Each year my summer vacation is always to visit potters and to go see pots. I've known of the potters I went to visit for some time, however I didn't know where they lived until this past spring. A friend of mind told me that Ellen Shankin, Silvie Granatelli, Donna Polseno and Richard Hensley all lived in the Floyd, Virginia area. I looked it up on the map and it looked close enough for a day trip. So today I got up at 5:00 am and drove up there. I visited Ellen first. She was very nice and showed me around her studio and gallery. She was working on some pots and was nice enough to demonstrate how she alters her bottles and shaves them to get them thin. Needless to say I bought some of her work and in the gift giving tradition I gave her one of my bottles. She liked that it was squared and liked the carving. Later I, after seeing lots of deer, I visited Silvie Granatelli. She was in the midst of glazing. And if you know the mode we get in when us potters glaze you know we have to work hard and steady to maintain some fluidity in our approach. Silvie did pause though to give me a quick tour and introduced me to her studio assistant. Her assistant was very nice. She helped me purchase some of Silvie's work. Before I left I made sure to present both of them with one of my works. I enjoy giving my work. Then I decided to drive over to Donna Polseno's and Richard Hensley's pottery. After getting turned around a bit, I drove on the parkway and finally found their studio. They weren't home, but they use the honesty policy and leave their gallery open with instructions on what to do if you want to make a purchase. After browsing through their beautiful work, I settled on some pieces and made a purchase. I left the money, a note and one of my pieces. So, I saddled up and decided to trek back home. I enjoyed the outing and beautiful views as well as the cool mountain air. Finally I arrived home at 5:00 pm, with some great work in hand to add to my collection. After I had put the work up on my shelves, I packed two of my really good pieces to ship to the Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville to be auctioned off at Penland to raise money for Liz Zlot Summerfield who is having some medical issues and will need some money to help with bills. Then I ate lite and went to the gym for an hour.
Visit www.16hands.com if your interested in visiting Ellen, Silvie, Donna and Richard.