End of Summer Blues

Where did the summer go?  The last thing I remember, it was June and I was looking forward to the rain stopping long enough for us to enjoy summer...I was waiting...and waiting.....then, the next thing I know, the wait is over!  It's the end of August, the sun has been shining for a week straight. Only one problem, it feels like Fall.  The pool is ice cold.  The vegetable garden looks like it has gone through a frost and is dying back far too early.  This was the summer that never happened. We had winter, mud season and now Fall.  

With Fall comes the International Seaplane Fly-In www.seaplanefly-in.org  at Moosehead Lake in Greenville, Me.   This year, Peasley Pottery will be there on Saturday and Sunday, September 7th and 8th.  I am VERY excited about it!  I am going up early so I can have a day to.....DO NOTHING!!!! Yes, nothing.  I will be sitting lakeside with a good book, glass of wine and there is a great possibility that I will be too exhausted to even do that.  I may just nap in a hammock all day!  I am having a day of low ambition and pure laziness....and I can't wait!

And here is why I can not wait to get a day of nothing....

This is the latest Brook Trout carving.  

And then there were yarn bowls, and more yarn bowls, until I could take it no more....

....and soap dishes.  To form the soap dish, I put it in a pvc pipe cut in half. It worked out very well.  After the clay set up, I decorated each one and attached feet. My friend, Terry Bryant of Sugarbush Country Farm in Troy, Me., will be at the fly-in selling her heavenly goats milk soaps displayed on these soap dishes which will also be for sale!  What a great combo!! (You should smell her soaps....even men comment on how wonderful they smell.  They are not over powering floral madness, they are in a league of their own, long lasting and wonderful!!! She has a new soap called Maine Woods....my favorite! check out the other scents at website http://www.sugarbushcountryfarm.com/soap-descriptions.html ) 

 Below are round wheel thrown soap dishes

 Berry Bowls and Yarn Bowls

 Mugs, Jugs and Misc.

 And more Maine Lobster Buoy Hummingbird Feeders are being made as well.

There are also dinner plates, dessert plates, bowls of all sizes, garlic grater/olive oil dipping plates, garlic keepers, mugs of all sizes and many, many more pieces in need of glazing and firing.  It will be a busy few weeks preparing for this show.  I will post more photo's of pottery fresh out of the kiln, glazed and finish products before leaving for Greenville.  (I will do it, the Double L's are doubting me, but I will post those photo's before Sept 7th!)

And last, but not least.....I had two Monarch butterflies last week. In the photo below, you will see on the right two Monarch's....one is directly behind the other.  I don't know what the butterfly on the left is, but they are here all summer.

It was also a very sad few weeks around the farm.  Button's Bunny went missing about three weeks ago, then Honey Bunny disappeared early last week.  All that was left was Funny Bunny in the back pasture....a very antisocial bunny and not so funny, hence all the sadness.  I love waking up and having coffee with Button's Bunny...so peaceful.  I've missed it.  Then, this morning I was having coffee with a human...all the animals were apparently busy.... and out of the corner of my eye I saw a furry flash.  It was a little baby bunny hopping as fast as possible across the lawn!  And not too far away was Buttons!  Apparently Button's was on maternity leave.   Bunnies make the world a happier place...and wine...chocolate...definitely lobster and Houlton Farm butter.... :)

Ugly August and LIKE Bombing on Facebook!

It's August...August is a sad month...or at least I think so.  You realize summer is almost over, temperatures have chilled, kids are preparing to go back to school and everyone is rushing around to cram in as much fun as possible prior to reality striking and summer has ended. Fun stuff like chopping, splitting, piling wood...cutting, baling and stacking hay...picking, canning and tilling the garden.  I prefer July....brushing, feeding and riding horses...bbq's, lobster's, friends/family, fireworks, ice cream, strawberry shortcake, swimming, pontoon boat rides, kayaking and morning coffee in the field full of happy bunnies bouncing about. Now that's what I call fun...August...not so much.

"Button's Bunny"...one of four families here at the farm.  We have Honey Bunny, the Funny Bunnies and Bugs Bunny & his family.  Very original names.  They are so much fun to watch!

As much fun as August can be, I do have some fun coming up displaying/selling pottery in the Bucksport Bay Farmer's Market every Thursday from 2-6pm.  I have a few friends who have booths there as well, selling everything from vegetables to concrete garden sculptures.  The fellowship of the marketeers!  And, there is LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, as oppose to those dead ones! I stopped by one Thursday and I will attest to the fact the entertainment is alive and really good!  So stop by and join in the fun...  Bucksport Bay Farmer's Market on Facebook.  Please show your support and LIKE them on Facebook!

Don't forget to head over to Surry Girls in Ellsworth for Peasley Pottery and for all your fine gift and candle needs.  The shop smells incredible!  It is a very delightful shop, cozy and warm.  If you can't find a gift there, then you probably didn't need one.  It is filled with gifts that convey love from the heart.  The owners, Joan & Julie - the Surry Girls, are two sisters who are just as welcoming and warm as their shop...You will enjoy your visit to this little gem of a shop.

 Surry Girls on Facebook  Please visit them on Facebook and LIKE these girls!!

This is my high school classmate, Vicki, who escaped Maine years ago to live in the Sunshine State and was in town visiting and stopped by Surry Girls!  Here she is with her newly acquired piece of Peasley Pottery!  Thank you Vicki!!

Recently, I made a deliver of the Maine Sea Salt Buoys to the Maine Sea Salt Company located in Marshfield.  My mother, grandson and I got a tour of their sea salt making facility.   You don't think about the process when you are shaking the salt on your food, but after visiting their facility, watching how they make their salts...which some are smoked (who'da thunk!)... I have a new, more appreciative relationship with salt!  My mother picked up some "magic" sea salt...it is a heavenly herb sea salt which will compliment anything consumable...it would even make cardboard delicious!  She also picked up some of their garlic salt...Momma Mia!!! is that devine sprinkled on pizza!  If you get to the Machias area, head over to Marshfield and check out the Maine Sea Salt Company or go to their website at Maine Sea Salt Company   Here is a photo of their showroom display with the Peasley Pottery Maine Sea Salt Buoys.

And you can check them out on Facebook.... Maine Sea Salt Company on Facebook  and don't forget to LIKE their page!

I can't forget to mention a trip my mother and I made North to the county...for those of you from away, that'd be Aroostook County....absolutely gorgeous!  I had a pottery delivery and this is what I found...

of course! Buffalo!  That's the first thing I think of when I think of Aroostook County Maine...where the buffalo roam...except not home on the range, but rather home near where the potato farmer ranges. I was told these aren't for eating, but are pets.  I don't know, but I think it is safe to say most people in the county would see meat and potato's, not a pet next to Mr. Potato Head.

Now on to pottery making.  I am blessed with a boat load of orders and upcoming events.  I fired two bisque kiln loads in as many days and now will be glazing them all and firing again before sending them off to the markets!  It is exciting and frightening to see the orders flying in.  I'm running through clay like it is water in a sieve.  It's a wicked beautiful thing!

How to tell your potter is from Maine...and possibly a redneck...

I think the title of this post will be self-explanatory by the first photo.  As I made pretty floral vases...I came to the conclusion that not everyone wanted flowered containers to put their flowers in, and not everyone had flowers to put in a flower vase.  So, where pray tell do I put these welding rods?  Or my pile of Spruce gum for safe keeping?   I was a bit irritated the first day I made these.... and, apparently wanted to shoot something, because the bullet vases were a result of that deep meditation at the potter's wheel.  And...they are here to stay.  I have had a wonderful response, primarily by men, but many women too...even those who don't wear camo underwear!  I'm also adding to the line a liquid soap dispenser, or if you prefer, a fast orange shop hand cleaner dispenser.  Naturally, I am also adding to the line a bullet hummingbird feeder!    

After constructing the bullets, I moved on to a folky-native Mainer version of the black bear. 

 Below is the top view...a parade of prints encompassing the rim of the vase.

One of my favorite flowers, the Lady Slipper.  Each year I anxiously await their bloom and wish it lasted much longer. They are such a delight to see in the woods, it is the sure sign of summer.

 Mother black bear and her cubs under the majestic mountains.

 Keeping with the wilderness theme....an animal tracks wax warmer...a compliment to any rustic cabin, lodge or homestead.  

 Deep red, pierced, floral wax warmer

The Maine coast is notorious for it's Puffins.

 This abstract small jug or vase is one of my favorite pieces. The clay is naturally a deep brown, almost black.  I carve deeply into the thick thrown clay body to create wells for the red glaze to pool in, then fire.  This is the result and I am so pleased with the color combination.

When I finished decorating the raw brown clay with the white slip into these wildflowers (lupine & others), I loved the contrast and old world quality so much, that I left the exterior natural with just a satin clear coat over and finished off the interior of the pot with a deep firebrick glaze.

Equine Pottery...has been a rare thing this year.  Not that I haven't made some...I'll explain in a bit.  When these tumbler's came out of the kiln I was very pleased with the vibrant contrast between the white stoneware and the dark blue glaze, they almost look black. 

And, her is part of the explanation for the lack of equine pottery this year.  This extremely large bowl would have been glazed and fired had it not cracked in the initial firing.  The crack is on the bottom, but not a typical S crack or split.  It is actually on only one side of the base and just enough to ruin the piece for sales purposes.  I still intend to glaze it, but upside down, leaving the rim natural clay rather than the bottom.  I think it will be pretty and I really could use a new huge bowl.

And last, but not least, Moose Track mugs, bowls, double-handle casserole baker and gravy boat. I have had some fabulous results with this glaze on white stoneware, but on the earth tone clay, it changes color and is much richer, more dramatic.  This reminds me of the beautiful, and dramatic, Katahdin region. 

I hope you enjoyed some, if not all, of the pottery here today....if not the bullets, at least appreciate the workmanship.  Have a wonderful week enjoying the summer in all its splendor, thunder storms and all...because it won't be long when we'll be complaining about shoveling snow!

Maine Lobster Buoy Pottery

Maine Lobster Buoy Pottery is here!!!  The one, the only, the original designs of Peasley Pottery...time to haul some pots and eat lobster...or feed hummingbirds and salt your water for boiling those crustaceans!

Maine Lobster Buoy Hummingbird Feeder

and

Maine Sea Salt Buoys

The Maine Lobster Buoy Hummingbird Feeder's and Maine Sea Salt Buoy's are both available in custom colors to match any lobster fishermen's buoy color or home decor.  The Maine Sea Salt Buoy's are my spin off of the salt pig.  I wanted a salt pig in my kitchen, but to be honest, the name isn't that appealing to me and I didn't find one that fit my Downeast Maine roots.  My family originates from the coastal town of Jonesport, Maine...there's even a Peasley Corner!  My ancestor's were sea captains, fishermen and ole salts, and I am a former lobsterwoman, so I wanted something that brought my fond memories of the sea into my home.  When I think of salt, I think of the sea.... and lobster buoys!  And lobster!!  Everything is better with lobster on it!  Keep the pig, salt the buoy!  And there you have the birth of the Maine Sea Salt Buoy.

The Maine Lobster Buoy Hummingbird Feeder, once again, was born out of my love of the sea ...and feeding hummingbirds.  It's only natural in Downeast Maine to have a buoy hanging off the shed roof...so it is wicked awesome that it also feeds the hummingbirds! 

Another sea worthy pot....Gulf of Maine Whale's - sculpture/luminary...now you can go whale watching, day or night, without leaving home.....

North Atlantic Right Whale

Finback Whale

Humpback Whale

I may have to post another entry or two this month to show you all more pots and to let you know what is happening at Peasley Pottery.  Hopefully, it will make up for the two month gap of silence....who else is asking "why the silence" besides me?  Louise is...and I thank her for it! My mud buddy Lynn passed on that wake up call and thank God, because otherwise, we may have gone into a third month..maybe even a fourth...   I think I was in the midst of potter's fog and it was as thick as pea soup! That's my excuse.... :)  

                                                                                                             

Happy Mother's Day!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!  

I haven't blogged in a few weeks....it has been crazy busy getting orders ready for galleries and shops for the summer season.  Below are a few photo's of pots in different stages in the studio.  

I was so sad to see this piece come out of the kiln with a crack!!  It is the largest vessel and has three trout on it.  This was "the show piece" of the season...now, it is not.  It has a very thin crack, but a crack nevertheless, in the base.  A crack is unacceptable and the piece has now gone onto the reinvention table.  I'm thinking of drilling out the bottom, mounting it to a stone or wood base and making a fabulous lamp out of it.   I'm even thinking of doing a stained glass lampshade....or better yet, see if my stained glass artist friend, Lynn, will take on the project???  Poor Lynn is reading this right now in horror! There is literally no one on earth with a plate more full than her. 

I am still so upset over the crack, I didn't photograph it again after the bisque firing.  I won't photograph it until one day it becomes something fabulous.  I spent more time carving this pot than any other to date....and it cracked!  

Moving on.....

 I really like this piece and plan to do many more in a variety of color and lack of color...it is very tactile due to the depth of the crevices.  This piece is waiting for a clear glaze firing.

I'm still working at painting glaze onto this pot.  Atlantic Salmon.  

I think this piece will be spectacular if the glaze remains true after the firing.  It feels so realistic and has great movement.  

Ravens on a decorative jug....I have no idea why, or what it will end up looking like, but I think it is pretty interesting and can't wait to see the final results!

My East Coast Collection consists of Lobster Buoy Hummingbird Feeders to Blue Crab mugs (which are popular from Maryland to Maine due to their whimsical nature)......

Blue Crab Mug

Lobster Buoy Hummingbird Feeder (a Peasley Pottery original)....and yes, custom orders for buoy colors are available. And the same holds true for any of the lobster buoy products.

 

Sea Salt Buoy (Peasley Pottery original)

Puffin Mug

Breakwater Berry Bowl

Native Fish

Lupine Fields

That is just a taste of what has been happening in the pottery studio.  I hope to be back here next Sunday with a horse tale or two!  Have a Happy Mother's Day and blessed week!