Late night music

This is what happens when it is late at night and the music is blue grass and you simply cannot stop playing your trusty mandolin. You just lie down and play.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I have been trying to finish this frame for awhile now. Me and Dad had decided to go into a joint venture of making mirrors with really cool painted frames. Well, he upheld his end and I was the slacker. Then I was thinking about what to get him for his birthday and decided that this would be a good present. This picture is not finished but it's close. Happy Birthday Dad and happy spring to everyone! This frame is actually based on the idea of spring with it's noisy peepers, and all of those frisky birds rushing around preparing to make babies.


***note...I changed out the pictures and this is the image of the finished frame****

Nantahala

This past week me and Will and his 2 brothers went to western NC for a trip to the Nantahla Outdoor Center for rafting guide school. http://www.noc.com/I know, I know, it's cold and all but we lucked out and had a week of 65-75 degree weather. It really was great fun and even though I don't want to be a guide, the boys probably will end up doing some raft guide stuff in the future. We went down the Nantahala river and the French Broad. I fell out of the boat, or more like bounced out of the boat, twice and went in voluntarily for a drill. The water wasn't that bad. It was cold but you just don't think about it that much. We had a beautiful cabin up the hill from the river that was right on the Appalachian Trail. I took Wednesday off from school and hiked the AT for about 7 miles. It was so amazing. The beauty of the mountains always astound me and this day I was awe struck. I also was blessed to see a piliated woodpecker on the top of one hill as he flew off to a neighboring tree. I also saw a bald headed eagle soar above the French Broad River. Sigh......

I have been making these basket forms for the last couple of weeks. Really taking myself back to the beginnings of my clay days when all I did was coil handbuilding. I actually thought making pots was stupid...I was a bit arrogant at 20. Anyway, when I start any process the first things I make become the test subjects for glaze. And this one is was the tested for this turquoise glaze. It was supposed to be a light turquoise but alas, as with most glaze recipes what I think is light turquoise is not what the author thinks is light. I do like it though but it is not what I had in mind....so back to the drawing board.

The knitting bowls

I have finished 4 knitting bowls. That is the good news. The bad news is that I am having some weight distribution issues and this is causing some cracking. I am fixing the problem in the new knitting bowls but the sad thing is I have these 4 lonely, beautiful, except for a few small cracks, bowls that are sitting in the studio. I thought I would let the friends of THK aka Miss Grey or Mouse as I like to call her, try them out for me but I hate to give anyone a piece that is not pretty perfect. I guess my point here is if you would like to try out a knitting bowl that has some small defect, pipe up and I will work on getting it to you. The only requirement is feedback and lots of it as I plan to make many of these for a gallery in Virginia. Miss Grey, you have first pick if you want one of these but I really want yours to be perfect and it is already in the making.

Yeah! He's coming to town!

The easter bunny is coming to town and here is my little bunny helper named Fred. I made him yesterday for my front porch and he will sit with a basket of bright colored eggs...a la Penland......Mouse remembers. I think THK has a bowl of eggs in her den from days gone by, if I remember correctly. I am so excited about the eggs I have made at least a dozen and can't seem to stop making them. Can't wait for the glaze.