Saturday, October 30, 2010
HAPPY HALLOWS EVE
Friday, October 29, 2010
Project Runway

Now, if you are not a Project Runway fan, you might want to move on to another blog.but I will try to make a pottery connection here. I have to tell you, this is one of my mental weaknesses and I'm not afraid to say that I AM a huge fan of Project Runway, I have watched every season and I just think Tim Gunn is the greatest. He is probably the main reason I watch it. However, last nights finale has me thinking I may not be watching anymore. The winner was a wretched, untalented bitch named Gretchen who made clothes that you probably wouldn't even find in your local Walmart. They were hideous and the clear winner, Mondo was robbed of a truly deserved victory. Were the judges seeing a different show than the rest of us?!?! I went online after the show and the blogs were blowing up with outrage. One blog had a vote this morning and MONDO got 93% of the vote.
Clearly, there is something wrong in the fashion industry. My mom gave me money for my birthday, and she loves it when I buy something to wear. Well, that was back in September and I'm still looking for something that is beautiful and affordable. Guess what, it doens't exist! My closet used to be full of well made affordable clothes from The Gap and Banana Republic, I haven't bought anything from them in years now unless it was back in the clearance section. I'm sorry, but I am NOT going to pay $80 for a pair of jeans when the racks at the local thrift stores are full of jeans for $5 and they are just fine for what I wear them for.
Contests of all sorts are so subjective. Remember that 500 Vases book? and the brilliant potters that didn't get into that? Like Jen Mecca for one, Jen's work flies off the shelves, people love her work! The people that were selected were also brilliant and did deserve the selection, but really it's just one person's opinion. Gerry used to enter the NC Press Photograhers and the National Press Photographers contests but stopped long ago because it was all based on the opinions of a select few, some of them couldn't make a good picture if they had to. So anyway, no real point here except to say that Nina Garcia and Michael Kohrs have no taste whatsoever, and Mondo is the real winner in the eyes of everyone that was watching!!!!!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Inertia
Inertia: inactiveness: a disposition to remain inactive or inert; "he had to overcome his inertia and get back to work"
That would be me.
I think if I were a reptile I would be coming out of my skin right now. I feel restless, distracted and strangely lazy. Maybe I'm molting! I have absolutely no desire to make anything or to blog. A few people have commented this week about my lack of blogging, but I just don't feel it right now. I can't explain it, have no idea what has brought this on, and it bugs me a bit, because I really have a lot I need to do. I have two commissions that I should be working on, a few more holiday sales coming up and I should be taking stuff to some of the local galleries. If I was really smart I would be working on some marketing materials or cleaning my inside work space, but instead, I go to eat breakfast with Gerry, go for coffee, go to the movie with Wesley, wander around junk stores, have lunch with friends..... if I were depending on my pottery for our sole income I would not be eating right now! I have managed to save some $$ from fall sales which is nice.
I have been trying to understand why this happens to me. I work in spurts. One reason I have never been able to work at a "real" job. Corporate America doesn't "do" spurt working. I go at it hard and then I drop, lose interest, get bored, drives me nuts!
Also, Wesley and I are right on the brink of having our lives change drastically and we are both feeling the effects I think. She will be leaving home soon for college and we are both starting to have separation anxiety. I have noticed that she will randomly reach for my hand when she is sitting next to me, or when we are walking down the sidewalk, and she stands right next to me in the kitchen shoulder to shoulder, watching and helping with meals. We are really close, and I am trying to get my head around not having her here. That weighs heavy right now. I also see the potential of where my work can go and I need to kick it in high gear, step it up and take it to the next level. Serous commitment and I don't do commitment very well. One other reason for this inertia is that I am sick of my working conditions. As you know, I have worked out on the deck all summer, I could tolerate the bugs, mosquitoes, heat, lack of space, but I can't deal with the rain, the wind and the leaves. This is just too much and I am fed up with it. My indoor space isn't any better. There is no room to spread out slabs, so I am trying to figure out what to do this winter. Do I just throw on the wheel all winter? And the last thing that has me in this disposition to remain inactive, I think, is that there is too much in my head. When I was just doing the terra sig I was more focused, but I have been doing some Raku with friends, I have an invitation to do a wood firing with a friend, another invitation to experiment with some ^6 reduction and it's just too much. After the holidays, I have really got to edit what I'm interested in. I can't do it all! I'm a Libra and I crave balance and right now there is no balance at all.
I have traded working in a community studio for work space, I have worked in my kitchen, worked in an upstairs bedroom and worked on the backyard deck. If I am going to continue to grow as an artist, my work environment is going to have to grow as well. Somehow I have GOT to build a studio!!!! I think that is the main reason for my lack of interest right now. I feel like a professional artist but my workspace does not reflect that and it's a huge distraction!!!
Lots to think about, sitting here writing about it seems to be helping, I think reading your comments will help as well. I know I'm not alone with all of this, these seem to be common threads for all of us. Would love to hear your thoughts.............
That would be me.
I think if I were a reptile I would be coming out of my skin right now. I feel restless, distracted and strangely lazy. Maybe I'm molting! I have absolutely no desire to make anything or to blog. A few people have commented this week about my lack of blogging, but I just don't feel it right now. I can't explain it, have no idea what has brought this on, and it bugs me a bit, because I really have a lot I need to do. I have two commissions that I should be working on, a few more holiday sales coming up and I should be taking stuff to some of the local galleries. If I was really smart I would be working on some marketing materials or cleaning my inside work space, but instead, I go to eat breakfast with Gerry, go for coffee, go to the movie with Wesley, wander around junk stores, have lunch with friends..... if I were depending on my pottery for our sole income I would not be eating right now! I have managed to save some $$ from fall sales which is nice.
I have been trying to understand why this happens to me. I work in spurts. One reason I have never been able to work at a "real" job. Corporate America doesn't "do" spurt working. I go at it hard and then I drop, lose interest, get bored, drives me nuts!
Also, Wesley and I are right on the brink of having our lives change drastically and we are both feeling the effects I think. She will be leaving home soon for college and we are both starting to have separation anxiety. I have noticed that she will randomly reach for my hand when she is sitting next to me, or when we are walking down the sidewalk, and she stands right next to me in the kitchen shoulder to shoulder, watching and helping with meals. We are really close, and I am trying to get my head around not having her here. That weighs heavy right now. I also see the potential of where my work can go and I need to kick it in high gear, step it up and take it to the next level. Serous commitment and I don't do commitment very well. One other reason for this inertia is that I am sick of my working conditions. As you know, I have worked out on the deck all summer, I could tolerate the bugs, mosquitoes, heat, lack of space, but I can't deal with the rain, the wind and the leaves. This is just too much and I am fed up with it. My indoor space isn't any better. There is no room to spread out slabs, so I am trying to figure out what to do this winter. Do I just throw on the wheel all winter? And the last thing that has me in this disposition to remain inactive, I think, is that there is too much in my head. When I was just doing the terra sig I was more focused, but I have been doing some Raku with friends, I have an invitation to do a wood firing with a friend, another invitation to experiment with some ^6 reduction and it's just too much. After the holidays, I have really got to edit what I'm interested in. I can't do it all! I'm a Libra and I crave balance and right now there is no balance at all.
I have traded working in a community studio for work space, I have worked in my kitchen, worked in an upstairs bedroom and worked on the backyard deck. If I am going to continue to grow as an artist, my work environment is going to have to grow as well. Somehow I have GOT to build a studio!!!! I think that is the main reason for my lack of interest right now. I feel like a professional artist but my workspace does not reflect that and it's a huge distraction!!!
Lots to think about, sitting here writing about it seems to be helping, I think reading your comments will help as well. I know I'm not alone with all of this, these seem to be common threads for all of us. Would love to hear your thoughts.............
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
51
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Thanks
Thanks to everyone that came out and bought great art yesterday at the YART sale. I really appreciate the friends that came out to see me! I had a pretty good day, we had good traffic all day, beautiful weather, great music, food and I made lots of new friends.
I'm having a bit of a blogger block, but I have some new ideas for some work and a commission from my friend Andria for a piece for her nursery for her February 2011 arrival of Oliver. I have a really cool idea for her and will post some of it when I get going next week. More later......
I'm having a bit of a blogger block, but I have some new ideas for some work and a commission from my friend Andria for a piece for her nursery for her February 2011 arrival of Oliver. I have a really cool idea for her and will post some of it when I get going next week. More later......
Thursday, October 21, 2010
YART

Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Hold My Beer Watch This

This only grabbed my attention because my poor husband has to cover this Nascar race twice a year, and comes home with stories that could fill a book. I think Gerry has been covering this race for about 30 years now. One year I ended up in the infield hospital with a stomach bug and later stopped Richard Petty at his pit and got someone to shoot our picture together. If you have never been to a Nascar race, it is a thing to behold. It's really scary how many simple minded people can fit into one place at the same time :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Bascom Sale
Sunday, October 17, 2010
HP Printer RIP OFF
I have been having a lot of trouble with my printer cartridges lately and am just about ready to throw my HP C6300 printer out the window. I have been replacing cartridges about one a month with the printer saying I was out of ink. I know I'm not printing that much, and mostly printing in black there is NO WAY I am running out of ink this fast. I'm not a tech geek but I can Google like a mad woman so I have been googling this ink cartridge thing and have found page after page of people that have ripped open the cartridges, brand new only to discover that they are about 30% full. WTF!!!!! Also, I have read that a few years ago HP was involved in a class action law suit due to a chip they put in the cartridge to tell the computer the cartridge was empty and would not allow the printer to print past this point, when in fact the cartridge had plenty of ink. I feel pretty helpless here, don't know how to deal with this, you know if I try and call HP I will get nowhere because what company out there is going to do the right thing any more? I am just sick to death of the money grumbing sons of bitches large corporations that have control of everything.
Wish you could buy electronics from artists, you would know that your purchase would be good quality and would last forever. Grrrrr......
Wish you could buy electronics from artists, you would know that your purchase would be good quality and would last forever. Grrrrr......
Friday, October 15, 2010
Never Let Me Go
Wesley and I went to see this movie tonight. It just opened at the Chelsea for those of you that live near Chapel Hill. For the rest of you it will probably be in your nearest Indie theater. Amazing, beautiful, sorrowful, this movie just wraps around you. I LOVED it! Wesley read the book in 9th grade and has been waiting to see the film for awhile. I want to read the book now, apparently even better than seeing the movie version. Great movie to see for the weekend!!!!
Propay

I decided to go with Propay for several reasons. One they charge a flat $50 per year, no contract. Every bank I contacted and several of the merchant services wanted a 3 year contract. No way I'm signing a 3 year contract. Second, I am just now getting calls from banks that I left messages with, one month later! With Propay, I got someone on the phone that could answer my questions right away and it took a very short time to set up online. The banks wanted to send paper work for me to fill out, etc. I manage all of this online, transfer funds, print reports, very easy to understand.
So the costs: I guess there is a cost to doing business no matter how you look at it. I would prefer not to pay these fees but they don't seem too bad, you tell me. I paid a flat $50 for one year, if I continue, I will pay $50 each year, or I can choose to upgrade at small fee increase.
I had four credit card transactions and my total fees for taking the card and transferring funds to my account were $18. Each card I took had a different fee. I didn't know this but when you use your bonus points credit card, I am the one paying for that. Those cards are evil, they are making things cost more in the long run for all of us. Do you think the companies are just giving things away for free? I read this on Lucy Faegella's blog, she has a great post about it.
So, overall, I'm pretty happy, I had sales I would not have had if I didn't take cards, two sales over $200. I have deposited about $1000 in the propay account and transferred those funds to my checking account and with the yearly fee, I have paid $68. If there is a cheaper credit card method out there, I couldn't find it, but then I don't do Math all that well, soooo....
Hope this helps if you are considering the credit card path. I'll post again in a few months to see if there are any changes. It's pretty easy to investigate all of this and make a decision that is right for you. Just google merchant services and you will find more info than you will ever need. I did see a couple of negative reviews on Propay, but it seemed to me that it was more user error than anything. I also set up a tax ID number, easy to do online and I registered as seasonal, which was a nice option to have. So, I'm real now, just need to get busy selling something!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Lucky Man
Most of you that read the pottery blogs know by now that Merdith Heywood at Whynot Pottery lost her brother Jay recently. I just wanted to stop for a moment and honor his memory for her. Meredith did a lot for many of us, putting the Clay and Blogs show together and she did much of it while dealing with a very sick brother. So, let's just take this moment to stop and think about her and her family.....
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Social Media, ick
Friend me, tweet me, I'm having my second cup of coffee, I'm going to take a crap now.....
Social Media, grrrrr.......
"I WILL NOT do Facebook". I remember a similar phrase a few years back, "I will NOT buy CD's, I will only buy records." Well, I did buy CD's but I am back to buying albums, thank God. But I WILL NOT do Facebook. I hate the whole get on the band wagon thing of it, and the whole everybody's doing it thing. If everybody's doing it you can sure as Hell bet that I won't. But mostly I HATE the term social media. First of all, I'm not that social, I like to be alone, a lot. Second of all, I spend way too much time as it is sitting in front of this computer reading a very long list of blogs, blogs that I enjoy very much and I would be sad to see them go because of Facebook, like Jen Mecca stopping her blog to have more time with her kids. I applaud her decision, but I will miss her blog. If more people start adding more stuff to their Facebook and less to their blog, I will miss a lot, so maybe come on over here and tell me what I missed if you don't mind. Like today, Kari said that she saw photos from the workshop on Facebook, well I won't be seeing those..... I just find the whole thing absurd, here is a perfect example: I sat behind someone at a certain event and at every break, they grabbed their iphone to say what they were doing on Facebook, post a photo, then check email, then back to Facebook, then texting, then back to Facebook, then another photo.... it's an addiction, and I do not have an addictive personality, so I just don't see the allure. I am really not interested in using something as bland looking as Facebook to market my art either. It is a really boring media to me and quite frankly I just don't get it. I'm actually surpised that so many artists have embraced Facebook, it just isn't that creative. That's what I enjoy so much about blogs, they are just another art form to me and I think people get very creative with them. I'm not saying this to piss anyone off and if you choose to do Facebook, your world, do what you want, I'm just saying, I won't be there, so I guess I am going to miss something, don't know what, but I have done without it for 50 years so I probably don't need it. And another thing, people keep saying that they hooked up with old high school friends, well if I hook up with the people that I went to high school with, it will be a less than pleasant day for me, I can tell you that. I tried Facebook and it took a week for me to start cringing and the comments, so that's that. I hope I survive without the "Social Media". I hear that it's the future and if you aren't on board, you're going to get left in the dust. Oh well, more time to watch a good movie, read a good book, not an electronic one but one with pages that I can turn, more time to sit on the front porch with my family, have a nice glass of wine, tell some stories, roast some marshmellows, cook a good meal, make more pottery, go to a museum, go for a hike, write a letter, call my mom on the phone, listen to an album, visit a friend, go see my daughter's band, walk the dog, test some glazes, build a studio, plant some herbs.....where the heck do people find time to tweet, facebook, text, blog, and get in some of these fun things?
I actually have this very lovely friend, Carmen Elliott, great potter, and she doens't even have a computer!!! She seems to be surviving just fine and she's one of the most serene people I have ever met. She may be on to something......
Handmade tools
Monday, October 11, 2010
Cone 6 Reduction Workshop
Here are some pretty quick and dirty photos of some of my test bowls. These bowls were thrown, trimmed and bisque fired on the same day so don't be too critical please! I was in a rush, remember I had three shows the previous weekend!
All in all, I am very happy with the results and I learned soooooo much! I have a really good basic knowledge of glaze chemistry now and feel pretty confident that I can work something out with these glazes we tested. Thanks to John, Heather and Vicki for coordinating such a great weekend. I'll have more later..............
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Sh sh sh Shino
Spring Collection?

I'll be heading down to Wilmington tomorrow for a 3 day cone 6 reduction workshop at UNC Wilmington. I actually threw some bowls last week, they are in the bisque right now, nothing like waiting until the last minute to fire. They are just little 1 lb. bowls, but they were pretty sweet, can't wait to see how they look in a ^6 redux.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Thanks Linda

Linda also has some great photos on her blog today from the Charleston SC area, one of my favorite places. We used to go there all the time when I was a kid, so much to see and do there and the food, OMG! Also, check out Brandon's blog for a great quote, for once a quote that doesn't send me into a blog rage, haha! Here is the beginning of it:
"The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. They seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth.........
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Proper Display
I have created a tab called potsparazzi where you can see more pictures from the blog show and I think I will use this space to post other pictures of potters as they come along. Check it out.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Festifall Winner!!
Thanks to everyone that gave my barns new homes. I had the best show I have ever had today and I enjoyed meeting all of you so much. I love knowing who will have my work, it is such a personal thing to work so hard on something that means so much to you and then hand it over to someone who truly appreciates art. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
I have lots more pictures, there are still pics from the Clay and Blog show Friday night. Boy three shows in one weekend is a lot to deal with! And last but not least, thanks to Linda and Gary, my blogger friends for coming by today, it was so great to see you on my home turf!!!!
Thanks again to everyone that shopped with me today, I really appreciate your support of my art work!!!!!!! More photos later, I have a sore throat from so much talking and I am beat! Good night all..................
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Birthday bowls
Here are my WHITE barns on a WHITE silky tablecloth..............I might have made a different choice for display..............just saying...............
Friday, October 1, 2010
Meredith you ROCK!!!!
I feel very blessed to know all of you and it was a blast getting to meet everyone in person.
Lots of love to everyone!!!!!
Rubaiyat
Here is a bit of his post, I just love this:
And so I chose to become a potter, not because of what I wanted to do, but rather who I wanted to become. I do not have the things which most people associate with success; but I love my wife and my children and they love me, and I sleep with a clear conscience. As I write I hold one of my goblets and sip plum wine that a friend made. It is sweet and has a subtle almond fragrance which goes nicely with the cheese toasted on our home baked bread. I have today and it is good. I cannot heal the world, nor can I always take away the anguish from the hearts of those I love, though I wish with all my heart that I could. But I can give form to my passion, and through these vessels perhaps give joy to others and help them find succour in simply living. And perhaps in a hundred or eight hundred years this clay that my fingers have touched will touch the lips of another and give them hope. Just as Omar's words reached over eight hundred years and all the barriers of language and culture to touch my heart, and these words I write tonight may reach some anonymous reader elsewhere on the globe.
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