All Creatures Great and Small

Compost crocks!

Last week and this week was and will be some prep work for getting a jump on inventory for the summer.
The title of my entry today is a nod to one of my favorite childhood authors, James Herriot. I completed ten compost crocks bringing two new shapes into the design and widening the opening on the original design. I also chose to make the knobs a little taller and with a little more clay on top for handling.

I widened the opening on these, but made an effort to keep the same shape

Straight-sided crock in the center. I especially enjoy the lids on these pieces.

I decided to not make the below shape into a compost crock because the lid requires a larger amount of clay to make and therefore would change the amount of material going into the piece. I'd like to keep all of the compost crocks at the same price and made with roughly the same amount of materials. I am thinking this might be a design I will modify for mixing bowls though because I really enjoy throwing this shape, and I think the handles look great on the sides.

The vessel shape denied a lid. I am still cotemplating a casserole, but have not decided just yet.

I also have been doing a few commissions for artist Ricky Lindley. I made two more roughly 22 inch tall lamp bases for him last week. These are sometimes a bear to duplicate, but it's fun to be challenged with big pieces. I also enjoy making forms outside of what I usually make

Large decorative lamp bases

I have also been contemplating small items to sell for the broader purchasing market. I thought these small dishes would still fit nicely in with my other pieces and function as a small individual serving-size dish or salad dressing dish if desired. They also fill those small spots in the kiln really well!

Wee dishes

And finally, I did a sale this past Saturday in downtown Liberty for their Rediscover Liberty: Customer Appreciation celebration. If you have not been to Liberty recently, you should stop in and see the new businesses in town. Liberty Stoneware is for sale at the new Off the Vine wine and cheese shop, which also has their beer license now to sell North Carolina craft brews by the bottle!

My little booth set up

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:

Feature Artist, Third Friday Artwalk

I was able to retrieve a few pieces from Sid Luck's kiln firing last weekend. The results were splendid, I was especially happy with how the Danish White clay turned out.

A few pieces from Sid Luck's firing

The results of a clay called Danish White, which is a clay I enjoy a lot

I had the opportunity to be the feature artist at the 3rd Friday ArtWalk at the Arts Incubator in Siler City yesterday. I set up a small collection of pieces, and will be adding more in the coming week.

My display at the North Carolina Arts Incubator

There was a steady crowd for the whole evening, and Sue Baker, a sculptor at the Incubator, did a live demonstration, working with a live model. The model was painter and ceramic artist Ricky Lindley's daughter. People were really excited to see the demonstration.

Sculptor Sue Baker drew quite a crowd for the basement of the Incubator!

Sue Baker modelling Ricky Lindley's daughter


Joseph Sand is going to start opening his kiln tomorrow, so I will try to post some photos for a Thanksgiving treat! And, if you're near Siler City, stop in and have a look at my pottery and let me know what you think!