bodner046

Our old electric kiln is ready to go! Yesterday we fired the last bisque in the gas kiln. We actually have two electric kilns, the one to the right needs a little work. Jeff will do the repairs at some point and we can fire back to back if need be. While the electrician was here we had some more outlets put in the basement. We were using a couple of extension cords down there, one was to run the dehumidifier, and that made us nervous. Little by little this old house will be brought up to the 21st century! These little salt and pepper pigs came out of the last firing. They are rather tedious to put together. Smaller isn't always easier. Last week I was assembling a few more and I ended up with an odd number of bodies, so I decided to have some fun with the oddball... I turned him into a bull! He has larger holes on his back and he will make a great red pepper flake or Parmesan cheese shaker. Isn't he the cutest thing?

In between the two hurricanes, Duke Energy came out to our house and installed a transformer at the top of our driveway. The new transformer also meant replacing the utility pole. We have been working on getting this done since August. This house has had a lot weird electrical issues since we bought it in 2015. The lights would dim whenever the heat pump came on and the LED track lighting in the kitchen would barely glow if the toaster oven was running. Turn the microwave on at the same time and the microwave turntable slowed to a crawl and nothing heated up. If I was cooking dinner at night, toaster oven on, lights on, AC running, and Jeff was still working in the studio... his wheel would slow to a crawl!  Our electrician couldn't find anything wrong in the house so we finally called Duke. They sent an engineer out to assess the situation and he determined that the transformer at the end of our long driveway was too far from the house and undersized for the amount of electricity ...

Jeff will be participating in "Global Clay Day" at the North Carolina Pottery Center this Saturday, October, 20, 2018.  He will demonstrate throwing pots in his Korean style kick wheel as well the mishima inlay techniques. Jeff loves to give demos. It brings out the performer in him! There will be four other potters also giving demonstrations, ranging from raku firing, sculpture, and carving techniques. The event is from 10 am to 4 pm, and there is no admission fee. The pottery center is located just around the corner from our home and studio... North Carolina Pottery Center 233 East Avenue Seagrove, NC Details at:  http://ncpotterycenter.org/

There was a bright spot in our life last week! Jeff and I were invited to participate in an exhibition at Sandhills Community College in Southern Pines, NC. Sandhills is Jeff's alma mater and it was exciting for him to go back and see how the college has grown and changed since the late 70's. Our work is being show along with large scale paintings by Bucky Benson. The show is in the Hastings Gallery, located in the Boyd Library building. It's a really nice space, and Jeff was able to set up the pedestals and pottery. This show is the first collaborative effort between the college and the Arts Council of Moore County. The exhibition runs until November 1, 2018. Please stop in if you are in the area. Hastings Gallery of Art, Katharine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College 3395 Airport Rd, Pinehurst, NC 28374 Free Admission

It's been a rough few weeks for us. Since my last post was about preparations for hurricane Florence, it's only fitting that this post start with hurricane Michael. Here in Seagrove, NC we were fortunate that both storms were downgraded by the time they reached us. Florence brought a lot of flooding to nearby roads, but we were safe. The power was out for about twelve hours. We had rain for days. Michael arrived yesterday morning. It was fast moving, with the worst of the storm hitting us around 3 pm. The power was out for just under 7 hours. The rain ended in the evening and we were able to cook dinner on the gas grill, by the light of a solar lamp. We grilled some shrimp and made a spicy red sauce on the side burner. We dined by candlelight in the living room. It was actually an enjoyable meal. Over the years I have shared photos, and stories, of our beautiful cat Sophie. Shortly before we were headed to New Hampshire this summer, Sophie decided to become a picky eater. She w...