making pottery again

Ah, I saw someone's tankards on his blog, so I had to throw at least one.  Mine's probably for me, and that cool beer when I get home and put up my feet.

I also finished a butter dish.  Had to change the original plan and did a thrown lid...without a bottom, then fit it to the slab-built dish form that I'd started.  It took about 5 hours of work over two days.  Geese, maybe there's a better way?  I do like the finished piece, which is drying slowly under plastic, just like my "beer stein" at the BMCA studio.

I had another fun project, to make a foot-tall planter for a Venus Flytrap plant...for Tim who helped me get my wheel down from June's studio in Bakersville.  He raises Venus Flytraps, and says they work well in a foot tall planter, where the little saucer can be full of water and the top pretty dry, and there's just one root that reaches all the way down to keep it alive.  My first effort is a combo of thrown base, then slabs added to make it tall enough.  Of course the whole thing toppled over and it got some new bends and bulges.  But it can still stand tall (and of course is 14" tall prior to the firings that shrink it down 15%).

Sorry, these are all at Black Mountain Center for the Arts clay studio and I didn't take my camera today.  I did some glazing yesterday, and maybe a couple of pieces will be fired tonight.  This afternoon was my volunteer time as well as tomorrow during BMCA's open studio, and we had lots of students and independent studies folks working today.

It's starting to get really hot in the afternoons, and the sun continues to dominate our skies.  Many plants are blooming.  I love that tulips are in the gardens around here, and the dogwoods are blooming down in town.  Next to my house is a pink dogwood, and I promise a picture of it soon.  It's really sick, and had termites in it last year...so it may not be blooming much longer.

Both the cats stayed outside while I was gone about 5 hours.  They were so happy to come inside and get fed and watered.  I loved that feeling, being greeted eagerly by animals.  Hey, I just love been greeted eagerly by anyone!