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.

A New Year, a beginning....

Well, what can I say, the last few months have been a roller coaster of shows, work, more work and more shows. The last show I did was in a quaint, very upscale town not far from my home. It was a juried show, and I had applied last year but was not accepted. I was accepted this year and was lucky enough to participate. It had such a wonderful write up by a number of artisans, I was really looking forward to being there.

Unfortunately, it was one of those Decembers when the snow came much too early! The day of the show we had almost 7 inches. I got there, got everything inside, set up and waited it out. All the artisans collectively decided at 3 pm to pack things in and hit the road. The show was supposed to go for another 2 hours, but the traffic had trailed off at 2pm, so we thought it was safe to call it a day.

For those of you who are craft show people, you KNOW what it means to pack out of a show in 7 inches of snow!!! YIKES!!! I was happy I only lost a few things in the process and didn't break any bones!

The holidays were very quiet. Fortunately, a wonderful friend was brave enough to clear my stock for me. She used the pieces for Christmas presents for family, friends, and teachers. I could not have been more pleased to help wrap it all up and send it home with her. Now my decks are clear, I don't have to worry about stock I may or may not have. I can start completely fresh. And I have to say that is an exciting prospect for me. It is like I have a clean slate, or a fresh canvas on which to create.

I have taken a true break from the studio. Some of it was wanted, some forced because of a health issue with one of my kids. But hopefully tomorrow will be my first full day back in the mud. I am looking forward to loosing myself in my music, some good sunlight, and the peace of creating.

By the way, apparently, we have a mountain lion on our little mountain. It has been spotted by 2 neighbors within 1/2 mile, and also a vet that lives close by also may have seen a deer that might have fallen victim to the lion. But we are not 100% sure on that one. Let me just tell you, I am definitely keeping track of all of my cats and they seem to want to be inside because of all the cold, so that has worked very well.

I will post some more pictures soon. I recently updated my website and added back in some more "spring time" pieces.

Well, I will be back blogging again soon. Thanks for stopping in and seeing what has been happening here.