Gary's Third Pottery Blog

When the going gets tough, dragons gonna get going....

Gary's third pottery blog

WRITE TO ME! garyrith@yahoo.com Come see me! Open studio HERE! November 25-26 (11-4 each day); Aurora Art and Design, daily until 12/24; Cooperstown Art Assoc. daily until 12/24; Ellis Hollow Community Fair, 12/10; December 10, Little Red Wagon at the Space at Greenstar. All material on this blog unless stated otherwise is copyright Gary Edward Rith 2016

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Time warp Tuesday: the wife suggests....



Before we get to the old stuff, check out this report cover from Longview Senior Living, the massive complex that my beagle Penny the therapy dog and I visit every week... we are famous!  That was a nice surprise on Monday.  As I have said, it is the most positive experience for a shy person like me, following an exuberant beagle through crowds of people who want to play with her...

ANYWAY, you know Jen has Time Warp Tueday right? A chance to look at your old photos?

Saturday the wife arrives here at the desk and hands it over "use this for Time Warp Tuesday!" a timely picture from 2003, me in my New Hampshire studio with a boatload of piggy banks.  I made my first piggys back around 1989....and the ones I make today are pretty similar you will have noticed to the ones I made years ago too.... I used to wholesale some of them, like 100 at a time, and you see penguin banks here etc.
PFFFT to wholesaling those little cuties.  At this point I think I will only retail them myself online.  I won't say I got tired of making them by the hundreds, but my working life is very different now, and I might as well keep all that easy money for myself rather than sharing it with a retailer, right?

Anyway, I needed this pic for some gallery to post, me working, and I got a kick at how I was surrounded by all my banks.  Its funny, we made a new friend recently who was like "wait a minute" reaches into the cabinet and pulls out a pink piggy "I have had this for years, did you make it?" and its like WHY YES!

The elephant in the room here is, perhaps, how I look.  I hit 44 and my eyes changed drastically, and you know now I wear glasses all the time, progressive bifocals.  I grew up with perfect vision, but suddenly in my 40s could not read street signs or see across a room OR as so many of us find, couldn't read print either.  So, in 2003 there were no glasses...also, I lost my appetite in my 40s.  Most people gain weight as they age, but I am struggling to keep it on, loading up on peanut butter sandwiches when I can...of course, I am quite active, and according to the doctor VERY HEALTHY but my 40s have been a big surprise, changing into a new body is an experience alright...


Something else I used to wholesale and had not made since 2003.  I was asked to make these candle holders.  I will make a few more, they look great.  I buy the iron part, they are about 5 inches tall....


Finally, oh my, such gems, hmm?  I love wee cute teapots........


BTW, you HAVE got to listen to No.... oh my goodness, sometimes you feel like some musicians these days are making some music reminds of some favorites from the 1980s like New Order ....

8 comments:

Lori Buff said...

That's a great picture, the life of a potter making lots, and lots of one of a kind items. I really like it.
Yeah, 40's are a magical decade where we have to readjust to our bodies, just when we were getting comfortable in them.

Barbara Rogers said...

Geese Gary, you being shy must make me a hermit of some kind, well, maybe. You have adjusted to your new body pretty well if it's doing all that you do!

Claudia from Idiot's Kitchen said...

Ah, I have an eye appointment today to try to get my 47 year old eyes to see the music in front of my face. It has been a huge struggle since like you, I always had great vision and never wore glasses. Now if I could just have some of your 40s metabolism...

CUTE piggies! I'm liking these little strolls down memory lane.

Amy said...

wow, really like those simple candlholders-- and the glaze colors you are using.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Wow, I might need to get some of those candle holders! I am sort of a candle freak (in a good way, of course).
And hooray for piggy banks! :)

I was just talking with a friend last night about how thyroid issues come on as suddenly as middle-age vision loss. Has your doctor checked your thyroid levels? I'm totally envious that you have to work at keeping weight on... but then, you are probably a healthier eater than me.
Congrats to you & Penny on your infamy. :)

Shortstuff said...

Yup...the 40's were when my eyes started to go, too. I had 20/10 vision as a kid. Guess mother nature was making up for my bum right ear that I've never been able to hear too well with. I sure wish I'd had that not being able to keep weight on problem. Mine is the opposite!
What serendipity with the piggy bank. Those are cute.

Anonymous said...
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Busy Bee Suz said...

You and Penny ARE famous!!! I think this volunteering is just perfect for someone shy; you know getting out of your comfort zone a bit and opening up? Awesome-sauce.
Love the pic of you and the piggies...so glad you only do your thing now and not for others. retail, smeatail.
:)

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I am a full-time studio potter, sculptor, and dog walker, married to superhawt Missus Tastycake.