Christmas in July Iris Folding

I said that I would show the completed samples of the Iris Folding cards I designed for the Christmas in July class.  Well, here they are!

Well, after seeing the patterns I drew, did you think the cards would look anything like this?  It was so much fun creating these for my students.  I love how they all turned out but, I do have my favorites, which one(s) are yours?

Has it really been THAT long???

I guess I have been sucked into the easiness that is facebook and not taken the time to come over here and blog...  that is not good.

In the year and a half that I have been absent from here, I have been still creating my pottery, the most recent addition has been the Crimson Velvet Porcelain.

Crimson Velvet Sake Bottle $85.00

This extraordinary color is quite expensive and I will only do small pieces.  The Sake Bottle pictured here has just a clear glaze inside and on the top portion of the bottle, ending just below the shoulder.

I am still teaching a variety of classes at our store along with my sister and a few talented friends.

We painted the inside of the store this summer...

As well as re-arranging the floor plan a bit.  We are quite pleased with the results, it gives us a more open space and more flexibility.

My ex-husband passed away unexpectedly this past summer and I made a quick trip to Alfred, NY for the funeral and to visit with the Higgins side of my family.  Yes, a divorce severs legal relationships, but it cannot sever the feelings of family.  I wish I could afford the time and money to visit them more often.  I just do not want it to be for such a solemn occasion and I definitely do not want the flight headaches I endured on this trip.  (Another story for another time... maybe.)

Dad retired from the store this past Spring, leaving Terri & I both working 6 days a week.  I am glad he has the time to do the things he wants to do.  It does, however, make it a little harder to get work done on projects that require longer amounts of time than an early morning or an evening.  Our friend Phyllis was so kind to come in and work on Mondays through the Christmas & Holiday shopping season so Terri & I could alternate Mondays off and get some things done.  We are ever so grateful!

Speaking of friends helping out.  We have the most wonderful group of customer/friends who come to our aid when one of us is sick (Terri got hit hard with a stomach bug during the holidays) or needs to be someplace (for me, one of the 2 shows I do each year, or this weekend, Terri was at a retreat.)  Our friends who are like family step in to help man the store.  We can only say that we are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.  And to all of you, thank you for all you do!

I designed some beaded pieces for classes...

Abstract Narcissus Square Stitch Pendant

Ornament Cover 2013

All in all, It has been a busy year and a half.

I am not going to make any promises about blogging more often.  Let me just say that I will try.

May 2014 be off to a positive start for you and may it continue to the end.

Art Camp Part I

I know... I have been remiss about posting... one of the reasons is that I was teaching clay at Art Camp last week.
It was the 6 - 9 year old group... there were 11 wonderful kids.
The photos were from Day 4... we made slab-built mugs and then glazed some pieces from earlier in the week.
I had a great time. And I give a lot of credit to my trusted assistant/camp counselor - Michael. He sure had a way with the kids...
Tomorrow I go in to load everything into the kiln for firing. With the humidity, thigs were drying slowly. After this week off... I have the 10+ group next week.

The Rewards of Teaching

While growing up, I never recall considering teaching as a career.

The first time I remember teaching was long-long ago at the Allegany County Fair in western NY state. I had a booth demonstrating and teaching woodburning. I was nervous as all get-out and shaking like a leaf in a wind storm.

Other than teaching someone on the job, I didn't teach again until joining the family here. When I arrived, my sister Terri was pregnant with DragonBen. She was the teacher at the store, offering classes in rubber stamping. Then DragonBen was born. Instead of putting all classes on hold while she was out on maternity leave, I was asked to step in and begin teaching. I agreed.

That first class in Basic Rubber Stamping was an evening filled with fear and nervousness. This time, people were paying for me to teach them! We all survived and the students were very supportive during my first class. They even returned to take more classes...

These days I am teaching all the time. Terri and I can offer up to 9 or 10 classes each week. We share the load.

One of my new favorite classes to teach is Wire Wrapping Basics. The photo above is one that one of my students made in class. M loves angels and saw an angel in the wire as she was bending and curling it. She was so proud of herself. She actually did not plan to wire wrap anything, she had wanted me to help her make a wire angel. But when she saw the beautiful Sodalite stone, she changed her mind. Last I knew, she wanted to make some more.

That is why I love to teach. Yes, I sometimes still get nervous, especially when I am teaching a new project. But the rewards are worth it.

I'm still here

I have been pretty busy lately with teaching classes at our store, teaching a clay class at the Clemson Arts Center for their summer Kids Camp and just trying to get my things organized. That, along with working full time and pulling a few of my things together for inclusion in a members show at the Blue Ridge Arts Center. I have missed posting, but I have no photos to add, and I know you all like photos to look at. Next time.
And I will show a photo of the completed re-arranging/organizing of my work space... I promise. I figure if I promise, it will give me more incentive.
I hope everyone is having a great July.