Dear Old Friends Visit and Buy Pottery

Dear, dear old friends stopped by for a visit and to pick up pottery for Christmas gifts. Mark and Carolyn Zaugg worked with our church youth group when I was 15-16. Although I am still embarrassed for what an idiot I was in those days, they conveyed unconditional love then, as well as now, and have always made me feel valued. I have not seen them in 46 years! It was as if no time had passed.

I was so lucky to grow up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Our congregations are called wards and the members interact like an extended family. We didn’t just go to church on Sunday and keep to ourselves, We worked and served together and created great friendships. Mark taught our early morning Bible study class that is called Seminary. We had four high schools represented in our ward which was called Mount Vernon Ward. There were so few Mormons in the Washington DC area, in the early 1970s, and so our ward boundaries covered quite large geographical areas. We had a lot of teenagers from all four schools Who made the commitment to drive to a small chaplain’s building on base at Fort Belvoir by 6:15am M-F, before high school. It was so much fun! We all just love being together. We were loud, crazy, and fun-loving, but we were pretty good kids. I learned so much from the Zauggs that has helped me in working with teenagers throughout my adult life. The formula is pretty simple - just love ‘em!

Scrounging Recycled Packing Materials, Shipping, and Making Baking Dishes

I have sold a lot of pottery locally right out of my studio, but after posting this new website I got quite a few orders, so I have had to figure out packing and shipping pretty quickly. This is no easy task. I have decided to try to use recycled material whenever possible. I am passionate about being environmentally responsible, and now I have the opportunity to stick to my principles. However, this brings about some interesting challenges. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not shy………..at all… so I have had a fun week of scrounging for used boxes, bubble wrap, and peanuts. I have gone to quite a variety of stores, in our little town, asking folks if they ever have packing materials that they need to get rid of. Some stores that I thought would have stuff didn’t, but others were great. I got a bunch of small, sturdy boxes from the DOLLAR STORE and the manager, Rose, was a bright and cheery gal who said she would even call me when they had more. Next, I went to the NATURAL GROCERS store, but the ladies at the registers said that they keep all their boxes for people to use instead of bags. That was reasonable, but I decided to track down my buddy, Charlie, the nutritionist who is pretty full of himself and a blast to banter with. I thrive on tests of wit and Charlie is a formidable competitor. I strolled into his office and laid out my plight. Although the cashiers at the front were right about the boxes, Ol’ Chuck gave me a huge garbage sack full of biodegradable peanuts and some green bubblewrap! SCORE!!!

I won’t bore you with the rest of the treasure hunt, but I am determined to track down whatever I can find and continue to repurpose wasted materials. I wrap each piece in thick layers of bubble wrap, place them inside a box filled with peanuts, and then place that box inside a second box, also filled with peanuts. It seems like overkill, but not for pottery.

I have chosen to ship with FedEx because they seem to be the most reliable. I get a discount through ETSY, so I pass on the savings to the customers.

I got everything shipped out this morning and then I was able to get back to what I love - throwing pots! I’ve had a huge call for the pie pans and baking dishes (plus everything else) so I spent the rest of the day making 7 decorative pieces. It was a good day.

I'M FINALLY READY TO POST THIS WEBSITE!

I am so excited to publish this new website! I have worked so hard to get here. After taking 35-years off from making pottery, this is a dream come true! I loved being a potter when I was young, but due to two major car accidents and a lot of injuries, I had to give it up for a long period of time. I have had a pretty unusual life throughout these years, though. My husband, Randy, and I have been teaching wilderness survival and climbing/rescue courses since 1978.

We live in southwest Colorado in the wonderful little town of Montrose. We came here in 1978 to start this crazy business because the Western Slope of Colorado would be the perfect place to do it. Montrose is a hub for even smaller towns, and it is centered in the middle of extremely diverse terrain. To the south are the San Juan Mountains with majestic 11,000-14,000 ft. peaks. To the west is the Uncompahgre Plateau, a sprawling mesa filled with sage, pinion pines, juniper trees and aspens. The Plateau rises from 4,600 feet (1,400 m) at Gateway to over 10,300 feet (3,100 m) at the top of Horsefly Peak. To the east is the dramatic Black Canyon of the Gunnison (River). One of the deepest canyons in the U.S., it reaches a depth of 3,280 feet (1,000 meters). The Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. From river to rim it stands 2250 feet (685 meters). To the north is the Grand Mesa. With an elevation of 11,332 ft., the Grand Mesa is a large mesa in western Colorado. It is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. It has an area of about 500 square miles.

I’ll write a lot more about all of this later, but we are still teaching these courses. We went from sort of an OUTWARD BOUND-type format to, now, doing mostly contract work with industry. Our company is Enviro-Tech International, or ETI.

I have also been a substitute teacher at Montrose High School, Columbine Middle School and Centennial Middle School for 15 years. I absolutely LOVE subbing! Lots to write about later. It was while subbing for Ceramics classes, in December of 2017, that I thought I would just give it a try. I sat down on that wheel and proved to myself that “I still had it” and I decided that I needed to dive back into throwing pots again, and I haven’t taken a break since!

I will add many recipes and give information on baking and cooking healthy food, in the RECIPES AND TIPS part of this website. Stay tuned…

Welcome to my studio.

Hello and welcome to my studio!

I have created this blog as a way to share what I’m working on as it happens. Here, you can expect to see a chronicle of new works in progress, experiments with new methods and techniques that I’m trying and also get updates on events where Bent Mountain Pottery will be on display.

My studio occupies a great deal of my time and energy, and it’s a place I love to be. I hope that you will enjoy coming along with me as I continue on my creative journey.

Love, Kay.