A Couple Summer Pottery Days

Well, my sale at University Shoppes was quite an experience. In short, it was hot, humid, a bit quiet everywhere sales-wise, yet still fun!

At the booth across from us the tie dye shirts, dresses, and hats were everywhere! Tie dye clothing never seems to go out of style.

My dad was a big reason my display looked so good. He helped cut wood for it in different lengths. I was so pleased with how it all turned out.

Yunomis of all shapes and sizes were on display.

Next door at Becky's booth, birds were plentiful. Check out her blog here for more!
Aren't these gorgeous? One is looking right at you!

It was a huge help to transport everything using this... a cart that my dad gave me that he found at a used outdoor sale. Thanks, Dad!
Several times throughout the day, furry animals visited. One was particularly thirsty and Becky and Cindy are animal lovers so in no time at all, water was found and all were happy.

Meanwhile, back to my display. I couldn't have gotten the kind of fabric I wanted without Mom's help. Yes, it is a simple black, but going with Mom to get the fabric made it all easier!

Here is a collection of some of my potpourri work--- pieces from different firings. A barrel fired piece and a raku one, too.

Here you can see more of the weathered wood and wood blocks my dad cut for me. A few plants, though hard to see here, helped too. My good friend Linda, was the giver of that wisdom, suggesting I bring them as she's been down this road before. Thanks, Linda!

A few folks from years past visited, inviting us to the upcoming fall Renaissance Festival in Charlotte. It was hot this weekend wearing summer clothes; I can't imagine how hot they were!

Some friends stopped by too, which was fun. Becky was also a great neighbor and purchased this cool tie dye bag that she's proudly displaying.

I shared a booth with Cindy and she and Becky got some sushi to pass the long hours at the sale. Pinot grigio helped too. Look closely for it in this picture.
Meanwhile, it's summer here, so while I write this at 7 pm, I'm getting eaten by mosquitos on the front porch here in Davidson. It's too beautiful to go inside; even with bug repellant on, they like me.) I also just walked down to hear a bit of Concert on the Green. Lots of people! A few tents, like the ones that were used in the arts sale this weekend. Abbey Road, the Beatles tribute band was playing. One had green hair; hmmm. Big crowd.) I hope to go to Summer Pops at Symphony Park (Charlotte Symphony) in Charlotte, yet before I know it, June will be over!
While sales were few this weekend, I've learned so much about this sales process. The venue matters and the history of the venue matters and the internet is a great way to sell things, which doesn't mean one has to sit for hours and sell things at a festival :) I also took some time to decide on the next step of my pottery making. For now, I'll make different forms (jars, vases, planters and more yunomis with an imprint etched onto them before they go into the first kiln (bisque one) in addition to filling orders. This would give the newest set of yunomis a look and texture like the one above.

And most of all, I don't make pottery to sell it. I make it because I love being at the wheel, playing with the earth. Selling the pottery is just an extra.
So all in all, the time was valuable. Most of all, I missed time at the wheel.

A great weekend. Time with friends was the best part. I think that's best.

Off to read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. I've heard much good about this; it comes highly recommended. Have you read it?

Saving a Plant and Tomorrow

I'll take some of my plants with me tomorrow for part of my display at the Arts and Crafts Show at University Place. Hours are 10 am- 8 pm. Sunday too: 11 am- 5 pm. It will be a fun, long weekend. Part of the fun will be that my booth will be right next to Becky's. Really looking forward to it. All of these are handmade pots, mostly from my earlier pottery days, except for the second one from the right. I plan on making more planters while at the wheel.
One thing I like to do when I go to Lowe's is to rescue a dying plant. I did this yesterday. There's usually a clearance cart with at least a couple plants and I found this oyster one for 5o cents on it. This isn't a good picture, but the plant wasn't doing well. It's much happier now in its new home: a new handmade pot (second from the left in first pic). Try it. Save a plant!

Off to get some last minute things and then spend hours and hours in the studio. :) Yeah! My kinda day.

Tuesday at the Studio

It was Elaine's birthday yesterday (notice balloon!) so a bunch of us gathered at Clayworks to celebrate. It was a wonderful thing that Elaine decided to hang out with us on her birthday. Fun, fun times. I even brought my new mug that I won in a raffle (see previous post) and it was fun to show it to folks.

Amy Sanders taught this last class of the semester in Ron's absence. She has such an 'eye' for how things look and gave lots of insight about what to do with the surface of pots and things to think of as one is making a piece. Things to consider like- where the eye goes when looking at a piece and how not to make a pot so busy that one gets lost looking at it. She said it way better than that; I learned much. Above are some of her recent demo pots.

Here she's showing a handbuilt planter to some of us.

A bit hard to see in this picture, but the planter has holes for drainage in the sides. It's really a gorgeous pot.

Late in the day, John came and did what we students have been busy doing: taking EVERYTHING off of his shelf(ves?) as the shelves will be cleaned in the upcoming weeks. So, it's a bit of a pain to do this and I've already heard stories of what friends have found on their studio shelf. :)

I finally finished this jar. Spent some time trying to decide just what kind of knob to put on it. This is my second jug. Will make many more in the days to come.

Here's some of the gang that gathered to celebrate Elaine's birthday. From L- R: Angela (in half of pic, Susan, Minke, Becky, and you guessed it, Elaine! We've figured out how to keep working with clay and talk at the same time (for the most part).

These days, I'm also getting ready for a trip to Bolivia, to see my extended family on my father's side. I leave towards the end of the month. hope to find some pottery there or at least learn about symbols and/or find some stencils or something I can use in making or decorating my future work. Only thing I'm not looking forward to is the weather. It's supposed to be cold--- and it's winter there, and high altitude too. 12,000 plus ft. and a bit less depending on where I am. Still all this is way worth it to see my family there. It's been way too long.

Before I leave towards the end of the month, I have much to do. Tonight I was thinking about how refreshing it is to read blogs from potter friends. I am learning so much. Thanks to all you pottery blogger friends.

I Won!

Yes, I won! Yeah!! How wonderful is this. This morning I received an email from Kyle Carpenter saying I won the free mug raffle on his blog. This is what I'll be drinking coffee out of for many days to come. It's a salt-fired mug. His studio is in the heart of Asheville's River Arts District. If you're close to Asheville, there's a Studio Stroll there this next weekend and he'll also be at the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands, July 16-19.

Thanks a bunch, Kyle. If you haven't checked out his work, please do so here or on the link on the side of this blog.