Monster Mash, by The Misfits!

Sort of a live punky version, yeah.

Penny dresses up for Halloween in a little purple hoodie

We found a little child's sweatshirt at the park. It had been there a week, so we washed it and it fits Penny very well.

She is dressed for Halloween as 'Cute little dog wearing a purple hoodie' and Jack, as you can see, is going as Air Bud.

Myself? I have been tossing ideas around, because we will go to a party later. Put on my Bruins hockey jersey or, as the missus suggests, really surprise everybody with a suit and tie?

Spike watches for small rodents and children.

Specials: Ghost Town!

The Ghost in You

Psychedelic Furs.

teapots everywhere

(teapots by Gary Rith)

Teapots hanging around the studio.

teasets by Gary Rith

teapot by Gary Rith

So in other news, I was down in the basement yesterday mixing glazes. Whereas the studio itself was very cold, outside temps having gone down to 27 overnight and me running the fan to pull fumes away from the kiln (and pulling the heat out of the room in the morning too) the basement was very warm and pleasant. Just like in June, when outside it was nearly 100 and I mixed glazes in the basement--nice and cool then.

Anyway, this mouse, or one of his friends or relatives, ran by me, quite slowly. I grabbed him, gave him a lecture, and showed him a nice place in the woods where he could take up residence. Mice are on the move when the first cold of the year hits, I just don't need them inside my very old house, which has a million entrances for small rodents. Good thing we have 2 attack cats. And an attack beagle.

DO AS CELESTE WOULD DO

(teapot by Gary Rith)

This teapot and the gorgeous elephant teapot below are currently for sale at my etsy gallery, upper right of this page. Ask yourself: what would Celeste do? Celeste would shop early and get those teapots for her friends and relatives.

Her Ghost in the Snow

Cradle of Filth for tunes o' the day. STOP! This is black metal! And although this is one of their more tame videos, it is not for everyone, esp. my mom and dad. Or their friends. The rest of us, well, it is perhaps an (amusing? entertaining? odd? scary?) introduction to black metal. Well, you see, it is Halloween week.

is it Friday yet?

(pig by Gary Rith)

Why would it matter to a work at home guy what day of the week it is? It is just that the weekend sorta slipped through my fingers.

So, let's say you're sitting around fiddling with clay and you realize that you MUST MUST MUST have a new business card holder. Pig shaped. You do it.

Celeste has some kinky friend who is into hippos, and the goblets I showed last week have LITTLE HIPPOS swimming in the bottom. So, there you are sipping your wine and BINGO! Here's a swimming hippo at the bottom.

Goblets with hippos by Gary Rith.

HORRORS!

(Missus Potsblog and a small pile of difficult household projects)

Husbands shiver when they realize that Sunday is to be filled with household fixit projects. But I try to be nice and helpful, even though my wife is the handy one and I am the house husband. OK, four trips, FOUR trips to the hardware store and 12 hours later, trim painted, 2 electric light fixtures installed and new kitchen sink faucet installed. The 2nd to the last trip to the hardware store was to return the faucets for the ones whose price could feed my dogs and cats for a year, and the final desperate trip was to get more pipe stuff to actually finish installing that stuff.

A person may complain, BUT: it is satisfying having a tidy and good looking job done, and you gain confidence when you complete a new and difficult task.

D.O.D.

(mugs by Gary Rith and skeleton painting by Alice Muhlback)

We have been fiddling with the Spirit and Kitsch Day of the Dead show, which promises to be a good show and a good party on Oct. 31. Janet's skull paintings below are especially exciting. It is a show that cries out for excess.

Altar by Mary Reynolds and paintings by Janet Locke.

Black Sabbath: Iron Man Live

1970! Um, Mom and Dad, stay away from this one too. I doubt you'd like it.

White Zombie: Boogie Man

I like this tune a great deal BUT it is one of those that is definately NOT for everyone, such as my parents or any oftheir friends. They would not like it at all: it is power metal and anarchy and cheap horror mixed up together. Sounds so good.

champion mouser

This cute beagle caught a mouse last night outside, killed it, and if not for my quick action, was about to swallow it. Yuck. She says she was protecting the house (where the cats would have had a pleasant evening chasing and killing it, if it had gotten in) and she is right, but when your sweet, looks-like-a-teddy-bear dog does something doggish, it is icky.

There were trips to plumbing and electric supply stores yesterday, we have touchup paint and the missus has fixit plans in store. I do not care for fixit plans, and would rather bake something and clean the kitchen and bathroom. The missus is very handy, and I am not, but we have a faucet to replace, 2 lights to replace and bathroom trim to paint.

The light fixtures AND the new faucet all look like they will not fit, so I am wondering if they will have to be returned, and then I can do what I like with my Sunday......................

vase by Gary Rith

Zombies-She's Not There

Did people look like this in the 60s? Really?

doggy mugs!

(mugs by Gary Rith)

Putting the animal on the side is turning into a good idea.



In other news, who is this Deborah with the advice, introduce yourself, glad to have you visit!



And for myself, I am hanging a Day of the Dead show all day and will try to get pictures. It would appear that you simply keep adding skulls and skeletons, then you add more...and more, and streamers...

Argent: Hold Your Head Up

Argent for tunes o' the day, 35 years ago. Like I was saying with Deep Purple about big hair and metal bands....

MOVIE TIME: how to make a goblet. Well, the top half.

Probably these are the most beautiful goblets anybody has ever made. Nearly finished below, next week you will see the extra touches the customer (CELESTE AGAIN) chose.

I only show making the top half in the video, but extremely interesting viewing, I think. I don't show finishing/assembling because potters out there will want to steal my secrets .

mounted

(goblets by Gary Rith)

Friday morning doggiegram

Penny with Buster, this time.

IF YOU ARE Celeste's.....

(teapots by Gary Rith)

.....friend or relative, you may be getting one of these teapots or this cookie jar for Christmas.

Havn't blown anything, have I?

(cookie jar by Gary Rith)

DEEP PURPLE: Smoke on the Water

Louisa in Ireland mentioned this yesterday...big hair was invented here. I mean, metal was invented here.

SPIKE GRABS THE KEYBOARD

"Mr Pottersblog had a little to much catnip this morning, so I have taken over. Gah, look at that cr!p down there. Hard to imagine he has a million gorgeous pots to photograph and show you, and even a planned video, but all we get is me at my toillete. I'm gonna shred his jammies."

Spike and Bill the cat....

.........no, not twins seperated at birth, but.........

Spike and Bill the cat....

.........no, not twins seperated at birth, but.........

please forgive me

Awful, one of the worst ever. Unicorn AND rainbow with stars.

Heaven 17, Temptation

Leahy and the Chieftans

CM got us onto a good thing. More Leahy, live with the Chieftans! And I should say, it is Irish/Canadian music.

Jack and Penny

new work and nothing profound

(mugs by Gary Rith)
These look good in person, even if the photo is terrible. I need to undo the studio, close up the show room and get it working again, along with a good spot to take pics.
I have entered a petite craft fair Dec. 1, here in the community center /PO (picture below, down a few!). It is likely to be quite small and ........well, it is close to home and amongst my neighbors, so how can I lose?
Ha! No presidential ads in my head last night.

CM suggests: Walter Cranky with Anderson Cooper

guest DJ CM suggests:

Leahy, Irish music and dancing from CM. So good.

guest DJ CM suggests:

Leahy, Irish music and dancing from CM. So good.

take 2

(hippo creamer by Gary Rith)

Alright, made another, bigger throat this time.

trust me

Emily and Spike trying hard not to look guilty.

DEEP THOUGHTS WITH PENNY

Yeah, right!
I was glazing this am, then out in the rain and what not, therefore feeling hard working and virtuous so far today, when I decided to look at the stats. Basically, I was wondering if the google bots from Salt Lake City were checking me out (re: Mormon pres. candidates) and I couldn't see any. BUT, I did see visitors who spent time here today from Australia, Austria, Israel, and repeat visits from the Canadian, Irish and Middletown crowd among others. Bless you, Kate and Jim, esp, for coming back and forth to see what people are up to here.
Let me explain the intent of this blog, because people have observed I don't write much. I have little to say. I am a reclusive flake (perhaps charming at times) and sit around making things with my pets. This blog is updated frequently because it is fun. The pets are cute and phot-worthy, the pots are cute and photo-worthy, that is all this blog is about.

hippos!

(pots by Gary Rith)

Last week I showed the just made hippo sugar bowl and creamer. Sadly, because it is a very melty glaze, the aperture in the creamer's throat got full of glaze and closed up, so I shall make another. This looks rather terrific though, and now I can add a non-working cute hippo creamer to my collection.

infecting my dreams, again!

Keep in mind I am a yellow dog democrat.

Why did I dream I was hanging around with a certain Mormon presidential candidate last night? This is the second time! I could dream about all kinds of things, like beaches covered with bikinis, but this guy?

Perhaps this is the kind of advertising that: a) a fortune can get you and b) maybe the Mormons and God have broadcast abilities the other candidates can only dream of.

I feel good

My back yard and hey, how about 'I feel good' from James Brown and 'Popcorn' too.

Penny in Paradise

(Fall Creek looking south, southwest off the bridge behind my house)

How often is it late October and the temps are in the 80s? Holy cow it is beautiful and sunny and the maples at their peak.

Etna Community Center and PO left, church, right

Magic! Kate and Jim come over!

What a treat. Commenters and potsblog visitors Kate and Jim surprised me with a visit yesterday. You could not ask for nicer people. Some folks come over and you know you could sit around all day chatting about nothing and anything....

surprise guests: Tracy Helgeson!

Tracy Helgeson painted the picture of our house below, and she runs a fine blog about her painting.

She lives about 90 miles away, but we had not met. She and her son Julien, a pottery student, surprised us with a visit and 2 jars of her honey. What a friendly and wonderful woman, and a talented son too.

James Brown - Sex Machine and the Studio tour wrapup

Fantastic weather, millions of visitors including 4 because of this blog (specifics Monday) and lesson #1 of studio tours: people buy pottery when you play James Brown. Yep, they do.

Mary Lee and her haiku win a prize!

Our friend and frequent visitor and commentor is, of course, an accomplished poet. Her haiku placed second in a recent international competition.

spring dusk -
the earth's fragrance
after the plow

Thanks Mary Lee!

remember open studio Saturday and Sunday!

Keep in mind: open studio this weekend, c'mon over!
What you have below is a bad and dark photo of a terrific purple mug with a frog on it. You could buy it if you came over. You could watch me make more. Mega excitement!

mug by Gary Rith

tru luv 4 evah

Emily and Spike are sweethearts, I am pleased to say. Emily was an abandoned kitten 13 years ago and we took her in, and she was Sammy's (our cat who died in April) pal and sister. Spike was abandoned at age 3 or thereabouts, last spring, and moved in with us this summer. Emily was mad at first, but he is so friendly and playful she took to him. In a big way. This is one of those May-December older woman type romances, they are so cute, full of cat kisses all day long.