The Dogs

Rave (the raging red) and Tuck (a-boo), the clumsy oaf.

Rave suits her name. Everything is a party, though she does occasionally get miffed at me when I don't comply with her attempts at joy.

Tuck is nearly a year old. He's all puppy, and all boy....and nearly killed himself by falling from the neighbor's garage roof. I'd always joked if he were human he'd be the kid who strapped a towel to his neck and would jump off the roof to see if he could fly. What I didn't know was Tuck was listening. (Future post to come).

Tuck isn't the original "black dog". That was Marengo, who I put down this past November. She was 13. She was smart as a whip, cunning, and had the reasoning skills of a small child. Sometimes I wondered if she really enjoyed my presence, or if I was merely her tool for food and fun. I loved her anyway.

The Studio

Welcome to my studio! After searching my files, I've discovered this is the only picture I've taken of the front. It was apparently taken in mid-remodel, since the transom glass hasn't been replaced, and I haven't painted the number above the door (1128), but you can still get the general idea. The 1/2 on the right is the door to my home. My commute is short.














My building was built in 1902. (By a woman!) We think it was a furnace shop as far as we can tell with a magnifying glass. The awnings are long gone, and the buildings on the left side of the picture are too---but that's pretty standard for small towns. Buildings come and go, and that building looks past it's prime already in the early 1900's.

Here we are at the potter's wheels...spotless,clean potter's wheels.....and walls....and floors.....ahhhh. Obviously this is not what it looks like on a daily basis.

I also do charcoal portraits. This is the front wall, just inside the entry door. I'm a jack-of-all-trades artist, I suppose...either that or I have no focus. I also operate as a portrait photographer (different blog) as well.

And finally---How the studio looked before the remodel. My step-dad's crowning acheivement was re-routing the messy job the plumbers did with the ductwork and fixing the tin ceiling where they peeled it away like a discarded tuna can. Some of the tin had to be replaced where it had rusted over the last 106 years, but most is still original. I painted it midnight blue (It hides the flaws), and looked like a smurf when I was done.

This blog will be primarily about the dogs and how they influence my pottery designs. They're border collies. Never an easy breed, but I love a challenge. They are occasionally the bane of my existence, mostly the joy of my life, and highly entertaining. Hopefully, they can entertain you as well.