A Toast To Georges Duboeuf!

We heard on NPR that Georges Duboef died at the age of 86 on January 4th. He was famous for his Beaujolais and even more so for promoting Beaujolais Nouveau, the release of the young wine each November. It turned into an annual festival and spread to release parties around the world. For many years I always bought a few bottles for Thanksgiving. When I moved to North Carolina, it was hard to find and most Thanksgiving dinners were celebrated minus the Beaujolais. Last year we discovered that Costco carried it! This year it sold out early and we were Beaujolais-less... until a friend discovered they restocked it for New Years.

When he heard of Duboef's passing we had a toast to his life with the one remaining glass.

hand blown glass by NH artist Alex Kalish

Cheers to Georges Duboeuf! Thank you for creating a tradition in our lives.

Cheese is the way to my heart...

add a little wine and I will be yours forever.

I have been slowly getting the  stoneware cheese boards fired. Flat items are such a pain to fit into the kiln. They take up so much space. This one is about 10" in diameter. You can chill it before serving, to help keep the food colder longer - you also can place a brie on the board, place it in the oven and warm it until it starts to get gooey.

The ones I have made thus far are prototypes, so I have some variation in sizes and thickness. The one in this photo has the proportions that I am going to stick with. Both the size and the weight feel good.
It's Sunday, so you will find a link to this post and lots of other good ceramic blog reads over at Sunday Ceramics, hosted by Frogpondsrock. Click HERE!

Pottery, Food, Friends, Fun!

I am getting ready for a long overdue raku firing. My friend Bonnie came today and she worked on some beads and pendants for the firing, while I threw some new bead racks on the wheel, along with a plate to hold flat pendants during the firing. The best thing about having friends in the studio is taking a lunch break together!

 Bonnie brought a nice bottle of red wine and I whipped up some Korean pancakes served with a side of kimchi. What's a Korean meal without kimchi?

Aside from pottery lessons, Jeff also gives lessons on how to use chopsticks. We had lots of fun, and only one of us resorted to a fork. But I'm not telling who.

The holidays are over and the photo booth is back on the dining room table. I will be adding new pots to the Etsy shop over the next few days, be sure to check it out.

An evening at the vineyard

Saturday evening we went out to Zimmerman Vineyards, in Trinity, NC, for their monthly Saturday Music Series. The weather was spectacular. We enjoyed a picnic and music on the patio that overlooks the vineyard.

 The vineyard dogs are always a hoot. This little guy thought the mounds of monkey grass made a perfect bed for lounging.

 These grapevines were in bloom and the owner took a group on a vineyard walk so we could smell the blossoms and have the opportunity to ask questions.

It was such a great weekend and  I was very sad to bring Danielle to the airport in Sunday. I don't want to rush away the summer, but I can't wait until we are in New England in August so we can be together again!
Now it's back to reality and work. Jeff and I are getting ready to wood fire with our friend Ouida in Carthage. Unfortunately over the weekend we had to deal with some electrical problems, one of which included our electric kiln. Jeff took it apart and cleaned some contacts and it still wouldn't turn on. After messing with it for two days we made the decision to unload it and bisque fire in the gas kiln. The electrician is coming out today and we are hoping that the household problem has something to do with the kiln not coming on... but something tells me it's sheer coincidence that both happened at the same time. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this won't be an expensive fix.

tea time... pizza time... wine time.

My great-niece is having a birthday next month... I can't believe she is going to be five! I decided a few months ago that I would make her a tea set for her birthday. Originally I was thinking the typical set with little cups and saucers. Since we have gone all Korean around here lately, I thought it was more fitting to make a more Asian influenced set. I think this will be something that she won't necessarily outgrow, she can continue to use it, or display it, as an adult. I haven't settled on a glaze yet. Copper red and shino might be nice. If the red goes mauve or pink, it will still be okay. I will have to think on it a bit... suggestions are welcome!

 It's been a stressful week, Jeff and I have been dealing with some ridiculousness between two organisations that we belong too in New Hampshire. You just can't escape it! Rituals always make me feel better... Friday night pizza making and a cheap bottle of wine. Isn't that cup sweet? The maker is Daniel Garretson, a past apprentice of Mark Shapiro.

I woke up today with a much better attitude.

special cups

We had a great weekend with our friend Rob and I even managed to get some pots finished in between the fun. My plan was to post some photos of the pots tonight, but I got a little side tracked by a cup I chose to pour some wine into, while I mixed together pizza dough for this evenings dinner.

 Isn't it a beauty?

I don't use this cup everyday, yet tonight I reached for it. This cup was made by Dick Lehman. When John was going through his cancer treatment, he and Dick started conversing via e-mail. At the time Dick was also facing some serious health issues. During their conversations they decided to do a cup exchange. Unfortunately, John died before the exchange took place. When I e-mailed Dick the news, he asked if I would still consider sending one of John's cups to him. He said he had one already picked out to send to him, and would like for me to have it... a cup with an amazing drip. A cup that he knew a potter would appreciate. I chose one of John's to send off to Dick, and I received this one in the mail.

It's a beauty and I treasure it.

3 Potters, 3 Bloggers, 3 Beer Lovers - "An Online Pottery Show"

Potters Gary Rith, Lori Buff, and I have been tossing around ideas of how to do a show together, despite the fact that we live hundreds of miles away from each other (and have never met in person!). We finally decided to do a virtual show, using Etsy as our venue, and beer mugs/steins as our theme.
Our show went on line yesterday and you can see it on our very own new blog:

POTTERY PALS

This is just the beginning of an adventure for the three of us! Please add the new site to your blog roll to see what the three of us are up too. Our plans are to do a number of shows each year and each with a specific theme. We are excited about how this will motivate us to stretch our creativity in clay in new directions... who knows where it will take us! Perhaps in the future we may invite other potter/bloggers to be guest artists.

All the mugs and steins are available for purchase through Etsy...click on the mug you want to purchase and it will take you directly to that potters shop. If you order this weekend, depending on your location, we may be able to ship in time for Fathers Day. Wouldn't Dad love a new mug?

...now we need to figure out how to have a virtual opening reception that involves beer, wine, and cheese... ideas anyone?

Claymatters

Last night we drove in the rain to Charlotte for the Carolina Claymatters Pottery Guild's holiday meeting/party. Wow, that was a mouthful! We joined the guild last year but never went to any meetings. It was a pleasant evening, good food, nice people.

Each year they have a pottery gift exchange and give out door prizes... we came home with some new loot...

Wouldn't you know that this year it was decided that they would no longer serve alcohol at Guild meetings... so this was the first booze free event. Evidently it was a controversial decision and we heard through the grapevine that it hasn't ended yet. Of course if it goes to a member vote ya'll know who side I will be on!

I wasn't thrilled to head out in the rain for such a long drive, but in the end I was glad we went. We were, and still are, very connected with the NH Potters Guild and enjoy the connections made from being part of a group. I made a promise to myself not to get involved in any volunteer work with this guild until my term as treasurer is up for the NH guild... yes, I am their long distance treasurer. Nobody wants the job, so they are fine with me handling the money from a distance!!

Happy Sunday, let's hope the sun comes out soon in NC.

i am not the only potter in the house...

jeff mixed up a new batch of white slip today and got busy doing some sgraffito on wine coolers...

i think he plans to put these in our neighbors wood kiln when we fire with him the first of october...
they are going to be real beauties!

just tuesday...

...today was rather mundane. drove to the city (if you live in NH going to Nashua is going to the city!) got my hair trimmed and some other stuff done...stopped at the studio to cover some things up and pulled a spout on a pitcher before it was too late. guess my big news of the day is that i made lasagna AND scored another bottle of 1/2 price wine at the local grocer. every few months they have a half price sale of odds and ends. it is always fun to go through the basket of goodies...and not so goodies.

...and you know what...i liked having a "just tuesday"

it came right on time. i hope your day was "just tuesday" too.