The ongoing struggle with pricing...

Kristen Kieffer shared this blog post on facebook this morning and I thought I would post a link to it:

Mill Girl: Paying for Handmade: A Gentle Rant

I am sure we have all encountered these types of conversations at shows or in your own studio gallery. Just last week a customer said to me "I am paying by check, do I still have to pay sales tax?". I politely said, no and she still made her purchase. She was buying a $25 dollar item, sales tax is 7% in our county. There is no advantage to me as the seller to pay her sales tax if she doesn't use her credit card... my credit card fee is no where near 7%! And if she used her card, the money goes directly into my account. No writing a deposit slip and making a trip to the bank, and hoping that the check clears.

...and now on to happier thoughts.

Jeff's workshop went great. Everyone who came appeared to be having fun and went away with some new skills. They are already making plans to come back for a raku workshop in the beginning of March!

Practice Makes Perfect

Jeff is teaching his "Practice Makes Perfect" workshop at our studio this weekend. The workshop focuses on enhancing your skills using production pottery techniques. I call it pottery boot camp. I took this workshop with Jeff nearly ten years ago. I was student at the time with a full time job... I thought my arms might fall off by the end of the weekend!

Needless to say, we need lots of clay ready for the participants. I pugged a whole bunch of clay and the last time through, I attached a die to the pug mill to make smaller lugs of clay.

When you drop these smaller lugs through the harps, pictured below, they are cut to a certain weight. The first harp is one pound, the second 1 1/2 pounds etc...
It saves a lot of time when doing production work. No weighing out balls of clay.

The workshops we teach at our studio are small, 5 to 6 participants. If there is a group that wants to come we can work around your schedule to meet your needs. Jeff also travels to other studios and clay centers to teach. If you are interested in a workshop at our studio or yours, send him an e-mail for more info: jeff@jeffbrownpottery.com.

In between our studio clean up marathon, and pugging clay, I managed to roll out some slabs and make some square soap dishes. They are nice chunky dishes that can be used for other things as well. Typically I just stamp the insides, this time I slipped and carved half of them. They were a nice break from wheel work.

It's been pouring rain off and on here for a couple of days. Tonight they are predicting snow. The snow may actually be a nice break from the rain... did this New Hampshire girl really just say that???

Thrown and Altered Forms

I finally got a chance to look at some of the pictures and videos from the workshop that Jeff did in Merrimac, MA more than a week ago. We don't have a video camera, iPad, or smart phones, so I experimented with using my camera. I quickly learned that my camera card can't hold much video and that we really need to invest in either a flip video (which will not be available much longer) or an iPad. The flip video is less expensive so it may be the way to go for now. I would love some opinions on video cameras etc. and your experiences using them.

I also have no clue how to edit these videos and for now I don't have the time to figure it out! In the meantime, take a look...

the gypsy potters are hittin' the road

My last post stated that it was a busy week for us. Jeff is teaching a workshop at Purple Sage Pottery in Merrimac, MA this weekend and we have lot's to do before hitting the road. This workshop is Thrown and Altered Forms and is a two day event. The workshop is full and it should be a fun and informative two days for everyone who registered. We will be staying in NH with a friend and will have the opportunity to visit with my parents.

Sunday afternoon is a NH Potters Guild Meeting, of which I am (STILL) the treasurer. This is the meeting where I present the annual report for 2011 so I had to get all of my paperwork in order and the report completed. I am excited to see my NH guild friends! Jeff is on his own at the workshop that day.
Heading north also means stocking the galleries for the League of NH Craftsmen. Jeff's work has been selling well and they have been crying for more. This meant squeezing in one more firing before we leave. We really rushed things through this time. We were finishing work on Friday night to bisque on Saturday. Jeff put some wet pots in the kiln and dried them overnight... we didn't lose a single one! Sunday we unloaded and glazed until after 10:00 pm then loaded the back stack. Yesterday morning, Jeff finished loading the front stack and lit the kiln. I think it was done around 1:30 am.
Thank goodness for a small kiln!!

Today was a studio clean up day... we are very messy glazers! It's not super clean now but at least you can walk through without tripping over glaze buckets. Tomorrow we pack. Thursday we hit the road.

...and the BEST part of this trip is that on the return home we stop in Connecticut to celebrate Danielle's birthday!!

gotta go take a little peek in the kiln (temp is 855)... I will leave you with a pic I have posted before. Iris Minc, who owns and operates Purple Sage Pottery, made the platter holding the asian dumplings. It's one of my favorites.

*If you are interested in hosting a workshop send Jeff an e-mail: jeff@jeffbrownpottery.com for more info.
He offers Throwing and Altering workshops as well as Raku Firing. We have a portable raku kiln and bring reduction cans and glazes with us. Experienced with high school students & adults.

snoku in New Hampshire

a few pics from the "snow day" raku workshop at Sally Cornwell's studio in Wolfeboro, NH...

pots by Doug Blum

the workshop was on Sunday, the day after the storm dumped about 2 feet of snow on us... by morning the sun was out and it warmed up into the 40's... there was lots of melting. thankfully, Wolfeboro rarely loses power - we had family and friends scattered around the state who were without power for many days.
it was a great trip but we are glad to be home in Seagrove, NC!

Thrown and Altered

Jeff taught a Thrown and Altered Workshop at 2 Rivers Ceramic Studio in Newbury, MA on Saturday. Lloyd Hamovit, a fellow NH Potters Guild & League of NH Craftsmen member, recently moved his studio from Amesbury, MA to this location in Newbury. We were envious of his great space... bright, spacious, well equipped, and very organized.
I dropped Jeff off in the morning then went back over the border to NH to have my niece cut & color my hair (it was time to have a professional step in for that!). I returned at the tail end of the workshop so I didn't get many pictures...

Lloyd is a gracious host and extended an invite to stay for chili and beer, which was tempting on a raw rainy day. We were heading to Wolfeboro, NH for the night and snow was in the forecast, so we decided to hit the road. We weren't even to the NH boarder when the rain changed to snow and in no time the road was covered. It was a long, stressful ride back to the '603 pulling a trailer... when we arrived at my sister's house there was a big glass of wine waiting for me.

If you live in the Portsmouth, NH/Newbury, MA area and are looking for wheel throwing or hand building classes, give 2 Rivers Ceramic Studio a call. Lloyd has definitely created a warm and friendly pottery community. We are looking forward to returning in the spring (when the snow has melted!).


For more information about hosting a workshop at your studio/school, contact us at:
jeff@jeffbrownpottery.com

Raku Workshop

jeff and i offered a raku workshop over the weekend. typically the people who come are potters at various levels, from beginners to professionals who arrive with bisqued pots to raku. this time it was totally different!
we had a group of women from Pinehurst contact us and ask if it was possible for them to come and learn the process... they were not potters and had no pots to bring. we had quite a few pots bisqued and ready to go so we said sure, come on over!

we set up the glazing area on the porch and there was a nice breeze blowing all day. they were eager learners who asked great questions and weren't afraid to try techniques like wax resist and pouring and splashing glazes. midway through the day they took a break and had a picnic lunch on the porch, then went out to visit some nearby potteries.
they all had fun, were a little leery of getting too close to the fire and smoking cans, and each went home with a couple of successful pots.
on sunday we had some more pots of our own to finish so we went back at it and fired until about 9:30 pm.

we use shredded paper in cans for reduction, this time jeff tried the paper in sand, and putting the trash can over the pot method... we have a friend in NH who does this.

jeff's smokin' hot tile

beads and pendants

one of jeff's lamps... unfortunately a cracked lamp

it was a fun and exhausting couple of days, up next weekend... salt firing.... YAHOO!

March 2011 Workshop Announcement

"Before the Alter & Beyond" - A Throwing, Altering, & Texturing Workshop

Presented by Jeff Brown

Saturday- Sunday, March. 26-27, 10am - 5pm 

 Cost: $120

Location:
Michele Hastings & Jeff Brown Pottery
1423 Pottery Highway 705
Seagrove, NC 27341
336-873-1001
http://www.jeffbrownpottery.com

Two days: starting with Demonstrations.
After demonstrations, participants will use previously thrown vessels
for altering and texture exploration. We will transform the pieces by
using a number of handbuilding techniques.  You'll paddle, roll, drop,
squeeze, impress and carve your way through the leather hard pots,
giving you the opportunity to try new ways of finishing your thrown
vessels.  The focus will be on pushing your limits and taking risks with
different ideas. 

Day two will focus on throwing practice while more texturing and

altering will continue. Even though you will have a few nice pieces at

the end of the second day, the goal will not be making finished pots.

 Instead it will be about exercising your clay manipulating muscles by pushing 

your limits, and about making fearless decisions to aggressively alter, and texture

thrown pots .

Being free from the pressure of making a product will help in developing a fluidity of motion while you work, and give you the opportunity to take risks with different ideas, and perhaps bring more of your personal expression into the pottery you make. It may never be your intention to be a production potter, but the practice you get from working in a series will help make each individual pot easier to form, and the ideas you have in your mind flow smoother from your fingertips.

Call or e-mail to register!

336-873-1001

jeff@jeffbrownpottery.com

workshop day two...

the pictures say it all...

making tea bowls to alter

now here's an innovative idea... use the mats from the floor of your truck to texture your pots!

how cool is THAT?!

working on faceted tea bowls

every good pot needs a spank every now and again!

... the second best part of the workshop is that i made pizza for the lunch break today :-)

jeff and i really enjoyed the weekend, meeting new people and sharing ideas.  we are already planning to do a raku workshop next month... most likely the weekend of February 5th... one long day, either Saturday or Sunday.  let me know if you are interested!

i bet you wish you were HERE today...

today was day one of our first workshop in our seagrove studio... jeff is the presenter and i am the assistant and all around general hostess and go-fer girl.  this is one that jeff has taught many times at his nh studio as well as on road at various schools...
BEFORE THE ALTER AND BEYOND
sounds like an exciting trip doesn't it?  the workshop starts with a throwing demo and if you have never seen jeff throw pots on the wheel then you will be amazed at his speed and skill.

three pulls to get a pot this size... AMAZING!

most of jeff's pots are thrown and altered (they look like they are dancing!).  after an altering demo, participants went to work on altering pots that jeff had ready to be attacked...

everyone came up with some cool ideas and utilized texture tools that we provided or had brought along with them.  tomorrow everyone gets the opportunity to throw pots on the wheel (practicing that three pull style) as well as more demos and hands-on altering.
we are so happy to have such a smart, talented and humorous group of people share our studio this weekend!
stayed tuned for tomorrow's update!

cleaning and organizing

jeff and i spent a good part of yesterday cleaning and organizing the studio.  next weekend he will be teaching his first workshop here in seagrove and we needed the workspace to be organized... this workshop will focus on the altering techniques that jeff uses in his work.  jeff loves teaching classes and he is really looking forward to getting back into it.  in a past life i taught preschoolers for nearly 20 years and i have been considering offering some kids clay classes this spring or summer.

after the clean up i did manage to start working on some wall tiles that i plan to raku fire along with all the beads and pendants i have in the works...

here is a finished tile that i just listed on etsy....