Monday, June 16, 2008

shuffle off to Sheffield




(piles of clay!)
So, as I say, went to buy a few hundred pounds of clay at Sheffield Pottery in western Mass. yesterday, a few hundred miles round trip. I buy clay from them and they have a sizeable gallery and sell my work there too, which is a really nice circle.
It is a family business, and the family lives on site. In the back is a huge clay deposit which they dig from the ground (see pile, above). Then it get dumped into the first mixer here (next picture) which takes it into the building where the clay is chopped and mixed and prepared just right. They also sell lotsa tools and books and potter's toys. Good trip, and listened to an abundance of Van Halen and now I am home.
It is interesting to drive past country dudes sitting on their front porches in the morning, smoking the cigarette and drinking the beers, and several hours later you see the same dude on the same porch still smoking and drinking. This is a favorite past-time, I think, in rural New York. More fun for me was the car full of young people ahead of me on the thruway who were using sign language for awhile to tell me something important. I followed in their merry wake for quite awhile, but I am not in the habit of going 85 mph so away they went.

10 comments:

tjhspi said...

Hi From Sheffield Pottery.
Thanks for the mention...
We love your stuff Gary. Your animals have real personality!
Love
Sheffield

Anonymous said...

Well this looks very interesting. Their site sure has a lot of information.

At least you had a nice day for a ride, eh?

cm said...

It's a favourite past-time in the city, as well, with the sidewalk substituting for the porch. What is it with old men and people-watching, anyway? And they say it's women who are the gossips.

Gordo said...

CM, people-watching is an art-form. You can get endless entertainment just sitting at a bar patio, beer in hand, watchign the world go by.

Farmer*swife a/k/a Glass_Half_Full said...

Nice drive. That's a LOT of clay! Bet that place puts you in hog heaven!

Anonymous said...

So when we go live in the sticks (as opposed to the boonies where we are now) I can drink in the mornings? on the porch??
Cool.

Susan as Herself said...

Porch-sitting and beer drinking. Ahhh, the most popular northern NY state pastime ever... hahahaha.

Reb said...

That is a lot of clay Gary! They were probably telling you that your vehicle looked like you had no shocks - how much is a "few" hundred pounds?

People watching can be so much fun.

Anonymous said...

a few hundred pounds is actually very little--I am ordering their truck to deliver a ton.
I could go further in describing a certain type of shirtless rural character, with a belly that you really don't want to see shirtless, and perhaps not a whole lot of brains and ambition, who sits on the porch all day watching cars go buy and drinking beers...

Anonymous said...

My best friend lives in Beckett!!! I'm so jealous!