Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...(that's a pleasant sigh, not a scream)

It's been a while since I've had some uninterrupted time in the studio, and I was blessed just that yesterday. Brian has Mondays off now due to his new position at Habitat, so he agreed to hang out with Guthrie to give me some time to work. It felt so good to get my hands on some clay. I'm working on filling a gallery order of mostly handbuilt pieces and thus decided to tackle making some wall pieces. Here are a few in process. Below are nine tiles, halfway finished. I start with thinly-stretched slabs, cut and stamp them, and then pinch together the seams.Here's one receiving its border, which is pinched on as well.The clay is then rolled/folded to create a frame (this is the backside, by the way).A slab with 2 holes, in which to later thread wire, is attached.Here are the finished tiles. They are about 7"x 7" wet, and end up around 5 1/2" square once they're fired.

100th post/studio renovation

Hooray for post #100! I don't know what that means, but yea.

Aside from demo pots from my handbuilding classes at Clayworks, I haven't been making anything for the past couple of weeks. Brian and I (well, mostly Brian) have been renovating the studio: we tore out a closet and moved my wheel and wareboard shelves over into that area, and then Brian built a big section of permanent shelves in the corner where the wheel used to be. This will make the space way more efficient and give me more storage for works in progress. I'm really excited about getting back in there to create: the forced "vacation" has been wearing on me and I've felt a little down recently as a result. It goes to show that we who are made to create, must.

The man himself: Brian stands in his renovation glory:

The new shelves are so nice that I think I'll just sleep out here tonight....clay makes a great pillow.

Guthrie has something to say!

Guthrie is very concerned about the state of the US these days, so he recently joined the National Baby Union (not to be confused with the Union of Babies in America) which is endorsing the Obama/Biden ticket this fall. So, if you're for babies, you need to check out a great fundraiser that some potter friends and colleagues are promoting: Obamaware!

Circle show at Lark and Key

Tonight was the opening of our Circle of Eight show at Lark and Key. It was a beautiful evening on a gallery crawl Friday, so many people were out and about. Julie and Sandy (the co-owner of Lark and Key) did a great job setting up the show- our pots were displayed very nicely.

We were honored to have Diana Fayt as our guest artist for this show. I have admired her pots for some time and it was really exciting to see a small collection of them at the show. The surfaces she creates are very rich; it's easy to spend quite some time exploring each pot.

Here are some of my pots...plus Julie's little tumblers in front Ron and Jen's work....
Ron's platter and work by Adrienne... Pots by Julie, Jen and Greg...
Lark and Key carries my work typically, so here's some of the other work I have there on display...

A real treat for the night was having Guthrie at the opening. He stole the show, of course, and welcomed me to the gallery by spitting up all over me about 3 or 4 times. Thanks little man! He was super cute in his brown (which somehow we were all wearing, so he fit right in). Here's Sarah and Ron Philbeck getting their Guthrie fix! Such naturals!

New office?

Since becoming a new mom, my life has begun to adapt to many changes. Example: last week I had an almost hour-long phone meeting about the public art piece I have on the horizon and I needed access to a computer while also having Guthrie entertained close-by.So, Guthrie and I created a makeshift office in my bedroom complete with computer, coffee (my little french press on the table next to the bed), and paper and pen. Guthrie was such a great little guy- he played quietly next to me the entire time, happily entertained by his little jungle toy thing. It was hilarious as there was some playful background noise to my conversation: when he would hit the little ball held by the tiger, kid music played.
Our little guy just turned three months old today and he continues to delight and amaze us.
What a sweet and precious little boy.

Great sale

Yesterday was one of those ridiculously beautiful days that makes me so thankful to live in North Carolina. We had the perfect Carolina blue sky as a cover for our Circle of Eight sale, and just enough nip in the air to warrant jeans and a light long sleeve shirt. Oh, beautiful fall in Charlotte!

Our sale went really well- there was a good turnout of friends that have become customers and customers who have become friends. We tried a new setup this time, inspired by the displays used at Bob Briscoe's for their big St. Croix pottery tour in Minnesota. Ron got a hold of a bunch of hollow core doors which we propped up on saw horses and with bricks. Then each of us picked our own drapery and added small shelves to display our pots. There was a good response to this new display as many customers said that they felt that it looked more open and inviting, and more pots could be viewed.

Guthrie was a real trooper and his usual charming self. Of course he was a bit of a star at times and smiled on cue (when he wasn't sleeping, but he was really cute then too!).

I thought I had gotten pictures of everyone's display, but while viewing my pictures last night, I realized that I obviously had been distracted because there are only images of Ron, Jen's, and my booth on the camera. Space brain.

Here's one of the new vase forms I've been working on recently.
I feel as though I turned over a new leaf on this sale: typically I work up to the last minute producing work for a show and often am slightly anxious about having "enough work." Being a new mom has obviously reduced the time I have available to work in the studio, so I was able to make an actual realistic list of pots to make, complete them (early!) and just plain feel ok with what I had available. I always make way too many pots anyway!

Pots to be glazed

Since the Circle sale coming up quickly (next Saturday), I've been trying to capture every moment that Guthrie's napping by glazing in the studio. It's felt more and more ok to be out there with the monitor, and I can get inside quickly if I need to. Things are chugging along slowly, but I have already fired one full kiln load, and think I'll have another ready by this evening or tomorrow. That leaves only one more bisque and one more glaze. Hmmmm, that's 4 days worth of firings and 7 days until the sale so it should work...(hopefully I didn't just jinx myself!)

Tagging business

I was "tagged" by Ron about a week ago, and felt that it was about time for me to play along. I'm supposed to list the rules and then my random facts about me. Here goes:

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post rules

3. Write 6 random things about yourself

4. Tag 6 others and link to them.

5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

My 6 random facts:

1. My childhood nickname in my family (mostly to my mom) was Bubblicious. My mom even wrote and sung a song about it.

2. I played french horn for 10 years.

3. I married my high school sweetheart who also happened to be homecoming king. I was not the queen.

4. Even though very few things scare me, ceramic garden gnomes and face jugs really freak me out. 

5. I played basketball and ran cross country in college.

6. My all-time favorite movie is "A Christmas Story." (you'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out!)

Many people have already been tagged. I'll figure out who that's going to be for me soon. 

Bringing up a potter?

I just caught Brian reading Studio Potter to Guthrie while I was doing dishes. Do we have a future potter in our midst? You pay attention mister!

New booty

...that is, new treasure for us from the Mint Museum pottery sale this past Saturday in Charlotte. No hurricane in sight- Saturday was a beautiful day to browse and buy some amazing work. It was also fun to visit with potter friends- although I was very disappointed with myself. I get goofily shy sometimes and had wanted to introduce myself to Michael Kline and didn't, which is downright silly because everyone says he's super friendly. So Michael, if you actually read this- I'll be sure not to be shy the next time I'm around!

Anyway, I brought home some new sweeties that Brian and I both have already enjoyed using. Here are a cup and bowl made by Ronan Peterson. The surfaces are very textural and rich and the cup fits my hand perfectly. We had the pleasure of Ronan's company this weekend before the show- he stayed with us on Friday and we had a great time going to dinner and an opening, and topping the evening off with some good conversation about pots, kids and life in general. Ronan got his "baby" fix by hanging with Guthrie some since he was missing his little son Nolan. I also purchased these yummy pots from Shoko Teruyama who is a resident artist at Penland. I've wanted some of her work for some time now, and am so pleased to now have a plate and teabowl. Her drawings are so intimate and striking.