Good Dirt

2010 SPRING

*Spring Classes

*Summer Camp

*Instructors

*Registration and Cancellation

*Parties and Workshops

*Try Clay

*Private Artist Studios

*The Gallery @ Good Dirt

*E-mail List Sign-up

Map

gooddirt@bellsouth.net

NOTES FROM ROB

Friday, February 26, 2010

Dear Friends of Good Dirt,

The spring term of pottery classes is nearly upon us, but even before that, we have a week of fun kids’ activities over Spring Break. The studio will offer instruction for kids ages 6 and up from 9am-3pm each day (March 8-12). Send the kids for a day or two ($55/day) or the whole week ($220). They’ll do some great spring-themed projects like fancy flower pots, birdhouses, and garden sculptures. Be sure to register early before things fill up. We’ll be doing a second week of camp for Oconee and other counties April 5-9.

Our spring term of pottery classes starts the week of March 14. We have classes to choose from every evening of the week as well as morning classes Tuesday through Thursday. Carter Gillies will be teaching an intermediate class on altering pots out of round and assembling pieces. Allya Macdonald will be teaching a course that encourages students to ‘work backwards’ from a glazed surface treatment back to a pottery design that takes optimum advantage of the surface. Annette Gates will be back for spring with a class on hand-built boxes and covered jars. Caryn van Wagtendonk will be teaching a course on sculptural water features and fountains. These are just some highlights of the packed schedule. Be sure to register early to get space in your first choice of classes. Come take advantage of the unlimited open studio time during this season of perfect weather, our fast and furious firing schedule, and the camaraderie of a community studio.

I know it’s only February, but we have posted our summer camp schedule for kids on the website already. Registration is now officially open and some of the camps fill up fast. As soon as you know your summer schedule, I encourage you to check our offerings and see where you can fit some creativity into your kids’ summer activities. There is a printable registration form on the website (Good Dirt Summer Camp Registration Form) to be sent in with check payments. You may also register by phone with a Visa or Mastercard at 706-355-3161.

One final note…we are very excited about our biggest contribution to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia to date. Good Dirt will be providing 500 handmade stoneware bowls for the Empty Bowls Luncheon on March 17 at 11:30. $20 gets you a soup and sandwich lunch, a handmade bowl, and lots of warm fuzzy feelings that you are helping to fight hunger in our community. A selection of the bowls will be on display in the gallery up until the time we need to pack them up and get them over to the Food Bank, so feel free to stop by and see what the Good Dirt community has been up to.

Sincerely Yours,

Rob Sutherland

GREEN NOTES --

We rebuilt the arch on the gas kiln, added more insulation, and reconfigured the bagwalls two firings ago. So far, we’re seeing some great energy savings. The firing time has been cut from 12+ hours to around 8 hours. The results so far are encouraging and we’re reducing our output of greenhouse gases. It’s a modest improvement, but significant nonetheless.

EXCERPT --

Finally, I’d like to report on our successful trip to Ecuador last month. Kim, Rowan and I visited the village of Yunguilla high up in the Andes Mountains to help a women’s craft group expand their activities into pottery making. We modified an existing adobe oven into a functional earthenware kiln and successfully test-fired it with wood. I taught lessons on the potter’s wheel, which consisted of a car axle, complete with tire, turned on its side and attached to a small wheel-head. While a challenge, it was comforting to know how little technology is actually needed to produce pottery. Kim taught some handbuilding techniques, and Rowan helped out as only he can. One of the women became fairly proficient at making flower pots in a very short time. Their goal is to produce unique pots in which they will plant bromeliads and orchids that they propagate to help raise funds for the community. We learned a lot and had the amazing experience of living with a family in the village, enjoying their cuisine, and experiencing the amazing scenery and wildlife of the Andes at around 10,000 ft. elevation.

We also visited the main lodge on the Maquipucuna Cloudforest Reserve and constructed a pizza oven form out of split native bamboo. I hope to return next year to build a cob oven over this form once they relocate their kitchen facility. I would highly recommend this lodge to anyone interested in birding. There are over 300 species in the area and they have an extensive network of trails to access a variety of habitats for observing them. Best of all, the naturalists and reserve managers are gracious and welcoming hosts, the accommodations are ecologically appropriate and comfortable, and the scenery is spectacular. Give me a call or check out http://maqui.myweb.uga.edu/ to find out more. Many thanks to the Maquipucuna Foundation for working out the logistics of our visit. I look forward to continued collaborations between Good Dirt and both the women’s craft group in Yunguilla and the Maquipucuna Foundation’s efforts in conservation and sustainable development.

.

The Gallery @ Good Dirt showcases functional and sculptural work by studio potters from Georgia and beyond in an elegant, natural setting. Collectors will find an exciting range of styles, colors, and firing techniques on display throughout the year. The Gallery embraces the diversity and extraordinary quality of work from this region and is dedicated to educating the public about the processes involved in its creation. Because the Gallery represents unique works of functional art, our inventory is constantly changing as pieces find new homes and new kiln-loads of pots arrive. Be sure to stop in often to witness the impressive creative output of the potters represented by the Gallery @ Good Dirt. Exciting news in the Gallery @ Good Dirt … we will now be open 7 days a week for your shopping convenience. Just look for the open sign on the front of the building, and if you don’t see it, pop your head into the clay studio, and you will very likely find a volunteer happy to assist you in the gallery. Hours are 10 AM – 5 PM daily, and we can meet you outside of those hours by appointment. Now you can always visit when guests are in town looking for some local flavor.

GOOD DIRT hosts birthday parties, sorority/fraternity functions
and workshops for any group, any age.
Please call for more information.

510 North Thomas St. • Athens, GA 30601 • 706.355.3161
gooddirt@bellsouth.net

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		2010 SPRING Spring Classes Summer Camp Instructors Registration and Cancellation Parties and Workshops Try Clay Private Artist Studios The Gallery @ Good Dirt *E-mail List Sign-up
Map gooddirt@bellsouth.net

NOTES FROM ROB
Friday, February 26, 2010 Dear Friends of Good Dirt, The spring term of pottery classes is nearly upon us, but even before that, we have a week of fun kids’ activities over Spring Break. The studio will offer instruction for kids ages 6 and up from 9am-3pm each day (March 8-12). Send the kids for a day or two ($55/day) or the whole week ($220). They’ll do some great spring-themed projects like fancy flower pots, birdhouses, and garden sculptures. Be sure to register early before things fill up. We’ll be doing a second week of camp for Oconee and other counties April 5-9. Our spring term of pottery classes starts the week of March 14. We have classes to choose from every evening of the week as well as morning classes Tuesday through Thursday. Carter Gillies will be teaching an intermediate class on altering pots out of round and assembling pieces. Allya Macdonald will be teaching a course that encourages students to ‘work backwards’ from a glazed surface treatment back to a pottery design that takes optimum advantage of the surface. Annette Gates will be back for spring with a class on hand-built boxes and covered jars. Caryn van Wagtendonk will be teaching a course on sculptural water features and fountains. These are just some highlights of the packed schedule. Be sure to register early to get space in your first choice of classes. Come take advantage of the unlimited open studio time during this season of perfect weather, our fast and furious firing schedule, and the camaraderie of a community studio. I know it’s only February, but we have posted our summer camp schedule for kids on the website already. Registration is now officially open and some of the camps fill up fast. As soon as you know your summer schedule, I encourage you to check our offerings and see where you can fit some creativity into your kids’ summer activities. There is a printable registration form on the website (Good Dirt Summer Camp Registration Form) to be sent in with check payments. You may also register by phone with a Visa or Mastercard at 706-355-3161. One final note…we are very excited about our biggest contribution to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia to date. Good Dirt will be providing 500 handmade stoneware bowls for the Empty Bowls Luncheon on March 17 at 11:30. $20 gets you a soup and sandwich lunch, a handmade bowl, and lots of warm fuzzy feelings that you are helping to fight hunger in our community. A selection of the bowls will be on display in the gallery up until the time we need to pack them up and get them over to the Food Bank, so feel free to stop by and see what the Good Dirt community has been up to. Sincerely Yours, Rob Sutherland

GREEN NOTES -- We rebuilt the arch on the gas kiln, added more insulation, and reconfigured the bagwalls two firings ago. So far, we’re seeing some great energy savings. The firing time has been cut from 12+ hours to around 8 hours. The results so far are encouraging and we’re reducing our output of greenhouse gases. It’s a modest improvement, but significant nonetheless.

EXCERPT -- Finally, I’d like to report on our successful trip to Ecuador last month. Kim, Rowan and I visited the village of Yunguilla high up in the Andes Mountains to help a women’s craft group expand their activities into pottery making. We modified an existing adobe oven into a functional earthenware kiln and successfully test-fired it with wood. I taught lessons on the potter’s wheel, which consisted of a car axle, complete with tire, turned on its side and attached to a small wheel-head. While a challenge, it was comforting to know how little technology is actually needed to produce pottery. Kim taught some handbuilding techniques, and Rowan helped out as only he can. One of the women became fairly proficient at making flower pots in a very short time. Their goal is to produce unique pots in which they will plant bromeliads and orchids that they propagate to help raise funds for the community. We learned a lot and had the amazing experience of living with a family in the village, enjoying their cuisine, and experiencing the amazing scenery and wildlife of the Andes at around 10,000 ft. elevation. We also visited the main lodge on the Maquipucuna Cloudforest Reserve and constructed a pizza oven form out of split native bamboo. I hope to return next year to build a cob oven over this form once they relocate their kitchen facility. I would highly recommend this lodge to anyone interested in birding. There are over 300 species in the area and they have an extensive network of trails to access a variety of habitats for observing them. Best of all, the naturalists and reserve managers are gracious and welcoming hosts, the accommodations are ecologically appropriate and comfortable, and the scenery is spectacular. Give me a call or check out http://maqui.myweb.uga.edu/ to find out more. Many thanks to the Maquipucuna Foundation for working out the logistics of our visit. I look forward to continued collaborations between Good Dirt and both the women’s craft group in Yunguilla and the Maquipucuna Foundation’s efforts in conservation and sustainable development.

.		The Gallery @ Good Dirt showcases functional and sculptural work by studio potters from Georgia and beyond in an elegant, natural setting. Collectors will find an exciting range of styles, colors, and firing techniques on display throughout the year. The Gallery embraces the diversity and extraordinary quality of work from this region and is dedicated to educating the public about the processes involved in its creation. Because the Gallery represents unique works of functional art, our inventory is constantly changing as pieces find new homes and new kiln-loads of pots arrive. Be sure to stop in often to witness the impressive creative output of the potters represented by the Gallery @ Good Dirt. Exciting news in the Gallery @ Good Dirt … we will now be open 7 days a week for your shopping convenience. Just look for the open sign on the front of the building, and if you don’t see it, pop your head into the clay studio, and you will very likely find a volunteer happy to assist you in the gallery. Hours are 10 AM – 5 PM daily, and we can meet you outside of those hours by appointment. Now you can always visit when guests are in town looking for some local flavor.


GOOD DIRT hosts birthday parties, sorority/fraternity functions and workshops for any group, any age. Please call for more information. 510 North Thomas St. • Athens, GA 30601 • 706.355.3161 gooddirt@bellsouth.net
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