All posts by JB-admin

Deadlines

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Thursday and Friday we loaded the kiln to fire a bisque. Lots of things weren’t dry so we fired very slowly. Jeff  snoozed on the sofa overnight, setting his alarm to keep checking the kiln. As soon as it’s cool we will glaze and load her up again. We have orders to ship next Friday.
 Jeff created two more custom skull mugs. These are a little more cartoon-like than the last. The buyer sent photos of what they had in mind. I think this one is pretty cool!
This week we are back to piggy bank production. Since the first of December, I have take thirteen new orders. I always get a stressed when the deadline is Christmas delivery. I don’t want to be the person that doesn’t deliver a gift on time!

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A Week of Celebrations

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The Celebration of Seagrove Potters show is behind us and I am happy to say was a very successful weekend. It was our best show to date with good sales in our gallery, and online as well. The pot in the photograph is a collaboration piece that Jeff and I donated to the live auction that takes place during the gala preview party. We were happy that the winning bid was a little more than what we valued the piece at. It’s always disappointing if donations are under bid. For that reason, we are selective as to who we donate to.

When the show was over we had just a few days to unpack, clean the house, and grocery shop for the next celebration…

Thanksgiving! We were the hosts this year and we had quite a gang. There were eighteen of us at the dinner table… which had to stretch from the dining room, into the living room!
We even had a few kids to enjoy for the day. They had to humor me with the obligatory tire swing photos. Jeff and I are thankful to have found a home that is a central meeting point for the family as well as being large enough to handle a crowd. It was lots of fun and by 6:00 pm we were exhausted. 
I hope that all of my readers enjoyed the day as much as we did.

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Moving Forward… Sometimes at a Snails Pace

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I think this is the longest I  have been away from the blog since my mother died two years ago. No one died this time, but it’s been a rough few weeks. Our Sophie cat has been sick again, Jeff cracked a tooth and is in the process of getting a crown ($$$$$!), and my Dad was hospitalized for a couple of days because he has been having mini-strokes. 
And did I mention there was an election squeezed in between all this? But I don’t even want to get into that debacle.
The cat seems to be recovering, she ate a piece of a dieffenbachia plant which is poisonous and now out of the house (more vet bills $$$), Jeff’s tooth is feeling better, and as for Dad… we are starting to look at assisted living options. 
On a brighter note, it’s Celebration of Seagrove Potters weekend! We have a nice big directional sign in our yard and we managed to make new pots for the show. There is a kiln cooling that will be unloaded on Friday afternoon, just in time for the gala reception in the evening. The show runs from November 18-20, 2016. I will be at the show, Jeff will keep our gallery open on the home front. 
I have my “positive attitude” hat on and it’s looking to be a great weekend.

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Decorating a Big Pig

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The holiday orders for piggy banks are starting to roll in. I was excited to get an order for two large piggy banks. These will be about 9″ long and 7 1/2″ tall when they are finished.

 As soon as the piggy bank is assembled, I stamp the name on the side. I have a few sets of stamps, ranging from a snap together set made for clay, to a variety of rubber stamps in different fonts and sizes. If the pig is going to get a carved design, I cover him loosely with plastic and let the ears stiffen a little overnight.

The next morning I can apply white slip to the body and ears. I really like using these mop type of brushes with bamboo handles. They are the same brushes that we use to apply raku glazes. 
If it’s not too humid, the pigs are ready to carve by afternoon. I usually clean up the name a bit with my carving tool. Especially if the any thick areas of slip filled in the impression.

Since creating the first leaf and vine design this fall, I have taken orders for three more pigs with it. It’s always fun to have something new to work on.

And lastly I have a Sophie cat update. She is doing much better. Practically back to her old self. I tried to take her photo and she ran away. If you look closely you can see she is camouflaging herself against the dining room table. She hates cameras. Thankfully she has been easy to pill and yesterday she was back to her normal eating schedule. Jeff and I are very relieved. A big thank you to all my readers for your kind words, helpful suggestions, and support.

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Sophie

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My little Sophie cat had a rough weekend. Lets just say we all had a rough weekend! Shortly after Jeff snapped this photo of her in her basket, she stopped eating. She wouldn’t sit with us, or play. Her weekend was spent under a bed or laying down in a corner. There was other grossness but I won’t share here! By Sunday morning I was worried she would get dehydrated. Jeff and I fed her a little chicken baby food with a syringe. She wasn’t happy about it, but did seem to perk up a little afterwards. Monday morning, she ate a little baby food on her own. 
We had been using the old timer vet here in town. He was close, inexpensive, Sophie was healthy and only needed vaccines. After her routine visit in February, I told Jeff I didn’t want to take her there if she was ever sick. The old doc seemed confused and his lab coat was disgustingly stained with blood. The visit was a complete turn off. So now, here I was with a sick kitty and no vet. I messaged a friend in town who I knew could give me a good recommendation. Sure enough she did. I called and they were able to see her in the afternoon.
The hospital staff was wonderful! The facility was super clean. Sophie had a thorough exam and blood work. Her kidney and liver function are good… which was great news because she is 15 years old. What they did discover is that she has hyperthyroid. It didn’t solve the problem we went in for but it answered other questions Jeff and I had had over the last two years. Sophie was alway hungry and often drove us crazy up until meal time. Last winter I thought she lost weight. The old timer vet, at her annual visit, said she was fine. I started adding some canned food to her diet, but she still was crying for food an hour before meals. 
We came home not sure what caused her illness, perhaps it’s a virus. She had an injection to help with nausea and some pills to take at home… along with the new thyroid med. If we see no improvement, back for more (expensive) tests. Lo and behold when she climbed out of her crate at home, she went straight for her bowl and cried for food… and she ate canned cat food! This morning she even ate some dry food along with the canned. 
Jeff and I are so relieved that she is feeling better, and that we have found a vet we are happy with. Maybe today I can actually be productive. 
I hope your Halloween was a good one. I had a jack o’ lantern, I had candy… I had no trick or treaters.
Jeff and I ate the candy.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Fall Splendor

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We are having fabulous fall weather here in Seagrove, NC. Cool nights with warm days in the low 70’s. Perfect temperatures for working and sleeping. Yesterday the door came down from the kiln. We took a few pots out that were cool enough to handle. Today we will unload the rest. Jeff and I did a couple of collaborative pots that came out really awesome. One is the ginkgo vase in the photo above. You’ll also notice that my pink geraniums with the trailing white and blue flowers is looking great… better than it did all summer! And it wouldn’t be fall without mums.

There were lots of salt pigs in this firing. Lately they have been outselling the piggy banks on Etsy. I have a few extra in this firing so that I can have some in stock and ready to ship. Today it’s back to piggy bank assembly. I have had a break from them for a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to getting back at it.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

It’s Fixed!

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I was really frustrated when my blog list disappeared a few weeks ago. I went to the forums to figure out the issue and found that it was a widespread glitch. Blogger was supposed to be working on and would have it fixed in a few days. I gave up waiting and started building my list again. My new list didn’t look like my old list. No preview, no updates, and the links didn’t open in a new window. AARGH!

I left it alone for a week. I was too frustrated.

Yesterday I decided to take a look again. With fresh eyes. I solved my problem! I had used the wrong “gadget”. I deleted the links list, added the correct “gadget” and it’s working! I am slowly trying to recover the blog list that I built over 8+ years. If you notice your blog isn’t there, leave a link in the comments so that I can add you back in.

Jeff and I glazed pots and loaded the kiln at the beginning of the week. Yesterday was firing day.

Today is my birthday… Jeff wrote on my wall.

I am officially old enough to live in one those 55+ communities that I was selling in New Hampshire. Not quite ready for that!

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Prep Work

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A fews weeks back I posted about using my small hand held extruder to make my piggy bank parts. I prefer putting a die on the pug mill and using it to extrude parts. It’s much quicker and the lugs are a little chubbier with this die. The other night Jeff pugged clay and before he wrapped the pug mill up for the night, we made the piggy parts.
LOTS of piggy parts.
This is the smaller of the two pug mills in the studio. The large one is not de-airing and is still disassembled from the cleaning I gave it before the move to 505 E Main. Once we get our basement organized, I will put that one back into use. I actually don’t mind that it’s not de-airing. It’s a work horse with a large hopper and I can process more clay in a shorter amount of time.
The holidays are right around the corner and I will be making many, many piggy banks. I keep the extrusions wrapped in plastic they will keep for quite a long time. Occasionally they may need a misting of water. After a week of making, trimming, and carving bowls, I am ready to switch to piggy bank assembly… so bring on the pig orders!

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

American Craft Week Continues – Saturday, October 15, 2016

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Wood Fired Teapot by Jeff Brown
The Seagrove Potters have been celebrating American Craft Week, which is actually the first two weeks in October. This is the last weekend of events and with good weather predicted, it should be a great time to get out and explore Seagrove. Lot’s of studios are offering demonstrations and workshops. We will be serving Korean, Japanese, and Chinese teas throughout the day. Guests will experience the joy of serving and drinking tea from handmade wares. Jeff has a nice selection of Asian inspired teapots and tea bowls available for purchase.

There are also some new cheese stones in the gallery.

And of course there are some nice pots with the ginkgo leaves.

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Pigs and Plants

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My new piggy bank design came out great!

I am excited to offer a new option. It also keeps the fun in the making when you can mix things up a little. This design will look nice whether it’s personalized or not.

Outside the pottery, I was totally surprised that one of our yucca plants bloomed this week!

We had yucca’s at the log cabin that never bloomed. This plant is one of a group at the end of our driveway. Jeff cleared the area of brush awhile back, maybe that helped. I also read that they need a special type of moth to pollinate them. There were lots of caterpillars and moths this year, perhaps we had just the right kind. It would be sweet if all of them would bloom.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com