Puppies and Pots!!

So today I went to Juniper Moon Farm
There are cormo sheep and angora goats, potbellied pigs and a mule.
And puppies.
Maremma Guardian Dogs

AND I started my ceramics class at Piedmont Valley Community College.

The only Virginia community college with a gas kiln.

I HADN'T THROWN IN 5 MONTHS.

It felt so good.

(pardon the pictures from my phone.....)

The space is not huge but they have all you need.

Even a beautiful view.

Masked.

Everything seems so COMPLICATED these days....  My studio is still in the works (2 weeks maybe???)

I'm taking a ceramics class at Piedmont Valley Community College (the only CC in Virginia with a gas kiln!)

I'm trying to make a March 1(ish) application deadline for a show....

So slip chemicals from LibertyTown (thanks so much Dan!)....

Hopefully between all these venues I will get it together!

(I'm sure you guessed...that's me behind the mask!)

Baby Steps

I am so excited!  I've finally started work on The Studio!  My new best friend Dan W. is doing the carpentry work: new windows and door, insulation and drywall (and anything else I might come up with along the way).  Yesterday was a full day.  NOW we wait for the electrician.  That has been the problem all along....looks like he won't be here for another week.  But at least I am making progress!

The kiln is sitting at The Kiln Doctor ready to be delivered and I already have orders for pots and the possiblity of a venue that makes me very happy!  I'll tell you more once I have it all arranged.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

Time flies when you aren't making pots.....

Hi Everyone!  No pots in the near future, but I am making headway!  I ordered a new L&L 7 cubic foot kiln with vent of my very own.  The electrician is lined up to run the required power to the garage, the contractor has been picked for the insulation (yes Dan) drywall and installation of bigger but more efficient windows.  I will do the painting to make it purty, and our HVAC people will come in and put in a ductless ac/heater.  I hate spending the money on that but Greg insists (I do love that man!) so I will definitely be making pots in comfort!

In the mean time I have been baking and knitting for the upcoming holiday.  Nothing very picturesque about that, but here are the other goings on:

Picked up my new to me 56" Macomber Loom with my good friend Linda.  Thanks Stan for the use of your truck!  Trip to and from Ohio went very smoothly....once we got the billowing tarp arranged correctly.

2010 Artists Studio Tour

Judd Jarvis' gas kiln.  He has a great setup in Nelson County.  He too makes in his garage so he was full of good information.  I bought pots of course.  Because the next best thing to making them is buying them. 

Donna the Buffalo at the Jefferson.

Shearing Day at Juniper Moon Farm

They raise cormo sheep and angora goats.

One of the Maremma dogs who guard the sheep and goats.  (One who incidently just had puppies about an hour ago!!  But don't know if this is momma Lucy or not.)

Angora waiting for his haircut.....

Two weekends ago went to the Free Union Country Day School for a small craft show (where I of course managed to buy 8 oz of roving from Kid Hollow Farm.  It was St Nicholas Nite afterall!)

What a great place to attend school.  This library is just so cool!  (Small!  But cool!)

LAST weekend we visited Mangham Manor Farm

Mohair and wool.

That's me feeding the normal size lamb.  The TINY kid on the left was 13 oz at birth (7 pounds plus is normal!) He is wearing a hunting sock.  They were from different triplet births. 

Can you imagine this view everyday at work??

Now we are having our first real snow.  About 3 inches so far, so I am off to keep knitting away on those Christmas gifts!

Spinning Maniac

Awhile back I mentioned that in an effort to avert the cranky feelings that threaten due to the lack of  CLAY work I have been spinning. A lot. Around FIVE POUNDS in two months. This is what 5 pounds of handspun looks like:

That's 2,991 yards. 

The above is four pounds of Karakul.  This fiber has a pretty long staple and is much coarser and hairier then the Blueface Leicester I usually prefer.  But Karakul felts VERY well.  So I have spun this as singles (that is why it looks more kinky then the other, I spun it tight to withstand the tension on my loom.) and hope to weave a blanket from it, felting it slightly when it is finished.  We'll see how it goes....

These pretty colors are mostly Blueface Leicester wool, though the gray is from Hatchtown Farms in Maine (a wonderful gift from a visiting friend) which is a glorious Coopworth top.

And because I have to prove that I have made pots in the past this is a commission for a butter dish for a friend in Germany.  It needed to be the right size for a "slab o'butter" as they call it. 

Signs of Fall

Well Fall is actually well on its way in Charlottesville Virginia.  Im just now recording it, because of the learning curve on the new computer.  I am THRILLED to see that our maple tree in the backyard is a gorgeous glowing yellow!

I have also discoverd the subtle differences in Virginia acorns:

First Charlottesville:

Second.....Fredericksburg,

Lastly, LibertyTown....!

Thanks to Mary Hardy and the hours on the deck with her evening glass of wine.  These are wet felted wool with a hat provided by Mother Nature.

I love them so much my friend Elizabeth Woodford made me a couple of pair of earrings from some others!