The Habu silk has such a beautiful sheen and that's been my number one requirement. Of course when I go to load up, it's out of stock - sheesh! Hopefully I have enough on hand to hold me until the back order arrives. Then yesterday I decided, this is bloody ridiculous. So I proceeded to order, wherever I could find them, as much of my Gudebrod colors as I could afford. In the process I made a great discovery. Big Stone in Houston is working on their own version, samples are in hand and they hope to be stocked with the replacement silk in November. They're also pretty nice to deal with (always a big plus) and way cheaper than the lady on Ebay (who's running out of stock anyway). Okay, so that's enough about silk ... I promise!
On a happier note, this past weekend we headed up into the mountains to the annual Spruce Pine Potters Market. We found out about it last year - too late. So this year it was an absolute must. It's an extraordinary gathering ... artist organized with 28 potters from two counties. Thing is, these two counties (Mitchell and Yancey) probably have more world class potters per square mile than anywhere else in the country. There's so many they have to rotate who gets to participate in the show.
We got there about an hour after it opened on Saturday and were pretty much overwhelmed by the crowd. The parking lots were jammed and it was a total feeding frenzy inside. We made a beeline for our favorite potter, Nick Joerling, and wormed our way into his small, very crowded booth. That's Nick kneeling down in the blue shirt ...
We were hoping for small bowls, maybe another mug and definitely another plate. No bowls, but we did come away with a couple of treasures, some to keep, some to share.
Then we went back to the beginning and started to weave our way through the impressive array of work. Local legends were on hand ... it was amazing to see basket-maker Billie Ruth Sudduth chatting with Cynthia Bringle or Jane Peiser. Three legends in the world of fine craft, wise women all, each so very direct and down to earth. I love this quote from Jane, "When human beings go from speech to song, something wonderful happens. I don't achieve that very often in my work, but it's what keeps me trying." I have known some amazing potters - Daniel Rhodes, Vivika and Otto Heino are some of the most noteworthy. Vivika was probably the most influential. Her grace and willingness to share her knowledge has stayed with me through the years, a constant reminder of how to be in the world.
Cynthia Bringle ...
And Billie Ruth in the plaid shirt ...
Then there's the next generation ... One of our favorite sculptural potters, Melisa Cadell ...
And a couple of new discoveries. Susan Feagin's handbuilt pots are just plain crazy, but straight away, I was smitten ...
My new patchwork mug, so very strange, but such great inspirational juice ...
Our other discovery, Lisa Gluckin. Lisa's my age, an absolute delight and one of the resident artists at the Energy Xchange, an arts studio and craft business incubator program. They run their kilns and torches off methane from the old dump in Burnsville - how cool is that! Here's the goodies we got from Lisa ...
"God is in the details" ... I love the base of this little tray ...
All in all, an inspiring day. Topped off by taking the scenic route home via a winding mountainous back road. Cooler temps, no traffic, up and down and round and round with a splashes of fall color here and there - perfect!
So now I really have to get back to work. I'm closing in on finishing my samples - finally! Then pics, then catalog, then website. Hallelujah progress is being made!
ttfn with blessings - kvk
p.s. another one of those simple pleasures - fresh boxes of Ticonderoga #2.5 pencils ... don't you just love the smell of new pencils???
That Habu silk looks like a lovely way to string, always looking for new and different ways. Thanks for the info.!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristi - just remember, the Habu silk is 'yarn' and made for weaving and knitting. I'm not sure about how strong it would be for stringing straight off the skein, all that long or short spun fiber stuff. I'm 'plying' it into cord, so that will be quite strong. Check out Jewels in Fiber for a really nice variety of materials - http://www.store.jewelsinfiber.com/index.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting!
there is a Tom Hanks line from You've Got Mail that i've always loved, and that comes to mind when reading about your pencils:
ReplyDelete"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.". this also makes me recall something mary oliver said once about leaving pencils hidden in the woods so that she'd always have something with which to jot down her thoughts (what about paper, i was thinking?)...xo
N - The pencil image is one of my favorites from that movie. I wonder if that's going to be a generational thing. Do kids today use regular old pencils or is the dreaded mechanical pencil taking over? Paper though? Could be problematic... xx
ReplyDeleteGreat god I love those pencils. Haven't done a visit to big pottery show in long time. I think Cynthia b on being asked once how long it takes to make one of her pots said, ALL MY LIFE. Meaning every gesture costs and is paid forward in creating.
ReplyDeleteBlessings.