Slightly Off Center

If it looks like a fish

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:50:29 GMT

...flops like a fish, and, most importantly, smells like a fish--

It's fishy!

Found this in my email this morning:

Hello,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m interested in commissioning a Sculpture to honor my late mother, I’ve long admired your work, and believe your artistic vision would create a meaningful tribute to her memory.

If you’re open to the project, I’d love to discuss the details further and share more about her life and the vision for the piece.

Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Bernard.

Yeah, it's a scam.

Used to be, I could search specific phrases from these things to see if there's a new scam going around, but Google is basically useless these days. Maybe I'll try Reddit.

ETA: No luck on Reddit, but Googling the scammer's supposed name, "Bernard Lauwers," told me it's been used in a number of financial services scams, and...

He's the director of the International Monetary Fund.

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On my feet

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 05:49:38 GMT

My ankle is killing me. I've had tendinitis in my left ankle since high school. It's mostly controlled with good arch support, but the last several days I've been on my feet, glazing in the studio, and it's taking its toll. I did 60 mugs on Thursday, 52 Friday, and both the waxing and the decorating has to be done standing up. Today was a little easier, I could alternate sitting to apply liquid wax resist with standing to glaze. I also wrapped the ankle with an Ace bandage, which helps a good bit.

But I'm getting some really nice pots done.

Cookie jars;

Some intriguing special orders;

Some big bowls and covered pitchers, both in critically low supply;

And some baking dishes that I'm not desperate for, but probably will need after my Roseburg show.

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An ordinary day

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 05:35:57 GMT

Not a particularly memorable Saturday Market. Weather was sketchy, but I reinforced the center beam of my roof and put up the walls, so when the rain inevitably came around 10:30, all I had to do was hustle the boxes back into the booth--I'd optimistically put them behind the booth under plastic--unrolls the walls and zip the back closed.

First customer was super-early, he was lurking around as I unpacked pots. Finally, at about five past nine, he asked if I was set up. I kinda wasn't, but said sure, why not? Turns out he'd DMed me earlier in the week on Instagram about his girlfriend's Empty Bowls bowl that got broken. Showed me a pic, it was a dolphin pattern that I didn't have in the booth. I offered to make one in the next firing, but the raccoon soup bowl had caught his eye, and so he bought that instead.

After that, it was a long, slow slog until my second sale, sometime after 11 am. A mother and daughter stopped in, and mom asked if I had anything with California Quail on it, she was visiting from there. Only thing I had was a large serving bowl, which she was more than happy to claim. Paid cash too. Daughter asked what Dad would say; she said what did with her garage sale money was her business, just like she wouldn't ask questions if he won the lottery. I didn't understand any of that conversation, just smiled and wrapped up her bowl.

A number of people told me they'd gotten a piece from me a few years back, and decided it was time to track me down to get more. One even talked about wanting her entire kitchen decked out in my work. I suggested she take it one piece at a time, told her about the couple that replaced their entire boring wedding china, one piece a week over about three years. She decided to start with two; we'll see how long it takes before she comes back for another.

Had a young black woman in the booth, accompanying her blond friend, joking and laughing while friend shopped. She had a long, narrow face, square jaw, wire-rim glasses and a mickey-mouse two-lobed hairdo. Between the look and the snark, she reminded me of no one so much as Shuri from the Black Panther movies. Was tempted to tell her, then decided discretion was a better choice.

I've been holding back this red panda tall mug for a while now; I'd promised one to a couple named Ciaran and Dora last year--they were the couple with the custom Red Panda sweaters. Haven't seen them in a while, so finally decided it was time to let go. Joked with neighbor Chere that I expected it to sell immediately. Sure enough, ten minutes later, my next customer took it home.

Morning was pretty slow, just over $300 by lunch time, but the weather cleared up in the afternoon, and sales picked up as well. By the end of the day, my booth was dry again, and I'd made $950.

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Found another one

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:28:57 GMT

Got an email last week from an online financial service company informing me that their Terms and Conditions had been updated. Which was a surprise, as I don't have an account with them.

Yep, more Identity Theft fallout.

Fortunately, Klarna has a toll-free number clearly displayed on their website, and even more fortunately, offers 24/7 customer service. The robot answering the phone tried to convince me it could help, but when I said "Live Agent," and then "Fraud" when it asked the reason for the call, it passed me right through. First in the queue on a Sunday night, and the agent quickly confirmed that 1) there was an account opened with my name and information, 2) there hadn't been any activity on the account, but 3) she froze the account, then had me hold while she created a ticket to delete it.

By far the easiest job of cleanup in the whole experience. If I actually was looking for an online banker, I might choose them.

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Also celebration

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:36:02 GMT

Since our anniversary fell on a Monday this year, most of our favorite restaurants were closed. Denise was hungry for bratwurst, and I had a pack in the freezer. Got Hawaiian rolls and sweet corn from Winco, baked a fresh rhubarb pie for dessert, and we celebrated at home.

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An anniversary tradition

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:30:26 GMT

Denise and I celebrated our 35th anniversary yesterday. As is our custom, we spent the day doing an art project, this time, something I learned from Instagram: solar printing with turmeric.

The process is actually pretty simple: mix turmeric with isopropyl alcohol (93%) at a ratio of 1:4--I did one tablespoon of turmeric to four tablespoons alcohol. Brush the mixture over sheets of paper, in this case, 9x12" mixed media drawing paper, 70# weight. Allow to dry--fairly quickly, I'd fired a bisque kiln the previous night, and the studio was warm. Dust off any loose granules of turmeric, and you're ready to go.

Arrange various items on your page to block the sunlight in interesting patterns. If you use pressed leaves, you'll need to weigh them down with a sheet of glass. Otherwise, you can tape the corners of your page to a board so the wind doesn't mess up your art, then put your shadow-makers in place.

Take them outside and leave them in bright sunshine for an hour.

Bring everything back indoors and remove your resist items. You can already see that the exposed turmeric has faded considerably. This will continue if you don't fix the image, which you do with a baking soda bath. I mixed two tablespoons of baking soda with two cups of warm (90° F) water. Poured into a 9x13" cake pan, this made just enough to bathe and fix four prints.

The baking soda bath will also change the color of the image, making it darker and redder. It's a gorgeous process, and I suspect we'll be doing it again, possibly even teaching a session at our book group.

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Cry wolf

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 02:53:26 GMT

Despite the sunny weather, the day started very slow. In particular, nobody was pulling up in front of our booths to park, or if they were, they'd rapidly pull out again. I was surreptitiously checking my breath, my underarms, my fly... Chere finally figured it out: The city had put No Parking (6/1/2026) signs on the meter posts, and people were seeing the large print, but not the small. A few finally did read the whole sign, and once other people saw them parking, it rapidly went back to normal.

Surprisingly, the city also has fixed the meters. For the longest time, the coin boxes had been removed, coin slot stickered over, and the meters only took credit/debit card payments. Knowing Eugene, we expected the change to be permanent, and a local artists organization actually started mounting small art pieces over the empty holes. Surprise, surprise, the meters all have new coin boxes, and the display has been reprogrammed to accept credit, debit and coin payments. No idea what happened to the art works.

My first customer of the day breezed in, said she was all out of cards, picked out four, paid cash. She was wearing a peacock-feather patterned mask and a Seattle Krakens windbreaker, and it was only ten minutes after she'd left that it occurred to me to wonder, Was that james? Why yes, yes it was, but between my face-blindness and her mask, I didn't realize it. I hope I was at least polite, if not personal.

Once again, we had people from all over. Sold some pots to a lady from Atlanta, talked to a couple from Brooklyn. Told a family from New Hampshire that I'd never quite been, only by, on a Greyhound to Orono, Maine. When they replied then I had been in Vermont, I admitted I was probably asleep, as it was a late night local from Boston on, stopping at every hollow log and Dunkin Donuts along the route, and at some point even I get filled up with doughnuts.

A couple of weeks back, I talked to a fellow and his two tween daughters about buying a set of four dinner pasta bowls. I only had one pattern they liked with me, three more at home. They weren't able to make time to pick them up at the studio, and were out of town last Saturday, so I was pleased they made good on their promise and came to collect them today. I also sold a hen bank to Tim Mazet, mother of glassblower Eli, who'd meant to pick it up last week and didn't, quite. And I sold a skunk pie plate to a young woman as a gift to her friend. They have matching skunk tattoos, which she showed me a pic of on her phone.

My neighbor Chere is a little dog-crazy. She owns two rescue chihuahuas, drives the bus for a dog rescue outfit one weekend a month that brings street dogs up from Mexico for adoption. So she squeals with delight every time dogs--which are theoretically verboten--go by. This time, she had more than usual reason--there were a couple of wolf-dogs out for walkies. A local outfit that specializes in socializing and placing rescue wolf/dog hybrids had a booth for the day, and brought down two of their subjects. Being big, energetic canines, they needed to get out of the booth periodically, so we saw both a classic German Shepherd-colored mix and this sooty black beastie come by.

All afternoon, I was puzzled by the bumper sticker on a car across the street that said, in large caps, REGULATE DICK. Finally got close enough, as they backed out, to read the fine print: Not Jane. I get it.

Asked a young woman how she was doing, and she replied, I'm doing fine, I have my baguette, brandishing the loaf in question. Is that for eating or defense, I asked. Both, she said, sliding back the sleeve to show the bitten end, There are people I've been tempted to beat senseless. I laughed, asked her name, and sold Rachel a couple of watercolor cards.

Had someone look at Yuri and ask, Is that a Bi Mart bear? Said I'd actually found him in a St. Vinnies, but the first two in our collection, Bigfoot and Benjamin, were both purchased new at Bi Mart. Her grandparents had worked their whole careers at the local chain, and she recognized him from them. I wish Bi Mart still did carry them; every now and then, I hanker to adopt another one, but they don't show up in thrift stores much anymore. The last one, we found on E Bay.

T-Shirt of the day, for all you grammarians out there: Peace, Love, and the Oxford Comma.

Another good sales day, about twenty bucks short of $800.

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Wild

Thu, 28 May 2026 19:09:51 GMT

Out for a trike ride along the river today, looking for ideas for my June show postcard, I followed the bike path home past Delta Sand and Gravel. Idly musing about why a gravel pit needs not only a chain-link fence, but also barbed and razor wire, I got distracted by the wildflowers--weeds?--along the path. I've never seen such a fancy thistle before--it's bull thistle sized, but with variegated leaves. And though I've seen California poppies ranging from sulfur yellow to fluorescent orange, these white ones were new to me.

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Who dat?

Mon, 25 May 2026 23:25:04 GMT

Looked out my studio window this morning, to see this fella staring intently at the door.

I have never seen this cat before in my life.

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Market crash

Mon, 25 May 2026 23:07:30 GMT

Saturday Market started off with a bang. Or, rather, a crash. Not mine, I'm relieved to say.

My neighbor Jesse sells biologic art, shadow boxes and bell jars with mounted insects and skeletons and the like. (Her business is called "Undertaker Oddities.") This year, she's started doing larger pieces mounted in oval Victorian frames, glass bubble enclosing the critters. She displays them hanging from heavy grid panels. Saturday, one of them came off of the panel and hit the pavement.

The glass broke, of course. So did the articulated snake skeleton. The polyphemus moth lost one of its wings. Basically, a total loss; the frame itself was probably salvageable, but not useful without its dimensional glass bubble. Close inspection showed that the zip tie that was supposed to be holding it gave away, probably was clipped too short.

One of the other vendors stepped up with a broom and makeshift cardboard dust pan. Others offered hugs. I got out my box of hanging hooks, told her to take as many as she needed; they're much more reliable--and reusable--than zip ties.

Danny, the clay artist on the other side of her booth, had quipped, "I wasn't anywhere near it!" when the bang happened, felt bad about it afterwards. Karma caught up with him later, though. He has this (annoying) habit of banging his trivet tiles against the table to show how strong they are. This time, vibration from the table shook the folding shelf unit where he displayed his little candle-lit houses and castles, and one of them bounced off the top shelf and broke. Thankfully, that was the last of it for the day, as there are two more potters and a fused-glass artist in the immediate vicinity.

The day itself was perfect, sunny and mild, no wind gusts or street preachers. Lots of folks out enjoying the weather. I took three special orders--a tall mug, a big serving bowl, and a two-handled coffee mug (she's developing essential tremor, and says they'd got one for her dad, who had the same condition. It helped a lot.). Turned down another. While I could probably make a two-foot tall amphora, finding things to stack around it in the kiln would be a problem. I'd basically be wasting at least a cubic foot of stacking space, and I'm not willing to do that.

First customer of the day had a nifty barbed-wire tattoo around her upper arm, just above the elbow. I commented that I liked the splice--most of them just have straight twists and barbs. She was delighted, I was the first person ever to notice it. Used to work on a ranch in Wyoming; I told her I was a farm kid from Wisconsin, and knew how to fix a fence. I also mentioned the loop you could make around your staple-puller handle to tension a strand that had gone slack. So fun to find things in common to geek out about.

Had more people bringing in their visiting parents, to show where their Christmas presents came from. This time, the couple brought his parents, told me about the time they'd brought hers--which I remembered, because of a unique purchase, which I've since forgotten. And long-time patron Rose stopped in for another dessert plate, and I got to tell her about a recent order for honeybee ware, including one featuring a wild rose. I'd first met her doing a commissioned platter, featuring a bee (her brother's nickname) and rose. So yeah, I remember people by their pottery.

A couple of young women stopped in with a very pretty, green-eyed grey-and-white kitty on one's shoulder. I offered a finger to sniff, told her she was a good mačka. (I grew up learning Slovenian names for animals from my grandma.) Gave them my card as they were leaving, and the kitty-holder said, Frank! That's his name too! So I waved goodbye to Frank the cat, and only later thought I should have gotten our picture together. Sigh.

Here's a new one: I'm explaining to a potential customer that my pots are oven, dishwasher and microwave safe, and he asks, Are they air-fryer safe? I tell him I wouldn't count on it, even if they fit in the basket.

Everybody around me seems to be having a good day. Jim, the glass guy is doing land-office business; Chere isn't quite so busy, but still doing well. Jesse more than makes up the value of the broken piece, and ends the day content. And I do over $900 again.

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On all fronts

Thu, 21 May 2026 04:37:23 GMT

It seems like I've been fielding this question a lot, lately. I'm setting up my booth, there's a big crowd across--and in--the street, Sonia is calling out numbers and names, and someone--in this case a couple--will ask, What's going on?

Visitors, of course, new to Eugene. So I explain that it's Saturday Market, the oldest weekly open-air craft market in the country. Some vendors, myself, for example, pay extra for a reserved booth space, the same one every weekend. This also means we can set up earlier, if we wish. (And I do wish. My set-up is complicated and time-consuming.)

Non-reserved vendors place their name in a lottery, from which they are drawn to choose their space for the day. Priority is given by points, accumulated through a combination of numbers of years of membership and number of days selling at Market. Or trying to sell. If we run out of spaces before your name is called, you still get a point for next week.

Order is randomized within each point level, so you could be at the bottom of the 10-point group one week, the top, or middle, or whatever in the 11's the next week. It's a surprisingly well-organized system, not surprising in an organization that's been going for 55 years at this point.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to set out pots, and watching the weather. The prediction this morning was for 15% chance of showers in the morning, dropping to 7% by afternoon. It's partly cloudy as I start unpacking, so I don't add the walls to the canopy, though I do put in the rain pin, a cludge to the center post that keeps the roof taut in event of rain. The center spring won't do it, and I wind up getting rain accumulating on the roof otherwise.

As I continue set-up, more and more clouds blow over, and I decide to keep the empty boxes inside the booth rather than parking them under the trees behind the booth, a decision I'm grateful for at 9:30, when the first of a succession of rain showers starts up. I kept the booth sides bag when I parked the van, so I pinned up one of the panels across the back of the booth, so at least I don't have rain running down my neck. I loan another panel to my neighbor, Chere. When it's time to make my Instagram post, I have to focus on water world: whales, dolphins, and a smug-looking sea turtle.

First sale happens at 9:45, a young couple and their friend dash through the rain and into the booth. Couple have an incense dragon. Friend wants her own. I'm happy to oblige.

A couple of weeks ago, a young woman stopped in to buy an owl tall mug for her mother for Mom's Day. She also asked if I had a giraffe, and when I told her it was at home, she made me promise to bring it in on the 16th, when mom would be visiting. I'd been keeping it in the restock box, half convinced she wouldn't show, but just after noon, they did. Mom was delighted with the giraffe mug, and they also bought a panda mug for Dad.

Weather continued spastic, a new front blowing through every 20 minutes or so. Sun, rain, sun and rain. Classic Eugene. Also blowing through the booth, the echoes of the bullhorn evangelist haranguing the crowds down the block. I'd probably have been able to ignore it, but it was accompanied by all the folks trying to drown him out. Bells, sirens, shouting. Cacophony. It was bad enough on my side of the block; poor Robin got so flustered she blew a $50 sale, wrapped up the pots and forgot to process the payment. I hope they were honest and came back.

Denise sold a lot of paper: seven watercolor cards, and a pocket sketchbook, a new pattern we'd just stitched with little loops in the spine to hold a pen or pencil. I sold a lot of paired purchases: two stew mugs, two tall mugs, a pair of stews and dessert plates. I also sold a couple of bigger items, an otter medium cookie jar, a bunny large batter bowl. Sold another dragon, and the husband of a woman who'd strong-armed me into admitting I'd made a spoon rest (even though I swore I wouldn't) came to pick it up.

Around 2 pm, the last of the rain went away, but the wind picked up. Gusty, a little wild. Jesse had to take down some of her moth shadow boxes, to keep them from blowing off the grid panel, and the wind caught the back panel of Chere's booth while she was across the street smoking, and flipped the whole canopy onto it's back. Amazingly, it missed both tables of pottery, and the two sheet pans of fridge magnets were still hanging by a single hook, not a single piece lost.

But this is why we use booth weights, boys and girls.

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Fool me once

Thu, 14 May 2026 22:20:05 GMT

They just tried it again.

I was at supper last night when my cell phone announced a text message. I figured it was another political pitch, they've been blowing up my phone lately, but when I checked, it was a confirmation code from my mobile provider. Except I hadn't requested one.

So I double-checked their customer service number at their website, called them up. Got another confirmation text, that I had to type into the phone, but soon was talking to a live customer service representative. Who checked my records, confirmed that the only legitimate text that had been sent was the one that just confirmed my account for them. We talked a little about the scam I'd fallen for in March, and he assured me that they would not ever call me for the confirmation number. In fact, he said Customer Service couldn't call out at all.

Not half an hour later, I got another text. Then my phone rang; caller ID claimed it was from [Provider] Customer Service. I refused the call. Promptly got another text, and it rang again. This time, I fumbled the phone and accidentally hit Accept, and was treated to a robo-voice informing me that my service had been suspended due to reported fraud on my account. Hung up, dialed my land-line to confirm that the phone was still working. Ignored the third attempt, after which they gave up.

You see what might have happened: I panic and get steamrolled into giving them the confirmation code, with which they can change my PIN, reroute my phone, and I'm in exactly the same horrible place as I was for too much of last month. Fortunately, I saw this one coming, with reinforcement from my chat with Real Customer Service Agent.

But it's so easy to be taken in.

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Bloom time

Sun, 10 May 2026 04:24:45 GMT

We seem to be in an accelerated timeline. We've only just had the irises open this week, the last of the tulips are starting to fade, and one lonely pheasant-eye narcissus has deigned to bloom, under the cedar tree.

And the back yard is full of roses.

What the heck? Is it summer already?

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Oval time

Sun, 10 May 2026 04:20:16 GMT

Back in the studio this week, starting another production cycle. I was down to 300 lbs. of clay, and Clay Art Center said they'd be shipping in two weeks, so I started with things that were more time-intensive that clay-hungry. Oval platters. Stick butter dishes. Colanders. Gravy boats and tiny cream pitchers. A short run of big serving bowls, six-pounders, because I have an order for one, and only have two more in stock.

And then they delivered a ton of clay on Tuesday.

So I can dive into the big orders--40 more mugs for Great Harvest Bakery, probably 60 tall mugs for me, casseroles, cookie jars, lots of soup bowls and dinner plates. Painted mugs, dessert plates, all the bits I'll need for Roseburg the end of June. Here's some of what I've made.

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All the mothers

Sun, 10 May 2026 04:12:03 GMT

So many mothers and their children at Market today, mostly daughters, though a few sons. And a very few Dads and children shopping for mom. All delightful... I featured several pictures of mother-and-child critters on my Instagram. My favorite? The killdeer mama and chicks, one peeping out from under her breast, the other boldly exploring the world on its spindly legs.

Had a number of people stop to tell me how much they loved their mug/plates/bowls. How they used them every day. More than one told me they were my "biggest fan." One bought a French butter dish--they'd been looking for them all over. Another brought in her friend, visiting from Chicago, who bought a pair of stew mugs to take home with her. Yet another, who'd got a mug at Holiday Market, tracked me down on the park blocks. She was looking at an orca stew mug, but wasn't sure; inventory showed I had the pattern on a tall mug, which turned out to be the perfect choice.

A couple of young women video-chatted with a third one while showing her every hen and rooster piece in the booth. Turns out they live in New York city, and space is at a premium, so they were determining what they had room for in their tiny apartment. The decision finally went to a hen and rooster soup bowl--they stack so compactly. [ETA: Actually, as I did the bookkeeping this morning, realized they'd gotten the mugs instead, which are smaller, but don't store so compactly. Oh well.]

Had a couple of fun interactions with kids. The first, a little girl in gold sweat shirt and pants completely covered in leopard spots. I showed her the cheetah mug, said, It's you! I love cheetahs! she replied. Then there was the little boy with the toy spinosaurus who discovered the dinosaur banks. Particularly loved the stegosaur; well, so do I.

Had a guy looking around the booth with a tiny pig tattoo on his left biceps. I showed him my pig with piglets dessert plate, made him laugh, then realized it wasn't just any pig: It was Waddles, from Gravity Falls. When I said, It's Waddles! he laughed and showed me the matching tattoo of Gompers, the goat, on the other arm.

Hat of the day: a ball cap with a shark's head, nose up, with the words Dun, Dun underneath.

At the very end of the day, a young couple stopped in. Said I'd sold them a set of soup bowls, fox and hare, perfect because they matched the set of tattoos on her shins. She was wearing long pants today, but had her shirt rolled up to show an elaborate henna tattoo on her very pregnant tummy. He picked out a lamb toddler bowl for her while she was next door at Jesse's booth, but put it back in the stack and told her to come over and make her choice. Sure enough, she picked the lamb again, and I wrapped it up and wished her a happy Mothers Day.

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The van is fixed!

Sun, 10 May 2026 02:20:17 GMT

It only cost $1237.20.

Replace faulty fuel injector, spark plugs and leads, distributor rotor and cap. Adjust and tune up everything. It's a good thing I've had good sales at Market the last month.

Boy, it runs sweet, though.

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After the Bowl Ball

Sun, 03 May 2026 05:04:23 GMT

Yesterday evening was Food for Lane County's Empty Bowls sale, so the first few people stopping by this morning had all attended. Several told me how many of my bowls they'd collected over the years. One bought a turkey bowl to add to their growing collection. Another, who always made sure to be first in line when the sale started, told of the second person in line who fixated on a praying mantis bowl, that she had to have. Except, when she got to it, someone had sniped it already. She accused first person, who denied stealing her bowl. Later, third person in line confided that she'd bought it, planned on gifting it to second person as a surprise.

Such skullduggery; almost glad I forgot to attend.

After a fairly unpromising morning, the sun finally came out around lunchtime. Fortunately, the customers were not so reticent--a busy Saturday at Market! First up, after the Empty Bowls crowd, was a special order pick-up. Bailey'd ordered a small covered casserole, mama otter pattern. I made two, and both turned out nicely. She picked the one on the left, so I get to put the other one out next week for Mother's Day. She also picked out two dinner plates to go with it, a nice start to the day.

I'm already selling Mother's Day presents--a heron soup bowl for mom and flamingo bowl for grandma. An owl tall mug to a young woman for her mother, who also made me promise to bring in the giraffe mug from the new firing on May 16, when she'd be bringing her mom to Market. Owls and giraffes are her favorites.

Took a bunch of special orders. Bailey wanted a mantis dinner plate to go with her other two. Abdul came back, sad-faced. Did they break it [the new tip jar] again? I asked? No; it's just too small. I promised him a bigger one in my June firing. Speaking of bigger, I took an order for a canister with internal dimensions of 5.5" diameter, 10" deep. And a woman wanted to replace her favorite big bowl, finally broken after 7 years of service. I'll be making her a 6 lb. serving bowl, hummingbird pattern.

Lots of friends buying presents for each other; a young woman announced that she was going to start replacing her dinner plates, one at a time. Her older friend gave her a head start, buying two. Lots of kids in the booth too, taking advantage of my "Please Touch" rule to stroke and pet their favorite animal patterns, and weigh in on what to get mom for Mother's Day.

Ended up being my second-best weekend so far, only about $20 less than opening day. And then the van almost broke down going home. It's been coughing and choking on and off for a few weeks, but generally getting better after a few minutes. This time, it struggled all the way home, had to shift it into neutral at stop signs and rev the motor to keep it from stalling. Guess I'd better get it to my mechanic on Monday.

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Other results from the last firing

Sun, 03 May 2026 04:38:55 GMT

It was another generally good firing, even top and bottom, no more oxidation than usual, and some beautiful results.

Here are a few I remembered to snap as I unloaded the kiln.

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Unbelievable

Sun, 03 May 2026 04:31:58 GMT

Look at those cones. Perfect cone 10, top and bottom. This never happens...

The difference in reduction, sadly, is much more typical.

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Creating a buzz

Sun, 03 May 2026 04:29:49 GMT

It may have been the fastest turnaround ever on a special order. Took the commission Saturday before last, at Market, for a set of four dessert plates in bee pattern. As it happens, I was nearly finished with a glaze run, all I had left to do were dinner and dessert plates. Loaded the kiln the following Thursday, fired on Monday, and unloaded five bee-utiful plates on the following Thursday (the extra goes into my booth stock).

Bee-hold!

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Birthday girl

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:52:45 GMT

Sunday was Denise's birthday, so I took the day off from most of my pottery responsibilities to celebrate with her. Baked a cake, of course, had a nice lunch--I made spinach/mushroom/Swiss cheese omelets, along with potatoes fried in bacon fat.

After lunch, we worked on book projects for a bit, then went down to Cascades Raptor Center to visit the birds. We've been supporting members for a number of years, so had free admission passes. We took along Denise's walker, so she'd have a seat to rest on when needed, and it's a good thing we did. That place is all up and downhill, gravel pathways. The parking lot was full when we arrived, so I let Denise out and parked at the Ridgeline Trail lot across the road. Should have unloaded the walker too; carrying it up their steep driveway was a challenge.

They've got an amazing variety of raptors--hawk owls, screech owls, barn and barred and snowy owls. Kestrels and Peregrine, Saker, Aplomado and Prairie falcons. Red-tail hawks, Coopers hawks, Ferruginous and Swainsons as well. And eagles--Bald and Golden--it's an amazing place.

I took my sketchbook and watercolor kit, though most of the subjects were too skittish or two far away to allow a decent look. I did get a nice drawing of Hans, their European eagle-owl, who is apparently a ham for the camera, according to the docent I talked to, and Lacey, the turkey vulture, a friendly and engaging birdie. We left around 4 pm, went home and rested up a bit before supper.

When we go out to eat, we usually default toward ethic places, small and family-owned for preference, but every now and then Denise's suburban roots will show, and she'll want to celebrate with steak. We'd planned to go to Kennedy's down by 5th Street Market, but when I checked their website, they didn't have any reservations available before 8 pm. Yelp! said the second best steakhouse in the area was George and Violet's, in Springfield, so I gave them a call. No problem with reservations, 6:30 was fine, and away we went.

It's a little place on Main Street, dark and comfortable. Menu was an eclectic blend of steakhouse and Asian fusion--one of the appetizers was Wagyu crudo. The entreés included a $50 New York Strip and a $60 Ribeye, but also included something called a Teres Major, which I'd never heard of before, at a friendlier price. Connor, the server said it was a lean, tender cut, not fatty, but not tough, like a miniature tenderloin. (I later looked it up; it's under the shoulder blades, used to be a butcher's cut before the rest of the world discovered it.) So we each ordered that, along with a Caesar salad.

Dinner was delicious, the salad surprisingly tasty from a drizzle of honey and sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. The steak came with a yummy pepper sauce, the potatoes with chive oil sour cream. Portions were just the perfect size; we would have had room for dessert, had there not been cake and ice cream waiting at home. Finished supper at 7:45, perfect timing to stop by Club Mud on the way home to read the meter and light the kiln.

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Busily quiet

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:18:56 GMT

Saturday was another all things, all at once day. To begin with, Saturday Market was celebrating Earth Day, which meant closed streets and special activity booths on Oak and 8th streets. In observance, I chose rain-forest buddies for my theme of the day: three-toed sloth from tropical rain forest, and the Northern spotted owl from our temperate zone.

It was also Eugene Marathon weekend. The race wasn't until Sunday, but there were a lot of lean, athletic-type folks walking around with their registration/goody bags.

A surprising number of them came from out-of-town. I talked to several from California, but also from Indiana and Maryland. Most were traveling light, no room in their carry-on bags for pottery, but I gave away a lot of business cards and told them I ship.

Lastly, it was Spring Game Day for Oregon football. I'm not sure it was a game as much as a scrimmage--they divided the squad into two teams, pitted against each other--but I understand 46,000 Duck fans came out for the spectacle. Didn't have a great effect on us, beyond the fighter jet flyover, which was noisy, but thankfully brief.

With the streets closed, the only traffic I saw was musicians pulling in to load instruments and equipment until about about 1 pm, when a vintage Chevy Impala drove up, V-8 rumbling, going the wrong way on Park Street and parking in front of my booth. They must have come in the wrong way through one of the alleys. Silver came out from the Info Booth to talk to them, got them to pull into the angled spots across the street and put a pink ticket under the passenger's side wiper. Was going to see what it said, but got distracted by customers, and the next time I thought of it, they were gone.

Sales were light, whether from distracting events or just not being able to park close in. I sold a couple of baking dishes and a pie plate, but it was mostly mugs and stew mugs--at one point I noticed I'd sold five painted mugs in a row. Had already turned my check for booth fee and commission when a last-minute sale took me over $700--slowest day of the year, but still good. Made a note to add the 10% to next week's check, and packed up.

My van has been fussing, of late, coughing and choking when starting, idling very rough, and having no power until the problem clears up and it runs smooth again. I'd gotten a bottle of STP fuel treatment/injector cleaner, and hoped that would solve the problem, and it started just fine when I drove in. But the problem was back when I went to park, barely made it up the ramp into the parking structure, though it seemed to be evening out as I parked. Was concerned I'd not be able to make it run at load-out, but it started just fine, leaving the garage, and again when it was time for home. Drove it to and from the studio on Monday to fire the kiln so I'm cautiously optimistic the problem may be sorting itself out. Time will tell.

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For shore

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 04:16:16 GMT

Got an email a couple of weeks ago from a fellow up on Whidbey Island; his father had bought him a gift certificate with Off Center Ceramics as a Christmas present, and he wanted to order some tumblers. Wasn't sure how many, four, maybe six, wanted ocean life patterns, but wasn't more specific. I sent him a list of possible patterns, and waited for his reply.

And waited. And waited.

Finally couldn't wait any longer, had to finish glazing and load the kiln, so I picked out ten patterns featuring sea life and shore birds, and hoped he'd see something he liked.

Naturally, he emailed me Thursday night, right after I'd finished loading the kiln.

I sent him the list I'd made, directed him to my Instagram to see pictures. He chose seven of the ten, plus one that was already fired and in stock.

And ordered three more for my June firing.

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Weren't we just here a second ago?

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 04:02:13 GMT

Yep, loading a glaze kiln again. Had so much work left over from my last firing that a quick week's throwing to fill the gaps, and about three days' glazing, and I'm ready to go again. Jon bailed out of his scheduled firing, so I loaded up the kiln on Thursday. Won't be firing until Monday, though; had to prep the van today, Market tomorrow, and Sunday is Denise's birthday. But things are all set to light the kiln off Sunday night, and I even got the leftovers counted and put away and cleaned up the glazing room, so there will be less busywork on Monday.

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My new hero

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:28:43 GMT

Driving in to the studio this morning, found traffic stopped just short of the Coburg Road intersection. Big commercial truck in the the left lane with its flashers going while its driver, a burly, grizzled guy in a hi-vis green shirt, shepherded a mallard hen and her ducklings across the road. Waited until all the little ones made it up over the curb, giving the last straggler a boost when it couldn't quite make it.

Then got back in his Delta Sand & Gravel truck and drove away.

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