PARTYtime: me in my Pajamas partying with Penny and pals...

Kerry and Brett came over Sunday with Terry and holy cats, my dogs and cats were all over them spreading the LOVE. These are my most favorite people on Earth: We never see them as much as we would like, but I swear: there is a lot of twins seperated at birth type conversation....and we talked, as you do, after mobsters, about vampires and zombies, and naturally I dreamt vampires and zombies all night....in my dream I made the mistake of trying to scramble the brains of a vampire with a golf club, which is what you do with zombies, and I was like "whoopsie!" and used the golf club to stake the vampires heart. It worked well. In my dream, I discovered that they aren't as bad as you first think, an invasion like that, because ZOMBIES AND VAMPIRES CAN NEITHER DRIVE or ride bikes.

Anyway, down below, you will see my new PJ pants, BEARS! Goes well with my favorite polar bear tee, yes?

NOT 6 am at all.....

People think the life of an artist glamorous, and it is! They see you in the studio, making brilliant work, noodling around. They see you at a fair, with a brilliant display of your items. Women don't throw their undies at me (like women throw their undies at the Rolling Stones during concerts), but people are suuuuuuuper nice and say tell me they love what I make. Its awesome.

BUT. There is always a but. Like, my pal Christi and I met in Rochester to do a fair at the armory. OK, let's do some math:
-Rochester from my house, about 108 miles each way, 2 hour drive. SO, with setup at 7am Saturday, I was up around 3:50am. On the road about 4:50 am, first artist to arrive at 7 am. Then you are carrying your boxes and display in and out and setting up until ten am. Then at 5, time to take it down. This was a very big fair, huge, with 80 plus artists, and ONE exit. All of us getting our stuff out the back door at five. Into the tiny lot. WELL, at 4:30 I told Christi, "I am gonna run around the corner and bring my car to the back door, please watch things" and I parked in SPOT NUMBER one next to the back door. I told Christi when I got back "Christi, grab your car, you could get spot 2, next to me!" and she did. Christi and I raced to see who could pack and leave fastest (remember, set up was nearly 3 hours) and I boasted I had once packed and left in 41 minutes. WELL, I would have tied Christi and left at the same moment, except I helped her carry a couple of items. So I am calling it a draw, not bad, at 48 minutes to pack up and be gone.... So, departed Rochester without getting lost at 5:48, home about 7:48.
Shows are hard work. I don't do too many of them anymore, because you get into bed and sleep the sleep of the dead.....until your beagle tells you to get up at 5 am, because she thinks it is 6 am and time for her breakfast :)

Anyway, awesome fair, we had a wicked great time. I met a zillion nice new people. The fair was the first I had ever been to put together and featuring young hipsters. The event intended to feature art outside the mainstream, fine and funky......my tribe for sure, loved it....

anyway, here is me and Christi...my camera was not working well, but you get the idea....

Saturday and beyond

In the post below, you see teapots on top. The turquoise teapot here is one of them. I am entering a small teapot competition this winter, and these 3 are my entries so far (might change my mind.....)
I could NOT be more excited about the turquoise pot, with the subtle blue checkerboard , yessssssss......gotta make more!
Gonna be in Rochester, NY Saturday at the Mayday Underground show at the Main Street Armory...c'mon out!
I won't be able to post for a couple of days.
Here is something to do, I need to leave you with homework:
IF YOU ARE NOT already a facebook friend of mine, consider becoming one! Go to FB and use my email to find me garyrith at yahoo dot com
Thank you and have an awesome weekend!

(new pottery by Gary Rith)

the kindergarten way......

(new pots, REALLY NEW, by Gary Rith)

One reason I started this blog was because customers always seem curious about what potters are doing. I feel ordinary and like I am doing ordinary things, but I guess we are a bit of an oddity, outside the mainstream of JOBBY-JOB life. Like, for example, I am always wondering what glass blowers are doing: now thats cool!

Anyway, so customers seem to like seeing what we are doing and making. Here is an example of the magical transformation that gets potters up in the morning: yesterday at 5:20 I had freshly glazed pots, top pic, and fired to about 2200 degrees, reaching it about 4:20 in the afternoon, then overnight the kiln cooled, I was dreaming, I swear I am not making this up, that the firing was VERY BAD, got up at 5:20 and popped the lid, and was relieved to see the lower pic : MOST PERFECT looking. I used a lot of my turquoise glaze on those items, and the temp is down to about 140 right now. Magic, eh wot???? More pics of these things later, when I can take them out and get a couple of pics....

You will see below i was messing with stamps. My old pal Susan and I lived in the same dorm in college, rooms next to each other actually, and knew each other pretty well way back when-25-30 years ago. We also student taught for a year in the college kindergarten together. The magic of FB brings old friends together again, and she sent me a boatload of old rubber stamps to mess with--I was trying to roll out and make plates with a rolling pin....as a kindergartner might.....

the wife will be appalled and upset when she sees....

(new teapot by Gary Rith)
I absolutley love my job, love my work. Except for mixing glazes. This is an old house with an old basement. It is dry, which is nice, AND THE HOUSE IS SO OLD you can see the logs...because this house was built as a log cabin on river stones originally in 1865, then added and adjusted, modernized in 1885 to the style then called "Italianate" and ...painted purple by the last owners.

Anyway, spiders or no, I would still hate mixing glazes, which consists of measuring and dumping powders and cleaning buckets. I do some in the basement where all the ingredients are kept (silica, talc, kaolin etc) and the outdoors--and it was a beautiful day and I need to get as many mixed before winter as possible.

OK, so, you know, the one yucky part of my job...what is to upset the wife? She will see this picture and be like
"you were down there with the spiders making a mess in YOUR BEST LAMBSWOOL SWEATER?".

Baking Love....

You're like "what does the pig stuff have to do with baking?" and it doesn't, really, but it is a nice mug, hmmmmm? CanNOT have too many pigs, oh noooooo....

Me and the wife were in Boston one day and saw the heart cookie cutter and, well, it gets a lot of use. I loooove baking and loooove baking scones. I have been debating sharing my scone recipe with you. I have my secrets. This is like, the secret every MAN should have: how to score chicks through scones! Because, OH YES, it was through these scones that I won the heart of the wife.....and win it again all the time....

well, alright.

Gary's scones
-preheat oven to 400
-in large mixing bowl, put in 8 tbs margerine, microwave 27 seconds
-add large egg, STIR, add 1/2 cup yogurt--I use soy yogurt--stir some more!
-dump in 2 cups flour--if it seems sticky, you may add more flour
-stir in 1/3 cup sugar
-stir in 1 1/4 teas. baking powder, STIR!
-add dried cranberries or raisens or nuts or all of that!

Turn mix onto floured counter, knead like bread. You may have to add flour if its sticky. Roll out flat nearly an inch thick and cut into wedges or use a heart cookie cutter.....lay scones onto cookie sheet and bake 9-10 minutes. Check at 9 minutes for golden edges, they will start to burn easily, careful!

oh GOSH, not another yellow teapot??????

(new pottery by Gary Rith)
Why YES, this small one just out of the kiln, looks good with its 2 big brothers eh WOT?
Yesterday afternoon Penny and I had to pick up the wife from work, so we went to our favorite spot--Cornell University's arboretum. Oh GOSH its pretty, even now that most of the leaves have fallen. There is a "modern" sculpture garden that doesn't look so modern anymore, and these geese did not seem too concerned about her.....

how do you do Halloween?

The wife looks out at the cold and the snow and tells me: "I don't think I am going to wear my tiny little leather mini skirt today", which, you know, is a shame. She has the legs for it, indeed! She will wear skull items instead. Penny beagle will wear her purple tutu. I am thinking I will wear my Boston Bruins uniform....
We live on a state highway. Over the last 6 Halloweens no kids have shown up, except for the one the wife told to come over. I have not bought candy in a few years (at the grocery store last Wednesday: Halloween displays GONE, Christmas junk UP, on October 26!). Basically, although there are houses all around us, it would be quite dangerous for kids to wander around our road in the dark or any time. And I applaud the village for holding a Halloween party for kids. I am a slightly paranoid guy, and if I had kids? I would NEVER want to let them trick or treat house to house. It is a quaint idea: one day a year, YES, kids, you can take candy from strangers! (like from all the potential psycho killers) I think it is a bad idea any time, and I like it when stores and malls have trick or treating, villages like ours have parties, and of course, schools.

So, for us, basically, Halloween is not gonna mean too much, how about for YOU?????


(new bowls by Gary Rith)

Michelle GOES BLOND

(teapot by Gary Rith)

Here is the teapot from the set below by itself....

OK, so the convo goes like this, between me and my esteemed haircutter Michelle:

Me: Michelle! BLOND for Halloween, gorgeous!

She: Its just hair!

Me: Have some fun! Speaking of which, I like to roll out of bed and into my life, never thinking about MY hair. Let's go short again. Can I take our picture????

She: Take off your glasses. Sure you can take our picture! Tommy (a mutual friend who reads this and FB) always tells me I am a star on your blog.....

Me: So like I was saying, I am your absolute laziest customer....just clip it so I don't have to think about it until I see you again. Now let's talk pots (Michelle is a potter on the side)

She: I am working like crazy to make Christmas pots....move your head....

Me (tanked on coffee and VERY chatty): WELL, I am doing a teapot competition this winter, which gave me new ideas, and I was making one this morning and I told the wife "this is the best pot I have ever made! Except I already have ideas to make it better...."

Stay tuned......

yellow tea set = mega-happiness....

(new pottery by Gary Rith)
I was asked to submit a picture of work for possible submission to the newspaper and this tasty little teaset was fresh outta the kiln, YESSssssssss......

inventing tostadas......

Before we get down to tostadas, you will recall that Penny and I were walking down the street, and our neighbors Paul and Julie surprised us with a note on their tree....from the flattened dead squirrel in front of their place....WELL, I had to make a little art project of my own and add it to the tree......

Now, I did not invent tostadas, NO. I realize that. What are they, you ask? In my experience, tiny little Mexican pizzas. A flat round corn tortilla is all crisp and cooked beforehand, like a taco, and you buy them in a box at the store, smear stuff on them, bake it up! Me and the wife have had gorgeous gourmet tostadas at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, and there is no reason you can't put anything on there and it will be awesome. I was at the store this week, and it is a GREAT store, but no tostadas! Just a load of tacos and tortillas. Our neighbor tells me he makes them by cracking tacos in half. Not a bad idea. BUT....

well, I figured I could do it my way. The store has these huge flour tortillas I buy every week, they are about 10 x 12 inches, and full of nice and natural ingredients. If I had thought ahead, i would have bought the nice little corn tortillas, but I did not think ahead, so I decided to make my own tostadas by cutting each huge tortilla into quarters. More on that later.

OK, the black bean part. I read in the newspaper once "make your own refried beans!" and considering how tasty homemade beans are, why not? I never do it the same twice, depending on what is in the fridge and the prevailing mood. Here is yesterday (and be aware--I don't use salt to cook, there is always plenty of salt in the various ingredients, and keeps our blood pressure happy)

Gary's refried beans

--dice and saute in oil in large pan:

small onion, small bell pepper, huge jalapeno (bigger than my thumb!), a carrot, several cloves of elephant garlic--I am not messing around with small garlic anymore....I sometimes toss in tomatoes and other things

--saute 15 minutes

--drain and rinse can of black beans, toss into pot of veggies with a half cup of water, stir stir stir, turn to high until bubbly, then turn stove to lowest temp and let simmer an hour, stirring occasionally----it will be a perfect and pasty, lovely refried bean consistency, and while it bubbles I do the dishes and vacuuming and such.....

--turn heat off, stir in 2 tbs lime juice, cumin, black pepper and oregano to taste, add tabasco too if, like us, you always figure stuff can be a little spicier

To be frank and honest: people always worry that Mexican or vegetarian food will make you...windy...and basically, if you cook things right, and this was just cooked over an hour, it won't make you ...windy....

OK, now the tostada part:

--using either small round corn tortillas or flour tortillas cut the right size, heat a couple of spoonfuls of oil in your fry pan....toss in the tortillas singly, doing each side for a minute...yesterday I did 6 small ones

--lay each tortilla on a cookie sheet, cover with some beans, then I added chopped veg. sausage, tomato, olives, and veg. cheese

--bake at 350 for 10-15 until looking good and crispy! OH YUM!

applesauce muffins for snowy days.....

Joy posts some awesome recipes, and her applesauce muffins got my attention, as I am up to my elbows in apples and applesauce lately....
I did not use papers, just greased my muffin pans, and I also had dried cranberries which was a tasty addition, but here is the recipe, thanks JOY! Sooooooooo tasty....
Apple Sauce Muffins
1 1/2 cups Flour
2 tbsp Oat Bran
(you can leave this out but don't as it regulates blood sugars!)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, melted
3 tbsp oil
1 cup unsweetened Applesauce
1 cup Walnuts chopped – use Pecans if you like

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Put paper muffin cups in pan.

Stir together flour, oat bran (use it dammit - it's good for you), baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix eggs and brown sugar in a bowl, then add butter, a little at a time, whisk till creamy. Stir in applesauce, then fold in flour mixture until just moistened. Stir in nuts, put batter into muffin pan.

Bake until muffins spring back when touched, about 25 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and cool slightly.

This makes 12 standard size muffins.

AND YES, what you heard is true--it snowed quite hard for several hours Thursday, not much stuck around though....

(new pottery by Gary Rith....)

message from a SQUIRREL......

You will recall, yesterday? I was writing a song about the dead squirrel in the middle of the road over by my neighbor Paul and Julie's, the one that the dog was eating...and it....CAME BACK UP? HOLY CATS the squirrel left Penny a message on the tree in their yard, I SWEAR I am not making this up...imagine our surprise! But, well, it is nearly day of the dead, Halloween and all that, so no surprise, really, ZOMBIE SQUIRRELS with superpowers!
AND, of course, our first snow today...this heavy crapola coming down fast and furious, not sticking too much, but making a shloppy nuisance of itself....only, what, 8-9 months till summer?

how to make a potter super happy

(new pottery by Gary Rith)
remember 2 days ago, I said I had to repair the kiln, refire the undercooked pots? Worked beautifully :)
I am not sure, but I don't think all 3 of our pets have ever shared Buster's couch before....Penny on the left, Spike on the right...you can tell winter is coming when all the dogs and cats cuddle together for warmth! Have an awesome day....

"dead squirrel in the middle of the road..."

Me and the wife walk the dog every day, all over the place. Over in front of Paul and Julie's, around the corner and over the bridge, a dead squirrel has been plastered to the road for a week. If you know the excellent song "dead skunk in the middle of the road" and the other song "the cat came back" (videos down below) we have been inspired by both to start writing one song about our beagle, that dead squirrel, and her interest in eating it. I drew the picture above because the photo of the dead squirrel and my beagle would make YOU blow chunks, and this bowl below seems appropriate, you know?


"Dead squirrel in the middle of the road, middle of the road....
Hungry hound in the middle of the road, middle of the road....
Big tasty snack in the middle of the road, middle of the road....
Stanky dead squirrel snack slurped up from the middle of the road, middle of the road.....

And the dead squirrel came UP the very next day....
Greasy grimey green squirrel guts came up the very next day....

But the hungry hound smacked her lips and came up for more dead squirrel the very next day...."

p!ssing off a potter.....

I am totally good natured, calm, quiet, happy, but you want to p!ss me off? Let's say you are a KILN in a glaze firing cycle, just reached 1495 degrees F on the way to 2200 degrees F and you have some kind of MALFUNCTION in the computer firing box. THAT will p!ss off the most even tempered potter.
The stuff inside is fine, just not fired, and I have to take the kiln apart and see what is what...I have spare parts for nearly any breakdown, because, as you know, this kiln breaks down a LOT. One day Santa will bring me a small L and L kiln to replace this piece of sh!t (rhymes with) Taragon kiln....
anyway, I had to get out of the house and chill out so me and my favorite beagle took a schweet hike on the East Ithaca rail trail, came home and made apple sauce with these GInormous apples the wife bought....
have an awesome Tuesday!

**update: kiln repaired and working and hopefully works well all day :)