into the stretch, refreshed!

What a wonderful little break I had while Isabel, Jason & Sam visited Asheville. I knew I'd take a day off to play with them, but ended up really having a mini-vaca with them. Isabel will post (with great cropping discretion, I trust!) all the action photos on facebook - I only grabbed my camera the day they left. But we had a great afternoon at Lake Powhatan where I went lake swimming for the first time in years, and had my first experience with the noodle. LOVED it. And yesterday we had a day with double the mud fun! First, Sam had an impromptu lesson on the wheel, and made a very lovely piece.

Sam's bowl - he has a very nice touch on the wheel!

Then, we found a great place not far from town to do some 'gemming', and now I'm waiting to hear what happens to the big rock Sam found that was described mainly as 'money', when we asked our guide what it was.

hmmmm....was I always this much shorter?
somebody get me a half apple!


one more squidge before they go

So now they're on the road to Pawley's Island (believe me, I tried to figure out how to close the studio another few days to hit that beach as well, but since I don't yet control time and space, I couldn't do that and get the kilns filled....), and I'm back to my lovely studio.

the welcome pedestal, abloom with the promise of a productive day!

It's another gorgeous day, breezy so far, so with windows open and fans running, it's quite nice.

Plenty here just waiting for my attention, plus the list I have yet to make!

oh wedging fairy...?!


ready to load...

ready for ...

So I may daydream about getting back in that lake, but I've got some new energy to crank out the pots so maybe I WILL go float in the lake (gotta get a noodle...)!

finally back at the wheel

So I've been having some fun with dental issues, that now I find may be sinus issues! At any rate, along with the regular business of running the business, it's been an added distraction that's kept me from getting back into a rhythm of work. Back at it today, pausing only to post this while I wait for clients to arrive. They're here - back to work! peace.

life after the holiday show

I didn't mean for more than a week to go by before another post, and I do still have other pictures from the holiday art walk to share as well...and if you've been keeping an eye on the art walk blog, I'll post more there too.

It was really crazy leading up to the show, and it was a pretty busy week last week in spite of the deadlines having passed, and after a day or so of bumping into studio furniture in a slight haze, I'm back into a working mindset, catching up on paperwork and today, finally, getting back on the wheel. My only goal was to throw about 25 pounds, so I split it up among three pieces and had some fun with some larger versions of the new cut rim form I've been playing with.

fun with new forms, with my favorite mascot at my feet

My days are different now, as I've picked up some part time work to help with all the recent moving expenses and recession effects on the studio, so I really do have to schedule my wheel time now. And it always takes a bit getting back to it after a heavy deadline, glazing and firing schedules. But it felt good, both to be throwing and to be back on my wheel. In my mad rush to get more work done for the holiday show, I spent a good deal of time on the Whisper wheel (the speed-demon!), and it was nice to start back at the pace my kick wheel demands I keep, and finding the rhythm with the clay again.

This week will be a more intended juggle between outside work, studio work and planning for new and wonderful things in the studio. And as I get more into that rhythm, I'll find the right zone for getting on the blog and share the developments - we have new members here I need to grab pictures of, new helpers, and on occasion Lissa even has a play date show up!

And lest I miss the chance for shameless self-promotion, remember that the studio is still open through the holidays for those last minute purchases of fabulous, hand-crafted, locally made pottery! Or check out the list to the right to see where else you can find me through my work.

Lissa now demands more attention than the keyboard, so it's time for a walk! peace.

back to work...

It was really nice taking the day off on Sunday to enjoy the beautiful weather and the historic event in our little burg, but the clock's a tickin' and there are pots to be thrown, kilns to be fired, glazes to be mixed, classes to be taught and on and on and on.

If only I had my camera to record some of these riveting moments! I did enjoy some outside time sanding pots the other day, but those pictures are on the other computer, as are the pictures of my first students first work lined up and ready for the bisque. And yesterday at the Bowl Project class, we had John Britt in to dazzle us with not only bowl making but glazing tips. It was another great class - one of the things I enjoy the most about getting to see even a mini-workshop and/or demo is that I still get so much out of it, and this was the case again, thanks John! And in a supreme Tom Sawyer moment, we even used some of my bisqued bowls to test out some of his glazing techniques and suggestions, thank you for that too! Oh, but I forgot to take my camera, so no pictures there.

Which brings me to tonight - friend Heather came over with a load of pots to bisque for her next firing, and it being the first 'guest-bisque', of course I wanted to document it for the blog and all those twittering to see the next studio development! I mentioned it several times - we listened to the debate, she loaded and I was trimming bowls, saying how I was gonna get the camera and take pictures. Next thing I know, the kilns loaded. So faithful readers, what we have is my friend Heather, enjoying a lovely pear/ginger/almond bread I made with pears from my friend Cassie's tree. Heather's actually enjoying her tea in a rare wheel-thrown Cassie mug, as it happens!

And in case you're wondering, Heather's looking at Harvey, the big, invisible rabbit standing behind me. And yes, that's tea in the mug, it was just late and it certainly LOOKS like she's looking at a big, invisible rabbit!



g'nite.