November where did you go? There is always so much to pack into what feels like a very short month. It began with making and firing pots for orders and trying to squeeze in some new work for the Celebration of Seagrove Potters show. Some how we managed to pull it off.
We make this show as simple as possible to set up and tear down. Some years ago we settled on doing a 10×10 booth and we can set it up the same way each year. After the gala preview party on Friday night, we rushed home and unloaded the kiln so that we could fill in some empty spaces in the booth. The ever important cheese stones were in that firing. I always sell them all but one. It seems no one wants the last one. It was the same selling real estate in a new development. The last house was the hardest to sell. I guess there is a stigma attached to being the last.
The show went well. We came home happy even though we were down some from last year. I think attendance was down overall but I haven’t heard any official word.
When the show is over there is no rest. We unpack and reorganize our gallery space, then go into full blown Thanksgiving mode. I was up early the day before the holiday and noticed all the great color in the trees behind our old shed. I decided I needed to capture the moment before the cooking and cleaning began. Our holiday was quite nice, we were a small group of eight this year. A much more manageable number for a sit down dinner, when your dining room and table is small. I roasted the traditional turkey and we had all of the usual sides.The day was so busy that none of us took a single photo.
While we thoroughly enjoyed the abundance of turkey, Jeff and I have cut down on our meat consumption after he had a gout flare up in July. We have been eating a lot of lentils and beans. Our new love is dahl. Most recipes have all the ingredients for combating gout… lentils, turmeric, garam masala. The soup in the photo is one we make at least once a week. I modified it by adding turmeric, garam masala, and some freshly ground cardamom. I have made it with both red lentils and green. We prefer the green, they are a little “meatier.” The red lentils have a tendency to get mushy. I like the chive yogurt served on top. Jeff prefers no yogurt.
This is the original recipe that I use: Red Lentil and Vegetable Soup with Chive Yogurt
Last night I was in the local market and found myself looking at the boneless spareribs. I pondered them a bit then headed to the produce and bought spinach instead.
… and the last cheese stone sold in our gallery over the weekend! There are more cooling in the kiln today.
We unloaded the gas kiln yesterday which means that we spent a day of sanding and then packing pots to be shipped to new homes. I like to update photos in my Etsy shop, as glazes can vary by firing, some slightly… and on occasion, dramatically. The photos in my listings represent the variations that can occur with each making and glazing cycle. Yesterday was overcast, perfect for our photography set up, so I took some time and snapped a few photos prior to packing up the piggy banks. Here is a sample of the latest pigs…
The classic piggy bank glazed in nuka white is always a favorite
This is one is the larger size piggy bank. Gloss green and nuka white glaze.
I just started making this piggy bank with the blue/black dots. It’s slowly gaining in popularity
I am not sure why, but last month it felt like online sales were a little slower than October of 2017. I checked my stats on Etsy, and according to them I was ahead 3%. Not a whopping increase, but at least it wasn’t lower! Sales took off over the weekend and have remained steady. I am hoping it’s an indicator of a good holiday season.
Today there are two ware boards of pig bodies waiting for me to assemble. Hopefully I can get them to the right stage of stiffness, despite the humidity.
Remember to get out and vote today, if you haven’t already!
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?
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!
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…
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
