crazy green studios

New Year, New Look, New Adventures Ahead!

2012-01-03T20:33:00.001-05:00

I think newness inspires more newness. Since taking the big steps to join The Village Potters, there's been a lot of "new" - new studio, new studio mates, new gallery, new teaching center, new classes, new students ... lots of new, and all good!

And now we enter a New Year. Part of me thinks I don't get caught up in all the hoopla around the New Year. I do set intentions, but I don't make resolutions (there's a difference - check back a few posts for more on that), and yet I can't help feeling that the flipping of our calendar year is a perfect time for asserting a true commitment to one's intentions. I guess that could be a resolution, then again it's also something I might do when the calendar flips over a new month or week.

In the spirit of embracing all the new that has happened and that lies ahead, here's a short list of what's 'new', both recently and ahead in this new year, and a little peek into what makes me such a grateful girl this New Year:

A new website! This has been in the works for months, and over the past two months it's finally come together with the help of the Artist Geek, Laurie McCarriar. I've been futzing with what to do with a new design for most of the past year, and it seemed to all fall together when I realized that 'homemade tastes better on handmade' was exactly what I was trying to say. It feels so good to once again have a site up that is representative of what I'm doing, where I am, and what's ahead. It's still growing, so check it out and stay tuned! I also joined Artist Geek's "Art Dates" program, and I'm already benefitting from getting some better organization to my online endeavors. Everyone should have an Artist Geek!

New classes at The Village Potters! To say I'm grateful and excited to be in a studio that gives me space to work and teach is a slight understatement. Jo (pictured above) started her classes last month, and this week another class opens with new students and happily one returning student from my previous teaching studio. I love having other people sharing their 'new' with me too! Check out the schedule if you've been meaning to find your sanity outlet (it's cheaper than therapy!).

New look on the blog! You may have already noticed that, but since I was making a list and all... the new look was inspired by the new website, and that's inspiring the new business cards that will soon be printed (also designed by the aforementioned Artist Geek).

And a new cut and slightly new look for me too!

Other upcoming new adventures include:

• moving the kiln into place at The Village Potters, which will inaugurate my firing in the same place where I throw for the first time in ... well a long time!

• attending the first Master's Series workshop at The Village Potters: Nan Jacobsohn will be demonstrating her Bas Relief techniques, and I've been thinking about my trees in that technique since I found out she was coming. Her demonstration workshop is January 27-28, in case you'd like to join me.

• building a body of work to submit for membership in the Southern Highland Craft Guild. This will involve a lot of other 'news', like testing glazes in the new kiln, deciding which line of work to highlight, developing some new forms to be included ... very exciting!

So that's most of my news. I'm sure there are more, and more to come. Thanks for following along this far, and check back for more soon!

ongoing & upcoming fun at The Village

2011-12-06T09:25:00.007-05:00

Every day, more and more things fall into place at The Village Potters, and you can really feel all the good energy from activities in the Gallery, to busy bee potters in studios, to classes that have started in The Teaching Center.

One of my classes includes Jo, who is returning to clay after a very long absence (I always say, the clay will wait for you!). And she's not just coming back after a long absence - when she arrived to class, she brought with her memories of having learned on an old, box-frame kick wheel (she's now on an electric), and having only ever worked on cylindrical forms that were finished on the wheel (I started her throwing off the mound).

But in spite of all that, she's making the transition back to clay smoothly and we're having a great time! It is one of the benefits of our classes running on an open enrollment - Jo was able to start when she was ready, after the Thanksgiving holiday, and because I have three other classes on the schedule, the class she has to miss next week will be easily made up with no loss in her momentum. Have I mentioned how much I love this Teaching Center?

In other Village news, we're having a Studio Holiday Sale this Sunday that's a real blow-out-end-of-year-extravaganza! All our Gallery work will be 20% off, plus I'll have other 'end of run' items specially priced in my studio area. I'll also be running a special promotion for my classes, whether you register then or buy a gift certificate. There are incredible gift options across the board, plus Johnny Harwood & friends jazzing up some holiday tunes and sweet refreshments to stoke your four-hour-shop-local-blitz!

Holiday Home Show!

2011-11-26T18:29:00.002-05:00

Just a little reminder about the upcoming Holiday Home Show that I'll be doing with two other fabulous artists: jewelry designer Stephanie Onel and painter Susan Finer. Our gracious and generous host for the afternoon is Kristin Fellows, and our work will look even more beautiful in her lovely home!

We hope you can join us for an afternoon to celebrate the season, as well as the end of "Buy Local Week" - you'll find some great gift ideas whether you're shopping for others or for yourself (just as important!).

The deets:

When: Sunday, December 4 from 12:00 - 4:00pm

Where: Home of Kristin Fellows, 177 Lakeshore Drive, Asheville, NC 28804

Parking: please park on Shorewood as the drive is quite steep!

What: beautiful hand crafted pottery, stunningly designed jewelry, and sensory satisfying abstract paintings! Plus light refreshments and a whole lotta holiday cheer.

November Fun & Frolic!

2011-11-08T08:13:00.008-05:00

Already a week into November, yet the real fun only begins later this week! In a nutshell (well, as much of a nutshell as my rambling allows..):

10-Week Adult Clay Classes at The Village Potters

I've started taking student registrations for my beginner and beginning classes. My classes will be available on an open enrollment, meaning that although there are start/end times to each session, new students may start my classes at any time when space is available, and their 10 weeks will begin on the date they start. For class descriptions and fee/registration information, check out the website!

Studio Stroll at The Village Potters!
Saturday-Sunday, November 12-13, 10am-6pm
If you've been by to visit the new studios, gallery and teaching center, you should come by again this weekend and see how much has changed! More of us have moved in, we're putting in a special area for our featured artists and adding new works from Village Potters to the Gallery, and the Teaching Center is getting ready to be in full swing! We'll be open later on Friday night to welcome preview guests, and we'll have demo's in front over the weekend. As well, you'll be able to decorate your own holiday ornament and enter to win some fabulous door prizes that we'll be giving away the following weekend (see below).

The Village Potters Grand Opening Celebration!
Saturday, November 19, 6-8pm

In a way, it feels like I've been celebrating every day since I moved into this fabulous new space with these incredible people, so it only makes sense that we needed to make a special event to share it with family and friends. We'll have live music, incredible edibles that include a chocolate fountain and nacho bar, fire dancing and the drawing for our door prizes: a beautiful piece of hand made pottery by each of the Village Potters. If you can't make it for Stroll weekend (or even if you do!), I hope you can make it to this great celebration!

And I know it's sneaking into December, but it's less than 30 days away and as much a part of my November madness as anything:

Holiday Home Show!

Sunday, December 4, from 12-4pm

Did you know that November 25-December 4 is National Buy Local Week? More like a week plus a day or two, but I'm not quibbling, as pretty much every day is Buy Local for me so I'm always glad to see a broader acknowledgement!
I'm thrilled to once again join talented jewelry designer Stephanie Onel in an intimate, warm setting to showcase our work. We'll be at the beautiful home of Kristin Fellows in north Asheville for a festive afternoon of a little nosh, a little bevvie, a lot of laughs and some pretty darn good jewelry and pottery! I'll have some specially packaged gifts that are perfect for teachers, office or host-giving among my offerings. Check our Facebook event page for details, or email me if you need directions.

Into The Village!

2011-10-10T08:37:00.010-04:00

This falls into the category of 'everything I'd wished for, but way more than I'd hoped for'. If there's anyone who didn't hear about it, I have now officially moved into The Village Potters to become one of the Resident Artists as well as an instructor in their (our!) Teaching Center. Yay!!

Honestly, I've been so lax in blogging lately, and the last year has been so very, very ... well it's just too much to try and whittle down into a paragraph, so why not let's just pick up our story with Lori happily and excitedly accepting the offer to join The Village. The first phase of moving was a delight; with the help of some good friends with a parade of hand trucks and dollies, we moved my 'mini' studio set up that was in another part of the building over to the other side, down the dark elevator and into the new space. There's more studio to re-discover from my storage unit, much of which will be used in the Teaching Center, but that waits till after my next firing. I'll fire off-site once again, as it will be a month or two before we get the kiln installed here, and then I'll be all in one place and with a most excellent group of artists and mentors!

my new studio space, before phase one of the move-in

Phase One - ready to work, with some favorite studio juju in place

I am beyond pleased and excited to be joining my fellow Village Potters Judi Harwood, Cat Jarosz, Melanie Mitchell Robertson, and Sarah Wells Rolland. I'm already cherishing the friendships that are developing, and I can tell you right now, the artistic relationships will have a tremendous impact on my work in the very best way (ie, they're gonna kick my butt). Case in point: among my first tasks is to start building a portfolio for application to the Southern Highlands Craft Guild.

The Gallery at The Village Potters

Right now, the Gallery is open (Mon-Sat, 10-6), and if you're in the area you can stop by and see the work of all five resident Village Potters, as well as that of other regional artists. I'll be in the gallery on Wednesdays, so come by and say hi if you can! We're going to take the next month or so to get everyone moved in, and to begin our first session at the Teaching Center. I'll be teaching classes for beginner and beginning potters, much like I did in my old studio. The classes will run in 10-week sessions - check out more details at the website.

And now a very special word about how one gets to a place like this. I've had tremendous support in all shapes and forms since I've embarked on this pottery kind of life, even as I've been out here 'on my own', and I hope I've always properly expressed my gratitude. When this opportunity came along, I knew I'd need help in making it happen. It's a lot easier to say that than actually do the asking, but ask I did, and I am humbled and honored by the support that has come in all forms, from encouraging words to monetary investments that are indeed making the difference in my joining The Village. So a very big thank you to my "Village", which stretches over years and across many regions. Those of you who have made that investment will start seeing updates here (why, here's one now!). The new website is under development, and that will include a special place of thanks to all who have made this possible. Anyone curious about that whole thing, here's the link to the original letter that went out. It's going to be pretty crazy over the next month or two as we all get settled in, but I hope to keep updates here much more frequently.

And if you're in the area, please come by and check out the new studios, gallery and teaching center. Give me a heads up and I'll give you the tour! And please come celebrate with us as we host our Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, November 19 from 6-8pm. We'll be open our regular hours that day, but at 6 we'll put on the party music, bring out some nosh, and word is there may even be some fire dancing! I hope you can come join the festivities at The Village!

and we begin again...

2011-08-08T19:36:00.007-04:00

Today was the first day back in the studio since the last firing almost a week ago. In addition to the sorting of the kiln, packing orders to ship and making gallery and retail deliveries, I "allowed" myself the week to get caught up on things on the home 'do' list. My, how the week just flies by when you think you have all this 'extra' time that you're not in the studio!

new work on display at Grovewood Gallery

new sushi plates (also at Grovewood)

all these lovely oil bottles now at The Tree & Vine

the new 'olive tree' dipping bowls, also at Tree & Vine

votive holders with candle cups, for Sensibilities Day Spa (downtown)

So today was all about dealing with the state of the studio, which I left only partially cleaned after glazing and packing my pots for travel out to Marshall for the firing. My very kind studio mate, who's not even working in the studio right now, couldn't help but clean up a portion when she was there during my absence. That was extra motivation to get it all cleaned up!

Being the clever girl that I am, I tackled the kiln room that does not have a/c first, and got the floor washed and organized the shelves and glazes to go back in place. Happily, the studio itself has a/c, so cleaning the floor, shelves, bats and tools was not terribly unpleasant. It actually gets me very motivated to get back on the wheel - kind of like getting my 'mis-en-place' before cooking a meal.

I left my camera at home, but once I get into production I'll include a shot of the momentarily clean studio along with the ambitious 'do' list I've started for the next 4-6 weeks of production.

For now, as I ponder going back to the studio tonight to begin the clay prep, I pause to ponder coconut milk ice cream with fresh, local peaches and fig-infused balsamic vinegar. Oh and maybe some basil ... and then maybe I'll ponder the tumbleweeds of dog hair that keep wafting by me. But first ...

deep thoughts from the firing...

2011-07-27T13:51:00.004-04:00

Actually more of a musing. As I look forward to opening the kiln tomorrow, I think back to the waning moments of last night's firing.

Having pushed into reduction a little early and slowing down my early pace, it was a bit later than I had hoped as I waited for the last cone to drop. Maybe it was being in the warmer clime all day, maybe it was the pace of the week leading up the firing finally catching up to me, but all sorts of strange things float through one's mind at these times.

I do believe, that at some point while waiting for cone 10 to just move-already-is-that-too-much-to-ask on the bottom shelf, I may have solved the debt crisis and perhaps come up with at least three solutions for various world conflicts. But just as those lucid moments of a really interesting dream seem to fade away as I open my eyes in the morning, so too did these profound discoveries when I finally pulled the peep and saw enough of a bend in that last cone. What was it I was just thinking? Who cares, the cone is bent! That may not remove the debt crisis, but it sure removed the final obstacle between me and a cool pale ale at home.

So those big secrets are still locked in the far corners of my mind, but I do believe there will be many fine discoveries when I open the kiln tomorrow.

in the works

2011-07-19T10:01:00.007-04:00

My, but time flies when you say to yourself "I'll post some new stuff as soon as I finish ....". Well that's not going to happen, and while I'm grateful that a new goal is always dropping in front of me, I need get back to enjoying the process instead of fretting the finish.

I admit, the procrastination on writing has also been based in a slight sense of insecurity. Not me personally, I'm all good, but in the studio - just getting back into a dedicated work space after months of floating about, I've taken most of the last month getting back into a rhythm in the studio. And still heavily depending on using other people's equipment for much of my work (for which I am extremely grateful), I feel like I need to work fast and furious to get as much done as I can in each cycle, and of course nothing seems to happen fast enough. I've let those things I can't control become the focus, instead of rocking those things I do control, and that's just not as much fun so let's try not to do that too much, shall we?

Since I'm rediscovering the joy in the process, here are a few process shots of what's cookin' in the studio. Firing in about week, and my next exploration of process after I unload will be trying to get some decent pictures of the finished work!

always more mugs to carve

a new set for The Tree & Vine: olive oil dipping
bowl set inside an olive 'moat'

oil & vinegar bottles for The Tree & Vine

part development of a new form, part fun for Lori.
slab platter with a splash of sgrafitto tree

small plates that splashed out of the same idea as the platter

Feed Our Furry Friends!

2011-05-18T22:12:00.001-04:00

Home Free Bagels

2011-05-11T10:25:00.002-04:00

Home Free Bagels is a locally made bagel business that provides employment to Asheville's homeless population. HFB is operating on behalf of the Asheville Homeless Network and aims to provide NYC-quality bagels to customers that are committed to supporting the local economy both through buying locally made products and employing city residents that would otherwise have great difficulty finding jobs. Home Free Bagels is contributing to increased employment opportunities for people experiencing homelessness by providing fresh, delicious, locally made bagels to coffee shops and cafes, gourmet grocers and independently owned restaurants in Asheville, NC. All profits go toward ending homelessness in Asheville.

You can now find Home Free Bagels at more locations in and around Asheville, and every month you can meet them in person at the 2nd Saturday Artist Market in east-West Asheville. This Saturday, May 14, you can also purchase their new t-shirt and support their efforts to secure a retail store front!

soon to be on a t-shirt near you!

Home Free Bagels is good for Asheville - it's social entrepreneurship that shows you can have a profitable business and work to solve community challenges. And it's not just benefitting the homeless issue or HFB themselves, it's good for the businesses who support them as well!

Chris Sullivan of Home Free Bagels, along with some of the bagel crew

This will be the first in a series of mini-interviews with some of those businesses who sell Home Free Bagels. By visiting and supporting these businesses, you may discover yet another great local business you didn't know about before, and you're not only keeping your dollars working in Asheville, but working toward ending homelessness. Go get a tasty bagel and read on!

Firestorm Cafe & Books was an early supporter of Home Free Bagels. Worker/Owner Libertie Valance was kind enough to speak informally on the topic of Home Free Bagels. Drop by the shop and talk with anyone behind the counter if you'd like to learn more!

About our business
Firestorm Cafe & Books is a worker-owned and self-managed business in downtown Asheville that aims to provide community space, critical literature and an alternative economic model based on cooperative, libertarian principles. We have twelve collective members and operate democratically, welcoming an extremely diverse cross-section of the community.

How we heard about Home Free Bagels & why we support them
We've been working with the Asheville Homeless Network since mid-2009 when they moved their regular meetings to our cafe.
As a downtown organization committed to challenging class and privilege, we want to provide an environment welcoming to people regardless of their housing status while acting as allies to grassroots community advocacy organizations. When Chris Sullivan first floated the idea of setting up a business to employ and empower homeless folks, we were really excited! And to our surprise, it came together remarkably fast.

Impact of Home Free Bagels on our business
Like other cafes, we'd been sourcing our bagels from Bruegger's, the only game in town following the closure of NY Bagels on Merrimon Ave. Despite a higher per-unit cost, moving our business to Home Free Bagels was a no-brainer. In addition to offering a business model informed by social justice and community empowerment, Home Free Bagels demonstrated early on that they could make a better product while providing superior service, including free delivery.

We knew that the community would like Home Free Bagels, but we've been overwhelmed by the response. For the first couple weeks, we kept running out. Our bagel sales increased by more than 30% overnight!

Favorite way to eat Home Free Bagels
We serve a variety of bagel sandwiches but my personal favorite is our Portobello Bagel which combines homemade, spiced black bean spread with grilled mushrooms, thin sliced red onion and wilted spinach. And for variety, I sometimes like to substitute grilled tempeh, sourced from local producers at Smiling Hara Tempeh, for those mushrooms. Ridiculously delicious!

Firestorm Cafe is located at 48 Commerce Street, downtown Asheville. They're open Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 10:30pm and Saturday from 10:00am - 10:00pm.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T09:03:00.000-04:00

'God couldn't be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.' (Jewish proverb)

You can go back to my March 29 post to see a more recent picture of my beautiful mom, but for today I wanted to use one of my favorites from when she was just a bit younger. My 'picture of a picture' doesn't do it justice, but I think her beauty and spirit shine through with crystal clarity.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you! xoxo

pulling lovelies and lessons out of the kiln

2011-04-17T21:27:00.000-04:00

So let's talk about flux.

There's one definition, 'a continued flow', that can be very appealing. And then there's being in a state of flux, which means 'being in a state of uncertainty of what to do next'. You'd think the two wouldn't exist simultaneously, but you're wrong!

Since early after the new year started, I've been trying to maintain the first definition. No longer in my own studio, I'm working out of a community studio which brings great camaraderie with other ceramic artists, yet also brings the challenges of working within allotted times and staying within an allotted space. Even so, I've been maintaining a pretty good flow of building work up for my first full kiln firing since last fall.

carved work out of bisque

Meanwhile, there's the ongoing question of where I will ultimately land in my own studio, if it will include a reduction kiln on site, if it will be in town, out of town or perhaps in another galaxy all together. That kind of duality in ongoing thought gets to be a lot, even for a Gemini, so for the past month or two I've been focused solely on creating work for this recent firing, and satisfying commission and gallery orders so I could then move on to building an inventory over the rest of the summer.

lining up new work for glazing

testing a new form and graphic, lizella slip on white stoneware

So now it's time to fire, and in preparation I mixed up new batches of my glazes, and actually maintained a steady schedule of mixing, decorating and glazing that had everything glazed and packed for the firing a whole three days before the load!

ipod in and away we go...

It was nice to not feel rushed through the brush work, and to give everything time to dry before being packed up. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to fire a lovely reduction kiln, and we had beautiful weather for the load and firing. Given the whirl of activity leading up to the firing, the actual day of was almost like a vacation day, enjoying the sun, watching the birds circle at dusk, even saw some bats!

kiln door, near the end of the firing

A few days later comes the much anticipated unload, and here's where we get to introduce yet another version of flux. Flux is an element of every ceramic glaze. Silica is the main glass former, but will not melt at the temperatures used in these firings, so a flux agent is introduced to lower the melt point and allow the glazes to melt (I am not a glaze expert, as the results of this kiln will support, but this info is integral to the rest of this tale).

So the kiln is opened, and there was a wide range of results. The celadon glaze I use on the carved tree series acted a bit differently, but was for the most part as expected and with some thinness in the application, brought some interesting results where it broke on the rims.

carved tree plate

more family trees

The tenmoku glaze that I used more sparingly than I wish I had in retrospect, was juicier than it's ever been, and I can't wait to do more in the next firing.

juicy glaze!

And then there's my old stand-by, my go-to glaze combo of a kaki glaze with clear over wax brush work. The variations have always been interesting and welcome, depending on how thick the cover glaze is applied and how long I can wait between each step to get the best resist on the wax.

this is your pot with flux...

What I found, unfortunately, was that the cover glaze apparently did not flux, so it did not melt. In fact, it even blistered in some spots.

these are your pots without flux

There's that first moment, where I thought 'now this is a new variation', but much like that feeling you get when you realize 'no, this is where I parked my car and it's not here!', I slowly realized that 'no, this is not good.' This is another of those dual-flux moments. Things are moving - pots unloaded need to go on to fulfill orders and fill inventory, and yet you can't help but pause and wonder just where to go from here.

Because this is my go-to glaze, it was at least half the kiln. Looking back at my mixing notes, it's impossible to see where it went wrong. Perhaps it was when I had to stop mid-mix to run out for more materials, perhaps I stuck my scoop into the wrong bin or read the wrong line of ingredient amount.

For now I'm focused on the parts that worked, sorting work for galleries and any orders that can be satisfied. Taking these quick shots and prepping to shoot better images for some hopeful show applications for later in the summer. Several orders are now back on the 'do' list, and after a quick family visit next week, I'll be working to get back into the flow to stock up bisque for another firing. New glazes will be mixed again, and on we go with the flux.

Early Spring, Early Spring Workshop!

2011-03-29T11:22:00.001-04:00

As spring is wont to do, it changes. When I first started writing this post, just after our first workshop, it was still warm and sunny. Today, it's at least sunny again, but the chill is still with us as a final reminder that spring is COMING. I love the changes of the seasons!

So I had a delightful call about a week ago from some visitors to the area who wanted to have a little play in the clay, so with the support of Matt Clark at Bittersweet Studio (where I have been fortunate to work during the unfrozen months since I closed the teaching studio), I was able to put together a one-day workshop for Jayne & Jerry. They've been in Asheville since the first of March, escaping the end of winter blues of their native Minnesota. Lucky them, by the time they get back, they'll get a second spring!

Bittersweet Studio

getting things opened and aired after a short winter's nap

Bittersweet Studio is located on the grounds of Bittersweet Cottage - a true find of a guest house (cozy cottage or comfy suite, both with killer views!) on Elk Mtn Scenic Highway. Matt is also a member of Crazy Green Studios, and his growing skills with clay can be seen throughout the property. He runs the biz with his partner Stephen, who, by the way, is a genius for helping us figure out how to re-adjust the foot pedal on the wheel (and thanks too to JJ for phone support!) so the workshop could actually take place!

Matt Clark, Bittersweet's resident potter & InnKeeper

Jayne wanted to try the wheel, and she went right to it with a great attitude and good sense of humor. She got a good feel for it, spending an hour or so centering before she started making forms. Jerry really just wanted to 'muck about' with some hand building, but he was very kind to let me go on with several technique demonstrations before he settled in at a table in the sun to make some very cool creations.

Jayne, making her first go at a cup

Jayne with one of her last pieces of the day - very nice!

Dedicated students that they were, Jayne and Jerry took only a short break to walk up the hill a bit and enjoy some of the scenic views while I fetched us some coffees. Over the afternoon, Jayne worked on several cups and bowls, getting better with each one, while Jerry and I drifted in and out of a conversation about fractional reserve banking (actually, he was doing most of the talking, and I learned a lot!).

Jerry, soaking up the rays and playing with clay

decorating with underglazes

on the right, a spoon rest Jerry made that I loved so much,
I asked him to make me one (on the left)

Later in the afternoon, some pieces were decorated with underglazes, while others will get a single glaze in a later firing before I ship them home to Minnesota.

We ended the day on the deck of the Suite, gazing out at the mountain views, nibbling on snacks and enjoying a lovely glass of wine with Matt before Jerry and Jayne found their way back down the mountain.

well deserved rest and refreshment after a good day's work!

It was such a delightful day, and the perfect way to re-open Bittersweet Studio for the season! I had so much fun working with Jayne and Jerry, and the weather played right along with us creating an absolute perfect setting.

In addition to the ongoing work that Matt does there, I may be up to use my kick wheel over the season, and we'll be brewing up creative get-away opportunities for guests of the Cottage or Suite. Anyone looking for gorgeous and comfortable accommodations just minutes from downtown yet with the seclusion of being on the side of a mountain AND use of a private studio with instruction - this is your place!

Birthday Love for my Mom!

2011-03-29T10:01:00.000-04:00

A little shout out and birthday love for my beautiful momma,

and a word about this particular greeting...

My mom has this alarm clock. Not one she uses every day, but one she brings out on special occasions, like birthdays. If you are a family or close friend, you may have been gifted with this experience yourself!

it may look something like this

When I'm with her on my birthday, I can expect to be gently woken with canned trumpets of reveille to start the day. And when I'm not, well it still works over the phone!

So this is for you, mom! I could've just played it over the phone when I called, but I think it's cute enough to get its own post. Maybe I'll find one to keep on hand for other birthdays (people who I know, watch out!). xoxoxo

time flies

2011-02-28T11:34:00.000-05:00

Time has been flying by it seems. More internal journaling than outer, but happily life has also been more experiential of late so I give myself a break for not keeping up. Here's a little taste of what's kept me busy over the last six weeks or so since my last post, in no particular order other than how they lined up in the photo grabbing queue:

I hopped down to Atlanta to celebrate a significant birthday of my significant (and older) dear friend Anne.

I said good-bye to Echo Gallery.

I got the big gift (twice in a month too!) of hearing my friend Gwen
sing with her swing orchestra at the Grove Park Inn

I got an early spring cut and henna update.

I've been juicing - things that start like this...

and end like this (mug by friend heather)

I'm working part time at Sensibilities Day Spa,
assisting the very hard-working staff and soaking up good energy.

I volunteered for the annual ACN benefit and enjoyed a sunny morning at Sunny Point, then

I got a little more sun working the lunch at 12 Bones.

I'm back in the studio - playing with some fun new things - stay tuned to see what happens with these.

I'm taking a class about making pots for salt/soda firing with Linda McFarling (standing),
and we had Judith Duff as a guest instructor.

A glimpse at our first firing

I took a day off and went to Biltmore with my friend Matt
(this is how you act when you don't take enough days off)

back at work also means more mugs for the Chocolate Lounge!

recent efforts in both juicing and a piece from a recent salt/soda firing.

And that's some of what's been going on. I know I might normally go on a bit more about many of the events, but right now living them seems to be more interesting to me than a post-commentary (but I'm sure I'll get all wordy again real soon!). And now off to the studio!

still fine tuning perspectives

2011-01-19T09:30:00.002-05:00

The writing has mainly been inside my head of late - been very busy in sense that I'm constantly in motion - finishing/ending some things and preparing to begin others. The week has buzzed by and I feel like I've let both my physical and mental exercises lapse. Got this in the email today from Betsey Streeter and it's a good way to get at least one of them back on a more productive and proactive track:

The Best Question in the World

View more presentations from Betsy Streeter.

And the funny thing is, I've never been a fan of "what if" - always seemed too passive and reluctant to me. But lately my head has been more full of "as soon as..." or "I can't do this until...". I think in this case the 'what if' is a much better lyric to play in my head.

Now the dog and I are going to address another lapsed routine!

Snow Day Musings...

2011-01-10T11:32:00.002-05:00

Snow is as Snow does...
I needn't have worried about missing the big snow over Christmas - it's come back around again! And while 'business as usual' will re-commence as soon as it seems practical and safe, for now we're tucked into a wintery wonderland. The dog, as always, reminds us to live in the here and now, and take a romp around the yard!

So this year's intent to do more writing is cruising along. Third blog within a week, a few more pages filled in the new journal. I was finally unpacking some boxes of books recently - cookbooks! Many I love to read almost as novels and many are 'food for thought' in more than one form. Tucked inside one of the boxes, I found a smaller box of letters and cards received from friends dating back almost 20 years. Some from Atlanta friends after I had moved to Chicago, and then those again and more from Chicago friends after I moved to DC.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed letter writing and even the fact that I WROTE as much as these replies seem to indicate. So if you recognize yourself as having corresponded with me over the past nearly 20 years, you may expect a little piece of mail in the future. I'm adding letter writing to the new writing intention, and these first will be warm-ups, to be sure. Funny, I almost feel like the first letter has to be a re-introduction to the whole idea of letter writing!

So between romps in the back yard with the dog, and forays into other good snow day activities (cleaning, but not too much. organizing, but not too much. cooking/eating, but not too much...), I'll continue my letter writing. And I'm not sure if I'll get many replies, but I think I enjoy the act of the writing almost as much as receiving an envelope with my name written in a familiar hand. And I'm kind of excited about collecting stationary again! And I've even got some stamps around here somewhere...

Other fun finds on a snowy day...

A friend on facebook has started a routine of posting 'who' she has her morning bevvie and sometimes brekkie with, as in naming the artist who made the cup and/or bowl/plate, etc. I've joined in and it's fun seeing the extended 'family' of pots we all enjoy. We've also taken to posting links to the artists we mention, as another way to spread the love.

This morning, I actually dug into my housemate's collection and had my morning cuppa out of a Jeff Martin piece that I really like. When I went in search of his website, I found his blog, and also found that he (like more than one potter I know of recently) seems to have moved more to painting. While searching through his archives for any images of his potterly type work, I found this wonderful list of his personal approach to happiness and success as an artist. Since it was printed on his blog for everyone to see, I'm hoping he won't mind my grateful reprint. He's preaching to the choir with me, but I really like reading and hearing other perspectives on what are essentially similar or same beliefs, and as he says, it needs repeating daily. And sometimes it's nice to hear something you already know or believe from a voice outside your own head as a reminder to actively think about it and act on it (#2 I need reminding of daily!). Take a look and see how many you might also do, or how many you might think about adopting.

From Jeff Martin's blog about a year ago:

1. Get up happy. Say some affirmations. Get rid of the negative chatter in your head-that voice that says things like, “I’m not coming up with any good ideas. I’ll never make this deadline. I’ll never be good enough to do this job.” Instead, train that voice to say something positive. Reprogram yourself. “I am illustrating books that people love. I am happy with my art. My career is going great. I am a successful artist…” This might sound too simple, and you’ve probably heard it before from the self –help gurus. Have you ever actually tried it….consistently over a few months?

2. Exercise and stay healthy. This is not an option. When you feel healthy, you are more open and ideas come more quickly.

3. Sit quietly each day, do yoga, or meditate. Get calm and peaceful so that when the ideas come, you actually realize they are there. Worry, anger, fear, and other emotions actually block the ability to grasp those sparks of imagination.

4. Create a place and time to be at work. This is important if you are working at home. Your mind needs to understand, “I am now at work. I will now be creative.” So sharpen your pencils, put on music, sit before your drawing table and begin.

5. Don’t talk too much about your ideas; this depletes some of the magic. On a subconscious level, your wonderful idea has become a real thing in the world. It’s not real, and it won’t be, until you do it. So, instead of sharing your magnificent thoughts, go make the work happen.

6. Take time outs doing something you love. Go to a museum. Sit by a lake. Walk through the woods. You must replenish yourself. Fill the well. Don’t view this as goofing off…this time is very important.

7. Don’t be a workaholic. This is difficult, because you won’t know it, until it’s too late. Your friends and family will know it before you will. ONLY YOU CAN CONTROL THIS. Be the work police and set your own boundaries. Make a contract with yourself. “I do not wok on Tuesday and Sunday. I go on vacation without my work. I have lunch with a friend on Friday every week. I only work from 9am to 2pm.“ Put up a sign. Remind yourself that you are free to set your own schedule. Work as late or as little or as early as you want, but make sure you’re enjoying the pace.

And don't forget to play in the snow! (that one's from me & Gable)

a final look back on 2010...

2011-01-04T23:50:00.002-05:00

I don't think I'm alone in having been more than happy to say goodbye to 2010. Yes, the year-end is purely symbolic, but like anything, if it's believed strongly enough, it has merit. So 2011 is a new page in a new journal and that's a very blatant metaphor for how I feel about it.

But rather than drone on about why I'm glad to see 2010 end ... I feel I spent enough time in THAT place at various times throughout the year ... I'd rather focus on some of what I am immensely grateful for that I experienced in 2010. Yes, I am very much a glass-half-full kind of gal, and that can start the list because without that mentality embedded deeply within me, I would be curled up in a corner blathering 'ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba' to myself (KCQ: THANK YOU!).

I'm grateful for dogs, and I'm grateful to have experienced the love of a wonderful dog, and through her, the friendship and love of many, many others (dogs and humans) near and far.

I'm grateful for good clients who are also good friends who are also good mentors.

I'm grateful for being able make a bowl that others can enjoy and eat from, and more grateful to make a bowl that can help see that others eat (borrowed and paraphrased from DY).

I'm grateful to have the opportunity to express myself in my art, and grateful to soak up the music, words, and art of those in my life who have such strong and beautiful expressions that inspire me daily.

I'm grateful for good counsel from those far wiser.

I'm grateful that I was/am a part of a creative, generous and inspiring group of artists, and together we taught each other, learned from each other and found ways to spread our love for getting muddy.

I'm grateful for facebook ... yes, I said it ... because only through that have I re-connected with good friends, discovered new friends and cool things I may have otherwise missed, found daily inspiration, giggles and breath-taking awe from people around the world in seemingly small snippets that leave much larger impressions.

I'm grateful for that laugh you really only get when you're with really old friends (and I say this with love, yet being the youngest member of the Sisterhood of Travelling Candle Wax). And I'm grateful for those old friends who just feel like home, no matter where they/we are or how often or seldom we connect.

I'm grateful for the close friendships I've made since I've been in Asheville, that feel like they run much deeper than the almost five years I've been here and have given me a sense of home (some in a more literal sense to be sure!).

I'm grateful for each and every person I've come in contact with, in person or over a wire or online. No matter the impetus or the outcome, I learn more about myself in each interaction and with the sting of pain as much as the flutter of joy, it's that capacity to feel that makes one alive, and I'll opt for that over numbness any time.

I'm grateful for every person who's held me up and kept me going, and I'm grateful for every opportunity I've had to give even a small portion of it back to someone else.

I'm grateful for being able to joke with my mom that I couldn't possibly have anything new to tell her 'since yesterday'.

I'm grateful for friends with beach houses (what, not deep enough?).

I'm grateful for symbolism, for as the last quarter of the year began, I was feeling like I was losing my voice. Or perhaps my direction ... or maybe my sense of where I was, not to mention where I was going. And as the year end approached, I slowly felt a realignment of place within me, and almost literally with the chiming of midnight and the dropping of the ball, felt the low rumbles of a voice returning.

If there's one thing I'm resolute about...

2011-01-02T10:30:00.001-05:00

... it's about NOT making resolutions. I've always felt that they're kind of a trap. I think goals are great, but they should be fluid - adaptable, and a resolution (at least for me, those times I had tried it) was very limiting, and it set my own intentions seemingly on the lack of something I had to resolve, rather than embracing a new practice or goal that might be adjusted along the way.

All that to say that I started a new journal recently. It may be the 12th or 15th journal I've started. Started ... all of them have many, many lovely blank pages in the back. Sometimes I'll pick up one from years gone by and just start writing in it again, but starting with a new book always feels like a way to discard that which kept me from keeping up the previous journal. Many of those journals had been resolutions in previous years. This year, I intend to journal more, but some of it might be here and some of it might be in the book.

How I intend to build this practice: well talking about it here is one way, because making an intention public puts more responsibility on seeing it through. I also find that when I read more, it's easier to write. Ideas and thoughts get stirred up, sometimes in response to something read, sometimes just to spark a little inspiration. So this year I'm going to start the journal exploration by sharing some of what I'm reading for my own motivation, inspiration and entertainment. In no particular order, here's the first:
The Fred Shively Daily
Fred is a freelance photographer, creative director and vagabond. I had the pleasure of working with him back in another life and got to know him and his lovely wife Arpi (who also produces something I read, but that's for another post). They're kindly keeping a room for me in their lovely home in southern Spain, an invitation I hope to accept sooner than later. The Daily is an online compilation of other online sources for news, arts & entertainment, technology, politics ... you name it, he seems to have it covered. And the coverage is wide and often from sources I would otherwise not find myself, so it's been my morning companion to at least the first cup of coffee when I don't have to dash out of the house. Today I am kind of on a dash, but I had time to glance through and here are a couple of links I'll be coming back to later:

NOWNESS: this blog just promises 'daily exclusives for you to love', and today's entry is 'on the ninth day of Christmas'. I'll be looking back over the first 8 and looking forward to those to come.

IRISH WEATHER ONLINE: seriously, how else would I ever end up on this site? The article linked is titled 'How the Sun Could Control Earth's Temperature'.

DRWEB: ok so I have no idea what the text says on this site, but the title of the post:

40 unglaubliche nahinfrarote Fotos

told me at least there might be pictures, and they are pretty cool!

What any of this will inspire in my journaling, I don't know. But I do like the practice I've started, and I'm looking forward to all the discoveries along the way.

Happy. New. Year.

2011-01-01T07:42:00.001-05:00

Local is the New Black .. Friday

2010-11-26T09:49:00.000-05:00

One of the many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving Season is to live in a community that has a vibrant local economy and with people who support that. And I think it's catching on ... yesterday at dinner, with the Saints/Cowboys game in the background (Geaux Saints!), I was surprised and delighted to see a promotion for Small Business Saturday at least twice during the game!

On this 'Black Friday' you'll find me at Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park, which is an artist-run gallery showing the works of Asheville area artists. Today I'll be there in my "Shop Local" best, and in the good company of many other fine locally-grown businesses. I have to say that even the larger chain stores that are located in Biltmore Park are very community oriented and involved in many events and programs that benefit the Asheville area, so if you come down 26 and get off at the Long Shoals exit, you have a win-win in many areas - here's just a taste of what we've got and who else you'll find:

At Echo Gallery: We've got our holiday lights out, a beautiful wreath on the door (courtesy of local artist Tonia Allen - you can get her info inside the gallery if you want to order one) and the windows filled with ornaments made by local artists - ceramic, glass and gourds, and we plan to keep adding to them!

Inside we also feature incredible gift options, and we'll be happy to help you find that perfect gift for friend, family, co-worker, teacher. Ceramics from cups, mugs and bowls to large service ware to tiles and whimsical sculptures. Textiles including beautiful wall quilts and gorgeous silk scarves in an array of hand-dyed and painted colors. Bold metal sculptures to adorn a large entry way or accent a dining room table with candles. Pencil drawings, paintings and encaustics in all sizes and styles to please the seasoned or beginning collector. Button flowers, Beetles-a-go-go, prints for the bike enthusiast and Monsters ... we've got monsters!! And if you're not too late, you might still find some of the limited edition 'Wizard Monsters' for the wizards in your life. And we'll be adding more artists and more incredible work throughout the month, so stop by often! For a full list of artists currently represented at Echo Gallery, visit our webpage and scroll down to the bottom of the home page.

And while you're at Biltmore Park, be sure to visit these other fabulous Asheville-grown neighbors (big pardon if I forget anyone!) ...

For cool fashion and accessories, try Moda Boutique, Bette and Shades of Green.

For treating yourself or others with incredible organic products, soothing facials, massages or just to take a mani/pedi break in your shopping day, try Sensibilities Day Spa or Sparrow Spa.

For the new holiday 'do', try Natural Impressions Salon.

For custom make-up consultation or make-over, try Lavender Fields.

For beautiful jewelry for a special gift or 'that' special gift ... Marthaler Jewelers.

For lush bedding and other home accessories, try The Natural Home.

For holiday flowers and arrangements for your home or to send ... Blossoms at Biltmore Park.

Want a cool place to take the kids or maybe to plan a special event? Check out Dino Kinetics.

Need to print off the 'end-of-the-year' newsletter, mail that big stack of cards (print that big stack of cards?) or help shipping to various corners? Visit Printville.

For anything from holiday family portraits to event photography, try Melissa Markis Studio.

And we have many others - Asheville grown of a regional parent and independently owned franchises:

O.P. Taylor's, Talloni Shoe Salon, Bon Bebe, Woof Gang Bakery, REI ...

And you won't starve! Brixx Pizza, 131 Main, Travinia Italian Kitchen, Roux in the Hilton, Hickory Tavern and PF Changs are in the Park!

I know I must have forgotten somebody (my apologies - add yourself in the comments!), but I should get ready to head down to the gallery - come by and say hi!

Holiday Home Show - Sunday, November 14!

2010-11-06T17:43:00.003-04:00

Updated the address, and wanted to let anyone coming know that parking is best along Cumberland Drive. The end of the driveway will be marked - hope to see you there!

Empty Bowls - 20 years of fighting hunger!

2010-10-10T09:26:00.000-04:00

Empty Bowls event at John Hartom's studio

Asheville Empty Bowls 2009

Next Thursday, October 14 is the annual Asheville Empty Bowls Luncheon at the Doubletree Biltmore Hotel (tickets available online via MANNA FoodBank, through me if you can find me, or at the door ... but I wouldn't wait that long!).

Two days later, October 16 is World Food Day, and that marks the 20th Anniversary of the very first Empty Bowls event. What started in a Michigan school as a modest lesson about hunger has turned into one of the finest examples of grass roots social justice activism. Communities coming together to help each other .. individuals finding ways to help each other and their greater community.

The beauty of the Empty Bowls program is that anyone can do it. Sure, you can get your whole school, community center, church, studio, etc. to join forces. Much like the Empty Bowls Project class that meets at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts.

members of the 2010 Empty Bowls Project at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts

Odyssey and Highwater Clays owner Brian McCarthy has donated tremendous resources in clay, glazes, firings and support staff for the past four years to help experienced and beginner potters make and provide the bowls for the annual luncheon.

bowls by Asheville potter Paul Frehe

We have people from all around our community, some traveling an hour each way just to take part in the class. We have guest instructors from all disciplines come to share their knowledge and passion for both pottery and fighting hunger. We all do together far more than any of us can do alone. That's the AnyONE. Each of us doing our little part, added up makes a big ol' difference. Whether you raise $60 or $60,000. Each step is an important step.

Arizona

So here we are 20 years down the road from that small school luncheon. A few words on hunger stats, and a simple request that when the guests take their hand made bowls home and enjoy them, they remember the number of empty bowls still out in the community. A quiet hush that you still hear now just telling the story. Yes, hunger still exists at obscene levels in all communities.

But the more the Empty Bowls Project is talked about, the more people learn how they can do very simple things to make very big changes and differences in the lives of those in their community who may need a little or a lot of help. One little event in a Michigan school, and now there are events around the world.

Alberta

And that's well before the time of an idea 'going viral'. There are many Empty Bowls events that happen year-round, and many, like the one here in Asheville, that are scheduled to coincide with World Food Day.

Becca Floyd & John Hartom in the Empty Bowls studio

Houston

Australia

Minnesota

Next Thursday we will have the annual luncheon, where for a $25 ticket you can select from hundreds of beautiful, handmade ceramic bowls, enjoy a delicious lunch and learn more about what MANNA FoodBank does for the many counties it serves and how easy it is to help.

Arkansas

We have a growing selection of specialty pieces in the Collector's Corner that will be for sale, and all proceeds will benefit MANNA FoodBank.

(far L&R): Lisa Blackburn & John Hartom

Then on Sunday, October 17, Blue Spiral 1 Gallery will host a special auction event to commemorate the 20th Anniversary, and Empty Bowls founders John Hartom and Lisa Blackburn will be honored. At Blue Spiral, you can see the auction items on display now in the gallery, and you can also see and bid on them online, even if you can't attend the actual event. Some of the items are bowls and other art pieces in ceramics, wood and glass that have been donated by area artists.

Ontario

Oregon

In addition, we have an eclectic selection of 'celebrity bowls'. Flat Rock potter David Voorhees made each bowl, which was then signed by celebrities, including Paula Deen, John Glenn, Henry Winkler, Jeff Gordon, Roy Williams and more (go look and see!). Odyssey again hosted a special event where Asheville area artists (not just potters!) were invited to decorate the bowls. At the auction site, you can learn a bit about the celebrity as well as the artist who decorated the bowl. Tickets to the auction event are also available through MANNA FoodBank.

Olympic Peninsula

So as we approach World Food Day, why not check in your own community and see if there's an Empty Bowls event. Attend it, volunteer to help run it, or if you can't find one, go to the Empty Bowls website and learn how you can start one for your community! It doesn't have to be a huge city-wide event. You can make a pot of soup, host an event at your house and sell 10 tickets. That makes a difference to a Food Pantry.

Winnipeg

Chicago

Here in Asheville, our event is larger than that sure. MANNA FoodBank has a very large area it serves, and the need has been greater in the past year or two than ever. The statistics that come out with recent Hunger Reports are overwhelming, and it's easy to just curl up and cry 'what can I do?!'. Well for me, I can make a bowl. And that bowl will be sold for $25. And with each dollar raised, MANNA can provide three meals. I can't personally feed 75 people or write a check to cover that expense. But I can make a bowl. Heck, I can make a few.

Vermont

I have a friend and colleague in Wisconsin who I know because of Empty Bowls. We haven't met (yet), but we certainly share a passion for pottery and for this cause. After her first Empty Bowls event, she went back to her studio and wrote on her wall: "It is an honor to make dishes for people to eat off of, but it is a greater honor to make dishes so that others may eat...". Indeed.

summer reading: Craft Corps: Documenting the Craft Revolution

2010-09-12T23:48:00.001-04:00

Summer reading is something I've kept up even though I've been out of school longer than I was ever in it ... although I usually have a book going at all times, I do go through more during the summer. Perhaps it's the extra hours of daylight - who knows? But this one came with the assignment of talking about it, and so I will.

I received a copy of Vickie Howell's Craft Corps (published by Lark Books) a couple of months ago, and through the recent moving, production, shows and all of life's distractions, it's been a fun little retreat to read about all kinds of crafty folk, how they got started, what motivates and inspires them, etc. It's been an interesting read too as I am in a city and region that is brimming with crafty folk of all kinds, and when I saw the title I expected I'd know most if not all of the names in the book ... not so!

Vickie Howell, author of Craft Corps

Part of that could be that many are from or based on the west coast or in Texas, and I know from my own travels and addresses in various cities that each city and region has its own flavor in arts and crafts, much like varying neighborhoods in each of those cities - each city's Chinatown or Little Italy will have the very best of what it has, which may be very different from those in the next city. And while several of the talented people profiled have had or currently have shows on cable, I'm cable-free so except for a few nationally known names, these were all new people to me (and most of the well-known crafters, being outside the medium/materials I work in, were also new to me), so I got to 'meet' a lot of cool, crafty folk! And you know that every review is given through the perspective of the one doing the review, so you'll see I can't help but constantly refer back to the craft community around me as I go through this book - don't get it or not get it based on what you read here, this is my own conversation with myself about it. You should read it too and join the conversation!

It's always fun to read about other artists and how they work - what moves them, what scares them, what blows their skirts up. And of course if we artists don't love talking about ourselves, we do love talking about our work, which is the next best way to get us to talk about ourselves. I know this is how I felt when I did an interview myself for Big Fat Art Cloth, which is the blog of art therapist and textile artist K. Crane in Lexington.

Big Fat Art Cloth recently
got some blog love

She's developing a series of interviews with artists in all disciplines, and she's asking artists the questions I think she asks herself, and seeing different artists answer similar questions is always illuminating and entertaining (well at least for other artists). I think we artists always want to know how it is for others around us, and the cool thing about the crafting community is that it includes every form of art you can find - if there's an artist, there's a craft involved, and we all want to know what the other is doing, how they're doing it, and what they go through in the process.

See how I relate back to my own craft community? It'll keep happening - that's the glory of the craft community I think, the global appeal and local connection. That and I tend to ramble... oh look, something shiny!

At the Crafty Chica's blog site
(she's featured in the book),
you can learn how to make a wall sconce
out of a plastic shopping bag - awesome!

The questions asked in Craft Corps are fairly general among all the artists with some more specific for those with more specific areas, and that same entertainment level is there in learning about a first craft memory or first 'break' into the business of craft. If you've ever had any crafty tendencies, you can't help but ask yourself the questions as you read along. Without exception, everyone in the book had a crafty childhood of some sort, some with artistic and supportive families, others crafting in spite of their surroundings. Some had more traditional and/or corporate lives before they decided to dive into the craft world full time, and some dove in with the cushion of the former life helping them, others merely with the belief that only by jumping would the net then appear (I can relate to those folks). They all started with a great love of making things, and along their paths in life they found themselves eventually drawn back to a base calling to create. It's always inspiring to hear those stories!

Project Runway winner and master crafter
Jay McCarroll is also profiled...
DC peeps will find him and his cool designs
at the Oct. 2 Crafty Bastard.

Many of the folks profiled are somehow related to each other, either geographically or through their media work on cable stations with their own crafting shows or in various crafting groups. Working in a region of indie crafters and self-starters, it's an interesting study to compare the paths of those I read about with those around me. I do know some local crafty folk who have put together shows for the local cable station, some who have produced shows with growing popularity, those who meet under the umbrella of various crafting groups, and some quite frankly who I'm shocked to find absent from the national stage. And yet there is a thread of connection throughout the craft community here as in the book - I think if you find two crafters who don't know each other, you'd find a connection in less than six degrees. Then again I think that's true of any two people in Asheville, so it's all relative to your environment, and I guess to me that also means there are many more chapters to this book that could be written.

I know in every corner of the planet there are volumes' worth of people who are crafting from the most quiet level of basement/bedroom tatting to indie-designer to Lady GaGa's personal stylist (ok that's not my medium but how crazy fun would that be?!).

Lady GaGa is working with
some very crafty people...

So overall, while I was reading the main interviews and profiles of these very talented, creative and crafty individuals, I was enjoying the personal stories, but being a crafty person who plays with clay, I had hoped for more than the one featured artist in my medium.

Garth Johnson
'art masquerading as craft, craft masquerading as art'

And then there is an underlying question throughout the interviews about the age-old question of 'art' vs. 'craft'. For me, every art is a craft, while whether craft is art is decided subjectively, which is another question for another time. Garth Johnson, profiled in the book, runs a very fun blog that literally gives the finger to anyone taking that argument too seriously. I love that, but I also found myself reflecting on another comparison within the clay world. I've seen and heard the opinion in many cities and in many variations that 'if it's sculpture, it's art; if it's functional; it's craft' which also should determine the worth and value. Refer to my comment on art vs. craft to know where I stand, and then go read Garth's blog. Sometimes it's hard to eschew labels and semantic constraints when it just swims all around you. While I know the image of 'crafters' has widely been with the indie/underground artists and is accepted to include whimsy, shock, unexpected pairings and any other number of 'odd' assemblages, I wonder...if a beautiful pair of earrings is crafting, and if a lovely and very cool hand sewn apron or dress is crafting, cannot a beautifully decorated, hand made plate also be crafting as much as the beautifully decorated, hand made plate with an accent of astro turf and baby teeth (not seen in the book, just an extrapolation on the question)? hmmmm.... including this particular clay artist in the interviews is a good statement on that very question.

RetroCrafts, by Suzie Millions

As I said, there are many more chapters, and as I read each interview, I was also kind of writing the version in my head that would include the folks I know (including but certainly not limited to):

incredible artists/crafters like Brooke Priddy, exquisite designer and owner of Ship to Shore, Suzie Millions of .. just about every cool craft known (and who has written books of her own), Carol Motley of Bury Me Naturally, making the most personal kind of craft imaginable, each of the dedicated artists and crafters who sat in the rain for this weekend's 2nd Saturday Artist Market hawking their wares, and of course clay crafters like ... well, ok, me if I'm writing the book, Becca Floyd who creates layers of texture with stamps and glaze in her functional ware, The Button Florist Celia Barbieri who makes bouquets that never die...

potter heather tinnaro with
Empty Bowls founder John Hartom

crafters who spread the love like the artists and crafters involved in the annual Asheville Empty Bowls Project, including Empty Bowls founders John Hartom and Lisa Blackburn, everyone at the newly minted Dry Goods Shop (home of the United Craft Front) where you can either bring your craft for guidance and community or go learn it from the start, Laurie Corral of Asheville Bookworks, where letter press and hand made books come alive for the experienced and the newly smitten...

ubiquitous Chocolate Lounge plug...
this is the Theros, Orange & Fennel Truffle.
Seriously crafty little nugget of bliss.

and how about Dan and Jael Rattigan of French Broad Chocolate Lounge (seriously, can she write a post without a ChoLo shout out? ...er, no.), Jody Rhoden of Short Street Cakes (who is also on a tour of Cake Ladies for her own book), Suzy Phillips of Gypsy Queen Cuisine, potentially Zeytoon and hopefully soon the coolest mobile kitchen serving the best hand-crafted savories you've ever tasted (you think craft can't be edible? why do they call it craft services?)

Like I said, there are many more chapters to be written and new ones in development every day, and each interview I read made me think of ten more crafty folk I know - I bet you know some too. And those I listed above merely scratch the surface and that's just here in Asheville. I could come up with equally long lists for Atlanta, Chicago and DC (my former resident cities), and don't even get me started on what's going on in my home state of Vermont - the craft movement is indeed alive, growing and thriving. If you don't see it all around you, you're just not paying attention.

actually, click here

Meanwhile, back at Craft Corps (oh right, we were talking about the book!) a lovely compliment to the conversations with crafters is the inclusion of "Words to Craft By", which fills in the pages between interviews with mini profiles of crafters from around the continent. These tidbits were gathered at the Craft Corps blog site, where crafters of every size, shape, color and material come to share their crafty selves, and where Vickie Howell has amassed a true army of crafters. This is a good place to go to see and feel that ground swell of craftiness throughout the country. A reclaiming of the term Hand Made as a badge of honor, not a quiet excuse for lacking a mass-marketed label or factory stamp 'as seen on tv'. Long live the crafters!

Pick up a copy of Craft Corps and get your own crafty mojo bubbling! And...if you come see me at Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park next Friday or Saturday (September 17 or 18) and are the first one to say you saw it here, you can have my dog-eared copy to read yourself! And in the spirit of true craft-hood, I'll just ask you to pass it on to the next crafter you see after you finish. Unless of course you use it to create an incredible work of craft ... like a chandelier (no, too martha...), or perhaps a yurt for your dog (now that's a good thing!). Go get yer craft on! peace.

Hero Dogs of 9/11

2010-09-04T08:52:00.000-04:00

Lisa's Tile Weekend - the lost pictures!

2010-07-30T09:25:00.000-04:00

Well there have been a number of things keeping me busy these past weeks, but always on my mind has been to share some pictures from my tile workshop weekend with Lisa .. but where are the pictures?! Well I finally remembered that my camera was battery-tired and/or not with me, so I took many with my telelphone. Great discovery, now to get them off the phone! Sometimes bluetooth likes me, sometimes it doesn't, but I eventually charmed it to work for me and got the pictures onto the computer.

Usually the phone takes as good a picture as my camera, but we were often in dimmer light, so some of these are a bit fuzzy. What was abundantly clear, however, was the fun we were having, and I can't wait to hear about and see what Lisa does when she goes home to take over Matt's studio! ;)

Lisa & Matt - Matt did a workshop with me last year,
and Lisa wanted a turn this time!

Lisa, sketching out a tile design

fuzzy but good look at several techniques we played with:
slabbing, stamping, slip inlay

lots of techniques, lots of tests, lots of fun!

Lisa's final project was based on a set of tiles she found
in a magazine. #1 was a bee...

I think our visit to Holly deSaillan's studio inspired this beetle tile...

...and the firefly. I love how she used many of the techniques
we played with in each of the tiles

On an extra piece of slab, Lisa first rolled a piece of lace into
the slab, then when it set up, she stretched it out, then
gave it a nice push into the foam with a block. The lace had some
slip on it which also adds some nice texture.

And no workshop is complete without a visit to the
French Broad Chocolate Lounge. It was a late
birthday celebration, so we all had the Theros Chocolate Cake,
and we each got our own little piece of edible art!

Happy Independent's Week!

2010-06-30T14:03:00.000-04:00

ha! You thought I was going to say 'Independence Day' now, didn't you?! Well what better holiday to surround with a celebration for true independence in being a small business owner!

Indie, mom & pop, brick & mortar, how ever you name it, Asheville is filled with so many creative, delicious, inspiring, uplifting and oh-so-useful small businesses. The news lately has been that the best way for the economy to begin an upward flourish is for people to get out and do a bit of spending, so why not see how many small, local independent businesses you can find to do your business with over the next week, and grow our own local economy at the same time!

For my own touting, I invite you to service your fine art & craft needs by visiting Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park, where I am an owner/gallery member, along with several other fine independent business owners. Pick up a lovely gift, or make plans to meet with us about future design needs, be it installation wall pieces, furniture, service ware or custom design in any medium.

And while you're out there, you can get a great outfit for the holiday weekend at Moda or Constance Boutique, buy something sparkly that can go on a finger or wrist to compliment the fireworks in the sky at Marthaler's Jewelers, pamper yourself royally with incredible spa treatments at Sensibilities Day Spa or Sparrow Spa in the Biltmore Park Hilton. Been meaning to have the family portrait done or finally booking a photographer for a special event, you'll find Markis Studios right there, and if you've got the kids (young and old) with you, make sure to stop at Dino-kenetics and experience John Paynes incredible interactive sculptures (yes, it's an experience!). Every one of the businesses I mentioned are local, Asheville-Grown businesses, and that's just in one place!

Yes, I know the holiday is often about the food (actually, pretty much any occasion is about the food!). Need burgers and veggies for your 4th cookout? Hit one of the tailgates and get it directly from the farm, or find those same local options at the French Broad Food Coop or the West Village Market & Deli. Go fill up your growlers or even spring for a kegger at one of the local breweries (no favorites, they're all that good!). Don't feel like doing all the cooking? I hear you can pick up some kick-butt 'tater salad and other good stuff in east-West Asheville at 444 Gallery Cafe (go early - they're closed to let their local-grown families enjoy the holiday).

And if you're headed downtown, there are just way too many incredible local-grown businesses in the downtown area for me to list before lunch. I'm strolling up to 444 to see if they still have that cooling fruit soup today. You guys take over and list all the indie's downtown that should not be missed (ok, I'll start you off because as you know I absolutely cannot do a post about local grown and not mention the home of one of my favorite food groups: The French Broad Chocolate Lounge ... now you go!)

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and where ever you are - go check out your own home-grown businesses and give a little love to the local economy! xo

The longest day of the year...

2010-06-21T10:11:00.000-04:00

I'm firing today, and it just occurred to me that I've described many a firing day as the longest day of the year, but today it is literally so. And starting the longest day of the year at 5am hopefully means I'll have a whole lotta day to get a whole lot done.

Charles & Bennie after a good walk

Unfortunately, I didn't get the kiln started quite so early as I'm tending two very sweet pups and one was up and down last night with some digestive challenges (he on the left), so we got up early just to make sure he'd be ok for me to leave. He seems to be just fine, and the kiln got started shortly after 6:30, so still a good start.

Firing day is always a nice combination of things. The crazed pace of getting those last pieces bisqued, then everything glazed and loaded suddenly stops and now the kiln sets the pace. Still plenty to do - the studio is in dire need of a good shoveling out, lots of admin recovery, prep for next month's 2nd Saturday Market, other applications, and I really should jump back in and start making work for that one last cone 7 load before the Big Crafty. And I'll likely tackle parts of everything but right now as I'm in the early 'turn-up' phase of the firing, I'll take a cue from the kiln and work into it slowly.

Some of what's in the kiln will be unloaded just in time to go to the Arboretum for Handmade in America's Design Expo. Last year, the event was held at The Ramble, and various rooms and areas were designed and decorated in a designer/artist/craft maker collaboration. This year the event will be at the Arboretum, and the Artist Showcase will be under a big tent on the grounds, with various rooms represented in the tent by their design.

beautiful textile art by Susan Webb Lee

I was invited by textile artist (and co-Echo-gallerina) Susan Webb Lee to join the efforts for the 'Sunroom & Sleeping Porch' of the Artist Showcase, and am very pleased and excited to join Susan and some other very fine, talented folk: Becca Floyd (also clay), Howard Atwood (wood), Lang Hornthal (furniture), Joe Cooper (metal), Charlene Cook (interior decorator) and Leo Monahan (paper).

The event is Friday and Saturday, June 25 & 26 (ticket info HERE). I'll be there both days, so if you come please stop by our booth and say hello!

Time to turn up the kiln ... and maybe another cup of coffee, it's gonna be a long day.

So much to do in the neighborhood(s) this weekend!

2010-06-11T18:18:00.000-04:00

We're in that time of year in Asheville when there's always something happening, and this weekend is a perfect example!

My apologies in advance for what I'll inevitably leave out - feel free to comment and add your event to the list - here's a sampling of what's happening ... you'll find me at some and wishing I could go to others:

You'll find me tomorrow at the Rocket Club for the 2nd Saturday Artist Market. This month we've got a couple of new artists and for the first hour or so you'll also find live music at the door! We'll also be collecting as usual for MANNA FoodBank - check out the Market Blog for details. And I think I've mentioned that you can get the best bloody mary in town here.

Those who follow me on Facebook may also know that I'm having a little 'Lori needs a new car' sale at this month's Market. Yes, my faithful volvo, George Bailey, has gone to the great volvo farm where he can run free. You'll meet his heir, Harvey George, in a future post. For now, you'll find deals on all sorts of pretty potteries as I try to create a budget from which I may fund Harvey's addition to the family. Come by and check out the premium gifties available with certain purchases!

Right down the street from the Rocket Club, the E-W-A's newest member, 444 Gallery Cafe, will celebrate their Grand Opening. In addition to the great deli sandwich menu, featuring house-roasted meats, breads from West End Bakery, coffee from Dynamite Roasting in Black Mountain and wicked good cake from Short Street Cakes, they also offer the work of more local artists on an ongoing basis. And, word has it that a certain musician who will play in front of the Rocket Club may also play at the cafe. You'll just have to come see to find out! 444 Gallery Cafe is also having drawings all day for great prizes - food, coffee, gift certificates toward the purchase of some of the art and more!!

Backing up a bit, on Friday, you would have found me at Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park, where the show "Threads" closes this weekend. Some of the guest artist work has already been taken down, but you've still got time to see fabulous work by Jen Swearington and Libby & Jim Mijanovich. And mark your calendars because next Friday Echo Gallery will open a new show featuring and celebrating the work of member artists Genie Maples, Barbara Fisher, Susan Finer, and Cindy Walton. It's called 'Paint'. :)

If you don't want to wait to see new work by Genie and Barbara, then head down to the River Arts District for Studio Stroll - everybody's been working hard, making new pretties and cleaning up their spaces. You'll find demonstrations, performances and some mighty fine hand crafted work in just about every medium imaginable! Not playing favorites, but Echo Members Genie Maples, Barbara Fisher, Laurie McCarriar, Anna Koloseike and Dawn Dalto all have studios in the RDA. As well, you'll find current and former guest artists Heather Tinnaro, Alex Stevens and Barbara Zaretksy in their respective studios and/or galleries too!

Now if you're bugging out of town to avoid the heat, you should head up to the Toe River Studio Tour - follow the link and go for me, I'll be basking in the warmth of east-west-asheville artist love but I'm already making plans for the fall Tour!

So that's a lot to do and I've only mentioned a few possibilities - there's also a great event tonight at Harvest Records, then over the weekend you'll also find Art in the Park, the Downtown Market ... and more to be sure. Don't let the heat slow you down - you know you can refresh yourself greatly if you find your way to the EWA - cool bevvies, great sammies for the body and an array of beautiful hand crafted goodness for the soul (and the wall, the shelf, the cabinet, the arm, the ears....).

Welcome to the Neighborhood, 444 Gallery Cafe!

2010-06-07T22:53:00.000-04:00

the new kids in town! (photo by Zen Sutherland)

We who live and toil in the E-W-A are very pleased to welcome 444 Gallery Cafe to east West Asheville, and I'm very excited to share this coming 2nd Saturday with them as they celebrate their Grand Opening on June 12!

Glasswear at 444 Gallery Cafe

444 Gallery Cafe is just what it sounds like, a little gallery, a little cafe. In the gallery you'll find some artists you've seen at the 2nd Saturday Artist Market, some other familiar creative talents from our neighborhood and you'll also see the work of new, emerging artists.

terrariums in all sizes by Tristan & Rikki

photography by Zen Sutherland

In the cafe, you'll find great deli sandwiches, salads and soups. You'll find house-roasted meats, breads from West End Bakery, excellent coffee from Dynamite Roasting Company in Black Mountain, dessert selections from Short Street Cakes, for starters.

paintings by Mike Reardon adorn a cozy corner

Owners David & Scott are also committed to being as environmentally friendly as possible, so you'll also find biodegradable and compostable take out products. And one of my favorite things to see at a coffee station - dried pasta coffee stirs!

Come by the 444 Gallery Cafe and be sure to hit The Rocket Club for the 2nd Saturday Artist Market - we welcome 444 Gallery Cafe to our 'hood and look forward to future events and collaborations!

swim with annie ...

2010-05-24T16:20:00.001-04:00

I've often said that a lot in Asheville reminds me of my home state Vermont, which is probably why I've landed here so happily.

I think it's a nice mixture of geography, a bit of weather and the creative spirit, interest in social issues and community generosity that I see in both, and today's story is about one of my Vermont friends and what she's doing in her little part of the world.

My friend Annie isn't a native Vermonter, but she has adopted her community as if she were its first born, and champions many community activities as well as runs several swimming programs for kids and families. If you're in the Burlington area and want to know more about swimming with Annie, check out her site: Swim With Annie.

On June 2, Annie will swim for five hours to raise money for medical supplies and personnel in the ongoing effort for relief in Haiti. Here are the details:

SWIM FOR HAITI will take place at The Spa at The Essex between 4pm on Wednesday, June 2nd and 4pm on Thursday, June 3rd.

Swimmers will arrive and swim at any time of their choice, within that 24 hour period.

All donations go directly to the VERMONT MEDICAL RESPONSE TEAM, a local non profit which sends Vermont Medical personnel/supplies/support to Haiti for ongoing earthquake relief efforts.

Not only swimmers but water walkers, water joggers, lap swimmers, young swimmers, old swimmers, noodle swimmers, ALL SWIMMERS or anyone willing to step into a pool are welcome and capable of raising funds through sponsors.

Participants choose a length of time to swim and get as many sponsors in their category as possible.

15 minutes = $5 per sponsor
30 minutes = $10 per sponsor
1 hour = $20 per sponsor
2 hours = $40 per sponsor

There is also a swim duration called EIGHTY FOR HAITI
5 hours = $80 per sponsor

Jackie Bombardier and Annie Cooper will be swimming from midnight to five am and seeking EIGHTY FOR HAITI level sponsors. On Tap, in the former Lincoln Inn space in Essex Junction, was the first sponsor at this level and has set the bar for other businesses to step up and donate to this great cause. T.S. Peck Insurance has also donated to EIGHTY FOR HAITI.

Swim tips and pointers provided to anyone who asks, courtesy of Annie, Jackie and Sue.

For more information call Annie at 802-922-6700. If you are staying overnight from out of town, call The Essex at 802-878-8050 for hotel rates.

I'll be adding to the sponsorship by sending a mug to five EIGHTY FOR HAITI level sponsors. Not sure how many are left, so contact Annie if you want to sponsor!

And the parallels continue...

I learned recently, for instance, that Vermont tops the list of US state breweries per capita, with one brewery for every 32,698 people, and each of those breweries being a craft brewery. very proud.

And then Asheville wins the online 'Beer City USA' poll. The connection is strong indeed!

tiles, tiles, tiles...

2010-05-19T09:17:00.000-04:00

Last summer it happened that I taught a one-on-one week-long workshop, which I thought would be a one time thing. But it turned out to be a pretty darned good success, and so much fun for me that I decided to offer it this year on purpose.

My first victim ... er, student this season, Ginny, was here this weekend from Atlanta. Extra fun for me as Ginny and I go back to those days of yore, and she'd just started working in clay again this year after a pretty long hiatus.

workshopper Ginny, starting with stamps

We officially began the workshop at Echo Gallery, where I'm on duty most Fridays. It was a perfect setting to get into the mood for creating textures on clay, as there are many visual and tactile textures to be found in the current exhibit of work by both gallery members and our current guests for the "Threads" exhibit, in clay, painting, textiles, photography and more. If you haven't been out to see it - you've got another few weeks so get going!

making stamps for texturing tiles

Ginny's project goal was to make tiles to cover three small mirrors she brought along, so Friday's clay work was to make stamps we could use on Saturday to decorate those tiles. I made a new stamp of my cone flower for my own new tile tests as well.

more texture, courtesy of a doily

Saturday we had a full day in the studio, slabbing clay, impressing textures and cutting tiles. We took a mid-afternoon break for lunch downtown so we could check out the crowd at Fanaticon, swung by the Chocolate Lounge and then back to West Asheville to see all the lovely bird houses and lawn art laid out for Bountiful Cities' annual Birdhouse Auction (off-topic shout out to friend Melissa Weiss who won first prize for her birdhouse entry - it rocked!). Then it was back to the studio to clean up the tiles and prep them to dry out some more.

planning the layout

Sunday morning, Ginny laid out her design on the mirrors and then carefully numbered them - she's got lots of extra tiles which will be great for glaze testing when she gets back to Atlanta. I can't wait to see what else she does with all the new information she sucked up this weekend - even though we only made tiles for this one project, we talked about various firing techniques, other decoration techniques and she picked up a new book on making and installing tiles. Watch out Atlanta! I'll send her the bisque fired tiles, and she's promised to send pictures of the finished project, so check back for that.

coneflower accent tiles

And because I teach to learn myself, I also got to play around with some ideas that have been swimming around in my head waiting for a spare minute to spill out. I only took a picture of the first series, so stay tuned for more (and I'll be making another one of these cone flower stamps for Ginny so I don't have to say goodbye to this one after the bisque)!

extra prezzie for the dishwasher...

I also slipped the back of a platter to show Ginny some sgrafitto carving, and just couldn't stop once I got going ...

Thanks Ginny for coming up and motivating such a fun weekend - can't wait for us both to share the finished tiles we each started (and for more of your great brainstorming on behalf of my business)!

And now back to the regularly scheduled programming... the studio's (mostly) put back in order, and after a slight delay, pots are in the finishing stages of decoration and glazing and will fire tomorrow. But I'll be thinking about more tile designs myself, and making notes for the next workshop fun ... more tiles with Lisa in July!

my 'big fat art' interview and...

2010-05-15T22:45:00.001-04:00

You've heard me talk about my friend Karen, who is a textile artist, painter, art therapist ... well she's an artist and that will encompass these and her many other talents.

Big Fat Art Cloth blog

Her blog, Big Fat Art Cloth, which I have encouraged you to read and follow, has started a series of artist interviews, and she's ventured away from her own medium to pick l'il ol' me for her first subject. Questionable as that sounds, it was a very nice experience for me and I look forward to reading what other artists have to say in future interviews.

Interestingly for me, while I've received many lovely comments from friends and family about the interview, it seems one of the most interesting things mentioned was the fact that I appeared in a Freddie Mercury video. Anyone who has seen my work should not be surprised, the influence and effect are still resounding in my current body of work (and anyone who doesn't know I'm kidding...).

So here's the story, just so I can refer people to this post when I get asked again:

20-somethin' years ago, I visited my friend Anne in London, where she was getting one of her many degrees and teaching Australians how to play quarters with home-brewed beer (ok, so I helped on that). An opportunity came for local students to be a part of a video shoot at a West End theater, and she couldn't go but arranged for me to go. At the time, when a West End musical was a hit, the soundtrack was often covered by pop artists. For this show, "Time", Freddie Mercury was recording the title track, and shooting the video in the theater. At that time, I was working in theater so it was a huge thrill to get an on-stage look at such a production, and it was the 80's ... who didn't love Queen?! So there I was along with several dozen students from one of the local performing academies. We spent the day learning the lyrics, then got onstage and Freddie Mercury joined us for the shoot. When he arrived, we may have made even bigger news as a good portion of our chorus, perched on hastily assembled risers, started stomping and clapping the beat to "We Will Rock You", sending the techies and producers into a frenzy trying to stop the motion before we collapsed. But we all survived and lived to rock another day.

Another big bonus was a free ticket to the show after we ran over a couple of hours. The show never made it to the US as it was based on the existence of the Cold War, and before it could move across the pond, the Berlin Wall came down. The show was a lot of fun, and the highlight for me beyond seeing the stage effects in action was the projection of Sir Laurence Olivier's head on a sculpted form inside a giant planet that opened up for his appearance (yes, he was the Big Giant Head). It was a memorable experience all around.

For years it never occurred to me to look for the video, as I figured it was lost on some obscure collection only available in England. But now we know that if it's been filmed or taped, it's bound to be on YouTube! So here it is - I'm part of the blur in the back somewhere.

bowls, bowls, bowls...

2010-05-12T17:24:00.000-04:00

Imagine/Render Studios, ready for some Empty Bowls action!

Empty Bowls season has now officially begun. Last year I threw about 100 bowls for the October event in Asheville, and I aim to at least match that again this year. A few bowls a day on the throwing schedule makes it an easy goal, and hopefully I'll gather some studio members into the frenzy as well.

Lisa & John, welcoming a participant from Tennessee

Imagine Render is the non-profit behind Empty Bowls - John Hartom & Lisa Blackburn started the first one 20 years ago - and we in this area are very fortunate that they're based close by in Burnsville, and I'm honored to be a member of the I/R Board. John has created a lovely studio looking out at rolling fields and mountains (with Lisa's VERY cool letter press/book making studio above), with a dedication to making and firing only bowls for Empty Bowls. Today, working with the NC Clay Club, we're having an Empty Bowls event in part to thank all the past volunteers and to get the bowl making underway. I say 'having', as it's still going on as I type. I was happy to get out early and throw some bowls, but duties back at my own studio called me back to town before the party was over.

pal heather tinnaro & CGS member Matt Clark
& I went early to get things going

The studio is set up to show off the great facility, as well as some of the bowls that have been made, fired and donated by area potters. Participants today will throw some, trim some, decorate some and then later tonight the Clay Club will meet and there will be general good-time-having.

by the time we left, the decorating/hand-building tables were filling,
and a second shift was moving on to the wheels

In and around my own studio schedule, I'll be trekking up to John's studio with other friends about once a month to make and decorate bowls there, plus the stocking of bowls will begin at Crazy Green. If you're in the Asheville area and want to visit the studio and maybe throw a bowl (or 20) - let me know and we'll get you there!

We were greeted by a lovely Michael Kline vase,
recently acquired at his kiln opening

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

God's Masterpiece Is Mother

by Herbert Farnham

God took the fragrance of a flower...

The majesty of a tree...

The gentleness of morning dew...

The calm of a quiet sea...

The beauty of the twilight hour...

The soul of a starry night...

The laughter of a rippling brook...

The grace of a bird in flight...

Then God fashioned from these things

A creation like no other,

And when his masterpiece was through

He called it simply - Mother.

Happy Mother's Day Mom - I Love You!

And love & appreciation to all the moms I know! xoxo

first firing in the new studio

2010-04-28T15:04:00.000-04:00

Ahhhhhhhhh ..... it feels good! We opened the kiln today on the first firing since moving the studio, and now it officially feels like home. It's the same kiln I've been firing in over the past two years, but this firing cycle was completely different as everything happened here. No running back and forth to get the brush I left at my old studio, or check on students or a bisque there, or cramming a decorating session into three hours. This time, I got it all done with time to spare. I got more work done during the firing, and more importantly I was in the studio for the entire firing, not running in and out to do a turn up or peek at the cones before running back to work in the other studio.

I also used a new firing program this time around, one plucked from the kiln log and fired by friend heather in her last load. The 'St. Pete' method, and it worked beautifully! Here are some shots of our first efforts - now to get busy to fill the next load in a few weeks!

after two firings with questionable results, it's nice
to see the trees look the way I want them to look again

because I have to figure out how to make things more complex and
time consuming, I tried the 'carved' design in wax resist ...

actually writing this blog from the ChoLo, where I just dropped off
a new supply of mugs

and new mugs went to Roots earlier today ...

... along with some sexy new plates for their sumptuous fare

wine cups that are headed up to
Mountainside Wine in Spruce Pine

the carved trees in mugs ... hopefully some of these will make
it to the Tree Gallery this time ...

one in this batch has an 'easter egg' that studio member
Rebekah Newton is hiding on some of my pieces ... see him?

pieces by studio member Matt Clark -
nice, creamy mamo sake set!

pieces by studio member Helen Wadino -
the business card holders are so cute, and dig the design on
her mini pitcher!

pieces by studio member Rebekah Newton -
mushrooms for her garden, and a bigger version
of that 'easter egg'

pieces by studio member Katie Hadden - so happy to have
her back with us - we missed her beautiful designs!

Rotarians & Kids Against Hunger (& me too!)

2010-04-24T14:24:00.000-04:00

I spent this morning at Biltmore Park with the Rotarians and Kids Against Hunger, packing meals for quake victims in Haiti. It was an incredible organized effort that gave people of all ages an opportunity to help out, and at the end of my shift, we had packed almost 65,000 meals.

a very well organized group of volunteers led us to our stations

we were a well-oiled machine! our station ended up bagging about 550 meals

Kids Against Hunger is an international organization providing highly nutritious meals to children here at home and around the world. While these meals we packed today are slated for Haiti, locally they have programs (this group operates through Mission Hospital) that package meals that are then distributed by MANNA FoodBank to hungry children in Western North Carolina.

And while I'm on the subject, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Empty Bowls Project, started by two of my local heroes, John Hartom and his wife Lisa Blackburn. We've already started planning events for the Asheville Empty Bowls luncheon that takes place on World Food Day (October 16). I'm working both with MANNA FoodBank (the beneficiary of the event) and with Imagine Render, the non-profit that founded Empty Bowls. It's frustrating and challenging to acknowledge that in a world that does indeed have an abundance of food, hunger is a major issue in many countries and most often in all our communities. So it's not something to celebrate that 20 years in we still need to bring awareness to the issue, but it is something to celebrate that for the past 20 years, the Empty Bowls Project has helped people realize their own power to effect change and help their community.

potter Heather Tinnaro & Empty Bowls founder John Hartom
at the 2007 Asheville Empty Bowls Luncheon

So we're shining a big spot light on Empty Bowls this year to mark the 20 year anniversary, and we're trying to find all sorts of big fancy famous folk to participate. Why? Well they have much bigger pulpits than most of us, and they can help bring awareness to a much larger audience. Many already do, and in addition to latching on to those big, fancy, famous coattails, it's a good opportunity to acknowledge the work they do. So if you know any big, fancy, famous people, or even any small, schleppy famous people, and you think they'd like to do a little something to help end hunger, have them contact me or Imagine Render (via my contact here or at the Empty Bowls website) and we've got a very cool project they can help with. And hey, if any of the big/small/fancy/schleppy/famous folk I know want to help or have friends in that category who want to help, send them on too!

making bowls at the Imagine Render studio in Burnsville, NC

There's plenty for the rest of us too - I'll start throwing bowls for use in our Empty Bowls event soon, and I invite everyone who reads this to find an event in your area to get involved with. Make a bowl, make some soup, help organize the event, buy a bowl! No event? Start one! Or go and find your local foodbank and just ask them how you can help.

It's gratifying to hear a couple hours work resulted in 65,000 meals, and while it's a drop in the hunger bucket, it also shows how easy it is to find a way to help.

the place to be happy is here...

2010-04-22T15:27:00.000-04:00

So I may have mentioned that I'm very happy to be working on site where the kiln is ... oh I'm sure I've mentioned it once or twice. But now that I'm heading toward my first firing since the move, there are a million little ways I am reminded of the importance of staying in place throughout a work cycle.

In this case, a picture speaks many of those ways:

In the foreground are the mugs I'm waxing, preparing to glaze. If I don't finish them today, I get to keep them right where they are and pick up where I left off.

Above that is the platter I threw yesterday. Shortly after I started waxing, I noticed that it was at the perfect stage for trimming. Before my studio move, I probably would have wrapped the platter to make sure it didn't dry out while I was packing boxes of bisque to schlep to the other studio for glazing. Stop, trim, keep going.

Above that are the demo pots I threw for my new student. Schedule a student during the days you have to prep for a firing? Ridiculous! Not any more - gave her a demo, and while she was working I was laying out bisque to wax and even trimmed that platter.

And above that, under the cute table cloth is the pugger. I may not actually pug today, but in addition to everything else getting done today, I've got clay drying in the sun that I'll pug up in the next day or two, perhaps as a break from glazing. I may have laid out clay in the old studio while glazing off site, but odds are it would either stay wet under plastic or dry out too much, having missed the times when it needed to be turned.

I don't always need to nor do I plan to hop around from task to task, but it is an absolute joy to do it today ... because I CAN. What I've done just to this point today may have been spread over several days before this move, having to choose what to focus on based on where I would be and when. Including this post! Now perhaps an afternoon coffee break and then back to the waxing...

definite progress!

2010-04-20T18:28:00.000-04:00

So the down side to having to stop production to pack and move the studio right after a firing that was less than stellar (I believe the technical term would be 'crap'), is that the first kiln needs to make up for all those that shoulda been as well as hopefully start stocking the will be's. The upside is that I have no lack of what to make, although because I'm filling very specific needs for this kiln, I'm a little all over the place, doing this mug for this client, these for another, only this many of this plate for another and odds and ends here and there. But once everybody's caught up, I'll be back in a good rhythm and able to work in larger batches of each form.

For now, it feels like I'm both racing and crawling to the finish line, with time for one more bisque before glazing and firing, making as much as I think I can cram into the bisque ... yet with today's rain the drying has screeched to a very slow crawl. The upside to that is I took a short break and ran to the West Asheville Tailgate, which started its season today.

So working through the branded client work, then finishing more individual orders and looking forward to enough sun tomorrow to dry things out for the bisque.

And then, the extreme joy of staying right here to start glazing work already bisque fired ... what a concept.

Back to watching clay dry ...

getting ahead on mugs for the ChoLo

branding some new service plates for Roots Cafe

taking advantage of a break in the clouds to dry out
some Roots mugs and dinner plates

feels like a bit of progress...

2010-04-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

Ok I was going to skip today, then I saw my pal Karen did her post so here I am ...

Today was a day of clean hands, but still much got done. Spent time at Echo Gallery putting all the 3D work in place, including newly received work by guest artist Emily Reason. I didn't have my camera, so you'll just have to come to the opening on Friday or wait till I get pictures up to see how nice it looks. But take my word for it - it looks niiiice! Our other guest artists are textile artists Jen Swearington, Barbara Zaretsky and Libby & Jim Mijanovich, and our core members have added new work. Don't take my word for it - come see it! Details HERE.

The other fun for today was going to a Clay Club meeting. I usually miss them as they're usually just far enough away to make the trip seem more optional the later the day gets, but this month they met in town so it would be just silly not to go! It was a great turn-out, with potter folk from all over, including the northern territories! Got to see many I hadn't seen in a while, meet many I had only known of indirectly, heard about lots of cool upcoming events at Curve Studios, Michael Kline's studio and with Tom Turner in town, ate way too much and just in general had a good time hobbing and knobbing.

Back at the studio, I unloaded a small kiln load that included mugs for Echo and the first batch of work that will go to the Tree Gallery, tests for a new client and kiln fillers that were a lot of fun to play with.

new tree mugs - can you find the 'easter egg' hiding on one?
Studio member Rebekah added one of her owls to some of the mugs...

I'll actually have just a handful of new for the opening on Friday, as my big kiln won't fire till the end of the month. But squeezing in this cone 7 kiln will give me a little and gets me much needed tests for the next load. I love the feeling of opening a kiln - like a prezzie each time, and even if it's not the prezzie you thought you wanted, the info is always good and the more you do it, the more it's really like waking up first on Christmas morning!

figured I was testing materials, why not test some new trees?

And then for something completely random ... I needed kiln fillers for this firing, and I had some slipped cups that were extra from a previous project. I had wanted to roll out some tile tests to play with some ideas that had been floating in my head but didn't get it done in time, so the cups became my test tiles. Of course, not related at all to any work I'm doing now, so it was kind of fun to play with - got to see how the underglaze crayons acted at cone 7, learned about some other underglaze colors. Not sure when I'll do these tiles, but it was fun for a test and great for kiln fillers!

Tomorrow: gallery business, drying out clay, makin' a bunch of stuff, having a bit of henna fun, makin' a bunch more stuff, pugging. Now off to see if I can liberate those pictures on my phone...

I get by...

2010-04-13T17:19:00.000-04:00

...with a lotta help from my friends. So I've been away from the blog lately and I have a long list that could follow 'because...'

But I think more than a few of us are going through a whole lotta that, and really while I'd love to rant it just doesn't feel like it'll accomplish much. I'd rather say that in spite of seeing a lot of other people going through a lot of other struggles - many like my own, many not so hard, many so much harder it makes me want to cry ... what I see, hear and feel far more are the smiles, words and hugs of support. I certainly have a wealth of it in my life, and I see it in and for other people too, and it's not that other people are 'going through a rough time' too that makes it easier. It's the other people who are there to help, whether it's by packing up a box or just being that friendly voice on the phone.

I do have many things to catch up with on the blog, and they all involve some of these incredible people - pictures of the move, of the new studio, of the work finally getting made. And an incredible weekend with the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Candle Wax' ... as soon as I figure out how to get the pictures off the phone ...

For now, I just wanted to share that my return to enthusiasm for the blog is fueled by my friend Karen.

She goes by K., but I'm one of the few allowed to stick with

Karen as that's how I met her and I'm just stubborn that way.

Karen and I go back to the days of yore, and she's been a big source of inspiration to me through my own artistic travels and continues to do so with her own fearless exploration.

This is a link to her blog, Big Fat Art Cloth.

She's entered a challenge with artists she knows to create art and blog every day. This is a great motivation for me as I've been stupid busy without getting much done lately and needed goals with the right motivation. That being said, for now my big commitment is to read her blog every day. Maybe I'll just blog about what I read in her blog. I've been planning this post for two days myself, so that's a good first step.

I'm looking forward to finally seeing more of Karen's work 'out there', but more so I'm excited to be able to hear her voice in these posts. Her perspective comes from a great depth of experience - personal, professional, academic and artistic. It's about her art, but you'll get a lot of who she is (and isn't that what we get with any of our art?), and if you follow this blog you'll get to know one of the best people around. But don't call her Karen unless she says it's ok.

And if you need more motivation in your own studio, check out my blog links and read some cool blogs. Then check out the links list on those blogs - some of the best summer reading, and you never now where the next burst of new inspiration will find you!

Signs of Spring...

2010-03-25T10:23:00.000-04:00

Well just a wee bit of catching up to do ...

The studio move is just about complete, and once I collect the holiday lights from outside the little red building on Domino Lane and move some scrap wood, we'll be focused on just one location again.

I'm grateful for the past two years in that space and all the experiences, good and bad, that came with it. My studio members shone like the stars they are in helping me get packed and moved and unpacked, and I am most grateful for their support and friendship. And while the digging out is still in process, I'm already enjoying the new space and am so excited to be in the same location as the reduction kiln ... now just gotta get the work out and fill it!

It's still a jungle of boxes and temporarily placed furniture, but member Matt made it in to throw the first pots yesterday, and I tested out my own work space with a couple at the end of the day. We have a kiln scheduled just a few weeks away, so if I needed any MORE motivation to get things done and ware on the shelves ... well there it is!

I tidily packed away the camera and only found it the day after the move, so here are a few catch up shots.

We had beautiful weather for the move, and then the next day ... snow! Here's the new building.

The great dumping of boxes and furniture....

things slowly coming out of boxes and onto shelves...

rewarded myself with a little wheel time last night...

happy to say the wheel works just fine in its new home!

If I could've crawled more around boxes and furniture to get good depth, there would be more pictures ... stay tuned!

2nd Saturday Artist Market starts tomorrow!

2010-03-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

2nd Saturday has finally arrived, and we're all very excited about the start of this season's Artist Markets.

Excited to be in our new space inside The Rocket Club.

Excited to get the page up on FaceBook and welcome new friends.

Excited to welcome back good friends who were here last year, excited to welcome talented new artists and crafters joining us for the first time.

Excited to feel the creative vibe of all these incredible artists and sharing that vibe with the community.

Excited to add food to the overall menu ... excited that our first guest at the 'kitchen table' is Zeytoon.

Excited to welcome Homeward Bound as our first guests in the Community Booth. Excited to roll out the red barrel to accept donations for MANNA FoodBank.

Excited too that right across the street, Drive-By Press will be printing t's at Asheville BookWorks.

Excited we got to flash our 'Asheville Grown' t-shirt and show off samples of the great creations that will be available on MY40 This Morning with Victoria Dunkle.

Let's face it, we're sitting on shpilkes here, we're just a little excited!

Come join us - Saturday, March 13 from 11:00am - 5:00pm (and the 2nd Saturday of each month following, too!). The Rocket Club, 401 Haywood Road in east-West Asheville!

March Madness at Crazy Green...

2010-03-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

Another month that snuck up on me!

Lots going on this month with Crazy Green Studios - 2nd Saturday Artist Market starts next weekend, and I'm really excited not only for the new venue inside The Rocket Club, and for seeing friends again in those returning vendors, but also for the vendors new to the Market and all the great work they'll bring! Check out the 2nd Saturday blog for artist profiles, and this month we'll also be getting a tasty preview of what will soon be one of my regular hang outs - Zeytoon. The Community Booth also returns, and our first guests in the booth will be Homeward Bound.

The other big news around the studio is moving ... well actually this studio is staying here, but me, my studio members and all our stuff are moving. While the studio has been buzzing with ongoing and new business, the overall effects of the past 18+ months of running and building a new business in this ... challenging ... economy is starting to show more, and I needed to take an opportunity to cut some costs and start catching up so when things start cranking up this spring and summer I'll be in a better position to move with the flow.

I'm not going far - just on the other side of Haywood Road, actually, and into the WestFire Studio space. Those of you who have followed along and heard me say more than a few times that I look forward to being on the same site as the gas kiln I fire ... well that's exactly what's happening! WestFire is where I've been firing, and by the end of this month it'll also be where I'm working. While I will miss the sunny studio on Domino Lane a great deal, I am more than a little excited to rediscover what it is to have a production cycle that doesn't include stockpiling kiln loads of bisque, packing and moving work, cramming a kiln load of decorating and glazing into a 1-3 day period ... and now my studio members will be able to join me in cone 10 firing and well they're all just a little excited about that too!

I'll continue a small palette of cone 7 work, and in fact will probably be able to develop it more. I've already started making notes for the test firings on mugs I'll be making for The Beaufort House Inn here in town, and I've got slip trees in many forms in the works for several galleries.

So the studio is in transition - my new studio mate Laura at WestFire and I are starting to work out how our studios will merge, and here we're packing and also still churning out work as production can't quite come to a full stop (at least till it's time to move the big stuff!).

Studio members know we're on 'regular' hours, and anyone wishing to pay a visit to Crazy Green while we're on Domino Lane just give a call to make sure we're here.

Oh and if you know anyone looking for a really great studio space, send them over to check it out or contact me - it's been the perfect space for me for almost two years, and I know it's the perfect space for someone just waiting to find it!

coming soon to a shop near you ...

2010-02-23T13:57:00.002-05:00

... well, as long as you're in Asheville that is.

Some fun with a new design and a new fun place to show fun & functional pieces for the kitchen (fun, fun, fun!):

aromatherapy 'tree' diffuser

Sensibilities Day Spa has been carrying my aromatherapy diffusers for a while now, and the lovely owner Jen inspired me to try the new tree pattern on them. We likey, and soon you'll find the first couple at the downtown store, along with more of the other glazes as well. If you've never been to Sensibilities, you need to go! I feel more relaxed just walking in the door, such is the environment created by quality products and more so by the people. You just know when you're someplace people love to be, and everyone at Sensibilities loves what they do, loves where they do it and they make you feel like they've been waiting just for you to come in - every time! The same is true of the Biltmore Park location as well as the exquisite Sparrow Spa at the Biltmore Park Hilton.

oil bottles & inverted salt cellars

I was so happy to see Moda Boutique open just a few doors down from Echo Gallery, not only to welcome another locally owned business to the strip, but also for all the great finds inside the store. And then to meet owners Sharon & Lauren was yet another bonus. What I said about Sensibilities - ditto - these ladies love what they do and you know it as soon as you walk in the door! And while you may know them first for clothing and accessories, they have a small but growing area of goods for the kitchen and home, including some very nice olive oil that is bottled just for them. And soon, you'll find my olive oil bottles and inverted salt cellars added to the home collection.

And I didn't even have time to take a picture of the last batch out of the kiln, but new mugs are making their way downtown to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge with the cool, new logo. More are going into the kiln this week, so maybe I'll get them chronicled for the archives before they get snatched into service.

fig & port truffle from the Chocolate Lounge ... O. M. G.

And another batch that got out the door before the camera was charged: new soup bowls for Roots Cafe, with more salad and entree bowls in the works. Cheryl at Roots did take this lovely shot of one of the new bowls in action, and it's a bit fuzzy as I lifted it from their FB page:

veggie chili special at Roots (today in fact!)

If you didn't already know that the ChoLo and Roots are two of my favorite places in the world, well then you clearly haven't been paying attention.

As you see at the top of the blog, I'm a '3/50' business, and I try hard to support other 3/50's - I'm so proud and grateful that my client list is made up of other brick & mortar businesses, and that I get to do business with people I admire both personally and professionally. Get out and support YOUR local businesses! xo

weathering through...

2010-02-15T16:18:00.000-05:00

I think I've started a blog post about a dozen times in the last week, but some shiny object or weather system seems to distract me away from the keyboard.

Since you brought up the weather, I guess I need to admit that I am partially responsible for the last two weekend's conditions that closed schools, businesses & sent so many running to the grocery for supplies. You see, I'm a member of Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park, and since we've moved into the gallery, we've had a 'weather curse' upon us.

Let's have a soft opening party - torrential downpour that keeps everyone inside.

Let's try it again in a month - torrential downpour that has everyone back inside working on plans for an ark.

We shall not be daunted, we'll invite guest artists and host a reception to welcome them. I think that one was a combination of torrential downpour and possible ice.

Fine, we'll break the winter doldrums with a new show with new guest artists. Ah... we see the snow coming so we'll postpone for a week. Take that weather curse! The new date comes up and there's a forecast for a little snow but just an inch you say? Well, we're gonna do it so there!

So we did it, for an hour and then we all took the next couple of hours getting home in the 'flurries'.

So I'm sorry if the weather has inconvenienced you. We don't have another opening until April. Spring showers, anyone?

a lovely spread, highlighted by pizza from Travinia and

brownies from the French Broad Chocolate Lounge...

at least nobody went hungry on the ride home!

February Studio Schedule

2010-02-04T18:28:00.006-05:00

Well after saying how fast January seemed to be going by, you'd think I'd be ready for February ... but nope, it snuck up on me good!

No special reasons to change the schedule this month - now that doesn't happen too often! Of course, if we're having severe weather, you might want to give a call before you come, but since I live blocks from the studio, if I can't get anywhere else I can always walk to the studio!

And speaking of the weather:

Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park: we bow to the weather gods, and we'll try for Friday, February 12 for the opening reception of our new show (5-8pm). Several Echo Gallery member artists will be adding new work, and we'll be welcoming new work from guest artists Brian Fireman and Tekla, as well as new guest artists Jenny Mastin and Dawn Dalto. The show is almost up now if you want a sneak peek (but call first this weekend if there's 'weather'), but make sure you come by next Friday for the reception and meet the artists, enjoy some tasty nibbles from Travinia and sip on lovely beverages.

I'll be adding a few new things, but my firing will follow the opening so just plan to make another visit to the gallery to see some new trees.

And in other news:

Applications are now available for artists, crafters and community organizations for the
2nd Saturday Artist Market. First Market date is coming up in March, and notifications will start going out in about a week. Artist/craft vendors get space for up to a 6' table/display for $25. Community organizations may apply for a free space to promote their programs. This year we'll also feature food from some very talented local eateries, and as always we'll be a collection point for donations to MANNA FoodBank. Check the blog at the link above for more details.

Asheville Grown

2010-01-29T10:29:00.001-05:00

Crazy Green Happenings in the New Year...

2010-01-22T13:38:00.013-05:00

Whew - it's still just January, and I'm still getting used to 2010, but does feel like it's already later to anyone else? Maybe it's that combination of year end wrap up meets new planning - my head is months down the road and it's startling to see the calendar still on '01'.

And before we get into the business, a moment of love and deep appreciation for all the kind words, thoughts, hugs, chocolate, beers and love after the passing of my sweet pup. It means the world and I thank you from the bottom of my crazy green and still dog-hair covered heart.

So here are some developments in the works and on the books I wanted to share:

2nd Saturday Artist Market will be back this year! We had great response to the Market last year, although we did suffer from being 'hidden in plain sight'. Well hopefully that will no longer be a problem as I'm very excited to welcome The Rocket Club as a primary sponsor and the new home of the 2nd Saturday Artist Market. Since we'll be indoors, we don't need to wait for the weather to play along so we'll open this year's Market on March 13. Applications are now being accepted for table space, and this year we'll also welcome some food vendors for when you need a snack! We'll continue the Community Booth and will no doubt unveil more treats and surprises as wel go along. More information is on the 2nd Saturday blog, and application materials will be available on the blog soon (till then you can email me for them).

Workshops! Last year I conducted some custom, one-on-one workshops and they were a big hit, so rather than trying to offer specific formats and agendas, I'm offering that up for the full season. These workshops are for the beginner to intermediate potter-type, for one person or up to five people, and are for anywhere from 3-5 days and include all materials and firings. They also include studio visits to other working potters and guest critiques (and can be customized beyond that too!). Check my website for more details.

Weekend Workshops: In addition to the custom workshops, we'll soon be offering fun weekend workshops that explore the combination of fused glass and clay. I'll be partnering with Noel & George of Glasswear NC for these workshops. We'll play with fused glass projects, we'll play with surface design for tiles in clay, then we'll put the two together and see what we get! Final projects may include mosaic and/or glass-glazed tiles. We're still working out the technical aspects, but space will be limited so if you're interested go ahead and let me know so you can get on the list.

Studio Membership: We have a spot open! If you've always wanted to try pottery, or if you've tried it and always wished you had a place you could go from time to time, with just enough instruction to keep you going and a whole fun with other like minds, this could be for you! More details on the website or contact me.

Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park: I'm working on a new batch of work that I hope to have in the gallery in another month or so. A few teaser pieces may be ready for our next opening on Friday, February 5, and you should come to that anyway to see new work by our other core artists and to see work by our new guests artists: Jenny Mastin, Dawn Dalto, Tekla and Brian Fireman. Travinia will be providing some of the catering for the reception, so after you've had a taste, you can walk up the street for dinner, maybe even a movie! And while you're at the Park you can saunter over to the Hilton to see Asheville Area Art Council's opening of work by Norma Bradley and Calvin Edney - they have a reception as well from 5-8pm.

One final note about some area happenings:

There are many locally produced events happening all over town to raise funds to help relief efforts in Haiti - another reason I love this city! Here are a couple happening this weekend:

Humbly Helping Haiti is a locally grown benefit to raise funds for relief efforts in Haiti (donations to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund). Hanger Hall is the location, Saturday January 23 is the date and 7PM - 12Midnight is the time. Live local music by Greenway, Alex Krug w/Ashley Cofield, Joy Jansen and Eric J. Cool prizes including local art, crafts, massage, etc. Tasty eats from Roots Cafe and Laurey's Catering. Tasty beer from the Wedge Brewery and a silent auction of some very nice treats of other sorts. I've donated some work for the auction and raffles, and a very generous anonymous donor will double all funds raised at the event. Modest $5 cover gets you in the door.

Rosetta's Kitchen hosts a Community Cauldron on Sundays from 6-9pm, and this Sunday, January 24 all proceeds will go to Herbs for Orphans, Common Ground, ARRR clinic in Haiti. Go hungry and go generous!

And just for fun and to celebrate those who populate over half the workforce (myself included!):

Tressa's Celebrates Asheville Businesswomen - a great party you can check out after the benefit. Fun starts at 10pm at Tressa's, with Laura Blackley hosting and musical guests The Funk Messengers. There are amazing local business women nominated for awards, including the fabulous Jen Charlton of Sensibilities Day Spa and Sparrow Spa (yes, we favor our friends and clients!). It'll be a great girls night!

In Memory and Gratitude: Lissa Bear

2010-01-14T14:50:00.010-05:00

Hearts are very heavy at Crazy Green Studios. Lissa, my constant side-kick and the official dog of Crazy Green Studios since opening day, has passed away. If there can be any upside to cancer, it is that the progression, once it set in, was rapid, so there wasn't a prolonged suffering.

Lissa and I found each other at a no-kill shelter a little more than 3 1/2 years ago. She had been there for about a year, and was greatly depressed (wouldn't you be?!). Over our all too short time together, I tried only to give her a constant sense of home, love, safety and comfort to hopefully erase some of the harshness of her previous life. Little by little, the dog emerged from the depression, her personality came out and we had so much fun together.

Now she's free to run as hard as she wants, bark as loud and often as she likes, and is playing with many friends. When the time is right, I know I'll find her again, perhaps in another four legged friend, perhaps another variation.

Thank you Lissa Bear.

January Studio Schedule

2010-01-03T14:39:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

2010 will bring lots of exciting developments at Crazy Green Studios, some of which will be announced later this month (curious? stay tuned!). For now, it's a bit of year end cleaning, making the production list and getting ready to get back on the wheel. Studio members are making their own new lists of projects and pieces they'd like to master, and there's already a good buzz in the studio of creativity and fun.

Here's the open studio schedule for January - almost completely a 'regular' month! Studio members, there may end up being open studio hours on Thursday evening January 7 and Saturday, January 9 - we'll let you know individually. As always, if anyone wants to come by and say hi you're most welcome, and if these hours don't suit you, just call or email and we'll find a time that works!

Happy Holidays from Crazy Green Studios!

2009-12-24T14:08:00.014-05:00

The last kiln is unloaded, all the goodies have been picked up in time for wrapping, and the holly jolly of the season is upon us!

We had our own little holiday celebration at Crazy Green Matt's lovely home, with almost all Crazy Greeners in attendance. The traditional holiday tiara was worn as we had a fun pot swap, and Matt treated us to an incredible dinner. The rest of us brought desserts, and by the end of the night we were stuffed, sugared and gifted!

Here are some images from the fun night - and we hope you're having a holiday season filled with love & laughter!

our winter wonderland...

2009-12-20T14:14:00.009-05:00

...just a few images for those who didn't see them already (pardon the repeats for those who have). We got a little weather in Asheville, just in time for the solstice and it's possible we'll get some next week too! Part of me would really love it if I didn't have kilns to fire, unload, etc. right now, so I could just enjoy the snow and be still. And while it made me sad to not make it into the gallery on Friday, hopefully we'll be there next week for those frantic last minute shoppers!

It has been good fun, not to mention good exercise, to trod out into the snow covered streets, lawns, sidewalks to go between home and two studios to load, fire and unload kilns. It's been beautiful to see, a bit treacherous to navigate on the side streets, but much to the credit of the city of Asheville and its people, the main roads were cleared rather quickly and for the most part a good number of people have just stayed put.

And while I did have to get out to load, fire and unload kilns (unloaded one yesterday, firing another today, just helped load and firing another again today), it's been a much more relaxed pace. And in the many treks between home and studios, I've been able to really enjoy the quiet that comes with snow, the insulated feel the air has and the creativity of many neighbors in both how they try to make themselves mobile and how they occupy their time in staying in place. Wish I had my camera for a couple of those sculptures, but you'll just have to take my word on it! Here are a few images from the snowing thus far:

snow hitting the trees when it was still pretty...
many branches are starting to fall from the weight now

who says flowers don't bloom in winter?
metal sculpture by my studio neighbor Mimi Strang,
enjoying a blanket of snow

freddie, the crazy green snowman
he's had a bumpy existence but
is still darned happy to be here!

And for those who have been following Lissa's post-surgical recovery:

not so much snow angel as
diving snow bomb...

happier dog? I don't think so!

...and happy me too!

Snowy Studio!

2009-12-19T09:27:00.002-05:00

Greetings from the snowy East-West side! Crazy Greeners who are eagerly awaiting the contents of the kiln, I am unloading today! I'll be back and forth between here and the other glaze studio, so if you think you're going to trek in, please call my cell and give me a heads up. No power or internet at home, so calling is best. Just popped the kiln and so far it looks lovely! Stay warm, safe & have fun in the snow!

Holiday Gift Central!

2009-12-16T16:26:00.008-05:00

In need of a stocking stuffer, a gift for the office party, babysitter, mailman, teacher, secret santa...or you?

We've got lots of great gift ideas here at Crazy Green:

Salt Cellars
Berry Bowls
Mugs
Ornaments
Candlesticks
Aromatherapy Diffusers
Sake Sets
GIFT CERTIFICATES!

AND...

Cara Mia Potter's Skin Food - if you haven't tried it, come by for a sample. Feels great on your hands, whether you're throwing pots, washing dishes or just feeling the winter air. Tangerine and Lavendar, and they're yummmmmy!!

Studio hours:
Mon: 3-8
Tues & Thurs: 2-9
Sat & Sun: 12-6
Closed Wed & Fri
Also available by appt.

Thanks for Shop West Asheville Fun!

2009-12-13T23:10:00.013-05:00

We were quite the close group in Crazy Green Studios for the 2nd Saturday Holiday Art Market and Shop West Asheville, and we welcomed a nice stream of people throughout the day. I'm so grateful to the very talented artists who joined me, and to all the neighbors, friends, clients and first time visitors who came through the doors. Thanks to all!

Thanks also to Matt and Steven for getting a camera to capture the event, as I forgot to charge my battery and found out only when I went to take the first picture! Here are some images of the day:

it was warmer out than expected, but we were
still a nice, cozy place to hang with a cup of
hot cider

much of the day the studio was filled - at the right end
of the picture you can see the Potter's Skin Food lotion
by Cara Mia Naturals - it was a huge hit and now
available at Crazy Green Studios if you missed it on Saturday.

sorry that Gabriel Shaffer couldn't be with us, but thrilled
to have his beautiful wife Suzy repping his work, and giving
us the scoop on Zeytoon. Next to Suzy is Diane, Lady Di herself
with her sexy dancewear creations behind her

Noel & George of GlasswearNC with colorful and fun ornaments,
bottle stoppers, jewelry & more. I have the coolest bottle
stopper in my bottle of wine as I type!

Roberta of Piece Blossom, with her beautiful
felted dolls (one sweet doll will soon have a new home
with someone I know in Atlanta!)

yep, yours truly, with Renee of Repose Jewelry
helping a customer try on her beautiful earrings
(this may be right before I got my own lovely
butterfly wings)

the closest we could get to show Repose Jewelry,
as it was often a crowded corner

Mr. Big Crafty hisself (l) checking out the work of
Crazy Green Studios member Matt, who was having
the first public showing of his work at the Holiday Art Market
(and many pots have happy new homes!)

2nd Saturday/East West Art Walk/SHOP WEST ASHEVILLE!

2009-12-09T11:07:00.008-05:00

Crazy Green Studios is participating in three holiday events this Saturday and doing it all from the comfort of the studios on Domino Lane! How is this possible? Well, the stars are all aligned...

As faithful followers know, I've began hosting the 2nd Saturday Artist Market this past spring and summer, and this Saturday we'll host the Holiday Artist Market at Crazy Green Studios. This happily coincides with the 2nd annual East West Asheville Holiday Art Walk, which is ALSO coinciding with the first annual Shop West Asheville event! We're like the proton in the nucleus of the atom ... Events start at noon on Saturday December 12 and go till 8pm.

Visit the Shop West Asheville site to find details about more than 50 great local businesses participating, the other TWO artist markets, the window decoration contests, the raffles, the carolers, the MUSIC ... if you didn't already know West Asheville was the coolest, this will be the perfect day to check it all out! (also check out the mention in this week's Mountain Xpress)

And here on Domino Lane and in the EWA portion of the hood, here's what you'll find:

At Crazy Green Studios: I'll be hosting an abbreviated version of the 2nd Saturday Market inside the studio where it's warm and toasty. Joining me in holiday mayhem will be :

Renee Gaudet, Repose Jewelry

Plus I'll have all sorts of stocking stuffers and great deals for holiday gift ideas in my pottery as well as some from Crazy Green Studio members. Live music is being considered, but there will be music and refreshments too! Check out the 2nd Saturday blog for more info on my guest artists.

And when you come, please bring some canned food or other non-perishables, as we'll be collecting for MANNA FoodBank to help them help our neighbors throughout western NC.

Next door at Mimi Strang Designs, you'll find great new work by Mimi Strang and that of her guests, Kim Dryden and Simone Wilson.

And while you're in this end of the neighborhood, check out 307 Flash Studio and see Christopher Mello and several great artists he'll be hosting. Down the street, Steebo Designs is another MUST on the artist studio tour, then you'll be right on Haywood and poised to start hitting the shops for more great sales and celebrations, not to mention music at the Rocket Club, dinner at The Admiral ... really I could spend pages and pages just on this small strip of Haywood, and then there's MORE throughout West Asheville!

Don't be afraid of the weather, it's gonna be a GREAT day to get out in the neighborhood, support local businesses and artists and have a great time!

December Open Studio Schedule & Events

2009-11-28T17:11:00.008-05:00

'Tis the season' has officially begun, and December is upon us filled with special events and studio schedule changes.

For members, please know that some 'closed' days may still have time available - if you're finishing up holiday gifts we'll work out the kiln timing to make sure you get as much through as possible.

For anyone just wanting to visit the studio, if you can't make it during the posted hours, feel free to contact me to make an appointment.

Some of our highlighted dates:

Friday, December 4, 6-9pm: Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park is having a Holiday Open House to celebrate the season and to welcome some new guest artists. I'll have a smattering of new work in the gallery, and in addition to member artists Genie Maples, Laurie McCarriar, Barbara Fisher, Susan Webb Lee, Anna Koloseike and Susan Finer, come check out the work of guest artists Heather Tinnaro, Becca Floyd, Cindy Walton, Tekla, Alex Stevens and Brian Fireman. Come for a nibble and a cuppa, and see some incredible work by some of our area's finest!

Sunday, December 6, 12-6pm: The Big Crafty is back! I'll be at a table downtown at Pack Place with other Big Crafty types, and I'll be featuring super-savings on some great holiday gift ideas that will directly benefit the recent vet bills for Lissa the Wonder Dog and Studio Mascot. Actually, just about ALL sales go directly to benefit that cause right now!

Saturday, December 12, 12-8pm: The 2nd Saturday Holiday Artist Market is happy to coincide with the 2nd East West Asheville Holiday Art Walk which is proudly joining forces with the FIRST annual Shop West Asheville event! All to say that there will be a whole lotta fun, sales and holiday festivities all through West Asheville! And at Crazy Green Studios, I'll be hosting an abbreviated 2nd Saturday Market. My guests include Gabriel Shaffer, Glasswear NC, Piece Blossom, Lady Di Creations and Renee Gaudet. We'll have a raffle, some light refreshments and general holiday cheer abounding!

All of December and a bit beyond: in Decatur, GA is having its annual Holiday Studio Sale, and if you've already gone, plan to go back as I'll be sending work down in December to join the show!

catching up...

2009-11-17T16:27:00.016-05:00

It feels like a long time since I've made any actual musings on the blog, but never feel like there's time for musing. Glazing is done for contribution to kiln 1, bisque is cooling, meetings are done, studio has been neatened and clay is prepped for a nice session with mugs in a bit. Lissa the Wonder Dog is snoozing, blissfully hopped up on pain killers (her own catch up will accompany a picture below for those not on Facebook and following her drama) ... on that note I'd just like to say that I am filled with gratitude to be surrounded by such love and friendship, whether it's from those immediately around me or those so deeply in my life that distance makes no difference. The support, on so many levels, from so many people, has meant so much to me and I love and thank each one of you!

So I've caught up enough to pause. But now the volume of blog muse possibilities could well overwhelm me into deleting this and going back to the wedging table. But instead I think I'll just empty out the 'blog' image folder and let that be today's muse (in no particular order):

I'll start with the most recent event, which may become an ongoing blog subject. You may remember my joy at finally getting the standing kick wheel into the studio, and how much fun it was to throw bowls all afternoon on it at the Empty Bowls event. Well now it's in my studio, catching the eye of all visiting potterly types. Any curious souls are most welcome to come try the wheel, and today I've had two visitors who gamely jumped on:

Kyle Carpenter, who may well feel it tomorrow:

Lindsay Rogers, having so much fun she almost threw herself off the wheel!

This isn't everyone, but on this particular day, every studio member, including both Senior Project members, were in the studio at one time or another. The studio was filled with great creative energy!

Our newest studio member, Rebekah, making me look like a dang fine teacher, showing off the results of her first two weeks on the wheel (first two weeks ever!):

'tis the season for mugs - some new ones in the works for the Chocolate Lounge and Roots Cafe:

Senior project member Caris has been building up her wheel vocabulary. She's making aromatherapy diffusers, and has been working on the wax dish and candle holders - here she's getting ready to start on larger cylinders:

Senior project member Alex is finishing the colored porcelain/hand building portion of her project, and then will move on to the wheel:

Some recent results from the cone 7 ox kiln - studio member Matt's fun sets, some new vase forms and a few test mugs from me:

Some may not know, but Lissa the Wonder Dog has had recent health issues that resulted in a spleen-ectomy. Yesterday she had to go back in and have her stitches re-done, adding buttons to keep them closed tighter - detail shot for all those who hadn't yet heard and are no doubt thinking 'buttons?':

this shot was sent in recently for an Art House Coop project of the week - the view out one of my favorite windows, in this case not because of the view, but for the window itself:

Pause is over - back to work!

Studio Stroll

2009-11-14T08:10:00.005-05:00

I'm pleased to join some very talented artists in exhibiting in the upcoming River District Studio Stroll at the Seven-Star Factory in Riverview Station. Hours for the Stroll are 10am - 6pm Saturday and Sunday, November 14-15. I'll be there each morning (then back to the studio to make more work!).

I'll have some fun treats for holiday shopping - some stocking stuffers, good buys for a teacher gift, office secret santa or just to have on hand in case you need something. And don't forget to treat yourself too!

Joining me at the beautiful Seven-Star Factory in Riverview Station are Jon Arsenault, Spencer Black, Kim Dills, Brian Glaze, Gary Pisano and Mike Reardon. Light refreshements will be served, and the Studio Stroll trolley comes right to the building, so park near one of the stops and enjoy the whole Stroll!