I'm a slacker, I know

At least on the blog anyway...

Life has gotten super busy over the last couple of weeks and the old blog had to give. I updated you on Geno's brothers wedding, then the following weekend we fired the wood kiln, and this past weekend Geno was in Rochester, NY for a show and I was in Cleveland for a wedding shower/bachelorette party. Whew, I need a break.

So, Rochester went pretty well, and there was another artist there that Geno works with so I think he had a pretty good time. To be completely honest though, I have not seen him to ask. With all of this running around we have not had five minutes to talk about anything other than necessities, you know, did you let the dogs out? What are we having for dinner? What time will you be home? Yep, that's about it.

Short post here to say I am still with ya and the blog will be back in to my routine shortly, but for now a short break until I get some sleep, which is scheduled for Saturday. :)

Another successful wood firing

One of my favorite things about Geno being a potter is firing the wood kiln. About a year ago they finished building a wood kiln at the community pottery where Geno works. Since its completion we have fired this kiln three times and I love it just as much every time.

The wood kiln is a little bit bigger than the gas kiln and takes a full day to load. Geno spent the whole day on Friday loading the kiln while I was at work, so I didn't get to help much with that part.

Friday night they started a small fire outside of the kiln to slowly start to warm the kiln. After a couple of hours we slowly push the campfire into the kiln and begin feeding the kiln through the stoke hole. If it heats up too fast you can shock the pieces and they can crack.

For the first twelve ours through the night we won't gain much temperature, just warm the kiln throughout the inside. Saturday morning when Geno got back to the pottery the temperature was about 600 degrees. I had gone antiquing with a friend so I didn't get to the pottery until about noon and the temperature was around 1000 degrees. There was an opening in the gallery at the pottery, so the pottery manager and Geno were busy setting up so I was put to work monitoring the stokes.

This photo was taken later in the night, I did this job for about ten hours. What does it mean to call the stokes you ask? Well, I have to watch the time and record the minutes between stokes and watch the pyrometer to make sure that the temperature doesn't drop significantly. For the most part the stokes are about eight minutes apart through the middle of the firing. As the kiln gets hotter and starts to burn the wood faster the stokes get closer together. My assignment was to increase the temperature 200 degrees an hour. This isn't always the easiest thing to do. If you stoke to early you can overload the kiln with wood, it will go into reduction and the temperature can drop. If you stoke too late the temperature will start to drop pretty quickly and it can take some time to get it back up to where you had it.

I was hoping to show you all a better photo of stoking the kiln, but I can't seem to find my photos from the last firing, so this one will have to do. This is a photo of the stoke hole. About every ten minutes or so for 24 hours we have to throw a few handfuls of wood into the kiln. I was able to keep it up as stoke caller until about 10 p.m. and I had to pass the torch. I was exhausted. When I left to head home and let the doggies out the kiln was at 2100 degrees. Geno said the final temperature was about 2200 degrees. Ideally the temperature would get up to about 2300-2400, but 2100-2200 is good s long as we hold the temperature there for a few hours to even out the temperature throughout the kiln.

glowing pots

That's the exciting process of firing a wood kiln. Best to be fired in fall and winter because the kiln is 2200 degrees of radiating heat. LOVE IT!

We will unload on Wednesday, so more to come on the results. Happy Monday.

Finally Friday!

I am not a happy sick person, as I am sure most people are not, so this week has been exceptionally rough. We are right in the thick of shows and weddings and busy at work, so being sick just plain sucks.

Anyway, I have about kicked this crappy cold just in time for the wood firing this weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with the process of wood firing, it is awesome. Especially when it is chilly out. So, I am sure you are thinking, ok, so it's awesome, what is it? Well, you are going to have to wait until Monday for a nice long blog, with lots of photos, describing the awesomeness of a wood fired kiln.

So have a great weekend and check back on Monday to see how the firing went! :)

West Chester Trade!

The best part about shows, I think I have mentioned this before, the trades! No way could we afford to buy the great artwork that is at these shows we are going to, but good thing people like Geno's work because they are happy to trade. The picture doesn't do it justice, but here is the trade from West Chester

This is a piece by Elissa Ehlin and James Leritz of Kiln Design Studio. It's not pottery, so I can't comment on the process, but I am told that it is enamel on copper. All I know is that it is pretty beautiful and looks great on my coffee table.

I love trades! :)

One wedding down...

And a great one it was.

Geno's youngest brother, neil, got married this past weekend and Geno was in the wedding. With all the show craziness, the wedding snuck up on us. So, the day before the rehearsal we booked the hotel, found a place for the dogs to stay, I asked to leave work a little early, and we made sure we were set with Geno's tux. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but everything came together and we had a great weekend with the fam. Geno partied like we were in college, a side of Geno I haven't seen in a while, it was a great time!

The next show is just a week away and the next wedding just a few weeks, so I am making sure we have everything together well in advance. Most important, Geno has a place to stay for the show, no sleeping in the van this time. Geno came back from West Chester sick, from sleeping in the van of course (surprise), so now I am sick and somehow one of our dogs has a cold. How does that even happen? It's been a rough start to the week in this Luketic house.

What do I do with it?

While Geno was gone I took advantage of the opportunity to cook without him around. You see, Geno LOVES to cook, and man is he good at it, but whenever I try to make a new recipe or cook anything, really, he can't help but to step in and take over. It starts by him asking how he can help, and I don't enjoy chopping or peeling so I usually give him that job, but before I know it he has taken over.

I found this new recipe on Pinterest and have been wanting to try it, and because it involves using lots of mixing bowls it seemed fitting to show you how I use our mixing bowls.

I gathered all the ingredients
- 2 cups graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 7 tablespoons butter, melted
- 16 oz. dark chocolate (65% cacao), melted
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups Cocoa Pebbles
- 4 cups mini marshmallows, divided

Instructions:
- Place Graham crackers, sugar and melted butter in a bowl and mix to blend. Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of an 11x13 pan and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Set aside to cool.
- Melt chocolate with milk in a pan over medium low heat and whisk to combine. Transfer mixture to a new bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to cool (transferring the mixture to a new bowl will help it to cool faster).
- Add Cocoa Pebbles and 2 cups of marshmallows to cooled chocolate mixture and mix to combine. 

- Pour mixture over crust. Pour remaining 2 cups mini marshmallows on top and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to toast the top of the marshmallow layer. 

- Transfer completed dessert to fridge and chill for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.

tada

(not as beautiful as the original, but it was my first try)

These are some of my favorite mixing bowls! I love cooking so much more when I am using such beautiful hand-made bowls. When I am done, I just stick them in the dishwasher.

The weekend at West Chester

So, Geno did end up sleeping in the van in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart about 20 minutes away. Each morning I received a call with a recap of the nights activities. The first night it poured down rain, so he didn't get much sleep, he described it as sleeping under a tin roof times ten.

Sleep or no sleep Geno had a full day of selling pots ahead of him, so we chatted for a few minutes and in to the show he went. I didn't speak to him again until about 6:30ish, after the show had closed up for the day. He was a little discouraged, sales weren't great and he was beyond exhausted, but he did meet one of the jurors from an upcoming show in Manhattan, she loved his work and encouraged him to apply. A year ago this would have been super exciting and he would have applied immediately, but we are quickly learning that the costs out way the income. The booth fee for that show is $1800. I am always shocked by these fees.

Night two, waaay too cold to sleep outside. The morning recap, Geno again let me know that he didn't get much sleep, this time it was so cold that he had to get up several times throughout the night to start the van and run the heat for a while. Apparently there was frost on the windows. The second day at the show was a little better, sales were steady, but still not enough to cover the cost of expenses.

Night three, he didn't even bother heading back out to the Wal-Mart. He decided to just stay in the parking lot at the show, the worst that could happen was they would ask him to leave. He made it through the night just fine, but again with little sleep. The final day at the show was the best of the three, but we are still going to take a loss on this one.

Oh, the life of an artist. Two shows down, two weddings and one show to go.

Getting to West Chester

This past weekend Geno had a show just outside of New York City in West Chester, NY. He left the night before set-up so he could drive for a few hours, stop at a rest area and get a few hours of sleep, then complete the drive in the morning, going straight to set-up. I talked to him a few times throughout the drive, just to check-in see how close he was, make sure he wasn't too tired. The drive was going good, he found a Wal-Mart parking lot where he was able to sleep for a few hours and get back on the road.

Geno did not make a hotel reservation for this trip. He decided that he was going to save a few bucks and sleep in the van for the weekend. I get a call from him while I am on my lunch break and he says that his plan to sleep in the van is not going to work out, the Wal-Mart is a hi-rise and there is no overnight parking in their parking garage. (Insert redneck joke here). Apparently not ALL Wal-Marts allow you to park in their lot overnight to catch some z's. Who knew? If he had only googled it before hitting the road he would have found the media coverage for this hi-rise Wal-Mart!

So, the proactive wife that I am, I call the shows recommended hotel and attempt to make a reservation, they were full, but they were happy to suggests another hotel just down the street for the low cost of $179 a night. Shocked, but thinking "what else is he going to do" I make the reservation. I call him back and let him know that I made a reservation and I gave him the address. Of course he asks the price, and Geno is a cheap skate, so he says cancel it "I will figure it out." At this point I am so frustrated that he didn't work this out in advance, I cancel the reservation.

About an hour later he texts me "I figured it out." Ok, what does that mean, I tell him to call me when he can. Right away he calls, there is a Wal-Mart 20 minutes outside of the city, he talked to the manager to confirm that they allow overnight parking, and he is going to go there for the night so he can "save us $500."

We'll see how this turns out...

Throwback

While I was looking for a photo of our first booth set-up I came across a folder of some of Geno's first pots and couldn't help but share. This one is especially significant because it was one of his first lidded pieces. It's amazing how far his work has come. The first series of lidded pieces were inspired by forms in nature, you may notice that this one resembles a rock. This piece was wood fired in a four day firing in the kiln at ETSU.

Here is a lidded form from his most recent series of work. Much more refined. The lid has a much cleaner cut. The surface is rubbed with a local river clay and fired in a gas kiln. Then the piece is finished with a black waxed linen tied into a slip knot, allowing access to the inside of the piece. Each series is more complex and always changing forms and materials.

My Kitchen

Recently I had someone ask me if my house was full of Geno's pots, and the answer is... full is an understatement. I am not allowed to buy dishes, vases, etc. from a store if Geno can make it or we can trade another artist for it. So I will start with my kitchen cabinets.

What I love most about these bowls is that every one of them has a story. On the left, the top bowl has a really small foot on it and it will not sit on a table with out tipping over. I hate that bowl. It was a reject of Geno's and ended up in our cabinet. The next two in the stack are made by Carol Ohl, one of the first wood fire potters that Geno met. We took a trip to her studio together while we lived in Northern Ohio, not far from her, and we picked out a couple of bowls together. These are two of my very favorite bowls. The last bowl in that stack was given to us by one of the graduate students at ETSU when we moved back to Ohio, I also love this bowl. It's the perfect size for soup, salad, cereal, just about anything really.
On the right, the top two bowls are a couple of Geno's bowls that we both liked, so they ended up in our kitchen. The last bowl was purchased in a small town in North Carolina while we were there on vacation. It was part of the Empty Bowls Project, so it does not have a signature on it, but it was made by Emily Reason, who is now a very well known potter. I love this bowl because Geno did not like it, but I bought it anyway. He was pleasantly surprised when he looked into the artist. Needless to say, he is now more confident in my purchases.

There are no stories to go with the plates, they are all rejects. Geno does not make a lot of plates, so I only get the rejects. I have no problem with this, they are only rejects because they are a little warped, they are still beautiful.

Geno makes a lot of mugs, so after each firing we typically sort through them and pick out our favorites. The mugs in our cabinets are constantly changing with every firing.

That is just one of my kitchen cabinets, so you can look forward to more posts about the pots around our house.

What do I do with it?

A bowl... Now this one seems obvious to me, but I am always amazed when someone asks me if they can use the bowls we sell. Well the answer is a big ol' YES. It may be hand made, but it is glazed and fired just like the bowl you bought at Target. Also like a bowl you purchase at the store, when you are finished eating you just stick it in the dishwasher, no need to hand wash.

This is one of my favorite bowls. It is rare that the pots I love end up in my kitchen unless there is a flaw, but Geno loved these too, so they were keepers. They are sort of a bowl/plate, great for stews and pastas. This particular bowl was wood fired, which is my favorite way to fire pots. I will explain the process of wood firing in a few weeks, we have firing coming up Halloween weekend so I will have lots of photos.

Next time you are out shopping at a festival or art show it is usually safe to assume that the pots you see can all be used. If for some reason you can not use it the artist typically post a sign letting you know that.

Yellow Springs Street Fair

The Yellow Springs Street Fair is our hometown festival, and the first show Geno ever did. I think it was back in 2008, when we moved to Yellow Springs, Geno had a whole bunch of pots that he had made in graduate school and he needed to get rid of sell them, so he applied for the Street Fair. I wish I had photos of his booth back then. It was great. We made shelves out of wood from an old barn floor that his dad had laying around. I sanded them down, Geno cut a few notches in them, made holes for pegs, and tada - shelves. Everyone has to start somewhere.

The shelves set-up in our old apt.

Geno no longer sets up his own booth at the Street Fair, but he does sell his pots at the John Bryan Community Pottery booth with other local potters. This is always a fun show, and it is especially great that we don't have to work the booth the entire day. Potters that show their work sign up for a shift and split the responsibilities. Street Fair was this past weekend, and it was insane! They estimate that 30,000 people come to this event, but I would guess that it's more. The streets are always packed with people and this weekend was no different, the weather was perfect, 80 degrees and sunny, it may have been the busiest Street Fair I have seen yet.

One show down two more to go. Counting the shows, and the days, until I get my husband back.

It's show time...

Our last art show was Denver, way back in July, so we have had two great months of free weekends spent with family and each other. It's been amazing, we got to go to the Beach Waterpark with my siblings, bonfires at my parents, festivals with the fam. All the things I love. But, what I love most about down time is actually seeing my husband.

This weekend is the start of another stretch of shows with two weddings in between. I always get extra grumpy around show time. It's been a few weeks since we have spent some quality time together, and it will probably be a few more before we actually get a whole day together. Throwing two weddings in to the mix has been especially tough, mostly because we are in them, adding more commitments to our already overbooked calendars. I love weddings, and I am so happy for the couples, but Geno and I are busy bodies so we both tend to over-commit.

It is times like these that I have to remember that this is what I HAPPILY signed up for. While we were in college, even then, I would have to go to the studio late at night to see him. I would help with glazing, firing, whatever I could do to move the process along so we could spend time together. The difference with this stretch of shows is that I don't get to go. So I am super grumpy (I admit it). It is so exciting to me that we are both pursing the careers that we dreamed we would have. I truly love seeing him at shows, in his element, with all of these amazing artists that have worked so hard spending long hours away from their families to pursue this dream. I look forward to spending time with the other wives, catching up on events since the last show, being around a group of people who truly understand the world of a traveling artist. Not to mention getting away for the weekend, shows are like a mini-vacation, which I could really use right now, but I am out of vacation time.

Maybe I'm being a little selfish in wanting to go to all of the shows, but I don't want to miss out on a minute of this journey. The older I get the faster time goes by. I'm afraid we will blink and we're five years down the road. These shows are just another part of life and like so many things in life we'll forget how lucky we are to be there, forget how we got there, and forget the excitement of the first acceptance letter. I want to capture it all in pictures and memory. More than that, I want us to be on this journey together.

Our garage...

I like to think that all artists are collectors of junk things, but maybe I am just married to a hoarder. When we moved in to our new house we agreed that we would each get a side of the garage to do with it whatever we would like. So of course I park my car in the garage, that's what you do with a garage, right? Well Geno has chose to store his collection of art supplies on his side, kilns, clay, old pots, etc.

Geno's side of the garage

This drives me crazy! See the three kilns stacked on top of each in the front of the picture, they do not work. He is saving them in case he needs a part or something. Well, I guess I should look on the bright side at least he is collecting small things. I could be married to a mechanic who collects cars and stores them in the garage, yard, barn, you get the picture. I am just thankful that this mess doesn't make it's way into the house.

Are you or your significant other a hoarder collector of things? What do you/they collect?

Where's Geno?

He's in the studio. You see, artists aren't exactly known for their time management skills. If any of you know an artist you are well aware of this. So, when it gets close to show time Geno is in the studio day and night finishing up pieces for a show that is probably two or three weeks away. Some of you may not know the process of a pot start to finish, 2-3 weeks for pottery is like writing a paper the night before it's due (more on the process of a pot later). I usually see him for about five minutes in the morning when we are both rushing off to work. He heads to school to teach for a few hours and then it is straight to the studio until about midnight, and at that point I have already been in bed for three hours of more. Sometimes I will go to the studio and hang out with him for a few hours while he works, but that can be pretty boring if there aren't other people around. Or, sometimes I will get really lucky (sense the sarcasm) and he will bring the pots home and work in our living room. Yeah, it's a mess, but at least I get to see him for a few hours.

It's that time, Geno has two big shows coming up in October and November, so I probably won't see him much over the next couple of months.

So, if you are wondering where Geno is... He is in the studio.

Rock climbing... finally!

I love our potter friends because there is always somebody who is up for anything. I have been trying for over a year now to get someone to go to Urban Krag with me, and maybe I was just asking the wrong people, but I finally got one of our potter friends to go with me and it was AWESOME. I have not climbed a rock wall since college and boy did I miss it. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I jumped right back into it. Lisa had NEVER climbed before and she did awesome, and she loved it, so I think I got her hooked. Yay! Can't wait to make this a weekly work-out.

Sorry, no pots today... Have a great weekend!

"I know where you can sell your pots."

Every once in a while I will vent talk about conversations we have over and over. In the moment it is rude to just say, "hey we have this under control," pottery is not a jack of all trades kind of business. Yes, like many fields, there are many different ways to persue a career as an artist, and we have chose the path best suited to us. One of the most common phrases we hear is "I know where you could sell your pots", so I wanted to give a little background on the life of an artist.

When you go out to a nice restaurant do you ever think or say to the owner, hey I know how you can increase your revenue, you can charge to take a tour of the restaurant and kitchen, you can take photos of your food and sell them, or you can set up as a vendor on the street and sell your food? No, when you go to a restaurant that is considered fine dining, you appreciate the meal, you probably go there because someone recommended it and you are willing to pay a little bit more for a quality product. This is very similar to a fine art. In our case Geno makes pots to appeal to a demographic of collectors of fine art. People who appreciate the craft and understand the process and technique, so they are willing to pay a bit more.

Every small business owner has a business plan, even an artist. Yes, some do set-up at food festivals, they demonstrate their work at wineries or make goblets to sell at renaissance festivals. This is their living, or a hobby they've taken up on the side. Then their is a group of fine crafts people. These artists sell their work at a few fine art shows a year, display their work in museums, and sell their work at galleries. The cost of a piece by one of these artists can range from $300 and in to the tens of thousands. This IS their living. Chances are they have thought through this art thing as a career, and they have a plan. Of course it is nice to brainstorm and think of galleries that would be appropriate for the style of their work, or shows that they may not be aware of or maybe they are but didn't realize that their work would sell well there. No matter how young they are if an artist is showing their work at fine art shows across the country it is safe to assume that this is their business, profession, life, etc. Being an artist is a struggle at the beginning, similar to many professions. You have to prove yourself. But, it is a career, and while there are many different types of art, like there are many different focusses for all fields, each one chose their focus and has a plan for execution.

So, next time you are at a festival, art festival or fine craft show ask the artist where their next show is, where they sell their work, or how long they have been working as an artist. We get that there are other ways to sell art, but this is the road we chose to travel. :)

What do I do with it?

Now that I am all up-to-date on our life for the year, let's have some fun. I love to cook, but more than I love to cook I love to eat! So, I am going to start a series on my blog called "What do I do with it?". This is a question we get asked a lot, to me it's a stupid question, but there are no stupid questions and I am in this every day and there are pots all over our house that I use for various things, but mostly for cooking and eating. So, I will show you all what I do with our pots, and in the process share some of my favorite recipes with you. I would love for you to tell me about your favorite art piece, who made it, the story behind it, and what you do with it.

Today I will start simple with your standard coffee mug, because this is something we have that many of our friends made or Geno made, but we use them every day. This is not an object or piece of art that is meant to be displayed on a shelf, it is meant to be used.

One of Geno's mugs.

Do you have a favorite mug? Is it hand made? What is they story behind your favorite mug?

Blue Spiral Gallery

Unfortunately I didn't get to go to this show, so this will be a hear say story, which you will get from time to time because I am not always able to make it to the shows. This crazy things called a job and our little doggies keep me home sometimes, but I would still like to pass the info along.

A few years ago we were in graduate school at East Tennessee State University which is very close to Asheville, North Carolina. While we were in school we took a day trip to Asheville and visited one of the best ceramics galleries in the country, Blue Spiral Gallery. Geno told me all about the artists who were showing their work there at the time, where they were in their career, and how one day it would be so amazing if he could show there.

Fast forward about four years, Geno gets an email from the gallery manager of Blue Spiral letting him know that they had a show coming up where they would be exhibiting cremation containers from an online gallery, Shine on Brightly,  they really like Geno's work and would like him to display some of his pieces in the show. He would not have to submit for jurying, if he was interested they would send him the information on when to send his work and what they would need from him. IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?!?

Of course he said yes, shipped a few pieces, and the week after the Friends and Family sale he drove down to Asheville for the opening. I was so excited for him and so jealous that I couldn't go. He met the gallery manager, chatted with visitors, and then headed to his campsite for the night. The next day he met up with some of our friends from ETSU at Penland and then headed home.

Friends and Family Sale!

Just a few weeks after Cherry Creek we had scheduled a Friends and Family sale. This is typically called a studio sale, but most of our friends and Geno's family live a few hours away, so we just called it Friends and Family (because it was no where near his studio) and set up shop at Geno's parents house. I think I can easily say this is the best show we have ever done. No load in time, no 10x10 square that you cannot have anything outside of, no fighting with the artist next door who is trying to hang things on their booth by hammering nails into their booth walls forcing them to knock against ours (pots are breakable you know). It was great! We took our time setting up, rearranged things a few times, and then a few more times.

All set up!

The day of the sale his dad, grandpa, and brothers cooked chickens on a spit over an open fire. So YUMMY! I have only had the pleasure of devouring eating these a few times, but man are they good. Part of me hopes that this sale becomes an annual event so that I can look forward to chickens every year. 

The chickens were done a couple hours after everyone arrived, so Geno and I had to eat on the go. I was the check out lady and Geno was demonstrating throwing pots (which was a HUGE hit). Since we live so far from our friends and Geno's family it is rare that they actually get to see him in action, some had never seen him throw before at all, so it was a lot of fun to see the reactions and answer questions.

Then he let the guest try their hand at throwing a pot. This was the most fun! Geno makes it look so easy, but boy is it hard. I was really impressed with the rookies pots. 

It actually looks like a bowl!

Day turned into night, people started to leave and we helped his mom clean things up after a long day. The siblings and significant others stayed up chatting and reminiscing the days events, what pots were still left, which ones sold, who was there and who didn't make it. Another show came to an end, but this time there was no line to load up. We were able to take our time packing up the van, and this time were fed lunch before we hit the road. Oh, the good life.

Denver vacation!

I was looking forward to Cherry Creek more than any other show because this was my vacation for the year. The show was only three days, and I had never been to Denver, so I took the whole week off and we enjoyed the mountains. Before we headed up in to the mountains we spent a day in the city because we had heard that we could not miss the clay exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.

After spending the entire day walking through the museum, we headed up to the mountains.

We drove up.

Set up camp.

and spent our days hiking.

It was amazing. For the first few days we stayed at a state park not far from Boulder. It was great, there were hardly any people. Then we went to Rocky Mountain National Park, because anyone that knows me knows that I could not be that close to a National Park without getting a stamp in my passport to the National Parks.

Got my stamp!

We hiked a couple of trails in the National Park that were recommended by some locals we met at the show. Then we headed back to Denver to check out Plinth Gallery before heading home. Little did we know that we would learn the true meaning of flash flooding.

So, we didn't get to go in Plinth Gallery, but we eventually made it out of the city and headed home. Not without one more stop along the way. Last stop, Brown vs. Board of Education for one more passport stamp! Call me a dork, but I will make it to every National Park, monument, historical site in America to fill my passport.

Eighteen hours later, we made it home. 

On the road...

Next stop, Cherry Creek. Many of the same artist do the same shows, so Cherry Creek was the next stop for everyone to get together, catch up, and talk about life between shows. Time in the studio, shows in between Smithsonian and Cherry Creek, kiln firings, kiln builds. For the wives, discussing income from the same show last year, updates from other artists that weren't there, but one of us had seen in between shows, where we were staying for the week, and where we were heading next.

Cherry Creek was the only outdoor show we did this year. Outdoor events are always weather dependent, so you never know what to expect. It was hot. The temperature was in the upper 90's all weekend and we were set-up on a blacktop street. Needless to say, it was a little slow. This is typically a really good show from what we have heard, but I couldn't hardly stand to walk down the street and I had to be there, so I can't imagine choosing to spend the day walking in 90 degree heat, walking through paved streets in to booths that were twice as hot.

Set-up in the hot sun.

Talking to customers.

Another show came to an end, we waited in line, packed up the van, but this time we weren't headed home just yet. It was time for a vacation! Off to the mountains! (In our cargo van. This should be interesting)

First Stop, The Smithsonian Craft Show

Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of preparation for this. To read more about the preparation for the show check out Michelle Pajak-Reynolds blog, Countdown to the Smithsonian Craft Show.

I'm going to jump right to the show, because I am anxious to get to present day adventures.

I took nearly two weeks off of work so that we could head up to Cleveland and pack up the booth, which was at Geno's parents house, before really getting on the road. Like any high stress situation we were both on edge, Geno was a bit demanding and quite snippy, so there were a few fights along the way. But, we made it to the show, got everything set up and had an amazing week.

The first night was the preview night. A nice buffet dinner for the artist, free beer and wine, and a visit from Sonia Sotomayor. We were in awe, and still couldn't believe we were there. At the end of the night, high on excitement, we went back to our fancy hotel just a block away. Typically we would go right to sleep after a show, they are long exhausting days, but this hotel had cable. CABLE! This is a luxury we rarely get to enjoy, so man did we take advantage of it. We watched T.V. for a couple of hours and finally got some sleep for the long week ahead.

Day two, non-stop sales! It was amazing! We finally felt like we might actually make some money off of this art thing. Geno chatted it up with collectors eight hours straight, I chatted it up with artists. We left the show that night feeling fantastic, so what do we do when we have a great day? We EAT!

Day three and four were much slower. With fewer customers the artists were getting to know each other. I was okay with that, let's be friends, let's trade work! I came home with a wood sculpture by Koji Tanaka, and a vase and two tea bowls by Peggy Loudon.  Day three we went to dinner with Brian Beam and his wife, another artist couple, at a skeezy chinese restaurant (the show was near China Town). They had done the show before, so they filled us in on what was different this time and how you never know what to expect. We hear that a lot and are learning it first-hand very quickly.

The show came to an end, everyone packed up their booths, waited in the long line to pack it into their cargo van or box truck, and said goodbye. We'll see you on the road.

You mean these things cost money!?!

Oh, yes. Reality sets in. You mean you want me to pay you $1,200 to set up at your craft show? You recommend I stay at this $130 a night hotel, and of course we will need a van to get there, we've never done this before.$$

This booth we have just won't due, so we are definitely going to need a new one.$$ 

I don't have anything to wear to a show of this caliber, so of course I am going to need a weeks worth of new clothing for this... aaahhhh! $$$

So, as much as I would love to travel the country going to art shows all year, we had to decide which ones we could afford were worth it. Well, I've never been to Denver, and I really like D.C., not so excited about Atlanta. So, the decision was made. Only a crazy person would turn down the Smithsonian Craft Show, so that one was a yes. I had never been to Denver and we really love to camp and hike, so Cherry Creek was a go. Only 40 artist would be setting up at the Rochester Craft Show, pretty good odds that we would make a few bucks, so yes to that one. Finally, West Chester, this was also a go.

The first three months of 2011 were pretty stressful. It had only been five years since we had visited our college professors (the best artists in the world. Love you Dave and Roberta!) at the Smithsonian Craft Show and now we were going. Holy shnikies!

So, Geno made some pots. About 200 to be exact.

We built a booth

And we hit the road. First stop, Washington D.C.

I GOT IN!!!

November 2010, what a ride.

In September of 2010 Geno and I started the search for our first home, each night we would get online, see what was available, go through the listings of what the realtor had sent us and each weekend we would drive around doing walk-throughs.

In the meantime, Geno was applying to national shows for the first time, including THE Smithsonian Craft Show. He went back and forth, "maybe I should wait another year, it doesn't hurt to try..." In the end (after a little nagging from yours truly), he applied. We continued our home search, and November came... We had chosen our first home and were set to close mid-November, just before we closed (a couple days before to be exact) he got the news, "I GOT IN!" Me: "You what?" Geno: "I got in to the Smithsonian Craft Show!"

After that they just kept coming in, Cherry Creek Arts Festival - accepted. Group show at Blue Spiral Gallery - accepted. This one without even applying, they called him! Rochester Memorial Art Gallery Fine Craft Show - accepted. Washington Craft Show - accepted. West Chester Craft Show - accepted. American Craft Council Show in Atlanta - accepted. Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show - denied. American Craft Council Show in Baltimore - denied. Pretty good for the first year.

But Geno, we just bought a HOUSE! YAY, this is exciting! Our first house! Ok, well maybe not as exciting as the Smithsonian Craft Show when you are a 27 year old artist. So, the house decorating was put on hold and we prepared for the Smithsonian Craft Show. Don't feel bad for me, ten day vacation in Washington D.C. with 120 of the best artists in the country. Let's do this.

Well, here it goes...

Too often I tell my husband that he needs to write a blog about the adventures of being a potter. Then I thought, why does HE have to write the blog? I am nearly as involved as he is, I just don't make the pots, so I decided that I would start a blog about our adventures.

I hope that writing this blog will force encourage me to take more photos, document, and remember this journey. While Geno has been a professional potter for about five years now, it has just been in the last year that we have started traveling to national shows and his career really seems to be taking off. So, in the first few post I will back track to the end of 2010 when Geno was accepted in to the Smithsonian Craft Show and the fun began.

Once I bring you up to speed I will blog about things like building a kiln, firing a wood kiln, and saving for shows, because let's face it it's not free to set up at the Smithsonian Craft Show, nor is it free to travel there, stay there, or look good in the process. So, let's just say borderline extreme couponing is somewhat necessary.

Welcome to the life wife of a potter!