Pots still in the kiln

I have so much to do that taking individual pictures is beyond me at this time.
Here are pictures of the front stack and middle stack of the kiln.
Maybe some singles later....
The green pot on the right is a glaze we have been testing- we liked the results on the bottle better then the last firing.

A long day-

Yesterday was a busy one for us- after unloading what was a great kiln load of pots we headed down to Starworks to help throw flowerpots.
I am heading back there today to attend a workshop on growing mushrooms.
So enjoy the pictures and for more information go to Starworks Ceramics
or Bulldog for the skinny on the flowerpots.

David Stuempfle

Micheal Mahan- from the ground up

Hitomi

Anne- Starworks gardens-

cooling the kiln

Day two of kiln cooling.
When we fire we always like to let the kiln cool at its own rate of speed. Which is two days no matter what the weather is or if you stand outside and blow on it. It just lumbers along cooling at its own rate of speed. The first 24 hours we leave it alone. No moving the bricks - no looking. we ignore it like a well behaved child.
Day two- today the flash lights come out. One of us will move a peep brick and take a look. Then we move another and take another look.
We always have the same discussion. "Do you think we could?"
"No", the other one will say- "just wait."
We think waiting is the best method to our madness. Even when we try to cool faster it is 9 or 10 pm before it could come out. And face it, we are not spring chickens anymore. I will confess I would rather get up with the chicken these days then stay up with the guards.
While the kiln is cooling there are two days to get other things done.
Sometimes we go right back on the wheel.
Other times we clean the studio and refresh everything- go get groceries- bookwork -read-watch a video....
I am handing building while Mark is working on odds and ends in the studio.
So today we will head out there and see who finds the flashlight first- time to take a peek!

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! Taxes--------

taxes are frustrating as it is- but this year I have to sort out what was paid for by insurance and what was pay for out of pocket- I am fair when it comes to keeping the books- but this year I floated through.


So this is what I would like my office to look like:

instead of the many piles all over the place

- I just have to get this done!

one-and it's the end of February

Well- as most of you know- we had a fire last year due to being hit by lighting and the result was we lost our main work building.
We took off time after the Christmas rush to finish rebuilding and get back to work.
It took us much longer then we expected, but we were moving back in in just over 6 months from the fire.
We are back to work- as we best we can be- we are still fumbling around some days and we say about the newly rebuilt shop, " it is the same, but different." We made changes and we are still trying to find out if we like those changes.
So- with that said some days are productive and other days are........ let's just say they are.

Today we loaded the big kiln- sigh of relief for me.
I get tomorrow to pull the taxes into some form of intelligence while Mark fires the kiln. ( lucky Man!)

But- this is kiln one for the year- it seems a long time coming.

Fingers are crossed and we have checked and rechecked the winds for tomorrow.
( Wind plays hell with the reduction.)
and-yes this picture is crooked I can see that!

Think of me- I am locking myself to the paper work tomorrow. I would really like to have that off my plate so we can really get back to making pots!

Oh and a big PS- have I reminded you again to get Business Insurance- I know you don't want to think about it - but you should.
Don't whine, just do it!

Another note thanks again to CERF and our local potters Relief fund.

Stamping

There have been several bogs which I read which talk about signing your work.
Cynthia Guajardo and Linda Star. I think it is important to sign your work so someone can find you if they would like to. I personally like to have the work tied back to the maker.
This is the stamp we have used for at least 24 years.
The stamps simply reads Whynot Pottery- the smaller stamp reads whynot NC.
Any pot made by either Mark or I gets stamped. We try to use this stamp on our work only. We have had throwers in the past and they use a line type other than this stamp.
Because we both are MH-we will on occasion sign our names.
I could be MMHH or MHH or MMH- He could be MEH-
Anyway I was signing some collaborative work with M&M and he looked and said this looks like MOM-
So- if you see a pot signed with Whynot Pottery- Whynot NC it is us.
We do sign our work- if it gets missed I have been known to sign a pot using this- "unknown potter."

You have to laugh-

NPR is now on twitter and face book-

Almost all my family is on face book-

What are you doing now- I am blank.

It all makes me chuckle and makes me a bit sad at the same time.

They have to prompt you with a questions as you stare at the computer screen and think of something profound to write. No writers block with face book- I am blank- eating, standing, sitting, driving ( that one is scary) we know your every move.

I am robbing a bank--- whoops that one will happen one day.

I do blog and I love to read the blogs. My favorites are potters and from there it could be anything.

At least with the blogs there is substance. I am not so sure about the other- a quick tag and you are out of there. Casual communication we could call it. No, you can say I am not avoiding you. Why I tagged you the other day.

When I discovered all the potter's blogs it was at a time I needed to look beyond myself and see what was beyond my backdoor.

I have to tell you there is a wealth of information out on the blogs. Most of the potters are so generous with their information- so supportive when they hold each other up. I have never read a negative commit on any blog I have visited. It warms me- the support given is genuine.

The sense of community is there- I feel it everyday.

Now, about Bob- I am with you buddy. I am looking for the balance in adding another thing to my life.

Hark- is that spring knocking on the door?

I know the groundhog went back to bed telling us there are 6 more weeks of winter- but there are signs that tell me Spring is coming. The first was the daffodils I posted back on the 13Th.

The second was on Saturday when the Osprey were circling and calling one another on the pond while they scouted out some tasty fish. They arrive at the start of spring and stay until things get a bit chilly. I don't know where they go for the winter months because they don't leave a forwarding address.

So even though it was 25 degrees out this morning I am thinking spring is coming.

The other day as I was getting into the car it was warm and it made me think of The NC Potters Conference. I helped Dwight Holland for over 15 years with the planning for the Potters Conference. It was great fun and I met so many wonderful folks during those weekends.

One day I thought it was time to give it up and let someone else have some fun.

I no longer help in the planing, but I always try to get there and give Brian and Gail form Highwater Clays a hand for the Friday night dinner.

I am sure I will be there this year to pour a few bottles of wine and take in some slides.

The NC Potters Conference is one of the best conferences out there.

Guest Potters this year are: Phil Rogers - Wales. Mark Pharis - Wisconsin.

Alleghany Meadows - Colorado

The price is reasonable and they provide you with meals for the whole time you are there.

If you are interested in going contact the Randolph Arts Guild in Asheboro, NC- they will be happy to help you.

Mark is busy filling some orders, like this lamp for a customer who has been quite patient while we have been getting back to the business of making pots.
I have started working on the "wedding tile" for our son and his girlfriend. Here are the first batch on the little tiles- let's see 18 down and that gives me about 100 plus still to go- hummmm better keep on working them in.
The plaster molds are working quite well. In fact to increase production we are talking about casting several more.
Always something to do, let me put that on the list.



As you can tell we are having a quiet Valentine's day at home- well- we worked all day and had a few customers to take up some of our time and we had a night out last night which means PJ's and my book look pretty darn good to me right now.

Family bloggers

In case you have noticed a bit of my family likes to blog as well.
There is daughter Anna or Anna Jr. as she was named after her Grandmothers Anna for mine and Louise for Mark's we call her Anna Jr. or AJay. ( Lucky for her she was not named Louisa Anna!)
Speaking of Jay- there is my Oldest brother, Jay, who is a voracious blogger- a much better writer then I could ever be, with a great attention to detail and a potter for the fun of it.
Speaking of potting for fun- there is my sister Leslie who is the youngest of my 5 siblings.
She has taken pottery classes for fun for a number of years, not now because brother Jay has her wheel in his basement at the moment-
But she always told me " symmetry is over rated."-
So if you follow the family line you will find them all tucked over in the blogs I read.
There are others over on face book and I am now in the process of trying to find my way around "the Face"- new waters.....
Family- they are the best.
Happy Valentines to you all- and my family bloggers as well!

Happy Valentine's Day-

Every year we look for the daffodils to start opening up. Mark brought these to me the other day. It is a yearly contest to see who can find them first- he wins again- he is better about looking out for them and I get the joy of finding them all set up for me in the kitchen. You have to love a man who brings you flowers!

We have many daffodils all over the farm. They were planted by my grandmother who had a green arm and could grow anything!

We also enjoy the variety of camellia bushes around the house, which as long as the weather is above the teens bloom all winter. I can look out the kitchen window and see a nice big cherry red one.

Mark has a nice pink one outside his bathroom window.

It is delicate and more the shape of a rose. While the others can be big and bold.

We moved one a few years back when we were cutting out a place to add the kitchen. We babied it and check it. It took 3 years , but it has put down roots and started blooming last year.

The other day when we were having high winds a tree came down on the basement side of the house. I was down here working and Mark comes in and asks me when the tree went down- now you would have thought I would have heard it- but no I didn't- but of all the things my grandmother planted the thing that haunts me most is the Boston Ivy. I fight the Boston Ivy and if had my choice would have it banned as a nuisance plant! If grows everywhere and on everything- Love the flowers- hate the ivy!

Trimming a large pot in a bucket-

Hi Ben- this is what we do when we have a large pot- we cut pipe insulation to go around the edge of a bucket, which can be bought at your local friendly hardware store. The size of bucket can be bigger for a bigger pot- this one is a 3 gal., you can use a 5 gal if you need to.
It something takes two of us to maneuver the pot in place- or take it out when it is a very large pot.
Place the bucket on the wheel and hold it in place using your giffin grip.
Then place the pot inside the bucket- being held in by the insulation.
You can then trim up the sides and bottom of the pot.
This - of course is not a green pot, but all I could grab as an example.
Cheers!

Creamers

This is one of those items which when they are going well they are great to throw. Today seemed to be one of those days- the clay was so nice just the right amount of wet- the creamers just seemed to throw themselves and I enjoyed coming along for the ride.
There are days in which the first pot of the day is the best one- today I thought that might be the case, but instead I enjoyed each one of these.
Now, to get some handles on these babies-
How about my square bats? I have one of those bat systems for my wheel head- which I really like when I am throwing small pots- pop in the bat and pop it right out at the end.
Here are some from a couple of days ago- straight up rather then the fat belly- I prefer the fat ones- but make both-

Will there be pie?

These are the plaster cast of the wedding magnet tile for May- they are in the drying stage now. I hope to get on these in my "spare" time. I will need about 130 of them as "give aways" for the wedding.

here is the master of the tile before casting-

I did a glaze test and I believe I will use a white clay body to get the right color.

Yes- there will be pie. I made two pies to drag over to the SAPA's annual meeting/pot luck tonight. I figured a couple of Sour Cream ( stolen) Apple Pies would be a hit and they were.

Recipe:

1 Cup Sour Cream

1 well beaten egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

beat egg, add sour cream , vanilla and salt and mix well.

Add:

2Tbs. flour

3/4 cup sugar

mix well and add

2 1/2 cups apples sliced thin- coating the apples well-

Pour into pie crust

Bake 450 degrees for 15 minutes

while baking make a topping of:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1tsp. cinnamon

Bake 325 degrees for 30 minutes

take out of oven and put topping on and place foil over crust ends to keep from burning.

Bake another 20 minutes.

Cool- and eat about 4-6 hours after-good at room temp.

Yummy!

Friday

How did it get to be Friday!!????? I just don't understand where this week went. Someone has to have Tuesday or Wednesday in their pocket!
Really, it can't be Friday again!
I had such hopes and dreams for this week- a list a mile long.
Then I got whacked by a box of clay as it fell off the top of the pile- whacked me flat on both hands- ouch!
So this week I did not get that list checked off - but today me and my black/blue/yellow hands are on the wheel- little sore, but much better then Monday.
After all when you work for yourself, the week starts when you start right?

Bits and pieces - ends and scraps

You know when you make a pie crust you have the little bits left over?

Some folks take the bits and roll them in sugar and bake them- I tend to toss them out.

But - when I am making tiles and trays and have the bits left over I slap them inside these small molds.

They become pins, magnets and pendants.

The leaf,upper left ,I found in the yard one day, the gecko was from something my daughter gave me and I took apart- can't give her anything.

The other leaves I drew from books- there are lots of possibilities out there-

I will be trying some of those possibilities tomorrow- if we can get over to the shop.
Snow is in the works.

Flatten bottle- Mark

We ordered a new camera at the end of the year. I have been using a nice simple camera to sort of point and shoot. We had lenses for a 35 mm camera we bought before the world went completely digital. We were able to buy a body which will take the lenses we already have.

Now on to the learning stage. I have just looked at it- hummmmmmm- Mark has taken the time to try working with the camera.

We would like to find some time to take a class about shooting some of our own pictures- maybe we can do that.

We are back working, but it still takes extra time to find our rhythm in the new space. This week our delay was getting clay.The clay we usually use was out of stock and to be in Thursday.

Well- we think maybe the weather caused a delay- no clay.

Hard to make pots with out clay!

We ran down to Starworks and bought some cone 6 for hand building and tiles and then pick up one of Highwater's clay bodies for some flat work.

Plates and platters- we also loaded two kilns today- that felt pretty good.

I just have to remember to turn one on tomorrow morning- out of the habit- and it's cold--- makes you want to stay in bed as long as you can...

Well I hear Bruce on the TV- must be halftime!