I'm Back!

Today marks 12 weeks since open heart surgery and somehow the days passed quickly.  Prior to surgery I was dreading the days that I wouldn't be able to work with clay.  I have to admit the time passed and I was able to stay busy with other projects, mostly glazing, thanks to my foresight in working to have a batch of pieces that were ready to be glazed.  It helped me pass the time and be productive and gave me a load of pieces to take to my favorite two local galleries, Clay and Paper and Florida CraftArt for restocking.

My husband, Mark, helped me clear out and reorganize my workspace in the garage.  Actually he did all the work, I supervised.  Plus I am the proud owner of a Brent Ware Cart, thanks to Mark.  It's a wonderful addition to my small space and gives me so much more drying space for pieces.  I've come to the conclusion that it's a good idea to clean out, clear out and reorganize every ten years, whether you need it or not.

A huge milestone for me, besides hitting 12 weeks post op is that I got back on the potters wheel day before yesterday.  I threw four mugs!  It felt great and pain free.  No after effects either.  I'm excited to get back to creating and luckily I have some ideas.  So all's good.

I'm sharing a photo of my first mug after over 12 weeks.

Now for an update on my last post regarding where my focus would be heading.  As I get back to the potters wheel, I'm starting small at the suggestion of my surgeon.  Small to me means mugs.  So my plans are to keep mugs in my repertoire.  I've always felt that mugs were an important item to include.  I remember times when I would find a potter whose work I loved, but because of their stature in the ceramic community, the price for their larger work was out of my reach financially.  If they also had mugs, I felt like I hit the jackpot because I was able to purchase one of their pieces, have it in my collection and that it was priced at my level, even if it was expensive for a "mug" it was still worth it, in my opinion.  I remember those times and realize that mugs can be a good thing to make.  So, I will continue to make mugs.  I don't anticipate that I will be making as many mugs as I did in 2015.  The year of the catalog.  Looking back now, I realize that the catalog was an experience that I had to get out of my system.  It was great because it helped me to realize what my limit is for throwing in one day and how to work through the process.  But, over 200 mugs is a lot of mugs and that definitely burnt me out on mugs for a while.  Luckily, I had some downtime after surgery.

My mugs will be evolving.  I was able to take a wheel class from a great ceramic artist and potter, Ira Burhans.  I love his mugs.  In Ira's class, I was introduced to the Griffin Grip, of which I am now the proud owner.  It's a great way to easily center pieces for the purpose of trimming.  I was able to try it out for a few weeks before surgery and I'm loving the final look of the mugs that now have a foot rim.  The trimming also lightens the mugs up a bit, which I've been in need of for a while.  And thanks to Ira's instruction, I now can throw a little bit better for thinner walls.  I plan on signing up for Ira's class again in the fall.  As they way it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks.
Here's a photo of one of the new mugs.

Change of Pace

Sometimes a change of pace can be a good thing, especially for the creative spirit.  I had the opportunity to slow things down due to health issues.  I had open heart surgery January 21, 2016.  The surgery was a success!  I had one valve replaced and another repaired.  I'm feeling better already and looking forward to starting cardiac rehab.  I was forced to set my artwork aside and concentrate on taking it easy.  Because this was a planned versus emergency surgery, I had the opportunity to throw some ceramic pieces that I would be able to glaze as I started down the road to recovery.  That's helping me now, because I have things to work on during the months that I won't be able to throw on the potters wheel.  Luckily for me each phase of the creative process is very therapeutic.

This change of pace has given me the opportunity to think about what I really want to create.  Over the past few years I've migrated into being a mug maker.  It was an evolution.  As I reflect on what pieces bring me the most joy, I have to admit that I like making mugs and its a challenge to try to make the perfect mug, but my real joy comes from the sculptural pieces. My absolute favorites are the fish teapots.  Unfortunately, as I made more and more mugs, I had less and less time to create new teapots.

The time is now!  Because I have no stacks of order sheets and Christmas is behind us, this is the perfect time for me to turn over a new creative leaf.  I have decided to change my business model. To relieve and reduce stress, I am shifting away from made to order and custom made. Anything that I sell in my online Etsy shop will be ready to ship.  I'll still make mugs but not in the volume that I used to.  Mugs will always be a great warm up exercise on the potters wheel for me.

So, my to do list post-op is to continue to recover and increase my stamina and strength.  I have already reopened my Etsy shop and deactivated the made to order listings.  I have two teapots drying on the rack that I comstructed before surgery.  I have mugs ready to be glazed and a few that are ready to be fired.  I'm taking advantage of this time off to get my kiln serviced and new elements installed.  I'm excited about the future and having time to create new teapots as well as new sculptures and experimenting with new techniques and glazes.

Sometimes you just have to stop to smell the roses!

Lump of Clay to Finished Mug

A few months ago I put together a two-part demo video for my art club, Westchase Artists Society.  We have monthly meetings and often our members give us a peak into their process.  For my month, I prepared a video that takes you through the entire process of lump of clay to finished mug.  Because my process is protracted over a period of weeks, it was easiest to scale it down to an edited and fast-forwarded video.

That Little Old Mug Maker... Me

The first part of my pottery career was void of mugs.  I was more of a sculptural potter.  I tried my hand at making mugs, but was never happy with the finished form and handle.  So I just never pursued the mug.  A few years ago, probably close to 7 years ago, a group of potters that I belonged to had a "mug swap."  I wanted to be part of the event so I made some mugs.  They weren't as bad as I had remembered, so I made a few more.  Then I kept thinking about mugs and what I liked to have in a mug and my journey began, in search of the perfect mug.  I really got into making mugs and coming up with new surface decorations.  All of the sudden, mugs were a major part of my Etsy shop.  And, a major part of what I make.  If I'm going out into the Garagio, I'm more than likely going out to throw mugs, or handle mugs.  A good part of my clay time is spent on mugs.  As I throw each mug I try to improve my throwing skills.  I'm working towards a nice light, well balanced mug, with good form, a nice handle, that's pleasing to the eye.  Mugs challenge me like no other form does.  I hope that the day will come when I can sit down and throw a series of mugs that will be the same size and shape.  But that goal doesn't upset me that much, because each mug is slightly different.  It shows that a human was there instead of a machine.

Mugs are one of the most personal items that we can make.  We put our lips on the lip of the mug, we often fondle the body of the mug while enjoying our first cup of coffee.  I strive to make handles that will keep you far enough away from the body of the mug so you don't burn your hand, and that are large enough that you can get three to four fingers in for a secure hold.  I try to make the surface glaze decoration fun, with hopes that my mug will become one of your favorites - take it to work, live with it.

I've recently come to the conclusion that a switch in clay was in order.  After working with low fire earthenware clay for years, I made a switch to a high fire stoneware clay.  One benefit in this change is that the mugs will be more durable for everyday use.  Finally, I'm making a huge commitment to my pursuit of the perfect mug.  The high fire stoneware, is less susceptible to chipping, able to handle the dishwasher and microwave and also less problems with crazing (fine cracks in the glaze) as time goes by.

This switch in clay wasn't as easy as buying new clay.  The higher temperatures mean that the glazes that I was using for the earthenware clay either will change under the higher temperatures or cannot be used at all.  A major investment in new glazes was in order, as well as an investment in clay.  I had to go through some glaze testing to see how colors changed.  I also had to search out glaze charts that showed colors at the higher temperatures of cone 5.  Trying to match my earthenware colors was a real challenge and for some colors, like greens, I'm still in search of the perfect green.

So, I'm doing a good thing with this change.  I think that offering a product that's more durable and more versatile for every day use, has a value.  My next hurdle will be to land on a fair price that takes into consideration the added costs of production.   Pricing... the final frontier.

One Year Later

Sixteen days shy of one year and I'm back.  Not that I've gone away, just that I've had a busy year with new family responsibilities that have made me keep an eye on my time.  I've made some revelations.

One year ago I was fairly upset with Etsy and what seemed to be a move away from their dedication to Handmade.  I jumped on the Zibbet bandwagon as I'm reminded from my previous post.  My first insight was received from a fellow potter who made me realize that Etsy really is the perfect home for me.  That I shouldn't take changes that they make personally.  The one thing that I thought would happen, hasn't happened.  I thought that the site would be inundated with mass-produced product and that it would eventually have a schlocky look.  Much to my pleasant surprise, I'm not getting that feel at all.  Even with the expanded guidelines for sellers, Etsy is still the best website to find unique items, made by creative people.  I thought that with the numerous changes that my sales would tank.  I'm happy to say that has not been the case.  People continue to find me and continue to order and make requests for custom items.  I think that the changes that Etsy has made to the website with the goal of making it better for handhelds has been great.  And, the changes that they've made to the mobile version for Sellers are awesome.  I can take photos with my iPhone, and set up a listing all from my phone.  I would have never dreamt of doing that a year ago.  Huge bonus as far as I'm concerned.

So you might be wondering, what's up with Zibbet.  Well, not much.  I prepaid for one year and loaded up the shop.  I have a hard time keeping track of more than one website, so Zibbet has fallen by the wayside.  I  know that time and effort has to be put into a new shop and I blame the fact that I didn't put the effort into Zibbet.  It's unfair of me to say that the site didn't work for me, because I didn't work for it.  My revelation here is that I'd like to spend more time creating than on the computer.  I renewed on Zibbet and will see how that goes, and will stay focused on Etsy.  To make my life easier, I'll only use Zibbet for my photo and jewelry line and see what happens.  So, let's see what happens.

http://www.judybfreeman.etsy.com

Interesting Times

You might notice a couple of new things on my blog.  One is the pledge for handmade, the other is Zibbet.  You might be asking yourself what's a Zibbet?  Well Zibbet is a marketplace website, similar to but different from Etsy.  The biggest difference as of late, is Zibbet's definition of Handmade.  You see Etsy recently changed it's corporate definition of handmade to include the use of outside vendors to create items.  For designers this is great because all they have to do is think up a design idea, hook up with a manufacturer, or group of people, and they can still use the term Handmade to describe their item.  As long as it's their idea, it's Handmade.  Sounds like mass-produced to me, but I'm just a little old potter.

The change in basic philosophy over at Etsy has created quite a stir.  Many sellers are moving to sites that support the traditional definition of handmade.  One such site is Zibbet.  Because I was reading so many good things about Zibbet, I thought I'd give it a try.  As a seller one of the biggest issues is how easy it is to load new listings.  Well I have to say that Zibbet has made it pretty easy to get new listings up.  They offer an import feature where you can download a .csv file from Etsy and feed it into Zibbet.  The listings are held in Edit mode so that you can make any necessary changes, and then just hit the button to list.  You definitely want to go through your listings in Edit mode to make sure that you're not linking to old Etsy shops. 

So I now sit straddling the Etsy/Zibbet fence, with one foot in Etsy and a big toe in Zibbet, I have an ethical, philosophical quandary.  Do I stay on Etsy and turn my head to the changes, stay for the sales?  Or, do I take a stand?  Do I pack up my listings and file for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences?  One thing happened today that's pushing me closer to leaving.  A customer from Etsy posted on Zibbet that she has left Etsy for Zibbet due to the shoddy way that Etsy is treating it's Sellers.  I never thought about this rift through the eyes of a customer.  Time will tell.  Christmas is coming faster than I care to admit.  I'm busy making and shouldn't be spending time worrying about this "stuff."  So, like Tara from Gone With The Wind, I'll think about it another day, twiddleedee.

A Change of Pace

Because of a simple raise of the hand, I began a trek into a bit of a change of pace for me.  My days are usually filled with clay, either throwing on the potter's wheel, constructing and hand building, glazing and firing, packing and shipping and various other duties that are part of the potter's process.  I pretty much am an artist devoted to clay. 

I feel like I've been cheating this past week.  A couple of months ago at my local art club meeting (the Westchase Artists Society) I volunteered to be a featured artist at one of two Fifth Third community banks in Westchase.  It's a partnership that we have with the banks to provide them with artwork for their walls in exchange for exhibition space for our artists.  It's a wonderful thing that the bank is doing for our group.  Sometimes, because most of our 2-D artists have been featured, it's hard to get someone new to volunteer, so I raised my hand.  I figured that I could frame some of my photographs and that would be that. 

Not so fast!  That is never THAT with me.  I was at Michael's (it's dangerous to have one within a mile of where you live) and they had a huge sale on stretched canvases, multi-packs, gallery wrapped, oh my.  I stocked up.  When you see a two-pack of 16" x 20" canvases for $3.99 what do you do, I ask you?  As time passed and it got closer to installation date for the bank, I started to think, wouldn't it be fun to paint?  And then I started thinking about what to paint.  My first thought was abstracts would be fun.  Then my next thought was FISH!   The paintings magically appeared from my brushes and paints.  I made a series of fish that pay homage to my ceramic fish teapots and tabletop fish.  So far, all are based on real reef fish.  And I must say after installing the paintings at the bank, they transformed the bank into a colorful and fun aquarium.  It really is nice to see paintings on the walls versus stacked up in a studio.

Just in case you're not in the area or able to get over to the 5/3 Bank in Westchase on Linebaugh Avenue, here are a few photos of the "girls" that are on display.

 

 

How long did it take you to make that?

People sometimes ask me how long it takes for me to make a fish teapot.  It's a hard question for me to answer because the making is broken up over a few weeks.  My workflow starts with the throwing of two components, a ring and a faceted base.  I usually let the pieces sit under plastic for a few days and then trim the ring and clean up the base and join the two.  If I'm lucky I can work on construction in the same day.  Once the teapot is constructed, I have to let it sit under plastic for about a week, then I take the plastic off and the teapot sits air drying until she's about as dry as it can be.  Then she gets bisque fired.  This is the first firing and runs at around 1900 + degrees F.  This firing gets the moisture out, hardens the clay and prepares it for the glazing.  After the kiln has cooled I get to work glazing.  This can be a process that spans across a few days.  Sometimes I paint on layers of clear glaze and sometimes I paint on layers of white matte glaze as an undercoat.  Then the teapot is fired again at a lower temperature for the glaze firing.  In this firing the coats of glaze melt and yield either shiney or satin coats of color.  After the teapot has finished up with the firings, I get to work on the accessories, such as earrings, beaded wires that get glued into pre-drilled holes. 

I put together a two-part demo video of me making a teapot from start to finish.  I was able to share the video with my Westchase Artists Society friends and so that the video could be watched in one evening I edited it down to 30 minutes.  Thanks to fast-forward the video is 30 minutes.  If I were on fast-forward the process would take about 30 minutes, but I'm definitely not on fast-forward so the process takes longer.  One day I'll clock myselt to get the definitive answer to the question. 

Part 1

 

 

Part 2

Ideas Happen

"How did you come up with that idea?"  The answers to this one question, for a creative person, can cover the spectrum.  Sometimes the birth of ideas can be funny stories, and for me, ideas roll from one to the next, like a  line of dominoes falling. 

 I've been working on some new designs and the evolution comes to me often by just staring at my current work. One example, some new mugs that I've been working on.

 

 I was sitting one day in the garagio and I had a bunch of teapot components (rings and faceted bases). I had extra bases and I didn't have the time to throw rings and I didn't want the bases to go to waste, so I started thinking about how I could use the bases. My thought was first about the basic shape and size, what would that work for? A few thoughts came to mind: bases for cake plates, sugar bowls & creamers, and finally mugs. then I started thinking about handles. Because the facets would make the attaching of my regular handles a challenge. How did I know this, you ask, well I tried one and it didn't work. So I created the handles by rolling a tapered coil attached in a normal fashion and had extra coil left at the bottom so instead of pinching it off I made a twirl. Then, the next domino to fall was the need to elevate the mug because now the twirl at the bottom of the handle was below the bottom of the mug, so I had to "lift" the mug. Answer to this dilemma: more twirls. So now we've got a theme going, facets and twirls.

I see the mug and I see whimsy, I'm seeing a jester, I'm seeing a party skirt, I'm seeing fabulous color, I'm seeing mugs that would coordinate with my teapots, I'm seeing that because the bases of the teapots are the same style as the mugs that we've got a party going on.  So from a day that started out with me just sitting and staring, came a new addition to my collection.  As the ideas for the mugs formulated, then came a flood of ideas for additional pieces that could spawn off of the faceted forms.

Lesson here is when you see someone staring, you could be watching the birth of a new idea.  You just never know!

Happy Finds

I love when a plan comes together.  Sometimes I'll have a notion of how a fish teapot is going to look when completed.  Sometimes I get lucky along the way and find some neat beads to finish her off.  In the case of my latest girl I got lucky.  A local art friend and lampwork bead maker, Stacy of Pink Beach Studio on Etsy came through with her wonderful beads.  Check out Stacy's shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pinkbeach?ref=pr_shop_more   I knew that I wanted to use some of Stacy's beads so when I constructed this teapot I made just enough holes to accomodate Stacy's standard bead pack.  When I saw the beads after I glazed this Clown Triggerfish I knew that they would be the perfect finishing touch.  I'm really getting a kick out of using lampwork beads for the inspiration.  What's next???

Copycat

I've been a member of the Etsy community since May of 2007.  I guess I'm a bit naive when I think that anyone coming to visit my Etsy shop or the shops of any of my virtual friends would have honorable intentions.  Recently, a member of our pottery community on Etsy found out that one of her designs was bootlegged by a company in China.  There's a website called alibaba.com that represents factories that will mass-produce just about anything.  This fellow-potter was alerted that a listng identical to hers was showing up on alibaba.com.  The manufacturer lifted her photo, and used her product description word for word.  The company was offering to sell at high volumes to resellers.  My first thought was who would buy that sort of quantity?  The big-box discount retailers came to mind.  I'm not going to mention any names, but they're the large chains that you see in just about every town.  These stores serve a purpose because they offer low-cost items for the budget-conscious folks (myself included at times).

After the folks on our Pottery group started doing searches on alibaba.com, it was clear that this wasn't just a one-time thing.  It appears that the companies have been lifting listings at a surprising number.  For some, the listings were ones that had already been sold.  For some, the backgrounds on the photos were changed and they inserted the manufacturer's watermark.  But the original product image was apparent. 

Things that we learned: by contacting alibaba.com the listings were eventually removed.  Some folks were contacted by the manufacturers and told that they were just using the listing to show what they can do for their clients, that no sales were made, so basically no harm no foul.  We also learned that it's important to save your original artwork photographs.  These will have a date stamp that can be used to prove when the item was photographed and as a result, that you were the first to create the item.   We also learned that there have been complaints on the website alibaba.com regarding delivery, and claims that the money was never received. 

What this means to my customers: If you ever see a knock-off of one of my creations in a big-box store, check to see how it's made.  Chances are it's slip-cast, not made by hand (even if it's marked handmade - the definition of handmade in China is different than ours).  Chances are the glazes are not the same non-toxic quality glazes that I use.  Chances are it's not unique - each of my handmade creations is unique, because I'm not a machine, I don't have a factory filled with low-wage artisans that pump out thousands and thousands of one item day after day.  If you see a knock-off of any of my creations, send me an e-mail or give me a call.  Once the knock-off copies make it into US stores, artists have recourse through the United States Copyright laws.  Unfortunately, our Copyright laws are a dog with no bite in China. 

It's sad when you think of the rich heritage China has - centuries of being inovators, now known more for their ability to copy other's creations. 

For a Good Cause

Coming up here in Tampa on November 5th is the annual Zoofari at Lowry Park Zoo. It's a fundraising event for the Zoo. Lowry Park Zoo is a fun place to visit and has great activities for the kiddos. This year I'll be participating in their Artfari and will be selling my wares during the Zoofari event. It runs from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. As part of the deal to get a reduced price for the space, artists were asked to donate a piece of art for the silent auction. The piece had to be animal themed, best to relate to the zoo theme. So I went to work on a tic tac toe game using tiggers. Orange and white tigers to be exact. Hopefully someone attending will fall in love and bid high on this piece. Just so we're clear, I used no molds in the making of this piece, just my two little hands. I did roll out the clay for the board, but it was all from moist clay. Each tiger is slightly different from the next because they were human formed... I'm not a machine!!! Maybe a dancing machine, but not a ceramic machine.

Evolution

I know that man's evolution was slow to get us to where we are today, standing upright, able to type our thoughts on the computer and read the hundreds of e-mails that we receive on a daily basis. In artwork there's an evolution as well. I've realized that the evolution of my teapots has been a slow one, not quite as slow as the evolution of man, but slow none the less. I've been making some minor tweeks to my fishy teapots lately. The most recent tweek is to try to give the girls more movement. Almost a feeling that they're trying to jump out of the water. I'm making their base section taller so that I can get more clearance on the tails and making a more exagerated turn of the head. These changes, I think, give the girls more personality. I've been on a roll with teapot making and have one new one that I just finished, one that's drying post-construction, and components for two more under plastic. It helps to make the new teapots close in time so that my thought process continues it's momentum. These changes may be so minor that to the eye of the beholder that it may not be apparent, but to me I see these modifications as a step on the path to evolution.

Ho Ho Ho - Here We Go Again

Every year around this time, I start to feel a little twinge of panic.  The holiday shows and markets are starting to gear up and I'm worried I won't have enough, mugs, fish, cats, pendants, teapots, and ornaments for the shows.  So I thrust myself into high gear and work hard to get my inventories up.  One thing that's going to help me this year is the addition of the travel mug and tumblers.  These are different from my usual pieces because they're not wheel-thrown, they are mold made bisqued pieces that I purchased from my glaze supplier.  The mugs and tumblers come with plastic lids and all that I have to do is glaze and fire them!  So far, I'm thrilled.  The lids fit perfectly and I'm having absolutely no problems with the glazes fitting well with the clay body.  The art that I bring to the blank white canvas is my glazing and these are definitely unique.  Enviro-friendly because they can be used over and over.  They fit perfectly into cup holders and can brighten up any space and bring a smile to your face (made a rhyme).  So as my twinge of panic starts to hit me, I can breathe a little easier knowing that I have my travelers line of mugs and tumblers.

PhotoEZ Is Really Easy

I love finding happy diversions. I always think about the animated film "Up" and the dog that was in the commercials (I never saw the film) he apparently is able to talk with the help of a device that's strapped to his throat. He's having a conversation with the young boy and breaks in his conversation to look away quickly and shout "squirrel!" Well for the past two weeks I've been chasing the squirrel and having a blast.

I read about the PhotoEZ Silk Screen Stencil kit over a year ago and held onto the magazine, because I knew one day (procrastinatoritis) I should probably buy the kit. I decided that the time was right when I was slated to lead a low-fire glaze workshop and thought that this would be a fun project for the class. Of course I tore through all of my magazines and could not find the one with the article. So I hit the Internet, holder of everything in the universe, and found the PhotoEZ Starter Kits for sale on Ebay. Placed my bid and anxiously awaited the outcome. I was high bidder and my kit was delivered in lightning speed.

One of the best parts about this kit are the instructions. This company does a fantastic job at giving you all of the information that you need to successfully create a stencil in less than one hour, ready to use. The most important ingredient is a bright sunny day, slightly cloudy - you'll have to run tests for exposure time. Anxious for a bright sunny day, I went to work figuring out what images I would use for my first stencil. The image should be black and white and the black should be heavily saturated so that the light will be 100% blocked. You will either have to print out your image on your printer or draw it directly on the paper. The company is very specific regarding the type of paper to use. It should be 20 pound paper with 88 brightness or less. Remember, the light has to get through the white areas so the less bright the better. I chose to print my images from the computer so I used a couple of photographs first. I used a photo of a marbled white butterfly and made some adjustments in photoshop to increase the contrast, I did the same with a photo that I took of a cardinal sitting in a tree in our neighborhood, changed it from color to black and white and then ramped up the contrast so that it was now black and white, I played around with PhotoShop to get it to where I wanted it to be. Then I made a fat Sharpie drawing on heavy paper and scanned it into my computer. The only thing that I had to do here was resize it. I was able to make three different versions of this butterfly, one each large, medium and small sized.

Then, the bright sunny day came and I was able to run my first series of tests. The company provides small swatches so that you can test for exposure time. I was able to determine that in our full sun about 5 minutes was all that was needed. I went into our guest bathroom with the door open providing just enough light so that I could set things up. The kit comes with a black board, a clear plexi sheet, clips, stencil sheets, squeege, vinyl net, a few sheets of paper, two sheets of clear film, and instructions. You first place the image on the plexi image side up, then remove the protective film from the stencil sheet (this is the hardest part of the whole process). Once you have the film off place the sheet where you want it on your image shiny side down, then put the black board on top, making a sandwich of your image and film. Place the clips around the sandwich and I wrapped the whole thing in a towel. You want to transport the frame outside for exposure. Keep a close eye on the clock! Once the exposure time is up, wrap it back up in a towel and bring it inside. The film gets placed in a tub of water, I used a large Tupperware container. The room should be dimly lit. You'll soak for at least 15 minutes. When the soak time is up, you'll run the film under running water to remove the areas that were covered in black. This is where the plastic net comes in, you'll place the film on the net and use a soft brush to remove what needs to come off. I used the high resolution film and the instructions say that it can be more difficult to remove all of the film on the high res film. Keep working it until you get all of the film removed, you want to be able to see the small white threads. This will help you to have a better image. Next step is to blot the film dry and place it back in the sun to dry. This last step hardens the stencil and makes it durable.

Now with the stencil magically created, I was able to go to work actually using the stencil. I used bisque tiles first and the cardinal image was my first attempt. I watered down my underglaze so that I could create a watercolor type wash effect for the background, then I taped, using blue painter's tape, the stencil and using the squeege provided I laid down some black underglaze and drew it over the stencil. I lifted up a corner to see if all was ok and it was, so I removed the entire stencil and tape, then I filled in the cardinal with a red underglaze. Then applied three coats of clear glaze and fired the tile. I went through similar steps to use the stencil on the mug shown. I've used a combination of squeegee and using a stiff brush to lay down the glaze. It can be a bit tricky with some of my mugs that have a lot of curves to them, but with the help of the blue tape, and flexibility of the screens, it's possible.

Besides being such a quick process, one of the really cool parts of this whole thing is that there are no special chemicals required, just good old H2O (well I guess that's a chemical if you want to get picky). Most think that the obvious use for these screens is tee shirt silk screens using ink versus glazes on clay. And I challenge you to find even more uses for these cool screens.

I'm really happy to report that this kit gets my seal of approval. If you want to get more information, their website is http://www.ezscreenprint.com/

The Procrastination of Penelope

More proof that I can be a terrible procrastinator. Poor Penelope took over a year to complete. The worst part about this habitual procrastination is that Penelope is for a friend. One of the most important things that you should not say to a procrastinator is, "there's no rush." Poor Penelope is a replacement for Penelope #1 that suffered an accident. I took posession of the broken Penelope so that I would have a model to work from. The broken Penelope #1 got shifted around my studio for months. First inside a plastic bag, then actually out on the shelf, taped together. Finally with my New Year's resolution - trying to kick my procrastinating ways, I resolved myself to begin work on Penelope #2. I was elated when I finished her construction, overjoyed when she made it through the first firing, ecstatic when I glazed her and beside myself when I took her out of the kiln and attached her heart-shaped name tag (the only part of Penelope #1 that was salvagable). Now as I look at Penelope #2, she is a milestone, showing me that I can make it through the 12-step program for procrastinators. Help me kick the habit. Do not become an enabler. Do not ever say to me, "There's no rush."

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.