Tis The Season

We opened our Holiday Sale today.  Turn out was good, very steady for the five hours I was there.  I'm very happy with the work that is being shown this year.

Jason's ship below is a real centerpiece....even more impressive in the flesh or rather the clay.  The photos below are a small representation of what we are selling.

I'm also posting this over on Mud Colony.  We're down to the last few weeks of the Mud Colony Blog
so everyone should take a look at what is going on.

We seem to be going through another cold spell.  It doesn't usually go down in the teens until January, but there you are!

An edit added on 11/30/13

I just found our yesterday that for a change Rhode Island is leading the way on something!  As of tomorrow with the proper registration with the state there will be no sales tax to collect on fine art and craft.  We have had tax free zones in various cities for years, but now the legislature has made it a state wide thing.

This also applies to liquor and wine but not beer.....Proge is sad that beer is not included.  But still, pots and a bottle of wine sounds pretty good to me.

I stopped at a local remnant shop this morning and bought fabric to make curtains around a small portion of my studio.  I am hopeful that with my little heater and the southern exposure, I'll be able to work there all winter, rather than moving everything upstairs to the living area after Christmas,

The cold weather has brought home to me how much I like being in my own space.

I'm beginning to sort out Christmas decorations.  We don't put out tree up until the Winter Solstice, but I like to get stuff up outside.

I also sorting my seasonal cd's and downloads.  My, I have accumulated a lot of stuff over the years .

Remember to visit Mud Colony; next week is the last one.  How we will miss our weekly get-togethers, but the Facebook page will stay on.

Thank you for all the kind Thanksgiving wishes and, as always, thanks for stopping by.......*s*

It's Always Sumthin'......again

This is what happens when low fire glaze goes on a terra cotta plate that has been sitting around for a while.  All those little brown spots are glaze crawls where there was grease or some other scuz in the surface.  I did this a few years ago; found it during a clean-up.  A fine lesson in reminding me to cover stuff as soon as it comes out of the kiln if I can't glaze it right away.  A good hard spray with vinegar and water is also a good idea.

If you click on the picture you can get a better idea of what I am talking about.

 Our Christmas sale at the South County Art Association started Friday.  I did not go over until four o'clock, when it was really slow.  Things were busy and crowded earlier, with people waiting to get in when it opened.  I haven't sold much, but then, due to the hurricane and then the well pump giving us a jolly time, I don't have anywhere near the stock I was planning on.

I'm going to fire on Monday-Tuesday, so I will have a lot more stuff when we start up again on Wednesday.  We are rethinking our hours for next year.

If we are going to open Thanksgiving week end I would like to see us do something to connect customers to Small Business Saturday....... not sure what we could do..... perhaps a give away item that day only.

Despite pump problems we had a great very low key Thanksgiving.  Below are turnips and part of a sausage roasting on the grill.  Potatoes and squash were done earlier.  Roasting the vegetables gives them a wonderful, earthy flavor.  I generally boil a few potatoes too....it makes them easier to mash.

Here is the turkey, almost ready to come off the grill.  I stuffed it with herbed bread, apples, cranberries, dried cherries and blueberries, sausage, onion, mushrooms, pecans and walnuts.  Everything was precooked and went into the brined bird just before it went over the coals.

Today is turkey soup day.....a good thing to make in the slow cooker as I am thinking mostly about pottery and glazing.

Thanks to all those who commented on my Thanksgiving Day post.  That has always been a great favorite of mine.  I love the idea of other pairings!

High cirrus clouds today are making the sunshine look cold today.  When I was out with Winter at 5:30 AM in heavy sweats, I was looking at the stars and thinking, "Three and a half months ago I was out here in the sun wearing a tee shirt and sandals."   Sometimes it's hard to believe it's the same planet!

I managed to miss the post time on Mud Colony, but go take a look anyway.  There are lots of cool posts up this week.

Have a happy, productive and/or lazy day.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*