Goldilocks and the Three bears, or who's been sleeping in my bed?

Mark and I went to blowing Rock for a show this past weekend.
I was very worried about who I could leave here to run things while I was away.
Then I came up with a thought....one that I hoped could work out for two potters.
For me potter number 1, who has plenty of studio space to share and potter number 2, who could make use of our space in exchange for keeping us open and staying here while we were gone.

Well of all the potters I could not think of I could not think of  anyone better to try this with then Tracey Broome.
So- on Friday Tracey showed up here bright and early from her house ,which is about 45 minutes from here,to get a quick low down on the studio, the sales shop and the house.
This goes here- that goes there- here are towels, sheets and pillow- a/c instructions, here's how to run a charge, take a check and work the cash register, wrapping paper, masking tape, bags................ blah, blah,blah... and we were on our way just going up the road after throwing Tracey to the bears.
We had just hit Blowing Rock when we received a very exciting call from her.
Tracey had just made the biggest sale we have made in the store  this year.
She was blown away and so were we- it was exciting for her and us.
We have been in a real drought this summer with just enough sales to pay one bill at a time.
With Tracey's exciting news it looked like we might have a good weekend.

On Saturday I had made arrangements with Laurie Abela, our favorite soap maker, to be here to run the shop for the Potter's for Peace weekend.
That would, we had hoped, free Tracey to just work in the studio.
But- Tracey was in for a second adventure this weekend and I would rather she get a chance to tell you all about that herself.
Meanwhile, back in Whynot Laurie was busy running the shop, selling pots and her wonderful soaps with a %  to benefit The Central Asia Institute.
We have a few mugs and soaps left over.
If you are interested and would like a mug, a tumbler or some of the green tea soap contact us:
info@whynotpottery.com.

Blowing Rock was better for us this month then it was back in June.
We did start out the morning with a moment of regret when we looked at the mud hole that was our space.
It was a big mud puddle that someone had thrown an old rug in.
I was ready to head home when Mark asked for another space.
We were quickly given a new space that was perfect.
Level and much dryer.
It did throw us and the crafts people on either side of us in a tailspin as we were all trying to unload and put up tents.
We all just jumped in to help one another- first getting the other tents up and then ours.
Then everyone could get their work out.
I just love when 3 booths  work together to help one another out, no muss-no fuss!
Despite the overcast sky their were some buyers out.
We had two down pours but still managed to come out mostly dry.
Note the attractive blue tape keeping the lid down- I found it is better to tape the lid then to have it fly off while being picked up.

We are back home, unpacked and very happy with Goldilocks- seems she found just the right pace to sleep and leaft hardly a trace behind her.
(except some tea I am sitting here enjoying...)
I can't wait to see if she was able to get some work made and how her second adventure of the weekend went for her.
Thanks Tracey and Laurie job well done!

Seagrove Potters for Peace:Turning Stoneware into Schools

On Saturday the 14th of August we will once again be participating with our fellow Seagrove Potters in raising money for The Central Asia Institute.

Mark made a nice tall mug  good for anything you would like to put in it- hot or cold.
This mug is our family favorite.
My Mother, Mark's dad,  My sister Lee and BIL Tony rarely drink or drank out of anything but one of these mugs.
I have one of the first ones Mark ever made in 1983 and it is still one of my very favorites.
There are 10 in a variety of glazes for sale.

I have made a standard mug style I like for drinking tea.
This is the mug I reach for on those cold mornings for my cup of tea.
It seems just right for one tea bag and because the shape pulls in a bit it seems to keep the tea warm.
I will have 10 in a variety of glazes.

Beverly, who works with us and for us from time to time, was excited to make something to sell as well.
Beverly is by day the webmaster for the NC Zoo.
By night and weekends she makes pottery.
Beverly will have 7 tall tumblers for sale.

Also joining us and here to run the shop that day will be Laurie Abela from Abela Soaps and Bodyworks.
Laurie is a retired nurse who makes wonderful soap, eye pillows and other things.
Laurie has made a special Green Tea Soap to sell on Saturday.

All the pottery is signed with Seagrove Potters for Peace, the year, the maker and a peace sign.
Remember- there are no early sales.
Sales start at 9 am and go through 5 pm
Go to the website and print a list of the participating potters to carry with you.
You will need to drive from shop to shop, but what is life, if not an adventure.
We hope to see you on Saturday!
M

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

Asheville and Penland with a few waterfalls thrown in.

Mark and I headed to Asheville for a much needed break.
Our first stop was to see Brain and Gail McCarthy of Highwater Clays in Asheville.
several years ago, about 6, Gail bought a house which was falling down and full of critters of all kinds.
Through a lot of pure will and determination Gail turned the house into a sweet B&B.
We stayed on the first floor in the Potters room.
The whole house is full of potters works and it was a pleasure to see the pots and a great place to base while we took in Asheville and took a day off to see waterfalls.
We had a great lunch with Brian and Gail at the Clingman's Cafe when we first got into town which is just down at the end of the block from Odyssey.
Great food, simple, but very good!

That evening we meet with Brian over at the Wedge for beers.
The Wedge is a brew pub across the street from Odyssey off Clingman Drive.
You can grab a beer and a bowl of peanuts and sit outside among the steel art.


Since the last time we were in Asheville the area called River Arts District has turned into a large art community with the area full of studios of all types. There is just about anything you would like to see there and the studio's seem to be open at all hours.
The Wedge is a great place to for the artist to take a break, grab a beer and just wind down at the end of the day.
While we were sitting talking and having a beer Michael Sherrill walked over to say hello.
He was in Asheville picking up some supplies with his youngest child and stopped in at the Wedge.
A dinner at Salsas Downtown and we were ready to call it a day and get up early for waterfalls.


Tomorrow- Waterfalls and backroads.

Potters For Peace and giving

Today, with the money collected from the vessels Mark and I both made and sold, we will be able to give the CAI a check for $550.00.

I plan to get that right to Beth Gore at Cady ClayWorks.
My hats off to Beth for pulling this all together.
We meet some great folks who came out for the vessels on Saturday.
By noon- we had to tell folks we were sold out.

A lot of the folks who came out wanted to stay and chat a bit, about the book, how it had touched them and how important it was to do things such as this.
They wanted us to know how touched they were by the giving from the potters.

Potters are giving folks.
I know that this was the weekend a fund raiser was going on for Liz Zlot Summerfield up at Penland.
Liz, a potter has cancer, the potters up in the mountains rallied behind Liz and her family by putting together an auction to raise money for medical bills.
You can still donate money to the family through Michael Kline's Bolg.

I know we can not always give to everything that comes along, but I do feel for the most part, we all do what we can to help.

So hats off to the potters up in the mountains and best wishes to Liz and her family during this time.

Potters for Peace

All sold out.......
Thanks to all who came out for the event!
Meredith

A good week

This has been one of those weeks.
It started out with a visit with a
friend who has been gone from Seagrove for about 12 years.
She has gone on to go to school, go to China and is now teaching art.
Good to see you Anna and catch up on your great life!






We are busy getting ready for the fall trade, we hope!
I had to post these Candle sticks. They are for my mother-in law's church. We started this order the night of the fire. Mark had made the vases and some candlesticks last thing of the day and they were lost in the fire.
Mark then threw two candle sticks months ago which were lost in the bisque.
These are his recent attempts to finish the order.
I think they might work and they go well with the vases, which are finished and sent on to the church.
These are a combination of thrown and extruded.

Fingers crossed, it would be good to have these finished and I know the church will be happy to have them.

Tonight there is an opening for the current show at the NCPC.

I have made some Pesto Cheesecake for the reception.
And tomorrow we have our Potters for Peace sale- all in all a busy week.


Then there was the butterfly, who came out on Wednesday.
I think it was just out. It's wings were folded up tight.
It took a few hours before she started to move around and I was there showing her to Anna, her kids and sister from Starworks when she took off and flew.

It was magical.

Seagrove Potters for Peace build schools half a world away

Seagrove Potters for Peace build schools half a world away
Thursday, August 13, 2009
By Jeri Rowe Staff Writer
Accompanying Photos

Jerry Wolford (News & Record)
Photo Caption: A cup with a peace logo by Michael Mahan of From the Ground Up pottery and a cup with Potters for Peace text by Whynot Pottery.
Related Links
Audio: Interview with Greg Mortenson

SEAGROVE — On Saturday, in this stretch of Randolph County where the corn grows tall, 13 potters will start selling 200 mugs, tumblers and tea cups and donate everything they make to a man some call America’s Mother Teresa.
And it’s not just any mug, or any tumbler. Turn it over or look inside. You’ll see the familiar three-fingered symbol, or the phrase that says everything, “Seagrove Potters For Peace.’’
Potters need it.

Talk to them about last year’s so-called “war,’’ and they still sound wounded over the public spat about two festivals that ultimately boiled down to the pottery community’s artistic vision. Now, they say it’s over. It was just a small town disagreement blown out of proportion, big city big.
Still, it seems regrettable. Things got so emotional, rife with rumor and accusations, that it felt odd it even took place in this beautiful rolling landscape made famous by clay.

Yet, by coincidence, potter Beth Gore finished Greg Mortenson’s book “Three Cups of Tea’’ in March and said to herself, “Here is someone doing something I have always been talking about.’’

Mortenson’s 2006 book explains why he started building schools 16 years ago in Pakistan and Afghanistan after nearly dying climbing one of the world’s tallest peaks.
Since then, with the help of the nonprofit he created, Central Asia Institute, he has completed nearly 180 schools on the other side of the world where danger and violence reign.
His idea: Education can trump religious extremism in our war-on-terror world.
But Gore didn’t want to send a check. She wanted to enlist her talent. Create a mug — the most iconic piece of a potter’s art — involve other potters and raise money so Mortenson can build schools and promote peace.

That simple idea has taken off.
And now, thanks to the blog-friendly world of Seagrove, potters as far away as California and Utah have read about the idea and are thinking about doing the very same thing.

“It’s a nice contrast to the ridiculous 'Pottery Wars,’ ’’ says Gore, 54, a Seagrove potter for 22 years.
“I thought, 'Let’s do something positive. Let’s work for peace. Let’s make a little change in our corner of the world.’ ’’

In two weeks, Greensboro’s Canterbury School will begin its third year of raising money for the Central Asia Institute. So far, the school has raised nearly $32,000 — enough to build and support one school for five years.

It started with Elaine Hoover’s fourth-graders collecting pennies and selling lemonade.
In April, when Mortenson came to Canterbury for two days, all you had to do was talk to a few students and they’d tell you quickly what they’ve come to believe: Little people coming together can make a big change.
And maybe, talent — and a little collaboration — can, too.

Take 19-year-old Bayley Owen, the seventh generation of her potter family. She made cups for Saturday’s big sale because she sees the idea as “really cool.’’

Then, there’s Mark and Meredith Heywood, husband and wife potters who run Whynot Pottery. They’ve made mugs and tumblers, too. But for a different reason.
In July 2008, they lost their pottery studio. A lightning strike started a fire and caused $60,000 in damage.
The morning after the fire, people started to come. They wrote checks, brought food and donated studio space so the couple could continue their work. But mostly, they came over to listen. So, when Gore approached the Heywoods, Meredith told her husband: “We have to do this.’’
“Every act of kindness brings out another act of kindness,’’ Meredith, 56, says today. “It’s like a snowball.’’

A snowball the original Mother Teresa would understand.

“What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean,’’ she once said. “But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.’’

Mortenson loves that quote. It seems Seagrove potters do, too.
Contact Jeri Rowe at 373-7374 or jeri.rowe@news-record.com

From our local Paper- Potters for Peace By Mary Anderson -- Staff Writer

SEAGROVE — Thirteen Seagrove-area potteries have created special drinking vessels as a fund-raiser for Greg Mortenson.His No. 1 New York Times best-seller, “Three Cups of Tea — One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time,” explains his own efforts for peace.
On Saturday, the Potters for Peace fund-raiser will take place at individual shops. Teacups, mugs and tumblers will be offered for sale, with the full purchase price being donated to the Mortenson Central Asia Institute (CAI).
Many of the items are specially inscribed for this event.
Copies of Mortenson’s book in adult, young adult and children’s versions will also be for sale at several potteries.
Mortenson, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, will be the speaker at the N.C. State University Convocation speaker on Aug. 17.
Through his Central Asia Institute, Mortenson has built hundreds of schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where illiterate and impoverished children are prey to recruitment by terrorist organizations.

Vessels by Westmoore, Tom Gray, Old Gap, From the Ground Up, Dover, Dean & Martin, Bulldog and Cady Clay Works Potteries will be for sale at Cady Clay Works, 3883 Busbee Road, Seagrove.Vessels by other potteries will be available at the individual shops: Whynot Pottery, 1013 Fork Creek Mill Road; Thomas Pottery, 1295 S. N.C. 705; Old Gap Pottery, 944 N.C. 705; Jugtown, 330 Jugtown Road; Caldwell-Hohl Artworks, 155 Cabin Trail; and Ben Owen Pottery, 2199 N.C. 705 and From the Ground Up, 172 Crestwood Road, Robbins.Items will be available at the shops only until Aug. 24, when any remaining vessels can be ordered by email or telephone.More information about the individual potteries, as well as a request form for a free Seagrove area map, can be found at http://www.discoverseagrove.com/, or email seagrovepottersforpeace@yahoo.com.

Potter Beth Gore of Cady Clay Works urges everyone, of all beliefs, to read “Three Cups of Tea.”“It's obvious that we, as Americans, are woefully uninformed about the people, beliefs and way of life in these areas of military conflict,” Gore said.

The book begins with Mortensen’s failed attempt to climb K2, the world’s second-tallest mountain. Mortenson got lost and wandered into a remote mountain village in Pakistan. The impoverished local people shared what little they had and nursed him back to health. He returned to the U.S., sold most of his belongings, lived in his car and tried to raise money to build the village a school. The skeptical villagers, who had heard promises from foreign climbers before, were astonished when he returned a year later with building materials.

Newsman Tom Brokaw, who made the first $100 donation to Mortenson’s effort in 1993, said, “Three Cups of Tea” “is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time … (and) proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.”In July, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman accompanied Mortenson and Adm. Mike Mullen, the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to open a school for girls in Pushghar, a remote village in the Hindu Kish mountains.
The little girls, crowded three to a desk and eager to learn, were delighted.

Friedman wrote: “Indeed, Mortenson’s efforts remind us what the essence of the ‘war on terrorism’ is about. It’s about the war of ideas within Islam — a war between religious zealots who glorify martyrdom and want to keep Islam untouched by modernity and isolated from other faiths, with its women disempowered, and those who want to embrace modernity, open Islam to new ideas and empower Muslim women as much as men.
America’s invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were, in part, an effort to create the space for the Muslim progressives to fight and win so that the real engine of change, something that takes nine months and 21 years to produce — a new generation — can be educated and raised differently.
“While the admiral passed out notebooks, Mortenson told me why he has devoted his life to building 131 secular schools for girls in Pakistan and another 48 in Afghanistan:“The money is money well spent. These are secular schools that will bring a new generation of kids that will have a broader view of the world.
We focus on areas where there is no education.
Religious extremism flourishes in areas of isolation and conflict.
“When a girl gets educated here and then becomes a mother, she will be much less likely to let her son become a militant or insurgent,” he added. “And she will have fewer children.
When a girl learns how to read and write, one of the first things she does is teach her own mother. The girls will bring home meat and veggies, wrapped in newspapers, and the mother will ask the girl to read the newspaper to her and the mothers will learn about politics and about women who are exploited.”
Since 2007, the Taliban and its allies have bombed, burned or shut down more than 640 schools in Afghanistan and 350 schools in Pakistan, of which 80 percent were schools for girls, Friedman said.
Friedman quotes Mortenson as having changed his views about the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Originally critical of the military, Mortenson told Friedman, “The U.S. military has gone through a huge learning curve.
They really get it. It’s all about building relationships from the ground up, listening more and serving the people of Afghanistan.”In a CAI publication, “Journey of Hope,” Karin Ronnow explains:“Ultimately, most Pakistanis and Afghans want peace. They want working democracy. They want more and better-paying jobs, good roads, clean drinking water and food to eat. They are fed up with violence and they want to get on with living their lives. And, they know a better future for their children starts with education.”More information can be found at CAI’s website, http://www.ikat.org/, or http://www.penniesforpeace.org/, a worldwide educational fund-raising program for schoolchildren of all ages.