Tis The Season

We opened our Holiday Sale today.  Turn out was good, very steady for the five hours I was there.  I'm very happy with the work that is being shown this year.

Jason's ship below is a real centerpiece....even more impressive in the flesh or rather the clay.  The photos below are a small representation of what we are selling.

I'm also posting this over on Mud Colony.  We're down to the last few weeks of the Mud Colony Blog
so everyone should take a look at what is going on.

We seem to be going through another cold spell.  It doesn't usually go down in the teens until January, but there you are!

An edit added on 11/30/13

I just found our yesterday that for a change Rhode Island is leading the way on something!  As of tomorrow with the proper registration with the state there will be no sales tax to collect on fine art and craft.  We have had tax free zones in various cities for years, but now the legislature has made it a state wide thing.

This also applies to liquor and wine but not beer.....Proge is sad that beer is not included.  But still, pots and a bottle of wine sounds pretty good to me.

I stopped at a local remnant shop this morning and bought fabric to make curtains around a small portion of my studio.  I am hopeful that with my little heater and the southern exposure, I'll be able to work there all winter, rather than moving everything upstairs to the living area after Christmas,

The cold weather has brought home to me how much I like being in my own space.

I'm beginning to sort out Christmas decorations.  We don't put out tree up until the Winter Solstice, but I like to get stuff up outside.

I also sorting my seasonal cd's and downloads.  My, I have accumulated a lot of stuff over the years .

Remember to visit Mud Colony; next week is the last one.  How we will miss our weekly get-togethers, but the Facebook page will stay on.

Thank you for all the kind Thanksgiving wishes and, as always, thanks for stopping by.......*s*

Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!

One of the great joys has been finding the clay blogging world!

The turkeys were out in my woods last spring.  I think they are thankful to be wild and free......and able to tease Winter!

Enjoy the day in the way that best suits you and yours.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Wordless Wednesday

UHHH.....What day is it?

I lost track of the time....rather days.  I spent most of Sunday thinking it was Saturday.  It wasn't until  I was dropping pots off for our sale that I realized, or rather was informed, that it was Sunday.

That's what happens when you get busy as the proverbial bee.  

I did a firing (one of the best I've ever had) which included the prototypes I've been working on, because I always have to complicate busy times by working on something new....it makes life fun.

I'm very pleased with the cupcake stand.  I just have to figure out a better way to attach the legs.  I think  they need to be exactly the same moisture and pliability.

Speaking of feet I do hope that everyone will pop over to Gary's Blog and take a look at his take on feet!

Suddenly I am having problems uploading photos.  This is a new one for me....I'm not sure what is going on, but it's difficult to talk about things that can't be seen.

Fifth time is the charm....finally got it to post.

I made this mug around a balloon.  I was working with wet clay and wanted to get an idea into reality.  It needs a couple of points opposite the handle for balance and stability, and the rim needs to be nicer.

With this I think I may have a solution to using a clear glaze over terra cotta.  Generally I don't like them as they always cloud somewhere on the pot.  This time I added a small amount of Mason 6131 Titanium to Spectrum Clear 700.  Commercial glazes work on terra cotta greenware, but I will be experimenting with my studio glazes.  That ought to keep me busy in the dark of winter.

We are having a gray day which will turn to rain later today and most of tomorrow.  It's going to be lots of snow further north.  I hope everyone will stay safe and think twice about traveling in bad weather.

We are doing two feasts this year.  On The Day we are having dinner with friends next door.  This is a gift, as the sale opens on Friday at 10:00 AM.  I am working that day as we have had trouble getting people to work.  I still question the wisdom of opening on Friday.  I think we could open Saturday and use Small Business Saturday to our advantage......Friday evening could be a special grand opening.

It's time to go meet the day and go out into the world....which means going to the market.  We are doing most of our shopping at a locally owned store.  (three stores does make a chain) I did some careful comparisons and if I buy staples such as animal food and such from the big markets (Walmart is not the cheapest place around!) I don't spend more than a dollar over shopping at Stop & Shop ......aaaaannnnnnd....I don't feel like I need roller skates to get around the place!

Stay warm dry and safe to enjoy a most Happy Thanksgiving!

As always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

Standards?

Yesterday when we went to the post office I didn't bother to change out of studio clothes because Proge said, "You aren't going inside, Mom."  To which I say HAH!  of course I ended up having to go in looking like I live out of a refrigerator box.

I made certain rules after I retired when I found myself gardening in my pajamas.  I get up and get dressed in studio clothes, make the bed, brush my hair etc.  When I leave the house I put on clean pants and shirt.  It always works out that I will have to do stuff  and be seen in public if I don't.  This is a pretty low bar but it does keep me in some sort of organized mode.

The Booth cartoon is one of our favorites.  A lot of the time our house looks like a Booth drawing, but we perservere. 

George Booth copyright 1984

I've been looking at the two pots below because someone from the co-op asked me for the recipe.  It's a ^6 glaze that I used a lot when I was teaching.  Both are from the same base glaze which is extremely forgiving.

It's much easier to see the variations in the rust with yellow than the mottled effect of the warm green.

The cup is one of my earliest efforts.  Because I had so much art stuff behind me, my glazing was much better than my early throwing efforts.  I did a lot of hand building then, which stood me in good stead when I damaged my wrist and could no longer throw more than three pounds.

Does anyone else have rules of behavior while being self employed?  It's a slippery slope when you have only yourself to live up to.

Sunny and colder today.  At least the wind has died down.

Enjoy the day.  As always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

Wordless Wednesday

BRRRRR!

Santa Time?

The dilemma of making things....When I mention that I am frantically making Christmas stuff most people react with, "not so soon!".....They forget that to be able to buy stuff at the holiday we have to be elves working away early in the year.

These two little guys are some I kept as the bottoms cracked.  They're made from my standard onion dome shape which I use for a lot of my whistles.

Going back to the studio for more work.

The weather is cloudy and warm.....we haven't even been using the wood stove.

Enjoy the day and pop over to Mud Colony and look around.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Wordless Wednesday

Woke Up

Got out of bed and....realized that I never did a post last night for Mud Colony!

I've been working on some cupcake stands with different feet.  This came from making a cupcake stand. for someone to give to her husband on his birthday.  They aren't big cake eaters, but one cupcake seems so mingy, so we came up with the idea of presentation being the big deal.

I decorate them to look like a circus wagon.  Cupcakes need color!

There is just time for me to get this over to Mud Colony!  Take a look...it ends December 5.

Enjoy the day, and, as always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Wordless Wednesday

Time Fugits....

After the earlier in the week anxiety of the missing Aloysius, this is a small sampling of the pot painting I have been doing.  Some are finished; some are in progress.

This will also be over on Mud Colony.  Go take a look; it will all end soon!

Enjoy your day, and, as always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*