More new work

Yes, it is still snowing here in beautiful Colorado! Spent Easter day with family and friends. Enjoyed excellent food and great company. The above bowl is roughly 14" in diameter. I trimmed the bottom of the bowl so that you can add a picture wire and hang the bowl on the wall. The above photo shows the bowl before it went into the kiln to be glaze fired.

This week in the studio



This week in the studio I hand-painted  bowls. Here are photos of one of the bowls in progress. Thought you might enjoy seeing how the pattern is developed on the form. Enjoy.

Quilting

Here is a look at my new pasttime --- free-motion quilting. I am learning to use my regular sewing machine to do this interesting technique. It is challenging but really fun. Diana, Linda and I have been collecting purple fabrics for a couple of years. We all started on our purple quilt projects at the same time. I am making a series of 14" square wall hangings. This gives me plenty of practice at the free-motion quilting. Above are two of the squares that are completed.
Donna

More NCECA photos

Just had to add a few more photos of NCECA. The top photo is of Donna Cole with her work that was in the crystalline show, Frozen in Fire. Next is a great photo of Donna Cole and Nicole Copel on St. Pete's Beach at sunset. And finally, the Donna's and Nicole on the beach. One of the truly great aspects of attending the NCECA conference each year is the opportunity to reconnect with dear friends. NCECA 2011 in Tampa was inspiring, entertaining and educational. See you all next year in Seattle!!!

MR. OWL

I am so easily distracted. While busily painting a fish platter in the studio this afternoon, Richard came in to tell me that the owl that woke us up this morning was down by the river sitting on a fence post. I grabbed my camera and went to photograph it. Unfortunately, my camera did not have an SD memory card in it. So I had to go back to the house, grab the photo card, put it in the camera and get back outside before the owl flew away. I got a couple of quick snapshots from our driveway. Then I quietly walked down toward the river. I got close and took a couple of shots but he had his back to me. So I made a noise and he looked right at me so that I was able to get the above photo. Then he got tired of me and flew down river and landed in a willow tree. What fun!! Just had to post the photos before I go back to work in the studio.

Artstream celebrates 10 Years

It was fun to be in the exhibition space when Artstream Gallery celebrated their 10th Anniversary. This is a cake made to look like the Artstream Gallery. Congrats to Allegeny Meadows and Sam Harvey for the success of their mobile gallery!! --  I have been an avid viewer of the cake shows on television; e.g. Amazing Wedding Cakes, Ace of Cakes, etc. So I was delighted to see this COOL cake and be there for the cutting of the cake. I even got to taste a piece of cake.  -- I remember the first time I saw the Artstream Gallery 10 years ago at NCECA. It was such a creative idea to convert an old Airstream Travel Trailor into a traveling gallery. I am always happy to see the Artstream and enjoy the amazing functional pottery that they have for sale.

K-State alumni

So fun to see friends from grad school. In the photo - Les and Mika Laidlaw, Liz James, Nicole Copel and Donna Cole and myself at NCECA. We bribed a passerby to take this photo of us. There were more K-State folks at NCECA but did not get a chance to get them in a photo. One of the things that I like best about going to NCECA is seeing friends that I would otherwise not get a chance to see. I was sorry that Ester and Yoshi Ikeda were unable to be there. I did get to see Glen Brown and attend his lecture. And, of course, we saw Anna Calluori-Holcombe who was a co-laison for the conference.

More about NCECA

Donna Cole and I were busy during the conference with registering volunteers, manning the volunteer counter and getting to some of the NCECA programming. So on Friday evening DC, Nicole Copel and I hired a driver to take us to the exhibition Frozen in Fire. DC had a piece in the show and we didn't want to miss it. We then had our driver take us to St. Pete's Beach for the Potters Council Show The Shoulders We Stand On at the Nancy Marcoe Gallery (I had a piece in that show). At the reception we ran into some friends that we met in Hungary at the International Ceramic Studio in 2006. (It is always great to get re-acquainted NCECA) This photo is of our group during that reception. The Potters Council celebrated its 10th Anniversary and the reception was well attended. Donna Cole, Nicole Copel and I walked over to the beach and watched the sun set on the Gulf. It was really beautiful.

NCECA 2011

I arrived in Tampa on Sunday, March 27th. Stayed at the Howard Johnson Plaza in downtown Tampa. Donna Cole and I came in a day early so that we could enjoy some calm before the storm. We were the NCECA Program Volunteer Coordinators for NCECA 2011 and had been working on matching volunteers with assignments since January. So on Monday we took time to enjoy Tampa before beginning our conference duties the next day. We had lunch at Channelside then were met by Barbara Pope (one of our volunteers who lives at St. Pete's Beach). Barbara drove us over to the beach and gave us the 10 cent tour of the beach town. At one point during the brief tour we exited the car and scurried to the water to dip our feet into the gulf! Afterward, Barbara dropped us off in the center of town. We happened upon a shell store and spent about an hour browsing around the store, both of us fascinated by the variety of shells. We left the store with our purchased shells and meandered along the avenue. Our next stop was a bead store. I was excited about finding beads for my new past time -- QUILTING!! So again we spent time browsing in yet another store. After purchasing some interesting beads we left the store only to find ourselves in the middle of a thunderstorm and downpour. We rushed to a coffee shop and took refuge there. We had a great visit with the other customers in the coffee shop. Ruthie, the owner of the coffee shop, recommended a driver who we contacted. Ron came to the coffee shop, picked us up, and drove us back to Tampa. The above picture is of Donna Cole and myself at St. Pete's Beach.    More NCECA stories to come.