Sprigging

Decorating my covered jars with attached sprigs, using a mix of red clay and porcelain.  I really do love making covered jars--my favorite form.  I have left spaces on some of the lids around the leaves for me to cuerda seca an image.  The sprig molds were made during the beginning of spring when the leaves were starting to poke their heads out.  Now I wish I had made more.   Alas, I will need to wait until next spring for the leaves to be little again.
Bruce likes to sprig too.  Here is his spider skull!  

Note: Warming Up:  I posted an image of my finished covered jars.    

Geothermal

Yesterday Gary Brewer, an excavator from Westmoore, began to dig the 6 foot deep trenches for our geothermal system being installed by Comfort South.  Gary is the husband of Nancy Brewer, she works with her brother Boyd Owens at Original Owens Pottery. We will be using a geothermal heat pump to cool and heat our new home and studio. We were thrilled when we came out of our studio to find the variety of clays and materials that were coming out of the ground.
 It is amazing the quick change in the material veins. Colors ranged from a rich maroon to white.
Bruce is compelled to get samples of the various materials for testing in clay bodies and glazes. Very exciting!!! Ben Owen III just told us that the white material is sometimes called "Buck Taller" locally.

Introduction -Bruce Gholson

Hello, This is Bruce with our dog Moka.  Bruce grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma and discovered clay at Oklahoma State University while majoring in biology.  He dropped everything but his Evolution class and focused all of his energies on pottery.  He ended up at the University of Georgia in Athens, and graduated there in the late 70's.  After that he worked in Berea, Kentucky as a graduate apprentice and then settled down in the hills of Floyd, Virginia.  He found himself going back to school at Alfred University for his masters degree and now here in Seagrove, North Carolina!  Wow what a jouney in clay he has had.  He is an awsome clay worker and has a creative mind (I'm allowed say that because I am his wife).  He loves to search for arrowheads, fly fish, watch vampire movies, and read science fiction.

Skull vases

Bruce has been making vases for "dead flowers"  though I think live flowers would look wonderful too!  He has been getting his hands dirty with the red stoneware clay.  He usually throws the stoneware and red clays down in Star where we rent extra studio space.  He finally released his wheel here at home from a porcelain clay only rule and just went for it.  We have been so busy around the property with our new home and studio construction that he has not had time to go to our studio in Star.