We Have a Plan

After a week, I finally have come to the realization that I must have sprained 2 fingers on my left hand sledding last week. They are slightly swollen and painful. It doesn't help that I keep going about my usual business around the house. I even crept into the studio and wedged some clay.

I was nearly euphoric to smell the clay on my hands. I am dying to get back to work, but I have to accept the fact that January and February are just not conducive to studio work. It didn't work out last year either. My kids are certainly old enough to take care of themselves but eventually will resort to arguing, yelling and tattling.

Tomorrow makes snow day #10 for us in Yancey County NC. I have lost count of the 2 hour delays and early dismissals. The kids are completely out of their routine. The knowledge is seeping out of their pores with every waking hour. And this last round of winter weather is miserably cold and windy, so they can't even spend any time outdoors.

Today, I pulled out the slides from when my Mom and Grandparents lived in Alaska in the 50's. We found the slides titled "Big Snow 12/29/55". I think my hometown of Washington DC has more snow now. But, man, my Papa could shovel an orderly path. Gotta love those military guys.

So tomorrow we will start the day with some mandatory Dance Dance Revolution. Then we're moving on to reading hour (more for Allison since we can't make her stop reading once she's started). Then Allison wants to sew, while Ben wants to cook something. Isn't this sort of like homeschooling?

Black and Blue

As you can see, I have much too busy with other important work to be in the studio. We got about 8" of snow the last weekend of January and took full advantage. Friends from Asheville came up to get snowed in with us. After a day and a half of sledding here, we all headed to their house because ironically, Asheville received more snow than we did.

Three days and nights of sledding have left their mark on me inlcuding a palm-sized bruise on my left thigh (crashed into a tree) and a mildly sprained right ankle (crashed into a tree).

A tree I did not crash into

My driveway drama is over. I am crying "Uncle!" My fingers ache like they are arthritic from clearing the entire driveway by hand just in time for it to be covered first by 6" of snow by yesterday morning, and then an inch of ice throughout the day. I am officially throwing in the towel.

Tracey's got me thinking...

I'm following a whole new list of blogs thanks to Meredith and the Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story exhibit coming up this fall. So I spend a bit more time at the computer reading blogs by other potters who are also spending a bit more time at the computer writing. This time of year finds a lot of us slower to start, more reluctant to get our hands cold and wet.

Yesterday I cleaned up the glazing mess and wedged some clay. Sometimes, I can rationalize my way out of working. I could throw cylinders today, but if I do, then I have to be able to work on them day after tomorrow and the forecast is snow and the kids will be out of school, so I'll get interrupted too often and the whole thing will dry too fast, and it will all be wasted, so my time would be better spent elsewhere. Like finding a better way of keeping my pieces wet or catching up on reruns of The West Wing.


I was reading Tracey Broome's blog this morning, and she got me thinking. She makes sculpture and some functional pots, too, but is never happy with the functional ware. I do the same thing. I'll be in the studio, looking over the shelves of work when it hits me that no one can actually use any of my pieces. So, I'll sit down at the wheel and throw some bowls, reminding myself that it's good to have some around to donate for Empty Bowls. I do throw cups for the Studio Tours simply because I can't stand the idea of using throw away cups for the cider and wine that I serve. I sell them cheap because they don't really match and are thrown too thin or have a rim that dribbles. When I tell people that I am a potter (not clay artist or ceramist), they immediately ask about dinner plates or soup mugs. I reply that I really don't make that sort of work because I don't enjoy it, and there are so many other folks who do it so much better than I ever could. I will talk about the artists who are represented in my own cupboard, why I like this potter's mugs or that one's bowls. Then these folks take a look at my work and try to figure out exactly what it's for. I feel compelled to be forthcoming about its lack of a specific function or else suggest some farfetched possible uses. Umm, one customer said she was going to use it for flatware...

I am completely content with not making traditionally functional pottery. I will still make bowls, not only because I believe in Empty Bowls and it feels good to donate, but because I really like trimming. I will still make cups for the Studio Tours twice a year, unless I have enough leftovers from the previous Tour. And I will continue to take suggestions from friendly folks as to how to use my pots. Lauren Bellero calls them "Room Jewelry".

Look What I Found in the Studio

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't been doing much. This time of year is tough. The studio is cold, Jay has been working 60 hour weeks, a flurry or two will keep the kids home from school and as often happens, one of them is sick.

Today, I was planning on braving the chill and getting some pots thrown, as well as cleaning up from glazing...am I the only one who HATES cleaning up after glazing? I am usually so tired and completely put it out of my head. Anyway, Ben started running a fever yesterday so studio work was out. I got the laundry done instead. But who wants to read about that?

As some of you know, we bought this beautiful piece of property with a somewhat less than pristine house. I'm not sure who is guilty of the modifications, but we are determined to fix them. We have plenty of "what were they thinking" moments and are occasionally stopped in our tracks. Whenever studio news seems to be running dry, I think I'll visit the spots in my house that make me scratch my head.

I love my studio. It was in pretty good shape when we moved in. We took down some shelves that were rotted, and Jay replaced a sill plate and sistered up some floor joists. We knocked down walls and removed the window screens that divided the studio from the rest of the basement.

What I can't seem to get rid of is the built-in, fold-down ironing board. I assume that Jo Lydia needed the ironing board to press her doilies.

However, I am stumped as to how she was able to iron. When one attempts to fold the ironing board down, it hits an intake duct for the furnace. I have been unsuccessful in removing all of the nuts, and it's not really in the way, so I just live with it.

The notes are from Ben. Following my instructions not to be disturbed, he would drop notes for me through the "vent", which is simply a rectangular hole in the floor, I suppose where some ductwork was going to go.

It didn't.

Nothing Like Watching Cynthia and John Demo to Get You Going

Well, a little heater would help, but...

Last night's Clay Club meeting was held at Cynthia Bringle's studio. We always have great food and last night was no exception. John Hartom brought a couple of pizzas from Pizzart in Spruce Pine. The Pesto pizza was divine.

We discussed a few business items and then Cynthia did a throwing demo for us. She really makes it look easy. John Britt followed with some "backwards" pots, throwing a few bowls from uncentered lumps of clay and generally just messing around with them.

I haven't been to a meeting since September and haven't made any new work since November, so my mind has not been on clay as much as usual. But any time I watch someone working with clay, I take home a new idea or two. John's method has got me thinking about braving the cold and trying something out.

I just might hijack that kerosene heater after all.

Are They Kidding?

I just got my copy of the Yancey Common Times Journal and above the fold reads the headline: Council calls for alcohol vote. Can you believe it? The article goes on to say that grocery sales in Yancey County are down 6 1/2 % since Spruce Pine started alcohol sales. Duh.

Sounds like Yancey County wants a piece of that action. Burnsville is one of only three WNC towns, and Yancey is one of only two dry counties in NC where the sale of alcohol is illegal. Perhaps soon, we'll be joining the rest of the state on what some fear is a fast ride to hell. I'll drink to that!

Jay Needs a Blog Title Please...

Heading off May 2008

Some of you know that my husband is an adventure motorcyclist. He and a friend rode part of the Trans-America Trail in 2008. They started in Jellico, TN and made it just over the Oklahoma border. We had just moved, and Jay's job did not afford him enough time off to go any further.

Home after 2 weeks away

Last summer, he was put in charge of a pretty big project which involved him being away from home for some time as well as working lots of long hours. He was rewarded with an extra week of vacation as well as some comp time. So he and his riding buddy have been contemplating finishing up the trail. They would take up where they left off and ride to the coast of Oregon.

In no way do we feel the need to ask each other for permission to do the things we want, but he did me the courtesy of explaining that if he were to go, he would be gone for 4 weeks, from the last week of May through the third week of June. That means, he'd be gone for all the end-of-year school programs. And he'll be gone for the TRAC Studio Tour and the frenzied couple of weeks leading up to the Tour. I'm a capable woman. I can do it alone. I might need a mini-vacation afterwards.

I told him to go for it. On one condition. He must blog about the trip. He's all for it. He appreciates the community of artists that I have found through blogging. Although we know it's not a requirement, he is a good writer, and he is passionate about riding. He's so excited that it's going to be 50 degrees on Friday so he can ride his motorcycle to work, no matter that the day will start in the 20's.

The KLR's winter home

He needs a blog title. Any ideas?