Uwharrie Mountain Run awards and some birds

This year's award?

I've been thinking about what to make for this year's Uwharrie Mountain Run. I've been making awards for everyone that finishes this race since its creation by Bob Boder in 1991. Last year I used a stamp that I created of the trail to stamp more than 300 cups and small preserve jars. I created another stamp for more than 200 medallions. And then there were 18 plates for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners male and female. It's quite an order. 

You can see some pictures of the awards for 2006 and how I stamped them using an altered paint roller on my website, HERE. After stamping that many pots, the fingers of my left bothered me for weeks afterwards, so this year, I wanted to do something less demanding of those fingers. I decided to slip some cups and try to sgraffito a scene on them, something with trees and large stones, reminiscent of portions of the trail. After a did a few, I decided to add a runner. I hope the organizers like them. My son and daughter will be home for the holidays and have said they will help out with the order.

 The race, which filled within minutes of being posted online this year, is the first weekend in February. The organizers of the race are always looking for volunteers. If you're interested, go the the website above.

On another note, I looked at my recent post of the birds and decided to transfer some of the images onto a few pots, using wax resist. I don't know if I'll continue with any of the designs, but I did like one in particular, the third one below.