Looking back on 2017

I won't mince words.
The 2016 Presidential election wore me out. The results definitely had an affect on how often I had the energy, or inspiration, to write a blog post. After the inauguration in January, 2017, I took some time to sort things out and then got back to work. In between the ginkgo leaves and piggy banks, I worked on this...

The "Radical Moose - Lamb"

Inspired by Melissa McCarthy's first SNL skit of a Sean Spicer press conference.

Since I have created many sheep sculptures, I knew right away that I had to make a "radical moose lamb".

It took me a long time to complete and even longer to get it fired. So long that it may have lost it's relevance to a larger audience. Nevertheless, I am happy with the piece.

If you missed the sketch, or need a refresher to understand the "moose lamb", you can watch it here:

Melissa McCarthy Sean Spicer SNL Skit

Need Dentures?

Jeff might be able to help...

Photo Credit: Jeff Brown

Jeff has this awesome commission to sculpt a set of skull mugs with a matching pitcher. He has done skull commissions in the past, but it's been a long time. I am absolutely amazed at how realistic the teeth are going to be!

Photo Credit: Jeff Brown

Jeff has been working on these at night, in between making sinks. He loves to throw pots... any pots, but he first got into pottery through sculpture and I know he is enjoying this opportunity. Some of you may have seen these photos on facebook, I swiped them from his page. I will post again when they are completed.

Getting out of my comfort zone...

 A while back I signed up for Carolina Claymatters summer workshop. It's free for members and at the time I thought, what the heck, by August 30th we should be done moving and a workshop will be a real treat. Yeah, right. That didn't happen. I really had no business taking a day off and driving to Charlotte, but I did it anyway. It was a long day, but a good diversion from the stress of getting our studio moved.

The workshop presenter was Allison Luce. She is ceramic sculptor, works in raku clay, and fires to ^2. Her work really has very little relevance to what I make but I was able to take away some interesting techniques, as well as new ideas for my own non-functional work.

The focus of the workshop was creating depth in the work by layering oxides, underglazes, acrylic paint, and shoe polish. Yes, you read that right... shoe polish.

 Cream shoe polish can be purchased in a multitude of colors. The brilliant colors of many of these sea life inspired pieces, were obtained with shoe polish. The shoe polish is applied after the final firing.

 One idea that is now bouncing around in my head, is incorporating underglaze and shoe polish into the finish of my orbs. Typically, I have wood fired the orbs. That means I only make them about twice a year. I am definitely going to give this a try. It's never too late to learn new tricks.

I am still here...

Life's been crazy! I will post more on that later. We did manage to get out of town last Saturday night, and head over to FireFest at STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise. This is where we buy our clay, but it is also a business incubator with lots of other cool stuff going on, one of which is FireFest. FireFest is a two day festival celebrating the role of fire in the creation of art. Along with lots of workshops, there was glass blowing demos, a wood firing, an iron pour, music, food, and beer. 

Each year at FireFest, a large ceramic sculpture is created and fired. This year, Seagrove artist, Carol Gentithes built a sculpture of a magical tree trunk. It was wood fired in this bottle kiln, during the festivities.

The sculpture's unveiling was the grand finale of the festival.

It was a sight to behold, under a fabulous, full moon.

Jeff went back to STARworks today to help unload the wood kiln. He was able to snap this photo of the finished sculpture, in daylight...

A Visit to Brookgreen Garden

What a great few days it has been! Our Monday road trip to Brookgreen Garden, Huntington Beach, and Myrtly beach was a blast. Luckily we left early in the morning, because we had a flat tire on the way... and of course the tire couldn't be plugged and I had to buy a new one. We recovered from the set back and didn't let it get us down!

We arrived at the garden at 2:00 and stayed until they closed.

I think this was my favorite... The Fountain of Muses by Carl Milles. Photos above and below.

While we strolled the gardens Danielle and I commented on how much my mother and father would have loved to visit there. I felt like my mother was there in spirit. Smiling down on us.

An Etsy Treasury of Potters Who Blog

I created this Etsy treasury showcasing potters who blog and have an Etsy shop. If I read your blog and didn't realize that you have an etsy shop, I apologize now for the omission! Enjoy the beautiful work by this talented and diverse group.

'Pottery Bloggers' by meeshspottery

All of the fabulous work in this collection has been created by potters who blog. Each share a piece of themselves online, whether it's about their artistic process or a glimpse into the every day life of a ceramic artist.

mug with pig Rith $19.00	Natural Soap and Soap D... abelabodycare $24.00	Flying Purple Dragon St... FutureRelicsGa... $40.00	Multi Leaf Serving Disp... LindaStarrPott... $53.00
Pitcher (MK61) klinepottery $120.00	Nesting Lotus Bowls in ... whitneysmith $325.00	Tumbler with Tulips BlueHenPottery $25.00	Pottery Snowman Christm... baumanstonewar... $86.00
Lidded Box with Rabbit,... RonPhilbeckPot... $145.00	Twisted Stoneware Vase-... jeffbrownpotte... $95.00	Woman Woodfired Figure-... burntnormal $240.00	Flower vessel / vase (C... KiefferCeramic... $525.00
Blue Stoneware Platter ... kingscreekpott... $125.00	Christmas Red Salt Pepp... Creativewithcl... $42.00	Rustic Sunflower Honey ... DirtKickerPott... $45.00	Brie Baker and Cracker ... NewDayPottery $45.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house