Garage sale

My friend told me several years ago,that her pottery had started showing up at the garage sale. At the Corn Hill Festival, my customer told me that she was very excided to find my vase at the garage sale for $1, and garbed it quickly. She said that person did not know the value of my pottery. We had good laugh. Today, I talked about this to my friend that my pottery is finally in the garage sale. She told me that her mother told her then, once it hit the secondary market, you made it.

I got email from the customer inquiring that she wants to add her collection of my pottery she purchased over 20 years ago at the Corn Hill Festival. She was wondering if I still make the same design. That probably my first year at the Corn Hill Festival, and my first year selling the ware. That made me smile. Unfortunately I discontinued it long time ago.

More holes

We had very good weather and crowd at the Cornhill Art Festival. Sales was down, as it seems the tend of this year.



Japanese election created the twisted politics, the major loss for the ruing party. They have tried to establish the two party system in Japan, but struggling to make it stick. I liked the old time, Liberal Democratic Party, having the several factions within the party as functioning and balancing the policy among themselves. Last several elections seems the swing to one side to the other by landslide by undecided voters. Enough politics.

More holes. This is my customers request at the Cornhill. Earring holders. I made some different style to see how it works.

Weather is unstable again.  Lots of downpours.  I am loading kiln today, but another weather watch for the firing date as the thunderstorm comes with wind...  Getting ready for the Syracuse Arts and Craft Festival.

Ballot

I casted my vote for Japanese upper house election last week. I believe this was my first voting experience at age 49. A couple years ago, I registered to the overseas voter registration list as suggested by the Japanese consulate. I didn't know that opportunity until then. I prefer to nationalize in order to vote here, but my parents would love to hear that. I am considering, though.

The other day, the mailman delivered the express mail from Japan. We thought it was from my parents. There were over $100 worth of stamps on it. Then, I realized it is from Minato-ku, Secretariat of the Election. Hundred dollars to cast a ballot. My vote sounded very heavy. (If I live in big city where Japanese consulate locates, I can vote there.) I read the Japanese newspaper on the net everyday, but have no idea even who are candidates and what their stances. I spent good hours in front of the computer reading about the candidates. There were much of information available last week, but I needed too mail it to be delivered by July 11. Election was announced on June 24 as the voting date on July 11, a window of 18 days.

I fired on Saturday. It was very hot. We are in middle of the heat wave, setting 94F degrees everyday. The kiln looked very good. I am ready for the Corn Hill Art Festival this weekend.

Graduation

I attended my first graduation in US, not mine,  my daughter's.  I was amazed many people other than parents were there. I realized how important thing and key milestone on her life, like the initiation rite.  Japanese cerebrates him/her on 20th birth year. I think most high school kids here are definitely more matured than we were in the high school. Now, our daughter has two months before departing to Abu Dhabi for the collage.



My mug is featured in the blog, http://dancingdolphinpottery.blogspot.com/

Earthquake

I was loading the kiln yesterday.  Around 1:30pm, I felt the building moving. We are facing the CSX yard, and they produce lots of ground movement, but nothing was in action. Then I realized this was earthquake. It was long one, about 30 seconds. In my experience in Japan, if it continued more than 15 seconds, it tends to become a large one. But this earthquake was just long steady horizontal shake. Ware on the shelves are all ok. Epic center of the earthquake was in Ottawa, Canada, 180 miles away, magnitude 5. We probably had Japanese scale of 2 to 3, once month or more if you are in Tokyo.

I really hate the earthquake. You have no control over the earthquake, but stay put or hide under the table. I don't remember when, but I hid under the table in the student full of the class room, but nobody else.  I was very embarrassed, of course.

Ready to fire tomorrow.

Garlic pot

Between shows is the time to restock what sold and received orders. I have been throwing the pots and putting lots of hole recently. Garlic jars,  planters and berry bowls. Garlic jar is like a sugar pot with lots of the holes on the side, so the garlic can breathe, and its top protects from the light, not grow. I use it at home. I don't make them often, but probably one of the most asked item next to the French butter dish. It does not mean it sells well, though.

The French butter dish, on the other hands, it sells. I made one year. I tried it at home, and I got butter dropping into the water, and several days later the butter became moldy. After researching the web, I found you can't leave it if the temperature is above85°F or so, and you add salt in the water to avoid from mold. I thought if I am not satisfied I should not sell. I discontinued after selling a dozen or so in one summer.

Clay

Where does  the clay come from?  I don't dig my own clay in our backyard.  I wish.  I purchase from the Laguna Clay Company, and come in a box pre-mixed #510.  They keep the content (receipe) secret, so I really do not know.

I used to mix the clay, which was back breaking operation.  Yes, mixed. I purchased 50lb bag of dry materials; Hawthorne Bond Clay (Missouri) , OM-4 ball clay (Kentucky),  EPK(Florida), Custer Feldspar (South Dakot) and Flint. It is not mine in single location.

In Japan, pottery clay is mined locally, and glazed with local materials (ashes) to make their product unique (one of kind), and people appreciate it. It makes the pottery more expensive .  Bizen pottery was known to purchase a lot of the rice field for their clay, by digging the rice field and removing the clay means no more rice production there as well as you do not know what kind of clay you can get until mine. It is very expensive transaction.

Is it possible to do the same in US?  Yes, I think some do, however  I think people do not see much difference in the final product, or its value.  I sometimes wonder how many people see the difference between the high fire and low fire.  I think mining and making clay too much time-consuming and challenging practice , meaning finding, testing and processing clay as well as fitting the glaze, not mention storing these unprocessed clay, to justify the cost.  I do not mind using the clay in the box as long as I can make my own pottery. Painter uses the paint in tube.  I do not think people ever asking the painter, where the paint or canvas comes from.