Reed Handle Workshop

There are still a few spaces open in this workshop I am teaching at the Greenbelt Community Center on August 1. 

Learn how to create sturdy, lightweight, and good-looking handles for your pottery by weaving them out of basketry reeds. Ideal for teapots, baskets, trays, and more. Participants may bring their own pot; a cardboard "substitute pot" will be provided for everyone else. Each student will receive enough reed to build one handle during the class, and a second one later on their own time. All materials provided. All skill levels welcome.

To register, call the Greenbelt Community Center at 301-397-2208 and register for the following:

Reed Handle Workshop

Activity #353242-1

August 1, 2009, 1pm - 5pm

Instructor: Mea Rhee

Tuition is $30 for Greenbelt residents; $40 for non-Greenbelt residents

Right now, I am a full-time potter

This is how my studio looks these days, all the tables and shelves are covered with drying pots. And this is the hallway where the finished pots gather, while waiting to be shipped. I have never made pots at this pace before.

My "desk job" as a graphic designer usually takes up most of my time. I've been growing the pottery business on the side in my limited spare time. But this year, 2009, things have changed.

In February, I took my pots to the Buyers Market of American Craft (BMAC) in Philadelphia, fully expecting to earn some experience but not much more, given how the economy has been pretty rough on the arts. To my surprise I came home with a healthy stack of orders, and I've been potting like crazy ever since.

It won't last (sigh), I will finish the last orders next month, after that I probably won't keep up this production pace (my arms are tired). And big design jobs are on the schedule for later this summer and fall, so it's back to the desk job soon. Don't get me wrong, I am ever grateful for my design clients (from talking to other designers, I know I have the best clients), but it was nice to be a full-time potter for at least a few months.