Art Clay SIlver

I don't know how this will show up on line, but this is a photo of an Art Clay Silver pendant I made. It is a recognition piece for the Volunteer(s) of the year at the Cancer Association of Anderson (SC). I have made them since 2005, this is one I made last year. It is about the size of a quarter, with a textured surface and the letters CAA incised in the front. I then hand apply a star. Each pendant is different, purposely. I will not draw the star as a precise, pre-measured image, I just go for it. One of the recipients last year is a family friend and she let me take a photo of it while she was attending Relay For Life. I have gotten the approval from the Cancer Association to make her a pair of earrings to go with it, and any of the other past recipients are welcome to order them too.

In October of 2004, I went to Orlando, FL, to a wonderful bead shop called Bead Dreams. There, I took the certification course for Art Clay Silver. My instructor was Demi and she is one of the owners, with Ursula. I had such a wonderful time there. They are very nice people and talented too. Since that time, I have been teaching Art Clay Silver classes at The Mercantile. In fact, I have a full class tomorrow afternoon. It is a wonderfully diverse medium to work in. One of these days I have to try firing it to a piece of my Ebonyware...

The process

I said I needed to take new photos of my Ebonyware. Well, I have some new photos (taken yesterday) of the process.

If I had been thinking about it sooner, I'd have photographed them full of the porcelain slip.

The photo shows the molds after they have been opened, but the porcelain is still drying a bit before handling to remove to dry.

Now there are still a lot of 'ceramic studios' out there that mold items and allow people to come in and do the trimming and decorating (for a fee of course) and take them home. This is the same concept except for the fact that they purchase their molds from 'Hobby Ceramic' mold companies. These molds were made by my ex and myself from models we designed and made ourselves. Nobody else has them but me. So, from an artists perspective, although I have not hand thrown or sculpted each individual piece, I am the designer and have had my hands on every single step of their formation. Even when my ex was making the models, I was there for consultation and assistance. He made some of the molds and I made others. And in the 17 or 18 years since beginning production, I have made 95% of the porcelain pieces myself. And in the last 14 years I have made 100% of it.

I know, I sound like I am defending myself, well, I am, sort-of. Some shows do not accept molded items. But they are referring to items from commercial molds, mine are not in that category.

Oh, if you go to the Celebrate Clayton web site, you can click on the 2008 Artist Award Winners and see a listing of the winners this year (including me!!!). Still no photos from this year's event there, and still none of my samples on the Washi Quilted card site. I'll keep you posted.

It's time for raisins!

I am a sucker for cute pets... this is our friend Tony feeding the bunnies raisins. To the left is Bunnie, Cookie man is in the middle and little Chessie is on the right. This is one of 4 photos Sharon sent me of the bunnies eating raisins, one photo had all 3 of them climbing up on Tony to get their share. Here, Bunnie has already had her share, as well as CM, but little Chessie wants more!

As for my creative side... I bought a new kiln! I have not been able to make my coffee pots for quite a few years because my current kiln is about an inch too short for them to fit. I just bought a lightly used kiln larger than any I have personally owned before. This new one will fit several coffee pots, in addition to mugs and bowls and such... all at the same time. My last personal kiln could fire 3 coffee pots at once, but that was all that would fit. I also used to have use of the kilns at work (where I worked before I moved to SC), as long as they were not needed for the company's production. I am so excited. We just have to clear a spot for it and get the wiring set. In the meantime, a friend is storing it in their garage.

I am casting a few things this morning while my laundry is drying, then it is a shower and off to Arts on the Alley to see what there is and to help some friends.

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend. And remember what the original purpose of Memorial Day is, a time to remember those who gave their lives for our freedoms. They made it possible for us to have BBQs and picnics and fun. We shall be forever grateful to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Memorial Day

I keep saying I will get new photos of everything, and still, I am pulling up older photos to post. This photo shows my sugar & creamer set and in the foreground is a sauce/pin dish and to the right of the photo is a napkin ring. The napkin rings are something I cannot make anymore. The molds got severe water damage back in MA and could not be repaired. I hope to get a new design of napkin ring going sometime.

Do you have anything planned for Memorial Day weekend? I am working today and am teaching an Art Clay Silver class this afternoon. We are open on Memorial Day Monday, as we have been for the last 20 years.

If you are looking for something to do in the SC upstate area this weekend, The Ram Cat Alley Merchants Association in Seneca is having their Arts on the Alley festival this Sat. & Sun. in conjunction with the new 'Meet and 3' BBQ fest sponsored by the city of Seneca. They both run Sat. 10 - 8 and Sun. 11 - 5. I would have loved to do this show, but it is a busy weekend at the Mercantile so I could not break away. The show focuses on art and encourages the artisans to demo if they can. One woman weaves wonderful free form baskets in her booth, and they are usually sold before she can finish them. It is a great way to spend your weekend.

And while in Seneca, take a trip on over to Pendleton and stop by our store to see me. (We are closed Sundays, but you can leave a note...) Sometimes I wonder if anyone out there reads this at all...

Other interests

I have mentioned that I also enjoy rubber stamping and other paper arts. This is an example of one of the Washi Quilted Cards that I teach at The Mercantile. The company we order the materials from has 10 kits with 4 - 5 patterns in each. And, as beautiful as their designs are, I would rather create my own for class. Each time I teach a session, I add at least one new design. The company has asked if they can post some of my designs on their web site, giving me & the store credit, of course. And I couldn't say no. They were not posted as of Saturday, but I'll keep checking. This is one of my favorite techniques. Washi (decorative Japanese paper) is so wonderful to work with, it is almost fabric like. It is difficult to tell from my photo, but the vase is padded and puffy. I have embellished with gold cord, beautiful ribbon and paper flowers.

doggie photos

Above are photos of Hops (to the left) who is still just a puppy, and Gertie. These photos were taken at the end of the afternoon. All three dogs had played their heart out for hours. After Leia went home, the remaining two just kicked back and relaxed before their trip home to Seneca (SC).

Leia just didn't want to sit still long enough for me to get a good picture of her. You can see her out smelling the flowers. This is a view of sister Sue's (and BIL Jim's) beautiful back yard garden. To the left is the house, and to the right is the pool.

A stitch in time...

I really did take a couple of photos of one of sister Sue's quilts. This is one of MANY she has made over the years. I have one I keep at the foot of my bed, perfect for a little cat nap, or on a chilly night as an extra cover.

This is a quilt she has in her living room. It goes beautifully with the rich earth tones of her sofa and chairs.

I have done a little quilting, but the big drawback for me is that it involves sewing. Sewing is not my favorite creative outlet. It is too much like work to me. I end up 'un-sewing' more than sewing. Then I get frustrated and I may as well quit. I have done a few small projects, but I have to really work hard at knowing when to put it down and walk away to relax. I can truly admire the work that goes into a quilt.

Now, my porcelain and bead work, those I get true enjoyment out of. I also enjoy pyrography (woodburing) and paper folding and rubber stamping, and... those don't stress me out like the sewing does.

Tomorrow, some photos of my niece & nephew's dogs...