Posts Categorized: News

My second to youngest brother, called Tim-mo by our grandfather, is 50 years old today. It kind of hurts…thinking of how fast life moves. But move it must and a lot has happened since my last post.     The 2nd Annual Pottery on the Hill show was another great event. Last year we were… Read more »

    I am just now getting into the groove of this life as a ‘retired gentleman’. The second annual Pottery on the Hill Show passed in a blur of great conversation, excellent sales and plenty of plain old labor to put it all together. The scale of the show is by its nature an… Read more »

Too much time has passed to catch you up since my last posting. Let’s just say that ‘retirement’ so far seems just as hectic as ever. The transition from ‘Art Center Director’ to full-time potter is still quite new. Once my travelling shoes were returned to the closet I had to go on an accelerated… Read more »

    Well, I am back home (again!) and, after 4 months on the road this year I am ready to hunker down and make things!!! I am in a serious organizing mode since my return, but I must get a bag of clay opened soon and see what happens.         I saw… Read more »

Toff and Georgie’s home in the CotswoldsI depart for the U.K. tomorrow for my 34th visit. I first came to that Sceptered Isle in January of 1978 and I can’t explain how much I value all the time I’ve had and friends that I’ve made…I love being a part of this tiny village and the… Read more »

    I leave Monday for my summer retreat to the Cotswolds (that’s England don’t you know!) where I’ll spend a month with Toff and Georgie Milway, beating the heat of Virginia and enjoying the company of my many friends there. When I return I must turn my mind to some serious wheel throwing to… Read more »

Here is the letter that I sent out to the artists and a supporters of LibertyTown. I have always called myself the accidental developer and I have been an even more reluctant administrator, so, as the song goes, “it’s been a long time comin’ but a change is gonna come…” Twelve years ago I was looking for… Read more »

We needed, and got, one good week-end of warmish weather to cast the arch. We moved more than 6 tons of material by hand over 2 days time. A lot of hard labor, but done with great spirit! Before… Jim from Larkin’s special mix. Applying the first course The first layer Working on the tube… Read more »

This post takes us up to the point where we cast the arches. Notice the plastic at the bottom, hoping to cut some of the wind down. Firebox Boat Building? Ready for casting.

A story has to start some where and this one starts in early March when  Kevin Crowe and I arrived at the Penland School of Crafts to meet the 17 students and assistants who had enlisted in our kiln building boot camp. I’m not sure if any of us understood what a challenge lay before… Read more »

Hi, remember me?!  I was hoping that the title would lure you back to make sure that I’m still around! I am finally at home after almost 3 months of intense and wonderful adventures. I left Penland two weeks ago today and drove almost three and a half thousand miles since then to join the… Read more »

 3 months making.1 week waxing and glazing5 days loading28 hour firing2 1/2 days of waiting…     I’m just about to dash over to LibertyTown for tonight’s opening in the gallery (UMW student show). I’m mighty weary from this firing marathon and the pace of life continues to be on the edge of frantic. I… Read more »

I’m getting near the end of a long making cycle, doing my best to finish the last few things on my list while suffering from a bad cold. I couldn’t possibly fire a kiln without mugs and I put the last handles on a large batch today (77). I still have to make some little… Read more »

    I’m sure that it’s the coldest day we’ve had in some time…it won’t be above freezing for at least a couple more days. This is Buffalo weather, without the snow. I find it exhilarating, in small doses, but I am happy not to have to deal with it for months on end.  … Read more »

One of many happy moments in 2012… my first swarm! I have neglected you, gentle reader, and Hannah has shamed me into returning to the keyboard here and saying a few words. The last year, like every other, has been full and productive and I find that it gets harder to remember what actually happened… Read more »

I posted a photo of a couple of my biblio-birds in progress on my facebook page a few days ago and got comments from both of the Bringle sisters so I figure I must be on to something!  As this is my 500th post, I thought I’d mark it with a little backstory.    … Read more »

I enjoy reading Tony Clennell’s blog…he’s a good writer and potter and he wears a good hat well. He also writes as if he is the only man with a handle fetish. Below I submit my own visual confession! I admit when he put handles on the knobs of his teapots a while ago, I… Read more »

When I was a young lad, just discovering that there was a world where people made a living working with clay, there were very few ‘role models’ for life outside of Academia.  John Glick was one of the very few that I was aware of back in the 70’s and he continues to make wonderful… Read more »

The first fine misty rain that has since become a hurricane began to fall just as we packed up the last of the exhibitors and sent them on their way last evening. The timing was more than fitting for a flawless weekend in our nation’s capitol. Everyone arrived and got themselves situated throughout the day… Read more »

I’m sure that you will all be happy when The “Pottery on the Hill” show is over and I stop writing about it. It’s here at last and all that’s left to do is set up the pots and wait for what I hope will be big crowds of buyers. You never know with a… Read more »

I spent Saturday amidst the splendor of the Virginia autumn, figuring out how to put together my display for the show this weekend. By now you know that the “Pottery on the Hill” show is this weekend and soon some of my favorite potters will be gathering to share their amazing work at a brand… Read more »

…it’s just that I’m a poor typer and proof reader. Yesterday’s group of tall pots stated that they were made from 7 pounds of clay and were 18″high. They are actually 16 ” high, a mistake that made it obvious to me that you readers are actually  paying attention! I love handles…and texture…and glazes that… Read more »

Handle detail I haven’t had much time to savor the pots from last week’s firing, nor has there been much time (or energy) for taking photographs. But today I’m starting to feel like things are under control, that we’ve done the best we can to make the Pottery on the Hill show a success and… Read more »

My usual group of good friends joined me yesterday in the cold and rain to unload some hot pots. In spite of changing bagwalls & exit flues and using untested wood ash in a glaze, all my worries were for nought. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect black and blue slip, but most… Read more »

My ‘happy place’ in the woods. It is a good thing that the firing marathon leaves my wiped out…2 and a 1/2 days of waiting could be an eternity, but mostly for the first day I’m too tired to care. But today was day # 2 and I spent most of it poking around the… Read more »