It' Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

The heat has been relentless here in North Carolina. By late afternoon my New Guinea Impatiens is looking rather droopy. 

Luckily with a good watering, it bounces right back. We really haven't had any rain to speak of in a few weeks. Wherever we have bare earth in our yard, it is beginning to crack. There have been many afternoons with the threat of a thunderstorm, but it all we get are a few rumbles of thunder and a little sprinkle of rain.

Most of my plants are thriving, thanks to a nightly hand watering. The butterflies are enjoying the zinnias.

Despite the heat, we have been sanding bisque ware outdoors, and loading the kiln. We manage to get it done with lots of water and A/C breaks. Everything seems to take longer than usual.

The last two days were spent glazing. Tomorrow we will fire the gas kiln one last time before we head to New Hampshire for the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. We are hoping for cooler temperatures when we head north! We are in a new space at the fair this year... tent 6, booth 611. It's a corner booth, which should give us some good visibility. I am looking forward to seeing family and friends. Just not looking forward to packing.

Heat and Healing

After a little hiccup in Japan, Jeff arrived home last night, 24 hours later than scheduled. The airline totally destroyed his largest suitcase. Amazingly, nothing was broken or lost. Packed within his clothes were small pots, a bottle of Omija berry wine, a bottle of sake, a variety of Korean gardening tools, and some herbal medicines.

While Jeff was in Korea he experienced an herbal therapy that uses the same pressure points as acupuncture. Instead of needles, it is a cylindrical stick packed with herbs and applied with a stick on base to a pressure point. It is then lit like incense. He brought a box home and we gave it a try on my left wrist, which has been bothering me.

The herb used is ssuk tteum, aka mugwart.

 It felt very warm, at first and then got quite hot feeling. Not hot enough to be uncomfortable.

You can have these treatments in what I would call a spa, but not sure if that's what it would be called in Asian countries. In those situations the mugwart is place in little clay pots and burned on pressure points. It can also involve acupuncture.

There is a card inside the box that maps out pressure points... of course it's all in Korean and we will have translate it!

photo credit: Sukyoung Kim

Here are Jeff, Ron Philbeck, and Jeon Changhyun experiencing some "heating and healing" time in Korea.
Time will tell how effective these treatments can be. It sure feels good and relaxing... and afterwards the house smells like we've been smoking pot. Surely, that's not a bad thing!

Through the Fire Box

Jeff was on the late night stoking shift, at the wood kiln, and snapped this awesome photo with his phone! I especially like the "hot" lady sculpture and the face jug, grinning in the heat.

While Jeff was on kiln duty, I worked in the studio, then settled in for the evening with a dinner of leftovers, while streaming "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I am not sure if I had ever seen the movie in it's entirety! I enjoyed it, but found the stereotypical portrayal of Holly Golightly's Japanese neighbor rather appalling. There is also lots of littering in the movie. Every package that's opened and cigarette put out, is tossed carelessly to the ground. Those are just some of my pet peeves and perhaps I noticed them more because of it. I just might stream some more classics when I get the time. Readers, if you have recommendations, please post in the comments!

Our "Mugs for Moving" campaign continues. Thank you to EVERYONE who has ordered a mug. Jeff and I decided to add a give away to the fun. When the campaign ends (probably late spring), we will choose one contributor at random, that will receive a collaboration pot from us. We haven't decided what it will be, but are bouncing around a few ideas.
Click on this link to place an order: "Mugs for Moving"

All mugs will be shipped by late summer 2015

Keeping warm

It's finally feeling a little bit like winter here in Seagrove. We heat our gallery and studio with combination of wood and propane. The propane heater takes care of the studio and this beast heats the gallery...

Since I am the first one up in the morning, it's my job to light the wood stove. Luckily this one takes off pretty quickly, especially if you use a torch to light it! It's not very efficient and goes through wood quickly, but it puts out a lot of heat. The pot on top of the stove provides us with warm throwing water and saves a trip into the house to fill our buckets. We have a sink and running water in the studio but no water heater. Jeff and I feel like running water in the studio is a luxury... something we didn't have in NH. We don't mind that the water isn't hot since the cool water during the hot summer months feels good.

I am writing this post while waiting for the gallery and studio to get to a good working temperature. I have at least another 30 piggy banks to put together. Yesterday I finished 20 of them.

Aren't you getting tired of seeing these pigs? Sometimes I am... until I remember how many bills they paid last month! 

I have quite a bit work completed and ready for a bisque firing. Our first gas firing of 2013 should happen by the second week of January. My New Year's resolution is to stay on top of things in 2013 and do less rushing around to meet deadlines. Notice I said "less" rushing. I want to be sure my goal is attainable!!