Giraffes

These are for you.
Even though you are not here I am reminded of you when I worked on these.
Carrying on.
M

No thank you.

You know the drill, the phone rings and it is one of those calls that asks you to, turn on your computer, lower your credit card rate, make a donation to.... I have talked about them before here.
But, never have I been on the other end.
I had taken an order for a tile of the giraffe that Lee and I worked on together.
It was the prototype for the back splash that we did before Lee left us.

I have a small tile in the store that was a test for the glazes that we used on the black splash.
Someone saw it, wanted a bigger one, and I made it.
The other day I noticed that there was no email contact, only a phone number.
I called.

 Ring, Ring.
A male answers with a very brisk, "hello!"
"This is Meredith Heywood of Whynot Pottery in Seagrove and I have an order ready for you."
I thought I sounded clearly enough and had identified who I was and why I was calling.
I was met with a big, "who?!"
I then stated, " My name is Meredith Heywood, at Whynot Pottery and you ordered a tile from me."
 The answer to this was, "no thank you ".
And, he hung up.

I had to think about this a minute.
Do I call back and go through this dance again?
Or, do I price the tile and hang it on the wall?

I priced the tile and hung it on the wall.
They will either contact me, or, one day, wonder, why, I never, called them.

I have quit saying no thank you and just hanging up on the telemarketers now.
Instead, I place the phone down and walk away.
I guess you could say I am putting them on hold.

Today's flower.
These things are a love.

Could you hold please?
I'll be right back........................
M

There she is- up and all ready for the party!

Letting go of the things I can not control- and trying to see the whole picture.
I would have smudged the tail over a bit...
done!

Shaking off the cobwebs...

Tile will tuck in back here....

Yesterday after a wonderful and much too fast visit with our daughter, her friend and the Grand baby it was time to pack off the tile project and get it delivered.


We packed it all up and took it off to the new owner with the hope that it would be installed this week.
(there is a Christmas party coming up)
We set the whole thing out, talked to the tile setter and then at some point I realized I had to let it go.
I have no problem letting go of the pottery I make but this let go was more like sending a child off.
I thought I would be jumping for joy after, but instead have had a bit of the let down feeling.
I guess after all the months of work maybe I wanted a band and dancing girls for the send off.
I can only wait now for my sister to get some pictures up for me and fingers crossed it all tucks in it's new home and fits like I hope it will.

I hope these guys are friendly.....

 We did take a few pictures so you could see the many friends the giraffe will be surrounded by.

I do love these stairs that lead down to the rooms below.

I hope he does not eat giraffes! 

say goodbye Gracie...goodbye.

Now to shake off the cobwebs, sweep out the studio and see where I can start.
Wheel- tiles- wheel- tiles- choices to be made.
Peace,
M

Sunday- don't you love a Sunday in the fall....

We finished unloading the gas kiln yesterday and all in all it was a good firing.
We had a few seconds which is not bad considering the size of the kiln.
There are always a few pots that just go in another direction than you want them to, independent souls that they are.
But, over all we are pleased.
I spent my time sanding and pricing and sorting.
Pots for the store, pots for the show, pots for orders.
Next week we will set up for the 3rd. Celebration Of Seagrove Potters.
We set up in the old Luck's Bean Cannery on Highway 705.
The space is big and it has a roof!
A bonus!
I have heard there are potters who only do indoor shows.
I would like to be that potter- then again sometimes outdoor shows can be very nice.
We use to do one that was outside in July.
The weather could be rainy, hot as the dickins and humid as hell.
But- we sold pots.
Gosh you can put up with a lot if you are making some money.
Who's that down below you ask?
I also spent yesterday wandering back and forth to check the temperature of the electric kiln.
439
438
437.....finally around 3 pm which is as it should be it hit 259.
I thought - okay the lid is going up.

so here we are- the tiles are all out.

Time to put it all out and make sure it will fit the space.

I feel pretty good about this for a first time large tile project.
There is some warping- but I think we can over come it.
If there was time I might redo two.
But the customer wants this up by the end of the month.

Tray- a surprise from the kiln- better write this one down...

My sister Lee is working on sheep tiles- they are  fun!

We are back out to start packing, plan our booth and in general get ready for another week.
Then again- we need to declare this a PJ day- who's with us??
Top of the morning to you all!
M

Jungle House Tiles

Left hand side

Laying in the glaze

Laying in glaze

Right hand side

Put those days down and walk slowly away.....

Some one and I am not naming any names, is taking days out of the week.
I just wish I could get them to stop.
This week we finished glazing the pots for the gas kiln.
That is always a long job and to top things off we took out Sunday to go and pack up the pots for the Clay and Blogs show.
Tracey, who is the best ever, meet us there for the pack up.
Thanks Tracey!
We packed up some for picking up, some for delivery and a few for shipping.
Then there are some that took exit right over to the gift shop of the Campbell House Gallery.
And in case you are in the area you can still see some of the work and take home a pot.
I have my eye on two I would like to bring home.
I have to pace myself.
I did - or I should say we did come home with a Brandon Phillips, a Zygote Blum and a Alex & Nancy Solla.
I bought a gift, which I can not tell you about since they read here....
But I think they will love it.
There is another gift there I am thinking about.
The director told me about one of our local pottery collectors who came in about 5 one evening and did some serious buying.
All in all I think the show went great and now I am working on  getting some slides together for a talk I will be doing about the show on Friday at  The North Carolina Pottery Collector's Guild. 
Mark has helped me sift through the pictures to bring the slide show down  from 15minutes to about 6 .
I put everyone in without overloading them with images.
If I can ever figure it out I will put it up someplace.

I am looking forward to this part of Sunday!

Then- late yesterday afternoon I unloaded the first firing of the back splash.
I was very pleased and will be out there loading up another kiln today to fire tomorrow.
I am like a cat on a griddle with this thing.
I need to get it all finished up.
So about that gas load- with the tiles, the talk - it will just wait until Sunday for loading and Monday for fire.
There I go taking more days out of the week.
Hey- it's me stealing those days!
I am going to have to have a long talk with me!


 Vase- Mark

and another test

You know how it is- you get something in your head and even when you get it wrong.... well where is that nobody to lay the blame on?
I am running another round of test after picking up one twice and not picking up the third glaze once.
Is that as clear as M.U.D.?
I got a glaze coded wrong and ended up with the same color twice when I was trying three different glazes for the grass on the back splash.
Well heck that is why I am testing right?
Back over to load my test kiln for a quick fire.
And those pillow pots came out Fab- pictures later.

Is it just me having TROUBLE with the new way to load pictures?
I hit the button and nothing happens.
I am beginning to take it personally!
Off to load that test kiln.

Testing 1,2,3.....

Before I go hog wild on the back splash I have one round of test to finish up.
Lee and I went over the glazes for the back splash and there are a few I have recently added that we both like.
Now to move them from a 2 inch tile to bigger.
You know how this is -you make a test love it and then throw it on EVERYTHING- only to have it come out of the kiln ... and you look and go- OMG what is that?
Ouch- too bright, too loud too PINK- whatever.
So I wanted to put some combinations of different glazes on larger test to see how they all came together.

I will fire this either tomorrow after Lee comes back and brings some of her work to help me finish loading the top of the kiln.
Or Saturday  just depends on when she gets here.

I have high hope that it will all work.

I added in some pillow pots to help fill the kiln.
I like the new combination of the burgundy-red with the reddish-brown background.

Then again- it is glaze and who knows what will really happen.

Gosh did someone say it is time to put feet up and have a glass of wine.
Sorry- gotta go!
Cheers!
M

Guess who's back!

There was a whole lot going on the past few months and I had to box up the Giraffe back splash and just not think about it.
On Monday I asked the handiest of man that works around here to help me(?) set up a place to put out all the tiles.
He and I came up with a plan and then he being the handiest man I know set to work to make it happen.
Well- there she is- well except the boarder tiles.
I have two more to carve, the forgotten two that I almost missed, and the others are drying.
Yesterday I had a conference with Lee about glazes.
We have added a few more glaze colors and I needed her keen judgment on where and what glazes we have decided to use.
That is done and now it is wait until the boarder are finished and then... and then the fun begins.
I am just a tad nervous about the glaze and firing.
This is it, fingers, knees and toes crossed when I go into this one.

 Just a few earrings from the last gas kiln.
I make these as fillers and as you know there are tons of work that go into the small stuff- enough to make a person crazy.
Well, we had someone take, steal, a whole box from our gallery.
It was a small box about 2 inches high and about 10 inches across.
Yet, it held a lot of earrings.
If for some reason you see any earring show up on etsy, ebay or a local show that look like they were made by me shoot me an email.
And to the person who took them... no nice words for you.

Yes, we are working--- thanks for asking!

Regardless of the rumors that we do nothing but jet set and eat seafood around here we are working.
Here it is Wednesday and we have fixed the bisque kiln and fired it today.
( just before we left we did one of those long.........firing..we blow out a switch about every 3rd firing- well maybe 4 but the kiln is old!)
And we both worked on the wheel Monday and Tuesday.
Although I think I was sleep walking Monday.
Monday Mark rolled out more tiles for the back splash. I have all the bottom tiles finished and now I am heading up.
I wanted to get all the giraffe in and not go across and worry that some thing would be out of whack .

Here he/she is.
I will have to ask Lee if this is a male or a female.
Never thought to ask.
I wonder how you tell the difference? 
I think I will have one more round of large tiles and then on to the boarder.
I am so nervous with no good place to store these.
I keep boxing them up and taking them out to refer to and boxing them up again.
There must be a better way.
I am like a mother hen clucking and checking these things.
Oh, vay!

Last night we had rain.
The rain will help to bring what is left  of the blueberries out. They were begging for water.
I am fighting with a pair of nesting birds who decided to hatch babies while we were gone. They just looked at me before the babies hatched. Now they flank me and follow me and try to evil eye stare me down. Yesterday one flew in and tried to nip my finger. I am trying to see if we can work things out but after the finger incident Mark brought me a squirt bottle and when the birds get too close I hit them with a stream of water.
Hey! I am willing to leave your babies alone so back off bud!
They also taunt me by eating the best berries as I am picking.
Next year the nest goes.
I mean I am willing to share but no finger nipping!

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!

Kiln cooling, tiles drying

Before we left town to be with Anna and welcome baby girl, Mara  Jade,to the family we rolled out some of the tiles for the back splash.  I had figured out that covered tight they would wait until we were back to add the pattern and carve.
After loading up the kiln the other day I uncovered the tiles and put them out for another section of the pattern.
They were at a good stage, but dryer then I would like to work on alone.
Mark jumped in to help one day and then I called my wonderful assistance and sister Lee.
The best part about doing this project with her is sharing the work as well.
When she has some free time she just packs a bag heads over and helps me.
( plus she brings artichokes and avocados, my two favorite food in the A list!)
It also gives her time to work on her own series of tiles.
In cause you have missed it, she drew a giraffe a day for the moth of May.
They are a lot of fun and I think she needs to put some of them together as a dinner party or back yard cook out. They all have such different personalities.
So yesterday while most folks were cooking out, spending time with loved ones and remembering family we set out to finish up a section of the tiles.
It feels pretty good to see things moving along.
These are now under plastic and towels and just hanging out to dry slowly.
This will give me time to finish glazing some pots for a cone 6 load.

I just checked on the big kiln and the temperature is just over 800 degrees.
It will still take all day tomorrow for it to cool down  and it will be Thursday before we unload.
I did take a look through the peep bricks and all seems good.
We had loaded the kiln, checked the weather and all look great for Monday.
Well Sunday fooled us and was calm and no winds.
I hate when that happens because we all know that you don't get that twice.
It seems that the weather stalled and we were in for some storms yesterday.
One moved in with quite a bit of wind and Mark and I were out there to make sure things were as well protected as possible and hope for the best.
The wind can really play havoc with the glazes.
At one point I was holding  the tarp and the wind was trying to whip it away.
I thought I was going for a ride.
We secured it all blocked what we could and waited for the storm to pass through.
It came and went and just left rain pouring down and no wind.
YEA!- then about 3:30 this morning a big storm came in and dropped bucket loads of rain.
That can be a problem right after we have fired if the drainage around the kiln is not clean.
Mark took the time before he fired and raked out all the leaves and debris that had built up. Good move on his part.
We have watch steam rise like fog off the kiln before.
We have been lucky.
We had a friend who had rain from a storm run under the kiln and brake every pot in the load.
So today with tiles resting, kiln cooling and the storms gone for now things seem pretty good.
Anyone up for a cold one?

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 busy firing the electric kilns to get all the pots ready for planning.
Today- no tiles on to stoneware.

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....

Order up!

One more step and I will be ready to really cut this whole thing out.
We wanted to make a "quick" test to be sure of size.
This is now drying under plastic and then we can be sure it will fit the space.
We are 99% sure we have the size of the tiles down, but when you are working with small test it does not hurt to try a larger test, just to be sure.
My mind wants to figured out all the different ways this could be done, from the layout, to the carving.
I think I will stick with the tiles, but yesterday I am thinking this would also be great as a mosaic.
Then I have to think- just stop it and move on this as it is!
I drive myself crazy with possibilities.
Then I have to tell myself to focus and stick with the program.

Yesterday a walk to clear out cobwebs.
The morning was so pretty and still. I love when the trees reflect in the water. As a kid I use to imagine there was another world down below the water.
Well really there is, but you would need some gills to enjoy it.

Mark's side of the studio looks so organized!

Just waiting for action!