My secret project is secret no more

Well, to give a little background information first... Back in the 1950's, our dad was a fine arts student at the NY State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (graduated in 1953). During his time there he designed, modeled, molded, and cast some salt and pepper shakers. We used a set on the table while we were growing up. 

After Dad passed, my younger brother Rick decided he would like to have the shakers replicated for all 6 of us siblings. I gave him the shrinkage rate of the black porcelain I use and he worked to create an up-sized 3-D printed model. It was then sent to someone to make a mold and he brought the mold to me in October. 

Once I finished preparing for Mistletoe Market, I thoroughly cleaned my work area so the buff clay would not have any chance of contaminating the black. I then started casting. In all, I cast 8 sets, to be able to get 6 good sets.

Unfortunately, my kiln was not firing hot enough to be able to get the true black finish on the shakers. First, I contacted Juliet Bravo studio in Seneca, but they were unable to assist with the firing at that time. I then was referred to Magpie Arts LLC in Clemson and made plans to do the glaze firing in her soon to be delivered kiln. The delivery got pushed back, and then she was dealing with a faulty breaker. 

FINALLY, firing day arrived and I dropped off the pieces to Kimberly. Then, I patiently waited for the firing and cooling to complete. (Insert the Jeopardy theme here.)

Success! They fired a little hotter than I normally fire, but her kiln is computer controlled, while mine uses a cone sitter. Either way, I was/am very pleased with the results.

Rick had me send him copies of one of Dad's signatures, as well as one of mine. He then laser engraved them onto the lids of the wood boxes he purchased. Silicone stoppers were added and they were nestled into wood shavings inside the box.

The glazes I used are definitely not the ones Dad used long ago. His were more muted and covered the entire surface except the feet. We decided that I would use speckled glazes (Dad's were also speckled) and only glaze the lower portion so that the black porcelain would show. This brought Dad's design a new life with my spin on it.

The bottoms are signed with both Dad's and my initials and the year.

I will make more.

Now that all family members received theirs. I am able to "go public" with the project.. 

Making these brought back so many memories of my youth. It also is a testament to how our family remains close-knit. 

As 2024 comes to an end, and 2025 is about to begin, I wish all of you the very best life has to offer. May any stumbling blocks become stepping stones, and may you face life with a positive outlook, no matter the circumstances.

Love to all.

 

Thank you!

 

I had a wonderful Mistletoe Market. 

Thank you to all who came and adopted my creations.

I am posting in my group on facebook (Cindy's Gnomes & Friends) what I have left so non-locals (and those unable to make it to the Market) can pick. I am making more!  I have wish lists for more that what remains. That makes me smile.

I have taken the week off from creating because I needed a little break. 

Again, thank you to all. I appreciate you and am humbled by how much people love my creations. I get so much joy out of their creation, and even more joy seeing the response and knowing they are going to loving homes.

Life

 

I am back creating the Limited Edition Autumn/Halloween Gnomes. It was difficult to jump back in, but I know it was the right thing to do, and putting it off was not in my best interest.

The 40 in this limited edition are all spoken for, and are all shaped. I have bisque fired half of them, the others are drying. I will begin glazing this week.

I also will be making some commemorative pieces for my family. When Mom was half way through her treatments in 2000, a tree was dedicated in her honor at the SC Botanical Garden in Clemson. At the time of her passing in 2011, we took a few tablespoons of her ashes (at Dad's request) and sprinkled them at the base of the tree. we did the same with a small amount of Dad's ashes last week. We also took a few snippets of leaves from this gorgeous Japanese Maple. I will impress them into clay and make ornaments for my siblings. I will share photos when I get them started.

Below is the labor of love my family contributed to and my nephew's wife put together for the funeral. A life well lived with much love. He will be missed but we all must continue on with life.

Goodbye Dad

 

Last Wednesday was a gorgeous day outside. The day progressed as any normal Wednesday, I did the grocery shopping (so Dad could take advantage of the Senior Discount), Dad helped me put things away, and our day moved on as usual, I went to work and Dad stopped in twice that day to have a cup of coffee, and we had a nice turkey dinner. After dinner, I gave him his evening eye drop and as I headed into the other room to cut some things for customers on the computerized cutter, he said he was headed out to the shed to do his exercises. (He had his knee re-replaced several years ago, and he still had difficulties with it. He often did stretching exercises he learned at the physical therapist. He had set-up an exercize spot in his former wood shop.) 

The cutter is a noisy machine and I cannot always hear things going on elsewhere in the house.  When I was finished, I went into my room. I could hear the tv on in the sunroom, as is normal. I fell asleep early that evening with my tv still on. I awoke around 1:00 am to use the bathroom and noticed the light over the stove still on. He would periodically forget to turn it off as he went to bed.

In the morning, I went out to the kitchen to get my breakfast. Dad was not up yet, but once in a while he would sleep in. I then went out to the sunroom to open the blinds and that is when I saw his rollator.  He used the rollator at night so if he needed to go to the bathroom, it was steadier for a sleepy person who is a bit unsteady on their feet. As soon as I saw that it was still in the sunroom, I started franitcally calling his name. I looked in his bedroom and the bathroom. He was nowhere in the house. I ran out the door and found him lying on the ground at the door to the shed. He was not breathing.

My next instinct was to call my sister, who lives a couple of blocks away. She arrived and called 911. 

Thankfully the coroner said that he had had a heart attack and was deceased prior to falling. That helped my mind a little, knowing that although his body, unbeknownst to me, was out there all night long, he was not suffering. He had not suffered at all. His death was instant.

My world is turned upside down. I don't know how I am going to make ends meet. I don't know how the house will be once all of my siblings have gone to their respective homes. The funeral is tomorrow and the last of the out-of-town family leaves Sunday. 

Back in the saddle

 This year has been crazy, although I don't need to tell anyone else that. 

I have been keeping busy making #boredombuster kits for work, but my personal creative mojo has been lacking. The only show I participate in as an artist has been cancelled. That leaves me without my largest outlet for my angels and other pottery. I understand completely and respect their decision for the health and safety of everyone. As a result, my drive to create was lost for months.

That being said, I started creating angels yesterday!  It felt soooooooo good to get my hands back into the clay. (Both physically AND mentally!)

Today, some friends gifted me with some extra money for my birthday & Christmas to buy some new glazes. Some I am re-stocking what I have used lots of, but there are some new ones in the order that I am excited to try!

Here is a blurry photo of the first few angels from yesterday. More will be made today. I have challenged myself to make several dozen before Thanksgiving.

May you all remain healthy.

I will be selling these angels at our store as well as through personal contact.

A Belated Merry Christmas!

Sending wishes to all of you for a wonderful remainder to 2019 and a happy and healthy 2020.

I had a wonderful Christmas at my sister's home, surrounded by family.

Happy Birthday to the Queen Bee!

Thursday is my little sister's birthday. This photo is from a few years ago on a sunny Spring day back in Alfred, NY, where we grew up. It was taken in our side yard.
Regina has a few photos of herself in the family archives where she is smelling flowers. I especially like this one because the vivid blue stripes in her shirt go so well with the sky.
She calls herself the Queen Bee because her name - Regina means Queen in Latin. And these days, she describes herself as buzzing from one project to another.
Regina is the youngest of our family and currently lives in western NY state with her hubby and her munchkin (who turns 5 this month!). Among her creative endeavors are quilting, rubber stamping, bead work, gardening and whatever seems to intrigue her at the time. All while working a full time job, being a wife and a mom and working on renovations to their house.
All of our family is prone to filling their days with things to do. I spent the day yesterday working (teaching 3 classes) from 9 AM til 9:30 PM with an hour for dinner myself. Terri and I often have days like that. Sue is Quilting, teaching quilting, working on Relay for Life and a bevy of other interests (her hubby Jim does most of the gardening and her 2 'kids' are married). Bill enjoys bicycle riding (serious riding!), camping and cooking as well as woodworking to fill some of the spare time he has, often sharing with his wife and 2 boys. Terri has her bead work, her illustrations and her Assemblages along with teaching a pre-school art class to help fill the little time she has to spare (her DragonBen turned 10 last month!). Rick had woodworking and Blacksmithing along with hiking, kayaking and all sorts of outdoorsy things to fill the time sharing most of the outdoorsy things with his wife Alice and their compilation of 3 teenagers.
We have each been known to hold more than one job at a time, even if one of the jobs is a full time one! But a good work ethic was taught to us as we grew up.
So, Happy Birthday Regina! I know I posted this a day early, but I wanted to be sure you saw it before your special day begins! LOVE YOU!

A belated Happy Thanksgiving

With all of the prep for the show and sales, I have not had the energy to sit and post.

I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday. What I like most about Thanksgiving is that it is a rather low-key holiday. Yes, there is all of the food prep and eating, and dessert, but all in all, it is a more relaxed holiday that most.

Even when we were young and traveled over 300 miles to our grandmother's house (Nana), the actual day was relaxed. That is because in our family, everyone has always helped in the preparations. And with the Macy's parade on the TV, and then football of every shape and form, you just get to sit and relax and let the food digest. That is, after the dishes are cleared and washed.

Thank you to all in the family that contributed yesterday, whether it was a phone call from afar or helping with the gathering here.

I am thankful for my health, my family, and my network of friends. With that, I can continue to create, which makes me feel fulfilled. There is an empty space in me when I cannot express my creativity in the ways I want to.

I am grateful to those who love me and encourage me to create and grow. Your love and support is what keeps me going.

Oh, I also had a very nice Birthday yesterday as well.