Friday, April 14, 2017

Morning



   If my dog, Breeze, drank black coffee
I’d make sure my mugs fit his paws
His dewclaw could wrap ‘round the thumb rest
The rim wide enough for his jaws


 We’d take our coffee out on the back porch
  Where red birds would sing us awake
As we sat hip to hip on the swinging bench
Everything rosy, everything jake


I might turn to him and ask “What do you think?”
He won’t look. He might flick an ear.
And though he has yet to utter a word
I know he likes having me there



That’s just how things are with me and Breeze
  Me, a man of too many words
And Breeze, the quiet but thoughtful type
Just sitting, enjoying the birds

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Back In The Saddle Again

Well, I've never really been out of the saddle (so to speak).  But my Etsy page has been more or less dormant for a significant period of time. 

No more.  My Etsy site is now stocked. 




 I've been firing again -- this time both my gas kiln and my electric.  So I've got quite the variety of glazes going.  And I'll soon have more.  I've got bisque ware EVERYware.



I'm pretty crazy about these new mugs.  I got a little obsessive with the decoration --carved, embellished, etc.  I couldn't leave 'em alone.  So I was especially tickled when kiln made 'em even better than anything I put into 'em.





These three pieces came out of my kiln on Monday.  I admit to holding my breath as I took my first peek in the kiln.  The firing went as scheduled, but I haven't been feeling too lucky lately.  The kiln came through.  Big time.







Finally, I'd be remiss to not mention the passing of a pottery great.  From Tony Clennell's blog I learned that Robin Hopper left us.

I never knew Robin.  Through the magic of social media, however, I ended up finally making his acquaintance long-distance.  I had several fun and friendly exchanges with him on facebook over the past couple of years.

I say "finally" making his acquaintance because, though I didn't know him, I did have a distant connection to the man.  He was the first person to publish my pottery.  Years and years ago, the late Phyllis Blair Clark prodded me to send images to Robin as he was compiling work for his Functional Pottery book.  I was honored to have had three images picked for publication (and the added thrill of seeing images of my work side by side with John Glick's





 The world of pottery lost a great one in Robin Hopper.  He gave more than he got.