Several Colorful Ways to Combat Winter's Frozen Grey

Where I live, there is no question that winter is here. It has been so cold that some of the pipes in our house froze this past week. My friends further south in Hilton Head, SC experienced more than a dusting of snow over their normally green winter lawns. The low temperatures and unusual winter weather can tamp down our activity and sometimes our mood. 

I’ve got some suggestions to help bring a little color into your world to help make it a little brighter! One of the things I miss when it’s so cold outside is color. Everything seems to take on a grey pall. If you have a garden or outdoor patio space, it’s easy to introduce a pop of color to your vista. 

At the top of the list, is this hanging bird feeder. Keep it filled to watch the hungry birds in your neighborhood flock to your yard. It can be suspended from a tree branch or decorative wrought iron post. Click on this photo to get yours!

This little ladybug can adorn a potted plant outdoors or inside. Adding even a small pop of color to your living space can uplift your spirits! Want one? Click this photo to shop!

A colorful wind chime will sing to you as the winds blow outside. Place one near a prominent window in your home. Every time you catch a glimpse of this bright decoration, you'll be reminded that spring and the warmer months are on their way! I'm currently working on some custom windchimes to memorialize favorite pets and family members. Let me know if I can create one for you! Click on the photo to let me know!

Buy yourself some flowers. Use that sweet tea pitcher on hiatus to house a beautiful bunch of color. Place it where you'll see it most often! Need a pitcher to hold your flower bunch? Click photo to purchase.

Garden totems and potsticker stacks are a year-round embellishment to any outdoor space! They can enhance a lush flower bed at the height of the growing season AND remain as a colorful accent when the surroundings are winter-barren.  Contact me to create a unique stack of shapes for your yard -- the possibilities are only limited to our imaginations! Click this photo to give me your ideas.

What Are You Craving?

It is officially Fall according to the calendar. The temperature today is expected to reach in the 90’s. There are still signs of summer’s growth in the garden, but the earlier darkness and carpet of dead leaves along my walking route signal inevitable change. I notice I experience different food cravings depending on the season. Does this happen to you too? I’ve been searching my recipe collection to help me decide on something different for dinner. At night, my sweet craving has been strong. I’ve sought to satisfy it with a slice of cake, caramel M & M’s, and coffee ice cream. Each has tasted delicious, but not quite satisfied that craving. Any suggestions?

I planted a set of flowers to border the stone wall of this backyard garden this past week. If you look closely, you'll see some of my garden totems in the far right corner of the photo. This garden evolves throughout the seasons with new plantings and garden sculptures (including many of my own)!

As usual, my activity in the studio reflects what is happening in my life. The glaze colors I choose are often more subtle. The shapes I think about making are for serving food and entertaining. Often I make a dish with a specific recipe in mind.

I’ve replenished my supply of bird feeders for the garden in anticipation of helping them through a winter season. I still like a pop of color in my yard -- no matter the season. I tend to make these pieces in bright colors year round. 

Tell me what you are craving. Are there certain recipes that come back into rotation for you this time of year? Is there a certain type of pottery you use over and over in your kitchen or when you have company in the fall? What colors appeal to you this time of year? All this information is helpful to me in the studio. It inspires me and helps the creative process. Click here or the photo below to tell me!

Birthday Month

Gifts are on my mind. The month of July is filled with birthdays in our family and in that spirit, let me extend a special present to you! Save 25% on any in-stock ClaybyLaura garden item you purchase this week. Use the code BIRTHDAY to receive the discount when you place your order.

Click on this photo to choose a bird feeder for your yard.

Sometimes I have a hard time picking a meaningful item to celebrate a special occasion like a birthday. Young children are pretty easy to shop for, but I often struggle to choose gifts for the adults in my life. Will they like what I’ve picked? Will they use what I’ve chosen? Is there something else I could have bought?

Watering cans can double as a vase to hold your garden's beautiful bounty! Click on photo to shop.

I’m the kind of present-shopper that tends to purchase a gift for someone in the moment. If I find a perfect present for a friend or family member, I will buy it on the spot. The purchase is not always dependent on a looming holiday or personal celebration. For me, gift giving is a way to show a person in your life you’ve found something that makes you think of them. 

Give the toads in your garden a a special shady spot! Click on this photo to choose.

Sometimes the best presents to receive are the ones we gift ourselves. What have you had your eye on lately? It could be lunch with a friend, a special pair of shoes or spending one-on-one time with a family member. Go for it!

Who doesn't like to see a lady bug bringing good luck to their garden? Click this photo to see them all!

If there’s a ClaybyLaura garden item that could bring some joy to you or fulfill a gift need, now’s a perfect time to purchase. I’ve restocked and updated my garden inventory online. Remember to use the code BIRTHDAY to save 25%! 

Mixing It Up

Clay is one of the primary materials I use to make art. But, it’s not the only one. I often embellish the pieces I create with unrelated components to complete the idea that started in my mind. Using a mixed media approach often helps flesh out the functionality of a piece. Plus it’s fun!

The aisles of any hardware store are one resource for materials I use in a project. Copper pipe supports outdoor totem stacks or becomes the perfect perch for a bird feeder; some binding wire is bent into kickstands for recipe holders or flower stems for colorful flora; springs become hair on several angel projects.

Notions like buttons and beads found at the fabric store or an antique shop, accent a design and provide the perfect finishing touch. Fishing line from a sporting goods store supports a hanging creation.

I might combine some of my passions like clay and fiber arts. Leather cord crocheted along the edge of a basket shape converges two of the creative skills I like to practice. I’m even working on an idea with a well-known fiber pattern designer to create a bowl and pattern combination kit so other yarn enthusiasts could create their own unique project. 

Mixing materials to achieve a finished piece helps stretch the artistic element of every object I create. It opens the door even wider to possibility and challenges me with ever changing and new ideas. Lately, I've been playing with making jewelry. It's one more way I've been able to mix it up, make something I love, use up collected materials, learn new skills and combine it into a final product. 

It's Your Serve.

I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘giving back’ lately. As a clay artist, what skill set can I share with others that will be meaningful? It’s one reason I like to teach; it’s nice to share some of my experience and knowledge with interested students. I also donate various creations to charity events to help raise money and awareness for their cause. I know there is more to being ‘of service’ than that. So I’d like to explore more ways to spread kindness in day-to-day life. 

Garden bells are in process for a class I'll be teaching at The Muse in Frederick. Interested in having one for your outdoor space? Click on this photo to send me a message and I'll make sure you are notified of class details!

January 16 is a holiday celebrating Martin Luther King’s birth. People are encouraged to volunteer on this day to honor MLK. Service holds lots of different meanings; it can be interpreted spiritually, signify a community-driven passion or happen in simple one-on-one encounters. I think it’s most beneficial when it’s meaningful to the person providing the favor. 

New heart shapes are stacking up in the studio in anticipation of Valentines Day! Reserve one for yourself or a loved-one by clicking on this photo!

Volunteering can seem impossible or time-consuming in a busy life. I think this element of sacrifice is part of the point. My mother used to write a weekly column for the Washington Post called “You Can Help.” Each article would showcase a worthy opportunity for volunteering. Sometimes we just need a suggestion of where we can help out. Google is probably a great resource for that question nowadays. 

I tried out a new recipe that was shared with me for my favorite Eggplant Parmesan this past week.. That simple act of kindness fed my tummy and my soul!

Sharing is another good way to think about service. It’s an easy way to give back throughout our lives. Think of how good you feel when a family member, friend, co-worker or stranger does you a favor. Make a conscious effort to pass on the goodwill as well. 

In the spirit of giving, one lucky ClayByLaura Club member will receive this Bird Feeder from my studio. Winter is an especially good time to provide for the hungry birds in your neighborhood. Remember to fill up your own with ample seed this time of year. Want one of my colorful bird feeders for your yard? Click here to shop. (and if it’s not currently in stock, I’ll make one just for you!)

Janet Moll is the lucky winner of the January 2016 ClayByLaura Club giveaway. Want to have a chance for next time? Click on this photo to sign up!

"Changed For Good"

The lyric quoted in the blog title above is from one of the songs in the musical Wicked that I saw this weekend. It sums up what happened in the studio this week perfectly! I’ve made this flower-shaped bird feeder in the past. I like how it looks, but the functionality was lacking. This week, I decided to revisit the shape and figure out how I could improve its design. 

I always make a template when I begin a project.  I can easily adjust the design this way. Once I am happy with what I've made, I know I can recreate it again.  

I bought some new texture tools on a trip to AC Moore. I found these in the painter's tools section. I like the different grooves they create in the clay.

I shortened the height of the piece. The new rectangle is approximately 11 inches wide by 7 inches high. The original piece was about 12 inches tall. 

I use a cardboard tube to roll up the rectangle into the appropriate shape.

The tube helps hold the round shape of the piece when it's stood on end.

Once I've attached the bottom, I flip the piece to secure it properly. I use a sponge to compress the joint and make sure there are no gaps on the outside or inside of the pot. 

Here you can see where I made improvements to the functionality of the bird feeder. I kept the same flower shape for the top of the feeder. I made the center of the flower removable so bird seed can easily be added to the feeder. I will still use buttons and fishing line as I did in the original design to suspend the flower once it has been glazed and fired.  I changed the design of the feeding perch.  I decided to use wire bent to look like flower leaves instead of the clay ones I created in the original design. I'll add these at the same time as the buttons and fishing line.  I'm happy with these improvements and I think this bird feeder has been 'changed for the better!"