Tiles

Here are some of the latest giraffe tiles.

The Safari House

Every time we come back to the Safari House there is another new "critter" of some description. This time it is a taxidermied squirrel who is living in the knothole of the tree trunk which makes up the stair rail in the entry. He is buddied up with some new African birds who are perched just down the tree trunk and next to the monkey cage.

Under the Oaks

Last Saturday we participated in a pottery show and sale in Wake Forest. The weather was perfect, the people were nice and there was free music....what more could you ask for? The giraffe tiles had their second outing and were well received and we sold quite a bit of jewelry, too.

I'm ready for another show!

Of course the chandelier at the Safari House Involves Monkeys!

We're back at the Safari House again to try to finish our projects before December. While we were away, our friend, Greg, sculpted a pair of monkeys holding lanterns. They are hanging above the alligator dining room table. Greg did a masterful job as I think you'll see in these pictures.

Down on the farm

I spent most of last week holding down the fort at Meredith and Mark's while they very kindly took our mother up to see our brother. It was a very peaceful week and I was happy to get out of the rat race for a while and look at trees and fields instead of concrete and telephone poles.

Here's the view from the studio door, with a field of newly mown hay. On the other side of the same door there is a tomato garden. The tomatoes have just about petered out but the stalks make a perfect home for this lovely big spider. I have always called these "writing spiders" but their proper name is Argiope Aurantia. Whatever her name, she is a fine specimen. She caught herself some lunch while I was there.

It was a very quiet week, so I got a lot of tiles glazed and Meredith fired them yesterday. I'm eager to see how they came out. Pictures to come soon.

Back at the Safari House again

Once again, we have a new project at the Safari House. We're staining and varnishing the foot rests for the Alligator table and the bar. The one for the table is completed and installed and we're waiting for Stan to carve the other one.

Back at the Safari House

As the title says, we're back at the Safari House. This time around we are working on the kitchen counter top. We're making it look like an African stream bed, complete with fish, marshes, rocks and sand. This has been a really fun project. My only regret is that I couldn't figure out a way to work a giraffe into it. Some of these pictures give you a "fish eye view" of the project and some give a long view. The platform at the end of the counter top is a pull out platform that is going to hold a hand crafted fish bowl that my sister, Meredith, and I are going to make. I'll post more pictures when the project is complete.