Paonia Holiday Art Fair

Our final show of the year next weekend! 
Paonia Holiday Art Fair
Friday, December 2 from 3pm to 8pm and
Saturday, December 3, from 9am to 5pm

We will show our pottery as well as Textiles from Taquile, Island, Lake Titicaca, Peru. See www.taquilefriends.blogspot.com to learn more about our 30 year relationship with this community and how we trade solar gear for quality textiles.

Note: This link: Table of Contents 
          will help you find specific items of our work on previous posts.

This intimate show of about a dozen regional and local artists features:

Celia Roberts Photography,

Tara Miller Claywork and Textiles of Taquile,

Patricia Weller, Goddess with an Attitude, polymer jewelry and cards

Diana Brekke’s Rockwall Gardens, wreaths, holiday centerpieces, ornaments

Ashley Leiber’s EcoArt (see to believe)

Jaycee Adams, hula hoops

Kathie Johnson’s new creative works of book beads, catnip sox and more

Peggysoup Lovey’ s People Aren’t Perfect, upcycled fabric dolls and hand-engraved glass

Lynn Gillespie of The Living Farm, felted slippers, scarves, mittens, pillows

Saschwann Langston, crochet and knitted fiber art

Kathie Sabatke of Sunshine Mesa Designs, bead weavings

Mary Key with hand-dyed silk scarves

Mark Weinhold with handcrafted flyfishing nets

Christina and Stephanie Clouse, Two Little Birds, with feather earrings, art prints

Mary George of Hungry Mother Foods, food available to eat, YUM

VOGA (Valley Organic Growers Association) 

Slow Food Western Slope

Santa Fe Fiesta Labor Day Show

Every year we return to the vibrant city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Labor Day weekend for the kick-off of Santa Fe Fiesta, one of the oldest festivals in the country. In fact it was first proclaimed and established in 1712! Our booth is in the very center of the Santa Fe Plaza, up against the obelisk. Here is a link to the whole week's festivities: http://www.santafefiesta.org 

Note: This link: Table of Contents 
          will help you find specific items of our work.

This will be our final All-Pottery show of the year. 

This month has been mostly about Rocky Mountains and valley gardening:

I pull the common pink plants,
keep the darkest burgundy and white blooms to cross-breed.

In the meantime we prepare for two very small shows. One is the Sneffels Fiber Festival, where Sam will be presenting the UNESCO recognized textile work from Taquile Island, Lake Titicaca, plus specially made yarn bowls and perhaps a few more pottery selections. 
If you would like to request a particular piece of ceramic work, to pick up at this show, please email your wish immediately:  paoniapottery(at)gmail.com
Sniffles Fiber Festival
Saturday September 24th 9:00am - 5:00pm 
Sunday September 25th 11:00am-3:00pm
at Ouray County Fairgrounds & 4-H Center: 
22739 Highway 550 Ridgway, CO 81432.

This show had more pottery than we expect at Ridgway this year.

Sam is doing that show alone, because Tara is attending a conference, Crones Counsel, a gathering to honor and advance the aging woman’s value to society, in Denver. I will have pottery and textiles at a vendor table which is open to the public. Again the quantity of work displayed will be limited and you are invited to request a particular piece of ceramic work or textiles to pick up at this show. Please email your desire immediately:  paoniapottery(at)gmail.com 
Crones Counsel
September 21 – 25, 2016
Renaissance Denver (Stapleton) Hotel
3801 Quebec Street
Denver, Colorado 80207
Exact show hours are unknown at this time, but open most afternoons.

Kiln opening

It's always fun to open the kiln and see how everything turned out. One challenge of pottery making is that that the final color outcome is all in our imagination (based on experience, of course), until this magic opening when the kiln is cool enough. 

Note: This link: Table of Contents 
          will help you find specific items of our work.

I pulled this one platter of Elk and Hawk in a Rocky Mountain setting this morning.

This weekend, July 29-30-31, is the Carbondale Mountain Fair in Carbondale, Colorado, one of the most fun events in all of Colorado. You can see the entire schedule of music and events at http://www.carbondalearts.com/event/44th-annual-carbondale-mountain-fair/ Vendor hours begin at noon on Friday and at 10am on Saturday and Sunday. Our booth #44 is along the fence from the Weant Street entrance.

Stoneware Fruit baskets, including the Grove of Trees

Elk with Aspen Forest Chip 'n Dip, hummingbird platter, and some multiple green glazes in the background, including icybana vases.

See you at the Fair!

Summer 2016 Art Fairs

Fourth of July Cherry Days Celebration
We will have our Pottery booth in Paonia Town Park fully set up on Sunday, July 3, and Monday July 4. 
Note: This link: Table of Contents 
          will help you find specific items of our work.
If you come by on Saturday, July 2, you may find a partial display, depending on the weather. 
Paonia is our home show, so we use it for our annual Seconds' Sale, so come on Sunday for bargains of slightly flawed or experimental work. 
You will also have an opportunity to buy UNESCO-recognized textiles from Taquile Island, Lake Titicaca, Peru, textiles we have fair traded directly with the artists, mostly for solar gear. See My Travel Blog for stories about our Peru connection.

For the Cherry Days Schedule, check out: 
http://www.paoniacherrydays.com/schedule.html

2016 button design by Elena Niermann

Carbondale Mountain Fair at July's end
The 45th Annual Carbondale Mountain Fair takes place on 
July 29, 30, and 31, 2016
The show opens at 12 Noon on Friday, July 29,
10am on Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and 31.
Selling closes around dusk on Friday and Saturday; 5pm on Sunday.
For more information about the fun fair schedule, check out:
http://www.carbondalearts.com/mountain-fair/

Summer 2016 Art Fairs

Fourth of July Cherry Days Celebration
We will have our booth in Paonia Town Park fully set up on Sunday, July 3, and Monday July 4. 

Note: This link: Table of Contents 
         will help you find specific items of our work.

If you come by on Saturday, you may find a partial display, depending on the weather. 
Paonia is our home show, so we use it for our annual Seconds' Sale, so come on Sunday for bargains of slightly flawed or experimental work. You will also have an opportunity to buy UNESCO-recognized textiles from Taquile Island, Lake Titicaca, Peru, textiles we have fair traded directly with the artists, mostly for solar gear. See My Travel Blog for stories about our Peru connection.
For the Cherry Days Schedule, check out: 
http://www.paoniacherrydays.com/schedule.html

2016 button design by Elena Niermann

Carbondale Mountain Fair at July's end
The 45th Annual Carbondale Mountain Fair takes place on 
July 29, 30, & 31, 2016
The show opens at 12 Noon on Friday, July 29,
10am on Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and 31.
For more information about the fun fair schedule, check out:
http://www.carbondalearts.com/mountain-fair/

Springtime in the Rockies

Spring Production
Note: This link Table of Contents 
          will help you find specific items of our work.
Preparing for a beautiful show in Estes Park on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park in an area of abundant wildlife. Themes in our work include this wildlife. The show is all three days of Memorial Day Weekend.
Here's a platter from last year. 

Oval Platter about 11" x 15" x 1.5" Slip painting underglaze 

Similar pieces are inside the kiln today as we begin firing. This is the bisque firing, or biscuit, which could be called, "half-fired." I work in Stoneware, high-fired ceramic, for many reasons. One is because Stoneware is impermeable and very durable; could last for generations or centuries. I fill every cubic inch of my 25cu.ft. kiln; a "tight" kiln. I know we are using fossil fuels and fire as efficiently as we can.

warm glow on the underside of the kiln; propane venturi burners

Please join us at our Memorial Day Weekend show on the Eastern Slope of the Rocky Mountains.

The 17th Annual Estes Park Art Market

Saturday and Sunday, May 28-29 ~ 9:00 - 5:00

Sunday, May 30 ~ 9:00 - 4:00

Bond Park, right on E. Elkhorn Avenue, the main drag traveling through town; you can't miss it.

Back home, it's a bit difficult to concentrate on making pottery when spring is so beautiful in our own back yard.

Our Next show will be Cherry Days, the 4h of July weekend celebration right here in Paonia.