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.

Dedication

A couple of Saturdays ago Guthrie and I attended the dedication of this sculpture on the bridge along Central Ave. over Briar Creek in Charlotte. It's a beautiful metal structure that is inspired by the greenery and water of the creek and was designed with the help of the neighborhood's residents. This work marks the beginning of an area on which the Arts and Science Council here in Charlotte is going to focus new public art in an effort to elevate the area's image.


Artist Jim Gallucci addressing the crowd about his sculpture:

Appreciative residents listen to Jim and others speak about the artwork.
Very soon Ron and I will begin work on the trash receptacle tile project that will be completed this spring. I'm really excited to be a part of a project that will bring color and beauty to an area that is in need of such. Here's a reminder of the final prototype:

Tidbits

I've been able to get in the studio in small bits of time in the past couple of weeks- ususally in short stints of 1 to 2 hours at a time. The Circle of Eight has our fall sale here in four weeks, so I'm really trying to get enough work done to have decent representation at that show. It's funny, though, rather than making many of the forms of which I'm very familiar, I'm finding myself wanting to try to make new pieces (and doing just that). It's not that this is a completely bad idea, but I'm definitely not at my most efficient self while experimenting, and not sure if this is the best time.
Here are a few new smaller pitchers I was working on. Looking at this photo, the 2nd and fourth seem the most successful. That handle on the 3rd pitcher- ugh, gotta go (it's probably too late to add a new one, I think they're dry by now).

Here are a few new simple vase forms and some wide bowls. Once again, I'm still working on resolving these and have several more of the bowls under plastic, ready to decorate.

These are some funky vase forms half done. I need to do some sketching to figure out what I'm going to do with the top. It may end up completely closed with small holes or have an additional top. Who knows? I'll try to remember to post a picture of these when finished.

Slowly getting back

Last Saturday I had a little chunk of time in the studio (about and hour and a half) to try to get into the swing of things. It felt good to get back in there, but I didn't spend a whole lot of time creating yet. Mostly, the studio got tidied up and I killed (ok, admittedly I trapped and Brian killed) the biggest cockroach I've ever seen. I did get a couple of serving bowls started and hope to finish them today. The hardest part for me right now is not getting ahead of myself- meaning, I don't want to get over-motivated and start all sorts of pieces, only to have them dry too quickly because I can't get in there as often and as long as before.

We're having our 3rd annual Circle of Eight fall sale here in September, so that'll give me a deadline toward which to work. Yesterday Ron and I worked on the postcard and press release for the sale. It was good to work together to come up with what hopefully turned out to be a good design. The group is really trying to step up our exposure this time around, which is why we decided to do a press release. Maybe we'll get a little mention in a couple of publications around town.