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.

Get Used To It!

There was a time when I saved ‘the good dishes’ for special occasions. No more. Now, that seems like an old fashioned concept. I don’t think my kids and their contemporaries share this idea of only using certain special or costly items just once in awhile. I have begun to break this habit by using the items I’ve made, purchased and love on a regular basis. It makes me happy.

In the morning I start each day with a hand-made mug of coffee. Not only do I believe it tastes better that way, the unique feel of each vessel in my hand links me to the maker on a personal level.  Each potter has touched and manipulated the clay into specific form only they can create. I appreciate their attention to design and material each time I take a sip. It’s not necessarily a conscious thing, but the added pleasure to this morning ritual is real.

Throughout the day, I continue to use as many of the pots I own as I can. Beyond cooking or serving food, I like to find other ways to utilize my pottery collection. Bowls can hold mail, spare change or desk items. Trays and plates catch water drips from planters, house collected treasures or a midday snack.

I end each day with a current knitting project. Here, again, I've begun to use one of my yarn bowls to catch and hold the ball of fiber as I build the rows I knit into a finished piece. Using what I make gives me insight into the pot's structural strengths and helps me visualize the piece through the eyes of the user. 

So get out the pottery you love and start using it! I bet it will help brighten your day and even make the food you are eating taste better!

Tried and True

Ideas for the shapes I create often come from Family, Friends and Customers. I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio this week to work out some new pieces for the fall and holiday season. Also on my ‘to do’ list is a familiar shape I will make again and again.

Over the last fifteen years (or more), I’ve been making a tray and serving bowl set. Originally, each free form tray was slumped over a piece of Styrofoam I had covered in masking tape. There are a few different sizes I use to create trays. More recently, I've played with pressing a wood shape in the clay to achieve a desired serving piece.  I have a large collection of these forms in the studio.

I like to include a recipe card with clay pieces I sell. It answers the question, "What do I use this for?" and is another way of personalizing what I create.  I play around with textures on the tray and repeat the pattern in the matching bowl. 

I've experimented with different styles for the tray and shapes for the bowl. But the long tray style with matching bowl seems to be the most popular.

The most recent iteration of the Tray-n-Bowl features the two color process I use on many of my other clay pieces. I layer one color of underglaze with another color of glaze. I like how the pooled glaze highlights the applied texture. I've also changed the size and design of the matching  bowl for the set. 

As much as I enjoy adding new shapes to my clay repertoire, the familiarity of the Tray-n-Bowl sets is satisfying to make as well. This useful item has evolved with the techniques I've picked up and use along the way and continues to be a popular seller. I'll be restocking my inventory just in time for serving holiday goodies and gift-giving season!

Upon Request

The commission process is a back and forth collaboration between my customer and me. Good communication helps turn the discussion into a successful outcome. The proposed project can be as simple as making a specific color of an existing item from my current gallery repertoire or involve a whole new journey to create a brand new shape or item.

I have made this popular tray and bowl set for many years. Each one is a unique combination of pattern and color. The serving bowl has evolved over the years into the current circle form. If a customer sees a piece of mine that has been sold at a show or is out of stock in my inventory, I can easily make a new one!

When I work on an unfamiliar request, it takes time to formulate the final clay art piece. I sometimes research the creations of other artists, experiment in the studio with various clay combinations and then create a paper template to achieve the final results.

Totems are one example of creations that combine familiar and unfamiliar forms. This special address post was created for the author of the children's book KeeKee's Big Adventures. I knew I wanted to include an image of KeeKee, the hot air balloon and an image of a book along with the address numbers. I studied drawings of KeeKee and then got to work in the studio figuring out how to incorporate the images into a three dimensional format. 

This set of mugs uses a company logo as the basis for the decoration and colors. It took a couple of tries to get this commission to completion, but that's part of the process!

These memento boxes were created recently to hold special personal trinkets to honor the memory of a loved-one.

I love it when I see photos of my creations in their new homes! Here is a custom lazy susan I created ready to 'pass the...!'

Keep in touch and let me know what I can make especially for you!