unloading the kiln

i unloaded the kiln yesterday... i 'm super excited about some colors i have finally found success with! pictures to come. art show in two days. its going to be along night!

Art Show

check out this weeks big adventure!  this is a link to one of two articles that came out in the local newspaper here in carteret county this past friday.
 http://www.thisweekmag.com/

what is this you ask? let me expalin. this week i am gearing up for a show here at the Beaufort Art Center.  i am putting togther a collection of some of my most favoritist pots to make: big jars, teapots, bottles, bowls, platters and pitchers.  while running  a little low on my smaller items, it is so exciting to be back doing the things i love most. aka oversized pots (bowls, jars) and smaller things that are cool practices in design (teapots etc). i'm  firing the first bisque kiln today...fingers crossed for the week ahead!

upcoming event!

"Because The Sky Is Blue" Art Show Opening
July 30 · 7:00pm - 11:00pm

New art work by Shannon Kemp, Trista Hudzik Reynolds, and Christal Weatherly. Food by Eat Me, One-Woman Catering Co.

The Beaufort Arts Center

204 Turner Street
Beaufort, NC


http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126919730665310&ref=mf

new friends (yep. another sappy one...)

those of you who have kept up with my crazy adventure probably know about out our reloaction form the mountains of wnc to beaufort. most folks thought i was outta my gourd. and while i am outta my gourd, moving to beaufort only seemed crazy.

a little back story:
(if you know me and read regularly, you may want to skip to the next paragraph so i dont put you to sleep).  last august, we gave up our 14 acre farm, silly huge garden, one set of wonderful neighbors, my 1000 + square foot studio, my salt kiln and (gulp) my horse (ok so maybe i'm still not over that one yet).  all that  to live in a (seemingly but not really) questionable neighborhood right the middle of town on a .10 acre lot, where my front yard is actually made of concrete.  my studio is now less than 500 square feet. i am relearning to fire in an electric kiln. WHY????? beside the fact that i rarely drive my car (YAY), the water is two blocks away (um super yay) , i love my neighbors and i love my friends (in that aspect i am just plain lucky). i am a fairly social person... living on the farm was amazing but also sometimes difficult for me. i was often lonely and probably spent a little too much time talking to our farm animals . i was excited to move to BFT for the chance of finding community. and that is exactly what i did.


anyway....WHY?

this is why:

these are my new friends melaya and syan!

tuesday morning seemed like any other day. i was fixin to start makin some pots when these two lovely ladies and their mom walked into my shop.  the little girls were excited to be the studio and i soon heard whispers of "mom, i want to make a pot".  i offered the girls a ball of clay each and said they could have it.  they immediately were trying to figure out what they should make. i set them up with some randomn tools and a canvas board on the floor. i went back to making "big pots" at my wheel, occasionally chiming in on tips and ideas. they went to town making all kinds of fun things.  i think they stayed for two hours!  by the time they left they were begging me to join them for lunch. now, dont get me wrong,  i do love me some beaufort grocery co....but i had to stay and get ready for the big show at the end of july.  tthe ladies wrapped things up, snapped a few pics and even showed me a couple of their super-sweet dance moves and coreographed dance routines. mom graciously thanked me for my time (my pleasure!) and the girls and their mom piled in their car and drove away.  what they left behind meant more to me than they could ever know. i have had a lot of wonderful, wonderful days here in BFT, but that one took the cake. people like syan and melaea and their mom....that to me is what making pottery is all about. enriching life and making a connection.

.... and that my friends is exactly WHY we moved to BFT.

the barefoot potter...

the beaufort old homes tour was the last weekend in june. thr potttery was stop number 17. it was a good two days with lots of traffic. many of the folks who came were locals which means i got to make some new friends. though it was hot, i enjoyed getting the chance to throw pots outside. who knows...i might even make a habit out of it!