Blue Hen Pottery

Moving Camp.

2010-10-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

Dear followers! We have done it. Mulled it over for a while, and decided to move camp from Blogger to Wordpress. Was not an easy decision, since we've been with blogger for a while, and it fits like an old shoe... but that's OK. The other blogs I keep up with will stay here, just Blue Hen Pottery will move on.

To keep up with us, please make note to put the new site in your bookmarks or however you like to keep track of your virtual reading material:) I will keep this site up for a while to help with transition.

And here it is:

Blue Hen Pottery

On the topic

2010-10-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

The ingenuity of clay folks is just amazing!
Occasionally I spend some time getting lost in cyberspace. It leads to unexpected finds.
Today's mind blowing encounters:

Christin Johansson has quite a range of work.
Make sure to check out the Clay Crew in the projects section of her webpage. Take clay to the masses!

Simon Zolt Jozsef makes breathtaking objects. I especially like the ones he has up on his FB page.

Awww.
I feel so mediocre.

Off the topic

2010-09-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just popped in to check on one of my favorite blogs the Mason - Dixon Knitting, and they had up the following links on Knitty Blog and Flickr

Just to peak your curiosity

All sorts of cups

2010-09-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

The cup show is up at the Barrett Clay Works. To see all the great entries check HERE.

Apparently one of my cups got an Honorable Mention award:) I'm pretty happy about that. Well, I was pretty happy to participate in the show:)

Other than that - haven't gotten into studio/garage much lately :( At STARworks we're getting geared up to have another Annual Gathering in October, so there is plenty to do on many levels. There are also more meetings... BTW, if you would like to come to the Annual Gathering this year - let me know and we'll send you an invitation!

Staying busy with driving the kids to school and from school and to and from dance...

I did recycle some clay scraps last week, since the bank account has gotten dangerously low, and buying new clay will have to wait.

Open house at STARworks Ceramics TONIGHT at 5pm. Don't miss it! Samples of local clay blends, refreshments and good company guaranteed!

Woohoooo

2010-09-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted any pix, but since I just got done photographing the other day, here are some new images of work. Some of it not so new anymore.

(Slab Cylinders)

(Adam's Beer Cups)

(Crooked Little Cups)

(Polka Dot Lid Jar)

(Long Dog Bowl)

The news from Blue Hen Pottery today are following:

We will be participating at the Celebration of Seagrove Potters this year for the first time! Come out and see us (and 59 other Seagrove area potters) there in November!

I applied for Tax ID # yesterday online. It went smoothly. To apply for Tax ID # you also need an Employer Identification Number in most cases, so that needs to be done first. We got that done online as well, on IRS website.

All the paperwork should arrive in the mail in 10 business days... and we'll go from there. All this business stuff is complicated, but everyone assures me it will get better once you go through a few cycles of keeping records and paying taxes. We shall see...

Baby steps

2010-09-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

So much to learn...

HERE is a virtual small business tax workshop from IRS website for those who are wrestling with setting up a business.

Phew. Brain freeze.

The in's and out's of setting up a business.

2010-09-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

So. Maybe I'm impatient... but in trying to set up our business in NC I seem to be running into snags that are caused by insufficient information. (MAYBE it's just that I think simple things into complicated things... as a matter of fact - I'm sure of it. Have noticed tendencies of that before!)

So I thought to record the steps taken, in case it may be helpful to someone in the future. AND to record for our own reference. It's all too easy to forget, as soon as something is resolved.

So, the question of registering a business has been the #1 issue so far. I read from NC Department of Commerce website that:

To file your Sole Proprietorship or General Partnership business name, download the Certificate of Assumed Name. Assumed Name forms are filed with the County Register of Deeds. There is no statewide name registration for Sole Proprietorships or General Partnerships, that is why you must file your name in each county you conduct business.

So, it states pretty clearly, that you need to file in each county where you will sell. (however, when I asked in the Register of Deed's office in Troy where I should file, no one could give me a clear answer. "maybe in your county of residence?") Well, here's where I did some over-thinking - it really is as simple as that - IN THE COUNTY where you plan to SELL.

Sounds like a pain in the butt, especially if you are doing shows all over the place... And it kind of is, even though it is sort of logical too considering that most likely one will not sell work in EVERY county of every state. It just means - more planning, thinking ahead and preparations are required. The registering itself is a piece of cake - You can print the Certificate of Assumed Name from the Dep. of Commerce website, fill it in, get it notarized and take it to the Register of Deeds of the county you wish to file=sell in. There is a modest fee. (I will see next if it can be mailed)

I still think it would be great if this could be done statewide in one step... Oh well.

SO. This morning I took a trip to Asheboro, and filed the Blue Hen Pottery registration form in Randolph County:) It took only a few minutes.

What's next?

Tax ID #.

Just a quick update.

2010-08-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

I was promoted this morning to the position of Admin of this blog:)

Immediately had to put the new powers to use and started messing with the layout:)

I took the advice of Robert Young and just changed the name in the heading for right now.

Tom has some great ideas too, I'm sure we'll venture in to those once things get rolling.

Have a great day folks, I'll let ya'll know soon how things are going.

Times'a'changin'...

2010-08-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

As the summer changes into fall, things at WhatNot Pottery are about to change as well.

The first and probably the most important change that has already taken place is the name change... May the earth be light upon you, "WhatNot Pottery"... we will keep you in the back of our minds, as - who knows where our ramblings taketh us or where our work ends up... You may become useful still...

However.

After weeks or agonizing, brain crunching and finding out that all good names are already out there, in the world, doing their thing, TAKEN by somebody else, we decided to go with something somewhat traditional.

Drumroll........

From now on, we will operate under the name "Blue Hen Pottery"... That is, if it will be officially accepted by the authorities. So, just putting it out there. Anyone who has objections, please raise your voice. Anyone who thinks this is a good honest name, we'd love to get feedback.

Why Blue Hen Pottery? - you may ask. Well, we live on a Blue Hen Lane with a handful of hens, none of whom are blue at the moment, however, one of them lays them blue eggs... Blue hens actually do exist . We've considered raising some here at the compound. Not for cock-fighting!!!

Blue Hen will also offer us a cute little stamp and a logo, which I'm excited about.

Other changes include officially registering the business, getting a tax ID #, keeping track of all those receipts that pile up and tend to get lost... participating in some sales and shows (more about that once we know for sure which)... I'm planning to go back to school as well - MCC offers classes on running a business - I really need some edumacation on that... and yeah, between all this rapidly increasing paperwork'n'all we will try to keep busy in the studio/workshop/garage. On top of - kids being back to school and dance lessons, and the ever growing mountains of work at STARworks.

Not to brag, but...

I'm super psyched about getting into The 2'nd Annual National Cup Show at Barret Clay Works.

It's been a while since my last juried show, it feels good to get back on track!

SO. now we have to either change the name on this blog... or start a new one... suggestions?

Busy days in the studio...

2010-08-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

...and otherwise. School is starting up for kids on the 25'th. Kind of looking forward to more structured daily plans... and dreading it. Adam and I've been busy in the studio making plates and drawing on them, I'm making covered jars, bowls, and cups. Adam throws the plates and usually I draw on them. Keeping the repertoire simple.

Some more pix from last firings at Dwights.

Chicken and carrots - that already found a home.

Fancy dog bowl :)

Vase.

2010-07-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

These mice had chewed a hole in a big cheese-ball, and hopped out of Dwight's kiln:)

That's all for today folks, uploading pix is part magic and part rocket science at our house. So we'll take what we get:)

Observation: I can either spend my days in the studio, which yields a bundle of objects at the end of the week, but means I scramble and scratch stuff for dinners, laundry piles up, and house is in a state of insane mess.

Or.

I can stay out of studio which means I cook decent dinners and maybe freeze and can some summer goodies BUT laundry still piles up, the house is in a state of insane mess, AND I have no work to show at the end of the week...

ohhhhhh.

Cups cups cups

2010-07-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

My favorite format to work with. I always used to say that I can't stand doing the same thing over and over and that's why it is so hard for me to be a studio potter...

Well whatayaknow... I keep making these over and over. I guess the fact that I don't weigh my clay and draw directly on the cups give me the sense of freedom, uncertainty and openendedness that I need...

Abstract doodles.

Spring blooms.

Love the surfaces and colors of these two on the bottom. Unfortunately the glaze bubbled :(

Maybe re-firing will take care of that. It'll "take care" of the surfaces too though.

Twisting it all around

2010-07-07T09:09:00.001-07:00

This is all that I was able to upload today.

Getting ready to fire a small salt kiln at Dwight Holland's on Saturday. Can't wait!

Play time

2010-07-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

The other day I decided to play around a bit with about half a bag of clay - and that's what happened:) I'm not much of a "faceter", so this is a new territory. Something new to play with.

Hot.

2010-06-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

It's been unseasonably hot around our neck of the woods lately. Upper nineties on most days.

That did not hold us back from firing the STARworks wood kiln 2 weekends ago. (geez, where has the time gone?!)

Anyways, I wanted to share some pictures from that craziness.

The Kiln.

Crew: Adam, Anne, David, Tim

Here are some David's and Tim's pots ready to be wadded.

All kinds of last minute glazing going on. As usual.

Adam. Glazing.

David. Glazing :)

Tim. Glazing :)

Anne. Wadding.

Placing my "twisties" in the kiln worked out great!

The chain saw needed sharpening a few times.

Andreas "helping" with stoking. He loves fire!

Sorry for no explicit details on firing schedule etc. I like to keep it secret!

Ok. Not really.

If you want details - ask for the log book. Overall we thought it went well - opinions differ on whether it was an easy firing, or whether that little kiln was hard to keep climbing... The 8 hour shifts between 4 people seemed to work fine for most of us.

Let's just say - I still would like a small wood/salt Bourry Box that can be handled by 1-2 people, filled in a month, and fired in about 15 hrs... However, the plan as of now is to fire this kiln again in September.

I'm keeping busy in the workshop to reach that goal. The funny thing is - few months ago I found excuses, anything - laundry or vacuuming, baking, etc. to stay in my zone of not making...

Now... well. there are all sorts of piles in the house that need to be "removed" by somebody... Maybe I'll get to them one day. Today, let me just go and put some handles on those cups I made yesterday...

Oh yeah, the work got unloaded last week. It was a rather oxidized firing, I think we all hoped for more color, our oribe glaze bubbled on most pieces, lot of stuff on the floors of both chambers were underfired - so there is plenty to refire. We were all kind of bummed - but that has become a familiar feeling after a wood firing. It's so much hard work, and you have your hopes so high, based on the few jewels that you've gotten out in the past... and then the reality.

But in some way I have learned to welcome that feeling. For me - it helps me distance myself from my work. And it humbles. You know - reminds, that there is only so much control that one can have...

Or - maybe - that you need to be more vigilant next time with your control of the fire - more attentive, not so sloppy. It's hard to do when you are not familiar with the kiln, or don't fire with wood very often...

Well. There's the ramblings for today.

Photos of work to come in the near future.

Koonus kuus

2010-06-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

Posting on the run again.

Here's some pix of the cone 6 stuff. The monster was carved into a plate by Trace, our friend's son, who was 6 at the time, I believe. Adam added the color. There is a bunch more, but I didn't get good pix...

And some of my bee cups. They turned out OK.

Been busy in the studio, garden and kitchen...

Hopefully I will have more time soon to sit down and write longer...

Good long weekend:)

2010-06-01T08:24:00.001-07:00

...makes for good studio time!

Work in progress:

Some cups, vases and jars.

These drawings will be scraped clean, then sanded when dry. Long process. I seem to like the long processes...

Last finished forms. Those work great in the woodkiln. (When they don't get heavily blasted with ash.) I'm considering spraying them with dry glaze, or colored slip for a more uniform color and firing in gas... Building these with coils, then scraping the surfaces "clean" is another one of those long processes. I guess I just like to spend more time with each piece... maybe that explains my lack of enthusiasm on the selling part too...

So anyways. Life's really busy right now. I have not had time to plow through the depths of internet looking at other people's cool stuff in ages... gardens are growing... kids are growing up...

oi elu.

Monday.

2010-05-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to say.

New forms coming along.

And growing...

checkin' in

2010-05-13T14:43:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my luck! I actually uploaded these pictures from HOME!

Below is a quick look at some cone 6 things I'm playing with. Cone 6 is really not my cup of tea.

I like the ashes and flashes and the magic of atmospheric firing. BUT. Cone six electric firing is currently available as the most reliable source for us, so we're just going for it. Those guys and more got glazed on Monday and will hopefully get in the kiln tomorrow. We'll see how disapointed I will be...

Here's one more "twistie" that came out of David Stuempfle's kiln. Haven't made those in a while. This one is much smaller than the older ones too...

Now that I've got my ear infection under control - will have more energy to push some clay around.

Peekaboo...

2010-05-05T05:07:00.001-07:00

Sneak peek at a few keepers that came out of David Stuempfle's kiln.

I spent a few hours last night thinking about cups...

Maybe prompted by Erik Haagensens great blog entry?

I wish there was a way to record those middle of the night thoughts, when you're trying to go to sleep, and not wake your bed buddy, but can't stop the thoughts from going and going and going...

And the mornings are oh so pragmatic. With rituals to prepare one for being a productive member of society;).

Which I now must be. Off to pick veggies for today's CSA.

Breaking through

2010-04-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

SO, breakdowns are occasionally good. You have to reevaluate your priorities, and do SOMETHING about the things that are not working in your life.

I decided to carve out more time for the studio, since it's been making me increasingly crazier that I have spent my whole life in pursuit of being an artist - and suddenly I no longer MAKE. Luckily I have a very understanding boss who realizes the importance of making personal work for all of us artists in this creative enterprise. Our jobs are incredibly creative and challenging, but still... I have not figured out a way to send my garden to a juried show for instance...

SO. I spent about 5 hours in the garage/studio (geez. - OK> from now on I will call it a workshop...) and made a "bunch of stuff".

Here are some boring pix of the "blanks" - the cups and plates and bowls - which will receive a coat of slip and then be drawn and painted on. I have some ideas up my sleeve... so if I can just keep this momentum going, the WhatNot Pottery may actually get rolling along finally...

Anticipating getting work out of David's kiln tonight or tomorrow also... this last firing was so smooth and physically the least demanding of the firings I've experienced with his kiln...

Stay tuned!

mental breakdowns

2010-04-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

my life is overloaded right now. many questions need to be answered, choices to be made...

as for life in WhatNot Pottery - Hitomi and Takuro were gracious to put a few of my cups in their last firing, even tho I showed up when they were bricking up the door... Thank's guys! they turned out sweet... and I packed them up this morning to attempt a first sale in a LOOOOOOONG time... but not much more to say about that now, other than I didn't take any pictures...

these are some of the latest cups with line drawings. I'm stuck on the cup format. and drawing scribble scrabble...

this weekend we're helping David fire his big ol' kiln. it may be the last firing for that mama. I think Chad and David are loading it as I write this.

Life's hard to manage - especially for those of us who are control freaks. chaos ensues.

Some'o'my shapes

2010-03-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

SO, the beautiful weather has kept me outside most of the days. Planting.

But we did move the wheel in to the workspace (somehow "studio" just doesn't ring right to my ears...) it took over a week to pull together the courage to slam some clay on it and give it a spin... There too - baby steps... the same old shapes and sizes are still in the hands...

Small steps at a time...

2010-03-03T05:21:00.000-08:00

just keep working...just keep working...

Making something...

2010-02-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

Warming up.

Making progress...

2010-02-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a very gritty picture of the studio space that Adam and I carved out of our garage this Sunday! We had a great day working together! I love working with Adam - somehow we don't usually get in each others way, we cooperate well and share work - there isn't a huge amount of discussion even - we often think the same thing at the same time... so - great weekend - a bit of beer, some public radio in the background, and a bunch of stuff got moved around.

I'm still not sure if I want to switch the position of the table and shelf ... but it will work to begin with. The empty space on the left will house our wheel. We bought some more of STARworks White cone 10 clay last week, and we'll be ready to rock'n'roll this week... I think.

After last post here, I took a thermometer to the garage, to see just HOW cold it is there, and it's been steadily around 40 - 45 F. On sunny days we can open up the garage and it will help greatly in warming the space. Right now a tiny but efficient electric heater will have to do. SO - I'm about to eat my words, and start working in the 40's F...

2010-02-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Oh, boy. An update is long overdue. It's that time of the year when Adam is spending most of his time containing leaks in our old building at STARworks, and I'm trying to plan out the next growing season etc. I find that I'm spending most of my time these days communicating and trying to connect all the different sources of communication. Like linking up blogs with FB and trying to put FB links up on blogs... We really are living in communication age - whether this type of communication is deep enough to sustain us - is yet to be seen.

So, what's been going on here at WhatNot Pottery recently?

Some snow sculpture making...

Some spinning...

Some more spinning...

and MORE spinning...

and, oh, did I say I've been spinning?

Sorry to bombard you with all those haunting images of yarn - can you tell where my interests are these days?

There's been a bit of knitting also - this scarf - spun the yarn myself - is my first lace knitting, and will be shipped to my mom soon!

And Adam - SURPRISE! - has been making more sock people. I think they are adorable. They went on a little frolicking out in the snow yesterday and I quickly took a few pix. Didn't get them all (believe me, they are taking over the house!) as I got my toes wet and cold chasing them in the yard...

This guy has a brother. He's hiding behind the tree.
Rastaman!
These guys are brothers too. Looking hopefully into the future...

I did make a quick round in the studio at work today, and realized we're out of clay, so I guess we HAVE BEEN making SOME things here and there... shelves are full of plates, cups and platters that need to be fired... oh I wish I had a little bourry box wood salt kiln!

But mostly it's been too cold at work and in the garage at home. I read other potters blogs occasionally (the list is extensive, so takes longer to go through it these days) like Gary Rith's and Sophia's Dad's blog - and those guys - talking about their studio temps being in the 40's and they're working in there?! Screw that I say. I once used to do that... Now I just opt to spin in the comfort of my living room while waiting for the cold to get the heck out of here, so I can open the garage door and let some light and air in there! Why is that the people from north become such vussies about cold after moving to south? I don't get it. But it's happened.

back from the dead

2010-01-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

today's blogfinds.

Poppytalk

Claudia Pearson Illustration

enjoy

'tis the season

2009-12-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

Adam's mushroom find (see kriipseldus.blogspot.com) prompted me to take a walk in the woods after I got home today. I love the woods in the fall/winter - it's more inviting - everything opens up, there are hardly any spider webs, no bugs... you can walk in peace, see far and breathe the crisp air... well, today the air was hardly crisp. We're having another warm spell. SO. Look what I found! Lions Mane - Hericium erinaceus by it's Latin name.

I've never been lucky to find one of those before!

This one looks slightly bit old, or maybe just soggy from all the crazy rain we had last night.

Anyways - since we're already going to have a mushroom orgy tonight I've got my mind set to sauteing this baby up with some butter and onions for the first tasting. I made a mental note about it's whereabouts in the woods, so during this winter there will be more excursions into the wilderness - to harness the power of 'mother earth'.

As a kid we gleaned the woods every fall for wild mushrooms - mmmh, -can still recall the different tastes of different types of shrooms... anyways, since I don't roam the woods quite as frequently as I did in childhood, I'd forgotten, how sometimes the woods are friendly, eager to offer the goods... but more often you need to earn it's trust. It takes at least 30 minutes of slow quiet walking, pausing often to look, hear and breathe, before you start SEEING. And sometimes nothing happens. You come out as blind as you walked in.

Well, this time I had just decided to stop looking, and walk back to the house, when I noticed something small glowing on a dead wood... that's right. Oyster mushroom. A small cluster of shrooms that must have just popped out the log. And down on the forest floor on a different log there were some light gray ones- probably a different strand... Picked them all. Yep. Took these pix with my I-phone. Yep. looked at the compass on my I-phone to remember the direction of the gold mine. Yep. Did I tell you I thought that thing (I-phone) was a stupid fad and it took Adam at least 2 years to convince me to give up my stone age bare bones Nokia and replace it with this "small-world-in-the-palm-of-your- hand" thingie? I was afraid it would overwhelm me and take over my world... I dont "LOVE" mine as some people seem to. But I do find it to be a convenient tool that helps minimize the amount of gadgets I used to haul around (phone, watch, camera, battery recharger, different cables for everything jada jada jada)

Allright. Got off the topic here. Oh, the beauty of exploring the wilderness with the help of modern gadgets... ("yes I love technology... but not as much as you - you see... but still I love technology" - to you, the Napoleon Dynamite fans out there)

After picking those pearls of mushrooms I thought myself lucky and humbly decided it was enough, I was not gonna push it any more (Adam had already picked a mega -load at I'm-not- telling-you-where).

But whaddayaknow. Looking back to where I had come from - was that beauty!

Seriously. those things look like porcelain... only they're soft and fragrant and firm and squishy and so perfect no man/woman can ever make something so perfect!!! Oh, I am going to eat those beautiful things tonight!

Falling into winter...

2009-12-02T05:08:00.000-08:00

This blog has been sort of quiet lately... even though Adam and I have both been sharing the garage/studio with the visiting(over-wintering) mice more than usual. Adam finished painting monster plates that Trace-man made earlier in the summer, and I have revisited some old ideas, for lack of new ones... I really need to have my hands in the material at all times to keep the work moving forward. So... - I guess, the times are reflective. Another year is about to end. Sometimes I wish we did not have calendars and the time would just move like a river, without the days being numbered...

It's been a while since I checked out Vicky Grima's blog, but pop over and check it out. At least other people are doing some cool work. I also reconnected with an old friend, Edita Rydhag, from Sweden, who's work I have always admired, and who I've missed talking to! She is a little woman with an incredible strength. And she makes some pretty big work:)

2009-11-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

2009-11-12T05:21:00.000-08:00

ice has started to move

2009-11-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

Bootgarden

2009-10-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

Energy Exchange

2009-10-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

Go HERE :ENERGY EXCHANGE to find out more about them!

Random pix from trip to the mountains

2009-10-22T05:15:00.000-07:00

pots'n'socks

2009-09-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Despite the general lack of blogging, we have not exactly been sitting on our butts doing nothing. It's crazy busy at work right now, with the annual meeting coming up at the end of October - for instance we spent most of our saturday at work yesterday... after which there was an awesome "crab boil" party at Weezy's house:)

You can see Weezy taking a catnap on the cup below:)

These are some of the pots that came out of David's kiln a few weeks ago.

The ones with tulip drawings are made with STARwhite Cone 10 clay, which I DIG.

I think the jar below was actually in the "Martha Stewart" firing, not this last one.

I'm really happy with these tall vases.

Rainy day cup.

And another one.

Well. And since we work in a former sock factory, we have socks on our brains all the time. Adam especially. Right now he is sitting by my sewing machine(or maybe I should start calling it his sewing machine, since he spends way more time with it than I do), and getting ready to stuff more sock creatures, made of socks that came from STARworks building.

The sock creatures below were frolicking around in the woods the other day. I managed to get some snapshots before they went to bed.
These two are shameless!
Miss priss.
This guy thinks he is a super hero - look at that sparkly cape!
This one is Andreas, I think. Trouble maker.
Lyza made this camo cat.
He looks like his date didn't make it....

We sure are having fun!

Crazy weekend

2009-09-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Maarja and I spent another half a day in NC Pottery Center.

Here she is throwing:)

I made a handful of cups and such.
Then we rushed to Raleigh, to see the Paper Hand Puppet Intervention which was totally awesome and incredible. We laughed and cried, and danced and sighed... If you ever get a chance to see those guys perform - you won't regret it! Later we crashed at Tim's, had a great time hanging on the porch, and talking our heads off. AND he made us kick ass omlettes in the morning.

GREAT WEEKEND!

Oh, and on Sunday we popped by David and Nancy's, and pulled out some pots still warm from the firing. I am super happy with what I got out of the kiln. Pix to come later.

Taste of the Fire.

2009-09-09T05:27:00.000-07:00

Last week Maarja and I pulled a shift at Davids kiln. He had it pretty well covered with a trusted crew, so we were not needed much more, but at least got a little taste of the fire.

Maarja took some pix of me trying to split crazy big wet logs, which did not even budge...
David here, close to the end of the firing, tired but not completely zombied out yet.
As I hear the firing went beautifully. Sounds like it was one of the smoothest ones they've had, and everyone is eager to see the results!

at work

2009-09-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

bloggorific

2009-08-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

Never before have we been so connected... more blogs to check out.

Amy, you may find something in those: Handmade Life and Shannon Garson's blog.

Those Australians, I'm telling you. They seem to be having too much fun.

bohohooo

2009-08-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

I'm having the clay blues...

it's predictable. never have I been able to stay away too long. still startling too. I was fed up with the "art industry's" conveyer belt. felt like it's too much to deal with (and still I've no desire to put energy into selling myself). yet suddenly there is a desire to wrestle with ideas again...

I've been popping in to Mel Robsons blog every now and then (pretty sure Seo pointed it out to me) - I love that woman's work!!!!! and today I discovered someone else there, whose work made me drool and green with envy... Vicky Grima's delicious pinched porcelain pots... You can find her blog and an awesome slide show of European ceramics/potters/landscapes in this slideshow.

aww.

well. Maarja and I did go to NC Pottery Center last Saturday and I threw some StarWhite 10 - cups, and lidded jars, so tonight I will come to studio at work, and finish them all. other than that WhatNot Pottery has been sort of hibernating. knitting and spinning yarn... making stupid sock creatures and Sculpey jewellery. its all a lot of fun, but far from giving us reason to call ourselves a "pottery". maybe we should be called a "WhatNot Group"...

Art in Estonia. Part 1.

2009-08-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

While in Estonia, we popped in quite a few galleries in Tallinn, the capital city. Art galleries are around every corner there, and the show turnover is constant. I remember that during my studies in Estonian Academy of Art we had often several openings a week to attend, and since most openings offered snack foods and beer or wine - it provided poor and always hungry art students with semi reliable high class creative fuel...

In one of the galleries - and I apologize here for forgetting the name of it - we discovered some really beautiful "stuff". Comes out - the artist is Jaanus Orgusaar - who I shared some art school time with. He was in the fashion department, and mainly known for the shoes and boots that he made... anyway. Check out his website, and enjoy the pix here. I think he is quite brilliant and wonderfully playful.

FOR SEO...

2009-08-17T10:04:00.001-07:00

The following pictures were taken by Adam, of my bro Villu, the Viking Uncle's bikes, especially for Seo. So here they are:)

Looks like they're in need of some attention:)

trip to hell and back in pictures

2009-08-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

It all started out real nice...

Starting to rain...
Here's one of the scary tunnels. That picture was taken the next day, during Adam's rescue mission.
oh, and this was only a fragment of the line...
I think we were so tired and shook up by then, we didn't even think to use flash, so it's hard to see the water level.
Maarja - a bit hysterical:)
My sweetie came, and not only rescued us, but also took us to lunch at Jewish Mother's ...
...where Maarja and I downed some good local beer trying to imagine what the last nights concert had been like...
Adam also took us to the ocean, where we got to dip our toes in the water. Again:)
Oh, and whenever I was asked where we're from - "Star, NC" caused more excitement than Estonia, Europe... the usual response was :"Where the hell is STAR NC???"

Drowning in the Blues

2009-08-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well. As some of you know, my sister Maarja is visiting. It’s her first time in our neck of the woods.

She loves the heat… and hates the bugs, which we have many… but above all I think – she loves the Blues, and especially a group called “Satan and Adam”.

It so happened, that Mr. Satan and Adam were scheduled to play in Virginia Beach this past Wednesday night, at the “Jewish Mother”. As a good old sister – of course I wanted my sis to be able to see those guys! After all, Virginia Beach is only about 5,5 hours away. That’s way closer than she has ever been to them. So we bought the tickets online, I booked us a room at “Motel 6” (the rates at some of the ocean front hotels seemed a bit out of our reach), and we hit the road on Wednesday, August the 12’th, after picking and distributing the CSA shares.

Did I mention that this was my FIRST time of DRIVING to ANOTHER STATE… Going to Raleigh on my own usually makes me nervous enough to try to avoid it at all cost. This time however I was feeling pretty confident. What the heck, I thought, how bad can it be? I have my TomTom, the hotel is booked, I get to hang out with my sister and we’ll have a grand old time.

Our travels started pleasantly. The sun was high in the sky and my ghettowagon chugged happily along. I almost missed two of our first exits due to misunderstanding TomTom’s confusing but persistent directions, and heavy traffic – I’m sure our constant chattering did not help to pay attention to the road either… but after those two times of raised adrenaline levels, some cussing and last minute turns, things were great. We talked through a lot of stuff, enjoied the scenery and stopped at the first 7/11 to gas up and get some snacks (for the foodies out there – we tried some Grandma …. Handmade (?) fried in lard potato ships (yum!) and Maarja was initiated to the Wasabi Peas, which has become my favorite road snack. We also got some godawflysweet donut type foodlike substances, and semidecent coffe).

Things were great. I had planned our trip so that we would have arrived at the motel about 6:00 – 6:30 pm, taken a shower, then driven to the beach and found our venue, and hung out there with some cold beers until the band came up…

Radio kept mentioning thunderstorms, but that seemed to be somewhere in a faraway land… until sometime – and it is all such a blur by now – on 264 eastbound, twe got the first sprinkles, and then, suddenly the sky was pouring down! It rained so hard it was hard to see the taillights of the cars in front of us. Everyone slowed down to about 30 miles per hour or less… we crawled on through the rain, still hopeful, but getting a bit worried. The rain eased a bit, and we picked up some speed, only to come to a sudden stop, as the caars in front of us stopped – there was almost an accident right in front of us, it happened so fast.

It was about 5:45. GPS told that we were supposed to get to our destination in 15 minutes. If only we moved. We inched forward… and waited… we inched… we waited… we listened to every single radiostation there was… we listened to the traffic station…They were talking about some 264 eastbound tunnel to the city and many other roads being closed due to heavy flooding. People were suggested to find another way home, around the closed roads.

“What should we do?” – we thought – we didn’t know any better than to follow TomTom’s directions, and the car in front of us that was from South Carolina…

We were starting to think of other strategies. Like – if we stopped right here, and ran – we would still make it to the concert (??? Honestly, we were not under any influence… the craziness of that thought became clear only the next day, in broad daylight – we were pretty serious at the time though).

I had an idea – if we made it to the hotel at the last minute (say, 9pm, when the concert was supposed to begin, or even at 10pm) we’d check in quickly, grab a change of clothes and get a cab to the Jewish Mother. It seemed still doable. It was about 8:30 at the time, and GPS was being promising – we’d get to the motel by 8: 45pm… then by 8:50… then by 9:pm…

By about that time we had reached a place where cops were out, directing traffic. Following the traffic we moved like slugs through some parking lot, small streets, some bigger streets – it kept raining, huge puddles were forming everywhere… we drove through some smaller ones like everyone else… TomTom was utterly confused and kept trying to put us back on 264… I took a few turns, trying to find a place to stop and figure out where we ended up… Replanned the route… turned around a few more times, as TomTom was still trying to put us on 264… I was starting to freak out and we stopped behind another car with Georgia tag. There was a police car parked there too.

For a while we just sat there. I called Adam (actually I had already called him from the long inchworm line) he suggested to keep going and find a service station or something.

A lady came out of the car in front of us – by then there was 2 other cars stopped behind us. I decided to try my luck with the police first. We all approached the police car. The lady from the car nr.1 asked for directions, and the police barked at her with some… I’m sure he had had a log day already…

I never got to ask him anything. Suddenly he yelled something, jumped out of his car, ran across the road and kept yelling at somebody and waving his arms. It was all pretty bizarre. Looked like he had no intentions of returning to the confused clucking flock of lost chickens, so I gave up, got back in the car and we tried the driving around thing again.

Maarja, poor thing was pretty scared, but tried to be helpful by looking at the map and figuring out where we were (the map was of just the few blocks around the Jewish Mother – and we were far from it still).

At some point I remember saying – and I can’t remember who has said this – that as long as you have gas – you’re not lost – you’re just having an adventure.

Well, we tried to keep our spirits up, but it was starting to get scary. Lost in a HUGE (we were starting to understand how big this place really was) city, at a late hour, most of the streets flooded… I had no idea what to do. I’d paid for the concert so I was gonna get to the damn concert somehow… but first we were gonna get to our motel…

We drove around sort of random in some downtown. Finally there was a gas station and we stopped for directions. The guy behind the counter looked at us puzzled and had no idea where we were trying to go. “Euclid road”, I said, “our motel is there, Motel 6?!”

A guy who was buying something jumped in and started babbling al sorts of directions. I tried to write them down. ”I’m going that way, you can follow me, I’m actually leading some friends out that way…” he said, followed by more directions, as he was backing out the door.It looked as if he suddenly got afraid that we may carry some strange virus. Just like that – he was gone.

We tried to follow his directions. Go straight, until there’s a tunnel – go through the tunnel, then turn right, you should get to 58, then… a blur after that.

We went straight, there was a huge puddle, but everyone was driving through and there was nowhere else to turn, so we went through also… my car sputtered, jotted, made some strange noises, almost died, sputtered again, and we were through the water. My poor old wagon was doing the best it could to take us to our destination. By that time I think we were both starting to accept the grim truth, that we may not make it to the concert… if only we mad it to the motel!

There was the tunnel. SCARYYYYY… knowing there was water everywhere, it was scary to go through it. My car sounded like it was gonna die, but picked up, and carried us through the scary tunnel. We turned right and kept going with the flow of the rest of the traffic. Cars were left, abandoned here and there by the side of the road. It kept raining. It was dark. We were completely lost in a big city, far away from home…

Traffic came to stop and we were being redirected again. I stopped and asked the cops for directions – they sayd to cut through a parking lot of a big shopping center, and take Princess Anne Rd. I did that and TomTom adjusted itself. For a moment it seemed like we were gonna beat the adds, and make it to the motel. Maybe even to the concert to see Mr. Satan play the last song.

Then TomTom told us to turn right. I did. There was a lot of water, but no way of knowing how deep and I did not know what else to do. I wanted to get us safe somewhere. I think I had called Adam again at some point asking if he could call the motel to make sure we could still stay there, due to our circumstances – since we had missed the check in time…

I turned right, and we were half way making the turn, when it became apparent that there was a LOT OF WATER, and my car did not like it. It gave up. There. We were flooded. Within minutes water crept up into the car and soon it was ankle deep.

Maarja said it was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. I started to cry. I called Adam again, panicking. He said to call AAA. He was gonna look up some phone #’s for cabs, or something.

I called AAA. The lady at the phone sounded tired and not interested in partaking in someones worst day of their life. I started crying again and aksed what the heck was I supposed to do, some warmth sneaked in her voice as she told me it was gonna be allright. Maarja was tougher, she did not cry. She tried to calm me down too, but I was the one responsible, and I know there was more to deal with after “it’s all over”.

The AAA lady connected me to someone in Virginia. There was a lot of waiting. The lady in Virginia said that it would be 4-6 hours before anyone could come and get us. I told her I coud not wait that long and she suggested to call 911.

Wow. Never thought I’d have to do that.

I called 911. Then we waited. Every time a car went by it felt like we were in a boat. Then we just sat there, kind of dumbfounded until the police came. He arranged for a tow truck to come and hung around until it arrived, saying it was a bad neighbourhood. He took us to the local firedepartment after the car was towed and we hung out with the firefighters, wached some TV and they called us a cab after giving us some orange juice (we had not had any supper). Good guys – the cop and the firefighters – I’m so thankful we were not just left at the streetcorner.

The cab driver finally took us to Motel 6. It was $25.- with the tip. He asked what we had learned from this experience. I said – “eee… never to leave home again?” “NO!” he laughed, “Never drive through water!”

Duh.

It seemed pretty plain and clear by then, how didn’t we think of that earlier?!

To top things off the motelroom looked sort of grimy, and the bed sheet inspection revealed some stains of questionable origins, which prompted us to sleep in the same dirty clothes we had picked the veggies earlier that morning.

Adam was gonna leave NC early the next morning to come and rescue us, and we fell into a fitful sleep.

By now it all seems like a bad dream. Did we have the same nightmare?!

Ghettowagon is dead. We never got to the concert. Life goes on.

Pix to follow, whenever the connection gets better…

All is well

2009-06-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Despite the silence on this page, WhatNot Pottery has been alive and kicking. Our garage/studio has been filled with scrap wood, sawdust and tools scattered about for quite a few weeks. Well, now the results of this mess - the chicken coop - is finally up and functioning (see LOBRI ) and yesterday I spent a bit of time finishing a few pieces that were started in the middleages... at least about 5 months ago... We've also spend a few saturdays in the NC Pottery Center, where we sometimes stand in for our friend Chad Brown, and I've made a bunch of tumblers and mugs, and Adam made a bunch of plates that his friends Emily, Joey and Trace will draw on. I'm starting to wake up again with thoughts of clay every now and then. I'm taking that as a good sign. But then there is also the hairpin lace to make, and some socks and a sweater to be knit...

Anyway. No big words of wisdom today. Just wanted to let you know we're still alive.

We spotted those flowers by our pond when Amy and Kim were visiting.

Breakfast of Champions. We eat like that. Yeah. Every weekend!

Fire in the Disco... Fire in the Taco Bell

2009-05-06T05:24:00.000-07:00

I just checked the Electric 6 "Danger! High voltage" lyrics, and it's supposed to be "fire in the disco! fire in the tacobill!" but I swear it sounds like Taco Bell. And I like it better that way...

So, this weekend we had some serious fire to deal with. Adam and I stoked David Stuempfle's

kiln on sunday while he and Tim Ayers were trying to rest up a bit. When we got there, David thought we would almost finish up the firing with our shift... We did take the kiln quite a bit farther, but had to leave about 3pm for our landlady's birthday party, and heard a few days later, that David, Tim and Chad Brown were firing till monday morning!!!!! We have not gotten a first hand account from David himself yet, but Nancy told a funny story about Chad sleeping on the couch - sitting up - ignoring Gustav's ferocious barking...

For lunch on Sunday Nancy whipped up her Fancy Ramen noodle soup for us! It's become the staple and we always look forward to it!

Keeping with the WhatNot... What to knot or not to knot...

Adams brother Clint and his girlfriend Serena visited this weekend also, which added to the flurry of activities... we spent a few hours at work watching Nick and Steve-O blow glass. Nick also let Andreas and Lyza blow some bubbles...

A bit of knitting history

2009-04-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

SO we've been busy.

Haa.

Who is not these days...

But seriously. We've been busy. Adam has been emptying this huge settlement tank for a week - riding a bike back and forth every hour to check on the generator, working on grants and whatnot in between. I staid up till midnight last night baking bread for this meeting that I catered today.

Quiet life in Star is over I'm afraid. The "busy" has caught up with us...

We managed to run to David's last weekend and drop off a few things for the woodfiring that is going now. Sunday is our shift. That's as much clay based activity as we're going to get for an unforeseen future I'm afraid.

But hey, I can knit almost anywhere with hardly any tools or space needed!

As I was geeking around on "Knitty" just a few moments ago looking for something suitable to knit for Adam's sister's BRAND NEW BABY (That's right! Today is the day!) I found this article about knitting history. It never hurts to know some knitting history!

PS! Adam decided to stop pumping the settlement pond. There were millions of little tadpoles in there... and some HUGE bullfrog babies still in the tadpole stage... People laughed at him. But I am so proud!

Contraband Salad

2009-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Mouthful of nirvana...or heaven in a salad bowl depending on your choice of transcendent religious icon. The accompanying photo represents the first home grown salad of the year from my green thumb goddess and her garden in the parking lot. After a day of playing assistant and tour guide to the Our State magazine photographer, I come home to this. The anticipation of the first salad of the season combined with the fact that I hadn't eaten all day, meant that those few moments I had to wait to inhale this melange of garden goodness was sheer lovely torture. At least I had the sanity to take the photo before it disappeared. Lyza's mouth was watering too although you may not be able to see it through her Estonian smile.

If you look closely you might make out a few leaf lettuces, sorrel, oregano, cilantro, parsley, chives, and some radishes along with some other toppings. I know you're jealous. Well, all I can say is get out and find a local farmer and join a CSA in your area, you might come close. Just don't tell anyone in our CSA, they don't start getting delivery for at least another week.

As for the crazy events of the weekend, I bought a motorcycle.

It's not too crazy if you take into account that I have retained my motorcycle endorsement for 15 years sans ride waiting for this moment. It's a 2002 Kawasaki Concours, well used but in pretty good shape. I had to leave it in the capable hands of my friend Seo in Greenville for the week but he is bringing it to me in Chapel Hill on Friday when we go to the Mogwai concert. Pretty exciting at least from this end, more to follow.

Sorry about rubbing my kickass salad in your face, but it really was awesome.

Old postings

2009-04-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

Somehow I end up writing blog entries while supper is cooking (except when there is something more elaborate on the stove, that demands full attention). Last time I tried to blog I had some great thoughts piled up in the back of my head, and suddenly - dinner was ready, everybody was hungry, and I had to stop. I've decided though, to be as uncensored as I can tolerate it - and upload even the unfinished business when finally there is time.

Today has been a FULL day, after a FULL weekend (of great company, food, beer, and series of crazy events that I will allow Adam to explain at his "spare time") with our friends, Seo and Amy - their house full of pets; Kim and her family and everyone else we ran into in Greenville. Thanks to Seo and Amy for great times and for hosting us so graciously!!!

Today... I'm dirty and sweaty and tired from moving logs and inoculating them with mushroom spawn. Adam is popping corn for our homey movie night and kids are sound asleep.

Anyway, I was supposed to just explain this last entry and now it sounds like a bad home video.

So I better stop...

Sweet Nothings

2009-04-02T13:55:00.000-07:00

Speaking of nothing - this blog so far has no following... i wonder how long we can keep it this way?

I think everyone is busy reading the hundreds of blogs already out there. I used to be a compulsive journaler (I know, that's not a word, thankyouverymuch - but might as well be, since I certainly was not a journalist) and I always wrote with a reader in mind... of course, hiding the journal and trying to keep it away from prying eyes while writing for someone else was part of the whole fun. Well, now everyone is journaling online. Blogs are a great way to organize thought, ramble, record your activities - with an exception - it's not as lonely of a path of self discovery and written his/herstory as writing a journal on a paper. You get feedback.

So it can be a tool - for artists who are not in academic setting it can be a great way to have critical discussion...

Here Goes Nothing

2009-03-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

I've never quite understood that english expression. Here goes nothing. I mean - I know what it means, but... why is something always going down when someone says that?

So, Here Goes Nothing.

This blog that Adam and I started. So far a lot of "nothing" has gone here... and a lot of nothing has been going on in our studio at STARworks as well. We're busy with very creative jobs. The studio is kind of far from home. We have kids. The studio is really cold in winter. We're not motivated. Too busy to take on another full time job trying to sell our work. And we're too interested in goofing around, experimenting, playing - which means our work is sort of all over the place and happens whenever it happens...

Thats where this name "WhatNot Pottery" came from. Actually, to be precise, it came from Adam's response to Seo's e-mail, and is a result of a complex thought process - all of which took place in Adam's brilliant head in a split second a few months back. Comes out Travolta is mixed in somehow, and I must have chimed a word in somewhere, but as usual, this is too much information for my chicken brain to retain...

Branding is a complicated affair. It's like naming a baby. Right? You want to get it right the first time. It has to sound right when you roll it on your tongue... It has to be visually cohesive, catch interest, and look balanced. And it has to convey content. An empty name will come back to bite your be-hind sooner or later.

In my mind this is also a tribute to our good new friends Mark and Meredith at Whynot Pottery and establishes some connection to local tradition.

We feel really well received in this community and love this place and the people we've met!

So, here's the start. New blog begin and whatnot...