Marvelous Muggy Monday

Hey it's muggy in here! As I drink my decaf this morning from one of my favorite mugs, made by one of my favorite potters I think I better give him a shout out on Marvelous Muggy Monday. Keith Philips' Etsy shop was one of the first that I stumbled upon when I first discovered Etsy. I really love to see how artists embrace their medium and incoporate new twists that add that extra special touch. Keith is a fabulously skilled potter and has such a great eye for form and function. Taking the process one step further with his creation of laser decals gives his work that extra special touch. So this week's Marvelous Monday Mug Maker is Keith Philips. Visit his shop, buy from his shop, enjoy your morning with one of Keith's mugs.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/khphillips?ref=seller_infohttp://

Going to the Dogs

On one of my drying racks sit three dogs. I don't usually make dogs because there are so many breeds. I will, however, make dogs on special request. And, just by coincidence I had a few special requests for dogs. Over the past few days I hunkered down and constructed three dogs. One's a dog mug (I've never made a dog mug before), one is a dog bell and one is a large dog figurine with bits of clay inside so he'll kind of be like a rattle dog. These three requests have made me step out of my comfort zone a bit. I tend to get on a roll sometimes and stick to my main themes of mugs, cats and fish. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get my creative juices flowing and if all goes well with drying and firing, I'll have three new dogs going to three happy families. And that makes me happy.

Festive Friday

Festive Friday comes a few hours late this week. Too much work in the garagio to sit down at the computer. But with the weekend comes some time to play catch up. And this week's Festive Friday offering is from the Etsy shop of Katherine Mathisen, also known as Mudgoddess. Her shop can be found at http://www.mudgoddess.etsy.com/

Katherine does some pretty amazing things with clay. I've had the pleasure to see Katherine's work in person, since she's a Floridian and has work in local Tampa Bay galleries. So in honor of the upcoming holiday I'm sharing some of Katherine's wonderful hearts.

Enjoy!

Teapot Tuesday

For the second installment of Teapot Tuesday I present another one of the three teapots that I submitted to the Mad Hatter's Teaparty in West Palm. I have to give the girls a little face time.

This teapot is inspired by the Crescent Wrasse. I have a wonderful reference book that I use for inspiration, it's "Coral Reef Fishes" by Edwald Lieske and Robert Myers. It's covered with glaze and bookmarked to the hilt, but continues to be my all time favorite book. I've collected several other books, but this one provides the most comprehensive examples of reef fishes. This was one of the best gifts that my dear husband has surprised me with.

Anyway, this fish teapot is special for a couple of reasons: her beads that are wired and adorn her dorsal fin are handmade versus store-bought. Her earrings are the same, handmade stamped ceramic beads. I'm starting to say to myself, "why not?" It's a little extra work to glaze and set them up for the firing but in the long run I think it makes her a more cohesive piece. Her head is slightly turned as if trying to keep up with the conversation. She's not a party girl, no rhinestone studded sunglasses and no traveling companion in the form of a pelican. Just sweet and simple. I was a bit selective for this one because I really think the fish markings are so outstanding, I didn't want to create any distractions.

So, hopefully this sweety will be swimming her way down to West Palm for the Teaparty. I live vicariously through the travels of my creations.

Marvelous Muggy Monday

It's week two of Marvelous Muggy Monday and today's mugs are brought to you by the fantastic Clay Lick Creek Pottery. Karen's fantastic whimsical, majolica pottery has become a big favorite of mine. She is a powerhouse and thankfully creates non-stop. You can check out Karen's Etsy shop at:

http://www.claylickcreekpottery.etsy.com/

I've snagged a few examples of Karen's fantastic mugs to share. I hope that they help to brighten your day!!! Enjoy.

Festive Friday

So many people celebrate when Friday comes. It's the end of the traditional work-week, start of the weekend that so many people work so hard to finally get some down time. However you spend your Fridays I wanted to share one of the happiest shops on Etsy. This artist is Charity Elise and her Etsy shop is jam packed with things that are sure to make you smile. So for Festive Friday, check out Charity's shop!

http://www.charityelise.etsy.com

An Artful Thank You Thursday

I skipped Wednesday, but came up with an idea for Thursday. I know that Thanksgiving comes once a year, but I just felt like it was necessary today to give thanks.

♥Thanks to all of the co-op galleries that have agreed to include my "stuff" in their shops.

♥Thanks to all of the volunteers that sit and mind the shop, making it possible for the co-ops to stay open.

♥Thanks especially to the wonderful volunteers and staff of Florida Craftsmen and A Little Room for Art, two of my all time favorites.

♥Thanks to those of you out there that have faith that someone that you've never met (namely me) will ship your order when I say that I will. It's a giant leap of faith buying on the internet and I'm grateful to those of you that have taken that leap.

♥Thanks to the EtsyMudTeam for organizing the first annual mug-swap. I hadn't really made too many mugs before the swap and was always a bit scared of making mugs. The swap forced me to move outside of my comfort zone and also spurred me on to continue to make mugs. Over the past few years I've discovered the joy of mug-making.

♥Thanks to my friends and family for your support. It's great to have people cheering you on and you all are great cheerleaders.

♥Thanks to the developers of Etsy.com. I had no idea back in 2007 that it would turn into such a wonderful platform to sell my pottery.

♥ Thanks to my art buddies at the Westchase Artists Society. It's great to have an art club that's in the neighborhood and the incredibly talented members make it a real treat to be a member.

And now it's time to go out and make more mugs!