Slipping Up

A quick post while I am on the road. I wanted to share some photos of painted slip work I did on a few pieces last weekend before heading for the Mid-Atlantic. I've been researching kiln furniture in New Jersey for the past few days, and will be in Philadelphia tomorrow. And then, hopefully this weekend, I'll post an event I am attending that is outside of the ceramics world -- just keeping you in the dark for a few days! Enjoy!

I used to make this design a lot and it was splendid to get back to an old familiar.

Throwing some bottles last week was a necessary stress reliever! Decorating them just made life all the better.

I cannot wait until these get fired!

And a mess of mugs. With wine bottle glass on a lot of them.

High Point Furniture Market

I'm a bit behind on posting, I am sure you have noticed! Being sick and running around like a crazy person is my only excuse. Lots of material to make posts with though, so now I have to get to it:

The other weekend (same as Triad Pottery Festival) I also had the opportunity to do a demonstration at the High Point Furniture Market in downtown High Point, North Carolina. I took a few crocks that were greenware and put handles, stamps, and cobalt decoration on them. It was great to have a finished crock sitting nearby while working on the others.

My demonstration station with completed crocks

Some of my pottery was also on display in the Linwood Furniture galleries. It was great to see my pottery in situ and on some really nice pieces of furniture! Everything looked so at home!

Numerous pieces of artwork displayed in the galleries were made by artists who have work on display at the North Carolina Arts Incubator in Siler City. Ricky Lindley had several of his pieces on display, and also came to do some painting in the gallery:

Apparently, one of the most interesting results of the Furniture Market was to find that people are becoming increasingly interested in buying domestically-made furniture. I spoke with a few people who noticed this at the market, saw that a lot of signs in the galleries made note of "Made in America," and the link above is for an article which recognized the same thing.
Here are some more photos of my pottery hiding among the furniture displays:

"Anagama Mama" and Results

Quick shot of the kiln interior before stoking during the afternoon kiln shift on Saturday

I thought it was just a quip while we were firing, but it may just stick. Joseph Sand referred to me as the "anagama mama" the other weekend for working the front chamber of his kiln and posted this on his most recent blog post.I went to pick up my pottery last week and was pleased with the results. Joseph's kiln opening sale is this coming Saturday and Sunday, April 9th and 10th. I highly recommend going if just to see his very shiny pieces from this past firing!
Here are some of my results from the firing:

Cream and sugar

Mug with some really sexy orange-peeling!

Compost Crock

Compost Crock and Lid

I had a few dishes where the glaze went a little crazy, but not enough to make it a second!

Interior of lidded jar. The celedon glaze was quite vivid on the interiors of several pieces

Bottles were shiny and beautiful. Some were rather metallic-looking!

Triad Pottery Festival

The inside of the Curb Market

Today I had the opportunity to participate in the 13th Annual Triad Pottery Festival. It is held at the Greensboro Farmer's Market at the Curb Market near downtown Greensboro. All of the people who attended were really nice and friendly, so I had some wonderful conversations with people who stopped by my table.

My table with the beautiful backdrop of a fire hydrant and brooms!

The farmer's market tables are like small boxes or stalls with ledges. This worked out well so things could not get knocked off onto the floor, but made it difficult for how to lay out the space.

All that brown, I tried to bring some color in with flowers!

I took a few compost crocks to debut, and was surprised that I did not sell any of them! I think I need a sign that reads, "I am a compost crock!" It's always funny to think about the things you think will sell the best, and then you are surprised when those things don't sell. I hope to continue having the opportunity to participate in this festival. The location is quite good and the people are really great. The variety of pottery that is available also makes for a great variety of people who are browsing and buying.