Wood and Soda Fired Pottery

Updates

Online Sale Coming Soon!

Etsy.11.2009 082 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.

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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.
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Highlights/Events

tumblers

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 Last Firing

The October firings went well, although each one lasted a few hours longer than usual. Here are some pictures from the unloading of the 14th 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 7th.

Click here for more info and a map.

December 4th - 6th 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.

Relaxing on the BRP

backyard 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.

Fall Wrap-Up

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

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.

bowl.plate

Spruce Pine Potters Market

clip_image002 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

october.unloading fall

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Wood and Soda Fired Pottery