Work Space with Lots of Light...and Tools within Arms Reach

 Yes I think I have finally created an efficient work space. I started working on it 20 years ago...and I think it's all about to come together...maybe...I can see other thing to improve on, but I can find my tools  now when I need them, instead of digging through boxes on the floor or the other side of the studio.

It's time to get back to work...

Michele and I have been to two shows in the last two months, and when we came back from New Hampshire two neighbors gave us space in their woodfirings. So I haven't been at the wheel to make much in the last couple months. 

...Off we go!

Starting the year off ...with a day off

Day 1 - Michele and I went for a walk at the Zoo ....

The Lazy Lion

...our walk was brisk, but this guy wasn't impressed.









We did stop to see what the beasts were doing on our way through the park.

Our zoo is designed with a lot of space between animal habitats, spread out along 3 miles of trail through the woods.  The walk back from the  giraffes' habitat at the Africa entrance pavilion to the entrance took us just under 25 minutes.   I estimate that the strait through walk was about 2 miles.

I am calling the North Carolina Zoo "our" zoo, because it is almost in our back yard, between Seagrove and Asheboro.

 I plan to take more time off...and to walk through the woods with the animals...

New Year

Here's to a prosperous next year...

Happy GoundHog Day!

I mean 4th of July....

But for us this weekend was about firing the GroundHog Kiln at the NC Pottery Center, here in Seagrove. I've fired several wood kiln's that resemble this design...a long narrow tunnel shaped kiln, buried halfway into the ground with a opening in the front you crawling through to load your pots. However, This was the first wood kiln that I've had to crawl into like a gopher to load pots...

We fired this beast on Saturday, and we'll see how it turned out on Tuesday when we crawl back into its belly to reclaim our pots from the fire.

From The Kiln

In October Michele and I got the opportunity to woodfire with two Dan's in one month. The first firing was with Dan Triece, my neighbor across the street. And the second was with Daniel Johnston a few miles in the other direction.

Dan Triece and I have been friends for nearly 20 years, and we just met Daniel in July. These were the first firings we did since the move to Seagrove, so we really appreciate these opportunities.

                                            Dan Triece - Anagama/Salt Wood Kiln

I've been woodfiring regularly for more than ten years, and we were very excited to be invited to fire in the Dirtworks kiln. It helped us to feel like part of the community...the bonus firing for us was being able to help Daniel Johnston with one of his "Large Pot" firings.

Daniel Johnston - Wood Fired Salt kiln

 And now for something that has been on my mine for a long time...Working with slip. 

These pots were salt fired in the the kiln with the last 30 of Daniel Johnston's 100, 100 pound pots project, that I just saw in Ceramics Monthly today. ...click on the photos to see them enlarged...I've been drawing through slip on pots, and working my usual texture into the drawings. The fuming effects of the saltglaze process are perfect for these pieces.

This next group of piece were fired for 64 hours in the anagama chamber of Dan Triece's Kiln.

I like the effect of salt glazing on certain things , but the magic of the fire and ash of a long hot wood firing on unglazed porcelain, and stoneware turn me on the most. The vessels are porcelain, and the platter is a local stoneware clay made by the folks at Starworks.

No I didn't fall off the edge of the earth...

...just been busy moving to Seagrove, NC, and settling into our new home and studio.
Michele has been chronicling our journey on her blog, Meeshspottery.blogspot.com .
I highly recommend reading her accounts of our trip starting in early March, or maybe even December 2009 when we came to NC for a holiday dinner with my family...I'll try to find time soon to write more and post photos of my own...but until then got to Michele's blog to catch up on what has been happening at Jeff Brown Pottery,...by the way, we are now Michele Hastings & Jeff Brown Pottery... the new sign is going up next week...hmmm....maybe we should combine blogs too...then we can share the blog writing....

The Gypsy Potter is on the road again...

WhyNot Seagrove, NC....
This week we're heading to Seagrove to immerse ourselves in a week of pottery, and the red clay of my home state, North Carolina. We will be staying in a quant little pottery studio/gallery/log cabin compound nestled in the longleaf pine trees, along side of the road called "Potters Highway"... Our host for this excursion is Jane Braswell, owner of the pottery studio that used to be the home of Wild Rose Pottery operated by Jane and her then husband Michael Mahan. They raised a family there while building a small studio/gallery, a beautiful home, and later a larger log cabin studio and apartment, and a thriving pottery business... After Jane left the pottery business the studio and log cabin became Avery Pottery for around six years. That's where we will be staying while we soak in the ambiance of the local mud.
Why Seagrove you may ask...my answer is WhyNot?....that is actually where the studio is...WhyNot, NC...I worked for a number of potters in Seagrove before I started my own studio here in New Hampshire, and one of the last days I "turned pots" in Seagrove, was for Jane at The Wild Rose Studio. Very Rustic at the time, the log cabin was only a studio with a small wood stove for heat, and clay everywhere. As I remember it the loft was freezing cold...Jane promises that it is more like a house now that a studio, with a kitchen and indoor bathroom. We can't wait to spend the week there.