Friday 25 June 2010

First Blog of at the Hewitt Pottery

Happy Friday everyone! I am sorry it has taken me four weeks to make this post, but none the less it is here now. I took this picture the first week I was here on a rainy afternoon. The rain dried up and I was walking up to shower. When I turned around I gasped and went to the cabin for my camera. It was much too big to fit the whole thing in one shot. It really was a blessing on that day too simply because I had just gotten there and was feeling a little lonely.
I have lots of different pots since I have been here. A much larger variation than I actually thought I would be making working as an apprentice. These are some vases I made yesterday. There is actually another board full as well. Mark made plates and bowls this week which meant alot of pugging and making balls for Seth and I. We also split wood for two days of this week. This week was a pretty hard one in terms of how much time we were able to spend at the wheel.
The days go much faster for me when I am making pots which is actually quite reassuring when I think about my job choice. Everything else seems to be just working up to the time you can spend working on throwing and decorating.
Mark made 100 plates, 150 bowls, and 50 side plates in two days and spent around 2 days trimming and decorating. It was pretty impressive and humbling. Seeing things like that make me wonder if I will ever get there..haha.
These are some of the trailing decorations I have been messing with. Loose swags with some wiping and combing. I have been doing a few other things as well and will post some pictures later. I am still trying to figure out all of the options here as far as decoration.
It has barely been a month, and it has been a real great start. So far I feel like a bit of a loser most days watching Mark work, and making dumb mistakes myself that he points out without hesitation.

Just to end this post with a little non pottery action I decided to post a hot item of conversation lately. The huge hornets nest that has formed outside the barn. I meant to get a video of Mark knocking it down with a stick and running for dear life, but there was no camera for that. My suggestion would not be to do that. Attack at night when they sleep. Guerilla war tactics are often a good strategy.
I hope yall enjoyed this first post. I am thinking of starting a new blog with just apprentice stuff. What do you think? Please comment and let me know.

7 comments:

  1. Great to hear what you've been up to. You're getting a great education there. A new blog would be great, or just keep posting here. Whatever is easiest. Have a good weekend.

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  2. 1. That's a beautiful sunset photo!
    2. How many pots/plates/etc do you make a day on average?
    3. For the bees, go in at night and wrap the nest in a plastic bag. Or--our weapon of choice--a nighttime Raid (In my family we just like to use spray).
    4. What's 7x7?

    <>< Katie

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  3. Hi Brad- it was good to see you in Blowing Rock- enjoy your time working with Mark.
    It is one of the best things you can do for your self!

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  4. Oh, and by sunset photo I totally mean double rainbow photo...

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  5. Hey Brad, I'd say you're off to a great start! Eat plenty, get a good night's rest and you'll be fine. Thanks for continuing your story.

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  6. Eating plenty is something I have begun to learn. Any tips on good protein shake? lol

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  7. Brad,

    I enjoyed your first blog. You are doing very good work. I hope your week is going well. Mom

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