Everyone Needs A Cheerleader!

“Two, Four, Six, Eight. Who do we appreciate?”

In today’s world, I’m sure this qualifies as an old school cheer. I was a cheerleader in both junior and senior high school when this group shout was a standard. It was the days of sing-songy chants, split jumps in the air and semi-dance routines to live marching band music. During athletic events, our goal was to encourage the sports teams and guide the fans in supportive chants. 

These garden bells are on their way to their new homes. A fellow artist and childhood friend entrusted me with the design and completion of this project. She provided some guidance with desired colors, but left the other creative choices up to me. Support like this encourages my artistic abilities. 

Looking beyond sports, I’ve realized the importance of a good support team in professional and lifetime pursuits. Words of encouragement go a long way to bolster confidence and improve our attitude. I bet everyone likes to have enthusiastic and vocal supporters at work and at home. 

Participating in a creative outlet is a good way to bring cheer in to your own life. There are so many ways to satisfy a creative urge you may have. Do-It-yourself Pinterest projects, studio painting parties or local 'crafternoon' gatherings are a few. Even new computer programs are a tool any of us can use to exercise our artistic muscle. Look what my husband created from a favorite photo of two of our dogs!

I’m lucky to have some great clay cheerleaders in my world. Other potters, my family and many of my customers are a vital part of this support system. Their encouragement, advice and positive feedback cheer me on and guide me toward success. In turn, I like to be a positive voice for people in my life circle. Verbalizing appreciation makes everyone feel good. 

This group of bowls is accompanying a dinner set on its way to California. I experimented and accented each foot of the bowl with a pop of color. I like the results!

In addition to words, actions speak volumes. Even strangers benefit from good cheer. Eye contact and a smile might be just the uplift a fellow human needs. Purchases made at locally owned businesses are a boost to every community. Think about the people in your immediate circle and spread some encouragement there. I bet it reverberates right back to you tenfold. 

If you live around the Washington, DC area -- this holiday show is worth the trip! I'll be on hand Saturday, December 10 and Friday December 16. Stop by and say hello! Click on photo for more details. 

Reflection

As New Years Eve approaches signaling the end of one year and the beginning of twelve new months ahead, I like to spend time thinking about my life and my life’s work and set some goals for the coming year. Some people call these desires resolutions. I like to think of these promises to myself as building blocks – ways to improve what I’ve been developing over a lifetime. My classmate friends and I are turning 60 throughout 2016. It’s one of those ‘halt in your tracks’ age numbers. I think this significant milestone adds another layer of reflection to this annual ritual. I look back to see what I’ve accomplished in six decades and forge ahead to prove I’ve still got a long way to go!

As always, my time in the studio mirrors what is happening in my daily life. My creative plans for 2016 are specific and fluid. I have a few new shapes I’d like to attempt. I’d like to play with the finished surface of my creations. I’d like to pursue more fundraising items I’ve created for worthy organizations.  The unique gift/marketing items I've made for businesses are a big hit -- I'd like to create more of these too. I’ll continue to tweak my website to reflect the art from my studio and develop the way I sell on-line, in galleries and pop-up shopping opportunities. Overall, I’d like to attract the positive and decrease the negative in my life and my studio.

I've been catching up on some of my knitting projects these last few winter weeks. It's another passion I enjoy. I find it meditative and engaging at the same time. The unique design of my yarn bowls are based on my experience as a knitter. Most of the clay yarn bowls I've seen have a slit cut into them for guiding the yarn -- a design flaw in my opinion. My bowl shape cups the yarn, has two heart-shaped 'feeders' for multiple yarn colors and can be used for snacks or knitting accessories when not in use for stitching. In 2016, I'll work on a slightly larger version to fully accommodate two large hanks of yarn. 

I was fortunate to help fundraise for several worthy causes in 2015. These clay items from my studio not only attracted donations, but continue to be useful reminders of their cause!

I was fortunate to create a variety of totem stacks for people throughout the country in 2015. Each was a labor of love and a lot of fun to make! Do you have an idea for a custom totem? 

I'll continue to make tray and bowl sets in 2016. It's a popular and useful form. The fish-shaped tray was a new item in 2015. I'd like to play around with this design a bit more in 2016 to make it even better!

Garden art continues to be a source of creative exploration for me in the studio. I'm sure there are some new shapes to discover in 2016!

Bowls have always been one of my go-to shapes in the studio. This coming year I'd like to play with these shapes to create some dishes that can be used right side up and upside down. Stay tuned to see what I come up with!

Happy New Year! I hope you've had some time to reflect on 2015 and set your own goals and building blocks for the coming year.

Coming Together

I’ve been working on several commission pieces over the last several weeks and the results of thinking, planning, testing, making, remaking, glazing and firing are coming together nicely. Projects like this make me happy. They usually start with an idea or suggestion to create something. The trick is to translate that into a clay form that is pleasing both to the recipient and satisfactory for me, the maker. Mostly I’ve found this transaction to be successful.

First, I try to accurately communicate the picture of the final product I’ve formed in my head either through a (very) crude drawing or picture of a clay model I make.

Secondly, and probably most importantly, I’ve learned to trust my creative instinct knowing the customer has commissioned a piece of art based on their belief in me.

Often, my final inspiration evolves once I have my hands in the clay in the studio. Because I tend to think in pictures, it may take several attempts to get my hands and the clay to cooperate with my vision. I don’t find this frustrating.  It is gratifying and keeps me coming back to the studio. Again, I try to keep the customer informed of my progress because there are instances where this process takes several weeks. 

There's nothing better to a potter, than opening up a glaze kiln to find shelves full of success! To quote “Hannibal” from the 80’s TV Show, The A Team – “I love it when a plan comes together!” Cue the music!

Recipe for Success

I’ve made my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe so often, I know it by heart. It was given to me by a former neighbor many years ago. In turn, I’ve shared it with others as well. I don’t know the exact science behind the success of this particular recipe, but I do know that it produces a reliable, delicious treat each time I make it.

For me, working in clay is a little bit like baking.  I know the desired outcome so I’ve practiced techniques and combinations of ingredients to achieve a reliable product. Again, there is absolute science behind the success; I’ve learned by adjusting some of the components of my creations from time to time, I can achieve the most dependable combination of clay and glazes to complement my creations. 

In addition to using a new clay, I've been tweaking the design of these bowls. Half of  the texture design is on the inside of the bowl and half on the outside!

This week I’ve been trying a different brand of clay to test the results with the variety of glazes I use. As with my baking, I may return to the blueprint I’ve used in the past or learn something new from this process that will make every firing favorable. There are always new combinations to explore!

Try my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for yourself! Please share your favorite recipes with me as well. I love experimenting in the kitchen almost as much as I do in the studio!

Seasonal Sale!

Now you can purchase my creations directly from my website! To celebrate, I’m selling several of my in-stock garden items for discounted prices! This particular sale will last through the month of October 2014. If you’ve been considering a piece for your yard or garden, now is a good time to make that happen. My garden art can be outdoors year-round in all weather conditions and will provide a whimsical pop of color throughout all four seasons. Supplies are limited (as they say in the advertising world!) and the prices are low (with FREE shipping offers on most sale items). Go to the Purchase page of my website to get a full view of the sales items and clay pieces you can purchase today.

I have privately received positive feedback from many people about my blog and website. Thank you. Your input is important to me. Please continue to send me suggestions on how to improve and what you'd like to see me make. If you follow me on Facebook, please comment on, click the ‘like button’ and repost my website facebook messages to help spread my visibility. Posting comments directly on my Blog page and clicking the like (heart) button there is also helpful.

As always, thank you for your support!

Bowls are always useful. I'm making some new shapes and sizes of bowls in  my studio. These have the first layer of underglaze color and are ready for the first firing!

I hope to 'spread the love' with these little heart-shaped dishes. 

I received this hand-made journal from my artist-friend Pam Kessler. I met Pam when I lived in Hilton Head, SC. She was in town to sell her beautiful botanical watercolor paintings at the Bethesda Row Arts Festival this past weekend. I helped her set up her booth early Saturday morning.