firing today.....

Firing the kiln today in hopes of getting some orders out on Saturday. Getting ready for tomato roasting season. New post about my brick oven and handmade ravioli can be found here.

first brick oven pizza.....

Here's an image from our first pizza firing in the new brick oven.

Click here for more of the story and more images.

projects.....

You know how it goes, you start a project and realize there's another first step you hadn't thought about. As you start that part you realize there is yet another first step, and sometimes it goes on and on, and you have to throw in all the normal distractions as well. I think a lot of potters think like me --- "sometimes it's just easier to make another pot." I'm sure there have been tons of great projects that went unfinished consequently. Anyway, Over the last few months I've begun a couple of projects that are very important to me -- starting an orchard, enlarging upon my garden area, and building a wood burning brick oven. To date I have had the orchard/garden land cleared of stumps, planted a few apple trees, and started a few raised beds. Those chickens discovered the new beds within a day or so, so now I have to fence in an area for the chickens to roam in during the day. My other garden is already fenced in, but my new one will require tractor access, so fencing it in is just too much trouble. You see what I'm getting at? 

So.....a day of planning, laying out the beds and hauling the materials for lasagna composting was semi laid to waste as I go back to another step one, fencing in the chickens.

The building of the oven has kinda been on track, as far as what goes first, and I'll soon start construction, with the help of some friends. Even with their help I don't think it will be a one day job though :-( I tore down the old kiln and stacked all the salvageable blocks and bricks from it; ripped off the old tin that the chimney had gone through; and since this image was taken have replaced the tin and added another rafter. Hopefully by this spring we'll be firing up pizzas in the new oven!

I've also straightened up the gallery and filled the shelves with pots from my last firing. The shop looks great! Now it's time to get my butt in gear, working on my projects in "spare" time, and start making some of those new pots I've been thinking about. Oh yeah, that will include some teapots, one of which will end up at the Cedar Creek Gallery Teapot Show. 

There are some other cool things on the horizon, but they can keep until later. Stay tuned!

chillin'.....

In the past week I've done a little research for a new idea I'd like to incorporate into my pots, figured out how to DL movies to my computer and then watch them on TV, have gone to bed early and slept late, roasted chicken and veggies in a terracotta pot, and continued my experiments with “pizza rustica” - incorporating grilled pizza concepts in the home oven. I've starting flipping through seed catalogs, read half of The Resilient Gardener, and watched an episode of The Endless Feast on PBS. I've eaten leftover pizza for breakfast, enjoyed a few glasses of red wine with supper and Guatemalan coffee with breakfast. Two of my hens have started laying again, and I'm thinking about raising a few ducks for eggs and to roast.

Tomorrow.....I'll wake up at six, get Slate ready for school, mix some glaze and slip tests, and start glazing pots for my next firing.

So much for being a vegetable.....

the weekend before the weekend of.....

.....the Celebration of Seagrove Potters.

I don't usually start working at 8 in the morning, but this weekend, home alone and the big show coming up, I've really gotten into a glazing groove. I have more to glaze today, and probably even more tomorrow, but still hope to fire by Tuesday. My laptop is able to pick up a signal, most of the time, from the house, and I've been listening to the "vintage rock" channel on boomerradio.com while out in the studio.

Although I spent all day yesterday in the studio, the few times I walked outside for a breather, I realized it was one of the most beautiful days of the whole year. I think yesterday was the peak of this fall's color, at least in my yard. Beautiful.

After working so hard, I rewarded myself with whole wheat pizza. The whole story makes for interesting reading, especially if you're a pizza freak too :-)

The Friday night gala portion of the Celebration of Seagrove Potters has come close to selling out! I hope to see you next weekend at the show. I'll send out a newsletter sometime this week with more details. Have you signed up for my occasional newsletter yet?

post seagrove potters for peace.....

I keep an online calendar now, events I have to attend like doctor's appointments, etc., stuff I'm participating in, and stuff I'd like to do, like Saturday nights at Zimmerman's and special events in Asheboro.

A little aside here.....Asheboro voted in alcohol sales two years ago, and I still feel weird going into a place and ordering a glass of wine. I guess you have to live around here to understand how weird this really is. 

So.....most of my son's annual doctor's appointments have been completed, school starts next week, the Seagrove Potters for Peace event is now behind us (Tina, above, sprucing up after the first onslaught), and I'm gearing up for Clay and Bloggers at the Campbell House in Southern Pines October one, and the Celebration of Seagrove Potters in November at the old Luck's Beans plant. Oh yeah, and a trunk show at my sister's in Wilmington sometime in October. Whew. 

In between, I'm still planning my wood burning oven, and grilling pizza. It seems like everybody is doing it now, and has found their own technique, which is just way cool. BTW, the pic above is of the first pizza from a customer's wood burning oven. She used the recipe from Reinhart, the one I have been using in my oven for a while now. I think we're gonna have to start a chapter of Pizzaholics Anonymous. "Hi, I'm Tom." "Hello Tom." "I'm addicted to pizza." "Unh-huh." Of course, we could turn it into a covered dish kinda meeting :-)

OK, that's it for now. More adventures from around the Gray abode to follow.

serendipity pizza.....

I think I'm starting to get a grip on this whole grilled pizza thing, and last night everything just clicked. For the story, technique, recipe and <more>  

garden.....

My absolute favorite topping for pizza is roasted tomatoes. I split Romas down the middle, lay them on an oiled sheet pan, flat side up, drizzle on a little olive oil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and sugar.....<more>

it must be the fire.....

I'm not the only potter obsessed with the art of pizza making, evidenced by these images of David Voorhees and Ron Philbeck. David built the oven as an appendage to his wood-burning kiln, and Ron is closing in on building his 2nd. oven. I'm still tearing down my old soda kiln to make room for my oven. Hopefully, by this fall, we'll be cooking pies in my own wood-burner!

thursday afternoon update.....

For those of you that have been wondering for the last year and a half what I'm doing next to the gallery, it has finally been cleared, and will be partially planted with fruit trees and vegetables this fall.....I fired the kiln yesterday, and hope to unload and have everything on the shelves by Saturday afternoon.....I tried a new grilled pizza concept yesterday and was pleased with the results.....<more>