Home sale in Charlotte

Well it's the last home sale of the season tonight in Charlotte. Jill and I have had successful shows in Rutherfordton and Chattanooga last week and after tonight the show will be set up in my studio starting Saturday and running through next Friday. The hours will be 10am to 5 pm.
The show tonight is at the home of my brother and sister-in-law. This is the sixth time hosting a show for me. It will be from 5:30 to 9:30pm.

Buy a brick campaign is underway!!

I am pleased to announce an opportunity to become a patron of Stephenson pottery. Since doing an apprenticeship with Matt Jones of Sandy Mush, NC I have understood the importance of having a large wood fired kiln and selling pots through kiln openings at my studio. The chance to do that is finally here and I'm asking for your help in finishing the kiln. The following info will tell you how.

Be a part of an exciting event while investing in local North Carolina wood fired pottery. Stephenson Pottery is expanding and building a new kiln in Rutherfordton, NC. The construction has already begun with the help of a grant from the Arts and Science Council in Charlotte, NC (http://www.artsandscience.org/). The land has been graded, the kiln shed has been constructed and the first batch of brick has been ordered and will be delivered in October. To finish the kiln in time for the first firing in the spring of 2012, Stephenson Pottery is seeking patrons to help support the cost for purchasing the remaining brick and constructing the kiln.


As an patron you will be given the opportunity to select pots from the “first firing”, a special mark for any kiln. The value of the pots you may choose will equal the amount of your initial investment*. For example, if you invest $100, then you will have the opportunity to choose $100 worth of pottery from the kiln. When we receive your investment, Stephenson Pottery will send you a “First Firing Certificate” showing the amount of your investment. This certificate can be used at the first firing, or any firing in the future. Each pot included in the first firing will have a special stamp commemorating the event.

Investments can be made in three ways:

*Minimum initial investment $25

· Use PayPal – Make a payment to ajs@ajspottery.com (www.paypal.com)
· Mail a check – Make the check out to Andrew Stephenson and mail it to 121 Middle Oaks Drive, Rutherfordton, NC 28139.
· Credit Card over the phone – Call Andrew at 828-712-3134 and provide your credit card #.

Be sure to include your mailing address so we can send you your “First Firing Certificate” as well as notify you of the date for the firing.

This is an exciting time for Stephenson Pottery and we are excited to have you be a part of this special event.

Spring is here!

Well spring is finally here and I'm starting to think that summer is right around the corner after the temperature has reach the upper 80's the last few days. I haven't been in the studio as much as I would like to have been the last couple of weeks. That is due to some renovations in the studio that had to get finished. I finally hung the plywood on the walls of the shop, hung some shelves, and some track lighting to make it easier to see at night while I'm making pots.
Due to all the lifting of the plywood, I threw my neck out of whack and had to get acupuncture and today I am getting my first hour long massage! I'm looking forward to that. Pots are finally getting made though and I started the next cycle of pots with some small tea bowls and then some two piece vases.
Yesterday I made up 1000lbs of clay, you can see how that is done on a YouTube video I have posted, so that clay will be ready in a few weeks. My goal is to continually make clay all summer so that in the fall and winter I will have two tons of clay ready. I make my own clay because it makes for a better throwing clay body and it also cuts down on cost. My clay costs around 11 cents a pound. If I was to buy the clay pre-made, then it would cost 28 cents a pound. I do have labor to add in there also but it only takes a couple of hours to make a 1000lbs. You also need to have the space for the clay racks.
The picture above is the spring view out of my window by my wheel. It's nice not to see snow!! This is my first spring in the new house and studio. I love to see the transition that the leaves make from a bright green to a darker green as the spring moves to summer. With the coming of spring comes the need to cut the grass every week as well. A riding mower and a beer makes that job a lot easier.
As the next cycle of pots is made, I will post some pictures and try to continue the blog. Thanks for following and have a great week!! My daughter just woke up from a nap so it's time to move into Daddy mode.

Snowed in!

What a week. This was a
great week to test out the new barrel stove and hunker down in the studio. The week started out with bowls. Small condiment bowls, salad bowls, and then small serving bowls. My new apprentice, Jake, worked on some small bowls that we will put some glass in the bottom. Jake is working hard and building up his throwing skills. He is just 18 and fresh out of high school. These small bowls are a great throwing exercise for him. After the bowls were trimmed and glazed I worked on some small sugar jars and creamers. The jars are a great little kiln filler and fun to make. I always love to make the creamers and any pot with a spout for that matter. Jake and I were able to make around a 100 pots this week.
Since my last post, which was ages ago, I have bought a house down in Rutherford County just 9 miles east of Lake Lure on hwy 64/74. This has turned out to be a great location due to the ability to put pots out in my yard and sell to passers by. This eliminates some of the need to rely on craftshows.
It took most of the end of December and some of January to winterize the studio and it's a good thing I did! Now that I'm settled into the new space and routine, I will try to post a blog at least once a week and post some more videos on youtube.

Update from Stephenson Pottery

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted on the site. A lot has been happening. The photo is from a recent show that I did at Rock House Vineyards in Polk County, NC. It was a great setting and fun do to. There will be more shows at the vineyard in the fall. I've also been doing some homesales at customers homes. The past show was last Thursday night at the home of Angie Rogers in Charlotte. Thanks Angie! We had a great time and sold a bunch of pots.

During the last three summers, I have been the pottery director at Camp Blue Star in Hendersonville, NC. It keeps me busy and is a change of pace from the regular studio schedule. I fire the wood kiln twice with the kids so that they can see the process and hopefully get them excited about pottery. The next firing is on Thursday.

What is coming up for the week here at Stephenson Pottery? Well, Tuesday I hope to close on my first house (that has been a nightmare process). A lot of up and down emotions are involved in buying a house. My closing has been moved 3 times! My moving date has been pushed back to next weekend. Wednesday I will be loading the wood kiln and then firing the kiln on Thursday. Friday I will be taking Emily and Samantha to the airport in Charlotte for there trip to Tulsa and then coming straight back to start the big move. Saturday I will be moving. So it's a busy week.

Thanks for reading and I will try and post on a more regular schedule.

waiting for the kiln to cool

Hi everyone. I've finally started a blog and I wonder how much time I will spend doing this. It is a good think to work on while the kiln is cooling down. I fired on Sunday and peeked in this evening and it looks like a good one. I'm doing the Weaverville Arts Safari this weekend over at John Ransmeiers' house. Hopefully it will be a good show and I can pay the rent this month!

Time has been a valuable thing lately. Between making pots, being at the gallery, bartending, teaching, and looking after Samantha (my 5 week old baby girl) I wonder how it all gets done. Emily has been a temendous help. Especially with Samantha. Emily has taken over my marketing for me and has set up a home sale next week for me in Charlotte. She also will be working with me in my gallery so I can make pots in the shop and she can talk with customers and run the cash register.

Back to the firing. We loaded on Saturday and fired on Sunday. My friends David Parris from Saluda, Mike Catanese from Horseshoe, and David Voorhees from Flat Rock all helped with the firing and had some pots in the kiln. We loaded two 30-34 inch vases up front and filled in the back with some pitchers, vases, and other tall pots. The weather was ok though we had some storms roll through towards the end of the night. It sure was better than the 6 inches of snow we had last time. I will try and post some pictures when we unload.