What Is It About February?

I've been missing you a lot lately, Allen.  Maybe it's because it's February. The last time you were able to come to the studio was a Saturday in February.  I recently ran across the picture that we took that day of all of us - me, Lisa, you, Gail, and Ronnie.  Hard to believe this was seven years ago.

That was also the last time I got to see you.  There were so many people around that I didn't really get to talk to you.  I'll always regret that.  I snuck a bag of Cadbury mini eggs in Prissy's purse that afternoon for you.  Do you remember how around Easter, we'd sometimes share a bag of those while we worked?   We didn't do it often because neither of us could stop eating them once the bag was open.  You and I could work in the studio together for hours and not say 3 words to each other.  Not because we didn't have anything to say but because we didn't have to say anything.  We could just BE.  I miss that.     

Today Nikki did something cool.  (I hope she doesn't mind my sharing.)  She saved a pot.  It was one that tried to fall twice - AND SHE SAVED IT. Twice. 

I was proud of her, and I missed you.  I realized that what I really wanted to do was tell you how proud that made me.  You would understand.  You would say something sarcastic and probably tease me for being sappy, but you'd understand. 

I wish you could know these people that use your studio now.  You  would like them.  Gail, Lisa, Vicki, and Ronnie are all still around.  These folks you know.  It's the "new" people that I wish I could introduce to you.  There is "new" Nikki (not to be confused with "original" Nikki).  New Nikki comes in after work on Thursdays and on Saturday mornings.  Sound familiar?  She's the one who saved her pot from certain death today.  There's Kim.  She drives in on Saturday mornings for lessons but mostly works on her wheel at home.  There's Eden.  Eden has a gift for making a mess.  She makes nice pots too, but there's always a mess involved (she does clean up).  Paulette is another of us "retired" folk.  You would love her stories.  They are absolutely hilarious!  

All of these amazing people are learning pottery from you, Allen. Thanks for welcoming me into your studio all those years ago, and for everything that you taught me.  

  

Six Years...

Dear Allen, 

It's amazing how time flies. You've been gone now for 6 years.  Six long years that have gone by in a blur.  March 27.  Easter Sunday.  Today's not Easter, but it's Sunday again.

Yesterday was the Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival in Hickory.  I remember you talking about that show and how much you enjoyed it.  I've now participated three times.  My sales have been OK there but so far, not great.  I still feel like it's an honor to be there though.  Well known, famous potters are there.  And then there's me. 

That first year, I bumped into Vicki Gill sometime during the afternoon we were setting up.  I can't remember how we ended up talking about you, but we did.  I remember her saying, "Allen would be so proud." 

Know what Allen?  This year one of my students was there selling her pottery.  I am so proud.  You would be too I think.  

Jeff and I watched the press conference after the UNC basketball game today.  Remember what a huge Caroline fan Jeff is?  That has not changed.  When Hubert Davis was asked about Coach Guthridge today, he got emotional.  When he could talk, he spoke about how he appreciated the opportunity that he had been given - first to play at UNC and then to coach there.  That he hoped that Coach Guthridge was proud of him.  

I know EXACTLY how he feels. I'm not taking my team to a Final Four, but my studio is still there.  Your studio is still there.  It's still a happy, busy place.  I use what you taught me every day....and I appreciate the opportunity that you gave me.  I wouldn't be here without you.  

Thank you...and I do hope you are proud. 

No Time To Rest

A Griffin Pottery has a Facebook page and an Instagram account.  I share stuff regularly there.  Its great because my friends and customers can see almost day to day what I'm up to in the studio.  I LOVE the interactions I have with folks when I post pictures of new work.  However, it makes writing this blog more difficult.  I sit down at the computer and it feels like I don't have anything to else to say.  I remind myself that there are folks who read this blog that aren't on Instagram and/or Facebook.  It doesn't help. I still worry about being redundant and boring.  

(Takes deep breath)  Getting on with it anyway.  If you've seen these pictures already, just scroll on. 

The first of the year is a logical time to take time off, but I don't.  If sales have been good (and I'm so grateful that they have been), I've got to get started right after Christmas making pots for Treasures of the Earth, the pottery show and sale at Cleveland County Arts Council.  That show opens up next week.  The pots are made.  I've just got to get them priced and my inventory form completed so I can go set up on Monday.  

I have a few pieces with leaves that I made with the last few leaves from this fall.

That's a wine chiller there on the right.  It has a cane handle on it now.

These soup bowls have been very popular.  I've made a bunch of them.  Unless they sell between now and the time that I get them packed in a box, there will be 4 of these at Treasures.

In my last post, I mentioned that I had been on a mug making roll.  Here are some of the finished mugs. Many of these will go to Treasures.

Some green and brown.

Texture on the outside, red on the inside.

Understated but awesome tan on dark brown clay. These are the same clay/glaze combination as the soup bowls.

Customers love this gray/blue and white combination.

These are on the big side.  Sized so that they would work for beer steins or really big cups of coffee or tea.

Did some covered butter dishes.

A covered casserole dish.

Great big casserole dish.  Remember the one that was supposed to be a big bowl? Terrible bowl, but good casserole. Ha!

Four bowls that stack pretty nicely.

Here's what they look like unstacked.

More wine chillers.  I'll probably take one of these to Treasures, leave one in the gallery at A Griffin Pottery, and take the last one to Buffalo Creek Gallery. I did a bunch of wine cups that coordinate.

The Week(s) In Review

My plan was to try to update this blog weekly with some pictures and information about what I worked on in the studio.  Here it is two weeks later and I'm just now getting to it.  I'll explain.  

I think I made a lot of pots...

12 soup mugs in dark clay.  I plan to gaze these in Ryoko Cream.  That combination always turns out really nice and has been popular with customers. 

Next I started on a couple of canisters for a commission. 

The first attempt (right), got  too wide, so I turned it into a planter. I needed to make some planters anyway. The one on the left is what I was trying to do.

Two canisters.  Success! 

FYI, the commission was just for a set of 2.

The "accidental" planters inspired me to make some planters on purpose.  These are all either 4 pounds or 5 pounds.  I plan to make some others in some different shapes too.  Perhaps this week that can happen. 

Next up, casseroles.

I meant for this to be a big bowl when I started.  As you can tell, it is a failure as a bowl.  It's a pretty cool casserole dish though.

This is also a pretty good sized casserole.  The bottom was 5 pounds of clay and I believe that I used about 4 pounds for the lid.  Lots of clay gets trimmed off when I shape the lid the next day.

Completed casserole with lid.

Since my first try at a big bowl this week ended up becoming a casserole, I tried again.

This is a 3 pound, a 4 pound, and a 5 pound bowl.  My intention was to have three the same shape that might even nest, but that didn't work out.  Anyone else noticing a trend?

Registration for 2021 Summer workshops at Penland School of Craft opened on Tuesday of this past week.  As I was researching the instructor of the course that I thought I might be interested in, I found a YouTube video of her throwing pots and talking about how she thinks about her work.  (It's Linda Christianson if you would like to look her up.)  She starts each day in the studio making 4 mugs.  She doesn't over think what she's doing, just gets 4 mugs done. Then she lines them up and looks at them and decides which one she likes best and why and which one she likes least and why.  So I gave that a try this week.

Mugs and beer steins from the first couple of days.

Textured mugs from the third day. 

Mugs with distinct turning rings on the fourth day. 

It's a pretty good exercise.  My efforts each day don't match exactly, but they aren't bad.  And I was really relaxed when I made them.  Relaxed is good.  I don't do relaxed particularly well.

On the fifth day, I decided to do wine cups because I am completely out of wine cups and I'd already done 16 mugs this week.  Four went well, so I did four more.  

I neglected to take pictures of the wine chillers that I also made that I hope will go with these cups.  I distinctly remember stopping and grabbing my phone to get a picture of the wine chillers.  Must have gotten distracted.  It happens.  A lot.

The rest of the story of the past two weeks is all about our pets.

Our sweet Lady died on Monday morning.

She was 14 years old and had been very sick for a while.  We don't think that she was ever in any pain, but it was hard to watch her get weaker every day.  We take comfort in knowing that she isn't sick anymore, but our house is empty and sad without her.  I have not been completely aware of what day of the week it is or exactly what it is I'm supposed to be doing all week.

On Thursday, Dixie had her teeth cleaned.  She had to have 4 teeth pulled and it was a couple of days before she was back to her happy self.  As a result, she had to take a few days off  "work" at the studio with me.  You know the "work" where I take her for a walk in Uptown Shelby, she begs at RollOver Pets for treats from the bone bar, and then she sleeps the rest of the day in her kennel.

Just as I was beginning to think we had everything under control and feeling like I might be able to tolerate our new normal (with just one high maintenance pet to care for), I noticed Lucy acting really weird.  Bless her little heart, she had probably been having issues for days and I just thought her behavior was her reaction to suddenly not having her dog with her anymore.  We all grieve in different ways, you know.  But last night and this morning I clued in to the symptoms of a possible kitty UTI.  Off to the Urgent Vet in Belmont we go this morning.  She's feeling better now, but we still don't know for sure what is causing her symptoms.  An x-ray ruled out bladder stones, so that is good.  However her symptoms could be stress induced or maybe an actual infection.  Given her timid nature and the stress that she's surely been under due to Lady's extended illness and subsequent death, my money is on stress.  Like some people get an upset stomach when they are stressed, some cats get an upset bladder when they are stressed.  We will start her expensive new prescription cat food tonight and I will attempt to give her a pill.  Send prayers and good thoughts my way.

Y'all, I've had enough!  I'm due for something good to happen, right?

I'll end with this rare picture of Lucy and Lady together on the couch. Lady was not a fan of kitty snuggles, so this didn't happen very often.

Thanks for reading.

Good Bye 2020

The full title of this post should be "Good Buy, 2020 - You Really Sucked, But There Was Good Stuff Too".

It's this time of year that we take the time to look back over the past 12 months and count our blessings and resolve to do better at the things that we are not particularly proud.  I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions and I normally do not even bother looking back and patting myself on the back about stuff. This year I do think it is important to spend some time looking back and dammit, I might even deserve a pat on the back.  (You do too, so go ahead.)  

In so many ways this year was a disaster.  We have all experienced loss one way or another.  It is too easy to let the sadness of those losses over shadow the stuff that we did that we should be damn proud of.  So here is my list. 

I made enough money to pay the rent and utilities for the studio every month even when there were no studio fees or lesson fees coming in, when the gallery had to be closed, and when all the shows were cancelled.  This may seem small to you, but to me this is a big, fat, hairy deal.  I was SCARED.  On more than one occasion I found myself wishing for a home studio where there was no overhead.

Much of what I am about to detail can be summed up as an increased online presence.  I worked my butt off to achieve this, but there are a number of people that I would like to publicly thank for their help.  First of all, Jeff Jones continued to tolerate me in all my craziness. I know that I have not been easy to live with.  Fear and anxiety do not improve my personality.  At the end of each exhausting day, he was there - telling me that the pictures I'd spent all day taking looked really nice, not disappointed that I hadn't made plans for feeding us supper again and with the evening's entertainment lined up and ready to go to take my mind off things before I fell asleep in my recliner again.  For the record, we highly recommend the first few seasons of Community, 30 Rock, Blue Bloods, Parks and Recreation, and Schitt's Creek.  I'm sure that there were other things we watched, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind.  

Thanks to Anna Nicholson for starting the Local Online Vendor Fair Facebook group.  I don't know if she had any idea how big that would get when she started it, but wow!  The sales that I had there saved me last spring. Thanks also to everyone who shopped here to support local folks.  I don't know if other vendors benefitted as much as I did, but for a couple of months, my only pottery related income came from sales in this Facebook group. That was the immediate, direct benefit.  Indirectly, I believe that my exposure to the members of this group significantly increased the number of people who know about A Griffin Pottery.  I credit the increased sales from the gallery at the studio this holiday season on these new customers.  

I have an Instagram now for A Griffin Pottery.  Thank you to Katie Shires (formerly Earl) who spent an afternoon with me showing me how to use Instagram because I was clueless.  Anna Nicholson gets credit for help in this area too.  She's the one who reminded me to use hashtags and led me to the website of helpful hashtag suggestions.  Katie and Anna have fielded numerous stupid questions over the past few months while I muddled through.  I still do not know what I am doing, but I have followers.  It's a start.  Perhaps in 2021 I can figure out when I should add to my story or when I should add a feed post.  

Susan Jones Pottery has an Etsy store.  The biggest reason that I jumped into this this was that the Carolina Pottery Festival had to be cancelled this fall.  To participate in the "Virtual Sale", I had to have a way to do online sales.  Etsy seemed like the best avenue for me to get started.  Big thank you to Ron Philbeck and to Vicki Gill who helped me get my head wrapped around getting started with Etsy and shipping pottery without losing my mind.  There is a lot to consider when listing something for sale on Etsy and I learned so much from their experience.  While I am not completely satisfied with my shop yet, I did have sales that I would not have had otherwise.  I shipped pieces to California, Colorado, Iowa, and Rhode Island this fall, so that was nice. 

A Griffin Pottery has a physical studio, a Facebook page, and an Instagram account.  The Etsy store is Susan Jones Pottery.  A little confusing perhaps?  Yes.  At some point I may need to address these issues, but not yet. 

I learned a bit more about taking pictures of my work. I noticed when I'd do a day of sales on the Local Online Vendor Fair that pieces photographed in my light box got more attention than pieces that I had just took pictures of in the studio or at Buffalo Creek Gallery.  Hmmmm, interesting.  For an Etsy listing, it is helpful to have photos from multiple angles of the same piece. My light box is a pain in the butt and I wish I had a place that I could have a permanent set up for photographing pots.  But for now, what I've got will have to do. 

Over the past year, my group of students has grown.  Every single one of them is growing in their ability and knowledge.  Some are better at throwing on the wheel and others enjoy hand building more.  Some have learned pottery for a while and then needed to move on to other things while others are continuing to work with me.  Since I wasn't sure that I could teach something other than math, I'm glad that these folks gave me a chance and proud of the progress they've made.

Yes, it was a tough year, but yes, we got through it.  I have much hope for things that will happen in 2021.  I'll continue to learn about selling online although I can't wait to be able to safely attend a pottery festival again.  I'll continue to teach my private students and look forward to when it is safe to offer "Clay Dates" and "classes" similar to Paint and Sip classes.  I want to do a better job updating this blog on a regular basis.  

Susan Jones Pottery is on ETSY!

Check out my ETSY shop!  

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SusanJonesPottery

I'm sure there are things that I still need to fix, so if you see something that looks weird, please let me know.  There are only about a zillion things that need to be set up.  It's taken a while to get to this point, and I'm sure that I missed something.  Baby steps, right?  I won't know what doesn't work until I start selling there.  

So, How Are You Doing?

 

No, really.  How are you?  I have missed you.  

It has been months since I've updated this blog.  I'm sorry about that.  I suppose I've just been busy trying not to freak out about everything.  Making myself sit down at the computer to write was more than I could do for a long time.  When I don't communicate regularly, I don't know what to write about. That's where I am now I think.  

Things in the studio are OK.  I'm making pots and selling a few.  I'm teaching a few lessons.  We just wear masks so that we can work closely together.  All that is good.  

Actually my sales have been pretty good lately.  I am VERY grateful for that.  If you have bought something from me lately or commissioned work, THANK YOU.  You have kept me going, in more than one sense, during some very uncertain months.  You've helped pay the rent and utilities, and you've given me something to do when I wouldn't otherwise have known what to do.  

Like so many businesses, particularly people who make and sell crafts, I've had to do things quite a bit differently that I used to.  A lot of my sales have come from ONLINE sales and that is a very new thing for me.  I was nervous.  But I tried it.  Thus far, the only online sales that I've done have been as part of the Local Online Vendor Fair on Facebook.  My brilliant friend Anna put this together back in April as a way for craft makers to be able to sell their work since so many in person craft fairs had to be canceled.  For me, it has been very successful.  I'm grateful for the opportunity and the push to try it. 

We made the tough decision a week or so ago to cancel the Carolina Pottery Festival. This is the pottery show that is held the first Saturday in November in Shelby every year.  I hope that we will be able to have a virtual festival since we can't do the in person festival.  To put myself in a position to participate in a virtual festival, I've gotten started getting an ETSY shop set up.  Yes, Susan Jones Pottery will be available via ETSY soon.  Again, this is intimidating and I'm nervous.  But I've got good friends who are giving me good advice.  

That's all the news from here for now.  I could have done all this in a lot fewer words probably, but then you wouldn't have had to scroll through all these pictures of things with leaf impressions on them.  Good by until next time, friends.