Well, I'll be a MoogerFooger

Here are the latest additions to Anita Gayle's Musical Kit of Treasures. One reason Asheville is so cool is that it's the home to the Moog Synthesizer Factory, right off the freeway through downtown and way too easy to get to. Pictured are three MoogerFoogers - Ring Modulator, 12-stage Filter and Midi-MuRF sitting right next to Anita's beautiful Kevin Spears model Hugh Tracy Electric Kalimba, which Anita daisy-chains through the MoogerFoogers and out through a combo amp.

We already used it for Anita to lay down a music track for one of her short recipe videos about making a  yummy, nutritious whole grain hot cereal on her cooking blog. Nice!

Since we got home with this Moog trio, there have been some etherial and sometimes rather strange vibes emanating from our home.

But living in Asheville, no one really notices.

Riverwood Pottery Guitar Slides

Ceramic Guitar Slides from Dillsboro

Anita Gayle and I recently spent a few days in Dillsboro, NC to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and found a great pottery shop in our exploration of this beautiful little mountain village, Riverwood Pottery.

Brant and Karen Barnes, along with their daughter, Zan, produce amazing purpose-driven art like kitchen and tableware. The talented, inventive trio also produces decorative and functional vases, oil lamps, face jugs, and much more.

Of particular interest to me were beautiful ceramic guitar slides made by Karen that I use while playing my home-made 3 and 4-string canjos, one of which is the background of the pic above. I now own three of karen's slides and those babies work "real good". Hand-made to provide some beefy weight, but covered with a pretty glaze, they come in different sizes to fit the finger size and use requirements of any slide player. But, each one is a bit different which appealed to me as a crafter myself, and they will likely be around longer than I will.

If you ever get the chance to visit Dillsboro, don't miss stopping by Riverwood Pottery on the Craft Circle, a small group of artisan shops just a short walk over the bridge on Scott's Creek from downtown Dillsboro. Brant will likely be "throwing" pots on the wheel in his studio attached to their shop and, besides being a real kick to talk with, he might even give you a demonstration on the art of pottery that he knows so much about.