Has It Really Been Six Years???

I can't believe it has been almost six years since I posted on this blog.  It has been a busy six years and many changes have happened in my life that have kept me from working on my pottery.  Now, with the "stay-at-home" directives, I thought I would have time to get back to pottery and to renew my ramblings on this blog.  However, with virtual classrooms keeping me busy with teaching and Spring bringing all its many clean-up and outside chores, I still have not had as much time as I wanted to get going in pottery on a regular schedule.

For Sale on Ebay

 As I was sitting at my desk during virtual "office hours", waiting for the occasional question from one of my math students, I put "Straydog Pottery" into a Google search just to see what would turn up.  What I found was that someone is trying to sell one of my pieces on Ebay and pictures of some of my work from past blogs showing up on Pinterest!  To me, that was pretty neat - I always thought I had more of a local following, but this shows that the Internet really can get information out everywhere there is a connection.  This has inspired me to at least try to get the blog going again and to "ramp up" my efforts in the shop.

On Pinterest

On Pinterest

 







The last six years has not been a complete dry spell for production.  Every now and then, I could sneak into the shop and throw a pot or two - usually face jugs to keep something at Riverside in Weldon stocked with a few of my items.  I have done a few special orders (not my favorite thing to do) and then just a few things I could throw in one sitting that did not have a lot of finishing work to do later.  My plan had been to really start getting in the shop more to build up my inventory and then retire from teaching, using the pottery business to supplement social security and retirement.  However, this Covid-19 epidemic has changed my thinking - I don't think the economy is good right now for depending on pottery as much of an income, at least for awhile.  And, since I didn't actually get to build up my inventory, that gives me another year to work on that and then reevaluate the economy in a year.  So, I will start my 45th year in education next academic year, even though how we start is still up in the air - virtual, face-to-face, or a hybrid of the two.



















I don't have many photos of my work from the last six years.  I made it and sold it without a photo account.  The photos here are from some of my past work and some of what I have done since 2014.  I have almost completed a kiln-load to fire, so I will hopefully have more in the near future to share.   And, I have six years of ideas I've been wanting to try to get me going.


I don't know if you're a Trump fan (I'm not), but you have to admit he has made some pretty ridiculous and wrong comments during this pandemic. If you want a laugh, logon to Randy Rainbow for his rendition of "A Spoonful of Chlorox" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPDPzbLFeP4.
 
Stay at home if you can, wear a mask if you are out and about, wash your hands frequently, and stay safe.

RIP - Josie and Bear - The original Straydogs - both passed away in the last six years