To Louisville and back in 24.......

Friday morning up at 6:00 a.m. and dash out to the studio to finish trimming pots. The kiln is still down and parts should arrive today. Trimming before 7 a.m. is just nuts and just trying to center pots before my first cup of coffee is really nuts!
Done by 9:30 a.m. and in the house for breakfast, pack and shower. The phone starts ringing....arghhh! All I need to do is collect my dangling participles and get outta Dodge........ impossible!
Had hoped to be on the road by 10 a.m. I pulled out of the driveway brushing my teeth and spitting out the window! Wonder if toothpaste takes car paint off? and now I think I remember my Mother telling me never to spit into the wind.
Blow dry my hair the same time I am spitting out the wind and wondering if Crest will take out my new highlights.
Oh well I am groomed and coiffed in the 2/70 Salon (2 windows down, 70 mph)
Catch a glimpse in the rear view mirror and scream as I look a bit golden retriever - ish.
I just don't care as......... I AM ON VACATION FOR 24 HOURS!

Left at 11 am and zoomed down Rt 71 on bright sunny day! Is this really November? Skies are blue, temperatures are in the 70's, car windows are down and the Beach Boys are playing on the radio. Wow, life is good! The opening is at 6 p.m, no problem. Pretty uneventful trip, gas was even somewhat reasonable at $2.59 a gallon and in that new little car I can afford to hit the road again. I am slowly getting my life back and loving it!

Pulled into Dolita's right on time with my pumpkin roll, for the gallery opening, defrosted in the back seat, mugs for everyone I owe a mug to, camera, toothbrush and a clean pair of undies shoved in my camera bag. Ahhhhh, the Dohrman B&B (far from a hostel, my usual digs)
The coffee is always hot, the bourbon ready to pour and the company fantastic. Hello's, hugs and hey, get in the car we are going to be late! Linda Bowman rambled down the driveway carrying a wheel of Brie cheese wrapped in phyllo dough hot from the oven! The Nissan is full. Across the bridge and on our way to the opening in New Albany, IN. right across the river. Gallery on Pearl here we come........... bless Gene for driving and coming along for the ride, bet he never volunteers for this again!

I attended this gallery opening last year and it was packed, as were the pots from the Louisville Clay Guild in the small gallery.
This year........... WOW! New open, beautiful space! Great pots and lovely potters. I think we were all happy & beaming while g'noshing on delightful sweets, savory tartlets, washing it down with a bev-ie of choice while greeting friends and critiquing pots......... well some of us critiqued pots. You can't "love" everything and really you should be able to defend a piece of crap if you say you "Love" it. Yes, I almost choked on my pumpkin roll.



I love shows like this! The diversity is mind numbing, just like the food and even the artists! Everything from demented squirrels to a sweet little flask. Then there is stuff that makes me think the Guild really should award prizes; like 10 free throwing lessons. But hey they are there, they showed up and they love what they made, the only defense.......... LOOK WHAT I MADE! Right on! Those are the folks who usually go over and buy a delicious Laura Ross pot for $120 and love that tea pot just as much. You just gotta love potters!






The opening ended around 8 p.m. it was great. We ran to a nifty little spot called "Dittos" and had a late night Mojito, salad and more talking about pots, equipment, what we were working on in the studio and out of the studio. Back in the car, say our goodbyes to Linda and dash inside to catch up. I think we talked until well after midnight. When the yawns were bigger then the laughs it was time to turn in. Tossed and turned all night thinking about what I should be doing in the studio, kilns to fix and deadlines due on Tuesday and Wed. But I am in this big wonderful bed after a great evening and yes folks .........
Life really is good.

Up at the crack of dawn, dress, make coffee and sit down to read a magazine on Fine Gardening. I hear rapid feet racing down the stairs and just know it's not Gene. Nope....... MORNING! Coffee is made, conversation takes up where it left off last night.
Off to the studio to get the pugmill working, no success! But that is so OK because Gene is in the kitchen making sausage muffings and brewing more hot coffee. Finish up breakfast, grab the pruners and walk around the yard. Whack the ornamentals on our way to the hedge from hell. Pretty sure there is a missing kid in there somewhere or maybe a Buick! Off to the backyard and bit more whacking. Hey ever think about this plant or wait what about this one...... I really think you need a fairy rose back here, the cat will love it. No wait what about an Acer griseum for the front yard?

Oh hey I totally forgot I bought a spray booth and we need to load that in my teeny weeny little car. Gotta love a hatch back!
Fits with room to spare. Back on the road by 11 a.m. and home by night fall.........

back in the studio today and you know.............
Life is still good........

The weeks are ticking away ......

RUGBY IS OVER AND KENT STATE WOMEN'S TEAM TOOK THIRD PLACE IN THE MIDWEST! GO FLASHES!
THOSE MILLER GIRLS RULE!

Many, many pots have been delivered, old friends have re-surfaced, the clocks have fallen back, the leaves have fallen down, the world series is almost over and the wheel keeps turning! Feels like I have been in a fog for the last three years. The fog has lifted! While cruising Craigslist a couple weeks ago a kayak popped up for $495. Hmmmm, just lost my job, need clay, business cards, show fees, kid in college, and and and..... I bought it. Best thing I ever did!

After a couple days of paddling to shake the comatose state I have been living in, I am elated to be back in the saddle again.
Blew the dust off the fishing rods, scrounged up a couple Rapala's and lashed everything to the kayak yesterday morning; 45 degrees, white caps on Lake Erie and I was headed out for a paddle and to drop a line in. Three hours later my hands were frozen but not even a stiff wind could have blown the smile off my face. Didn't catch anything, froze to death sitting in a bit of water but........ best day in quite awhile.








The other plus side of the kayak purchase. After the second time paddling my arms and shoulders felt nuclear! Went to the studio to slam out the customary mugs, serving dishes, cookie plates for this time of the year and instead wedged out 22# of clay. Not one but three! Go big or go home! So I did, I went for it......



The other part of the this adventure has been awe inspiring. I was excited to come from the lake and get into the studio. Not trudge from the coffee pot to the studio thinking about what I was going to make. After a good paddle, the brain is firing on
all cylinders and studio is great place to be. New ideas fire off while paddling, problems in studio are worked out on the water,
not sitting there banging my head on the wedging table.

Today Rachael left for her second flying lesson. She loves it! The phone rings when she lands and the excitement in her voice is palpable. Mom, the sky was so blue today and we were up over an hour; I got to take off today!
On the other end of the phone I am just as excited because I have just learned how to print out envelopes with my logo!
It's all relative!

How can I be this old and not have figured this stuff out yet? Good God 60 is closer than 50 and I am on a huge learning curve!
Makes me think I will be throwing pots for a very long time............
So have a cup of coffee, out of a handmade mug, relax and make pots........

studio ponderings........

As I look at my schedule for the next few months I realize I better get to the library and pick up arm loads of books on CD.
Keeps me sane and the dog gets tired of my mindless babbling. As I looked through the rows and rows of books on CD searching for volume and not really concerned with the content, several jump off the shelf into my library bag.

I'm loaded and have trouble getting to the truck! The last batch of books I picked out were awful so hoping this group will be better! Racing back to the studio with my new haul. My hands slide into the bulging library bag and my fingers pluck out, "Einstein" by Walter Issacson, 18 CD's long. Whatever....... I pop in the first CD. While throwing pots I listen intently and start thinking, Do I really need to learn the Theory of Relativity? But I hang in there and start to enjoy the book. This book is not about relativity, it's about Einstein's life, foibles, genius and politics.

I work in the studio up to 12 hours a day this time of the year and this book took me a week to get through. Half way through the book I started making different pots....... could it be the "X" factor? Is it the book? Is it me listening to the book? Is it Einstein? Dunno but I am loving these new pots and the book!

There is a local blog I read daily on the town I live in. Some of the bloggers I find offensive, racist and just down right ignorant. Recently there has been a fire storm about the influx of the illegal Hispanic population "ruining" our town. I read some of the posts in disbelief, knowing some of these bloggers are my neighbors! Almost every single one of the bloggers posts anonymously. Today as the wheel spins and the clay takes shape I hear on the 17th CD, The Politics of Einstein. A history lesson of the WW1, WW2, the Prussians, the Jews, the Germans, the Americans, McCarthy era, etc etc etc...... and I am dumbstruck at the words I am hearing about the Jews during the war. It occurs to me I can substitute the word Hispanic for Jew in each and every passage of the book. I just read the exact words on the local blog. The words Hate and Fear spring to my mind. The book moves onto McCarthy and the witch hunts for communists in this country. Once again, the hair on the back of neck stands on end and I realize how perilously close we have come to another McCarthy witch hunt.

I don't know the answers but I know we better do a better job of teaching History in our schools or we will have another McCarthy era on our hands and we will our scratch our heads and wonder how in the world did this happen. Or even worse another Hitler...........

READ THIS BOOK!

Roll on Nimbus 2009!

Holy Schniky's what a week!

Rachael is rolling somewhere in Georgia......... I think! Seems hard to believe I have only been in the studio since Sept 8th.
It was mass panic to get the car loaded, a ga-zillion pots inventoried, invoices typed up, maps printed out, contact numbers and names jotted down and a huge batch of granola bagged and tossed into the car before it rolled out the driveway.

Every single pot in the studio was glazed fired and packed! Not one left behind. Spent Friday packing the car with the precision of a Sherpa packing for Mt. Everest. The dog was excited........ NOT going this time, go find your squeaky toy!

First stop: Louisville, KY. The Dohrman hostel. (Actually could be a 4 star B&B but since the Fab Dohrman boys were in town, I'm thinking a hostel.) While Rachael barreled down I-71 headed south, delivering, drinking & dancing her way through Louisville; I cleaned out the studio with a leaf blower and mopped the floor. Wedged out another 40# of clay and was ready to get those shelves filled again. Thank you, thank you, thank you; Dolita, Gene, Spencer, Justin and Gina!

Second Stop: Valdosta, GA. Kaleidoscope Gallery where she is meeting Faye and Jolie by 2:30 p.m. Re-packed and out of
Valdosta by 5:30 p.m. Checked out of the campground, toured the book stores and ate another banana and smoked herring.

On to the third stop & headed to Pass Christian, MS. Another potter has rolled out a guest room for her. Joanne, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Rachael, welcome to the tribe of potters, you will love us by the time you finish Pottery Tour 2009.
We ROCK!

The garden has been beckoning through my studio window as everything needs deadheading or cut back or is dead and believe me ...... MY PRUNERS ARE READY!! It's a time thing. The plants are begging for help, the dog is begging for a walk or pat on the head or just a darn good butt rub....... me too. But there are pots to make and miles to go before I can sleep.....
For now all walks commence at 7:15 p.m. and we are content to play spook the dog in the cemetery. We chase the deer..... well one of us does (that would be the two legged!) Walking this time of the year is dicey as the acorns & buckeyes have fallen, it's like walking on ball bearings. Then there are those gangs of street squirrels just having a hay day. Dog? Really, a big dog? Bring it on! We got giant nuts!!
The chipmunks are worse, they fill their pouches with my sunflower seeds and chirp back at me as they run to the wood pile. The stinky kitties are out in force too........ Really, don't want to see one more black and white nocturnal kitty headed to the bird feeder! I can smell you and know you're out there! and then there are those giant chickens pooping everywhere while headed south....... I yell as sliding through another pile....... DON'T COME BACK UNTIL SPRING! And by then I will be so happy to see them I will never remember my aching knees skidding down asphalt.

On the cold mornings, clutching a cup of coffee,stumbling down the back stairs I slam my butt onto the goose down chair in the back room. Flip on the news to hear about all the wonderful things that commenced while I slept...... but wait I can't hear the TV. There has been a cricket in the back room for two weeks! He is loud, he annoying and he sleeps under the dog bed & eats the dogs food. Crickets are not good luck! I have spilled coffee down my blue cheetah nighty trying to tap dance him to oblivion but still he remains. The dog seems unbothered by all this and snores away.
I give up, get another cup of coffee (which would explain why our Starbuck's account is on tilt) and go take a shower. This way if I spill coffee on myself it runs right off. Leaning against the shower wall sipping coffee and watching the steam curl out the ceiling fan I think about what I need to make in the studio today........ another morning before I head off to do what I love ........ spin clay into dust-ables.

Rachael drive safe and welcome to the world of wonderful potters!!
Thanx to everyone who has taken in the potters daughter, fed her, kept her safe and liquored her up!

Hello Fall!

The studio is buzzing with activity and so are the gardens! Managed to sneek away for a three hour hike at Hogback Ridge
last week. You could smell fall in the air. Lack of rain this summer had put a bit of stress on the ecosystem! Walking
was downright crunchy! Snapped off a few pictures, after loading them on my computer I was amazed at the similarity between pots/glazes and stuff in the woods! Thinking there might be enough to generate a new show with new pots.
Not sure when
this will happen but feel pretty excited about it!




















Tomatoes vines are telling me it's over! But I just can't bring myself to yank them out of the ground yet. Temperatures are set to drop next week but for now I am gorging on fresh tomatoes daily. Hoping to eat so many I can't stand them anymore as I will not have time to can as much as I wanted to this year. Yesterday Rachael planted 3 more blackberry bushes in the way
back garden ...... which now looks abandoned. Groundhogs won! Raspberries should go in next week.

The phone and email have been full of gallery opening and last minute show invitations...... I said; Yes, to everything!
Monday night I sat down and put everything down on paper....... YIKES!!
The wheel and kilns are set at warp speed, full steam ahead!
Happy Fall......

Labor Day...... the day to labor.......

A lovely rainy day here in the falls. Stew is bubbling on the stove waiting for
hungry travelers to arrive. The family left for a 3 hour party in Mass.
Somehow a 9 hour drive for a 3 hour party just didn't sound like a good idea.
Butch, Abby and Rachael thought it sounded GREAT. I bid them adieu at 6 am
yesterday morning and then had dinner with my dear friend Bee. We attempted to solve
the problems of the world over turkey burgers, grilled eggplant, fat sliced tomatoes,
new potatoes tossed with sage & rosemary butter, washed down with a wonderful
bottle of champagne. We all need more girl friends!

Saturday Northern Ohio Clay had an opening at a gem of gallery in Vermillion, Ohio.
Artseen Gallery, if you are out in Vermillion stop in and say Hi!. Wonderful gallery!
Very nice gallery owner. Ran into so many, many friends I had not seen in years. So much
fun to catch up and exchange ideas. Everybody was under the same cloud of the
economy. Heard someone say........ Ha! it's been challenging! However, I am grateful
to have sold three pieces.
Lynne caught the three Miller girls all together in one place! This never happens!















The gardens are taking a back seat to potting these days. Currently I am
throwing every day. Have three kilns full and the efforts for my labors
should out by next weekend.
Some ideas tossed around to sell work;

Get my galleries stocked!
Esty account
studio sale the end of October

and always remember to walk the dog........

Getting Stung, panicking & recovery......

Bald Face Hornet nest I found in eaves last month. They are not aggressive and I have
enjoyed sitting on the landing watching them weave this amazing nest.


Yesterday I got the call I have always dreaded........ Your job has been eliminated.
You have two weeks and the gig is over.
I heard the vacuum ....... ahhhhh money I had become accustomed to sucked out
of my bank account.
Fear and panic set in quickly. A night of no sleep and sometime
around 3 a.m. my inside voice said....... Screw it, on to the next
adventure.

I have been driving 71 miles a day, 6 days a week for exactly 2 years.
The dog loved it! I loved it. Two completely quiet hours listening to
NPR, recording gas prices and away from the mess in the house.
It was a rhythm to my chaotic life I had grown very comfortable with.
We drove through blizzards, heat, illness and fog.
Never missed a day. The term, comfortably numb
comes to mind. The check came in the mail every month.
It was a welcome break after making pots, gardening and living
by the seat of my pants for
the last 24 years.

The job was directly linked to the kitchen project, which started on July 15th, 2007.
I started driving Sept. 22, 2007. I took the job when the panic of the house
falling down and running way over budget took hold of my guts. There again,
I panicked. The last tile on the floor was laid last week, it was the last big
bill. The job ended exactly one week later........ to the day.

Time to go back and live by the seat of my pants making pots and gardening.
This time it will be different, on my terms. Yesterday I called friends asking
if they knew of shows or galleries....... I had been away too long.

Sitting down to the wheel two days ago I was dancing with the clay again.
The rhythm of the studio is back and it feels good....... the pots will sell
and the seat of my pants is getting thin.

BUT....... I am back!

also renewed my kayak license and got a new flashy PFD...... look out!