taa-daaaah......and some other stuff...

here's the fireplace...all done...what a great feeling to have it finished. i've got a couple more installations that i'm just beginning to work on, and now i can concentrate on them. i think that's one of the things i love about working with clay--the cycle of making, glazing, firing, and seeing how a piece turns out. we had a great saturday in the shop, tomorrow theirs some down time to visit with my brother, who's visiting from new york--will be nice to have a day off.  the rest of next week will be spent getting ready for the mint show, and for a show in blowing rock the following weekend. i love this time of year--the heat is starting to break, and fall is almost here. i always think of this time of the year as that moment on a roller coaster when you're at the top--that second just before you race to the bottom... 

mortar fingers...

what is it about motar and cement that dries your skin out so much?.... my hands feel like sandpaper, but the whole fireplace is set--yea! i should be able to get all the grouting done tomorrow... i've really enjoyed this project--these folks were the type of clients every artist dreams about...they gave me total control of the design. they didn't even see the tiles in person until i'd started installing them! 

blink of an eye...

wow...i can't believe it's been a week since i posted last. this week has really flown by--we've been starting to get ready for the charlotte mint show next week, and working on a fireplace installation. here are some images of the fireplace so far--tomorrow - set the hearth, then in a couple of days start the grouting. it's so rewarding to see it coming together...i'm really pleased with it so far. (the painter's tape is helping hold the center tiles up. i'll get a better photo of it tomorrow when it comes off.) 

nc pottery center tile project...

here's a couple of pics of the tile project through the ncpc with the fourth graders at seagrove elementary. it's going to be installed in the school friday, just in time for the kids first day next monday. the piece is 3' x 14' overall, so it's hard to get an image of the whole thing. i'll have to go back and get a picture after it's hung. we're so lucky to have the pottery center here in seagrove--if you haven't heard about what's going on with the center's funding difficulties, take a look at their website, and at meredith heywood's blog. the pottery center is such an amazing resource, and is really needing some help--check out those sites if you haven't already.

got metal...

kiln shed's finished.....yea!!! have to admit, it looks great....

raise the roof!!!!

metal's going on the roof--yea!! one more evening and we'll be finished with the kiln shed...then it's on to the covered porch on the back of the building. here's a couple of pics--i think doug is getting tired of having his picture taken!!! i like the look of the roof with the old metal on it (the metal's off a chicken house).

what bugs me...

this little guy was on my window this morning, so i snapped a quick pic of him before he took off. i love all the texture on his back, and the orange tips on his antenna...anyone know what it is???

the 36 hour day part 2...

here's peaceful shot for the end of the day.........

the 36 hour day...

well, it rained all day yesterday so i decided to do double work today. took down his sad chimney, moved about a million bricks, all the clay mixing stuff and dry materials that were left etc. etc... and after all that, got the stripping up on the kiln shed roof just before dark. 

the man on the tractor is my old neighbor mr. joyce--he helped load a huge clay mixing tank with his tractor. i'm really going to miss having him as a neighbor--i think he was the first actual farmer i've ever known personally. i loved our conversations on local politics, cattle, and growing vegetables. so many times, i'd come home and find a bag full of fresh picked veggies on our porch or a watermelon rolled under the fence. he's also the reason that i found and were able to buy property. had been looking for land for about a year, and he happened to know the woman selling this piece of property. people around here generally don't like to sell land to folks they don't know, and because he vouched for us, she decided to sell ... he's a great neighbor.

so... we should have the metal on the roof by end of day tomorrow--it will be great to feel finished with at least one project.......taking judson to the rodeo with our friend dwight holland tomorrow night--should be an experience!!!

going going gone.....

yesterday, we moved the gas kiln...the whole thing! our friend tom gray was kind enough to let us borrow his arch form, and it worked perfectly...thanks tom! it feels great to finally have the kiln over here, although it's going to be a while until we can rebuild it. (i like to look at the pictures in reverse...makes it seem like we're rebuilding it!!) if it stops raining at some point today, hopefully we'll get started with the stripping and metal on the kiln shed. with the house, shop, and studio, we've been building since just after judson was born, so tools are his favorite toys. he got a new toy chainsaw, so we should have some extra help with the rest of the kiln shed!!

you gotta eat an elephant one bite at a time...

i don't know why someone ever said that about an elephant, but it's what i keep thinking about as we finally get close to finishing moving. now we know what it's like to move a mountain after moving all our house stuff, the shop stuff, and the studio stuff...i really don't recommend it! the good news is that blaine, doug, and his son matthew were able to get all the trusses set on the kiln shed tonight and it should be totally finished by friday--yea!!! we're going to move the kiln over tomorrow and just stack the bricks until we can get the pad poured hopefully next week. we're pretty wiped out tonight, but it feels good to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

bigger...and bigger...

well, day two of our kiln-shed-raising...finished the headers and started hanging the trusses...another couple of days, and it should be finished--yea!

whoa--just add water!!!!

i can't believe it-- doug and i have been working for about 8 hours, and have so far set all the posts for the kiln shed, squared off the tops, and are starting to add the headers! it seems like it's growing right out of the ground it's going so fast!! if all goes well, will start setting the roof trusses tomorrow. but...man, it's gonna be big...................

fired up...for the last time....

well, i spent most of the day glazing my very last load of tiles to fire before we move the kilns this weekend. it's such a sense of relief, but a little bit of panic too, since we don't know how long it will be until we're up and running again. it's been a real challenge to find a point where we can stop working long enough to move the kilns. blaine's got a couple of guys coming to help start setting the posts on the kiln shed tomorrow, so hopefully it won't be long before we're firing again... 

here's a photo of another tile project i just finished for the north carolina bar association. it's about 3 feet x 4 feet--it was so much fun to work with them on it, they gave me alot of creative freedom.

boy its hot

judson and i had a great time playing with the hose until ........he got a little wet he sure didn't like that!  Well laura and I have been very busy the last few days--we were packing packing and packing...... sending out orders to galleries. we shipped out pots to mark of the potter down in clarkesville, GA the folks down there are the nicest people I just love sending them pots, to Cedar Creek Gallery  up in Creedmoor NC you all may remember Laura and I were resident artists there for years and lived there until we made the journey to Seagrove  we really miss the guys there and we also sent out pots and tiles to Seven Sisters gallery over in Black Mountain NC. that was one of my first galleries to carry my work when I first started making pots back about fifteen years ago.  I was so excited when the new owner contacted me. life sure is just one big circle sometimes you are just spinning your wheels and then you are back were you started but moving forward if you know what I mean...... Oh and the ladies from the NC Museum of art came buy to pick up some things for the museum store,like I said we have been busy!

kiln shed!!!

the guys showed up yesterday to dig the post holes for the kiln shed--judson had a great time watching them. every time matthew pulled the auger out of a hole and spun the dirt off, judson would just crack up like it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen! he was really excited to sit on the tractor when we were done, too--it was a good day to be a kid...hopefully, I'll have a kiln shed soon.....

what been going on lately...

well, aside from trying to finish moving, here are a few photos of things working on lately. getting ready to move the kilns, so im trying to fire off those last few loads before the big move...the cloud platter is from my last salt firing. also fired his gas kiln for the last time last week...it was almost poetic--just asI finished the firing, the chimney cracked in half, and very slowly unrolled...go figure.

welcome to the blog! i've been wanting to start this blog for months--finally i'm doing it. i'm starting with a photo of our new place--it took about two years to build it, and am so excited to finally be living here! I live upstairs, with the studio and showroom downstairs, and so far this arrangement is working out great! this pic was taken just after the hay was cut and baled--love to watch them take in the hay!