From kiln to shelf, pottery is piling up....back-to-back glaze firings are in progress in prep for next weekend's United Maine Craftsmen show at the Augusta Civic CenterNov. 12-13 (Saturday 9-5, Sunday 10-4)
Hope to see you there!
Current sculpture in progress.This is the interior support structure which is so beautiful on its own....It was hard to cover up all that detailed architectural work that will never even be seen on the finished piece!!!!
Reunited with my friend Donna after not seeing her for over twenty years!Can you tell that it was VERY COLD outside? This photo was taken in Portland just a few hours before last weekend's snowy October nor'easter hit.
United Maine Craftsmen Show
Augusta Civic Center
Augusta, Maine
November 12-13
(Saturday 9:00-5:00, and Sunday 10:00-4:00)
Admission $2 at the door.
Look for my Cobscook Pottery booth!
Honey Pots, Tankards, Tumblers & Mugs, Pasta & Boulibase Bowls, Rice and Tea Bowls, Noodle Bowls, Sake Sets, Vases, and more!
Augusta Civic Center
Augusta, Maine
November 12-13
(Saturday 9:00-5:00, and Sunday 10:00-4:00)
Admission $2 at the door.
Look for my Cobscook Pottery booth!
Honey Pots, Tankards, Tumblers & Mugs, Pasta & Boulibase Bowls, Rice and Tea Bowls, Noodle Bowls, Sake Sets, Vases, and more!
I am enjoying this moment of peace. It seems somewhat indulgent to sit still for a bit to upload photos and blog. As I type, the kiln is firing its fourth load of pottery in less than two weeks. That schedule seems a bit relaxed compared to what is upcoming; six more attempted glaze firings in the next week and a half. A cycle from firing to cooling and cracking the lid is about thirty hours and rest-assured (or rather, UN-rest-assured) there will be more late nights and 3:00 a.m. kiln duties. Two nights ago Chris jumped-in and took over the firing duties come 12:30 a.m. He suggested I try to sleep (it was well past my bedtime) and he in turn watched for the cone to drop. It finally did, but not to well near 3:00 a.m. Work days have been extreme with the typical being twelve to fourteen hours of near nonstop work. On the days I go to school to teach, I return home to change into my messy work duds and head into the pottery cave. I work until usually 8:00 or 9:00 at night, then grab a quick dinner and go to bed, only to wake the next day and do it all again. it's a good thing that I love what I do!!!
This insane schedule is not totally un-typical, but even for me, it has been a long and extreme schedule. I am trying my hand at vending the Augusta Civic Center united Maine Craftsmen show (coming up next weekend!) and then the next weekend is my annual holiday sale here at Cobscook Pottery in Lubec. Two back-to-back events has me stocking more work than usual in a small time frame. Most everything else has been put on hold, especially the past two weeks, while I did that last burst of wheel work, then a mega-glazing marathon. I am so filled with glee that last night about 10:00 p.m. I put away the glazes and cleaned up the tables. For the next few days I will stay focused on loading and unloading, watching temps and cones, and prep for the Augusta excursion, which includes finalizing the display materials. Today is planned for all that busy-type work and tomorrow and Monday I resume work on a sculpture project that I began about ten days ago - even though I was in the midst of mega-vending- pottery production.
Actually, looking back over the past week and a half, I realize that I even slipped in time for some fun. Everything was on-the-fly but you know what they say "all work and no play.....". In fact, in the midst of this insane work schedule, we were treated to a beautiful dinner at the house of friends, traveled to central Maine to see my father for his birthday, hopped on down to Portland for about four hours to see a friend visiting from London, picked-up clay from Portland pottery while there, and even scooted on over to another friend's house to see her studio. Yesterday, I even took time off for a couple hours to visit with friends for tea.
Seeing Donna after over twenty years was fabulous! We first met in (I think!!!!) 1988 in an acting class at University of Southern Maine. Donna was an exchange student from Ireland and we became fast friends. Thanks to the wonderful information super highway (a.k.a. internet and more specifically facebook) we have been able to keep in touch in recent years. Donna returned to visit with her former host family and it just happened that I was going to be only an hour from Portland while visiting family in central Maine. We managed an overlap in schedules that allowed us to hang out for about three hours in the Old Port. After a lunch of Maine "chowdah" we sauntered into Heron Point Gallery on Market Street. What a gorgeous space and beautiful work!!!! One of my pod-mates from the MFA program at Heartwood owns the gallery. So, I even got to see Bonnie during this little excursion! After Donna hooked back up with her host family to prepare fro her flight back to Europe, I called my friend Becky and spur of the moment drove over to her home and got to see the gorgeous new pottery plates that she has been making in her studio. The visit was far too short, but so glad that I was able to do it. I got back to West Gardiner just in time for my dad's birthday supper - and only a few hours before the snowstorm began.
What's up with that anyway? Snow before Halloween? And I'm not talking a dusting: it really kicked up with wild winds and big flakes that blanketed the ground to the tune of about six inches by morning. Needless to say, this delayed our travel back to Lubec by a few hours. By noon, we hit the road and travel went smoothly, even with our kitten Bouli (a not-so-little 9-pounder!!!) who took turns at slumbering in our laps for the long return home. We had no snow in our yard in Lubec, but things sure looked dark when we pulled up the drive. Apparently power had been out for several hours. We spent the rest of our evening removing food from the fridge and placing it in a freezer and cooler with ice blocks. Ironically, we had just bought a week's worth of groceries on the way home. The house was extremely cold so we heated stones on the stove which were later placed in the bed for warmth. I slept well toasty warm.
This concludes my morning of blogging leisure. I am going to hit the shower, grab some breakfast, and begin the list of the things I must finish today in order to be ready for the Augusta show. I have a feeling the list is longer than the hours that I have allotted!!!!
It's turn back the clock time tonight - I think?! This means extremely early darkness (maybe 4:30 p.m.????) I LOVE it!
This insane schedule is not totally un-typical, but even for me, it has been a long and extreme schedule. I am trying my hand at vending the Augusta Civic Center united Maine Craftsmen show (coming up next weekend!) and then the next weekend is my annual holiday sale here at Cobscook Pottery in Lubec. Two back-to-back events has me stocking more work than usual in a small time frame. Most everything else has been put on hold, especially the past two weeks, while I did that last burst of wheel work, then a mega-glazing marathon. I am so filled with glee that last night about 10:00 p.m. I put away the glazes and cleaned up the tables. For the next few days I will stay focused on loading and unloading, watching temps and cones, and prep for the Augusta excursion, which includes finalizing the display materials. Today is planned for all that busy-type work and tomorrow and Monday I resume work on a sculpture project that I began about ten days ago - even though I was in the midst of mega-vending- pottery production.
Actually, looking back over the past week and a half, I realize that I even slipped in time for some fun. Everything was on-the-fly but you know what they say "all work and no play.....". In fact, in the midst of this insane work schedule, we were treated to a beautiful dinner at the house of friends, traveled to central Maine to see my father for his birthday, hopped on down to Portland for about four hours to see a friend visiting from London, picked-up clay from Portland pottery while there, and even scooted on over to another friend's house to see her studio. Yesterday, I even took time off for a couple hours to visit with friends for tea.
Seeing Donna after over twenty years was fabulous! We first met in (I think!!!!) 1988 in an acting class at University of Southern Maine. Donna was an exchange student from Ireland and we became fast friends. Thanks to the wonderful information super highway (a.k.a. internet and more specifically facebook) we have been able to keep in touch in recent years. Donna returned to visit with her former host family and it just happened that I was going to be only an hour from Portland while visiting family in central Maine. We managed an overlap in schedules that allowed us to hang out for about three hours in the Old Port. After a lunch of Maine "chowdah" we sauntered into Heron Point Gallery on Market Street. What a gorgeous space and beautiful work!!!! One of my pod-mates from the MFA program at Heartwood owns the gallery. So, I even got to see Bonnie during this little excursion! After Donna hooked back up with her host family to prepare fro her flight back to Europe, I called my friend Becky and spur of the moment drove over to her home and got to see the gorgeous new pottery plates that she has been making in her studio. The visit was far too short, but so glad that I was able to do it. I got back to West Gardiner just in time for my dad's birthday supper - and only a few hours before the snowstorm began.
What's up with that anyway? Snow before Halloween? And I'm not talking a dusting: it really kicked up with wild winds and big flakes that blanketed the ground to the tune of about six inches by morning. Needless to say, this delayed our travel back to Lubec by a few hours. By noon, we hit the road and travel went smoothly, even with our kitten Bouli (a not-so-little 9-pounder!!!) who took turns at slumbering in our laps for the long return home. We had no snow in our yard in Lubec, but things sure looked dark when we pulled up the drive. Apparently power had been out for several hours. We spent the rest of our evening removing food from the fridge and placing it in a freezer and cooler with ice blocks. Ironically, we had just bought a week's worth of groceries on the way home. The house was extremely cold so we heated stones on the stove which were later placed in the bed for warmth. I slept well toasty warm.
This concludes my morning of blogging leisure. I am going to hit the shower, grab some breakfast, and begin the list of the things I must finish today in order to be ready for the Augusta show. I have a feeling the list is longer than the hours that I have allotted!!!!
It's turn back the clock time tonight - I think?! This means extremely early darkness (maybe 4:30 p.m.????) I LOVE it!
Cobscook Pottery & Fiber Arts
Annual Holiday Sale
Lubec, Maine
November 18-20, 2011
Friday 3:00-7:00, Saturday 10:00-5:00, Sunday Noon-4:00
Honey Pots (and Lubec Bee Honey!!!), Tankards, Tumblers & Mugs, Pasta & Boulibase Bowls, Rice and Tea Bowls, Noodle Bowls, Sake Sets, Vases, Soap, Weaving, and Jewelry by The Indigo Iris.
Beautiful packaging ready for gifting!
If more info is needed, email me at luna_spirit@yahoo.com
Annual Holiday Sale
Lubec, Maine
November 18-20, 2011
Friday 3:00-7:00, Saturday 10:00-5:00, Sunday Noon-4:00
Honey Pots (and Lubec Bee Honey!!!), Tankards, Tumblers & Mugs, Pasta & Boulibase Bowls, Rice and Tea Bowls, Noodle Bowls, Sake Sets, Vases, Soap, Weaving, and Jewelry by The Indigo Iris.
Beautiful packaging ready for gifting!
If more info is needed, email me at luna_spirit@yahoo.com
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