New Work up on Etsy!

Today I posted a few new pots on etsy. I have been so busy with the holiday shows that I really haven't had time to keep up with the shop . I have been home sick for the last 2 days so I had some time to play on the computer, when I wasn't sleeping or being miserable that is. I am listing some of the work that I haven't been bringing to shows, not for any reason other than it's not the "newest run" of pots and I am having fun making my table display look all matchy-matchy. I am also listing some pots that I have multiples of so I don't feel bad leaving them home. Oh how I long for a time when I can stay at home and make pretty pots all day!

Holiday Heap is TOMORROW!

That's right! Holiday heap is tomorrow, are you coming? You know I'll be there and so will my neighbor (at the show) and friend Monica from Sugar Paperie. So be sure to pick up some handmade holiday cards to go all your unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts that I'm sure your going to walk away with tomorrow. And don't forget to get a box for yourself, it's always a good idea to have pretty cards handy, you never know when your going to need one!

Winterfest

Tomorrow night is the Jazz Preview for Winterfest at the Baltimore Clayworks. I am hoping to get there to see my pots on display and to check out the work of this artist Shanna Fleigel. I really love her work and am hoping I can afford to add one of her mugs to my collection.
Today I stayed home, hoping to have a work day but am stuck on the couch with the sniffles. I was up early to do a spot on the local news advertising Holiday Heap this weekend. When I got home I made this really yummy soup and I wanted to share the recipe with you.

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup:
Melt 1 Tbs. butter in a medium dutch oven or pot with a lid. Add 1 peeled and chopped apple (I used a honey crisp because that is what I had) and 1/2 of a chopped onion. Saute until the apple is soft and the onion is translucent. Add 1 tsp gar am Marsala, 1tsp curry powder and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, saute for another minute or so. Add 1 package of chopped butternut squash (or about 1 medium if you don't have it pre-chopped), 1 cup of baby carrots and 4 cups of low sodium chicken broth. Cover and simmer until veggies are tender. Puree in batches and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt on top! I almost added some spinach but wasn't sure it would go. After tasting it I think it would be good.

Holiday Heap is coming!

Only 4 more days until Holiday Heap! I just spent the last 2 days in the studio trying to restock from this past weekend. It must have been quite the site to see me and Michael down there in the middle of the night, me throwing clay everywhere and him standing there with the hairdryer speeding things along. If you are in the Baltimore area make sure you come out to this show...it's going to be great! Not that I am biased in any way ;)

Tugboat

Well I am back home after a great weekend in Pittsburgh. I sold lots of pots, had some fun bought some art and made new friends. Michael and I had the pleasure of having dinner and drinks with our friends from Baltimore, Rachel and Phil from Red Prairie Press and our new friends Valerie and Paul from Tugboat Print Shop. We had delicious food and hung out in their beautiful home/ studio which I am totally jealous of! I brought home one of their beautiful fox prints which is going in our upstairs room once we refinish it over the Christmas break.

Off to Pittsburg!

Tomorrow I am off to Pittsburg for a 2 day show. The car still needs to be packed but I am getting things checked off my list. I also dropped off some work to Baltimore Clayworks for their Winterfest. The Holiday season is off and running! There is no time once Halloween is over, phew! I am going to seriously need a break this Christmas! If you are in the Pa area stop by the Handmade Arcade and say hello. I'll be there Saturday and Sunday.

Shop Special!

Psst! Wanna know a secret? Well not really a secret, but you are the first to hear. From now until the Holidays I am having a special in my etsy shop. When you purchase $30 or more I will send you a super cute ornament FREE! They are listed in my shop for $10 that you will not have to pay. Well, what are you waiting for? Go get one!

Go Vote!

Tomorrow is the big day! Everyone make sure to get out there and vote! Then maybe you would like to buy this funky pendant by luna clay design to commemorate the event:)

Happy Halloween!

Don't eat too much candy or you'll get a tummy ache! The spooky image above is The Poe Sisters by DearDodo and is on sale this weekend in honor or Halloween!

Fun with Photoshop

This is going to be a quick post, I worked at school today from 8:30am-8:00pm and am super sleepy! I was playing around with my shots last night and decided to try out some filters in my photoshop collection. Here is one of the pictures, just for fun!

New Pots from the Kiln!

I just unloaded the kiln last night and I'm really happy with the new pots. I was thinking the glaze was going to be funky but it turned out great! I just hope I can make it do that again:) I will be bringing these with me to the Unusual Suspects show in Bethesda this weekend. Come out and say "hi" if your in the area! It's a great kickoff to your holiday shopping.

Studio Shoot

Today Michael and I were total rock stars today as we had a professional photographer in the studio taking lots of pictures of us. I'm leaving the reason for this a secret for now...I'll fill you in later but it's going to be super cool. Here is a picture of me that Michael took after the photographer left. I needed some shots of me for some other projects so we snapped a few while the studio was still clean.

Thinking ahead...

Ok, ok. I know it's too early to be thinking of Christmas but...craft show season starts for me next weekend which means holiday shoppers. (Also, I was tagged in my last post and am procrastinating about that, don't worry, I will get there!) So it's not that early...right? I also wanted to share these cute gift tags by Palomas Nest. They come as a set of 4 and are made from wood and porcelain, way nicer than the name written with sharpie marker I use as a "gift tag".

The Broken Plate

I am totally in love with this ring and pendant from The Broken Plate. They are both made from a Diana Fayt plate and are really lovely, Juliet has some other pieces in her shop from this same plate and I love them all. Plus $5.oo of each Diana Fayt pendant sold will go to Art with a Heart, a Baltimore charity who provides interactive, hands-on art activities to disadvantaged families and children, and to people with developmental and physical challenges. Make sure to stop by her Etsy shop and check out all the beautiful things Juliet makes from broken plates!

In the Theme

To go along with yesterdays post about yummy fall cookies, today I am sharing a yummy Pumpkin Spice soap! I have a hand lotion that smells like cinnamon apples and every time I use it a smile just appears on my face. The smell is so comforting and I bet this soap would have the same effect. Pop over to the Soap Store on etsy and grab some up while the leaves are still on the trees! P.S. the Soap Store is from the Pocono Mountains in Pa, which is close to my childhood:)

Flavors of Fall-Pumpkin Ginger Sandwich Cookies

Well, it's happening. The weather is finally cooling off and the leaves are starting to change. I have been craving a trip to the apple orchard to pick apples and sip hot cider...yum. I haven't done that in forever! I love fall food, the crisp apples and squash paired with woodsy spices and red wine. I have been trying to cut back on sugar but I think that if someone put these cookies in front of me I would have to eat them! They look so yummy and fall-like. Whimsey and Spice is one of my favorite shops to drool over. They have great photos and delicious food posted on their blog. You know me...pots and food and I'm a happy camper!

Clay problem solved!

My clay finally came in and now I have 10 boxes of beautiful fresh clay waiting for me in the studio. Well, most of it is still in the car waiting for Michael to unload it! I am stuck on the couch with a fever and zero energy. Figures right? (And for those of you who were wondering from the last post I use Stan's Red clay body with a coat of Pete Pinell's white slip and other underglaze colors painted and printed on.) Since I am stuck on the couch I have lots of time to search through etsy and I saw that Molly Hatch has added these lovely salt and pepper shakers to her shop. I just love her drawn details and have been a big fan of her work for some time. I might be purchasing a set of these since they are a steal at only $28! I am starting to think Holiday already and I have a feeling my mom would love these.

The three clays.

As soon as I have some time to work in the studio, I run out of clay. I ordered more but the delivery is running late and the later it gets the more worried I am about not ordering enough. I tried some other clays last night trying to find one that my supplier stocks but they just weren't right. One has too much grog for me and tears up my hands while I throw and the other has no grog and won't keep it's shape like I like. I am one who likes to throw with a soft body and have no trouble with porcelain so you know that clay must be super soft! Anyway, I have to call the supply store today and find out what's up. I really don't want to have to buy one of the not-right clays but I might have to suck it up!grrrr.

Waiting for Etsy...

Well I was hoping to get some more listing done in the shop tonight but etsy seems to be having a glitch. It's not letting me upload photos. I checked the chat rooms and it looks like it's been a problem for others too. Oh well, I guess I can share some of my new work here! Maybe this is fate telling me I need to go to bed! Check out my etsy shop if you are interested in something above!

Bowls?

Come see me next weekend at Crafty Bastard's in DC! Pick up one of these new bowls for your cereal, a toasty bowl of soup or a large helping of your favorite ice cream...yum.

BOB for Michael!!!

Ok. It's been a while since I've posted but my computer is being stupid lately and I have limited internet right now. Plus we just came back from a very wet weekend in Chicago. Anyhoo...on to the BEST news!! Michael just won the Best of Baltimore for Best Comic book! Hoooray:) We are kinda bummed that we didn't know in advance and missed out on the party:( We did celebrate over dinner at Clementine though. They also won Best of Baltimore....go Hamilton!

For Monica

I am posting this photo for my friend Monica of SugarPaperie. We share an obsession with milk glass and as I was surfing through my etsy favorites page I stumbled across this photographer, fieryeyed. I really love the old Polaroid camera and she has a great eye. Before I fell in love with clay I had a brief love affair with photography. We didn't last. I needed more, but it made me very picky when it comes to photographs. It really takes something special for me to take notice. I know, snobby. Really I am just bitter since now I have to turn back to photography to take my photos to sell my work. It's like asking an ex for a favor. You don't like it but know you can't get what you need any other way. Anyway, Monica this photo reminded me of you and your beautiful vases all lined up on that shelf in your adorable home:)

Little Dippers

Here are some more dishes that I have been working on. I have yet to adopt any of this series but I am about to grab up some of these little dippers. I seem to always need a little dish to hold some ingredient when I cook. I think they would make super cute salt and pepper holders too. You can get some in my etsy shop right now! Just click here.

New Mug Designs

I have been playing around some more, experimenting with the effects I can get with my Gocco. This last firing gave me some nice results, I think this will be a fun direction to take some pieces. I have to think of a name for this style of work though...I already have a line about Slow Food, what could this be?

Spanish Stlye

I just love these spanish style nesting bowls from Mudyfingers on etsy. The glaze is just lovely and I love the dark clay body used. They remind me of the spanish style houses in Mexico, my favorite place! I dropped the ball on posting this week (as well as on other things aka going to the gym) since I was just beat from working with the children this week... so much energy just gone! Next week it's back to the gym for real! I am getting ready for my 10 year reunion soon and I wanna look HOT;)

Monday, Monday.

It was sooo hard to go back to school this morning! This was the first day back with the children and boy am I wiped out. This is going to be a post and run so I can go to sleep. I will leave you with this dinner plate about a super secret meeting. Ok now to bed with me!

Thinking of October.

Since school has started now I am looking at the calendar lots more as I am getting back into the swing of having a schedule. The one thing that I am really looking foward to is a workshop with Kristen Kieffer the first weekend in October that I am taking over at the Baltimore Clayworks. I just love her work and really can't wait to pick her brain. I try to take at least 1 workshop a year at the Clayworks, it's such a great place that is so close! The last one I took was with Nancy Selvin and before that, Nick Joerling. Both fabulous artists who I learned loads from. If you are working in clay and are close enough to get here, I would highly recommend checking them out:) It is my grad school substitute right now, until I have more time to devote to going to one! Never stop learning, right?

Karma

Today I feel that Karma is in my corner. I have decided to "let go" and let whatever may be, well be. I am trying to not get stressed out at work this year since I am hopefully in the process of leaving the teaching world to devote myself full time to my pots. Today we finally got our schedules for the year and mine was not only lighter than last year (thankfully!) but very unusually I was assigned to have the entire 5th grade. This never happens since we have 2 art teachers at my school and we split the load. This might sound like a bad thing but it just so happens that these 5th graders are my very first class of 1st graders. We started at the same time. There is just something cosmic about this, I don't know why. So I'm feeling very light hearted today already but then I was surfing around and stumbled onto this post by Creative Thursday on the decor8 blog. It was all about letting go and letting your dreams take their own shape. I feel like the world is trying to tell me something...like it's almost time!!! I sure hope so:) You should pop on by the blog and then go check out some artwork by Creative Thursday on etsy.

A Day at the Smithsonian

Today Michael and I spent the day with our fellow art teachers at the Washington Smithsonian Museum. We had our first professional development day of the year and it was really a nice time. In the morning we were lead through the Portrait Museum and the American Art Museum, then treated to a very nice lunch before being let loose in the museum book store. I found an awesome book that journals the dreams of Joeseph Cornell, such great word fragments! The above painting is by Joeseph Cornell.

Apply to Holiday Heap!

Charm City Craft Mafia is thrilled to announce that applications for this years Holiday Heap- November 15th, 2008 are available online and ready for you to fill out! Applications are due October 5th at midnight, and must be completed fully, INCLUDING paying the non-refundable $10 application fee at the end of the application, to be included in the jurying. Be sure to give us your very best photos- of your very best work! We can’t wait to see what everyone’s been up to this spring/summer, and we wish you all the best of luck!

Back in school...

Well today is my first day back to school, with no students of course. I thought I'd give you a taste of what I unloaded from the kiln this weekend so you can enjoy while I go sit through 4 hours of meetings:( Be sure to check my etsy later on to see some of these things listed!

On these walls.

Michael and I spent yesterday in Home Depot picking up mulch for the backyard. Along the way we stopped to check out the paint samples. Our next home project is to redo the upstairs room, we live in a cape cod so the upstairs is one long room. We need to make it into a guest room/office for Michael. I think the one problem we're going to run into is hanging stuff on the walls. The walls slat inward starting at about waist high, not ideal for frames or anything that goes on a nail. I spotted these wall decals on etsy this moring and they might just be the perfect solution! You can find theses beautiful decals in the Dali Decals shop or just do a search for "wall decals" to find other sellers.

Getting ready for school...

I just love these reuseable baggies from Plum Creek. They would be the perfect ec0-friendly solution to perfectly portioned lunches. I came across them via IndieFixx.

Waiting for the kiln...

I fired a bisque last night and I'm thinking I will have to wait until tomorrow to unload. My studio is now to the point where I need to get stuff in the kiln just for the shelf space! Hopefully this week I can make my way over to Ikea and buy some more shelves. I have yet to figure out the best way to store stuff because I like to be able to get to it easily. If I pack it away it's hard to get work posted on etsy because it's an ordeal to unpack it, take a picture, repack it and then if it sells, find it again. If anyone out there has any suggestions please leave me a comment! I can use all the organization help I can get.

The end of the summer.

Today Michael and I worked for hours clearing out our very overgrown yard and garden. It looks loads better but it's sad that this is really the end of the summer for us. I cut down my lavendar plants and hung the flowers to dry down in the studio. I am hoping that when fall comes I will make the dried flowers into some pretty little scented pillows to give out around the holidays. I would also like to try baking something, I'm very inspired by these yummy looking Honey Lavendar Shortbread Cookies by Whimsy and Spice. They are the cutest family from Brooklyn, he is a chef and she takes the photography. Everything in their shop looks delicious!

Back to work!

Ok, now that we are finally home from our trip to Long Beach Island and then to Wildwood for our good friend's engagement party...it's time to buckle down and get into posting new work. I just spent all morning editing photos to post this week so hopefully I can stick to it. Here is the first post with some new dipping dishes. These will be available really soon from my etsy shop.