Baskets, Mushroom and Flower

You wouldn't believe the contortions I went through to keep this driftwood handled basket intact. This basket is about twelve inches tall and six inches wide. It started to collapse in on itself. The strips are thin so the weight of each successive piece added puts pressure on the lower portions. I tried hanging it upside down on another pot and the bottom was pushed off. Then I tried sliding it onto a form and it started to scrape on the sides. Where is my hair dryer when I need it.

You can see I patched it up with some additions. Once I started adding them I decided I liked the patched look so I added more. The top edge folded over so I went with that as well. I'm anxious to see some of these fired. I've been thinking about glazes and also about how the clay will shrink so the handle will extend over the top a little more than it shows in the photo here. We shall see how all that comes about.

For a diversion I made this woven basket. It makes me think of the lattice on a pie crust. I continue to be amazed at what can be done with clay.

Gary mentioned there was an orange and black mushroom halfway down the driveway so I went out there and took a photo to show you. I like the fringed edge to the mushroom.

I noticed this orange flower on the way down the driveway. I think this may be a native butterfly weed.

At the Trash to Treasures sale the past two days we sold about half pottery and half other items. Other items are what Gary calls 'man stuff': tools, road signs, license plates, etc. I notice Gary sells more without me there. Guess I'm good at making and not selling. Ha. Although I think if we're both there we may be talking and folks are hesitant to interrupt. If only one person is there then people tend to come into the booth more often. There's a whole technique and skill to selling, one which Gary is very good at. Gary can just meet someone and within ten minutes a perfect stranger will tell him their whole life story. Gary is a good listener. Today we're finishing up the second half of resealing the driveway and going to the farmer's market. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.