Don't mess with Mother Nature

Gaia is the name I use for the goddess of mother nature.
She's in charge of trees, rivers, plants, weather and earthquakes.

So when us piddly people plan an event, and Gaia has other ideas, guess who wins! Here's my journaling of our trip to Shelby NC.

All day Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, it rained in North Carolina. Western NC has lots of mountains, and creeks and rivers that flood from the runoff. This storm also included a line of thunderstorms and tornados. I kept an eye on the radar screen as we drove right behind the worst of the storms which were going slowly east. We were driving southeast, but we stayed on the western side behind that line. We also stayed on Interstates most of the way, and had no trouble at all.  My use of a certain impromptu wand might or might not have had any effect on traffic and conditions. Believe me, plastic straws were the underlying theme of the day.

My display

We unloaded our pottery at the Cleveland County Arts Council in Shelby NC. It was a bit wet, but quickly accomplished by Tim and Allan. There were just 2 employees there. It seems sometime while we were on the way they decided to cancel the opening reception.  It meant it would be held in a week, but the show would still be up for the whole month.  Apparently too many people (probably of importance) couldn't get through their own swollen-creek roads to town.  Only one other artist hadn't put his works out yet...and I'm sure when the rain stops he will make it to town.

But I did take time to go look at all the other potters' works. I'm sharing them over on Alchemy of Clay!

We were really ok without having an opening reception (aka party with lots of potters and some customers.)  Cathy and I had been pushing ourselves all week to get ready, pricing, packing, inventorying, glazing and firing in Cathy's case, repacking, etc.

Our dear friend, Tim, had not had a much prep work to do, and probably was ok with another adventure with these crazy potter women.  His job was loading and unloading his van, and fixing the lighting switch which had failed when we last were going to drive with him to a show. He had also put in the third seat so we could all drive in comfort, and he had the van inspected and renewed his registration. Plus, he got to do all the driving in the rain! That was a pretty major undertaking, and I was especially grateful that he drove us home after dark in the rain...something that would have left my white knuckle marks on the steering wheel.

Since there wasn't a party, we asked the locals for restaurant recommendations after we'd arranged our displays.  We ended up at a Greek/Italian place...very nice layout. My cousin, Violet, had recommended the Spanakopita, which I ordered. Cathy and Tim had Greek salads with chicken. And as we were handed plastic straws to use with our water or diet cokes, I had to remark that these would someday be rare antique items of value. That probably explains why I have such a collection of them. I had brought my own hard plastic straw in my sipper which turned magically into a wand for good safe driving...but I left it in the van.  And I drank a much appreciated beer anyway (do not try to drink beer with a straw!)

Toscano's Cafe still had this unique Christmas tree up.

The bottom layers of my 'pita were kind of burned and hard, and so I couldn't even cut them.  But the top was delicious.  And when I got home with my Balaclava-to-go, I found the same problem with the bottom layers being hard and over cooked.  Shucks, I wasn't very happy about that. I love good Greek pastries!

Yes, I captured Tim looking around the corner...he'd been a real trooper with all this rain, so we treated him to dinner.

More is to be posted tomorrow. Over on Alchemy of Clay. I think I took a shot of everyone's pottery at the show.

This week I'm a potter (sort of)

Potters make things.
A "sort of" potter has to sell things.  Actually I'm considered a "hobby potter."

I still have to get rid of what I've made.

All my relatives and friends have their shares already. Unfortunately they got things when I was still just returning to clay, so now they politely say no, and they may have even thrown out the heavy mugs, plates and bowls (and oh the soap dishes!) that I gave them.  I have gotten a bit better over the 12 years I've been retired from salaried work and doing a few hours a day in clay. (Incidentally, as I dust occasionally, wearing a mask to keep from inhaling it, I usually throw out one or more pieces of old pottery.)

So this week I'm working on packing up pots, writing tags (my handwriting is terrible these days) and listing an inventory (which at least can be on a computer.)  Then each piece finds a snug place in bubble wrap in a tupperware tub.  Then I cart (literally on a cart) it to my car and lift it inside.

And tomorrow I truck on down the road with my friend potter, Cathy, and we go to Shelby NC.  I went with her (as customers, not showing) to another pottery show last December.  We looked at what was for sale, shook our heads at some of the amateurish wares and prices, and had gaping mouths at the beautiful things that were also on display.  I may not be a pro, but I have learned what "the market" is like after my years of going to various sales venues.

We actually both decided not to try to go to that market, even though it's indoors and at the peak of the sales season for Christmas.  When a show is not juried, there may be lots of range of abilities displayed.  This one we're going to this week is also not juried. But I was invited last year, and now they're also inviting Cathy.  Her web site must have given them enough information they thought she'd be competitive with the other artists.

Having done a craft fair at the middle school here last December, I have decided that the "art" of arts and crafts, is the side I'm going for.  It's a bit steeper to identify as an artist, but at least there won't be competition from so many other hobbyists. That's why I've rejoined the Red House (Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League).

And I also made the choice several years ago to no longer do outdoor shows.  My bod is at it's 77th year, and just doesn't like the setting up and taking down aspects of tents and tubs of pots and tables.

Anyway, I'm 2/3 of the way finished pricing and packing.   I need to disassemble the shelving unit and then pack them all into the car by the time I meet Cathy tomorrow afternoon and pack her tubs and shelving into the car, and we drive the hour and a quarter to Shelby.  That sounds doable!