Oysters and tsubos ...

I'm taking a break from making fat jars in the studio. Back to throwing again and getting good pots from it. Gnarly, gravel-laden teabowls trimmed yesterday, then several round fat jars thrown then and finished today. Now on to throwing some 10-15 pound jars. I've been taken with this very fat form of vase lately. My own pot from the wood kiln kicked me down that road, then I've been looking at Lisa Hammond's wonderful "tsubo" forms on the Goldmark website. So there's no doubt what will be on the top rear shelf of my kiln in the next firing.
The other photos were taken Sunday afternoon, as the sun was going down quickly and the tide going down slowly. We slogged out into the cold water to find three limits of oysters for the three permit-holders among us. Good success, though the oyster grounds are less plentiful than they have been in the past. Still, Thanksgiving will have a variety of oysters on the table ... briefly ... before they're consumed.
Fished again with Mike and Tammy Race, their son Jordan and his girlfriend Jamie Wynn. All brave (and cold) fishermen.
Photos, from top: The oystering grounds at low tide; Jamie Wynn sorting and packing; Jordan Race trimming and sorting; Mike Race doing the same; fat pots in the studio.

Lisa Hammond in the mail ... and Facebook

I've been an admirer of the work of the British potter Lisa Hammond for some time. I love what she does with Shinos. Well, this summer she apparently was moving her studio back to London and relieving herself of some pots. My friend Dan Finnegan harvested a few and one of them showed up in the mail Saturday. A lovely little faceted Shino cup. Thank you, Dan, and thank you Lisa for making it. It held coffee, above, for me this morning.

---
Those of you who look at both my blog and my Hatchville Pottery Facebook page might have seen the top couple of paragraphs on Facebook a few minutes before the blog post went up. I have had a personal FB page for more than a year, using it to lurk and see what my FB friends, many of whom are my actual human friends, are up to. But I rarely used it professionally to spread the pottery word. 
Now that's changed. I was persuaded a couple of weeks ago by my friend Tessa Morgan, sgraffito potter from nearby Woods Hole, that an FB page would make sense for the pottery. It's one more way of reaching out to not only friends (or "friends") but to people who use Facebook when they come to Cape Cod and are looking for potters or art of any kind. 
This past summer just about fried me on craft fairs, as I've said before. And faithful reader Tracey Broome of Chapel Hill, NC, kicked my butt a little and basically said, "Well, stop doing that!" And she's right. So that's my aim for next year, to avoid all craft fairs with the possible exception of two that I feel personally invested in. 
But where does the money come from? I still need to buy clay and pay the gas bill.
We plan to add on to my workshop over the winter, with our friend Mike Race doing the building. That will give better space to allow visitors to see my best pots in the right light.
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is doing a wonderful thing by creating a mobile app for the ever-increasing visitors who use smart phones and tablets to plan their trips. Free app, easily updated site for Hatchville Pottery and all those other art people, minimal cost. I've already given them my $150 check and bought into the app game.
Cape Cod View magazine is out now, with a story and photos about our holiday kiln-opening and sale. I haven't seen the story yet, but will post it when I get a copy of the magazine. That kind of attention can't possibly hurt.
And I need to find a gallery (or ten) that will show my pots. Probably off Cape Cod.
All of that (and any other ideas) might add up to the already meager amount I need to keep going.
Ideas still being accepted.
And for my great potter friend (great friend and great potter) Tracey Broome ... I know, I know ... you hate Facebook. So did I. But if someone you know is a member, take a look at Hatchville Pottery's page. There are two pictures of you on the "Other potters" section.

(And for those interested, the FB url is https://www.facebook.com/HatchvillePottery)