Take A Hike

Photo by Joy Tanner

Recently finished up the little summer tour here in western North Carolina. After 3 “craft shows” on three straight weekends, plus a kiln firing somewhere in the middle, it was finally time to take a break. Joy and I snuck away for a quick trip into the surrounding backcountry. I am often reminded of what we take for granted right before our eyes, in this case the beautiful landscapes I live amongst. A quick trip down a country road, a few miles trek along the Appalachian Trail, and we found some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. After dinner with a sunset view Joy snapped this shot of some of the wildlife. A rare species we guess must be the mountain hermit.

All in all the retail shows could have been worse. The attendance and sales were pretty slow, but between the three I came away with a little profit. Enough to carry on until the next show anyway. When the sales are slow I try to remind myself of the tales I’ve heard of the many potters who have gone before me. It helps a little to know I am not the first one struggling to find a market for “brown” pots out on the streets.

The Booth Shot

Just finished the latest firing here on Roan Mountain, but more on that later.

At long last here are a few shots of the new booth, making a valiant effort last week at the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands. The display turned out as well as I has hoped, the general plan being to present a simplified booth which left plenty of room for the work to stand out. In this respect I think it worked well.

On the other hand, the new booth was less successful in the “increasing sales” department. To be fair, this one show does not make for a fair jury on the effectiveness of the new booth, and it will have many more chances to be loaded and unloaded in and out of my truck and prove itself worthy.

Over the last few years I have been slowly doing a few more craft fairs each year and it seems there is a general trend developing. It goes something like this…catch wind of a “good” craft fair, attend to find that last year’s show was much better, attendance was high unlike this year. Luckily there is always something to blame it on, sometimes the weather is too hot or too rainy, sometimes it is too nice outside. On one occasion the local state university’s home football game was to blame for keeping the masses away. This time I heard someone saying something about high gas prices and the economy heading in the tank… I’m not sure what they were talking about but I’ll look into it.

Yet another stack of wood

Well the new display booth is finally resting for the night, ready for its maiden voyage tomorrow. The woodworking project turned out to be a lot bigger than I had imagined, as many things do. But after almost two weeks the booth is finally built and painted. I found myself pondering questions of craftsmanship, the art vs. craft questions I never studied, and then I remembered I was sometimes using power tools and better to just stay focused on the task at hand.  The view from the “workshop” was distracting enough.

Come on down to the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands this weekend and check it out. If you’ve never been to Asheville in the summertime you’re missing out. Really. What are you waiting for?

If you just can’t make it, stay tuned for a photo of the new booth in action sometime soon.

New Pots

A few more pots from the last firing, finally photographed. I had a few forms which were new or improved which I left bare, meaning no flashing slip or nothing. Just the raw clay, loaded strategically into certain areas of the kiln. These two square bottles were a small version of a new form which I will definitely be continuing. They may never again measure up to the flashing marks on these two.

The square jar is a larger version of a form I have made for some time now. The little plate is just nice. It has been nice to watch these plates come and go from the last two firings. A lot of them have come out of the kiln with just the kind of marks I am hoping for, and they’ve disappeared quickly too.

Finally got the metal on the chimney at Jane Peiser’s today. “Chet” came to do the welding, we hoisted the angle irons into place, and then he welded a few extra support pieces from the chimney to the metal on the kiln, just for good measure.

I did get some work done in the studio last week, but now I’m getting into the wood project pretty deep. Hopefully I’ll have the display racks and pedestals built by later this week so I can get them painted and get back to the wheel.

Hands In the Mud

Back at the wheel this weekend, the cycle begins again. This go round I started with a few of my bowl forms. On the left is a board of small square bowls, upside down and awaiting a trim. On the right is a slightly larger and more open square bowl fresh from the wheel. Also a view of the smaller form finished.

I’ve made these forms in their current state for a few years now. When I see the early versions they seem awkward, and I am reminded of when I was deciding on having the bowl open outward or remain enclosed. Over time I developed one of each style, and after endless refinement of the tiniest little details I now enjoy them both on the rare occasion when they come out “just right”. Sometimes I think I make them for me or perhaps out of stubbornness, rather than because they sell like hotcakes. Both forms earn their share of “what would you use this for?”, especially the little guy.

Onward down the list of things to make in the next few weeks.

Here are a few photos of some of the bigger pots from the last firing.

Wood Day

With the kiln here for about a year now, I’m starting to notice some semblance of a cycle emerging. Sometimes the fresh pots have to be sanded and rushed off to a craft fair somewhere, but with the studio tour here come and gone the pots I recently unloaded are still out by the kiln, not yet sanded but not unnoticed. It’s good to have them around for little while. Back to work, first thing is to make sure the wood for the next round is stacked and covered by the kiln. Then make sure there is enough on the property for the one after that. Spent all day today running back and forth from the local sawmill, “harvesting” wood from the scrap pile. I’m already anxious to get back to work in the studio but it seems a lot of here and there will be going on for a few more days. Logistics, as Shane says, for the metal on Jane Peiser’s chimney. Maybe a website to build for another potter next week, then there’s that display booth I have to build soon.

A few more peeks at the last firing until I get those photographs up.

Hello, etc.

The first dispatch from the new home. The latest news from the studio here on the top of the mountain. Just wrapped up the studio tour this weekend, I was lucky and it turned out to be a little better than I was expecting it to be. The real news was the latest firing of my woodkiln last week. The seventh firing and definitely the best one yet.

A few pictures of the beautiful plates that came out, and the pots from the top of the kiln. I’m still digesting the piles of pottery unloaded and trying to get back on top of all the neglected things from the last week.

More photos of some of the fresh pots coming soon.