Barn Sale, pics from the Iredell show, and such

Saturday was the Barn Sale, held out at McAlpine Business Park on Monroe Rd. This was the first time in 2 years that I was able to participate in this show because I've been out of town the past 3 shows: twice missed in the spring for being in Minnesota helping some potter friends for their show and once missed for being in Berlin for a Christian artist conference (it was incredible and traveling to mainland Europe for the first time was quite an experience!). So, needless to say, it was good to be back! The show has a very laid-back setting and it's often a place where I see friends that I haven't seen for a while.
Here's a picture of my booth as I'm just about to finish setting up in the morning. It was a little chilly, but I happily welcome this fall weather. The best part of the show was having fun neighbors- all the the potters in our circle of eight group were together and I was next to Jen Mecca and Barbara Chadwick- both whom make great work. It's always great to be in good company (of work and people!). At the end of the day Brian and my good friend Carrie came to help me load up the car- I'm so thankful to have people that care for me well!

My friend Julie (who's also a potter and you'll see her later in this post....) took some pictures at my show that opened a month ago at Iredell County Museums in Statesville. Here are a few pieces from that show:

Ron and I intently discussing the meaning of life....

Hi Mom! (check out those pink pants!)

Some of my industrial "post-modern fine china"

A detail shot...

One of my pieces from the "Soon?" series


As the "such" part of this post, earlier today I received an email with links to an online photo album from my crazy friend Julie (with her dog formerly known as Sagovia, but now known as Miss Princess):
Julie's sister had a costume birthday party for their dogs; while I wasn't at the party, I can still appreciate the goofy hilarity of dressing animals up. Here's some more:
He looks thrilled to be a hot dog.

A first

On Saturday, my friends Carrie and Mike, my husband Brian and I went to a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina for Barack Obama. This was the first time I've actively participated in anything political (besides voting, or student council- but does that count?), and man, was it exciting! We went early to volunteer as crowd control- I'm such a beefcake that no one questioned me when I told them where they needed to sit or stand (yeah, right) and we also passed out signs. The place was full of people and felt electric by the time Obama came out and I was really impressed by the diversity of the crowd: a mixture of races, socio-economic status and age. I was really inspired by his message of hope for our country- I believe in him. One of my favorite quotes was that we need to have "pride in work, not pride in wealth."

While I don't consider myself an overtly political person, it felt good to be a part of something. I must admit that I was apprehensive to write anything political, because it seems to go a little against the grain of a lighthearted pottery blog, but heck, why not?

Mmmmm...cake

So I have an (un?)healthy obsession with Funfetti cake (the Pillsbury, from a box, cake of sugary goodness). I like to bake it for friends and family for celebrations- sometimes I'll even make up things to celebrate just for the sugar fix. This love of festive sweetness has inspired these new plates.

I really enjoy making items for a specific purpose (I make some rectangular bowls that are intended specifically for asparagus). I had some for sale a couple weeks ago at our Circle of Eight sale, and just had to make more. These colors are very different for me, as I usually use darker, earth tones on my work. The brightness is very appealing to me and change can be good, but I'm finding it hard to decide if I want to integrate these colors into my other work. We'll see.

This one was my favorite; and since today's (Sunday) my 31st birthday, I'm going to keep it (I hardly ever hold onto my own work) and have some cake!

These red ones are pretty crazy! The best part about these pieces are that my sister-in-law, Tammy, helped me make them. She's a rock star!