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.

What's Happening?!?

It's Beads~of~Clay Bead Swap Time Again!!

I Love B~O~C Bead Swap Time!

It's a great motivator to create, and you get to swap beads with other talented and amazing bead artisans!

There was no particular theme this time, just to Have Fun!  So I decided to use my leaf mold that I created when I was in Florida in February to make some new pendants using terra~cotta clay.

After painting the background and leaves, I gently sponge the raised areas so the terra cotta clay shows through.  These pendants have a varied blue background of bright blue, sky blue and turquoise.

The pendants below have a varied light and turrquoise background and also have an additional firing with mother of pearl luster overglaze, which makes them very shiny and difficult to photograph.

A matching leaf bead will accompany the pendants.

A wonderful idea as part of this swap was to also include some beads for Beads of Courage - an organization providing innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care programs for children coping with serious illness, their families and the health care providers who care for them.

The swap deadline is September 1st, so I've been busy all month painting away getting ready and I'm finally shipping my box out to Vanessa today to meet the deadline!  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's creations!

New Seaside Pendants and Beads!

Fresh from the kiln ~ my latest seashore inspired beads, earrings and pendants for summer!

Finished pieces are soon to follow!

The Zoo Nation Pendant Project

What Is ZooNation.com? It's a brand new family business founded by Darrell and Sue Zwicker of Newmarket, New Hampshire. Zoo Nation sells quality customizable apparel and accessory products that are both functional and unique in design.  Their goal is to raise funds for organizations focused in the areas of mental illness, developmental disabilities, and youth enrichment.

Darrell found my jewelry on my website and contacted me to see if I would be interested in making necklaces for the ZooNation.com store, home parties, etc. and I said I would be willing to give it a try!

I began by making a reverse image of the Zoo Nation logo, and impressing it into some low fire white clay. When the clay was in it's "leather stage" I carved out the mold, trying to stay as true to the size and shape of the logo as I could. Letters are one of the most difficult things to carve because they need to be precise. Abstract images are much more forgiving.

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This is the finished mold after I fired it in the kiln.

Darrell indicated he liked the look of the terra cotta clay, so I began taking some terra cotta and pressed it into the mold, and was happy to see the mold worked pretty well! Here are some of the first pendants in the greenware stage, before the first kiln firing. Before the bisque firing, the pendants need to be sponged to smooth out any rough edges or cracks. After the bisque firing, I began experimenting with different colored glazes. Darrell and Sue wanted the pendants to be similar to the Zoo Nation logo, so I tried different greens on the terra cotta background, leaving the background with only clear glaze so the natural redness of the clay showed through after the final firing.

Once the painting of the colored underglazes is finished, two coats of a clear or transparent overglaze is painted over the pieces. The clear glaze I use happens to be pink. I also painted some beads so I could create some sample necklaces.

Below are some of the finished, glazed pendants and beads, with a few finished necklaces. I tried a variety of glaze ideas, glazing the background, and leaving the letters and logo unglazed for instance. I wanted to give the Zwickers some options to choose from.

And these are the final selections now available in the ZooNation.com store! It was great fun working with the Zwickers and I wish them great success with their new company!