The big gulp!

It is sometimes hard to gauge size when you are looking at pictures on the blogs.
But this mug was made for a customer who requested a big mug.
Mark used 2 1/2 pounds of clay.
It is a big mug!
I hope the customer is happy with the size.
He wanted big- this is big.

We had rain!
And the temperature went down and with the rain the humidity is down as well.
Oh my gosh it feels great not to feel like we are all baking every time we walked out the door.
This feels so good.
It will also be good for the blueberries too.
They started coming in early because it has been so hot.
But they really needed this rain to make the berries plump up.
I have some to pick now, but by tomorrow I will be picking a bunch.
I love to freeze them and then take out what I need through the winter months.
I toss them on my morning cereal or we make a crisp to enjoy in January.
Of course we need one for the summer months as well.
I just fill one of our pie plates with berries, sprinkle with cinnamon and then top with:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar ( some thing call for the real stuff)
1/2 cup butter
make this into a crumb, pile it on top of the berries ( which I don't sweeten- I like that tart and sweet taste)
Bake at 350 for at least 45 minutes.
I love to go longer and get the berries good and bubbly with the top nice and brown.
You can eat this pretty much right after it is done, but we like it best completely cooled, or even the next day.
Spoon in bowl and have some whipped cream or ice cream to top it all.
Yum!

Seagrove Potters for Peace:Turning Stoneware into Schools

Last year Beth Gore, from Cady ClayWorks, came up with the great idea to have Seagrove Potters make  drinking vessels of some kind.
We would sign them on the bottom.
Seagrove Potters for Peace and the proceeds would then go to the Central Asia Institute (CAI)
This year Mark and I will participate once again.
We are both making a mug.
I have made one of my favorite Tea mugs in our standard size.

Mark is making a his favorite mug, which is a size larger.

We are kind of like Goldilocks with which one is '"just right."

On Saturday, August 14 from 9am to 5pm.
24 potteries will hold a sale of specially signed vessels to help Greg Mortenson build schools in impoverished areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan as a long-term solution to terrorism.
Each pottery will produce a unique item, specially signed for this event.

There will be no early sales, but any remaining items can be ordered by email or telephone on Monday, August 16.  Some potteries will also have copies of Mortenson's books for sale.

 Mortenson's new book, "Stones into Schools", was released in December 2009 and if anything is even more inspiring than his first. The stories of the lives that are changed by CAI are heart-warming. The title inspired our 2010 event, "Turning Stoneware into Schools".

We  are being joined on that weekend by our friend and soap maker Laurie Abela from Abela soaps.
Laurie is creating a special Green Tea soap for this event.
Save the date and plan to come out and shop for this event.
All the participating potters will be selling their signed works at their own galleries.
Be sure and check the list before you head out.
Cheers!
M

isn't this where we all keep our pets?

On Sunday while chatting with our son on the phone I spied a visitor taking advantage of a cool spot in the kiln.

Of course my first thought was, "why did someone leave a piece of rubber in the kiln/"
On a closer look......

I realized it was one of our "friends."
I have written a few post about snakes and how I have learned to live with them.
They are beneficial in many ways. I tend to leave them where I find them and hope they do their job.
My job in this case is to not get in their way.
So, I left him.
Later- Mark came in to grab the camera in time to see the great escape.

I know this guy gives some of you the willies- but for me it is another day in the paradise of the constant and ever changing science project I live in.
Cheers!
M

Sunday

Sunday:
Many people look at Sunday as the end of the week.
Others look at Sunday as the start of a new week.
I am one of those who look at it as the end of the week.
I like Sundays, if for no other reason then it gives me a full day to do nothing.
Or it gives me a full day to chip away at all those things I put off during the week.
Since Mark and I have a full time business here Sundays can be one of the few days we can spend some time doing something that might not be business related.

Whoa- you are thinking- how do they stay married for all those years, work together and want to spend time together.
Whoa - I say back - crazy huh?



Now on to some of the hard parts.
If you came here for your fun and to see what great lives we have now is the time to go elsewhere.
I talked with Brother Jay yesterday.
He is home and doing as well as he possible can.
He has been back into the hospital for another round of "hydration".
His body has to adjust to all the things the doctors had to do to bypass the small bowel.
He no longer gets nutrition from food but through an IV feeding tube.
Through this all his family is staying strong and folks are visiting.
We are planning to go soon.

If you are inclined to keep up with him stop over at his blog and post up a comment of encouragement.
The next several months promise to be hard ones.
So hey- go hug a loved one- tell someone you care about them.
Be kind- be generous, be there for others.

So as I wrap up this week and look into the weeks coming I hope to be able to hold my own as well as brother Jay- he is an example to us all.

Peace,
M

and in a flash!

I don't know how it was at your house yesterday but it hit 101 here.
And even with that heat the flashing was finished up on the kiln.
Looks pretty dog gone hot, does it not!??

We are not the only ones who have plans for this kiln.

We have some friends who are already filling it up!

I worked on some jars using the patterns I  "lifted"  from my night gown.

 I have done them on tiles and pillow pots in the past.
Now I find them coming out on small dishes and jars.
I wonder where they will show up next.
AND! the first set of  tiles for the back splash are through the bisque kiln.
What a load off to have some at this stage- more to go and more to come.
keep cool!

And how was your day!?

Last night I found that lonely forgotten bill.
It is the one that latched a ride with the paid bills and just hid among them quietly  waiting to be found.
It was only 9.07.
Nine dollars and seven cents..... it was only over due by two days....
I thought about writing out a check and just riding out to the post office and dropping it in the mail.
Then I thought, "Why not pay it on line!"
Why people do this ALL the time. In fact as dinosaurish as I am even I have paid a bill or two on line.

Off to the website, shuffling through all the Blah, blah, blah. Sign up and go to pay on some site they farm payments out to call freechecks something or other .com.
I get it all set up and they say- this will not post as paid until after the 29th.
Click here and find out why.
Click-blah,blah,blah.
Well, I can get it in the mail before you can take care of this so I will write a check and mail it.
BUT-wait! There is a phone number on the bill for a pay this bill now.
Ring, Ring Ring.
Press one for English
I press 1.
Put your account number in, which is our phone number:
**&^%%$#@#$%^&... I do.
NOW- to better verify your account look at your bill and put the total of your bill in.
907
pause- no, again, put the total of your bill in ,for example if your bill is $10.27 cents put in 1027.
I put in 907.
Pause.
No, they( who ever the hell they is) tell me this is not right and I should look at the blasted bill at where the total amount due is and put that amount in.
Once more, like a fool, I do
907.
Pause.
no-----blah, blah,blah.
Then I am giving another number to call during office hours of 8-6 pm tomorrow.
So this morning I start over.
First the other number wants me to "get it on in a most inappropriate way with myself while they talk to me."
Wrong number- I don't think I will get my bill paid this way.

So I start the process over again and like a fool I do the whole thing again.
Call-press one-press two put in amount to verify your account.
907-
them-no.....that's all it took
I take  the receiver, not so calmly in my hand, and I bang the receiver down over and over saying things that would make a sailor blush.
Then I take out a pen and write a note that covers the bill with what I think of their on line service.
Put a stamp on the envolpe and drive it to the post office.
Take your online-on phone service and  put it where my 907 is going.
Sincerely,
M.Heywood
 

Bee-cause I love you

Yesterday in my walk to work, involves getting up and walking across the yard, I walked by the Magnolia trees which were just humming with activity. I just happened to have my trusty camera with me because you never know when something good will happen and plus I was out for some Blog material.
I happen to catch these bumble bees all in twitter over the pollen.
It felt a little like I was a peeping Mary watching them roll in the carpels  .
One was just having a field day, as they say around here. He or she was just rolling and humming a low happy hum.

I just finished reading Julia over at Henhouse Pottery  and I am sure she could tell you much more then I can about the bees and what they are doing.
I was just happy to watch.
While I was there another bee, not to be left out, joined the party.

That is when I figure three was a crowd and went to work.

When I got there I looked out my window and in time to catch this worker bee finishing up the chimney.
It looks great from here- now to close off the roof and do the flashing.

Out early again to beat some heat and go check on the bisque load of tiles.
Fingers are still crossed!

Through the roof!

After a weekend nibbling baby toes and napping through the later part of father’s day it was up and back to the grind early this morning.


Mark is determined to get the small kiln finished.
He has spent the better part of two days getting the chimney up through the roof.
He is trying to get up and get moving during the cooler part of the day.

Although it did not stay cool for very long.
I think we hit 81 well before 10 am and it was a steady climb to 90 plus after that.
By 11 it was too hot for outdoor work even though Mark pushed on until noon.
Then it was time for a cool down, some lunch and a move inside where there is A/C, clay and tunes on the radio.

I spent last week finishing up another section of tiles- thanks to Laura who dropped in Friday to help me out! It was great because it freed me up to have time to nibble on those baby toes.
I loaded all the dry tiles for the backsplash in my short kiln today and have it set up to fire tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
And toes!

I hope your weekend is as lazy as ours.

We are those people

We are those people that when we watch a movie or some TV we are always looking in the background at the pots.
Yep, forget the plot if there is a good pot in the background.
Did you see that vase! Back it up and we look again.
Gee, if that guy would move we could see it better.
If it is clay it has our attention.
The other thing that grabs my attention is details, or lack of details.
I am watching a guy in a scenic eat something; let's say pie.
He takes a bite of the pie and then they pan away.
They come back and he has a whole slice sitting there.
They pan away and come back and the plate is empty, then away and the pie is back.
Drives me insane.
I want that job.
So we are watching some movie the other night and Mark spots this lamp in the background.
And it just has to come out of his head.
It's like having a tune rolling around- you have to get it out.

So he does put his own spin on the lamp with some carving and stamping.

 Pretty nice if you ask me!

I am busy carving away on the tile backsplash.
I thought I would just show you my "carving station".

The blocks of wood help me gauge the depth as does the bar across the top.

This piece of bamboo is what I use to gauge the depth for the inside areas.
Hey- this is not rocket science!
It's that detail thing!

still here

I'm still here its just that I am busy as a bee right now.

We seemed to have missed the flight- there this morning, gone this afternoon.
Busy -I tell you, just a tad busy.
But like a bad penny, I will be back!

Blowing Rock

This weekend was the first time we have set up at Blowing Rock at their Art in The Park.
The Art in the Park is really set up behind the park.
The staff is extremely well organized. When you pull in you are given your place to set up, but you don't go in until the way is clear for you. When you do pull in you must unload everything and remove your vehicle and trailer pronto.
This allows the other folks to come in and do the same.
When you break down it is the same deal. You must be all packed and ready before you are allowed to get in and load your trailer.
This meant no watching as people scrambled to get in fast, block the area and run over each other to get set up and break down. It also meant there was a calm to both that I don't see at other shows.
We did have some good sales despite the skinny crowd.

When we set out to become potters we did shows for the first two years and decided we would prefer to work out something else.
We concentrated on building work space and having a small gallery at home. We also had a few great wholesale accounts that we sold to several times a year.
This allowed us to slowly build a business where we were.
We also kept part time jobs to fill the gaps.
After all we were not in this alone, we had to kids we were raising.
Over the past few years we have watched as wholesale has become consignment. It is much easier for a gallery or shop owner to operate but it is hard for any one of us to loan our work.
We are not fond of this method of selling work.
You are in a situation where you have to follow and keep up with what is sold and what is not. If you are with a good gallery you will get your check on time when the work sells.
If you are with a not so good gallery you will have to chase them down for your money and possibly for the return of your work.
We managed quite well how we were for a number of years.
Now we find our selves having to go out and do shows.
This has been quite an experience since we were not set up to do shows.
Having to set up for shows adds another element to all you are already doing.
It means, tent, booth,trailer or van, travel, packing, unpacking, what will sell, time away from working, time to apply for shows.
It has been an interested new layer to the work schedule.
In many ways it has put us back out there and reminds folks who we are and where we are.
Yet, at the same time I feel it cuts into time we could be working.
We have many discussions on how things have changed in Seagrove and beyond.
We talk about how to deal with those changes and what we plan to do next.
After almost 30 years in to this we are still exploring all the avenues.
A new booth is the next one and possibly a van.
For now it is unpack and see what the week brings.
It is time for a few good weeks on the wheels.
Happy Spinning!

Some stamping, flowers and a little love

Sometimes things just take you over.
When Mark was working on teapots the other day he did not like this shape for a teapot and instead it just stayed a jar.
As he was fluting and stamping the jar just took over.
Sometimes it is that old in for a penny in for a pound.
But as you can see the panel in the jar has a lot of detail.
The star pattern is made with a stamp Mark made that does an x first then you turn if slightly, stamp again and you get  one of these* .
That means this jar was stamped about 140 times.............
He was laughing at him self- and yet there is that good old OCD thing that just takes over and since you started well- it just has to be done.

The Magnolia trees are in full swing here.
This is the time of year they really shine and the bees love them.
We have to be quick sometime to catch a customer as they drift over and grab one, close their eyes to smell.
I am always a little horrified that one day a bee will be sucked up a nostril.
We love to pull them back to reality, pick one  for them, shake out the bees and tell them to take and enjoy.
Better for the nose that way.
And speaking of the nose... what would my season be if I did not get some moon flowers going?
I saved seeds from last year and have started them in damp paper towels. I looked today and I have at least 12 sprouted, with a nice root going.
I have been know to wait until the first leaves pop out before I plant.
So, yea, you can expect pictures of moon flowers, again.
I do think I will get these in the ground by Monday. 

 Update:
Baby Green is growing and a delight to all!
Brother Jay is safely tucked in at home thanks to his wonderful daughter who stayed with him at the hospital, checked him out and drove him home. She is one super kid and I once was along in the car with her and her Dad and just dank in their chatter of life and music.
It warmed me as knowing she was there for him does now.
We had text messages along the route until the last one late last night.
He amd been seen by a home heath nurse and was all tucked in.
Sweet dreams.
Peace

Come go with us.

First, thank you all so much for your well wishes for my brother.
He will be heading home today.
Our thoughts are with him and his family as he settles in.
We all live in different places so we are all planning to go see him as soon as we can.
Remember to take some time with family when you can.
Hug a love one  today for me okay!

Mark is heading up to Blowing Rock this weekend.
I hope you will stop in the booth if you are there.
He will be in booth number 12.
I have all the pots packed up and ready for him to go up the mountain.

This week I have been doing some work on the Clay and Blogs show.
I sent information to Tom Starland for Carolina Unleashed along with digitals of work sent to me.
Well, gosh I just remember I did not send any for Mark and I.
Sometimes I get so busy working on this I forget we are in it as well!
I have been playing tag team with Chris over at the Arts council shoring up some of the details there.
This show has a lot of promise.
And fall will be here before we know it.
I can't tell you where May went and June is slipping by quickly.


As my brother Jay says.
Peace

Oh, Brother or life such as it is

I have no good tile for this post and thought about posting something earlier today and yet- I needed my brother to say it first.
As many of you know my oldest brother Jay has written many wonderful article on NC pottery.
He is a lawyer by trade, a potter for fun, a fisherman and a person who enjoys life and all it has to offer.
Jay has been battling cancer for awhile now.
Through all of the ups and downs - the good days and the bad he has continued to be a husband, son, father and brother. He has called me often, emailed me and we have enjoyed many conversations on growing up together and our times on the farm. Our interest in NC pottery gave us another bond and many good hours of conversation.
Jay  was taken to the hospital over the weekend.
Things are not going as well as we all wanted.
So, if you have some time send some good thoughts and wishes.
Better yet post him a note if you have enjoyed his articles and let him know.
He would enjoy hearing from you .

From Why to Whynot

While we were in Norfolk Mark received an email asking him if he could date stamp a receipt.
The request was a little unusual so Mark asked me what I thought.
I thought it was a bit unusual and asked Mark what he thought and why would someone want a date stamped receipt. My first thoughts would maybe for customs.
I have had customers who needed a receipt for that purpose.
 
Mark laughed and said he thought maybe the person needed an alibi.
So he emailed them back to find out why they needed a time stamped receipt and was he providing the guy with an ailbi.
The email back explained he was part of the "iron butt association".
Pray tell you ask, what is the iron butt association?
My thoughts exactly.
Well, the iron butt association is an organization of serious long distance bike riders.
Mike, who lives in Washington State, would be riding the Why to Whynot ride.
 He would go toWhy Arizona  and from Why he would ride to Whynot NC and this all had to be done in 50 hours.

From his timeline we knew he would show up on Saturday morning.
There was a point that we thought he missed his mark and we would not see him.
Turns out we were wrong. The phone rang and he was stopping by to see us. He had been in the area, over to the Whynot General Store for gas and a receipt there.

Mike spent the better part of his time talking with us about what we do.
He was intrigue with the whole pottery thing and once or twice laughed and said to Mark- you really were a hippie.
Well-Yea....
So after clocking in some time here he would go find a place to eat and sleep.
Then the ride home would be slower, more scenic and restful.

We also had a visit from Tom Starland who writes and publishes Carolina Unleashed.
Tom was here when Mike showed up.
We all enjoyed the look of the bike and the bug covered wind shield.
This bike was packed to travel.
I don't think there was an unused space.

I caught Mike on his way back out the drive and don't we all wish, just a little, to be going with him.

This make me think of Kari , one of our potters in the show; Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story, and her husband.
he is off on his own journey while she is busy with pots and kids.
Happy Trails.

June Pots

Even with the strom that blew through this was a good firing.
Mark did find and plug a hole that was in the flue.
The hole was at least 1 inch x 10 inches hiding under some soft brick.
He plugged it up using some castable.
It seemed to him that the kiln had a better draw, providing a better air flow through the kiln.
The Iron red glaze, which had been coming out really muddy was so much better through out the kiln.
The other glazes seemed richer as well.
Seems a good idea to check all aroung an old gas kiln before firing.
Who knows how long the hole was there.
But after this firing it will be hard to tear this kiln down.
It is worthy of a few more firing.
Stop by if you are in Seagove this weekend !