It's OK to Not Make Pottery Sometimes

Its been a while since I've posted here. Lots of things going on.  I'll share more later.

In the studio, I've done a few things in recent weeks.  Last week was the first Second Saturday of 2017.  I made sure that I had plenty to work on since I was going to be in the studio longer than normal.  Mugs, berry bowls, and a cookie jar...

Here are the berry bowls with holes drilled and drip trays thrown.  All these things were dry this week, so I got them all sanded and ready for the next bisque fire.

We were out of testers.  These were all cut in half, dried, and bisque fired last weekend.  They are ready to go when we need to try out a new glaze combination. 

Why have you not heard much from me recently? Well, I've had other things to do.  On April 1, Jeff and I were in Charleston to participate in the 40th Cooper River Bridge Run.  We love this race!  It helps that we get to hang out with these people for the weekend. This is Rob, Bobby, Andrew, and Liz Boyles - our dear friends. This weekend is a highlight of the year for us.  

This year, we managed to re-connect with a former student before the race.  Leigh Ann (Spangler) Yeager was in our classes just a few years ago.  

You haven't done a post-race party until you've done this post-race party.  So many people!

Thursday of this week, I went to Greenville, SC to see Something Rotten! at the Peace Center.  My friend Solomon Willis ended up with an extra ticket and invited me to go. I am so glad that I did!  He and his parents, Brenda and Eddie, were so sweet to let me tag along. 

This weekend, I took Saturday off from my studio work so that Jeff and I could take the grand-kids (I can't call them babies anymore) to an Easter Egg Hunt.  From left to right, Micaiah, Samaria, Lady dog, Paw Paw Jeff, and DJ all had a great time hunting eggs, taking walks, having ice-cream and cotton candy, and meeting the Easter Bunny. 

You may be wondering why all these pictures of non-pottery related things are appearing here.  There really is a point to this, and I'll even connect it to what I'm doing at A Griffin Pottery.  One of the things that I admired about Allen and how he ran the studio was that he did not let pottery keep him from doing other things that he needed and wanted to do.  His hours of operation sign said "Mon-Fri 9am to 2pm, Mostly...", and there was almost always an additional sign stuck in the window explaining whatever deviation from those days and hours needed explaining.  He loved his studio and the work that he did there, but he also loved playing tennis with Prissy on Tuesdays.  He didn't mind posting the sign that said "closed on Tuesdays" so he could go do that.

It is against my nature, but I am trying to emulate that.  When we were asked to keep the grands on Saturday and then when Solomon offered me the extra Something Rotten! ticket, my first thought was, "I can't.  I'm supposed to be in the studio Thursday evening and Saturday." I am rather protective of my studio time since there's so little of it while I'm teaching, but I'm working at giving myself permission to do other things too when the chance presents itself.  In the big picture, the afternoon spent at the park with the kids and the dog will be much more important than one afternoon in the studio. Yes, I have tons of things that need to be glazed so I can get one more glaze fire in before Arts on the Square week after next, but it will get done.  Those sweet kiddos won't always think it is a treat to hang out with the old people.  We have to take advantage of what we have while we have it.

Once again, thank you, Allen.  You taught me well.