Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of you out there who are fathers or act as fathers to those who need guidance. My Dad passed away 23 years ago this August and I still miss him.

A lot has happened since May 11th when I last posted on this blog. My youngest son got married, my middle son got a job at Florida State University, my first year at the charter school ended, I participated in North Carolina's Second Saturday program at Historic Halifax this month, and my computer crashed! Only 10 days out of school and I feel the summer has already been busy and is now "picking up speed" for an even busier next couple of weeks. Before things get too much more overwhelming, I just wanted to share some things about the last month.

I enjoyed the Second Saturdays program, even though it was not very well attended at Historic Halifax. This is a statewide program being put on by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Craftspeople from all over the state have been invited to demonstrate their talents and sell their goods at historical sites each month. I chose Halifax in June because it was here in my county and enjoyed being with other local craftspeople. Next month, I will be at Edenton on the 10th and then at Somerset Place in Creswell in August. Any of you in North Carolina, look for possible Second Saturday programs in your area at local state historic sites.

I have been trying some different things in pottery this month. First, I am making more items for me - something I have not been doing since I think about selling what I make. In particular, this latest firing produced a nice large "chip and dip" platter and a set of coffee mugs for my oldest son. I have also tried to do a little sgraffito and was very pleased with the first result - a green jar with fish etched into the sides. I think I am going to try to do more - not only with etching in designs, but in making more use of slips tinted with mason stains to produce more controlled and complex color schemes. I am also working on more large pieces. I have what will be a tea urn ready for the first firing except that I need to cut a hole in the side for a spigot. The only problem is that I cannot find the spigot I want to use!


Hopefully, I will update this blog in the next week or so. Once I lost my computer, I also lost all my pictures for the last year and that slowed me down. I am now working off an old desktop computer and think I have things settled down to at least be able to blog.

Come see me in Edenton if you are near on July 10th. Go to www.ncculture.com for details of Second Saturdays programs in the state.

It Took Awhile, But I'm Back!

It has been a month since my last post - a very busy month. As I write this, my students have just finished their third End of Grade (EOG) test, which end weeks of extensive review.

I had a very successful weekend of selling at the Heart of Virginia Festival in Farmville, Virginia, on May 1st - sold over 50 pieces. Last weekend, I spent Saturday making pottery on the sidewalk in Roanoke Rapids in front of the Halifax County Arts Council building. It was so hot, some of the pots were almost leather hard before I took them off the wheel! However, it was enjoyable talking with people and sharing about making pottery. Danny, my pottery buddy, was doing some hand building out on the sidewalk as well. Susan took some pictures, but I haven't gotten them from her camera, yet. I will try to put some of them on future posts.

I applied and was accepted into the Second Saturdays program sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. June, I will be in Historic Halifax; July will find me in Edenton; I am not sure where I will be in August. But, I am looking forward to the opportunity to demonstrate and possibly sell some work. Most of what I sold in Farmville was the bigger pieces, so now I am working to replace them in my inventory. I have about 100 pieces of pottery ready to sell, so I think I am set until the first Second Saturday (that sounded strange) in Halifax. By that time, I should also have some new platters and larger bowls ready.

I have moved my wheel and most of my tools to the "new" house - that has been really nice so far, other than the multitude of bugs drawn to the lights at night. I have learned to keep the outside door closed and have secured a screen door that may end up being installed soon.

My larger immediate goal is to hook up the kiln I bought. Before I do that, however, I need to enclose an area next to the new shop and make it weatherproof. More on that later...