Jeff and I are headed to Shelby, NC this afternoon. The annual “Treasures of the Earth” pottery show and sale opens tonight. If you are in the area stop in at Cleveland County Arts Council, see the show and buy some new pots for your collection. The exhibition runs through March 5, 2015.
It’s been a super busy week for us. I have spent time traveling back and forth from the bank and attorney’s office… which means we are getting closer to purchasing a new place! It is starting to seem a little more real. Keep sending good energy our way! Tuesday afternoon we drove to NC State in Raleigh to give a presentation and demo to the Triangle Potters Guild. Jeff demonstrated some of his throwing and altering techniques, while I did some sgraffito… which is sort of like watching grass grow. The guild has a great group of members and we really enjoyed the evening.
As soon as I can take a breath I will try and catch up on reading my fellow bloggers posts. I hope everyone is having a great week.
I have posted in the past about NH potter Al Jaeger. Al lives off the grid on a beautiful piece of property in Deerfield. The NH Potters Guild community wood kiln is located on his land. At one time Al constructed these amazing, wood fired, house sculptures. They are tucked into the woods along side the very long driveway to his home and studio. Al was recently featured on the show NH Chronicle. Here is link to the segment: Al Jaeger, NH Chronicle I think you will enjoy this little peek into Al’s world.
The first wholesale order for 2015 is almost packed. This is a totally different method of packing and shipping for me. Typically piggy banks go to galleries and gift shops that place them on shelves. That being said, all the pigs get bubble wrapped and placed in a box with cardboard between each layer and off they go. These pigs are being shipped to a warehouse and will be sold online or in a catalog. Which means that each one is individually boxed before shipment. Included in the box is an artist card with the company name and a little story about Jeff and me. Each box is also barcoded.
I set up my shipping station in the kitchen because the supply room is right off of it. I can clear off the island to work on. Yesterday with all the little boxes covering the floor, Sophie cat thought it was quite an obstacle course. She finally made her way around the boxes, and to her food bowl, to remind me it was time eat.
I have an order for a couple of personalized piggy banks. It was a nice reprieve after making 30 pigs, all glazed in green and white. The most fun thing with the personalized pigs are the names that I stamp on them. You may remember the “Murray” pig from last fall, that was a fun one. This first order of the year are “Ruby” and “Talulah”. Aren’t those just great names?
Of course the big talk of the day has been the giant blizzard that is about to fall upon the northeast. I don’t even live there anymore and I am excited about it! I had a sudden need to dash off to the grocery store for bread and milk…. except I came home with bananas, a pork roast, and wine… as well as a nice IPA for Jeff. I hope that everyone in the great north weathers the storm, warm, comfy, and safe. Jeff and I will be living vicariously through your facebook posts, enjoying our libations, and not having to get out and shovel. Cheers!
I have a new book! Don’t you love the 500 series from Lark? Last night was the Carolina Claymatters Guild, post holiday meeting/party. Everyone gets a ticket upon arrival and after dinner they draw numbers for prizes. Everyone goes home with something, either a new pottery tool or book. I was so excited to receive this book.
Before heading to the party, Jeff took down the door to the kiln. It wasn’t as exciting as some firings, the majority of the shelves were filled with green and white piggy banks. This is our first wholesale order for UncommonGoods in NY. We didn’t unload them all but so far they look great. I did manage to get a few new bowls in the kiln. I have made the altered rim bowls in the past, this is the first time that I incorporated the Korean stamps into them.
Today it’s back to building piggy banks. Happy Sunday y’all.
Making a traditional Korean teabowl with the Jeff Brown twist was the mission. Learning about the Korean way of tea serving was my reward. Great food and friendly people was the bonus…
