Yikes! That time of year is upon us, once again, and as it inevitably does throes my world into a panic of preparation and crunch time potting. Amazingly, though, I seem well ahead of the curve this time around. Its the Tuesday before and all my pots are fired, most of them are cleaned, most of them are priced, cards have been delivered, posters put out, and two new display units have even been built. The only stuff remaining is to reconstruct the shambles of my studio, finish cleaning and pricing, and then wait until 5pm Friday to put out the rest of the posters in the neighborhood. And then hope that my efforts have not been in vain….. So, if any of you all are local enough for the trip to my studio in the Boulevard neighborhood of Athens GA, I hope to see you there!
Anyway, its been a long time since I posted any pictures of my pots, but here goes. These are some of the things I’ve been working on recently:
A smattering of forms and glazes for the holiday sale!
New mug/stein style with an extra beefy handle. One of my experiments these past few months was to see how solid I could make my handles while maintaining their comfort of use. This is not my typical handle from over the years! But its nice to evolve, and its nice to see new ways of doing things that also might work. Diversity is a good thing. Or so I keep telling myself….
Sugar bowl with knob that almost flew off the wheel. Sometimes serendipity means living on the edge of disaster. Sometimes you can’t reach the heights unless you risk it all. If you only play it safe you only get what you ask for….
This combination of glazes has really stuck with me. I made the wedding registry for my friends Josh and Erin last year using these same glazes at their request but had never done so on my own until they suggested it. Now I love it! That glaze on the interior is like a miniature cosmos when it works out. Unfortunately its a glaze that runs, so I can’t use it on flared bowls without risking the wrath of the kiln gods. Lost a few good pots that way these last few weeks….
Not a great shot, but I like how the glazes worked on this one. I always seem to go for the happy accidents. Glazes that are too easily controlled, too predictable, never seem to interest me. I’ve tried, but its not me. Which is why every glaze kiln is an adventure in heartbreak for me…..
This one was fired in the gas kiln where I teach, but as long as they let me fire there (apparently up for debate….) I plan on using this combination of glazes. Its not a simple surface. Me like!
I wish this image could capture just why I love this pot so much! You’d think that a photo would be about the most ‘real’ 2D representation you could get, but somehow my pots usually look better in person than in pictures. Something to think about….
Its been something like 10 tears since I made any candle holders, but I saw Dan Finnegan post some of his candle sticks on his blog earlier this year and I thought “Hey! I need to do that again!” These came ot pretty nice!
I hope folks can make it on out!
And for all my fellow potters out there, good luck in your own sales! Help spread the beauty of well crafted functional pots!
Peace all!
Make beauty real!
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CARTER GILLIES POTTERY 
Good luck with your show this weekend, Carter! The pots look great! 🙂
Thanks Becky!