mini road trippin...

The official rule for the official day off is that even if I'm not taking the day off, it's gonna be fun.

And it was officially a good day, although I think I was in the car more yesterday than in the last month or two combined!

The first stop on the road trip was delivering wine cups and small plates to Mountainside Wine in Spruce Pine.

Outside shot only because they're in the final stages of putting the shop together for next Monday's opening (wine tastings and other events follow in the week). I'm not often in that area, so it was nice to finally see downtown Spruce Pine (faithful readers will remember my last attempt to make the Potter's Market, only to be thwarted by a bad fuse...). So locals mark your calendars and check out the shop - it's downtown on Oak Street, right next door to the Toe River Arts Council.

After the drop off, it was time for visits - I'd been stocking up on glazed bowls for Empty Bowls, thanks to folks decorating at 2nd Saturday events, so next stop was to see John Hartom at the Empty Bowls studio.

I arrived to find his driveway full of trucks and roofers! Seemed like far too much work to be going on, so I invited him to join me on my road trippin', and off we went to visit Michael Kline's studio.

It was also my first trip to visit Michael at his studio, which if you're following his blog you know has been under construction and in development - it's a great space and Michael was a most welcoming host.
John showing off his smile for the camera...behind Michael Kline's uniquely designed espresso cup...

John & Michael inside the studio and out in the kiln shed - great spaces, great views, great work being made!

I couldn't leave without my own prize!

I should have snapped a picture of Lissa - she was very happy hopping around in the tall grass, and only one tick removal when we got home!

Back in town after a scenic drive back through road construction on hwy 19, I made it just in time for a meeting, then hung out with friends and visiting friends at Asheville Pizza and got to see the shuttle launch. I've been a fan of the space program from my beginning, and it just never gets old - I feel the same way I did when I was 7, getting to stay up late to watch coverage or going outside my house in Vermont at 2am to watch it pass over us.

A good day off!

happy monday!

Having done my time in an office and even a brief stint in an actual cubicle, I approach Mondays now with glee. Even now, having a 9am class which is in truth earlier than I prefer teaching, but still not the 5:30am wake up call from the days of Innkeeping. And more important, it's not the Monday-morning-time-to-get-up-and-join-the-office-drones-on-the-bus/train/traffic-lane. Happy Monday indeed!

This morning Chuck and Patsy, my Monday Morning star students, returned with vigor and having no ill effects from not getting in to open studio during the week.














Chuck & Patsy, getting some pots made! For Chuck, this is just lesson #2, so his motivation is showing!

Before and after class, I was trimming more of the bowls for Empty Bowls, then took a break to head over to Odyssey for the Bowl Project class. I was completely remiss over the past two weeks in taking my camera, so there's no pics from the great classes that Becca Floyd and Heather Tinnaro led, but there will be plenty of other chances in the future to feature them here, have no fear.

This week we had the very wonderful treat of a visit from Michael Kline, who did a demo on trimming and brush work decorations. His pots have been a big inspiration for me as I start to explore my own brush work with colors and wax under and on glazes, and it was very cool to watch him work. It's not an aspect of the process that gets a lot of time in classes - the brush work - and I think it could be the source for a whole series of classes...hmmm...perhaps a future class for Crazy Green...



I meant to take a picture of the beautiful bowl he donated to the Empty Bowls "Collectors Corner", which would I'm sure guarantee an extra long line at the door, but you'll just have to take my word for it and hope you get there in time to snap it up!

Back at the ranch, I'm trimming the last of the current batch of bowls then heading out for a meeting with the Odyssey RAs about our upcoming show at the Odyssey gallery.

What a lovely Monday!