Falling

It was dark this morning.

We haven't done Saturday Market since September; Clay Fest, travel, and a blustery wet weekend kept us away until today, the last Saturday of October. The sun didn't actually rise until 45 minutes after we arrived at Market, and what with the fog, the difference in light was startling.

This will be our last weekend on the Park Blocks for 2017. With a reserve space, we're required to show up at least 12 Saturdays, and at least once in every month (although we're allowed one month off for "vacation").

We generally take November as our vacation, for values of vacation equal to "Working like mad in the studio making work for the Holidays." I start glazing tomorrow for a firing that loads next Sunday,  after which, it's back to the wheel again.

So a mild fall day at the Market, even if the sales are a little slow, is a pleasant interlude in an increasingly busy schedule.

Even if I did have to sweep leaves out of the booth before we could set up.

Interlude, with footnotes

So a young couple stops in the booth this morning,  looking at the tall mugs.

Rod's Bod?* he asks, indicating the iron spots on the cup.

Actually, it's DWS,** I reply. 

I realize that's not a meaningful answer to the average person, but before I can explain further, he says, knowingly, Clay Art Center.***

Yes, I say, You know them?

I work there.

In fact, not only does Brandon work at Clay Art in Tacoma, he mixes clay there. So he probably mixed up the clay for the barn swallow mug he then bought from me.

*A clay body mixed by Laguna Clay in California,  notorious for its heavy iron-spotting.
**Short for Dakota With Sand, a variant of Dakota White stoneware that I buy by the ton from--
***Clay Art Center, in Tacoma, Washington.