25th Wedding Anniversary

Twenty-five years ago today I married a wonderful man.  When we met I was in Cosmetology school.  Throughout the years we have been married I have been a hairdresser, assistant manager of a gift shop, administrative assist and now a potter.  He has supported my decisions at every turn.  I hope we have another happy 25 years.

For those of you that follow my blog may wonder what I have been doing lately.  Well, mostly just trying to stock up for my fall shows.  I did make a new set of salt and pepper shakers that turned out nice.

Mountain Nest Grand Opening

Last weekend on the way to our cabin I went past Black Mountain to drop of some more items at the Mountain Nest Gift shop.  They were getting ready for the Grand Opening which will be this weekend August 11-12.  The shop looks great with a bunch of great gift items.

This week I started the glazing for the  Queens Corner wine bar that will be opening soon.  One kiln load is cooling down and I will probably have 2 more to finish everything.  Hopefully everything turns out.



This week I have been hard at work throwing items and stocking up for fall. Next week I will also need to get some items glazed for a few gift shops here in Charlotte.  The Democratic National Convention will be here the first week in September and they are expecting more visitors in the shops.

Before and After

Yesterday when I loaded the kiln I remembered to take a photo before firing.  Today, I opened the lid and here is a photo of how the glaze changes in the firing.  Later when the kiln cools down I will photograph a few pieces for Etsy and few other of my favorite pieces. In this load there was another order for the Mountain View Gift shop in Black Mountain.  There are also test pieces for the local wine bar.  Once they pick which glaze they like, I will glaze those pieces, probably next week.

Today I made three footed candy dishes and a pitcher.  In the upper left photo, I have the three steps of how I make the feet.  On the right is a photo of one of the dishes that I put on Etsy this week.  On the left you can see a pitcher with a handbuilt spout and the three feet.

I have been looking at my calendar and feel like I am not working hard enough.  I have 7 weeks until I need to be ready for my first show. I am taking a week off at the beach with my mom just before the start of the show season, plus we are going to go to the cabin at the end of October, so I won't have the 3 full weeks to restock before the November shows.

This summer is different than in the past because I am trying to add items to Etsy, plus fill a number of orders.

Using bolts for texture

Today I got a chance to use some of the ideas I got at the Joy Tanner workshop on Sunday.  I have felt that my pots need more texture and I have been working on that lately.  Joy used a bolt on one of her bowls, so I decided to grab some bolts and screws from our tool box. All except the pitcher have texture with different bolts or screws.

I really liked how the pitcher turned out. Can't wait until it's glazed.

I did mash up a vase that was hideous. Joy made carving look easy.  Not so.

The rest of the day I made egg separators.  Tomorrow I will glaze.

Joy Tanner workshop

Sunday I attended our guilds free summer workshop.  Our presenter this year was Joy Tanner.  I have admired her pottery for years by stalking her pottery blog.  In the photo to the left you can see Joy and the ewer I just had to have.

I was especially interested in her information about her residency at the EnergyXchange.

To see more about the workshop check out our guilds website which I am the administrator.


Tomorrow I will be back in the studio stocking up for fall shows and I plan on trying a few of the techniques learned from Joy.  I will also be glazing some more items in the Sunrise line, which I am bringing back by popular demand.

Purple Glaze

Boy has it been warm in the studio this week.  I have been working on a large order for a wine bar that will be opening in September.  They will be serving the appetizers with my plates and bowls.  I am so excited.

Today I started out early glazing some pieces for Ruby's gift in NoDa and for Etsy.  I also wanted to test out the purple glaze I mixed up.  I like to use egg separators and heart dishes to try out different combinations. I did go a little overboard and put some on a few other pieces.  Hopefully they will look like I envisioned.

Vases and a teapot

Lately I have had a number of surprise orders from new gift shops so I had cleaned out my existing inventory and need more, especially smaller (under $35) items.  So I have been in the studio making brie bakers, berry bowls, yarn bowls, earring holders, egg separators, french butter dishes, bowls, pedestals, cupcake holders (for Mountain view gift shop), etc.  Today I decided that I really needed to feed my creative soul and made a few decorative items.  I focused on simple vase forms with texture and a teapot.  I took my time and even had to redo the lid, but in the end I was happy with how it turned out.  I would have made more items but had an appointment at 1 that ended my day in the studio.  Now it is hot out there. 

The Earth and Fire Festival in Kings Mountain will be ending on July 27th, so if you haven't been by to see all the beautiful pottery, there is still time.

Christmas in July Clearance Sale

Yesterday was a busy day outside the studio.  First I drove to Albemarle and dropped off some more inventory for the Falling Rivers Gallery. I also entered a pot in the summer art explosion that is a juried event going on for the next month.  Next I went back to Charlotte and dropped off my carpet shampooer for repair,  picked up clay, then dropped off pots at a new shop.  FABO is a coffee shop/gift shop.  The owner found my shop on Etsy an asked to carry my work.  Its a great little place in Myers Park. 

Last I dropped off two packages at the post office.  Sales from Etsy have been picking up since February when I really put some effort into it.  This month is the Christmas in July event and I am adding new clearance items often.  Today I added this vase/utensil holder.  All the items in the clearance section are one of a kind and will never be made again.  Shop early for Christmas and get great pottery for great prices.

New Gallery order

Unloaded the kiln last Thursday night and here is the order for Ocean Annies in Duck.  I was able to fit all the pieces plus the 6 mugs for Mountain Nest in Black Mtn.  This finishes up my current work load.  My plan is to start stocking up for the Fall show Season which starts in October.  During the summer I will throw as many pots as I can, filling up my bisque shelves, then in September I will glaze like crazy.  This plan my not start this week until the temperatures go back down.  Today it was over 104F and I do not have air conditioning in my studio.

During the next month I plan on adding some pieces that were left over from the spring shows to the Etsy site for sell. Other potters have told me that it is best to have over 100 but I haven't been able to manage it yet.  I am over 80 right now.

Something that I will be working on this summer is a better display.  I would like to get some Pro Panels but would like to buy them used.  I have a few notices out on the web but if anyone has a set they are selling, please email me.