Body Aches and Throwing Lots of Pots

January is catch up time… re-stocking and catching up after the busy holiday season.  I had a really nice break between Christmas and New Years, then had to switch gears back into the throwing mode.  I don’t know about any of the other potters out there, but when I’m in my throwing cycle I can’t seem to do much else.  My body is so sore every day.  I’m thinking it’s just this 48-year-old body!  My neck hurts, my hip hurts, my hands are aching!  I do my yoga, I walk a half hour a day, bike when it’s warm, cross-country ski in winter… I move my muscles in other ways, yet I’m still sore! 

I was at an Asparagus Valley Potter’s Guild meeting last week, I asked the others how they felt.  My friend Steve said he can throw pots for about 5-6 hours one day, then the next day, about 4-5 hours, then the next, 3-4 hours, by the fourth day can’t really throw anymore!  Similar stories from the others.  I need to say here, that the youngest potter there was 38. 

I remember when I discovered pottery my senior year in high school I was a real jock,  and was so happy finding an art form that was like an athletic event!  Now I’m thinking about professional athletes and how they are all retired by 35 or 40… hmm, potters can’t do that… and really I don’t want to… what I really want is the stamina of an 18-year-old again!

So does anyone else out there have anything to say about this? What are your limits?

 

The Chicken and the Studio

If you ever visit my studio, you will hear the clucking of chickens.  The studio is a renovated barn, with our chickens in the lower level.  I love the sound of them while I work.  But yesterday the gentle clucking became frantic squawking and crashing around.  I quickly cleaned the clay off my hands, and rushed down to find chickens frozen with fear staring at one spot, I looked at that area and found a puddle of fresh blood, and a little further away… the inside part of a chicken (I’ll try keep this rated G)… and a little further away a dead chicken.  I won’t say anymore about the details.

 I couldn’t figure out what got in, because our coop is like a fortress.  I observed the chickens, and noticed they would not go near one spot in the coop, and they kept staring at it.  It was a hole between the wood floor and the bricks.   Ah… I thought… must have been a fisher cat!   I know that fisher cats and raccoons take the insides of chickens and leave them to die, but the hole seemed too small for either of those.  Terri later did some research online which gave us our answer… a weasel!!!  Yup that would be about right, we thought we saw a ferret like animal in the yard this summer!

So we are down to nine chickens, losing a beautiful Buff Orpington, one of our favorites!  We plugged up the hole, with hopes it doesn’t get in again somewhere else.

Here is a photo of one of our Buffs from the summer, and a photo of the gifts our chickens give us daily!

 

 

Winter Classes at Lucia Pottery

The new 10 week session begins January 11th 2012!  

I posted the new classes barely two weeks ago… a little late, but I’ve been a little pre-occupied with holiday sales.  There are three openings left for Wednesday nights…  Tuesday and Thursdays are filled.

It’s in the Details

It may be the curve of a handle, or the thumb-mark at the top of the handle.  The sparkle of a glaze, or the subtle muted mattness of a glaze.  It could be the way your lip touches the rim of a mug, or the way your finger fits in a two finger handle or four finger handle, as you sip your tea.  There are a myriad of qualities that make up the details of your favorite piece of pottery.

Happy Pottery shopping this weekend at my Open Studio, Holiday Sale!

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Almost There

Waiting for two more kilns to finish firing for the Holiday Sale this weekend.  Here are few goodies so far!

The Studio Before the Holiday Sale

The studio is a mess… waiting for the last pots thrown to dry so I can get them in the bisque on time for the last firing before the sale. 

… and glazing… glazing, endless glazing.

All Hands on Deck

I have the little elf working overtime to get ready for the Holiday Sale.  Here is my assistant Jocelyn smoothing the edges of new tiles that I have made… and yes that is a cast on her thumb!

Holiday Open Studio and Sale

Just  two weeks away!  I have been so busy making new goodies for the sale!  Of course I’ll be sharing some previews of the work here in the next couple of weeks. 

Here is the postcard!

 

December 2, 3, 4, 2011

Friday 4 – 8

Saturday & Sunday 10 – 4

New Work – Seconds

Great Gifts

www.luciapottery.com for directions.

 

 

 

 

“The Bakers Oven” and my Pottery Shards

I had quite the surprise today at Cider Days where I was selling my new apple bakers and other “foodie” ceramics.  I was taking a break and walked over to the food vendors, and a friend said to me, “did you see your pottery over there at the wood fired pizza oven?”  I looked expecting to see pottery, instead I saw my pottery shards built into the oven!  All I could say was, “wow!” 

Earlier this year I wanted to get rid of a bunch of my bad pots that I had smashed for the shard pile.  I boxed them up in small boxes and put them up for free on Craig’s List.  (I had five calls the first day.)  I gave the boxes to three different people.  Well, one of those people was one of the owner’s of  ”The Bakers Oven”, a mobile Wood Fired Pizza & Catering company of Colrain, MA.  Co-owner, Daniel built this whole thing himself.  I think he would make a good kiln builder!

What a cool concept… a mobile wood fired pizza oven!  So if you’re local, and you want to have them cater an event for you, here is the contact info. thebakersoven1@gmail.com

October Snow Storm

New England has been hit with everything Mother Nature can throw at us the past few months… starting with tornado’s in late June, heavy rains and flooding in July, earthquake in August (no damage there), hurricane Irene in August with terrible flash floods, and now a snowstorm on October 29th!  We had over a foot of wet snow here in the valley, and powder in the hills up to 30″!!!  Lots of damage in the valley, our electric company saying it is the most damage ever in the company’s history.  The bulk of the damage was due to the leaves still being on the trees, and the weight of the snow breaking them.  Thousands and thousands of people are still without electricity four days later.  We were lucky here, just losing power for 20 hours… and grateful to have a wood stove!  We did lose our beloved Mulberry tree, and some large limbs of other trees, again grateful nothing on the house or studio!