studio show and sale

here is a shot of part of the show; a couple of new paintings on the walls, mugs and tea cups galore, a sample of my "lamp revamps" and a little peek at some garden markers and some of the glass pieces by my friend Molly of Rockwater Glass

this is a shot of some serving pieces and plates from my "global impressions" series; they feature stamps and textures inspired by the art and culture of different places in the world and are glazed in earthy browns and black along with various shades of green and blue.

a detail of some of the "global impressions pieces and another new painting called, "Pupil of the Eye"

here is a shot of a few of the earrings that i had out when the show began.  Many of them are gone now, but i just finished out about 40 more pairs yesterday and have now added them to  the mix.  One of the nice things about doing a show that runs over the course of a few weeks is that you can keep adding new and fresh work!  If you live locally and want to come by, give me a shout and we can arrange a time for you to stop in!

studio show and sale this weekend!! AAAAAAH!!!

if any of you live locally and would like to come check out a sweet show-- check it out!

this is the link to the e-vite for my studio show and sale!  i have been a busy busy little bee and am so excited for this show!  it is only the second year that i have done a show here in my own studio (though i have been doing other shows for many many  years), and it is just too much fun!  I have been working on all of my standards- mugs and serving pieces, jewelry, clocks and garden art.... and this year i have 10 new paintings to show and also a boat load of adorable ornaments for your holiday tree or to use as unique and beautiful gift tags!  There are a bunch of new jewelry designs- earrings, necklaces and pendants galore!!  and many more clocks and mirrors than i had last year!

 There is a lot for me still left to so, so although i would like to stay on the computer and tell you all about it... i had better get going and DO it!!!

here is a little teaser.... some of the fun pottery dishes that i will have available....  in this photo, just waiting for their clear glaze and final firing!  come see me if you can!!

what i do when i should be doing something else

i am really quite the master of procrastination.  more than anything, i need to be cleaning up the studio, beginning to set up for my studio show and glazing glazing glazing.... instead, i can't seem to stop painting.  i thought i would start a couple of canvases to pick away at in the weeks to come, and now i am obsessed working on about 7 paintings and NOT glazing.  what is wrong with me?

and here is a link to some more in progress..... paintings in progress

staying focused

Sometimes i have such a hard time staying focused and on track in the studio; especially when i have so much to do.  I blame it on the rain today....  but really i am just having trouble keeping up with all of the things that need to be doing.  I worked for the morning in the studio sanding and smoothing the edges of a bunch of trays and dishes that are dry and waiting for their initial firing.  The mud gods weren't with me for much of the time, and i ended up breaking a number of pieces under my - apparently not so gentle- touch.  bummer.  I was hoping to  get the kiln fully loaded and get that bisque fire done before the evening rolled around, but it was not to be.  Having to drop work in the middle of any task and go to pick up a little one from school always throws me for a bit of a loop, and today it really threw me off my game.... what could/ should have been about a 45 minute round trip, turned into a 3 hour tour of school, a few different printing places, the craft store, the post office, and, why oh why did i even go inside?  TJMaxx.  it didn't seem like any of these little errands were taking too long until i got home and realized that it was 2:30 and that my work day was already moving quickly towards being over.  I guess at that point i just got discouraged enough that i haven't really poured myself into much of anything since then. 

The trouble is, i have a busy weekend coming up with out of town guests and soccer games and a drop off for a holiday show that i do every year, and my studio show is NEXT weekend!  i am so ill prepared for this year's show, and i really should be spending EVERY waking moment making things, and finishing the hundreds of things i have already started... not to mention cleaning the studio and the rest of the house, and starting to set up the show....  

I see a few all nighters (or VERY late nights) in my immediate future.  
and lots and lots of coffee.

this treasury is on Etsy's front page right now! yay!

 the photograph in this listing shows a chARiTy elise mug in its natural habitat.


http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32258968

how can i expect that anyone would want to read this when i don't ever write anything?

And why is it so hard for me to write anything here? It's not like i don't have anything to say. i have loads to say! and i certainly have a lot of work that i could show you. i could at least put up a picture or two once in awhile!

Well, alright then.... here are a few pictures.


I did a little craft show this past weekend at an elementary school in my area.
Here are some of the jewelry pieces i was selling there. My lego guys are a big hit!






 These are trays full of pendants and pins and then folks can choose which kind of cord or chain they would like.









 This year i opted to pay for a double booth space so that i could really spread out. I modified the booth from my standard set-up and left the big folding screen at home, and it looked pretty good, i think.

It is no secret that i am completely addicted to texture. I look at EVERYTHING around me and think about how i can capture its texture to incorporate into something pottery related. So, i collect antique (and other) buttons, funky cabochons, quirky miniatures and toys, sea shells and fruit pits.... I make silicone molds of them-- as well as the bottoms of shoes, wood-carvings, cookies,fruits and vegetables, baskets, clothing, thrift store finds... I carve stamps and texture sheets out of linoleum and soft cut, from clay and plaster, i make stamps from bubble wrap, perforated steel, hardware cloth, nuts and bolts and screws.... So, i hoard all of these things and then i use them to make ceramic pieces which i hoard as well. All fine and good. i use many of these things to make earrings and pendants, rings, magnets, embellishments for my own art and pieces for mosaic. The thing is, i make way more than i can ever really use. They pile up and take up space in the studio. You would think i would stop making them- stop collecting them.... but i really can't! So, once again i will be listing more of these items in my etsy shop-- so that others who love and appreciate them can use them in their creations too! When i first opened my shop, i had more pendants and tile type things for sale, and for some reason i stopped making them available... i guess it seemed like too much of a bother to list such small items.... But now, spring is here, and i am eager to get the studio in working order again- eager to clean and organize and systematize-- and also excited to share some of my finds with you!! So, please check in soon and often as i will be creating a flurry of listings comprised of materials for others to use.

Speaking of which, i need to get in there and make some more stamps because the last batch has been picked over as well....

Here is a shot through the front window at night (the patio furniture inside obscures some of the view)

This is a shot of a little retail "island" in the center of the store- it has not been merchandised yet but we have just been playing with its placement.

Here is a view of the "tea wall"-- canisters full of loose leaf tea, european bakery case waiting to be filled with amazing confections and pastries, chalkboards ready to be filled with menu items; the grid wall is a place for hanging some retail items, clocks, mirrors, etc...

Panning around to the right a bit... showing more of the retail area... this picture was taken more than a week ago- before the other furniture was placed....

Equilibrium?

That is a word in the English language, right? i am pretty sure i have heard of it before, though its meaning certainly eludes me right now. I tell you what folks, i think i am trying to wear a few too many hats. I am in need of some serious balance, and i am not sure when/ if / where i am going to find it.

As you may or may not know, i am in the midst of opening a tea house here in Atlanta. We closed on the property where it is located on New Year's Eve and have been working on getting the doors open since then. I will not bore you by carrying on and on about what that entails or HOW MUCH THAT COSTS... suffice it to say- a LOT--- on both counts. I don't mean to sound like i am surprised by this information- i knew it would be a hard row to how and that it would cost us a lot of money.... but as time goes on, and things keep getting checked off the list.... new, expensive, complicated items continue to be added. Everyone asks us, "When is the big day?".... "When are you opening?" and i am so tired of having to say things like, "as soon as possible"... "as soon as we can get and pass our health inspection".... I don't mean to sound like a martyr here- or like i am in the midst of something that has been forced upon me-- and honestly, it is my amazing business partner who is doing the lion's share of the work- the organizing and ordering, the meeting with the $&%*# county, writing up the menues etc etc etc (hundreds of thousands of things). But i have been pretty obsessed and busy with the whole project too (as have our husbands- who have been amazing and who i could write a whole other post about) and have been so caught up doing this and that for the shop for the last few months that the other parts of my life have totally fallen by the wayside.

I do laundrey at least once a week - and by that i mean that i wash a number of loads of clothing- most of the dirty laundrey being made by the children and my DH. fine. normal. but the the clean clothes get piled and piled higher on the couch and on the childrens' dressers and left in laundrey baskets, and noone can find anything to wear, and when it is time for soccer, we can't locate shin guards and there are dirty dishes in the sink, and the dishwasher needs to be unloaded and there are ants on the kitchen counter and so much dust and dirt and pet hair on the floors that the dust bunnies can't even be called dust "bunnies" anymore and really resemble something more like "dust buffalo". ( I almost got trampled by one this morning)... The puppy is chewing on and ruining the childrens shoes that are left here and there, they eat too much maccaroni and cheese lately, I can't seem to return phonecalls for the life of me, the family room looks like it was the setting of a small tropical storm.... and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. I miss my kids and have not spent nearly enough time with them lately-- i can see it especially in the little one and it is breaking my heart. and finally, (well, not finally- the list is so long- but this is where i will end this rant) i have not been in the studio making or glazing anything for almost two months- with the exception of stamps and a few pendants and buttons. If you know me at all or have seen one of my overflowing sketchbooks, or had the "priviledge" to hear me carry on about any of the 207 ideas that come into my head all day- you would understand that this is just not ACCEPTABLE. i NEED to make things. When i don't make this, i am a crazy, grumpy person. I have not even been able to take and edit the photographs of all of the pieces that i had made up to two months ago and that is making me crazy too.... finished work, just sitting, not selling-- getting dusty for crying out loud!

so, i am really carrying on here... and i don't think anyone will want to read this... and i am not looking for sympathy .... i just need to put some of this out there so that maybe i will stop feeling so nudgy. I know that it will not always be like this and i know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that one day- hopefully in the very near future- our doors will be open for business and there will be people serving tea to lots of customers and i can be back in my studio making mugs and bowls and buttons and paintings and mosaics and jewelry and magnets and clocks and garden markers.... that i will play with my kids again and have time to read them more stories and take them to the park and have picnics on the play structure out back....

alrighty then. that is all for now. i apologize for the rant. but i DO feel a little better. and now it is time to change out of my pajamas and get over the the aforementioned shop before my partner thinks that i have run away.

hmm.... where COULD i run away to?.................................