First goal reached!

 I had tried to make 6 angels a day, but that got derailed with other obligations and exhaustion. My ultimate first goal was to have 48 angels by the beginning of November. THAT goal was reached! (Now I just need to fire and glaze and fire and add gold/heads/halos...)

Keeping Busy in Uncertain Times

Here we all are, in the midst of a viral pandemic COVID-19. Our schools (including colleges and universities) here have been closed for 2 weeks and are closed at least until the end of April. All bars are closed, restaurants can only do take-out, curbside, or delivery. (It has forced some to temporarily close.)  People are encouraged to self-isolate, keep a minimum of 6' between, wash their hands, don't touch their face... stay home as much as possible. The big art festival (43rd Annual Spring Jubilee) has been cancelled. Parks are closed. The governor has said no social gatherings over 3 people. Things that are unheard of in my lifetime.

We have not been mandated to close our store. We try our best to practice social distancing while in the store.

We decided to offer some creative outlet for families suddenly forced to be at home. And we made up a few varieties of greeting card kits. We sell them for $3 each and they have been a big hit! Right now, we have Easter cards in the mix, but we will be adding Mother's Day cards next. There are also some all-occasion types.

They have been extremely popular and I spent a few hours this morning, here at home, cutting parts for more kits.

We have shortened our hours at the store starting tomorrow, but we have had very good business, thanks in part to the card kits (Boredom Busters AKA Virus Card Kits) and to virtual shopping for customers and either curbside pick-up or shipping.

I also took the hose and rinsed the pollen off the Equinox. I know more will be more there when I get ready to go to work tomorrow, but I got a lot off today.

May you and yours remain well.

Thinking too much...

It is February again and the dreaded Valentine's Day is just 2 days away. How I wish I could just hide away from everyone and suffer in silence.

I do have family and friends who love me. I know that. But I feel so alone this time of year, I have difficulty seeing all the couples laughing, snuggling, kissing...

By Saturday it will all be over!  That is something to celebrate!

On another note, I have received the application for Mistletoe Market 2020. I am applying again and hoping the jury will approve my entry. I just need to get the kilns fixed so I can make some more pieces.

Speaking of fixing the kilns, I have a potter friend who will come by and see if he can diagnose what is ailing the kilns. I am grateful for the friendships my creativity has forged.

OK, now I need to stop thinking too much and get back to doing.

PS - I survived! It wasn't as bad this year as last.

Up and running!

Thank you to my brother Rick for checking out the wiring diagram and the kiln and fixing the mistake I made. I am now able to fire the large kiln with no problem.

The small kiln I have not given a test firing yet.  It seems possibly the tube of the kiln sitter was out of alignment and the sensing rod was getting hung up thus keeping it from tripping the power off. I do not have anything of my own to test fire it with at the moment, so it will have to wait until I can get some things made. (* EDIT - still not working correctly.  Will just have to use the large one for the time being.)

In the meantime, my car went into the mechanic last week.  I have had a whining noise from under the hood for a few months, but the most disconcerting was the new grinding noise coming from the rear axel area.  It sounded like I was dragging a branch.  I did not see anything, but thought it could possibly be the wheel bearing go bad.  I needed the car for a house/pet sitting a half hour drive away.

I dropped it off on a Thursday morning.  Their schedule was packed with appointments and they had to work me in around them. To get an appointment otherwise was at least a two week wait. I waited patiently to hear back.  They called at about 4:45 on Friday afternoon for me to come by to pick it up (they close ot 5:00).

It was not the wheel bearing (YES!!!), it was indeed a branch caught up in the undercarriage that was causing that noise.

The whining noise under the hood was the alternator and pulley that needed replacing, the alternator was nearing it's end of life. Thankful for the branch making me think it was a bad bearing for getting me to the mechanic sooner than later.

After a brief case of it overheating (a connector to the cooling fan knocked loose) that was corrected on Monday, all is running smoothly.

I am needing to get my hands back into the clay to create! It is my calming and rejeuvenating activity. And, I also need to get product for the store as well as Mistletoe Market.

Thankful

I have not had the time to post this last month as I was feverishly producing for the Mistletoe Market.  I can report that the show was a great success again this year with a lot of Angel & Santa Hat ornaments finding new homes.

The ornament display when I had forgotten to bring the Christmas tree...

The rest of the booth.

I brought the tree the second day and placed it on the other table.

I had some great feedback about the ornaments.  Some thought the angels should have bells inside to go with the famous quote from It's A Wonderful Life.  Some thought the Santa Hats should also have bells, jingle bells.  I am not sure if I will do either, but they are not bad ideas.

Here is a close-up of the Santa Hats.

Santa Hat ornaments, introduced 11/18/2016

Thanksgiving was a fabulous day filled with my family and delicious foods.  This evening I am house-sitting & cat-sitting for a friend.  Tomorrow is a long day at work.  Black Friday and we will also be staying open late during the Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Village Green just out in front of our store. 

With all of that going on, the return of kidney stones is not a good thing.  Hopefully they will sit in one spot and not move. 

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving (what is left of it) and a Merry Christmas.  May the New Year bring you peace and happiness.  (I do hope to check in with you before then.)

Celebrate Clayton

As much as I really wanted to participate again this year, my obligations to my family's business has taken much of my time and energy.  That has made it difficult to create enough pottery for the show.

I will miss all of my fabulous customers and the hospitality of the Clayton community.

May all of you have a successful show.

I'm here!

I have not posted lately because of a lot of things happening. No, nothing serious in nature, just a lot going on... I have not forgotten about posting, I just have not always had the time or energy.
Good news is, we now have DSL here at the house. This should make blogging MUCH easier! (Just uploading the photo of my late kitty Max took WAY less time!)

Now, I just need to get some more photos scanned or taken to be able to post them.
And, I guess I have gotten bitten by the FaceBook bug... it has been nice to re-connect with some old friends from my youth. One even apologized for how he treated me back in Junior High... something I had moved beyond a long time ago. Yet it was still nice that he thought to apologize after all this time. Thanks Scott! Hey, we were teenagers, no apologies necessary, but thanks anyway...
I can keep up with my family and people I don't get to see often enough. Not to mention the oodles of photos I can look at in my friends' profiles! Awesome waves in RI from Hurricane Bill, adorable children, beautiful artwork (painting, quilting, jewelry design...), lots of people, pets and flowers...
But I do need to get back to my blogging. Now that my desktop is able to go online again, I have access (more easily) to a number of photo files I already had. I had problems when my dial-up modem was zapped by lightning... with DSL, I don't have to worry about that anymore! (AND, I have put ALL cords, including the phone line, through the new surge protector!)
I will get more posted soon. (I hope to be able to post some photos of my nephew DragonBen's latest artwork... and he's only 9 1/2!!!)
Thanks for being patient with me.

Memorial Day

I keep saying I will get new photos of everything, and still, I am pulling up older photos to post. This photo shows my sugar & creamer set and in the foreground is a sauce/pin dish and to the right of the photo is a napkin ring. The napkin rings are something I cannot make anymore. The molds got severe water damage back in MA and could not be repaired. I hope to get a new design of napkin ring going sometime.

Do you have anything planned for Memorial Day weekend? I am working today and am teaching an Art Clay Silver class this afternoon. We are open on Memorial Day Monday, as we have been for the last 20 years.

If you are looking for something to do in the SC upstate area this weekend, The Ram Cat Alley Merchants Association in Seneca is having their Arts on the Alley festival this Sat. & Sun. in conjunction with the new 'Meet and 3' BBQ fest sponsored by the city of Seneca. They both run Sat. 10 - 8 and Sun. 11 - 5. I would have loved to do this show, but it is a busy weekend at the Mercantile so I could not break away. The show focuses on art and encourages the artisans to demo if they can. One woman weaves wonderful free form baskets in her booth, and they are usually sold before she can finish them. It is a great way to spend your weekend.

And while in Seneca, take a trip on over to Pendleton and stop by our store to see me. (We are closed Sundays, but you can leave a note...) Sometimes I wonder if anyone out there reads this at all...

P.O.P Studio Tour

Another image from my computer. I need to download some of my photos to the new/used laptop.

There is an event going on this weekend in the Pickens, Oconee, Pendleton area (P.O.P.). It is the first annual P.O.P. Studio tour.

If I remember correctly, there are over 40 artisans showing off their talents. Some are located in their studios, and some are located in places such as Pendleton Gallery & Graphics, The Arts Center in Clemson, The Blue Ridge Arts Center in Seneca as well as places in Easley, Walhalla and more.

The tour runs both Saturday 10 - 6 & Sunday 12 - 6. Please get out and see what wonderful talents abound in the area. There are jewelers, potters, painters, quilters and woodworkers. You will see necklaces, vases, sculptures, wall hangings and more. The artisans will be demonstrating their talents as well as having some of their work available for sale.

For more information, please call the Blue Ridge Arts Center at 864-882-2722 or visit them at www.blueridgeartscenter.com