Busy weekend ahead

 The first full weekend in April for these last 45 years has been Historic Pendleton's Spring Jubilee. 

This is a juried art festival with over 70 artists displaying their creations. There will be entertainment, food vendors and what appears to be beautiful springtime weather. 

We have a store full of fun things for all ages, including not only my gnomes and angels, but Terri's fused glass jewelry, toys, games, bulk candy, candles, gourmet coffee beans, and more.... We will also be open on Sunday (when we are normally closed).

Many years ago, when I was still making the Ebonyware mugs and table ware, I was in the show twice.

 It is a wonderful show and if you are ever in the area the first full weekend of April, stop by and check it out.

Keeping Busy in Uncertain Times

Here we all are, in the midst of a viral pandemic COVID-19. Our schools (including colleges and universities) here have been closed for 2 weeks and are closed at least until the end of April. All bars are closed, restaurants can only do take-out, curbside, or delivery. (It has forced some to temporarily close.)  People are encouraged to self-isolate, keep a minimum of 6' between, wash their hands, don't touch their face... stay home as much as possible. The big art festival (43rd Annual Spring Jubilee) has been cancelled. Parks are closed. The governor has said no social gatherings over 3 people. Things that are unheard of in my lifetime.

We have not been mandated to close our store. We try our best to practice social distancing while in the store.

We decided to offer some creative outlet for families suddenly forced to be at home. And we made up a few varieties of greeting card kits. We sell them for $3 each and they have been a big hit! Right now, we have Easter cards in the mix, but we will be adding Mother's Day cards next. There are also some all-occasion types.

They have been extremely popular and I spent a few hours this morning, here at home, cutting parts for more kits.

We have shortened our hours at the store starting tomorrow, but we have had very good business, thanks in part to the card kits (Boredom Busters AKA Virus Card Kits) and to virtual shopping for customers and either curbside pick-up or shipping.

I also took the hose and rinsed the pollen off the Equinox. I know more will be more there when I get ready to go to work tomorrow, but I got a lot off today.

May you and yours remain well.

Is it April already?

My, how time does fly!

I do have a photo of the completed heart pieces my students made.  They turned out beautifully!

I did not glaze mine yet, I have not decided how I want it to look.

Last month at our A MUSE meeting, I brought clay and everyone was able to make whatever they wanted.  I did bring a couple of templates for simple slab bowls if they wanted.  Terri decided to make a wall pocket and Nanelyn was the only rectangular piece.  Suzanne had the ruffled edge.

The ladies who were able to come to yesterdays meeting glazed theirs and I will fire after I am done with house/cat sitting.  I do promise to post a photo of their completed pieces.

We had a wonderful Spring Jubilee last weekend here in town.  But I am surely enjoying the first day off in 2 weeks today!

I have been trying out use of essential oils for a variety of things in life.  I don't know if they have kept me from getting sick, but I feel better because of them.  I diffuse them at night in an effort to help my sleep and they do seem to help.  I also have a diffuser bracelet that I wear with my favorite EO (Thieves).  Thieves is purported to help with overall health and well-being... I LOVE the smell of it!  Essential oils date back to biblical times and sometimes the tried and true natural ways do make more sense than artificial chemical derived ways.

Just a couple of days left to house & cat sit.  Enjoying the lake while I can.

And, before I go, here are the candy bar wrappers I designed and made for Easter this year.

Still here, but not having much to report...

I have been just lurking the last month or so.  

I had a bit of a creative stoppage, but I am back on track now.

The photo is one they took of me in 2008 at Celebrate Clayton.  I ran across it on their web site today and decided to copy it.

My current projects are #1 - first and foremost, figure out what is causing the handles to crack on the large mug and fix the problem.  #2 - produce for Historic Pendleton's Spring Jubilee (I am not a vendor, but I add to The Mercantile's inventory at that time.)  #3 - produce for Celebrate Clayton.  #4 - begin making some clay beads.  #5 - decide which design ideas to make next...

Hope all is well with all of you!

Spring Jubilee

OK - so this is a lousy photo - but it shows my small display at my friend Mike's storefront for Spring Jubilee. I still have plenty at The Mercantile also. The photo is lousy partly because of the putrid green wall behind it, as well as the fact that the bright afternoon sun was streaming in through the window. And my simple digital is not equipped with the fancy bells and whistles to filter the sun. (Nothing can filter the green!)

Mike rented the storefront to sell his jewelry and offered me a space for my pottery. You can't see them in this photo but my friend Jo has some of her art quilt wall hangings there also. She has some better photos, as well as pics of her quilts on her blog.

Hope you can join us for Jubilee! It starts officially in 6 hours!

Monday morning

After a very rainy end to last week and a very windy Sunday, I sure am glad it is suppossed to be nice today.

I went to pick out semi-precious stone and pearl beads yesterday for an upcoming Trunk Show at the store. I had my camera with me and took this photo of one of the many Cherry trees in full bloom.

Think nice weather thoughts for Pendleton for this coming weekend. Spring Jubilee should be wonderful as usual.

I will have my pottery in our store as well as down the street in a storefront being rented for the weekend by another artist.

mental ramblings

My brain rambles sometimes and I cannot always follow where it is going.

I wanted to post, but cannot remember what it was I wanted to post about. Age, mental exhaustion, whatever...

The photo is of an Art Clay Silver piece I made while teaching a class last Fall. I did not make the dichroic fused glass piece, but I made the silver setting.

I have to set aside my new decorating ideas I had for the pottery and just produce! We have Historic Pendleton's Spring Jubilee coming up in a couple of weeks (the first full weekend of April) and I have Celebrate Clayton coming up the last weekend of April.

I can experiment later...