A good story to remember

We often find ourselves caught up in a session of worrying about things. 

When that happens this is a good quote to read.

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. 

As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. 

If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. 

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. 

If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. 

In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. 

Think about them for a while and nothing happens. 

Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. 

And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

Remember to put the glass down.

(Courtesy of Jimmy Harmon)

Creating art is a wonderful distraction from our stresses and worries. 

Even if you don't create it yourself, viewing it or using it (as in using a piece of pottery) can help sooth the soul.

They are backkkkk

After an absence  of a couple years we have our pansy rings again!

 

Jan Van

We sold our VW Bus 2003 Wesfalia.

We have mixed emotions about it, we've had some great times and lots of adventures.

In addiiton, it hauled a LOT of art, and went to dozens if not hundreds of artists studios over the past 12 years!

We decided at our age we needed something with a bathroom!

So we haven't given up camping we are just doing it with a little more amenities.

And I'm honored that the new owners (a young marine, his wife, and 2 kids) have named her

Jan Van!

Welcome to Jerry and Kathy Chappelle

We are pleased to have the work of Jerry and Kathy Chappelle.

We are excited to add their work to our collection at Carolina Creations!

When they moved to Watkinsville in 1970 they shared a vision that by creating an artists' community with many artists in one location they could better attract buyers and tourists to the area and that the community's quality of life would be improved through the presence of art.

That vision was manifest and proven successful when the couple bought an abandoned chicken farm and established their pottery.

During the 1970's the couple hosted workshops at their studio where artists couple camp at the farm and receive instruction in pottery in an unstructured atmosphere

In 1970, Jerry was recruited by Lamar Dodd, then-chairman of the University of Georgia’s art department, to teach ceramics at UGA. Shortly after accepting the position, Jerry launched a lifelong dream when he bought an abandoned chicken farm just south of the University. 

There Jerry and Kathy established an artists’ community that over the next 40 years would serve as a launching point for hundreds of careers.

Kathy has studied under Rick Berman at Callanwolde Art Center and Warren Mackenzie at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.  She has received awards from numerous arts festivals and craft shows.

Jerry has held artist in residence positions at many colleges, including the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, John C. Campbell Folk School, in North Carolina, Ohio State University, Keystone University, Louisiana State University and Penland School of Crafts (NC).

Jerry was born in Fredericktown, Mo on November 14, 1939 and Kathy was born in Minneapolis on January 28, 1943.  Jerry earned a BS in arts and education from Murray State University and an MFA from the University of Minnesota. Kathy studied business and accounting at William Woods College. 

The Chappelles have devoted their lives to awakening and nurturing the arts.

We don't have their pieces on our Website yet but here is a sneak peak.

On the Road 4

We just returned from a whirlwind tour picking up glass and pottery.....

We left Georgia and headed into North Carolina. 

Stopped in Dillsboro, walked into a shop and talked to a potter, after a while he introduced himself and so did I. He said Tony Holman (a potter from Texas) was talking about you (meaning me) the other day!! Small world.

The gps took us to a campground address that was a dead end. So glad our rv was not any longer than it was because there was little room to turn around and I wasn't going to back out onto a four lane road.

I asked Michael to get out to help, just so I wouldn't get stuck. As he went to get into the car I said go back and look over there...

There was a loaded raspberry bush!

He likes to tell a story about when we were living in Colorado and driving on an old railroad bed. We stopped to take a photo and I disappeared. When he found me I was eating the raspberries as fast as I could.

We ended up at the Creekwood Farm Campground near Maggie Valley. It is very well maintained and very nice. Probably the cleanest, neatest, campground we've ever been in.

The reason we went to Asheville was to go to the Highland Craftsmen Guild Show to meet up with some of our artists.

We placed some orders then took the Blue Ridge Parkway north.

Always like to stop at Little Switzerland....

 We stopped for dinner in Blowing Rock, my favorite part of the city is the flowers. The garden club is responsible for them.

Then camped beside this beautiful stream before our last stop, picking up the one of a kind pieces from Annette Libby.

It was a great trip.

On the Road 3

We just returned from a whirlwind tour picking up glass and pottery.....

This is installment #3

Once we left the Chappelles we headed north and visited Helen, GA.

Everything we had heard about it was true. 

It was cute, and the shops in the center of town were pretty tacky but it was very clean and well maintained and very busy.

But not our kind of place. 

There were some places outside of town that looked nice like at Sautee but by that time we were headed toward Tallulah Gorge State Park.

While Michael hung out at the campsite I walked the 1.5 mile trail to see the falls.

It turns out that Karl Wallenda in 1970 walked across the gorge on a tightrope. Yikes!

It was beautiful.

We headed north and stopped at Goats on the Roof!! It was a real treat. Yes the goats hang out on the roof, you can feed them and watch them interact with each other. 

They make your ice-cream right in front of you and it was the creamiest I've ever had. I know it was only 10:30 in the morning but I had read about it so just had to try it. It did not disappoint.

They, of course, have a gift shop too. That was nice as well, most of the items they carried were private label or had something to do with goats. Unlike most items you see at a roadside attraction.

One more stop in Georgia and it was at Clayton, of course the one shop I saw I really wanted to go to was closed.... on Wednesday??? Go figure. It's high season, I'm told they have an 8 month season, so I'd be open every minute of those 8 months I could... not even so much for the money but so as to not disappoint visitors that may never be that way again (me).

Other than that the Downtown was thriving and very nice.

 Then we headed into North Carolina....

... read about that in      On the Road 4

Celebration Pottery

Here are some ideas for an 11" bowl.

On The Road 2

After we left Paul we spent the night at the Watson Mill Bridge State Park.

It is the oldest covered bridge in Georgia, near the remains of the Watson Mill.

The campsites were nice.

I would have given anything to go into the water and slide down these rocks!  Paul said a lot of people get hurt on them because they are slippery, I can't afford to break anything so just watched others enjoy it.

Next we picked up pieces from Loretta Eby, another long time glassblower at Carolina Creations. It just so happens that she has been renting studio space for the past 25 years from some new potters we will now carry.

We'll have some of these large hanging ornaments at Carolina Creations.

The new potters are Jerry and Kathy Chappelle, more about them once we get a chance to take photos of some of their work.

On The Road 3  ....   North Georgia

On the road 1

We just returned from a busman’s holiday, going to pick up work from some of our artists and a day or two of r and r.

The first day we drove straight to Petersburg Campground run by the Corps of Engineers.

Petersburg Campground is located on J. Strom Thurmond Lake, just four miles from the Thurmond Dam and Visitor Center and 25 miles from Augusta, Georgia. The 70,000 acre lake and its 1,000+ miles of shoreline provide excellent boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking and picnicking.

I will say the swimming was heavenly and you could not beat the view.

We got, what we think was, one of the best sites in the Campground, in fact we might say one of the best campsite we have ever had in all our years of camping. Most of the sites are on the water and doubt you can get a bad one.

Here are some photo of and from our site.

Here is Michael staring at one of our "One Log Fires"
it burned so long, over 2 hours, that we finally poured water on it
so we could go to bed.

On Monday we went to the Georgia Guideposts, we’ve been reading about them for some time.

Some people call them the US Stonehenge.

Here is what one writer says about them.

The nearly twenty-foot granite slabs, known as the Georgia Guidestones, have sparked controversy around the world – praised by Yoko Ono, defaced by conspiracy theorists, featured on the History Channel, and the subject of the conspiracy web series Guidestones. The monument – five upright stones topped by a capstone – weighs nearly 240,000 pounds and is inscribed in eight languages with ten instructions for humans post-apocalypse. Three decades after being erected, the monument’s true purpose is still being argued, and its quasi-commandments can seem either sincere or satanic.

The most controversial instruction is the first: that humanity should be maintained under half a billion. Nearly as controversial is the sixth instruction, which proposes that nations resolve disputes in “a world court.” The stones also boast a few odd astronomical features – a hole through which you can see the North Star each night; a slot through which you can watch the sun rise during the summer or winter solstice; and a hole on the capstone which functions as a solar calendar at noon.

“Let these be Guidestones to an Age of Reason” reads the capstone in classical Greek, Sanskrit, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Babylonian cuneiform.  To read the rest of this article follow this link. 

We always like the odd and unusual and we had no idea that Elberton, GA was the granite capital of the world!

After that we stopped to see one of our long time glass blowers Paul Bendzunas to pick up some work.

It was a full day.....    Next  On the road 2....