Showing posts with label bright side. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bright side. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

After the snow..


The snow here in Virginia has finally stopped falling. When all was said and done, we actually made out better than most. We only lost power for a couple of days, and our satellite was only out for a few days as well. We were able to get out between the two storms and "resupply" with food and fuel. On the down side, I honestly don't think I have shovelled that much snow in almost 30 years! Yikes! Showing my age now. At one point my husband and I were shovelling together for a few hours and we stopped to take a break. He said, "you know, my mother called earlier and reminded me that I am not too young to have a heart attack." As I have my own chronic lung issues to deal with I reminded him about my possible demise as well. We both laughed and got back to shovelling.

It took us about 20 hours to clear most of our driveway. We live about 1/2 mile off a road and have a small tractor that does a great job. The biggest problem was where to physically put the snow! We ran out of space, and so, about 1/4 of the driveway, the last part up to the house, is still covered, but passable with our 4WD vehicle.

So, you are wondering, what in the world does this have to do with pottery?

WELL, I was able to get one kiln full of pottery completed while I tip toe-ed through the snow flakes. I had promised myself that I would try new combinations that I had been wondering about all winter, and I did it! I did more test tiles which are really starting to add up to an interesting and extremely helpful collection. And, I confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that one glaze in particular, no matter what I pair it with is useless.

So, it is February 17th, and my first show is March 20th. In potter's time, that is not a lot of time. But I am feeling the urge for mud, and enjoying making a lot of pieces with floral, lighter glazes, and some funky stuff thrown in for interest.

I will post again after this next kiln full is completed with more to share about what works and what is just plain awful at Big Dog Pots.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Tick Tock Tick Tock...

Well, I must say, I did this to myself. I make pottery as a hobby. OK, it is really my only "job" other than mom and animal wrangler, but I am lucky, I don't have to make a living from my hobby. I go to various craft fairs and sell my pieces, mainly so I can make more :). My proceeds are donated to local charities that I like to support.

ANYWAY, last October I attended a local 2 day fair at the request of a friend. It was really an awful venue for me. So this year when they asked me to come back I asked if they had done anything to improve the traffic to the vendor area. They said they had come up with a lot of new ways to draw people in, and they did.

Basically, this is a lesson learned! Craft fairs that are tagged onto another event are not going to be a great venue for me. There are about 3-4,000 people who attend the event, but they are really there for the food, kids games, music and other activities. The way the facility is set up it is just not conducive for a good flow to the vendor area.

SO, I spent another 2 days in crafter wasteland and only made one sale at 7 pm on the second day.

Well, it wasn't a total loss. There were 2 other vendors there that gave me a lot of great advice and I have hooked into a couple other shows for next year that are very promising.

So, all in all, although I really didn't like the idea of being inside for such a beautiful weekend, it served its purpose. I learned to choose my venues wisely and to make the most of even the worst of shows!

Thanks to the hosts for this show. You all did all you could, and I know you did. I really appreciated all your efforts and all your hard work to try to get the traffic back to us. I guess you can lead the horse to water but......