Gary Rith Pottery Blog

bye bye bloggy! out of memory....

2009-11-08T07:38:00.004-05:00

This is this blog's last post. I had to reset everything: Please follow this link to my new blog :)

(pottery by Gary Rith)
I wanted something EXTRA GROOVY for this blog's last post. Don't these boxes look faboo? And Kathy asked for a big mashed potato bowl and gravy pitcher and I was like "can do!". This is post 1,609 for this, my second blog, which is 14 months old. The new blog has been created, twice now, and is available for your perusal.
Dig the Folk Implosion, eh?

le hawt date

2009-11-08T06:49:00.002-05:00

Me and the missus went on a HAWT DATE last night to see NO IMPACT MAN, a documentary about a NY city family that stops buying stuff, turns off the power, reduces, reuses, recycles. Great flick--esp. the funny little daughter who is always having fun, and the wife is such a good sport about the whole thing. We live a fairly pared down life her in this house, but we don't launder our stuff in the bathtub.
Then, of course, we went to VIVA where we made a minimal impact but ate a maximum of hawt sauce....

"that is very silly"

2009-11-07T20:34:00.000-05:00

Is what the wife said when she saw this pic.....

BLOG MOJO?

2009-11-07T20:10:00.003-05:00

Sure, I was out and about making pots at the Cornell potshop, and then, believe it or not, I did NOT go with plan A, which was to make more pots at home, but you know, I fell asleep, and then we went out on a BIG DATE, more on that Sunday, but crapola guys, ZERO comments on my 2 previous blog posts today? I know I haven't been around to visit your blogs today, but its sorta like I lost MY BLOG MOJO for a minute here.
I know I never do anything or say anything interesting, but zero comments today?
OK, updates all around: I think Sunday will be the end of this blog. I am nearly out of memory. I really have no interest in keeping it, I am the sort of guy who likes the end of the school year, likes the end of the year, likes emptying all the crapola out of my closet and taking it to Salvation Army: I like new beginnings. This blog is 14 months old, and I think a new blog will be fun. It will also be my third in 3 years and 3 months. I post a lot of junk, don't I?
SO, these pics, are, as you see, our various cats biting each other in the kitchen with a beagle helping, and I was trying to take pics of the bell tower at Cornell's library at night. Its pretty striking alright....

yaaaay!

2009-11-07T12:50:00.001-05:00

(teapot by Gary Rith)
Yay because this teapot looks so groovy and YAY blooger is letting me post pics again! I really need to start the new blog.....

groooooove....

2009-11-07T06:10:00.002-05:00

Blooger won't load my pics darnitall....
anyway, I'll try later Happy Saturday!
Now do some dancing :)

Norah + Chapterhouse = !!!

2009-11-06T18:54:00.004-05:00

You know how Fridays go: you make the pots at the Cornell University Pot Shop then slide on down the hill to the Chapterhouse for the happy hour beers and popcorn with your disreputable friends and spouse (the fun part is that the whole damn university has the same idea and TIS A RAUCOUS good time...). My best buddy Norah was lurking around looking for trouble, and you know, we gossiped about YOU.
I carved Tasty Cake '09 into the bench by the demon lamp in honor of my Missus Tastycake....just above where we carved Gr + MR.............

for Mairead and Julie and maybe YOU TOO!

2009-11-06T12:38:00.002-05:00

(pottery by Gary Rith)

Julie orders the owl and pussycat stuff and then immediately orders MORE owl and pussycat stuff. She has the right idea: give your friends my pots! Then get this, Mairead in Dublin, the real one, in Ireland, wants 3 penguin mugs for her pal here in the states, no probs, but she is so clever she mails me a bag of penguin chocolates from Ireland to add to the package. Now that is treating your friends to a surprise!
See the piggy mug here? Just listed at my etsy gallery. Make your friends happy too :)

coming to an end.....

2009-11-06T06:21:00.003-05:00

Every time you load pics on blogger, the little message tells you that you have used 44% of your memory or whatever. September last year I reached 100% on my first blog. Today I am at 98+ percent of my memory on this blog. Gonna start a new one in the next day or 2.
Here are a few favorite pics from the last year.
A new blog feels like a chance for a new look. I may trim things down, streamline the appearance, something like that :)
Last night I went to a photo club meeting and took worthless pics. I tried getting a shot of the moon too. NOPE, no good. I guess I could use some tips, eh? I would REALLY like to learn photoshop techniques.
THEN, of course, I dremat that me and my friends were discussing joing the Hell's Ang3ls. But then we imagined it was probably more than good friends playing poker and pool. Plus none of us had motorcycles....

gun nuts AGAIN

2009-11-05T14:48:00.002-05:00

Saturday we were walking our dogs, as I said, and I saw 3 dudes in camo in my neighbor's yard, close to their house and the kids' swingset, and as we went to tell our neighbors, they shot in our general direction. We got plate numbers and the sheriff came over. Don't know what happened then, but at 1:10 today there are AGAIN shots in my neighbors' yard, screaming, dead deer, dead ducks, all of this excitement, and this time the sheriff and troopers both arrive and talk to everybody. No sign of the shooters, but the troopers were using the plates to go visit the accused.
This is a VILLAGE, a neighborhood full of HOUSES, people and kids. Yes, there is a creek back there, but it is posted, and there are thousands of acres elsewhere that is legal to hunt in, and NOWHERE in this village is hunting allowed, but shoot, what are they doing in our yards?
I would suggest a small cell shared with a large inmate for these numskulls.

the secret giraffe project: not quite as secret

2009-11-05T08:33:00.002-05:00

Me and Becky Jo in Iowa were cooking up ideas, as people do, for a secret surprise swap for Christmas. Potters may not be millionaires, but we have pots and its fun to trade. So I was like "gotta be smaller than a shoe box" and she is like "gotta be a giraffe!" and we're off to the races.
Becky Jo of course is a part-time potter and full-time trucker (how cool is that?) and currently hauling the bean harvest and I had my idea and jumped on it and sent it to her---kinda early for Christmas. And Becky Jo got it and is using it...giraffes on the outside, giraffe on the inside. Next chapter, of course, is when she finishes hers :)

7-3

2009-11-05T06:17:00.001-05:00

(our hero in Toronto at a Yank's game, and at home, acting smug and superior)

We are Winners! Thanks Stacey :)

2009-11-04T18:09:00.001-05:00

Stacey had another contest, I won another prize :) Last time it was groovy little paintings she had done, this time mega warm knitwear! Stacey, did you know snow is expected tonight? Thanks!

just relax and breathe deeply....

2009-11-04T13:08:00.002-05:00

I am down at Ludgate Farms, an exotic farmer's market nearby who also sell a boatload of my pots, and I am talking with my old pal Mike Ludgate about hot sauces. He is excited and takes me in back and shows me this newly arrived shipment. We're talking HOT sauces, and he offers me one for free, and I take this thing, habanero + mustard and dump some on my sandwich at lunch. Holy cats! Hot dawg! GET SOME!

you know its going to be a good day...

2009-11-04T08:49:00.002-05:00

...when there is an extra few minutes for the triple espresso and chocolate peanut butter cookies. The thing with the time change is: it is totally dark in the afternoon, but you have a little extra time in the am.
I did NOT share anything with Emily kitten...

le beagles....

2009-11-04T05:57:00.002-05:00

(mugs on sale now at my etsy online gallery)

A local business was looking for office help. They put a sign in the window, stating the following: "HELP WANTED. Must be able to type, must be good with a computer, and must be bilingual. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer." A short time afterward, a beagle trotted up to the window, saw the sign, and went inside. He looked at the receptionist and wagged his tail, then walked over to the sign, looked at it, and whined. Getting the idea, the receptionist got the office manager. The office manager looked at the beagle and was surprised, to say the least. However, the beagle looked determined, so the office manager led him into the office. Inside, the beagle jumped up on the chair and stared at the manager. The manager said, "I can't hire you. The sign says you have to be able to type." The beagle jumped down, went to the typewriter, and proceeded to type out a perfect letter. He took out the page and trotted over to the manager and gave it to him, then jumped back on the chair. The manager was stunned, but then told the dog, "The sign says you have to be good with a computer." The beagle jumped down again and went to the computer. He proceeded to enter and execute a perfect program that worked flawlessly the first time. By this time the manager was totally dumbfounded! He looked at the dog and said, "I realize that you are a very intelligent dog and have some interesting abilities. However, I still can't give you the job." The beagle jumped down and went to a copy of the sign and put his paw on the words "Equal Opportunity Employer." The manager said, "Yes, but the sign also says that you have to be bilingual." The beagle looked at the manager calmly and said, "Meow."

The Wonder Years

2009-11-03T16:45:00.003-05:00

(Kevin and Winnie from the TV show THE WONDER YEARS, me and Wendy now...)
The neighborhood I lived in from elementary to high school was full of houses and full of kids. Two of my very best pals back then lived in my neighborhood and we had a lot of classes together, going back to when we were 11 or 12 or 13. My oldest friends! Two sisters, Mary Beth was my age, Wendy a year younger. I lost track of Wendy after high school but Mary Beth and I exchanged letters through college up to about 1987 when we lost track of each other.
The two sisters (and the youngest Rebecca, who was much younger and I suppose I ignored) were absolutely brilliant and creative, smart and fun. We talked about all kinds of stuff and walked around and complained about school and other kids or whatever...
a lot like Winnie and Kevin in the TV show (except, of course, in a way, it was Kevin and Winnie and Winnie because there were 2 sisters)
and then 20-30 years go by, and thanks to facebook last year we all reconnected. Have not seen Mary Beth lately, but have seen Wendy a few times and she lives about an hour away and came on down for the lunch and the pottery and to rub Penny's belly and gossip about other kids we went to school with, and you know, YOU TOO....

"Iz gunna getchoo sucka"

2009-11-03T11:10:00.002-05:00

Spike is a very friendly and clownish cat. He likes to hide and ambush the other cat and dogs in the house, just like a little kid on Halloween "BOO!". His favorite is hiding under the carpet and then LEAPING upon someone passing.
None of us is fooled, despite his, ahem, clever hiding place, because he has a big Po Po. Plus he always falls asleep....

what I did this morning.....

2009-11-03T09:24:00.002-05:00

Other than gobble chocolate-peanut butter cookies and coffee: voted! You should too!

Stevie has this advice:

2009-11-03T06:14:00.002-05:00

(pots by Gary Rith)
I am going to a RAKU party in a couple of weeks and wanted to make some totally textured pieces. RAKU is a very direct ceramics firing process: using tough clay, you quickly raise the firing temps to melting, then reach in with metal tongs and grab the hot piece and then smoke it with sawdust etc, then dip it into water like a hot horseshoe. Havn't done raku since 1986, probably try to get a bunch of my buddies together for the party.....

ANYWAY, Stevie writes yesterday, re: Blogging for Dummies chapter 9--
Want people to read your blog? Visit other blogs and sprinkle comments around. You would think it would be obvious, but nothing gets attention faster than leaving comments. I seem to follow 100 blogs, and it has become a somewhat slow process, following them all, but I enjoy trying :)
And speaking of Stevie, comment forms.
Blogging for dummies, chapter 10: Stevie has the absolute WORST comment form. People should really SIMPLIFY commenting. Steve is my absolute best pal, but I hate Stevie's comment form, it takes forever....

Love my way :)

you GOTTA...

2009-11-02T12:39:00.001-05:00

(pots by Gary Rith)
...getta somma my potsa. These babies on sale now at my online gallery. Click here or look over on the right.

movie time

2009-11-02T09:22:00.004-05:00

Blogging for dummies chapter 8: Blog movies into a discussion! Everybody loves wasting time during the work day discussing movies.
Quentin Tarantino is a little funny looking somehow, but his movies kick azz don't they? I mean, KILL BILL = The GREATEST.
Just saw, speaking of greatest, RESEVOIR DOGS. He doesn't connect the dots, you don't really know what happened, and it is full of bizarre and offensive dialogue. BRILLIANT. He seems to love the junk movies we watched when we were kids, kung fu, crime, action, horror etc, and he does them brilliantly....
and your take on his movies?

this way and that

2009-11-02T06:16:00.001-05:00

(teapot by Gary Rith)
SO, kinda thinking about, you know, textures and bands and patterns, and this teapot got them going several ways at once, esp. the spout.....

Dead Weather.......

2009-11-02T06:15:00.000-05:00

celebrity sightings.....

2009-11-01T11:10:00.002-05:00

Blogging for dummies: chapter 7:

Whenever possible, blog about celebrities. People will think you are A LIST, in the know, ultra-cool.

Listing these wonderful mugs on my etsy gallery. Click here or look over on the right. Its November for God's sake, get shopping!

Claude and me...

2009-11-01T05:52:00.003-05:00

SO, other than someone firing a shotgun in my general direction, Saturday twas quite good. Went again 50 miles north to Syracuse to buy the clay supplies, and stopped at the Everson Museum to see the Turner to Cezanne show. Holy cats its good---this MONET was there, and this pic does NOT show how lovely and shimmery the water was, plus you turn another corner to find a Van Gogh, there were Renoirs, Manets, Cezannes--Omigosh!
A wee stop at Nance's gallery, Nance wasn't there but Donald was in his festive orange checked shirt, and Kyushu for dinner. The missus has decided edamame is a new addiction, and I renewed my addiction to wasabe sauce. Do you know wasabe sauce? It is a light green dragon of a hot paste you put onto your veggie sushi roll and it CLEARS out your nasal passages like a dpepth charge...

EEEEK!

2009-10-31T20:51:00.002-04:00

Not very flattering picture of me or my fat kitten Emily.....
Been a great day, but imagine this. Walking my dog this afternoon, see 3 hunters in my neighbor's BACK YARD headed towards MY YARD and they shoot our direction (ducks or something, but we were just outside the path of the shot). There are houses and people everywhere, and these guys are stalking around behind houses? Got the plates, called the sheriff, made the report and (other neighbors also saw it and called)....whatever might happen next. Shook us up alright, I mean, this is in the middle of a neighborhood in the middle of a village!

a wee little Halloween message, and can you believe Kari's birthday is today???

2009-10-31T06:04:00.004-04:00

I went searching for doggies dressed as teapots and came up with a doggy dressed as Sarah Palin, and as you see a couple of other things :)
And now, for Halloween, music to upset your mom and dad, Rob Zombie and a little death metal from Finland...

an afternoon with the junkies....

2009-10-30T18:53:00.003-04:00

Some members of my Friday afternoon pottery class call themselves the "pottery sluts" or "pottery hos" but tamed it down and settled on "pottery junkies".
Twas a busy afternoon of making pots and then sliding down the hill to happy hour at the Chapterhouse. The missus of mine came along, look at all her skulls! Carol was wearing these cute tennies and Leslie had on these rather wonderful boots covered with buckles....

getting the a$$less chaps.....

2009-10-30T11:47:00.002-04:00

....onto a pot. That was my question: how do you get a$$less chaps onto a pot? So I began doodling this little cowboy. He will get a pink neckerchief and other colors later.
Chapter number, what, 6? Blogging for dummies: use a$$less chaps as much as possible.

My pal in the Carolinas Jen Mecca is really into making boxes, altered forms on the wheel. That meant nothing to me either, although I love making jars and sugar bowls which are similar, but I got one of her boxes and have been thinking, and yesterday made 2 boxes to finish.
SO, as you see below, I threw an enclosed shape, squared it while soft, and then today, half dry, carved out ridges and arched feet, cut the thing apart to create a lid, flanged the lid inside and made the elephant. It looks HOLY CATS awesome. It took me so long to fiddle with it and finish, my mental cash register is like KACHING! This sucker is gonna be expensive...the second will be different looking I think.
And look all the way down, I got a pirate Snoopy shirt! (I was inspired for that after I saw Becky Jo's niece with a Snoopy shirt, but I had to get a BADAZZ one....

and don't you forget it neither!

2009-10-30T07:40:00.002-04:00

(mugs by Gary Rith)

Today's big find is Florence and the Machine. WOW! She can belt it out. Wacky videos too.

the secret giraffe project

2009-10-29T14:57:00.005-04:00

(mug by Gary Rith, dog dressed as a giraffe for halloween)
Neither the dog or this mug has ANYTHING at all to do with the secret giraffe project. Remember, its secret!

chapter five: be mysterious!

2009-10-29T10:35:00.003-04:00

(mugs by Gary Rith, box with secret giraffe project for Becky Jo)
Blogging for dummies, chapter five, lesson whatever:
Be mysterious. Don't tell folks the whole story. Make them want MORE! Like the secret giraffe project, what the heck is that????Stay tuned. Maybe I will tell you one day :) And the mugs? On sale now at my online gallery click here or look over on the right.

more action pics from Stevo....

2009-10-29T06:01:00.003-04:00

So like I say below, Steve and his family were here Sunday and he got some arty black and white shots. The series below is me throwing a big bowl, this is just a little mug. Steve and his family are just the BEST, and although I did not show symptoms of flu until 24 hours after they left, I hope all of them remain healthy.
I for one feel A LOT better. Sitting up feels like an accomplishment, but dangit, I AM sitting up, breakfast was tasty, coffee was enjoyed, tis a bright new day, oh joy!

swine flu and this family......

2009-10-28T16:29:00.001-04:00

I swear I have never felt this awful. The wife had a horrible day last Thursday and started to feel better. I think today was my horrible day and I shall be better soon :)
Don't know what we have had but this is what a symptoms search shows, and it sounds like us:
Swine Flu has the same symptoms as regular flu including:

■Fever
■Sore Throat
■Nasal
■Cough
■Respiratory Problems
■Body Aches

Stevo got the shots.....

2009-10-28T09:11:00.003-04:00

Steve and his family were here Sunday and he took a boatload of pics. Kinda arty looking, this black and white thing, eh?

top secret: blogging about nothing can be cool!

2009-10-27T18:12:00.002-04:00

Blogging for dummies, chapter 4:
Nothing to blog about because you're sick in bed with a beagle on your chest? Blog it anyway!
I SWEAR that tomorrow I am going to down 50 gallons of coffee and be your usual cheerful and irreverent potter :)

wicked cute elephant pots

2009-10-27T13:45:00.002-04:00

I just listed these wicked cute elephant pots on my etsy gallery. Click here or go to the gallery over on the right of this page :)

BOSSY checks in

2009-10-27T07:46:00.001-04:00

(mugs by Gary Rith)
There are a few SUPER BLOGGERS out there and Bossy is one of them. I am her featured blogger today, woohoo!

mama and baby

2009-10-27T06:30:00.001-04:00

(wee little sculptures by Gary Rith)
If you are a macho and tough guy like me, you may find yourself surprised to be making cute little mama and baby sculptures...

I'm not dead yet...

2009-10-27T06:27:00.000-04:00

Feeling much better actually....

blogging for dummies, chapter 3

2009-10-26T17:53:00.002-04:00

Chapter 3, lesson whatever: if it moves, blog it!
I am sitting there with the mug of tea, sick as a dog, and Spike, that rebel cat, is quick as you can atop the fridge--NO he is not allowed up there, but anyway, he opens the cupboard and goes in. The door closes behind him. I open the cabinet door and you can see he is fingering the can of friskies up there, rotten little cat... :)

like a trained...

2009-10-26T06:01:00.001-04:00

(teapot by Gary Rith)
....seal.
Months ago my pal in Houston Lynda was like "can you make a seal?" and I did so for some pots and they looked good and then last week I wanted to see if I could also paint some seals...and I could. Looks pretty good. :)

Georgia Satellites

2009-10-26T05:57:00.001-04:00

The wife hears this, which is pinging around in my brain, and is like
"country yodeling!" its a totally fun song :)

Dog is my copilot...

2009-10-25T15:37:00.005-04:00

She really is. Me and the missus drove south to northern Pennsylvania today to visit Seahag gallery in Brackney, PA. It is in the middle of
a) one of the pettiest places on earth, as you see
b) NOWHERE. This place is on a dirt road in a barn close to NOTHING. Except the hills, trees, creeks and ponds. I took pictures from the hillside above the gallery, and this horse came over to check out me and the dawg!
Gorgeous and wonderful today.
The gallery is totally tres cool. Penny doesn't ride with us too often, but she was A plus good, and loved walking on the woods of course....

moo!

2009-10-25T07:24:00.002-04:00

(mugs by Gary Rith)
Took most of these to Nance's store for her to sell....

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon

diggin' Dinosaur BBQ

2009-10-24T16:27:00.004-04:00

SO, we have to go to Syracuse, about 50 miles north, to buy the clay and wee little brushes and such. Naturally, we had to ALSO go to Dino BBQ, probably the most wondeful bar on earth. YES, there are many hard drinking and scruffy types there, including large men in tank tops and small women in tank tops and tats and studs everywhere....and since tis also a college town, all kinds of students, arty types like, um, us, and families with wee little kids. You can see that we had a dancing fool behind the missus, a little 3 year old, but the place is so rockin' loud and fun the missus didn't even KNOW there was a dancing fool behind her for half an hour until she saw this pic!
YES, they know how to treat a vegetarian well, and YES, I was feeling most at home in my new black leather motorcycle jacket from a garage sale last summer....

Blogging for dummies chapter 2

2009-10-24T06:03:00.003-04:00

I am so helpful. I am full of tips for the junior blogger, just hang around here and soon you shall be a master blogger too.

Chapter 2, tip 3:
When its early and you're sleepy,
Halfway though your first coffee cup,
Poke around for pics of a celebrity,
And make something up.

It doesn't have to rhyme,
Beastie Boys videos and muppets are a bonus trick,
But it works every time,
Most people hate the Beasties and say you're sick.

Dig these groovy cups I made, and Beastie Boys live!

me and the Tom Toms

2009-10-23T18:10:00.002-04:00

Was working at the Cornell potshop and Matt and Sydney wandered off leaving me with Tom and Tom. Making gorgeous gorgeous pieces, and then, you know, roll down the hill to the Chapterhouse for the beers.....

Blogging for dummies, lesson one

2009-10-23T12:02:00.003-04:00

In a month or less I will be out of memory on blog number two. I have about 5000 posts between the first and second blogs, in 3 years and 2 months---I guess an average of 3-5 posts a day (I am trying to slow down--really) and about 30 posts a week. That is a LOT of baloney. And pottery!
Some people give up on blogging. Some people can't think of what to say. I am going to start a series of HELPFUL TIPS for bloggers.

Lesson number one:

Tip number one:

Pet pics always good,
Dutch heavy metal babe bands,
icing on the cake.

Tip number two:

Don't just blog it, HAIKU IT!

And dig this Dutch heavy metal band fronted by this babelicious singer.....

Cat, um, wrestling

2009-10-23T05:45:00.003-04:00

Spike and Emily are the best of friends. But you know how it is, even the best of friends need to sneak up on you, jump on your back and bite your neck. Spike and Emily get into it sometimes, and so I wrote this haiku:

Lovey dovey cats
Until they jump and bite necks,
Roll around the floor.

Reminds me of an ad from a couple of years back.....

le cups!

2009-10-23T05:44:00.000-04:00

(cups by Gary Rith)

40 bucks and 2 bowls

2009-10-22T16:17:00.003-04:00

(cups by Gary Rith--I really dig Mouse and Cat but they have nothing to do with this)
Steven, my carpenter extaordinaire, rebuilt this old house from the ground up. And painted it purple, clever dude, then sold it to us. Naturally I hire him to do jobs on the house as I love him. Plus he knows the place and does a fantastico job.
Today he comes over and I have all these old-house crevices up along the roof line I wanted filled in, because bees always want to nest in them. And the wife sez "have him clean the gutters while he is up there" and Steven does both, a great job per usual, and I am wondering how many hundreds this might cost and he is like
"40 bucks and two bowls" and I am like
"!!!!!" and he is like
"yeah, we need gifts for a party!"

the wife has this bad cold so I wrote a haiku

2009-10-22T05:49:00.003-04:00

(mugs by Gary Rith)

Triple haiku, actually. Not bad for 5 something am, eh?

Wife sick with chest cold
Miserable cough all night
Runny nose all day

Spicy curry soup
Hot as hell on sinuses
Opens passages

Saintly husband treats
Missus like royal princess,
Every single day.

Queen, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND here and below in a slightly absurd live version

a few thoughts from Spike....

2009-10-21T15:59:00.002-04:00

As you know, my cat Spike is exceptionally smart, and everybody always wants to know his opinon. He had a couple of emails today and wanted to answer them here:

Spike--Is it disloyal of me as a New Yorker to hope that if there was a Dodgers-Yankees world series, and there probably won't be, the Joe Torre Dodgers kicked Yankee Azz?
-----Gary in upstate

Dear Gary: I understand entirely: the Yanks really treated a great manager like dirt. Where is the love? Its all part of being a Yankees fan: the team will fire anybody at will and spend billions in pursuit of a world series win. Oh well!

Dear Spike--What on EARTH does Ashton see in Demi? I mean, he is young and handsome and friendly and she is a cold hearted witch. If he was looking for an older woman, why not a sweetie pie like Renee?
----Bruce from Hollywood

Dear Bruce--you got me. She must know things that, um....anyway.....

open your heart to me!!!!

2009-10-21T06:56:00.002-04:00

(pottery by Gary Rith---no wee little animales here!)
First of all, let me say: I am NOT a fan. I don't know much about Madonna, except for the DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN thing. And A-Rod.
But I woke up with this tune bubbling through my head, probably from listening to the Ultimate 80s music show on the radio, and well, its catchy. I had never really listened to it, and what a fantastic video!

secret giraffe project

2009-10-20T15:03:00.002-04:00

Spike has nothing to do with the secret giraffe project, but 3 hours ago he picked a fight with the coke box, defeated it and fell asleep on it.
SO, me painting cow mugs for Nance, plus trying out a raccoon and then, of course, me and Becky Jo have this giraffe secret project going on which is hidden behind the green paper....

a box containing a box from Jen Mecca!

2009-10-20T11:00:00.002-04:00

Jen Mecca is a potter and best buddy of mine who grew up in the little town I live in here but moved to the Carolinas. She asked for some mugs from me, like skull and guinea pig, and wowza, lookit the box and also wall pillow she sent me in exchange!!!!!! I love Jen's work, have a look!

my 3 angels

2009-10-20T09:22:00.002-04:00

You know, you're kinda sitting there eating the rather tasty made-by-Gary breakfast burritos and you look around and wanna take pics of your girls: the wife, dribbling, sneezing, coughing and wheezing YET still she manages to eat the breakfast with one hand and hold our chubby kitten Emily in her robe with the other hand (she asked me if I was going to crop this---but she looked so cute! Oh well) and then there is Penny warming herself by the heat vent near the kitchen stove...

le angels

2009-10-20T06:25:00.002-04:00

(paintings by somebody else, cups by Gary Rith)
You know how it is: the poor missus us hacking and wheezing, having recaptured her cold, and, well, not the easiest night. I shall pour honey and tea down her throat and whisper sweet endearments in her ear to help her feel better.

Dig Iggy Pop here, SUPER GOOD :)

burn baby burn

2009-10-19T19:21:00.002-04:00

I worked hard today. I worked hard all weekend. There was a wee bit of beer and fire late this afternoon across the street with Chris....

back to the usual trashy mess that is THIS blog....

2009-10-19T11:47:00.001-04:00

:)
Alright, on the move today, catch up with you LATER.

empty tables, empty shelves and the elephant in the room

2009-10-19T06:43:00.004-04:00

(pitcher by Gary Rith)
Right, so yesterday, half hour before the end of open studio and I am COLD and tired and have empty shelves and tables in the studio (sign of a successful show, right?) and I start to move it all out to the garage thinking NO WAY is anybody coming here at the last minute. When, a la Murphy's law, 3 people arrive at the last minute. It always looks bad at a show when you are taking your display down early, but I live here and I was ready to finish!

There are many variations of this story, but let's keep elephants in mind for a sec:

One day three blind men encountered an elephant.

Upon touching the elephant's leg, the first blind man exclaimed "I declare, an elephant is exactly like a tree."

The second blind man, bumping into the elephants side, said "No sir, you are wrong. An elephant is exactly like a wall."

Then the third, having grasped the elephant's trunk, declared "You are both mistaken. The elephant is exactly like a snake!"

:)
Dig OMD

art trail and open studio is OVAH :)

2009-10-18T17:16:00.002-04:00

So, art trail is a four day thing and now finito!
DOZENS of people came, dozens of sales, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Including the teapot currently in the header.
All done. Miller time :)

last day of the open studio

2009-10-18T06:19:00.003-04:00

(tiles and pottery by Gary Rith, and YES, that rude gnome is giving you the finger)
SO, yesterday the expected winter blizzard (weather on the radio claims 3-5 inches snow) never arrives, but man, a zillion customers came over. Biggest one day open house I have ever had! Aside from the many new customers there was also Terri Ann fom across the street, Stephanie and John and baby Carter from around the corner who own Penny's favorite enemy Ava the greyhound, Rob and Megan the horse doctor, Leslie and Karen, buddies of mine from the Cornell pot shop, and Werner and Rob at the last second who didn't want a beer and got to watch me make cups with my nose running freely which would put anyone off their beers. YES, you read that correctly, my nose ran off and on all day darnitall, with a huge crowd visiting, and what can you do while working except drip? Looks horrible I bet. Nose seems better today, although red.

You wake up some days dying to hear Van Halen's Panama, yes you do.....

weekend TWO of open studios...

2009-10-17T06:44:00.004-04:00

(pottery by Gary Rith, Emily and Spike cats)
Emily and Spike are ten years apart, and she is rather, um, not too bright, whereas he is VERY smart, she is a little PUNK and he is a large CLOWN, but as you can see they are very close. They will thump each other, wrestle and chase each other then cuddle up.
Lotsa potsa here, and you can come OVER! To my studio! 11-5 Saturday and Sunday!

And in order to prepare myself for visitors, I am head banging a little.....

poisonous snakes of upstate New York

2009-10-16T18:35:00.003-04:00

**shiver**
When we moved into this house there was a snakeskin in the basement (the basement consisting of piled river rocks) and in April on a sunny day I came face to face with a HUGE spotted snake. I calmed down and got a rake and carried it to a distant woodsy area and never saw it around the house again (probably a milk snake). Going back a ways, when I was young and lived in western NY I played with snakes every day, mostly garter snakes. One big one bit me and I am SCARED now. As a person should be. They mind their business, you mind yours.
So, you figure you live up and endure the snow, there are NO poisonous snakes in upstate NY. But there ARE, 3 types, and supposedly even timber rattlers in my county. Mississauga rattlers in a couple of spots upstate (not nearby) and copper heads, also not near. OK, I am not an outdoorsy person, and I will continue to love it here and happily say we have snow, but (virtually) no snakes :)
Awesome resource here.

le teaset

2009-10-16T13:33:00.001-04:00

(teaset by Gary Rith)
I look at this thing and I am like:
"look at those cute little cups, I want this!"

snow snow snow

2009-10-16T09:49:00.004-04:00

So, you can see we got up to 3 inches of snow overnight, although no snow under some trees. Sure, its pretty and will melt soon, but I would be happy if it was 70 for the rest of the winter. But you know, we don't have any cottonmouths or alligators, just fluffy little bunnies, and I am GRATEFUL about that.
So, we walked over to the pak this am, and you can see me and the dogs on the bridge overlooking Fall Creek and back of our house.

first snowstorm: shots around the purple house

2009-10-16T08:25:00.003-04:00

Mmmm, hope it is not a long and horrible winter. Tis pretty today!

final class, sorta, and big snowstorm!

2009-10-16T06:00:00.003-04:00

Me and my Thursday advanced class doing the teapot lesson. Its officially over, but we plan to continue meeting starting next Friday afternoon and then take the whole thing down to the Chapterhouse for happy hour. I don't know how you could beat ending the week with the best class I have ever had, the best folks, followed by a wee little beer and a lot of gossip.
It was snowing off and on Thursday. It snowed a lot overnight, more predicted Saturday and Sunday---I gotta get photos after it gets light out. What the fork? We always get some snow in October, but all this, now? C'mon, we're not BUFFALO!
And finally, this song below was bubbling through my head this am, and the missus recognized my singing of it and she sez to me:
"I have always found George Harison severely attractive" and then we watched this. It is totally awesome, right down to the squirrel....

le teapot elefante

2009-10-15T19:01:00.001-04:00

(elephant teapot by Gary Rith)
Amazing how much time you can spend fiddling with a teapot....

all my children...

2009-10-15T11:30:00.002-04:00

THE FAM:
-Emily the 15 year old chubby, cross-eyed kitten
-Buster the 10 year old black lab
-Penny the 4 year old beagle
-Spike the super-sized 5 year old grey tiger

why....?

2009-10-15T06:02:00.003-04:00

Do I like to make mama-baby animal sculptures? I am a BIG, TOUGH and MACHO guy, yet...
I was remembering yesterday jogging through the zoo in Chicago (I lived near it, and it was free, so why wouldn't you go every week?) in the 1980s and a seal gave birth to a pup right there. And we went to the beach on Massachusett's north shore January 1, 2000 to watch the sun rise and there were all these seals cavorting about....

yaaaaaawn

2009-10-14T20:20:00.001-04:00

I'm beat. Catcha in the morning. :)

studio interview with ME

2009-10-14T09:41:00.005-04:00

My buddy the painter Tracy Helgeson lives down the road about 80 miles and she did this series of questions about artists and studios that she got from Joe Fig. I answered most but dropped some of her points that are specific to painters. After all the questions there is a blank series if you want to copy and paste to your own blog, and please do! Just tell me in comments so I remember to look!

When did you consider yourself a professional artist and when were you able to dedicate yourself full time to that pursuit?
----During college in 1986 I was a junior with a lot of nice pots and at Bennington College's commons there were tables and people would sell stuff when they felt like it, and I set up one day and sold a bunch, and did so whenever I had extras. Pots, or mine anyway, are easy to sell. I worked as a special education teacher until 1997 when I went into it full time.

How long have you been in this studio?
----3 and a half years, and before that almost ten years in New Hampshire. This studio is 5 times bigger and I love it!

Is your studio separate from your home? Is that what you prefer and does that affect your work?
----Studio is seperate but connected. It is nice to be able to work anytime and check on things as they dry or check on the kiln. But I work at the Cornell studios sometimes
a) fewer distractions and
b) there are lots of my friends around to chat with--not healthy always working on your own

Did you have a plan for the layout of your studio or did it develop organically?
----NO PLANS. Just set up my wheel by the window looking at the river.

Has the studio location influenced your work?
-----No.

Please describe a typical day, being as specific as possible. For example: What time to you get up? When do you come to the studio? Do you have specific clothing you change into?
----Get up at 5 something, 7 days a week, dogs out, breakfast with the missus, blog here, then a long walk with the dogs then get to work until 5pm. I work in bursts with breaks. I get a lot done on weekends for some reason. As for clothing, I wear jeans and tees and flannel shirt no matter what I am doing. I am very grungy :)

Do you listen to music, the radio, or TV when you work? If so, what, and does it affect your work?
-----the radio is always on to modern rock, alternative rock, punk rock, metal rock etc. I get the most work of the whole week done during the 2-5 Saturday program the Ultimate 80s show.

Do you have any special devices or tools that are unique to your creative process?
----3 kilns in the house, and a wheel to throw upon!

Are there specific items here that have significant meaning to you?
----I have a carved mask on the wall. The wife asked a high school student of mine from Uganda to get it for me and bring it back to school in his suitcase. There is also a set of shelves high up with lighting that holds my museum of pots, my work going back 26 years.

Do you work on one project at a time, or several?
----well, my type of pottery means making a dozen to several dozen pieces at a time then finishing them together.

When you are contemplating your work, where and how do you sit or stand?
----I am not contemplative when I work. I think about the work when I am not working on it. Pottery is about ACTION :)

How often do you clean your studio, and does it affect your work?
-----minor cleaning each year, and a big one once a year. As I have said lately, I had a huge pile of boxes in front of my skylight and Stevo suggested I open up the space, and I did, and moved my dawing desk over there and it is a great change and the place looks and feels a lot better.

Do you have assistants?
-----hohoho! Dogs? Don't count. I would kill an assistant. Scratch that. At home, let's just say I am not sociable when I work. I go to the Cornell studios to work alongside other people.

Did you ever work for another artist, and if so, did that have any effect on the way you work?
-----I apprenticed to another potter in the 1980s and the dude has an awesome work ethic and showed me how to run a good pottery business.

Do you have a motto or creed that as an artist you live by?
----GET UP and GET TO WORK.

What advice would you give a young artist that is just starting out?
-----Fugeddaboutit!
:)
No. I would suggest they become an accountant.

(views outside the studio, looking at Fall Creek)

When did you consider yourself a professional artist and when were you able to dedicate yourself full time to that pursuit?

How long have you been in this studio?

Is your studio separate from your home? Is that what you prefer and does that affect your work?

Did you have a plan for the layout of your studio or did it develop organically?

Has the studio location influenced your work?

Please describe a typical day, being as specific as possible. For example: What time to you get up? When do you come to the studio? Do you have specific clothing you change into?

Do you listen to music, the radio, or TV when you work? If so, what, and does it affect your work?

Do you have any special devices or tools that are unique to your creative process?

Are there specific items here that have significant meaning to you?

Do you work on one project at a time, or several?

When you are contemplating your work, where and how do you sit or stand?

How often do you clean your studio, and does it affect your work?

Do you have assistants?

Did you ever work for another artist, and if so, did that have any effect on the way you work?

Do you have a motto or creed that as an artist you live by?

What advice would you give a young artist that is just starting out?

Buster and the Bronx Bombers...

2009-10-14T09:36:00.000-04:00

Buster gettin' down, Buster gettin' crazy....

Goo Goo Muck

2009-10-14T06:26:00.003-04:00

(pottery by Gary Rith)
Kinda groovy black vase eh?
I gotta big post in mind for later. You'll have to check in :)
You know how it is, you wake up and wanna listen to The Cramps.

Holy cats!

2009-10-13T19:17:00.001-04:00

Wow. Daniel Craig, I hope they are paying you well to sport that stache.
Here is Daisy Duke to help you forget THAT horrible wooly mammoth....

notes on making a basic teapot...

2009-10-13T18:16:00.002-04:00

This is probably totally boring to most of you.
My students Thursday will start making teapots, and they frequently remark they cannot remember my good lessons. These brilliant diagrams I drew will be something they can hang onto and refer too, cheat sheets as it were.....

back at ya :)

2009-10-13T14:19:00.002-04:00

I am sitting here painting garden gnomes, cows, cats, mice and flying pigs all over pots and for the LAST one I do myself. Smiling in front, and then on the back, sticking my tongue out. Then I had to pose with the cup.
Feels most therapeutic....

chili!

2009-10-13T06:37:00.002-04:00

(teapot by Gary Rith)
I have been kinda exploring this teapot shape the last couple of weeks as you know, and this spirally fluted thang is a bit cool, with a light blue and black glaze combo, it looks a bit yummy does it not?

Last night I serve the chili and the wife, who is dying of a headcold and needed something HAWT for her nasal passages tells me this old joke:

Sad old guy goes into the diner:
waitress 'what'll it be?' and he replies
'a bowl of chili and a kind word' and a minute later she plunks down a bowl of chili and starts to walk away and he calls after her
'what about my kind word???' and she calls back over her shoulder
'don't eat the chili!'

Speaking of waitresses:

fall at Cornell.....

2009-10-12T15:22:00.002-04:00

Went down to 22 degrees overnight. YES, I needed my scarf, gloves and Felix hat this morning!
I had to go to the Cornell pot shop this am and meet up with my faboo students and gossip and make stuff, and I parked by the suspension bridge over Fall Creek. Which happens to be the same creek you see behind my house in the post below. Gorgeous colors in the gorge on campus eh?

Peaked!

2009-10-12T07:37:00.003-04:00

Shots from around our house Sunday morning. We usually have peak fall colors Columbus Day weekend and that was sure true. I was taking these pics just before it got too late! The leaves are all falling down, and in a week or two they will be almost entirely gone.
We ae fortunate to live in a little old village 5 miles from the city of Ithaca named Etna, NY. There are, depending on how you count it, 20 or so houses, a church, cemetery, post office, bus stop, playground and fire dept. And behind my house going though it all is Fall Creek, which is the prettiest small river on earth.....when I snapped those pics, there was a great blue heron flying by (didn't get a good shot of it though)

NIN

2009-10-12T07:34:00.002-04:00

Nine inch nails. No embedding available, but sounds so good....think I'll wear a geen tee today with my black motorcycle jacket, mm hmm....

open studio, I blew it when Stevo's family came over....

2009-10-11T20:13:00.003-04:00

Stevo and his rather LARGE and wonderful family came over (there were 8 of them) and I was doing a demo and such and, you know, making a cup, and it fell apart in my hands! That never happens!

live from (Etna) NEW YORK its....

2009-10-11T16:55:00.002-04:00

Tres busy, tres awesome day and weekend, I just loved it and made a lot of stuff and saw A LOT of people, including Stevo's whole family--there were 8 of them!!!!!
Open studio closes in 2 minutes, do it again next week, yippee! C'mon over!

live blogging the open studio....Sunday

2009-10-11T11:24:00.000-04:00

(tiles by Gary Rith)
No color added yet, but as I said last night I wanted to make 2 piggie angels like the 2 famous ones! This tile looks pretty good, then I was like, try a mouse! Try a flying pig!

Sunday on the art trail....

2009-10-11T07:45:00.004-04:00

Main Street, Etna, NY, the purple house, in case you had forgotten, 11-5 again today and also next Saturday and Sunday. Can't miss it!
So, open studio day one was quite good, got a lot done and met a lot of people.
There was a family of five who visited, and they ALL came from miles away because they all want to become potters and then there were other strangers who were friendly and live nearby and had seen the signs as they passed in recent weeks and they introduced themselves, etc.
Its not all about my friends, or maybe it is, but at 4pm my friends Susan, Don, Justine, and Carl all arrived at the same time, unplanned and unexpected, and it was a great way to end the day with your friends, and as you can see, it is a short trip from the studio to the fridge and the beers at the end of the the workday.....and then I made a pizza for the missus. It was TASTY. Totally exhausted after all that...

AND lastly you see the little tiles and little pots I am selling at a tiny little price, so that folks have a chance to get something nice even if they have little money or are a little kid spending allowance......

2.....

2009-10-10T21:19:00.001-04:00

angels. I want to see if I can draw these two. On pots. Except they would be piggies with wings.
Good day on the art trail today, more in the morning....
:)

live blogging the open studio....

2009-10-10T11:55:00.002-04:00

Ready and waiting for the masses to descend upon the studio in the purple house....

Pottery and Preview Party

2009-10-10T06:19:00.003-04:00

(le missus, me, Martha and Norah)
I figured that since I had to set up for today's open studios (11-5 Saturday and Sunday) that I might as well invite my Thursday advanced class over, plus other Cornell pot shop buddies. Holy cats, so many people came over--it is a small studio, but at one point there was 14 people crammed into this little space, the neighbors, I kid you NOT, called to complain (at least the police were not called) and both Tom and Martha (actually, to clarify, there were TWO TOMs and two Marthas at this party) had brought homemade wine from their bath tubs, and as you see from the bottom pic, it was finger lickin' good.
I got pics before everybody arrived, and then when almost everybody else was gone---it was too crowded to get across the room to find the camera. Plus the kiln was on, HOT.
Potters know how to PAR-TAY.....
So, the top pics give you an idea of what the studio is looking like--pretty festive...

DON'T COME TO MY open studio......

2009-10-09T15:57:00.002-04:00

.....if you like to skate on thin ice, charm cobras or skydive without a parachute. Everybody else is welcome.

c'mon over this weekend or next weekend

2009-10-09T09:59:00.002-04:00

(pottery by Gary Rith)
Open studio Saturday and Sunday, next week too. Getting close to ready. I just got lights everywhere, the displays are up. The pots themselves are in total disarray, need dusting and bottoms need sanding, plus pricing....then vacuuming and all....I am having my class over late this aftenoon so I am trying to be ready for them! Then the good times will roll....

Back to class.....

2009-10-09T06:23:00.003-04:00

(Gary Rith and his advanced class)
Sorry, btw--our internet was OUT for most of yesterday!
One of my students snapped a series of pics during class last night. We were working on pitchers. Next week teapots. This is BY FAR the most advanced group I have ever taught, very experienced. Tonight my class comes to my studio for beers and a preview of the open studio....THAT should make a fun series of pics, eh????

my wee little brush and 20 plus tiles.....

2009-10-08T10:44:00.002-04:00

(Emily and Penny and pots etc by Gary Rith)
Yesterday Goofy Kim is like
"You should paint nekkid people onto pots" and I am thinking and then I am like
"I don't know how to draw nekkid people" and I add
"although it would be SUPER FUN to try" and later I ask myself
"I wonder if I could draw a garden gnome onto pots????" and I get out the paper and pencil and fiddle around and
"YOWZA! Garden gnome!" and then this morning, as you see, I am painting all these pots and tiles and it comes to me
"holy cats I am hungry for a peanut butter sandwich"
but first I share this post with you :)

ROCK ON

2009-10-08T07:09:00.003-04:00

(Red Squirrel on a bowl)
I roll out of bed thinking "Led Zeppelin is the BEST rock and roll band ever"
but I ask the missus
"what tee should I wear today? Gonna teach a class, gonna get my pic taken, you know how it is...." and she is like
"VAN HALEN tee...." and I am like
"OH YEAH! ROCK ON!" and this is playing and she is looking at Diamond Dave's TIGHTS and his PACKAGE and fluffy boots and she is like
"that's a little much for early morning...."
\m/ rock on.....

oh goodness, don't you just love flamingos and elephants?

2009-10-07T16:25:00.002-04:00

(pottery by Gary Rith)
Here is my first try at painting an elephant on a pot, and flamingos too. Stevo snapped up the flamingo ones right away....

Goofy Kim comes over....and further studio cleaning...

2009-10-07T16:16:00.002-04:00

Hard to tell, but the studio shot is a huge impovement, and now all the tables and displays are ready for open studios. The pots aren't ready though. I need to put bunnies with bunnies, frogs with frogs and so on....plus sand the pot bottoms and price stuff.
Penny's Aunt Goofy Kim came over midday. We all adore Goofy Kim, or Kimbo, or Auntie Kimmmy. Penny isn't allowed at the table. On somebody's lap. Eating what people are eating...but that is how aunties are, right?

CONVENT BREAKOUT, wherein I escape with a nun

2009-10-07T06:12:00.003-04:00

(does the beagle on the pottery look familiar???? Beagle pots by Gary Rith)
So, you know, at 3am Penny is sleeping next to me but is kinda queasy and gakking a bit, but she goes back to sleep (something she ate off the sidewalk no doubt) and I go deep into a dream where _______ (to protect the innocent) is a nun taking a bath, fully dressed, and I am the convent janitor scrubbing the bathroom where she is bathing, except I am NOT fully dressed, nekkid as it were, scrubbing the nuns bathroom, and frankly, the nun has this pleased sparkle in her eye as she sees me full frontal and tells me she LIKES WHAT SHE SEES but I manage to get a towel on and help this nun to ESCAPE (there are bars--this is like a nun prison) and we escape to a restaurant I know and enlist the help of certain powerful mobsters I know except that as we leave the restaurant down the back stair, some OTHER NUN connected mobsters are looking for us and we are trying to be sneaky but we are seen going out the back door, keep in mind I am still in my towel, and as she and I run down the street being chased by various gunmen we run into the middle of a movie set and I am hopeful we will get some help and....
remember Penny and her belly? I am awakened by my beagle next to me in bed starting to gak again and I shove her to the floor where she vomits up a rainbow of smelly ___?