gargoyles and grotesques C'EST MOI...

My family nickname, among other nicknames (YES, I had more than one) was GARGOYLE.  It was used most often.  I was a rogue and up to no good, so the fact that I was NOT EXACTLY a good boy combined with the close spelling and sound to Gary:  no brainer.  I was Gargoyle.

Did you know that a gargoyle is specifically a drain spout, and a grotesque is just a nasty/fun sculpture on the side of a building?  Gargoyle has come to mean any grotesque figure on a building, actually.  I have not put one on a mug in a while...and WHY NOT????  (need to make more...)
Have an awesome Thursday!
(new mugs by Gary Rith)

QUICHE LA POODLE or real men don't BAKE vegan quiche....

I have never made quiche before in my life...and have not eaten any either...cannot have dairy ya know--and when I was a kid in the 70s it was popular amongst rednecks to say that men who ate quiche were not real men:  I am the LEAST real man you have ever met, a small unthreatening guy who makes art and cooks and bakes (I don't do windows) wears glasses and has his nose stuck in a book all the time and NOT a meat eater.... of course, the average REAL MAN sitting in his lazy boy eating Buffalo wings probably lacks my RIPPLING ABS and EYE POPPING BICEPS with which I could either kick a real man's ass or at least outrun him in a fight ;)

 Lately I have been messing around with an excellent gluten-free pie crust made with rice flour  **(making Samosas, the little savory Indian pastries made with potato and veggies :) and I had all this broccoli...but had forgotten the sweet potatoes I needed to make a certain dish...so was flipping through the VEGAN STONER cookbook and saw their vegan quiche and HOLY CATS!  2 ingredients, a crust, veggies, bake, that is IT?! Oh my.  Even cats were fooled and wanted some.
(thanks to the wife for the fine pictures)


** white rice flour pie crust, 9 inch single (I used a huge deep dish pan and doubled recipe)

-3/4 cup white rice flour, stir in a little salt and half teaspoon xanthan gum, thoroughly cut in 1/3 cup earth balance margerine then add a teaspoon honey and 2 TBS cold water, stir well to form a ball and either chill or roll out to form a crust between wax paper, then use to line pan, prick bottom with fork, preheat about 5-10 minutes before adding filling

blowin' the roof off....

Naw, just ordinary wear and age.  When we painted the house 2 years ago you felt like "WOW, that is a big and wonderful change!"  whereas replacing the roof is super expensive and....well, it is not this wonderful change you notice.  But like pumping the septic tank YOU GOTTA DO IT!

You wonder who would work on a roof, it is such AWFUL work, and I hired a company that only does that, every day.  We saw our neighbor's finished in 3 tidy days.  These guys had a good start but bad showers sent them home midday, they will be back for today's nice weather....
our poor dog and cat--I didn't think they would ACTUALLY arrive Monday morning, as promised, because, well, contractors, right?  And I came home from errands to find the house under siege and the dog and cat REALLY upset because of the noise and fuss.....
can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.... be wonderful if they were done Friday....or before :)


These excellent vases just came outta the kiln, you might need one! 2 for sale NOW at my etsy gallery!


(new pottery by Gary Rith)

mugshot Monday and MORE

I am juggling a LOT of orders and shows and such, and the kiln is humming along daily....these guys just came out..... have an AWESOME Monday!



(new pottery by Gary Rith)

bees' knees!

You probably look at my sugar bowl below and say "wow, that is the bee's knees!" and you would be CORRECT. Whenever I make something over the top but not TOO over the top but not TOO ordinary I am like "make MORE LITTLE GEMS!".

 Speaking of bees, I mentioned to the wife last week that we had not seen many wasps, hornets, yellow jackets so far this summer...and I said it was a mistake to say that, because Murphy's law.... and yesterday as I cut the grass? I notice below my feet a YELLOW JACKET NEST which I have just mowed...and I run. I was not stung this time, although the mower left in the yard was attacked by dozens....rain is expected now, so I took the tea kettle full of boiling water and a box of baking soda and gave them a dose now, before they are up....UGH. That should do it, though....worst was the one year they took over my basement door for a week or 2....I have noticed, happily, lots of honey bees and bumble bees on my pink flowers lately, and that is WONDERFUL. Have a great Sunday!

  (new pottery by Gary Rith)

"ask permission before you take photos"

I was here in town yesterday, on the waterfront at Ithaca Artist Market at the farmer's market.  Our farmer's market is HUGE, like the Empire State Building, and just as iconic (for Ithaca).  People come from around the world to eat curried cauliflower and buy striped eggplant on the lakefront...but one day a year it is all art. 80-90 of us!  It is a large permanent structure, and is awesome because all the booths are ready and waiting for you to simply add stuff (you don't need to pack tables!) under a roof (you don't need to pack a tent!) and you park next to your spot (NO SCHLEPPING!).

Customers get the lake, food, music, art, so 2-8 on a July Friday becomes a BIG party.

I go 12 months without seeing some people, and it is a HUGE homecoming for the town, seeing all your friends!  The wife came along and was a good luck charm, and I was easily able to exceed my goals for the day.

How to describe this.  Many people take my picture.  The pics above were taken by Stev0 and Nance.  But strangers?  Someone taking a picture of my whole booth and others is one thing, but I like to be asked.  Nobody ever asks.
A young woman who looked Chinese quickly walked up and grabbed my hippo teapot, positioned it just so, and started to take its picture before I jumped in front of it and warned her to get permission.  She and the people with her ran off.  It was probably innocent but.....the wife reminds me of scouts from Chinese industry going to stores and fairs and scooping ideas, no SH!T.......

......and ANYWAY......




here is the lakefront and docks--boats pull right up to the market....


My booth, down on the right with the wee blue table...



My best pal Christi Sobel was down the way....don't YOU want those hand painted shoes...or the cute kid who could wear them?

Artist Market 2-8

Ithaca's Farmer's Market is housed in a huge permanent structure, roofed with 90 booths and open sides on the lakefront.  It couldn't be prettier, and today it is taken over by artists, muscians, food and me!  It is usually the busiest 6 hours of the selling year for me, and I am always surprised at all the people that I know!  I am also surprised at how quickly we got here, slow down summer!

SO, if you live in central NY, c'mon over today!


(new pottery by Gary Rith)

"so this is what being self-employed is like.."

You would think, based on yesterday's post where I was SWIMMING, and today's, that I do nothing!  Just have fun, one permanent vacation, a lifelong FANTASY CAMP.... but that was at day's end!
Well, days can start that way too, then you get to work.

I am NOT one of those people who goes camping or who gardens or does things involving mud, weeds and bugs.  But I love raspberries!  And raspberry jam!  We have wild raspberries growing around the house, but that is just a sampler compared going to MY FAVORITE FARM, Indian Creek, which is this cute little place on the west shore of Cayuga Lake...and self-employed people can go early on a hot day, before the heat and other people arrive (the wife was able to come along and that is when she said that about self-employed people)...oh GOODNESS the picking was EASY...and I found, I think, 10-12 four-leaf clovers too.... then I got back home to the dog sitting and pottery, really!

shysters, slackers and slick cons....

Tuesday was hot.  The kiln was on full speed and finished, the rack of newly thrown pots complete, the dog sitting job (walking in the hot sun!) over and only one last thing to do Tuesday, a cat sitting job.  Which took me a few miles ... in the direction of my parents and their pond.

I earned that dip!

Had some funny dreams:  in one I walking in Chicago's busy  west Loop and along with a small crowd of other walkers raced across the street...apparently traffic ignored the lights at this spot and nearly all of us narrowly missed getting flattened!  At the far side, a young lawyer was walking around handing out business cards and asking if anybody was injured and wondered if they wanted to sue somebody? Then I walked into a store and everybody wanted glasses like mine!  So we used a magic xerox machine and made 11 copies....and charged the new owners 25 percent of the cost of the originals, whatta scam!

free POTtery and a dog and pony show!

My old pal Cheri is like "we need to feature YOU at MY blog!" and I am like "we do?" and she is like "WE DO!" which kinda makes your day, honestly, I didn't realize I was that interesting.....  "We'll have a giveaway!" she tells me "we will?" sez I,  "We will! We'll have a dog and pony show, cake and ice cream, hire Adam Lambert to sing to the crowd and have a chocolate and pot giveaway!" she sez and I am like "Welcome to the HOTEL CALIFORNIA!" and she is like "well, a POTtery giveaway, with chocolate!".

DO IT.  Click these links, read about my apparent AWESOMENESS, check out Cheri, comment and WIN.

In other news, do you come home and your small adorable beagle attacks you with the LOVIN'????

mug shot Monday, ahoy!

(new pottery by Gary Rith)
Aren't these fun?  Ever since I fixed my broken kiln it has been going beautifully with a lot of rich colors and sheens, wowie! I need to make more....big week ahead, Ithaca Artist Market Friday 2-8 on the lakefront at the Farmer's Market, ho boy, that is gonna be fun!

You probably will be amazed to find that NOT everything I make has the wee dogs and frogs...lookit this fine pair of red polka dotted mugs I just added to my etsy shoppe! Have a look at those and everything else there! (click here for whole shoppe)

Campbell Meadow

We have a small river/large creek behind our house:  Fall Creek!  Bike or walk down a ways to the prettiest natural area, hiking, park:  Campbell Meadow.  We were alarmed in April after a difficult and stormy cold winter: Campbell Meadow destroyed by snow and ice!  But Mother Nature and the town made sure the place recovered... the flooded creek had thrown car sized blocks of ice on TOP of the picnic tables then...and now.... have a great Sunday!

SCOOP!

I am babysitting Scoop the cat this week.  She is KILLER with bottle caps.
She has been voted "Most likely pet to be kidnapped by their babysitter she is SO loveable".
Have an awesome Saturday!

lions and tigers and bears OH MY!

(new pottery by Gary Rith)
Well, maybe giraffes and elephants and bears.... Carman has a shop (Snowbird's Cottage!) and asks for the elephants and specific bear honey pots and...giraffes.  Do I do giraffes?  YES.  Maybe not lately, but of course I do!
Have a great weekend everybody!