im guessing summer is over, at least time wise,, september is always the slowest month for business and im glad its over and done,,, now im inspired and busy getting ready for the november extravaganza [mark your calenders for the third weekend!] and its actually a degree or two cooler, so the dogs are a bit friskier and im not sweating all over the pots,, you can see the pictures of what im working on,, i have pots everywhere!  even a carved bowl! they never turn out uncracked, but maybe this time,,, no more goofing around, and complaining about the heat,, time to get to work!!

i finally have an apprentice,, her name is brianna and shes in the second grade, her grandpa is one of my favorite dealers at the market,,Bob Cauthen, his father used to be in the citrus business back in the good old days, anyways brianna is a cute kid so i gave her a lesson in pottery making,, she did good and now im firing her pot for her, she put butterflies and trees and flowers and a cross on it, and its only a tiny pot
her grandpa has been bringing me in some old orange crate labels from his dads groves,  im a very sentimental person so these labels are just the best treasure of all

my mentor/pal Suzy Vey won't be in on fridays for awhile after all,, she threw her back out and can barely walk,, back troubles are a potters nightmare,, thats why i only throw pots on the weekend, that way my back doesnt get to aching from being bent over the wheel,, she says to light a candle for her recovery,,

im going to my daughter Laurens' play tomorrow night at rollins college,, she did the set design and even had to build an outdoor stage for it,,theater under the stars i guess
its one of those greek plays, im looking forward to going,, but not to see the play, unless the actors are nekid,,

my diet is coming along good,, down 12 pounds and last years pants are starting to fit again, im on the treadmill every day listening to disco, its boring and painful and i miss delicous food,,

alright i gotta go,, im supposed to draw out a mosaic mural design for the crealde art school, everybody hates the one theyre planning and of course they lost the incredible drawings that i did last spring, so now i have to recall what genius idea i had, just my luck theyll love the idea  and want me to actually make the dang thing, now that i dont have time

the big buzz out at renningers is that jeff and patty cook are opening a gallery devoted to the highwayman artists here at the market

Ive known jeff and patty for years and they are just the best!
theyre not just wheeler-dealers but are very passionate and knowledgable about the highwaymen movement. [Jeff may be the foremost authority, i dont know anybody who knows more]

what i like best about them is that they are not just exploiting the past but are still very invloved in working w/ the artists and  keeping the highwaymen movement alive and thriving,,

jeff put on a highwaymen event in downtown mt dora and coupla months back that had traffic backed up for miles to get to it. people were crazy for it, he really worked his ass off and im glad it was such a huge success

anyways now we have them at renningers full time,, no need to drive to fort pierce,,
you can love or hate the highwaymen, but you can't deny that they are an important part of floridas' art history, and now we have our own mini musuem/gallery right here in mt dora at renningers

the picture up top is my bathroom at the house that bob and i are STILL waiting to buy, i guess the banks are in a tizzy over everything,, so im still being patience,,
notice the sunken pink tub w/ the sam stoltz painted frescos of flamingos surounding it,, a friend swears that the pink tiles along the floor are by rookwood, i cant figure out who did the window tiles [any guesses?] im inviting everybody over for a bath who reads my blog,, you can bet when the papers are signed i will be sitting there w/ a bottle of champagne!

it was a busy weekend at the market,, i had to work the lunch hour at the resturant as they got so busy,, and i sold 3 of the best pieces ive ever made this weekend, AND they went to a good home,, i worry when i sell my favorite/best work that i wont ever be able to see them again, several times in the past ive sold pots that i wished i hadnt to total strangers,,, so along the way ive remembered the names of everyone who has my favorites [ probably should write them all down somewhere],, actually i have kept the first 10 pots ive made and 4 more along the way,, one being the first time a carved a florida scene on a pot, the rest are unusal glaze ''happenings'' that cant be repeated or appreciated

im whupped ive been busy getting extra pots made for the backus museum,,, they want me to focus on painterly works,, so im busy painting,, it really wears my brain out fast, as there is no erasing,,,, ive been paint, wander, paint, wander, paint, wander, all day long and im not even half done

AND ps.. i really appreciate everybody who wants me to be their friend on the myspacebook, but i dont know how it works and i cant respond to your emails unless i go to myspacebook and i just dont have the time to figure it all out AND arent we all friends anyways?
PS i appreciate everybody who wants me to be their friends on the myspacebook,, but i dont know how it works and dont care and i cant respond to your emails unless i go to the website and i cant figure it out,, so im still your myspacebook friend whether you know it or not

no its not about the house,, im still waiting,,,,

BUT just as good, is that the backus museum in fort pierce called me and they want me to be a full time exhibitor there!!! WHAT AN HONOR,, my work sitting next to the best of floridas artists all day long all the time,,  I'll have to go and change out my display every 3 monthes,, of course they want my pots next week for their opening gala and then a whole new display for christmas,, no problem for me, as long as im selling pots and dont break my leg or anything

im so happy about this,, it shows off my work to a whole new audience in south florida,, and i really like everybody at the backus museum,, they are a sharp hard working bunch of people really dedicated to what theyre doing,, i hate all those gallery/musuem shenigans that make artist jump thru hoops and beg,, which is why i kinda gave them a hard time last year, i think we are good team and im looking forward to working w/ them

the other good news is that renningers is going to start being open on fridays in october,, as well as the weekends,, 3 days every week,,, of course thats impossible for me to be there all that time and actually get pots made,, i glaze and fire on friday so i will have warm fresh pots for saturday,, and i didnt want to have to close my booth so i called my mentor/lifelong friend Suzy Vey to start coming in on fridays,, she will be there demonstrating like i do and selling her work and mine,, suzy taught and inspired [and still inspires me] me into becoming a potter,, she is simply the best in my book!

her work is not like mine,, i dont know how to describe it except to say its like ''Elegant Jazz'',, the highest craftmenship [i will never be as good as her] decorated surfaces of,,, elegant jazz,, you will have to see them, to understand what im trying to write

im so happy

im calling  today that as i actually completed my jug-a-mathing,, it took for freaking ever to get this thing finished,, neverending carving and glazing and so on,, and then when i got done i called in clint to attach the spigot,,, turns out, he said its called a ''bung'' and the hole in the jug is a ''bunghole'',, hence the slang term ''bunghole'' [don't say you never learnt anything here!]
anyways the proper historical way is to seal the bung to the hole w/  wax,,, well i wanted something sturdier, so i could sell it knowing i wouldnt have to go reattach somebodies bung back later on,,
so off to the ace hardware and a bunch of rubber washers and then sanding and fitting and cussing and crying and ta dah! it works and doesnt leak,, well actually the antique bung i bought for it drips,, but clint thinks its from the wood being dry,,and some moisture will bring it back tight,, which reminds me i had better go soak my bung!
that took up most of the week,, i also got some hand pinted blue and white vases made for the christmas show down at the backus museum,,
alright i gotta go leaf-blow off the driveway before it starts raining again,, i try not to blow off the driveway during nap times as i dont want to annoy anybody,,nothing worse than taking a nap and hear a leaf blower