The show that wasn't

This poster came up again on Facebook, in error, last week.  I had gone to the Red House to take photos of my entry, a tree-vase, on Thurs. March 10. That morning the decision was made to cancel the Friday reception. I don't remember if I wore my mask on that outing. I had started wearing it to the laundromat, I remember.  But it was before anyone was closed, before we were staying in place (though I think I used the term SIP).  Here's the post I shared on the 13th of March. 

I thought around the next week, that all my other pottery and sculpture would also not be sold while everything is closed due to the virus pandemic.  Fortunately I had a good show and a check from those sales just last month. And since retirement I've been living off Social Security, and savings.  I'll get by. I just need to remember, when this is all over, to go see the dusty conditions at the Depot, the Cutting Crew, the office at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, as well as the Red House Gallery.

Artists are really left out there without any sales, and many of them don't qualify for small business help. I urge all my friends to purchase art when this is all over!

Today's Quote:

Really great potters create a world into which you want to walk. They accurately communicate a feeling that words lack the ability to convey. Heck, if we had the words, we wouldn't need the art. We need the art.   John Bauman, potter

A taste of Sylva's show - The Western NC Pottery Show

We couldn't have asked for a better day for an outdoor pottery show!   What cool air and warm sun...and of course a few fall tree colors too.

 I'm going to share a booth of potter, John Bauman.  He had posted a lot on Facebook ahead of the show...and honestly that was the most advertising I saw.  Sylva apparently doesn't have a lot of potters out on social media...or nothing made it to Black Mountain's venues.  Or I'm on the wrong mailing lists...not buying the ceramics/pottery magazines these days.

Thanks John, and I hope you had a good sale.  And an easy ride back to Warsaw, Indiana! I'm drinking out of my new mug this morning!

The venue was large and could have had a lot more potters.  A big gravel faced field was much better than along a street! And we found parking right across the tracks (perhaps loading usually for the backs of the stores.)

 We decided to start in the middle...and enjoyed this couple's pots, and even came back later.

 I caught Jim Reinert doing Sudoku later on. I do wish the booths had said where the potters were from (as they usually do.)

 We decided our friend Judy would have loved this!  I did get a lovely mug from him, loving the glaze and slip and stain combos. It wasn't until I got my new mug home with his card tucked in it that I discovered where Jim was really from...Owosso MI.  That happens to be where my ex-husband was born. Small world...and yet a long way from Sylva, NC!

My Jim Reinert mug.

Next door along...beautiful merged glazes.

 Some interesting glazing and textures by Suzanne Rehbock!

 Work by Kaname Takada

 Jill told us her purples are ash mixed with colorants, but it's ash from other's fires, so she never knows what kind of wood it is.

I'll not overwhelm you with the rest of our first row of potters...more to come, perhaps interspersed with other things as well.  There were 46 potters in the program, and I did miss a few.

Incidentally, the show's move from Dillsboro was based on some construction due to happen in downtown Dillsboro, which may take 3 years!  I think a lot of the usual potters who showed in the past have gone somewhere else this weekend (like the Shelby indoor show which is the same day, but is not juried...we went to it last year and saw a lot of amateur work in with some well made pottery.)

Cala Lilies

Another potter at Dillsboro, who's work struck me, was Kathy Veverka.  Cala Lilies on handles, or just lying on the side of small plates, they all look so beautiful.

And here's a peek at more of John Bauman's work.  Dennis Allen told me the reason everyone was packing up at 4 was that the show closed at 4.  Oops!

Today's Quote:

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.

Thomas Merton

Seeing friendly potters

After a great day at the Tailgate Market last Saturday, we took off for Dillsboro.

While on the drive through smokey highways from a forest fire nearby, when we got to the valley there were clear skies.  We had a late lunch/dinner at the Jarrett House.

We parked in a fairly close spot, then had to wait until the Smoky Mountain Train re-coupled the last cars...it was full of tourists on such a beautiful day.

That is billowing smoke from the fire on the other side of the ridge, not clouds. We saw a few planes dropping retardant and water on it as we went home a few hours later, and a couple of fire trucks near Waynesville took off to help them.

But you want to see the pots don't you?

John Bauman had a welcoming smile, and said he'd had a really good day. You'll find him also on Facebook these days.

 I loved the color combinations of Jill Tortorella.

The deep purple combined with pale turquoise seemed just beautiful in the late afternoon sun.

As I told her this, she handed me a huge bouquet of flowers, which had been in her pots on display all day.  She insisted I take them, saying they would go in a garbage can or I could take them. Well, I said "Thank you" of course!

She had been selling pottery all day, and still had to dismantle the booth and pack it all up, and was gifting me who didn't even purchase anything! That's a great attitude!

And now those same flowers are blessing my home, in my own pottery which is for sale also!

Today's Quote:

The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away. 
Joy J. Golliver