*Secrets*

I finally finished my art journal pages. It really consumed me for nearly three days. I had to remind myself that I don't get paid to do this, that I needed to squeeze in some pottery making!

This journal belongs to my friend Jane Kaufmann. Her theme is "Secrets".

The artwork below is one of my favorites in the journal. It was created by Leah Murphy.

I completed two painting in watercolor batik...

How do they fit in with the theme of "Secrets"?
... it's a secret that I am not telling.

the debriefing...

We have been back in Seagrove for nearly a week and I am just getting around to a blog post. It seems that after this 9 day fair, it takes another week to sort ourselves and our belongings out. The trailer is unpacked along with the suitcases... the laundry is almost caught up.
I have spent some time reflecting on the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair and it has made me realize that it really has become an important part of our lives. It's a time to reconnect with friends and family. Some of whom we only see during this nine day show. There are so many amazing people that are part of this community. This year a couple who has volunteered at the fair, and lives near Mt. Sunapee, offered a couple of rooms in their home for $25 a night with breakfast included. We were lucky to be one of the first responders to take them up on their offer. Janet and Lou not only gave us breakfast each day, but also offered for us to join them for dinner any night! They were amazingly gracious hosts, and it would have cost us more to camp than stay with them. Come to find out they also had some of Jeff's pottery in their curio cabinet. A big thank you goes out to Janet and Lou for making our long work week much easier!

The League of NH Craftsmen also has retail galleries scattered throughout NH. The Littleton Gallery, situated in northern NH in the White Mt. region is run by two amazing ladies, Beth and Michele. Each year during the fair, they visit each craftsmen and deliver cookies... there are 350+ craftsmen at the fair so that's a LOT of cookies. This year Beth and Michele decided to try some new recipes and had a few problems. Long story short, they had no cookies this year. So instead they wrote and printed a little book about why there were no cookies...

they even included a tutorial on how to draw a chocolate chip cookie...

AND... we got a little bag of M&M's to replace the cookies. Beth and Michele, you are awesome!

Remember my friend Jane Kaufmann who I posted about recently? The book about her incredible journey through life as an artist was published this summer, and I was able to purchase a copy. Each year the NH Potters Guild has a meeting during the fair and I asked Jane to sign my copy...

I read most of the book during the evenings while we were staying at Janet and Lou's home. It was great fun to read Jane's recollections of the fair during the 1970's. One tradition she talked about that still continues today is the craftsmen's kids sliding down the mountain on sheets of cardboard. There are lots of kids who have grown up at the fair. Many of the kids are budding artists. The league even gives them their own tent to sell work... the tent is called "The Next Generation". Some of the work these kids are creating is amazing! Another tradition Jane writes about is the annual craftsmen baseball game... it was called "The Potters against Everyone Else", because back then there were more potters than jewelers! But alas, the baseball game is a thing of the past. I think it ended when they no longer let you camp on the mountain.
I feel like I am starting to ramble, so I think I should quit for the night! I haven't had time to post in the morning because I am actually getting up early and walking everyday. Eventually I will get my new schedule worked out.

one of my favorite people...

Jane Kaufmann sent me an e-mail this week:

Heat getting you down?

Have two stiff drinks.

Then go to You Tube and search for "Gossip Lady with Artist Jane Kaufmann"

and let me know if you learn anything.

I always follow Jane's advice...

What did I learn?

1. A much easier way to make rattles than the method I was using.

2. That Jane went to jail for three weeks.

notes from the gypsy potter's journal...

What a great trip we are having! I should have some pics and maybe a short video from Jeff's workshop this weekend but we haven't had a chance to look at them yet. The days have been long and exhausting, but that means we have slept well. Today was the first day we were able to sleep in. No work for us today. It's a visiting day with friends and family and a night out in our favorite city, Portsmouth, NH, to celebrate Jeff's birthday. It's perfect timing that his b-day falls on jam night at the Dolphin Striker and Jeff will get to play some blues with old friends.

It was cold and overcast when we arrived in NH, but yesterday the weather was unusually warm for March. Almost 80 degrees! This morning I was surprised that there was still a little ice hanging on in the cove here at Bow Lake...

Yesterday I dropped Jeff off at the workshop and drove to Durham, NH for a NH Potters Guild meeting. It was the annual pot swap and I was psyched to come home with a space mug by my good friend Steve Cunliffe...

 The meetings was very well attended, in part because everyone loves to visit at Jane Kaufmann's. She is one of the sweetest women I know and visiting her home & studio is a treat. If it were up to me should would be named NH's living treasure! She just finished a book about her life's journey in the art world. I can't wait to get a signed copy. It should be out in June of this year. I wanted to take pictures at the meeting but spent so much time catching up with everyone that the camera never made it out of the bag. I love North Carolina, but days like yesterday make me feel a little (just a little!) homesick. The good news is, that I brought some Seagrove maps and I think we may get a few potter friends to take a road trip in the fall!

It's creeping up on 11:00 am and I should probably get dressed for the day! Briar (above) and I have been hanging out together this morning while Jeff continues to catch up on some ZZZZ's.
Happy Monday!

quiet weekend at the pottery

not much going on here to blog about this week.  we are enjoying the spring-like weather, making pots and doing some yard work.  being a northerner i am TOTALLY enjoying the flowers that are already blooming here in seagrove...

above are a couple of jane kaufmann orbs and a finger puppet sculpture that jeff and i have the pleasure of owning... they look great being photographed with the spring blooms.

tracey broome has been posting pics of buildings that inspire her to build a new studio.  her photographs made me think of the little playhouse that is nestled in the woods of the yard here in seagrove.  it's an adorable little house that the mahan kid's played in as children.  i think i will plant some flowers around it this spring.  it really is an adorable little house... and it is painted purple!  such a contrast to the log cabins that we live and work in.
life is good and i am happy to be here in north carolina :-)

In Memory of JZ................

February 17, 1951 - December 12, 2008

During the last few weeks of John's life, the wonderful Jane Kaufmann visited us at home and interviewed John in order to create a collaborative piece for the NH Potters Guild biennial exhibition.  Knowing that John was  not able to work in clay any longer, it was decided between them that Jane would make a raku fired pedestal that would hold a pot of his choosing.  Jane would carve a narrative into it that would reflect the conversations that they had together.  The two of them e-mailed back and forth until it was decided what the pedestal would say.  Jane called me to let me know that the pedestal was finished and would John like to choose a glaze color... I had to break the news to her that John had died over the weekend.

Jane chose the glaze color and delivered the pedestal to me so that I could choose a pot to go on top.  It was a hard decision and I changed my mind many times before the exhibition.  I finally settled on a teapot.  Mary Barringer, potter and current editor of Studio Potter magazine, was the juror for the exhibition and she chose the collaborative for an award... she said she was very moved by the piece.

I know I have posted about this in the past, but today would have been John's 60th birthday and I felt like I needed to tell his story again.  I brought the storytelling piece outside to photograph since it is a lovely warm day... and the crocus are blooming.  

the bottom line reads "i love the smell of wet clay"

this one is my favorite: "i am a three guitar man, music came before clay, i love movies and good storytelling too.   i have never chased a dollar, decided if i was going to be broke i might as well be broke doing something that i love"
when i read this i can hear john's voice in my head and heart

tonight i will open up a good bottle of scotch that has been waiting for today...

here's to you zen cowboy... i miss you every day.

John Zentner and Jane Kaufmann's collaborative story piece

finally figured out how to get this here...although it is very small. it was difficult to photograph because there was so much sunlight flooding the room. here is a link to youtube where i think you can see a larger version.