Tag Archives: Art

Wired and Ready

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Our old electric kiln is ready to go! Yesterday we fired the last bisque in the gas kiln. We actually have two electric kilns, the one to the right needs a little work. Jeff will do the repairs at some point and we can fire back to back if need be. While the electrician was here we had some more outlets put in the basement. We were using a couple of extension cords down there, one was to run the dehumidifier, and that made us nervous. Little by little this old house will be brought up to the 21st century!

These little salt and pepper pigs came out of the last firing. They are rather tedious to put together. Smaller isn’t always easier.

Last week I was assembling a few more and I ended up with an odd number of bodies, so I decided to have some fun with the oddball…

I turned him into a bull! He has larger holes on his back and he will make a great red pepper flake or Parmesan cheese shaker. Isn’t he the cutest thing?

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We Have The Power…

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In between the two hurricanes, Duke Energy came out to our house and installed a transformer at the top of our driveway. The new transformer also meant replacing the utility pole. We have been working on getting this done since August. This house has had a lot weird electrical issues since we bought it in 2015. The lights would dim whenever the heat pump came on and the LED track lighting in the kitchen would barely glow if the toaster oven was running. Turn the microwave on at the same time and the microwave turntable slowed to a crawl and nothing heated up. If I was cooking dinner at night, toaster oven on, lights on, AC running, and Jeff was still working in the studio… his wheel would slow to a crawl!  Our electrician couldn’t find anything wrong in the house so we finally called Duke. They sent an engineer out to assess the situation and he determined that the transformer at the end of our long driveway was too far from the house and undersized for the amount of electricity that today’s homes require. The fix was putting in this new transformer.

The good news is that it appears to have fixed the problem. Even better news is that we are now having our electrician come this week to wire our electric kiln!

For the last three years we have been firing to bisque in the gas kiln. First we ran out of money to have the electric kiln wired. Second, after living here a bit, we realized we may not have enough power to run the electric kiln… unless we turned everything off in the whole house. While there is nothing wrong with firing the bisque in the gas kiln, it is more work to load. Then there is the time factor. We can be firing a bisque while the gas kiln is firing. Glaze the pots and have them ready for back to back glaze firings. When there are orders to fill it is much more efficient. Lately it seems we are struggling to get things out on time. Fingers crossed that it all works out!

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Global Clay Day at the NC Pottery Center

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Jeff will be participating in “Global Clay Day” at the North Carolina Pottery Center this Saturday, October, 20, 2018.  He will demonstrate throwing pots in his Korean style kick wheel as well the mishima inlay techniques. Jeff loves to give demos. It brings out the performer in him!

There will be four other potters also giving demonstrations, ranging from raku firing, sculpture, and carving techniques. The event is from 10 am to 4 pm, and there is no admission fee. The pottery center is located just around the corner from our home and studio…

North Carolina Pottery Center
233 East Avenue
Seagrove, NC

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Exhibition at Sand Hills Community College

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There was a bright spot in our life last week! Jeff and I were invited to participate in an exhibition at Sandhills Community College in Southern Pines, NC. Sandhills is Jeff’s alma mater and it was exciting for him to go back and see how the college has grown and changed since the late 70’s.

Our work is being show along with large scale paintings by Bucky Benson. The show is in the Hastings Gallery, located in the Boyd Library building. It’s a really nice space, and Jeff was able to set up the pedestals and pottery.

This show is the first collaborative effort between the college and the Arts Council of Moore County. The exhibition runs until November 1, 2018. Please stop in if you are in the area.

Hastings Gallery of Art, Katharine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College
3395 Airport Rd, Pinehurst, NC 28374
Free Admission

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Life struggles

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It’s been rough few weeks for us. Since my last post was about preparations for hurricane Florence, it’s only fitting that this post start with hurricane Michael. Here in Seagrove, NC we were fortunate that both storms were downgraded by the time they reached us. Florence brought a lot of flooding to nearby roads, but we were safe. The power was out for about twelve hours. We had rain for days.
Michael arrived yesterday morning. It was fast moving, with the worst of the storm hitting us around 3 pm. The power was out for just under 7 hours. The rain ended in the evening and we were able to cook dinner on the gas grill, by the light of a solar lamp. We grilled some shrimp and made a spicy red sauce on the side burner. We dined by candlelight in the living room. It was actually an enjoyable meal.
Over the years I have shared photos, and stories, of our beautiful cat Sophie. Shortly before we were headed to New Hampshire this summer, Sophie decided to become a picky eater. She was losing weight and strength. It was really hard to leave her. If not for our good friend Bonnie, who I knew would give her excellent care, I would have cancelled our plans.

When we returned home we went back to the vet again. An appetite stimulant helped a little but it was a struggle to buy, or cook food that she would eat. She was losing ground every week. On October 2nd we knew it was time to say good bye to our sweet girl. She was 17 years old and lived a good long life. I miss her so much.

Needless to say between hurricane Florence and Sophie’s decline, our work schedule suffered. We had to scramble to recover and I will admit that there were some overwhelming days. Our largest order was out of the kiln in the nick of time. We were unloading and sanding pots on Saturday morning right up until the scheduled pick up.

The dinnerware set came out great. Both buyers and potters were very happy! This is Jeff’s pattern so he threw all the pieces. My contribution was bisque kiln prep, a little glazing, and sanding bottoms. He actually trimmed the plates during hurricane Florence, when we had no electricity. He moved his Japanese kick wheel to the full length glass door in the studio/gallery for more light. Sometimes you have to improvise!
With the passing of this latest storm, I am hoping to be out of my funk and do a little more than just the necessities. Check back in a few days to see how that’s going.

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Be Prepared

We are 100+ miles from the coast but we are still expecting hurricane Florence to have a significant impact on the Seagrove, NC area. The brunt of the storm will probably hit us overnight. The wind gusts have arrived ahead of the rain. A large tree has already fallen in my neighbors yard.

Jeff and I spent the last couple of days securing our yard and kiln shed. We are really glad that we put up additional side walls on the shed this summer. The kiln will be much more protected now.

Jeff trimmed limbs from trees. Yesterday we brought all the patio furniture and plants into the studio. We have all of our pitchers and containers filled with water. We have town water and typically don’t lose it when the power goes out, but who wants to chance it?

Our preparations are complete and today we will get back to work in the studio, as long as we have power. I have some piggy banks to assemble and will be able to work on them sans-power… As long as it’s not too dark!
If you are in the path of the storm, be smart and stay safe.

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Slowly moving forward…

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The last two days have been spent glazing. I have quite a few orders for “Bull” piggy banks so while I was at it I turned a couple of the larger banks into bulls as well. I think I finally have the “Bull” assembly down and the making is going a little quicker.

We are a few days behind in our firing schedule. I can blame some it on the heat. It takes longer than usual to stand outside, sand pots, and load, when the temps are in the 90’s and the air is tropical. Add an elderly, sick cat to the mix and some days it felt like I was crawling along. Sophie cat is hanging on but some days she is just pitiful. I am not sure how much longer she will be with us. Last night, after a “bottom half” bath and some new meds, she seemed to have rallied a little. At 17 years of age, she has lived a good long life.
We love her dearly.

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Something sort of new…

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The personalized piggy banks sell so well that I decided to start offering personalized mugs in my Etsy shop. The first prototype was a gift for my great niece.  I delivered it to her when we visited New Hampshire last month.

Last month… wow. Where did August go? I can’t believe it’s September already. I am looking forward to some cooler and less humid weather. I am hoping it arrives soon. There is nothing like windows open and fresh air in the house. Especially for sleeping at night.

Back to the mugs. I will offer these in a few more glaze combinations and probably with some other stamps. I will be adding more to the Etsy shop in the coming weeks.

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend, even if you have to labor.

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Re-Cap of the Fair

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I have blogged about the fun adventures, and misadventures that we had on our trip to New England, but I haven’t said much about our time at the League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair.

Overall it was a good event. Our sales were a little ahead of last year. Jeff and I both had family and friends visit us at the fair. They were people that we would not have been able to connect with if it wasn’t for them coming to the show.

One of my favorite visitors was my great nephew Weston, who also came along with his mother, my brother’s oldest daughter Brooke. He is a very active and expressive 1 1/2 year old! Our booth was across from the upper lodge of the ski area and we were able to have lunch together on the patio.

Jeff and I always laugh that to many in NH, hamburgers and hot dogs are called barbecue. They did at least have a brisket sandwich on the menu. The food is actually quite good. We typically bring our own lunch everyday and treat ourselves to either one breakfast or lunch during our time there.

Getting to the show this year was a struggle. We had so much going on at home that we hated to leave. The day before we left we unloaded a kiln and had to pack and ship most of it’s contents. We also knew that leaving was going to put us a little behind in production for the next round of orders that are due at the beginning of September.

Then there was the garden. Jeff worked so hard all Spring and Summer, and we knew that a lot of the veggies would  be ripe for picking while we were gone.

All of these things, along with some changes to the show and management, helped us make the decision that we are definitely not doing the show next year. We need a break… and it might be permanent. We actually sold our booth rug to another booth holder that was moving into the show on the night we were packing up! There had been a lot of rain and their space was muddy and they didn’t have a rug. Problem solved… they were happy and we didn’t have to pack it up.

This year the attendance at the fair was down most every day. Could it be because the gate fee was increased to $15? I think it definitely had an affect. At $15 you don’t even get to come for two days. A second day is an additional $5. This is a big show and it really takes two days if you want to see and do everything. There also were some “guest” craftsmen that were not juried members. That totally blew my mind since I lost my juried member status when we moved. Jeff was grandfathered in. I am no longer eligible to participate as a booth holder. We take Jeff’s work to the show. I am allowed to help with a percentage of it’s creation. There were also rumors that the booth fees will increase next year. Our booth fee is around $800 for four days. A nine day booth, I believe is close to $1600. This is for a 10′ space. Corners and large booths are more.

It’s a little scary to stop doing a show that has become part of your life for so many years. We have had good sales the last three years, but many years of poor to mediocre sales as well. I guess I would rather go out on a high note. Next year we will take some time, perhaps in the Fall, and take a road trip to visit our family and friends… and we won’t have to pull a trailer, YAY!

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