A Dragonfly Mug

This was my entry today in the Etsy Mud Team Mug Swap. 

I challenge you to say that 10 times fast.

I made this from speckled clay in one of my classes with my pottery instructor Sally Cornwell.  I painted the dragonfly design with wax resist, then dipped the handle side in white glaze, and the dragonfly side in blue glaze.

An Autumn Walk in New Hampshire

I took advantage of this perfect autumn weather and ventured out to the beaver dam at lunch today.

The colors are at their peak right now. This season is glorious but fleeting.

These were all taken in the Ossipee Mountains of Tuftonboro.

Except this which was taken at my daughter's wedding in Plymouth, NH last weekend.

And the Winners from the September Giveaway Are...

Erica Bickford (aka Crazy Momma) and Yoli Miramontes! 

Thanks very much to Everyone for your wonderful comments. I so appreciate the feedback.  Keep an eye out for more fabulous giveaways on October 24th from 2:00 to 5:00 pm at the Ceramic Clay Blogger's Studio Tour Event!

My Future Pottery Studio and the Current State of the "Craft Loft"

This is the future site of my pottery workshop.  Lovely isn't it?  It used to be a garden shed, but we're building a new garage so this had to be moved and I'm very excited about the prospect of having a bigger work space and place to display my pieces. 

 There will be an overhanging roof to the right and a concrete slab for my kiln.  The building will eventually be heated which is also a plus.   Of course it's uncertain when all of this may actually occur. Like many of the projects around the house, it may be a few months up to a few years. Time will tell.

I was stringing up some necklaces this morning and looked around and thought "what a mess"  It seemed like a perfect time to take some photos of the current state of what's happening in my studio.

A photographer I am not.

Like I said, it's a mess.

This is what I was working on.

Happy Autumn

Autumn Leaf Necklace I Just Listed on Etsy.

Clayworks September Giveaway!

All you need to do to participate in this giveaway is leave a comment anywhere on my blog. The winner of the giveaway will win this leaf pendant with bright blue and sky blue background, 16 of my handpainted beads, and a matching pair of dangle leaf earrings with sterling silver wires. 
 

 The winner will be announced on Monday, October 4th.

The pendant is made from terra cotta clay with a raised leaf design. The reverse side of the pendant is sky blue. Four of the beads have the matching leaf design.  The other twelve consist of sky blue, blue green, bright green, terra cotta, and bright blue.

I will be happy to string up a necklace if the winner does not make jewelry. Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to hearing from you!

A Scallop Shell Tile

This was my entry for the Etsy Mud Team Tile Challenge. Today was the deadline. I had hopes to have more time to make a more ellaborately detailed tile, but I'm still happy with how this scallop shell turned out. 


I made this 4" x 4" tile from white clay when I was in Florida a couple years ago.  I liked the way it looked without glaze, so had it displayed in it's bisque state until now, but decided to see how it would look with some color. 

This is the back of the shell that I used to make an impression in the tile.

Here's the tile before the glaze firing. 

The tile after the glaze firing....

I chose salmon, light red, white and yellow underglazes, and framed the shell with a light sand color. A little purple added to the mix would have made the tile more true to life, but the result is still realistic with the coral hues.

It's interesting to see how changing the color of the background in the photos can change the appearance and color of the tile.