2nd Saturday tomorrow!

Tomorrow is 2nd Saturday, so it must be time for an Artist Market! Crazy Green Studios is pleased to sponsor this monthly Artist Market, and invites you to come on over to East-West Asheville and see what's going on!

We'll be easy to spot under tent tops on Domino Lane, and you'll see signs on Haywood Road at Harvest Records, as well as at Westwood/Waynesville at Christopher's Garden. Parking is available on Haywood and on adjoining side streets. In addition to the vendors under the tents on Domino Lane, Christopher Mello will open Flash Studios, next to his beautiful gardens, to take part in the Market.

And the fun doesn't stop there! Be sure to check out what's going on at the great businesses all around us in East West Asheville: Short Street Cakes, Izzy's Coffee Den, Harvest Records, Blue Barnhouse, Custom Boutique, BookWorks, the Admiral - click the image above and check out the blog for a full listing, as well as profiles on participating artists and information about the Community Booth.

another one of those grateful moments...

Heather Kouri has been assisting me in my studio for the past six months, and today is her last day at the pug mill as she prepares to go WOOFing in Europe. To say that I'm grateful for Heather's help these past months seems insignificant compared to how much I truly valued her great attitude, good judgment and dedication to keeping me on an even keel. Heather was my first studio assistant, and she kindly rolled along with my own growing pains in learning how to best utilize her talents and willingness to help with anything needed in the studio. I'll miss her, not only because she's my pug mill queen, but because I always enjoyed time in the studio with her.

An accomplished potter herself and graduate from the Haywood Community College, I hope she'll find ways to get her hands into clay other than on the farm while she's off on this next adventure, and I wish her lots and lots of adventures!

Studio members who didn't know she was leaving may still have a chance to say good bye, as she'll be coming in to glaze some last pots next week before she literally takes off.

Thank you Heather - the studio wouldn't be what it is without you, and you will be greatly missed!

May Clay at Clingman Cafe!

How can it be the end of April already?!?!? Well it is, and I'm very excited for what May brings. To start us off tomorrow, May 1 is the opening of May Clay at Clingman Cafe (it's fun to say!). Trip Howell at Clingman Cafe has always been a great supporter of the many artists who surround him in the River Arts District and some from just beyond his 'hood, and if you're a regular reader here you know that he's hosting a three month exhibit of work by clay artists. You have one more day (er, that would be today!) to see the 'New Spring Work' exhibit and sale that has run the month of April.

And I'm very pleased to be a part of the May showing: May Clay. Starting tomorrow and running through the merry, merry month of May, you'll find some of my new work in the company of some very talented clay artists (see below for who they are). We're having an opening reception on Friday, May 1 from 5-7pm. There are a lot of great events on Friday night, and I'll be making some later stops myself - come start your First Friday fun with us at May Clay at Clingman Cafe! (really, it's fun to say!).

A taste of what you might find at May Clay:

tiny boxes by Becca Floyd

bonjour vases by Holly deSaillan

'Among Us' by Cassie Ryalls

vase by Anthony DeVito

shino vases by Lori Theriault

May Studio Schedule

I'm having a deja-vu-all-over-again moment as I could swear I posted this yesterday...but computer says no...

So once more, with feeling: greetings! Here is the much anticipated May open studio schedule for Crazy Green Studios! Click on the image for a larger view, and you regulars please take note of the highlighted days that show a change in regular scheduling. This includes tomorrow, May 1 - I originally had us on a regular schedule, until I realized I really should be at the opening reception for May Clay, and that would be hard to do while holding open studio. My apologies for any inconveniences - still working on the cloning thing.

Other adjustments for May: I'm closing Memorial Day weekend. It's also my birthday weekend, and while chances are I may be firing a kiln, a little open time will be good for body, mind and soul. And at the end of the month, I'll be closed on May 28 as I will be attending and vending at the Women's Business Conference.

There are many fun and exciting things brewing at Crazy Green Studios, and more updates and the seemingly erratic not-really-monthly newsletter will be back shortly, barring any more computer hang-ups, to enlighten, inform and entertain.

quickie for a test

Well they say the 7th time's the charm, right? It's been crazy busy at Crazy Green, but I've tried several times (let's say six) over the past week to put up a new post, share some updates, a few images ... technology was not in the mood to play along.

First, I had images stuck in my camera. I could see them in the camera, but they wouldn't upload to the computer. I did have a few other random images of getting ready for the kiln I'm about to load tonight, but when I tried to post, no images would load and even a text-only post just didn't want to go. I took that as a sign from the universe to step away from the computer and get back to studio work.

Yesterday I closed the studio and spent the day in the glaze studio - thanks to my visiting friend Karen sitting the studio on Thursday night, I was able to move all the bisque over to the glaze studio and get set up. I had waxed most of the pots at my studio, so after set up and waxing the pots that came out of the last bisque fire, I was ready to glaze. A full day and into the wee hours was almost enough time to get it all done, and this morning saw the last of the wax resist and cover glazing. I'm back at my studio for a few hours for open studio, which is kind of a break, but for loading another bisque so I can also fire a cone 7 before the Clingman show load-in. Later this afternoon I'll head back over to the glaze studio and clean up my pots as I start the load.

So this is kind of a test - so far so good, and in other good news, I finally retrieved the stuck images from my camera. I'll close with the pictures, just so I can see if this posts.

Caroline & Matthew came to the studio for a Weekend Pass, and they made a couple of lovely bowls and some other small fun pieces. If you're reading, Matthew & Caroline, your pieces just came out of bisque, and I'll be loading them with my cone 7 glaze load on Tuesday, so they'll be ready for you this week!

This one is just because. I thought I had deleted it from the camera, as it was one of those random shots taken while I was fiddling with the settings on the camera. I've cropped it for dramatic/artistic effect.

Yes, this confirms both that I'm very tired, that perhaps I need to get out of the studio more often, and most definitely that I need to remember to put the shea butter on BEFORE I start working with the clay. This is part of my hand.

And on that note, time for some lotion and a little studio clean up here before heading over to load the reduction kiln. Since I'm firing both kilns at the same time, it's also time to make a new kiln god. My cone 7 god, Fred, is doing good duty here, so it's time to make a new one for the reduction kiln. peace.

some week!

It feels like each day there is an increase in energy and activity all around. It's here in the studio, it's in the lives of my studio members, my clients and certainly starting to be all around town! Maybe it's just a bit of spring fever, but it feels like a good vibration to hang onto!

A few of the highlights of the week past...

Got a good jump on making work for the kiln that will be fired at the end of next week. Still need to crank out more, but it's looking good, and after a couple of good client meetings, I have more ready to go and more to make! Also got all the bowls decorated at the Empty Bowls event glazed and fired. With the new zinc-free clear, we get the greens now, but some of the other underglazes still burn out at our slightly higher temps. Still a good looking batch of bowls (that I have yet to photograph...).

I finally got to join a work crew for Habitat for Humanity, and joined a great group of women who are building a house in West Asheville for a young family. It's been a lot easier to find and join a build group here than it was in DC, so I know I'll be doing that again! Click on the image if you want to join an Asheville-area build crew.

This week HatchFest is in Asheville, and while I've only been able to attend one panel discussion, it was a good one: Marketing for the Creative Professional featured a panel of very talented professionals (Erin Scholze, Greg Vineyard, Paul Van Heden, Karen Hemphill, Jenny Bowen and Jonas Gerard) from many disciplines who all spoke eloquently to a number of topics and answered questions and gave me good stuff to think about! This panel was presented at HatchFest with the Asheville Artist Alliance and Mountain Biz Works, both groups I'm a member of and both groups a perfect match for what HatchFest has brought to Asheville. There, I've just implemented one of the tips I learned at the panel!

I also delivered my 'Carolina Wren Houses' for the Bountiful Cities Birdhouse auction - this will get mentioned in the 'weekend ahead' section below too! These were very much from my imagination, but now that I've actually looked at some wren houses, I may make some more functional attempts, but I may also make some more like these, which I think also make fun lanterns.

Today I tried to sit out in the sun at the studio, since I'm now trying to finish up the rack cards for the Artist Market and new studio PR, but the plants are attracting all sorts of buzzing neighbors, so I'm in the cooler studio finishing up the keyboard activity before heading back to the wheel to make more for the kiln.

So it's been a fun week so far, and the weekend holds just as much fun ahead:

It's the return of the Howard Street Handmade market! If you missed the first one last month - get over there and check it out this weekend!


Bountiful Cities Birdhouse Auction! Downtown Saturday - go early to see all the great birdhouses, then get there in time for the live auction and support this great group!

New show opening at the Flood Gallery at Phil Mechanic Studios in the River Arts District - reception Friday (tonight!) from 7-10pm.

Tailgate season opens, including the Asheville City Market. Check out ASAP for the tailgate near you!


HatchFest continues, continues through Saturday and ends with a big bang of a party at the Orange Peel.

And now I'm back to a bit more computer fun, then elbows deep in clay! Next blog is an answer to a dare, and it's right up my alley! Happy weekend to all - get out and see some art, visit your favorite brick & mortar small business, make a purchase, support your local economy, eat your vegetables, leave it cleaner than you found it and play nice with others. xoxo

Asheville Artist Alliance Workshop: Jonathan Frappier

hmmmm...how to tie clay into this post....well if we're doing six degrees, it's easy and less than six! As a member of the Asheville Artist Alliance, I'm interested in supporting and promoting all the arts, in Asheville and elsewhere! And having worked in theatre a couple of lifetimes ago, I know it's as challenging to make a living in that craft as it is in my pottery studio!

This informative workshop will help at all levels: those thinking about it and those doing it, students and professionals. Mountain Biz Works is the location - April 22 is the date (click on the image to go to the event site) - pass this on to anyone you know who might be interested, and tell them to RSVP to Naomi at Mtn. Biz Works by April 17!