The last week has seen the first pots of the next firing cycle.  Some times it seems odd how much time is spent not in the studio when one is supposedly a studio potter.  Aside from all of the general day to day duties, the stacking  and moving of wood to heat the house, etc., there is always something else to be done.  Usually on the computer it seems.  Just when you think you may never get started making pots, you get enough things crossed off  of the list that it seems safe to venture into the studio.  You remember that you enjoy being in there creating endless boards of pots even if they have no particular destination at that moment.  You wonder why you procrastinated beginning, and does anyone else out there do the same thing?  And then you check into the blogosphere and realize that sometimes an assignment is useful, and yes we potters do have some sort of  instinct to procrastinate the very thing we enjoy the most.  Strange creatures, but at least I know I’m not the only one.

Lucky for me, I had made it into the studio a day or two before the Michael Kline Challenge otherwise I may not have finished my assignment.  I had already made a board of small bowls, trimmed and slipped them, so I was ready to make another.

Now it’s onto other familiar forms and a few new ones too.  And not a day too soon, somehow February is moving right along and March is filling up already.  Just as the show at Claymakers is coming down  I’ll be teaching a one-day demonstration workshop with Joy Tanner at their studio in Durham, NC.  It will be a great chance to see two different approaches to forming and altering pots, with two potters dedicated to the soda firing process.  More details to come, but the workshop is scheduled for Saturday, March 13th, 10-5pm.

Later in March I’ll begin co-teaching a 9 week class that meets once a week class with Linda McFarling focused on making pots for salt and soda at the Odyssey Center, in Asheville, NC.  Teaching again down at my old stomping grounds and with one of my clay mentors too.  Should be a good time.

Better get busy making that kiln load of pots to fire by then.

A new year is off to a good start with a few exciting plans on the horizon, and hopefully a few more yet to come. Of course, we can only print those that have been confirmed as of this date…but stay tuned for more details of upcoming shows and workshops…

First up for the new year is the show I mentioned before…

If you’re in the Durham, NC area be sure to check out the exhibit at Claymakers, “Asheville In the Bull City”. Curator and potter Ronan Peterson invited five potters from the Asheville area and we all sent 30 or more pieces.

There is an opening reception this Friday, January 15 from 6:00pm-9:00pm. The show will run from January 15 to March 12, 2010.

I’m heading down the mountain for the opening and looking forward to seeing a room full of these folks’ work.  Even when you think you know the work of a potter well, it is always a pleasure to see a multitude of pieces filling a room.

Here’s a little bit from their website:

“Claymakers invites five Asheville, North Carolina area ceramic artists to exhibit their distinctive functional vessels in the Bull City. This exhibit includes the work of Will Baker, Patty Bilbro, Kyle Carpenter, Karen Newgard, and Lindsay Rogers. Each of these functional potters has developed a singular interpretation of everyday pottery, from the graphic, black-on-white porcelain of Karen Newgard to the warm, earthy, atmospheric stoneware of Will Baker. Each artist employs their own approach to surface and decoration, with Lindsay Rogers’ minimal, detailed lines and textures nicely contrasted by the intimate brushwork of Patty Bilbro and Kyle Carpenter’s bold salt fired slip and glaze brushwork. Don’t miss this special showing near downtown Durham of some of the best ceramics the mountains of western North Carolina have to offer.”

Wanted to wish every one out there in blogland Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.  I’ve been out of the studio for a few weeks but staying busy as always…where did the month of December go anyway?

Here’s a brief  review of  the last few weeks:

• the last two sales wound up all right
• started working on a few new pieces in the studio
• had a great big snowstorm in Appalachia
• fired the little baby soda kiln
• packed up a few boxes of pottery for the show in Durham next month at Claymakers.
• featured as one of the Artists of the Day on the blog ‘Musing about Mud’

…If you’re a ceramic artist and you don’t know about this blog, you just might be missing out.  Carole posts information about exhibitions, shows, calls for entry, and job openings from all over the ceramic world.  For the month of December she also posted a different  Artist of the Day each day, highlighting ceramic artists from all ends of the spectrum, and I was pleased to see that I was included…

Although I’ve taken down the online sale at the Etsy Shop for now, it will be back in January.  If you have any questions just drop me a note.

In the first few weeks of the new year I’ll have some more details on the show at Claymakers, as well as information on a possible one or two day workshop there.

Thanks for reading and following along this year!

The Online Holiday Sale is up and running!

Stop by the ETSY SHOP to view about 30 pieces I’ve held onto for your online purchasing pleasure.

The Etsy Shop is a convenient way to purchase these items safely online, you can even make a little wish list and pass it on to those who need to know what you really want for the holidays.

If you’re in the Western North Carolina area  in the coming weeks, check here for a list of  other events where you can find me and my work.

The Holiday Season is fast approaching and I’m putting the finishing touches on the online sales gallery.

Here is a sneak peek of some of the pots going online this weekend.

I’ve set aside a nice selection of pieces from the Fall firings this year to offer in the ETSY SHOP, and I hope to have all the new photos uploaded and the shelves dusted off and the e-cards sent out soon.

Stay tuned here and I’ll announce when the pots are all listed.

Did you know that over on the right side of the blog there are a number of ways you can stay in touch?

• The first link takes you to the Contact page of my website, where you can sign-up your email address to be included in an email newsletter I send out once a month or so.
• You can also Subscribe to the Blog, in your blog reader of choice, if you’re into that sort of thing.
• Or you can Subscribe to Email Updates–just enter your email address in the little box there and every time a new post comes here to the website, it will show up in your email inbox too!  Can’t get any easier than that.

This little group of three tumblers went to New Orleans recently as part of an Annual Invitational Juried Exhibition held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and titled ”The Art of the Cup: Functional Comfort”.  I was very pleased to be included in this event and happy that at least my tumblers were heading to New Orleans even if it is without me. 

The exhibition is put on by The Center for Southern Craft and Design, and if you happen to be in the area it opens November 12th and closes on December 13th.

Since the organizers wanted me to send along some images of the pieces I was sending, it was a great chance to hold onto some of my favorite pieces from the last firing and try to get some images of those too.  It’s great to get the images of the pieces, but also just to keep them around for a bit for observation. 

A few of these pieces might make their way to another exhibition that has come up recently thanks to potter Ronan Peterson. 

He’s invited a great group of potters from the mountains around Asheville to get together for a show at Claymakers in Durham, NC. It looks like the show will be called “Asheville in the Bull City” , and will run from January 15-March 12, 2010.  The potters will include Karen Newgard, Kyle Carpenter, Lindsay Rogers, Patty Bilbro, and myself.

Each potter is sending at least 30 pieces, so it is sure to be a room full of great work!

The October firings went well, although each one lasted a few hours longer than usual. Here are some pictures from the unloading of the 14^th firing, showing a larger serving bowl, a mug, and a new vase form. Many of the dinner plates and most of the square jars have all ready found a good home, but I’ll have a good supply of fresh pottery for the next few events.

Come on out to the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival in Dillsboro, NC on November 7^th.

Click here for more info and a map.

December 4^th – 6^th is the Annual Toe River Studio Tour.

I’ll be heading down the mountain to set-up shop at John Britt’s studio near the Penland School along with fellow potters Joy Tanner and Susan Feagin, and woodcarver Rodney Hopkins. Click here for more info and a map.

Septmeber and October seemn to be the busiest months around here. With all the finishing and firing and packing and unpacking and craft shows, it gets to where you just have to squeeze in a little break. Last year about this time we hiked in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. This year, we took the easier route for some car camping right in our own backyard. Turns out if you leave my house you could be on the Blue Ridge Parkway in about 25 miles.

So that’s what we did. The weather was beautiful, and it was a great time to be out amongst all the leafpeepers cruising the BRP slowly. The skies were clear and blue and the nights chilly. Check out Joy’s great photos of the excursion here.

A cold, mean wind came down the mountain today. The leaves were still turning and the first snow flakes fell.

October had a busy start, right after my firing I split another one with Joy so we could head into the fall with a good pile of pottery. The Spruce Pine Potters Market was a good weekend with a nice crowd of folks coming to see all 30 or so of us spread out in one room.

We took off for part of a day to a great place we found last year about this time, a nice little hike over the river and through the woods to a water fall. Joy and the dog had their own fun crossing the creeks, but I took the easy way.

Here’s a little peek at the unloading…I held back a few of my favorites this time and I’ll photograph them soon.

If you haven’t already made your plans to head up to the mountains this weekend, it’s not too late. The fall colors are starting to come in, and this weekend you can find all of these potters under one roof.

The Spruce Pine Potters Market is held in Spruce Pine, North Carolina this Saturday and Sunday, October 10th and 11th 2009, from 10:00-5:00 both days.

I’m sure there are still warm pots coming out of a kiln somewhere in Mitchell County about now.

Check out the website for a full list of artists and directions,

www.sprucepinepottersmarket.com