Thoughts

I have a lot of thoughts today.
But I must say I need to sort through them, like a pile of clothes they are all a jumble.
So my thoughts today are:
be happy
be safe
be kind
think of those people who make us safe and allow us days like today.

What are the chances

A few months back Mark had some customers in the store who were from Norfolk.
They were a Mother and her son.
The mother really captured Mark's attention since she knew some of the old Norfolk folks we had know growing up there and through my father.
While talking with the mother her son asked Mark if he would make him a travel mug to fit in his cup holder for his van.
Mark, who usually does not do special orders made two.
They were made like tall slender tumblers with the handles pulled and attached very high so they would drop in the cup holder, but you could still use the handle to lift them up to drink out of.
They came out of the last kiln and he tucked them away.
Me, "what are you going to do with those mugs"
Him, "take them when Anna has the baby."
Me, thinking- yea we have time for that.
When we packed to go Mark tossed them in a box in the trunk.
The first evening we had the new mother and baby tucked safely at home with them all fed and us out in the city we headed over to Ghent to find a place to just sit, have a glass of wine and some dinner.


We decided we would go to the Orapax down in West Ghent.
The Orapax  serves Greek food and is located just around the corner from where we lived in our early married life. We lived in a third floor walk up, one bedroom, small kitchen and bath, but with three main rooms that were pretty large.Living room, to dinning room to bedroom with the kitchen off one side and the bath off the other.
It was a great time and hold lots of great memories for us.
The building had coal heat but no AC. In fact, very few of us had AC in those days. You just lived through it.
Our bedroom window opened to the parking lot, but behind the parking lot was the practice board for the tennis courts. We woke many Sunday mornings to the rhythm of the tennis ball against that practice board.
Thwack over and over. It never bother us and now thinking about it is similar to the same rhythm of pots being thrown on a wheel.....
Beyond us were the coals yards and many nights we fell asleep listening to the clack of the trains and the long slow whistles. These are sounds I greatly miss and to me a train whistle takes me right back to those days.

The Orapax was the corner bar back in the day. It had a pool table and a bar, that was it. The owner bought the buildings behind it and turned it into a restaurant with 3 dining areas and a patio.
We have not been there to eat in 30 years and thought hey- why not?
As we were seated we both realized I had forgotten to pick up some money before we left his mother's house where we were camped out.We counted our changed and decided if we were careful we could pull this off and leave a tip.  The Greek food was priced well and hey- vino was only 3.50 for a glass!
We were enjoying a glass and I was doing my usual wifely gab.
Blah, Blah, Blah.
When Mark's head did one of those 90 degree turns.
At first I thought I had bored him to death when he looked at me and said, " that is the guy's mother."
Me, "what guy?'
Him, "the guy who wants the mugs!"
Me, "go see!"
Mark jumped up and took off and sure enough it was his mother and he was with her.
He reminded them who he was and after the guy remembered he told him he had his mugs.
Yes, the guy wanted to see.
Yes, they fit in his cup holder
Yes, he wanted them both.
Yes, he was parked RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR CAR.


Mark came back in grinning and said,"order what you want, I have dinner."
I had a second glass of vino!
Then to add to this story.
My food was delayed because of a mishap in the kitchen, the manager and the waitress both came over to let us know and tell us that there were new people in the kitchen and our food would be out soon.
When we got the bill the second drinks were not charged for.
We could have made it without Mark's sale, but hey- who else sells pottery right out of the trunk of their car while they are 500 miles away from their gallery, eating in a place they have not been in 30 years?
We are wondering if we should just go this route.
Hey mister, do I have a mug for you!

The best of plans

We really tried to get it all finished yesterday.
We had left some things undone with our quick trip happening.
We still had to clean all the kiln shelves abut 20 plus, make wadding, cone plaques, wash some of the furniture and wait on a customer or two and eat lunch.
You get the picture.
At 2:30 I just looked at Mark after the back stack was in and said, that is it. I need a break.
I am still recovering from all the fun we had last week!
So instead of working we watched a movie and just relaxed.
This birthing babies thing is hard on the grandparents as well as the parents!
So, today we will load up the other two stacks.
I have tiles ready to carve and cone 6 stuff to glaze up.
No rest for the wicked in this household.
Well, maybe some rest yesterday with the movie.

BTW we had to go to YNot Pizza for dinner one night while we were in Norfolk.
I mean come on Whynot Potters at YNot pizza seemed a perfect fit.
We left our business card with the tip and on the table.
It was the one thing we did for ourselves while we were there. We would help where ever we could and then we would go out and have a glass of wine or a beer and order up something to eat.
It is the best part about being in the city. You know you can food an any corner.
I grew up in the Ghent area of Norfolk when it was run down and a bit on the seedy side.
Now there are serveral blocks of shopping and places to eat.
Just pick one, they are all good, we tried serveral this trip.
Tomorrow I will tell you about the aventure we had in one.
So come on over and let's load up that kiln.

Mara Jade

Thank you all for your well wishes!
What a roller coaster ride of highs this past week has been.
We were getting daily updates from our daughter last week and all of the sudden it was pack a bag and hit the road.
It is a 5 hour trip and Mark figured he could do it in three.
The word was they would have the baby Friday if she did not come on Thursday, I was feeling it was time to be there and plus when your daughter says come you drop everything and you come.
We had just stopped for some lunch when my cell rang.
It did not take long for me to realize Anna was in labor, at work and with no car.
It was time to call in her backup and put a plan in place.
The second call said they were on their way to the hospital.
We were about 45 minutes out.
Well to make a long story short.
She still came on Friday, not Thursday, at 3:27 am.
It has been a long time since I have pulled an all nighter, but there was no way I was going anywhere and miss this birthday party.
I hung in there and the rewards were great.
To say we are smitten, amazed, awed and totally in love barely touches how we feel.
After a few days of baby holding and helping out we came home today.
It was hard to leave, but it was also easy to see that these two people, my daughter and her husband, will be great parents.
There is a whole lot of love going down in the household.

So we are pulling ourselves back to planet earth and loading the kiln tomorrow.
Life as usual, unless, duty calls and then we will be back on the road to do a bit more baby holding.

Mara Jade Green looking mighty fine in green- I think it is her color.
Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?!
Okay, I'll stop!
 Meredith (Oma)

Oh-so cute!

Mara Jade Green was born in the wee hours of May 21st 2010 at 3:27 am she is 6 pounds 1.5 ounces-
 19 inches long and I was there!
Could I sk for better?
She is a beauty

You say tomato and I say ToMAto

Last year we planted corn in this raised bed and it was funny to watch it try to grow.
We did get some corn, but it was very wimpy.
This year Mark put more good mulch in the bed and when I was given some tomato plants I saw a perfect opportunity to pop them right in this ready to go bed.
Then two weeks later I went to a plant sale and picked up some heirloom varieties, two Thia Basil plants and filled out the bed.
The toms were coming along great when Mark reported that one had been sniped off at the base.
Cutworms!- I went on line and read this great trick- put three toothpicks around the base of the plant and the worms can not curl around them and cut them.
Worked great and just to be sure I used 4-5 toothpicks.
Then time for staking them up and Mark did a fine job.
That and some rain did wonders for the plants.

We are still waiting for Baby G- but seems she will be coming by Friday if not sooner.
So I have called out the reserves, my sister Lee, to come and stay and run things here in Whynot.
I have packed a bag to go and help out. (hold the baby)
You will soon be able to add Grandma to the list of things you call me.
Well- watch it there could be children reading this!

Some little dishes before I hit the road.

Where have you been?

Mark and I were having a lazy afternoon.
With so much going on we decided to watch a movie and just relax a bit.
Tomorrow is another day, as we all know and when you work for your self you have to make your self take time off.
While watching a movie I was also watching the inside of my eye lids a time or two.
Well, okay- maybe three, but I was following the plot and if I had to take a test I could pass.
After the movie was over I looked over and this picture just smacked me.
I mean it just smacked me hard.
I jumped up off the sofa and thought to myself why am I neglecting you!
I took it off the brick wall in the living room and carried it right into the kitchen.
The kitchen which we added a few years ago is bright and cheerful and a place we spend a fair amount of time.
I held it up to a blank wall I have been looking at and Mark just said, " let me go get the drill." No questions asked it had a new place to hang.
We bought this picture from the artist back in 1979.
We were young pottery students with two kids and no money to spend.
But- but we saw this and just fell in love with the simplicity of the brush.
It has been a favorite for many years, but some how was lost in the room that is dark and it was over shadowed by the pottery that sits on the mantel.
We paid all of 35.00 dollars for it back then.
That was a lot of money for us then.
I was a stay at home Mom with a large garden, goats, pigs, rabbits and two kids.
And I was going to school at night taking pottery classes with Mark.
Mark was holding the pay check and working piece work as a "knock up" man.
Yes, you heard me, a knock up man.
This was the term for the guys who did the frames for sofas, chairs and love seats.
He was paid by the piece and can still tell you the number of the sofa you are sitting on.
Money was tight, but this spoke to us.
His Dad framed it for us so here is another reason to have it where it can be seen.
It reminds me of both Mark's dad and the artist.
Now I have to confess and tell you I have forgotten his name- the artist- not my father-in-law, he was a Bob and if you have ever know a Bob he was a B.O.B. Bob all the way.
There are great Bob stories but I leave that for my kids to tell one day.
Back to this picture.
I am enjoying those wonderful brush strokes and the details.
That sweet bird on the branch, the butterfly and the bug all well capture.
I know this guy past away at an early age and I also know I will have to track down his name.
Of course this picture led to several other adjustments with tiles and other pictures for the kitchen.
But - hey it was fun to be diverted.
And while I am rambling along here I have to tell you I can get the contacts in my eyes in just a few minutes.
So you can teach an old dog like me to accept change.
I like being able to see better.
Truly amazing and now my fear is he will tell me I can't have them!
Meanwhile we are trying not to watch the pot of water on the stove, but we jump everytime the phone rings.
We are looking forward to meeting Baby girl Green very soon.
Very soon in deed!

 

Trees and Tiles

Catalpa Tree bloom

We have these Catalpa Trees on the other side of the pond. They have bloomed every year we have lived here, but nothing like this year. They are covered.
Mark brought me back a bloom the other night while he was out fishing. I had never seen one up close and I am amazed at their beauty.
Just think they have been right here under my nose all these years and I forgot to look at them!
Funny how we have those moments where we forget to take in what is around us.

A quick congratulations  to Hitomi amd Takuro - baby boy born last night around 8 pm!

The tile back splash is coming along, as long as things dry out the way I want them.
  I say I - but Mark jumped in to help me.
I am using a cone 6 clay body from Highwater Clays.
Red Stone.
I like the red stone for tiles and hand building. It could probably have a bit  more of grog in it for the size of these tiles.
I have high hopes I can pull this off with the clay body as is.
I am rolling the tiles to 3/4 of an inch and then carving away 1/4th of an inch for the design.
The customer wants a heavy relief on the tiles. She loves lots of texture and it shows in everything in the house from the tree and water feature that grace the foyer, to the leaf steps that lead down to the lower portion of the house. Lot's of texture and interesting elements in this house.

It takes about 4 to 5 days after rolling the tiles to be ready to lay down the pattern.
I place my plastic transfer on top and trace with a pen.
Then I lightly go over the design.
Cover, weight and leave.
The next day I start removing a layer of clay.
Cover and weight.
Then I really start moving out the clay.
Cover and weight.
As the tile becomes more dry and  I have hit my mark on the thickness I clean up the design.
Cover and wait.

And cross fingers.....
This group is now under plastic on old refrigerator shelf for air drying- nice and slow.
Meanwhile, it is time for a gas load.
Mark has been busyfiring the electric kilns to get all the pots ready for planning.
Today- no tiles on to stoneware.

Happy birthday Joel

I was washing dishes one day and looking out at the pond.
As I was day dreaming I saw our daughter running after this large gray barrel, which was bouncing off trees and heading straight for the pond.
It finally hit a tree and stayed put.
As I watched she unscrewed the lid and out pops her brother, our oldest child.
They were laughing and rolling on the ground and the next thing I heard was,"let's do it again!"
Hummmmm- when do you step in and say no.
I just let them roll it up the hill and put each other inside and roll it down the hill.
This became a favorite game.
Our oldest loved anything fast.
By the time he was three the side boards were off the little red wagon and he would pull it over to the top of the hill and jump on.
Again , the pond is off to the right at the bottom of the hill.
Raising kids is not for the weak.
There are moments you have to make major decisions.
When to say no and when to let go.
I wanted my kids to be kids.
They spent more time outside with the pigs and goats, frogs, toads, lizards, fish and yes, even snakes.
( good trick getting your sister to hold the jar...while you herded the snake in...)

Raising my two was fun.
Plain and simple it was fun and I would do it again!

Last year you married a great girl.
Enjoy your life- take off the side boards and have some fun!

Happy Birthday- I love you.
Mom

and Dad!

up the road we go

Yesterday was a trip to have that pesky tooth finished up.
Now that it is all over I am happy it is behind me and I hope that all the rest of my teeth behave!
While I was there I stopped into the Randolph Arts Guild to see fellow Seagrove potter David Stuempfle's exhibition.
The show opened last week.
I could not get there for the opening.
Instead I had the whole place to myself to enjoy the pots.
So I took a few pictures to share.

Pottery Article by Jay Henderson

My brother has written another great article on Pottery.
Take some time, get a cup of coffee, and read this one:
The Treasure Chest of Asheville, North Carolina, and its successor firm, Three Mountaineers, Inc., was a well-known seller of "mountain pottery" from the mid-1920s through the mid-1930s. So how much of this "mountain pottery" was actually made in the mountains of North Carolina? 
Go ahead, what else do you have to do?

The month of May

My mother- Happy Mother's day

My husband- Happy Anniversary- 38 years and you can still buy me with wine and dinner.
Thanks for driving!

My daughter- soon to be a mother herself- a favorite picture- her High School graduation.
Mark and Joel our oldest.

Our kids......

May is a big month for us- Happy Mother's day, Happy Anniversary.
Happy Birthday Louise- Mark's mother.
Happy Birthday Joel.
And soon Happy Birthday Ms. Baby girl Green... soon.

Spots

Mark caught me filling in the plastic transfer the other night.
I finally found a pen that would show up on the plastic! It was driving me a bit batty trying to get a mark on this plastic.
Now- to cut it into sections......
And figure out how to "photo shop" out that double chin....

Caution: Potter Bites

I always wanted to place a sign in the shop saying cation Potter bites.
The other sign I never made was, wake me when you want to buy something.
We found that on Saturdays if we sat in the shop while waiting for and waiting on customers we would fall asleep.
This had nothing to do with the customers and more to do with sitting still.
We move so much that we found when we sit still our eyes get heavy.
Yesterday I was able to creep up on a certain potter and take some pictures.
I need a camera that makes less noise ...since I was caught very quickly. Here is what I was able to get with the request of no head shots please.I am throwing in the please I really don't remember it being used!

About the clean studio space.
We are rather clean in our spaces but we have times when we are all over the place and rather messy.
We found early in our potter lives that we both needed things to be cleaned on a regular basis.
We both were trained to clean our spaces, wheels and tools at the end of the day.
The reason was that another student would be using your space when you left for the day.
Now it is nice because it helps to go into the studio and have your wheel waiting for you.
When it is not cold out I like to dump and have fresh water and a clean wheel.
Now you are wondering if this carries over to our house.
Come on people- you can write your name in the dust- we do clean our house - but not every day!
We spend most of our time in the studio.
Also- when we had the fire we tossed out 26 years of things- or the fire ate them.
I am still amazed at how much space we gained after the fire.
I don't recommend cleaning that way but for us it was a help to rid ourselves of some of the clutter.
We still have not covered the walls and I have some wall space I would like to cover.
Our son gave us world maps to replace the ones burnt up but I still have not put them up.
Maybe this weekend would be good!
Time to go spend too much time getting those contacts in my eyes.
Cheers!

Moving along on Wednesday

I would love to just be carving tiles-am I crazy???
But I have to keep the pots going as well to help Mark fill up the kiln.
I love to warm up on bottles.
yesterday they all wanted to be nice and fat.
No problem for me I like a fat pot.
Seems to fit me.

While I am making bottles, plates and jars Mark is back to those "crown" Pots.
He does a lot of these in two pieces. Throwing the bottoms first and then capping them off with a second thrown piece.

Sometimes there will be a third piece.

You can see where he has started stamping the shoulder of this one. Next he will do the fluting.
The cap you see is for a nice tall, fat jar.
Today I might be able to creep up on him and shoot some while he is fluting the bodies.

 

And here is my side of the room.
Not as organized and I am sure you can see the chalk line down the middle of the room. There would be more room if we did not need things like heat and air...... which are on Mark's side of the room.
I have been thinking of ways to reorganizing my side and set it up different, but right now it is all I can do to learn how to put contacts in my eyes.
At my age learning to stick ones fingers in ones eye is a feat unto itself.
It takes me a good 20 minutes not to fold them in half while sticking them in my eye.
It I was 12 I think I would have no problems.
The good think about this is I can now see your face across the room.

I was having problems with road signs and face recognition and this seems to help that out. The trick is going to be learning to put these things in.
For a dollar I let you watch!
Off to make some pots-

A qucik view of what is still blooming

A walk away from pot











In just a few days these will all be gone.

This Plant makes me think of how we all reach out and hang on.

A Sunday gone good

Sundays are one of those days where a person just needs a little family time.
I spent the morning chatting away with our daughter about "baby watch."
Mark has plans to pack a bag and be there as fast as he safely can get up the road.
All is well and they are counting down the days.
Excitement is in the air.

May is a big month for us.
Mark and I married in May.
Our son was born in May.
Joel and Katie married last May and now we are looking forward to a new May baby.

We went over and met Joel and Katie for lunch in Pittsboro where I received an early Mother's Day card and was trated to a nice lunch.
Our kids are only 18 months apart and Anna use to make sure she bought a card and got her brother to sign it.
She even did this when he was in the army.
Today I got a card from Joel- (thanks Katie!)
I have others from him and I think the last one I got from him was in crayon.
BUT!-----
I use to tell my kids what my mother told me, "Love me every day, not just one day of the year."
I did not understand this as a kid but as I raised mine I understood it very well.
Love and respect for one another goes a long ways.
My kids are the type of people I would have dinner and drinks with anyday.
Good people.
It was great to have a slice of family time- much needed! 

Then as we drove home my heart turned to May strawberries.
When May rolls in it is all I can think of, when to get them, how many to buy and how many jars of jam to make.
The one thing for certain is that store bought jam just does not compare to homemade.
They can put all kinds of things in the jam and yet all I add is sugar and lemon and cook the heck out of them  until they give it up and come to jam.
Round one is done and it is ready for the freezer.
I hope your Sunday was as jamming good as mine!