Show Time!

Tomorrow is the beginning of my first show of the year...
Since my last post, I have found the cone 6 stoneware slip to cast some pieces. It arrived on Monday. Yes, this most recently past Monday! I cast Monday night and Tuesday morning. Bisque fired Wednesday morning and sanded and glazed Wednesday night. The pieces are under a fan all day today (Thursday) and will go into the glaze firing tonight for the show that starts tomorrow! WHEW!
No wonder I woke with a migraine at 4 AM today! Never fear, that pain is gone, thanks to Excedrin. But I am still in that migraine fog that screws with my ability to connect thoughts. And that also affects my typing, the number of times I have to correct weird spelling!
I WILL take photos of the new glazes and new clay pieces at the show. I WILL post them this weekend!
The show is at the Clemson Ramada Inn. The occasion is the Electric City Shag Club's annual Electric Storm. This is a big weekend-long dance party. The proceeds go to charity. For those of you who do not know, Shag is the state dance of SC. It is fun to watch and is danced mainly to beach music. I have seen people dance the Shag to other types of music as well. No, I have not attempted to dance it myself.
The craft show is in the lobby of the motel and is free and open to the public. Michael Craig Designs will be there with his beautiful jewelry and I hear that Tag Team Designs will be there with their diamond plate products as well. There are other vendors as well, but I do not know their names.
I have not forgotten... I WILL take AND post photos this weekend!

A New Year & New Glazes

Last week I went with a friend to Asheville.

First, we took in the Gem & Mineral Wholesale show at the Civic Center. I love going to those shows... the beads and jems and silver and all are so beautiful.

Then, we went to Highwater Clay, the 'local' clay supplier. I was on a mission to find some additional colors of glazes to use. And, as with anything photographed, it is difficult to tell what they really look like from a catalog or web site. And, some of the glazes I already have look so different than their photos. I also wanted to ask about a Cone 6 stoneware casting slip that looks like it has been reduction fired, although I fire in oxidation.

I was able to find 3 new glazes, Crimson, Texture Chocolate and Ironstone. The slip was a no-go. Although the gentleman behind the counter gave me some suggestions for making my own.I have not taken any good photos of the new glazes yet. The Ironstone & Texture Chocolate may be hard to distinguish in photos anyway. I also discovered, in the glaze firing of the new glazes that my blue fires to a different color in the new kiln. A color people like. Some like it better than the blue fired in the other kiln.

Well, off to cast some more mugs and all...

I've got a show in a few weeks.

Not an end but a beginning

With 2008 coming to an end, I look forward to a wonderful new year of creating and sharing.

I have spoken about the creative side of my family members, and I have not finished all of that... next year...

I want to take a few minutes to mention someone who helped nurture the creative side of my siblings and myself. He was our high school art teacher, Mr. Greene. A potter by trade (and a really great one at that!), he made a point of teaching a wide variety of things to us. We learned photography, pen & ink, charcoal, acrylics, oils, watecolors, pencil drawing, still life, figure drawing, sculpture, sterling silver jewelry, macrame, weaving, linoleum block printing, zinc plate etching, wheel thrown pottery, sculpture, slab building, photo silk screen, book binding, bronze stenciling (cutting our own stencils), calligraphy, architectural drawing and more. He paid for some supplies from his own pocket when the school budget was slim, just so we could still have that experience.

Although we disliked the deadlines of sketchbooks, we did understand their value and we all look back at our days in the art room with gratititude and respect for what one man did to try to expose us to so many aspects of creativity.

In a way, he is responsible for the passion my sister Terri and I have for sharing creativity with our students.

And as a note at the end of this eventful year, I again want to thank those in my life who encourage me and give me reasons to create. I want to thank those who love me and care about me. I want to thank my friends and customers. But most of all, I want to wish everyone a wonderful 2009.

Merry Christmas

We have had our Christmas Eve outing to the children's service at church. DragonBen was a shepherd in the recreation of the Christmas story. We came home and had pizza. Now it is time to get all snuggled in our beds and wait for Christmas day.

We are spending the day at my sister's house for her tradition of fondue. Friday, my younger brother is coming with his wife and son for a few days.

I have always loved seeing the children enjoy the festivities. I personnaly love the lights. The hustle and bustle and all that is fine, but my favorite way to spend my time is to just sit alone in the room with just the tree lights on and maybe Christmas music playing. I could sit there for hours just looking at the lights.

May you all have a wonderful Christmas.

I want to thank all of my friends for the gift of their friendship this past year, I hope that I am as good a friend to you as you all have been to me.

A belated Happy Thanksgiving

With all of the prep for the show and sales, I have not had the energy to sit and post.

I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday. What I like most about Thanksgiving is that it is a rather low-key holiday. Yes, there is all of the food prep and eating, and dessert, but all in all, it is a more relaxed holiday that most.

Even when we were young and traveled over 300 miles to our grandmother's house (Nana), the actual day was relaxed. That is because in our family, everyone has always helped in the preparations. And with the Macy's parade on the TV, and then football of every shape and form, you just get to sit and relax and let the food digest. That is, after the dishes are cleared and washed.

Thank you to all in the family that contributed yesterday, whether it was a phone call from afar or helping with the gathering here.

I am thankful for my health, my family, and my network of friends. With that, I can continue to create, which makes me feel fulfilled. There is an empty space in me when I cannot express my creativity in the ways I want to.

I am grateful to those who love me and encourage me to create and grow. Your love and support is what keeps me going.

Oh, I also had a very nice Birthday yesterday as well.

Coffee Anyone?

Here is the first successfully poured coffee pot! (It now has been trimmed, glazed & fired successfully.)

It was a very emotional event since I have not been able to make them for 12 years.

I unloaded two of them from the kiln about 7:15 yesterday morning and brought them to the Mistletoe Market at the Museum. I have not sold them (yet), but there has been a great amount of positive reaction to them. The show continues today. There was a wonderful turn out last night, despite the rain. Hopefully today will be the same. The damp weather may drive some of the Clemson Homecoming crowd out to shop instead of sitting in the stadium.

I've also included a photo of my booth at the show. I tweaked it a bit after the photo, and I turned on the lamp, but it gives you a bit of an idea.

I am posting this at 6-something this morning because I have to be back at the show by 8 (a 20 minute drive) and if I wasn't doing something to keep me awake, I might fall back asleep and over sleep.

PS - The show went great, although nobody bought the coffee pot. I do have a couple of people interested anyway. But I will start making more tomorrow.

Holiday Show & Sale

The Arts Center in Clemson has started their 2nd Annual Holiday Show and Sale. I have some of my pottery there. I will have more later. The Show & Sale runs through December. I think Cheryl said there are 40 artisans represented.
There is pottery of several styles, jewelry, glass, multi-media, paintings, photography, textiles and more...