We had  a great time at the art show last weekend.  This one is put on by artists so it is a really nice show to do.  I also got to see some old friends.  I got a mug like the ones pictured and a matching bowl from Willem Gebben., a Wisconsin potter whose work I have collected for many years. 

It was great getting to chat with Willem and Jordis, his partner for awhile, because we share similar philosophies about being potters.  They put on a home show twice a year, and don't have much of an online presence, so if you would like dates for the shows or more information on the pottery, contact me.

The weather was great  art fair weather, and it was busy all day, the best part was, we got all packed up and were on our way home before the raindrops began.  Paul took me to a great little cafe in Bay City, the River Bay Cafe.  A cold tap beer sure tasted good after a long art fair day, and the food was delicious.

New pots from the June firing

The photo today is a new plate from the June firing.  This is a big platter measuring 15 inches across.  This is one of  my most involved designs that requires many layers of slips and glazes before being fired in the wood kiln and glazed with salt added at the end of the firing.  

This is pretty much what today looked like in the woods around the green swamp.  Gardening and yard work has kept us busy this summer, and I am so happy with my front yard flower and herb garden.  Paul filled the two chamber kiln by himself and firing was a family deal in June.   The kiln is at our neighbors, and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to fire in it while we continue to build our own.  One chamber is for salt glaze and the other , the first chamber is just stoneware. In order to fill it faster , Paul made some large planters to fill the stoneware chamber.  I acquired a couple with small cracks and have been cruising the green house end of season sales to fill them.

I have mixed more colors into the front garden this year,  because I fell in love with these petunias.

Every flower is a different combination of  a limey yellow and a rich magenta. I have added some more yellow and red to my usual purple pallette.    There is much satisfaction when I gaze at my flowers or weed out my veggies.  Summer is so fleeting in Minnesota, and  we have to savor every minute of it!

A new cycle begins

Well another month has passed, and my poor blog lies neglected.  So, today, I decided to do this first before I went and got distracted with other things.    We have received more rain in the past few days than I can remember falling in the last three years!!    My well pump in the back is crapping out, and watering the garden when I planted it was a slow and tedious project.  The army worm caterpillar invasion is nearly over. Squadrons of the big black flies that will lay a parasitic egg on the fuzzy worms,  and consume them before they hatch ,  have been arriving.   I expect  mosquitoes will be showing up here, as I have seen some big invasions at other locations.  To put a positive spin on the legendary northern mosquito,  I will soon be seeing all different kinds and colors of dragonflies,  and little birds and bats that consume them.   When I walk back from the shop after dark, the sounds of rustling toads in the leaves of the forest floor accompany  me.     There are three types of tree frogs that I know of, and Lily has spotted some adult blue spotted salamanders.

My garden in the gravel pit here in the front is growing. The irises that I inherited from my Mother in laws' husband were not thriving back in the old garden, the grass and raspberries have choked half of them out.  The ones I put in my rock garden are thriving!  The one in the picture reminds me of fancy underwear!

The cycle of summer, for us, is involving more public sales, and I have not gotten my farmer's market act together yet.  Besides the garden, and  getting a chicken coop built,  I have acquired a slab roller, and am getting more involved in the studio than  I have in a long time.  I have dismantled my winter studio up here at the house and am working on the larger sculptures that are possible in my summer work area.  Cleaning and organizing is an ongoing project. I have cleaned out the merchandise in my Morris Pottery shop in Etsy.   
and will be listing new things daily  there.

Paul will be at the  studio of Bill Gossman, at the Willmar Area Studio Hop this weekend.  I am  taking a break from fiddle lessons for the month of June, and am attending fiddle camp this coming week for four days of music rejuvenation.   Brian Wicklunds books are the ones that captivate my students, I am so looking forward to this, not only for my personal goals, but to see how they motivate the kids, of which will be the majority of the campers.   I have rented myself a nice room at a historic inn in Stillwater, and will be so enjoying this personal retreat!

Catching up!

What happened to April?  I am putting in a late night after playing the monthly jam session at Kanabec History Center in Mora.  This is a regular event held on the third Saturday of every month year round.

Paul was in St. Peter Friday installing a show with  Bill Gossman titled "The Story, so Far"  The show runs through June 13th in the Moline Gallery  at the Arts Center of St. Peter.
Bill has also invited Paul to participate again this year in the Willmar area Studio Hop in June more information can be found here at their website http://studiohop.wordpress.com/

July will find us in Brainerd MN http://www.brainerdcommunityaction.org/arts_in_the_park.html
My annual favorite is the Stockholm Art Festival  http://www.stockholmartfair.org/index.html
This show is in it's 37th year in a beautiful location on Lake Pepin.

All of the shows we are doing this summer are put on by other artists, except for Brainerd.  Our plans for our own festival, Sticks and Stones on September 24,25, 26 are coming together nicely.  We have bookedhttp://www.monroecrossing.com/reviews.html to appear Sunday and Brian Wicklund   http://www.brianwicklund.com/ and his band will perform on Saturday night. We have a full two days of music and entertainment lined up including the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers http://www.wildgoosechasecloggers.org/

Well I hope this catches me up for awhile, the garden is underway, and we are reclaiming parts of the yard from the encroaching forest.  I have twelve chicks that I am raising and some baby bunnies in the rabbitry, so I have  a lot on my plate!

There must be a name for it!

  I still consider myself new to the internet, even though it's going on eleven years since my first computer experience.  Something about the internet experience makes me feel like there's always something new to figure out, keeps it interesting!

I am sure there must be a word for when you are at the computer and a friend sends a link, like my friend did this morning, of a youtube video, and I go off on a big tangent listening to great music, and getting all nostalgic.  My friend says she sets her timer for 40 minutes  if she knows she is about to go down that music tangent.

  It's only 9 am , so I will still get all of my work done before I am off to give fiddle lessons.   There is a ton of greenware waiting for me to slip trail, and I am going to take my camera down, and make a new video for slip trailing with a little more detail.   I also want to edit my first one, and need to take the time to do that too. 

This beautiful spring weather has been great.  Even if it gets cold and snowy again it can't get it's teeth in.   We have made it through one more winter!! 

Spring is near!

Well it is great to be on the other end of winter! Of course we still expect some cold weather and snow for the next month or two, but the worst is definitely behind us now, and it is time to plan the garden, and summer activities.  Above is my latest goat sculptue, I have many more to finish off this week, as well as prepare a wood fire load to be fired next weekend. 
 
I started contributing to a new blog,   

http://kcaaarts.blogspot.com

I find it a lot easier to write things in that blog, I wonder why. I guess maybe with my own blog I want it to be interesting, and there isn't really much interesting about my day to day life in winter in Minnesota, most of the activity goes on in my head, this time of year!  We are signed up with a couple of artist run shows this summer and have been making plans for the fall Sticks and Stones festival.   I still haven't started to enter any art fairs but we are looking at a few that are close by.

It has been great experimenting with glazes and under glazes in our electric kiln this winter, but equally great to settle back into the old slip trailing routine.  Crossing our fingers for good weather toward the end of the week!

Green Swamp Gallery is open

My NEW STORE

Well I start the post with my new Etsy store, and now the tie in with this blog is a little more complete!

I am very excited about the new electric firings, and have many more sculptures to finish now that I have gotten over the fear of glazing.  I am actually underglazing these and that is all.  I will be experimenting with a base glaze adding colorants also.

  The Green Swamp vision extends into the real world also.  We have big plans for the outdoor gallery this spring, as well as making the schedule with pottery retreat bookings..  Stay tuned for more.

   On a sadder note, I got the rejection letter for the proposal that I made to a large coffee chain to produce handmade mugs for their coffee stores.   Price and customer demand were the failing points , I guess, and a small dream is dashed.    Although I am disappointed , it's only like the disappointment one might feel on a fishing expedition at the end of the day when nothing bit. 

  I have many new ideas that I need to go and work on in the studio today,  and will be filling Green Swamp Gallery with some new items , clay,  paintings, drawings, and more.