January Studio Schedule

I'm only partly in studio this week with another short holiday break coming up, then another move (hopefully the last for a good while!) over the weekend. I thought it was the post-holiday eat fest that had me moving slower, but now I think it's this toothache. I've had several interesting conversations on how nice it would be if dentists bartered...if you know of one in Asheville who does (or if you are!), I'd sure like to meet you!

But in the spirit of getting ready for the new year, here's the January schedule. Subject to change as always, but planned with the intention of keeping it just as presented. For those of you early birds, please note that the Monday schedule now starts at 10am. A little owner self-indulgence and preventative care in the form of an early morning yoga class will keep me from opening earlier!

And for anyone else still pondering studio membership, there are spaces available and just a few days left to take advantage of 2008 prices (and keep them through June '09).

Happy New Year - I'm looking forward to many adventures and invite you to join me! peace.

Happy Everything!

Whether it be Hannukah, Yule, Christmas, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Bohdi Day or any other seasonal festivity, I hope you enjoy it surrounded by love and filled with happiness!

I'm feeling very grateful here in my studio, looking back on an incredible year and looking ahead to growing the studio into the community and building a place for all sorts of creative discovery. Lissa the Wonder Dog is thankful for the cooler mornings so she can roll around on the frost cover grass, and for the growing stream of friendly folk who come see her at the studio.

The studio will be open in and around the holidays, and I'm here in town if anyone has a last minute gift need (or just needs to come in and commune with the clay!). During the relative calm of the holidays, I'll be rearranging furniture, testing new glazes, planning some fun workshops and making a few pots, so in the new year there will be all sorts of new excitement here at Crazy Green Studios! As always, stay tuned to the blog for all the updates, but if Santa grants me a little extra time, you may also see (dare I say it!) website updates as well!

A very happy holiday-of-your-choice to all. Peace - Lori

life after the holiday show

I didn't mean for more than a week to go by before another post, and I do still have other pictures from the holiday art walk to share as well...and if you've been keeping an eye on the art walk blog, I'll post more there too.

It was really crazy leading up to the show, and it was a pretty busy week last week in spite of the deadlines having passed, and after a day or so of bumping into studio furniture in a slight haze, I'm back into a working mindset, catching up on paperwork and today, finally, getting back on the wheel. My only goal was to throw about 25 pounds, so I split it up among three pieces and had some fun with some larger versions of the new cut rim form I've been playing with.

fun with new forms, with my favorite mascot at my feet

My days are different now, as I've picked up some part time work to help with all the recent moving expenses and recession effects on the studio, so I really do have to schedule my wheel time now. And it always takes a bit getting back to it after a heavy deadline, glazing and firing schedules. But it felt good, both to be throwing and to be back on my wheel. In my mad rush to get more work done for the holiday show, I spent a good deal of time on the Whisper wheel (the speed-demon!), and it was nice to start back at the pace my kick wheel demands I keep, and finding the rhythm with the clay again.

This week will be a more intended juggle between outside work, studio work and planning for new and wonderful things in the studio. And as I get more into that rhythm, I'll find the right zone for getting on the blog and share the developments - we have new members here I need to grab pictures of, new helpers, and on occasion Lissa even has a play date show up!

And lest I miss the chance for shameless self-promotion, remember that the studio is still open through the holidays for those last minute purchases of fabulous, hand-crafted, locally made pottery! Or check out the list to the right to see where else you can find me through my work.

Lissa now demands more attention than the keyboard, so it's time for a walk! peace.

Art Walk Rocked!

It was a chilly day, but what a wonderful sight to see people walking up and down our little stretch of Haywood Road, and finding their way back to the little red building on Domino Lane! Thanks to all who came out, it was great to see the familiar faces, and even better to meet so many new ones! In addition to having a good holiday sale, our hope in putting this all together was to bring more attention to our growing group of businesses and the incredible talents that have been hidden in plain view for all to enjoy. I think the day went a long way toward bringing that focus to East West Asheville, and now that more people know we're here, I hope they tell several friends!

Here at the studio, 'Santa Bunny' was our welcoming beacon, and Shane, Jennifer (and Lissa and Shane's dog Ladybug!) and I had a nice stream of friends old and new into the cozy and unusually clean studio. I am as always extremely grateful to all who came, for their friendship as well as their support.

I'll post more about the days events soon (gotta get some pictures of Santacon!), and if anyone missed the Walk, you can still come by Crazy Green Studios and take advantage of my Recession Busting Prices for the rest of the month! More on that soon too, for now Lissa and I are calling it an early night. Thank you, and Good Night!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That's the sound of me exhaling, which I feel like I've been doing for the past day. For those of you following the drama and saga of Lori finding a new place to live, fear not for I shall continue to have a roof. Two roofs really, but that's a longer story. I'll just say that I am extremely grateful to have found a lovely home for the next month with two very lovely people who I feel will become friends. And in January I'll move again, but to another lovely home that's actually walking distance to the studio! And another lovely roommate that I look forward to becoming friends with as well.

So phhhhhhhhhhhhhhew! Sure there are those who will say the best of all possible things has happened, and it might not have if I didn't go through what I did to get there. I usually believe that as well but there's a big part of me that really doesn't appreciate the 'lesson' that must be buried somewhere in the torture of the past five weeks.

At any rate, a huge weight is lifted, all that's done, I'm moved into new home #1 and now I have a good day and a half to focus solely on the Holiday Art Walk that is this Saturday! One kiln is fired and the other is cooling, but I had enough ornaments out to start decorating my mini tree for the show:

In spite of the 10,000 things on my to-do list between now and Saturday morning, it all feels very attainable and even exciting to tackle, and there are plenty of other challenges to deal with after the show, but between now and Saturday it's holiday prep time!

If you're in the Asheville area, I hope you'll stop by. In addition to my new work, I'll have huge deals on older pieces I'm finally ready to part with, some loving 'seconds' and sample and one-off pieces. And some fun stocking stuffers too, which you'll just have to come by and see for yourself. And of course gift certificates for pottery or for open studio membership for those of you (or those you know) who want to get their hands in clay and have some fun.

I'm also hosting area potters Jennifer Hoolihan and Catherine Shane, and they're putting together a tasty table o' goodies as well. I have my own goodies to add, and if you bring me a can or two for Manna Food Bank, I'll have a very special treat for you as a thanks.

So if you haven't already officially opened the holiday season, come down to the Art Walk - it's going to be a beautiful, clear, cool day just perfect for strolling the neighborhood. And as I've said before, you can take care of just about every holiday need for yourself, friends, loved ones, upcoming events, you name it!

this message approved by 'Santa Lissa'