Hot

It has been blazingly hot here. My weather radio keeps blaring warnings that it may thunderstorm, but I'll believe it when I see it. Until things cool off, I thought I would share some Etsy items that capture the extreme heat. (Copper Pear above by dorndorf, Barbwire stemmed flower below, merritthyde.)

Sunshine Motel, RoadsidePhotographs.

Copper wire basket, Xanadu2You.

Vintage heels, raretreasure.

Handmade blank book by krispix.

Handbuilt porcelain mug by geobubstudios. Mixed media painting, DwellinStyle.

Copper Bird Art, CopperLeafStudios. Full Circle Tree Collage reproduction print, blockpartyprints. Stay cool, my friends! Meanwhile, tonight I hope to get some more work done on my kiln, so I can really heat things up.

Happy at Home

Not much makes me happier than finding out that customers of my Etsy shop like the items they purchase from me. But getting pictures of my pots in their new homes is the best. One of my wonderful customers recently sent me these pictures of two of my pots in her home. Don't you love the star hook and the bird in the first image?

And I love that the white pot is next to the kitchen window, right where I imagined the pots would be perfect. Thanks, Laurie. I don't like to play favorites with my customers, but you have earned some major style points for sending me pictures of my pots in their new home.

New Old

How is it that I am only now discovering this shop on the front page of Etsy?

Reclaimed wood and paws!

Look at that patina.

A caged clock. Love it. Love this quote: "I am inspired by things that are lost, tossed and forgotten. Items that are left by the roadside, buried in an old barn, or deposited at the local dump or scrap yard." Love PaulaArt. Go check it out!

Sacked Out

So happy to be home.

Getting The Boot

You know when you have an idea for something you think you can make, several years go by, and you finally have the skills and materials to give it a try? That's this boot. It isn't quite done yet, but I got to start on the details yesterday.

Out There

Lately I've been creating some really strange pieces in between my standard forms. I made a vase for raku, and when it was done, it looked like a fish to me. So I added eyes and fins.

Then I figured it needed a stopper. So I made another fish.

Now the big fish has a little fish in his mouth.

But the fish are not nearly as out there as this next piece I've been working on. It's a watering can with half a handle, with teacups attached.

The teacups also have pieces missing.

I'm not sure what its ultimate use will be; maybe as a planter, or even a fountain?

I painted the entire watering can with red underglaze, and I carved overlapping squares into the clay, exposing the natural color.

I made one full teacup that is detached from the watering can, and underglazed the inside red to match.

I also painted the bottom red. Why not? I'm hoping that the red doesn't burn off the pieces in the kiln.

This may become known as a "period" within my pottery career, but I won't hazard a guess as to what art historians would call it.

Random Collection

While in Chicago, I started taking pictures of manhole covers. There were so many different designs, and so many different utilities. I was captivated by the magnitude of the hidden underground network that runs a city. Of course, I couldn't capture all of the ones I wanted to - many were in the middle of the road, as I was scurrying across. I may have to revisit this idea. Wouldn't it make an interesting art installation, a collection of utility covers? (Just say yes.)