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I want to thank Connie Norman for  interviewing me for her blog, Talking to Myself.  You can read the interview by clicking HERE.

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My Spring Pottery Sale is fast approaching and I’m happy to let everyone know that I’ll be having my good friend, Jennifer Mecca, as my guest.

The date is Saturday, March 20th from 10 am till 4pm here at the pottery.  The address is 757 Wallace Grove Road. Shelby, NC 28150. You can use MapQuest to find your way.

Jen and I are both working on some really nice work for the Sale.

Be sure to sign up for my e mail list over on the right for future announcements.  Thanks!

My 40th Birthday is Thursday!  I’m not one to really celebrate birthdays too much, especially these big ones.  But I’ve decided to embrace it instead of getting all sour about it.

Just now a package arrived. Here is the label.  The Little Birdie and Royal Mail label was a dead giveaway.

It was from my pal Hannah!

Inside was….

a great little mug and a card with a print  from an etching that  Hannah recently made.  I’m so excited!!  Thank you Hannah!!!  Love them both!!

So if anyone wants to send anything else this way, feel free.  I’m open for pottery, candy, concert tickets, Warren Makenzie pots, tee shirts, socks, gift certificates to Amazon.com, cash, TastyKakes, beach house rentals paid in full, whatever. Ha! I’m just kidding of course, we’ll save all that up for 50!!

Okay I’m off to make some tea in my fine new mug!!

Below are a few pots made by this year’s presenters.  Soda fired porcelain by Lorna Meaden. Reduction fired porcelain by Sarah Jaeger.  And stoneware by Bruce Cochrane.  Click for larger image.

I always come away from the Conference with lots of questions and ideas about my work and how I’m working.  These presenters all worked in different ways than I do and made pots that were quite different than my own.  I enjoyed hearing about their creative processes and also learning that we as potters share many similarities even though the objects we make are visually different.

I was so impressed with Bruce Cochrane’s precision and well thought out making methods.  It was nice that his precise ways did not kill his pots.  His work really shows off his attention to details and remains warm and approachable.

I’m still a salt/soda potter at heart so of course I loved Lorna’s pots.  If I go back to vapor glazing it will be with porcelain.  The wet look of the fired pot is so appealing to me.  I did resist licking any pots this year.

Sara Jaeger is very dedicated to function and she makes around 2000 pots a year. (give or take a hundred or so).  I have seen her work in books and magazines over the years so it was nice to get to see her make pots.  I got the feeling her life is completely dedicated to work and it shows in the finished pots.  I have no doubt that her pots function very well in the home and kitchen.

I didn’t take as many pics as I would have liked, but to be honest it was nice to sit and be present as folks worked and talked.  I’ll try to write a little more later today and also let you know what’s coming up for me in the very near future.

PS If you are a new visitor here and met me at the Conference then please bookmark this site and come back often. You can also sign up for my email list over on the right.  Thanks!!

The NC Potter’s Conference was once again a great event.  This years presenters were Lorna Meaden, Bruce Cochrane, and Sara Jaeger.  They each brought their unique talents and knowledge to the Conference.

I had fun hanging out with all my blogger pals and pottery friends.  I’ll do some posts this week and get a few pics up.  I’m pretty wiped out right now and just ready to sit back and put my feet up.

Check back soon.

It’s a beautiful morning here!  The sun is shining bright and I’m getting ready for a long weekend away at the NC Potter’s Conference.

I have boards of bowls and platters to foot today though, so there’s work to be done.

I want to mention two events that are fast approaching.  The first is my Spring Pottery Sale.  I will be having a guest this year, my very good friend Jennifer Mecca. Many of you read her blog and know her lovely pots.  I’m excited to host her here at my Spring Sale.  I hope you’ll mark your calendars now for Saturday, March 20th from 10 am till 4pm.  We will both have some really great pots!

I will be having Show of New Work in April at the NC Crafts Gallery in Carrboro, NC.  The show opens on April 9th.  There will be a reception that evening from 6pm till 9pm and I will be present.  For more information you can visit the gallery’s website HERE.

To receive information on these events and more you can sign up to be on my email list. Just use the form on the right side of this page.  It’s quick and easy and I do not share this information.

Thanks for checking in.  I’ll be posting over the next few days from the Conference.  I’ll be rooming with Mr. Michael Kline of Sawdust and Dirt.  I am sure we will find some good material to share via our blogs!!!

I love when March arrives!  It means spring for me, although we can still have some cool weather and even snow, it’s a turning point for me.  It’s my birthday month too.  I’m going to be 40 this year!! Wow, that seems like such a huge deal.

Don’t forget, I’ll be listing pots on my Etsy Shop today at 1 pm EST.

Here’s the LINK to the shop. And it should show up in the sidebar to the right here  at that time.

I’ll be listing new pots in my Etsy Shop on Monday, March 1st.  Probably around 1pm EST.

Click HERE to be directed to the Shop.

Just unloaded the kiln.  Here’s a first glace at the pots. I’m pleased overall.  I’ll get to spend some time looking at them later today, but now I’m off to my acupuncture appointment in the city.

Click for larger, more complete image.

I’ll be posting pots for sale on my Etsy site Monday!

So like I said before, I have all these bits and pieces of ideas in my journal and in my head.  Then I come out to the studio and I’m faced with a 3-d object ready to be decorated.  It’s very difficult to marry the deco to the pot in a successful manner. It is for me anyhow.

I do a little pencil sketch on the dry slip to get going, lay everything out, get the eyes right, or the socks in the right place.  Then I sit down and dig in.  I try to work fairly quickly with the tool to scratch into the slip.  If I make a mistake I improvise and turn that into part of the drawing (this is where working in pen and ink has helped me).  This sharp tool that I’m using with the angled point really cuts the slip away, I let the tool move and see what happens.  I pull or push the tool, and this gives different results.  I can lighten up on the pressure or bear down to get a mark.  The pencil outline guides me but it’s just a guide, the final drawing comes from working quickly with the steel tool.

I think working quickly with the final drawing is best.  I pay attention to what the marks look like and I don’t hesitate when my hand automatically decides to do something.  I just go and hope it’s good.  When I’m finished I don’t mess with it much.  No use in killing it by over thinking it.

As far as composition goes I try to work that out in the sketch book or by looking back at pots I have previously made that I think worked well.  I also look at other potters works that I admire who are good at composition or at historical pots.  Drawing in my journal has been by far the thing that has helped me the most though.

Any more thoughts or comments? Let me know…it’s fun for me to try and put this down in writing.