Two Potters out in desolate rural Nevada

I took the landscape photograph above, in the old mining town of Tuscarora Nevada.
If you ever find yourself driving around the back and beyond areas of Northern Nevada U.S.A., there are some interesting artists and crafts people to be sought out. One is in the vicinity of the Black Rock desert where the Burning Man Festival http://www.burningman.com/takes place. ,it is called Planet X Pottery here's a link http://www.planetxpottery.com/.
I visited there some years back and bought a nice mug. unfortunately after much use I broke it.
Another favorite old ghost town full of artists is Tuscarora Nevada. It's in a rugged, hardscrabble setting, some 52 miles outside of the town of Elko Nevada. The famous potter Dennis Parks lives there with his family and his son, Ben, who now runs the pottery school out of the old Post Office. http://www.tuscarorapottery.com/history.htm
I have a few of Dennis Parks's pottery mugs, seen in the images above, as well as a signed, very well written book he wrote called "Living in the Country Growing Weird"
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Country-Growing-Weird-Adventure/dp/0874174848
Dennis Parks started out in academic life as an English Literature major.I found the book to be very informative and enjoyable. If you scroll down on the book link to the book description, you'll find the story very interesting.

New Work- custom dyed,hand spun,hand knit, semi- felted scarves

try saying that description quickly over and over again! I participated in a lovely successful craft show over the weekend. I'm having so much fun creating again, playing with color and texture. Color is such a welcome friend in winter. It really elevates one's spirits. The above photos are of two separate scarves

My First Handspun, Handknit Sweater

This was the first completed sweater I've ever made from my natural (undyed) handspun yarn which came from my friend's CVM sheep. It's singly ply and spun in a thick/ thin manner. I didn't put any buttons on it but used an over-sized metal safety pin style clasp. I'm glad it fit after all that work and I'm happy with the simple rustic look of it. Big Thanks to all my friends who helped me acquire the necessary skills along the way, particularly ;Lee, Kathy D. and Judy for all the hand holding while I wrestled with my "perfectionist, I don't know what I'm doing and afraid to make a mistake syndrome" My old Armenian Auntie had an expression "everything's easy once you know how to do it" I've come to understand the profound sense in this philosophy.

Lee the Farmer and Fiber Artist

This is my friend Lee at her booth at our local farmers market. She started our local Wool Gatherers fiber art group where we meet to make friends, exchange skills, and ideas, share homemade food and help shepherd each other through life. All of Lee's yarns and handmade craft work come from fiber from her own sheep. She is a farmer and fiber artist
who lives in rural Idaho www.sheepskinsnyarn.com/ I just love her hand knit hats and felted bags, she always amazes me with her wealth of creativity, and depth of knowledge,plus she's a great friend with a sense of humor. Thanks Lee for all you've done for us fiber obsessed women, you're an inspiration. Thanks for letting me make this blog post

my hand dyed handspun and of course hand knit scarf

I suppose the scarf, now finished the day before Easter, is rather appropriate being that we got an inch of snow yesterday. Friday knitting group was fun. Thanks Judy for hosting us at your Alpaca Ranch http://bigmeadowcreekalpacas.com/ Once again the potluck food was great, I brought Pecan pie, then there was Asian pasta salad, Hot Cross Buns, and a fresh fruit tart. Love that homemade food and the company of good friends.

Margo and the Natural dye Workshop

Margo has graciously allowed our Friday knitting group to meet in her store.
This was Margo Kay's workshop that we all participated in. Margo is a wonderful friend and farm woman who raises her own sheep and spins her own yarn and has a wealth of talent and experience. She was inspired to learn more about natural dyeing so she took a workshop at Earthhues Natural Dyes in Seattle Washington and then got all fired up to teach natural dye workshops in our area. Her enthusiasm was contagious and my initial reluctance to learn yet another method was quickly transformed into passion with Margo's help and skill as a teacher and long time fiber artist. If anyone in our North Idaho inland Northwest area is interested in taking a class on Natural dyeing you can contact Margo here sheepster@cpcinternet.com Her blog is http://thespinnersflock.blogspot.com/ Thanks Margo. Margo's store will soon be moving to the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown Washington, you can catch her and Judy La Londe's alpaca products http://bigmeadowcreekalpacas.com/ there, under the new name- The Milk House Fibers- at the Dahmen Barn http://www.artisanbarn.org/

more from the natural dye workshop

More projects from our knitting group's ongoing natural dye workshop. I made the pumpkin colored Nuno felted scarf. It is made from wool and silk, blended together and I used Madder as a natural dye on it.
We all kept singing that old timey song "Oh dear, what can the matter be", riffing on the word madder. Being in a workshop for four hours can really liberate the imagination!