and I are doing some spring cleaning and unpacking boxes that we hadn't opened since the move nearly two years ago. These pots needed to find new homes and we had entertained the idea of a "shyard" sale for some time. At the last minute we decided that it needed to happen THIS week.

The 20% off sign went up

...along with the EZ up

The sun came out after a night of heavy rain and we have had a steady stream of customers. Nearly everyone who drove in today has gone home with a pot or two. The "shyard" sale will last through next Saturday, April 7th. 

It will be nice to have fewer boxes taking up space, cash in our pockets, and room on the shelves for new pots! Celebration of Spring in Seagrove will be here before you know it... April 21st and 22nd. 

Visit Gypsy Potters event page for details of what we are scheming up for that weekend.

Palustris Festival

Last Saturday a few of us potters from Seagrove spent the day demonstrating and selling our work at the Campbell House Galleries in Southern Pines, NC. The event was part of the annual Palustris Festival in that area. There was a good turn out and while sales were not great, we talked to lots of people and spread the word about all the great things that are happening in Seagrove.

Dan Triece from Dirtworks Pottery demonstrated throwing "minis" off the hump.

Bobbie Thomas, of Thomas Pottery, was hand building frogs and turtles.

Jeff and I demonstrated altering leather hard pots and carving through slip.

Beth E. Roy's paintings are currently on exhibit in the gallery and she spent the afternoon painting. The first one she did was of Jeff working on a pot.

Beth's use of color in her paintings is amazing. Definitely worth a trip to the gallery to see her work.

The setting for the Campbell House is absolutely beautiful and everything was in full spring bloom. We were set up on the sun porch and our back drop was stunning!
This week it's back to throwing pots. The Celebration of Spring Studio Tours is right around the corner... April 21st & 22nd.

happy earth day!

our NH friends, Jen and Paul, flew into Greensboro late last night... we are excited to spend the weekend with them and show them around all the potteries in Seagrove.  you may remember from a previous post that Paul is a potter with a wood kiln.  i have a feeling he is going to like seeing all the giant wood kilns around town!  Tonight we are going to bbq chicken & ribs... gotta give our northern friends a taste of southern living.
here is one last photo from the celebration of spring raku firing...

a hand built rattle with carved leaves and flowers

Celebration of Spring 2011 - Day Two

gorgeous weather for day two of the studio tour!  we had a steady stream of visitors that kept us on our toes but it was definitely more of a tourist day than a collectors spending money kind of day.  never the less we did make some sales, had fun, and enjoyed the sunshine.  the yard looked great with all the flowers that are in bloom.

jeff's mom and brother john spent the afternoon with us... they even glazed a couple of pots for the firing.    i wish i had snapped some photos of them with their pots before they went home with them.

when the day was over and the crowd was gone, jeff and i looked at each other and said... let's do one more raku firing!  we still had pots left so why not do a firing without having to be the entertainment?

we had some great results... sadly the pot above had a crack in it.  

it shall join the other broken pots in the garden.

while we were firing the last round for the day our fellow co-op potter, Nelda French stopped by and the three of us enjoyed a couple of beers together before calling it a day.

Celebration of Spring Studio Tour & Kiln Openings

despite the high winds, rain and occasional thunderstorm, we still had a decent turn out for the studio tour today.  the weather made us change our plans slightly.  we are demonstrating raku firing and have bisqued pots available for customers to purchase, glaze and see the firing process.  our glazing station was supposed to be outside under an EZ up tent.  the wind was crazy and we decided instead to make space in the studio to glaze.  the weather didn't clear until mid-afternoon and we were able to get one firing in.  the wind was still blowing so we needed to be extra careful.

we are looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow and now it's time to kick back and have a beer :-)