Vacation

As I have been on vacation this last week... so has my brain.

I have been finding it difficult to concentrate on the projects I wanted to complete. And needing to go back and forth to Clemson to check on the availability of the kiln and loading the kid's pieces in the heat of a South Carolina June & July has been draining as well...

I got as much loaded as I could, but their mugs would not fit... not enough shelves... I will have to fire those later, or at a higher temperature here at home...

The photo is of a piece I did a couple of weeks ago to show my students that the technique used for the Swarovski Rivoli Pendant can be used for other shapes and sizes as well. This is a beautiful piece of Fossilized Coral in a gorgeous burnt orange color... the stone chips on the fringe near the bail are Carnelian.

This morning I will check my own kiln to see if my pieces are cool enough to unload...

The Best Totem Pole in Clemson

I mentioned that I had taught a clay class at the Clemson Arts Center a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday was the culmination show with selections of the artwork by the students. One of the projects my kids did was to make a totem pole. I encouraged them by telling them it would be the best totem pole Clemson has ever seen. To my knowledge, Clemson doesn't have any totem poles.

I needed to make it an easily disassembled totem pole so the kids could take their creations home at the end of the show. So each piece is sitting on a bamboo skewer peg and the upright is a 7 foot bamboo pole stabilized by a weighted tree stand in a planter.

There were 8 kids in my class ranging in age from 6 - 9 years old. Starting at the top we have a cat (opposite side is a dog), an alligator, a gorilla (opposite side is a fly), a puppy, a monkey (opposite side is a deer), a kitten, a dog, and a turtle.

It was a joy seeing the kids come in with their families and show off their work.

Sweet Dreams

Since I had dinner with my friend Sharon last night, and I don't have any decent new photos of my Ebonyware yet, I will share another photo of Sharon's bunnies. Here Cookie Man, Bunny and Chessie take a nap. Isn't it cute how they are all snuggled together? Sharon sent me this photo last week.

Today I bring a few pieces to the Clemson Arts Center for the Instructor's show. I will be teaching a clay class to 6 - 9 year olds one week in July for the Kids Camp. The other two clay instructors and I are meeting this afternoon to make sure we have all of the supplies we need and to go over the firing schedule and procedures.

Last week I joined the Blue Ridge Arts Council. They are having a members show coming up soon. Another way of trying to get a bit more exposure for my pieces. If I can get exposure in more venues, hopefully it will build recognition and a following. I have some very faithful customers already, some from the earlier years and some more recent.

I tried selling in a few other shops/galleries, but sold little to nothing. My best sales have been either at a show or at our store.