Weekend Retreat

My friend came for the weekend.  As Jeff was away and Julie went out of town, I thought it would be fun to have a retreat weekend.  I invited her and her dog on the condition that it would be a work retreat.  She oil paints and I have a lot of pottery to make.  And, I...

Potter’s Tool Kit – Studio Tools

Acquiring tools will not make better pots – practicing with them will. Every potter has a set of core tools – tools that she uses consistently in her tool kit.  But, there are also some tools that are too large to fit in most portable kits.  These are the studio...

Having a Partner

Julie and I met at a community art center while taking pottery classes; and, in 2008, we started working together.  Working with a partner has been great because I have made more pottery, tried more glazes, attended a lot of workshops, and started selling in stores...

Show Season

Big news… A Bit Off Center has been accepted into the Autumn Leaves Festival which is a HUGE craft show and festival in Mt. Airy, NC.  This is exciting and a bit intimidating. Shows are to potters as races are to runners.  Runners run; but, they are most focused...

More Glaze Notes

Although we have several glaze combinations that work well together, I am not done testing glazes.  I want to push the glazes that I know work well together to make my pots even more interesting.  I am experimenting with texture and ways to define space on a pot. ...

Self Sabotage

“Just imagine how much you’d get done… if you stopped actively sabotaging your own work.”   – Seth Godin I can always find reasons why I don’t do things.  Truthfully, they aren’t reasons, just excuses.  For instance, last Sunday, I didn’t...