Real Flowers...

A walk through the yard this morning.

 The magnolia is looking a little beat up after the two hurricanes last fall. Fewer blossoms, but each one beautiful.

 Yarrow by the front steps.

 The herbs are doing great this Spring. Sage and thyme.

The lilies are just starting to bloom. Their scent reminds me of suntan lotion.

The field next door was hayed late last week, while we were loading the gas kiln. Jeff and I were both sneezing up a storm. Yesterday they rolled it into bales. I love seeing them scattered across the landscape. We are breathing much easier now.

Heat Work

 Yesterday was spent prepping pots and loading the kiln to fire a bisque. The weather was no different from any other day this summer... hot and muggy. Our kiln is in the sun, great for winter loading, lousy during the heat of summer.

There are several "out of control" California Jasmine bushes at that end of the house. They are in full bloom and their scent wafted over us as we worked. At first it was pleasant, then it almost became too much. We spent a day last fall cutting these back. It looks like we will be doing the same again in a few weeks. Everything in North Carolina grows like crazy.
Our outside work ended at 4:30 pm with a thunderstorm and a good dose of much needed rain. The rain brought cooler temperatures, but the humidity is still here. Today we will finish loading the kiln and fire a long slow bisque. Next week we will load her up again to glaze fire.

Winter Blooms

The camellia bushes are starting to bloom in our yard. This New Hampshire native is still amazed, even after living here in North Carolina for over five years, that these flowers bloom late fall, into early winter! There are about five of these bushes around our house. They are loaded with buds. Each day I go out and check to see what has bloomed and what is on the verge.

The rain today changed our plans. We were all set to do another cone 10 glaze firing in our raku kiln, but it was way too wet to manage. One day won't set us back too badly and it's not worth the risk of making mistakes in judgement because you are cold, wet, and tired. The weather will be better tomorrow and we will be able to fire with clear heads. Everything is glazed and loaded and we will get an early start. Our last orders will ship on Monday... arriving for the Christmas holiday with no time to spare. We are living on the edge, like most potters this time of year.

Spring Garden

I have been working over at STARwork Garden this spring as a workshare for the CSA program. I have really enjoyed getting out to the garden in the morning and spending some time outside. Anne Partna, Blue Hen Pottery, runs the garden. She is teaching me what the weeds look like here in North Carolina so that I am not pulling up plants! Yes, there are some of the same weeds as in NH, but there are others that are different and actually look like they could be plants.

Yesterday after the veggies were picked, we cut flowers and made bouquets to go with each member's share. What fun! I am sure everyone was excited to see fresh flowers along with their vegetables. I put ours in my favorite vase. I bought this from Jeff nearly ten years ago. I love how pottery we bought from each other, traded, or gifted to one another over the years, now live in the same home again.

April 15, 2013

Yesterday I was overwhelmed with heart wrenching as well as frightening, photos,videos, and story lines. It consumed the second half of my day, as I am sure it did for many of you.

When I woke up this morning, my mind had pushed the event in Boston to the back of my brain. I turned on my computer, went online... and there it all was. 

Still there.

Not a dream.

So many people's lives changed forever.

Today I am going to try to distance myself from the news and not let it consume me. Instead I will focus on the beauty that surrounds me. Yes, it is still there... sometimes you just have to stop and look for it.

Spring Blooms

I thought these garden beauties would be more pleasing to the eye than photos of bowls being trimmed and slipped, that was the only thing happening in the studio yesterday. I have decided that I prefer glazing to trimming bowls. I know potters who LOVE to trim, I am not one of them.
The flower arrangements are a combination of daffodils from around the yard and tulips that were purchased at Wally World (GASP!). The rock vases were made by League of NH Craftsmen member, Lee Spiller. I bet Smartcat is familiar with his work, his booth is very popular at the Craftsmen's Fair at Mt. Sunapee. I really love the natural look of the flower and rock combination.

I know that it is only April 5th but it I think this month is going to scream by us. Celebration of Spring Studio Tour in Seagrove is only two weeks away. We will fire at least once more before the event. Two days after the tour Jeff flies to South Korea.
Next thing you know... It's May.

first peek

Took down half the door tonight. The shino is looking good in the front.

My tests are sort of weird, but the bottom half of the mugs was the real test and it did what I was looking for. I can now glaze the rest of the porcelain dishes. As soon as I saw these I thought, "why didn't I glaze the top half of these mugs in tenmoku?". Live and learn. That's why they are called TESTS.

We will finish unloading tomorrow.

Online selling

I set some goals for myself this year, and one was to double my sales on Etsy. I figured it was attainable because I really hadn't sold all that much in the past, mostly due to the fact that my interest in it came and went.
This was the year to get serious.
I am getting close to my goal and I figure with the holiday season coming up, I might even surpass it. Don't get me wrong, I am not making tons of money through the site, but Etsy has brought in money that I otherwise wouldn't have in my pocket. To make a living in clay you need to be selling work in a variety of places and venues. Compared to craft shows, Etsy is a piece of cake... but we won't stop doing them. As a matter of fact, this year we have kicked it up a notch and are doing a few more shows... check out my events listing on the right side of this page.
Tracey Broome did a blog post the other day about Big Cartel. I hadn't even heard of it (where have I been??). Tracey already made a sale through the venue! Since you can give it a try for free, I am considering jumping in.

In the meantime, I have been adding some new items to my Etsy shop...

as always, pigs are the #1 sellers!

where does the time go?!

Jeff and I have filled the last few days getting all those behind the scenes things done that it takes to run a pottery business. Third quarter sales taxes (me), grind shelves (Jeff), pack a big order, tweak websites and take photos.

We are shipping more pots in recent months, between Etsy, wholesale etc and we have spent some time exploring the least expensive options. We use Fedex for large boxes, pay online and schedule a pick up. Etsy orders typically have gone out USPS. In the last month I have started to use USPS online. Perhaps everyone else knew this (I didn't), it is usually cheaper than bringing it in to the post office. I use the "print a shipping label" button on Paypal and then you choose USPS as your carrier. Many times Priority is less than standard mail. You can also schedule your carrier to pick the parcel up at your location. I can tell you that it's not always reliable... last week the post office sent me an e-mail that said my parcel was picked up but there it sat on the front porch of the gallery! Luckily the post office is a short drive and I got in the car and brought it to them. With the talk of closing small post offices we don't know how long we will have a local branch. I think right now it was voted that no closures would take place for at least another six months. If we lose our post office, carrier pick up for packages will make our life easier. For now I don't mind a trip into town... you can chat with the clerks and maybe run into other potters and do some catching up.

Daffodils in January... just doesn't seem right

This mild weather sure has made January fly by... no complaints from here!