glazedOver

How to Heal a Ceramic Mug

2012-01-23T16:08:00.001-05:00

The bus driver of our little one’s minibus is a funny man. We’re very lucky to have him, now for the second year. He somehow manages to crack me up each morning with some dry quip. That’s not really easy to do, it’s very early in the morning when he arrives. He’s very talented. And such a good guy. I love him!

Recently, he asked me—since I’m an expert in all things ceramic—how he could heal a favorite mug. The handle had fallen off and he thought I, of all people, would know how to fix it permanently. Before even letting him finish his sentence, (we New Yorkers are so good at knowing what people are saying even before they can get a word in edgewise), I said:

“You can’t; don’t bother.”

He didn’t take my word for it, though. As you can see…

This he gave to me as a present. He said he has already applied for the patent, in case I was planning on plagiarizing his design.

Refrigerator Blindness

2012-01-03T14:05:00.001-05:00

Refrigerator blindness. Don’t laugh, it’s an actual medical condition.

Ok, laugh. It’s alright.

I know what you’re thinking, though. I don’t have it. Nope. No I do not. I can find the milk every time. In fact, I can sit at a distance and verbally navigate my kid to the ketchup in the back left corner of the second shelf, even when I myself didn’t put it there. I’m good at that. Very talented.

…but…

…ask me to find anything outSIDE of the fridge and it’s a no-go. I’m utterly blind and completely clueless. So don't ask me where my idea list of what to cook tonight is taped up–or even if it’s up on a cabinet door anywhere in the kitchen at ALL! Which will itself tell you why I have to have an idea list of what to cook tonight in the first place!

So it shouldn’t surprise you to hear that I just stumbled upon this taped inside the door where I keep the Tylenol (and considering that I keep the Tylenol there, you can just imagine how many times I’ve opened up this door):

7 Lessons

1) Get out of your comfort zone.

2) Embrace the late sleepless nights.

3) Speak the language of the individual you want to become.

4) Find a mantra to anchor and guide you.

5) Always stay guided by your values not by your necessities.

6) To achieve unreasonable things, you have to become an unreasonable person.

7) Become hopelessly idealistic about the things that make you feel most alive.

Though I’m sure I was the one who taped this up whenever ago, I just read it now as if for the first time.

Then I took a nice deep breath.

A slow count to five on the inhale, a slow count to five on the exhale.

Ahhhh.

That’s better. The important things.

<<<Breathe>>>

Happy New Year, everybody!

Jimmy

2011-12-23T12:44:00.002-05:00

I went to yoga this morning and then stopped at Panera for a coffee and a bagel and a little quiet/me time. I sat near three men who after about 20 minutes finished their conversation and then parted ways. One of them came over to me and told me that I’m too beautiful to be sitting all alone, especially at holiday time. Why is there nobody with me? That started a whole long conversation. He asked if he could join me and we talked about this and that: life, family, politics, money; we told a few jokes. Then as he was leaving he walked over to me, held my face between his two hands, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He was 75 and going off to join a card game that he was already late for.

I will never forget this day.

LaTouchables - Poet, Snow Leopard, and Magician

2011-12-13T22:28:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness gracious! Guess what just came in the mail…

The “Snow Leopard” bag that Dawn made for me!!

Oh my goodness gracious, gracious!!

First, a confession: I broke a promise. I promised Dawn that I’d open up the package together with my family, but it came when everybody was out for the day. What was I supposed to do? I would have had to wait for FOUR WHOLE HOURS before opening up the box and I just couldn’t wait that long. So I’m sorry, Dawn. I did rewrap the box before they come home and let them open it up together and they soaked it all up. That much I lived up to.

Now that I’ve cleared my conscious, though, can I just let out my scream of excitement? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

I cannot believe my eyes!

Those are business cards. How deliciously charming is that!

The photos that Dawn posted on her blog were incredible; they set the stage for my not being able to contain my anticipation. So naturally, opening up the box was an exquisite experience. First the box, then the paper wrapped parcel, then bubble wrap—so enticing because I could see the tapestry of fabric beneath the bubbles.

Finally to the bag itself. It is so exactly what I had hoped it would be.

The eccentricity and asymmetry, the collage of fabrics and wood accents, and lining, and snaps, and fur…I’m absolutely blown away. I immediately draped it across my body to find that it sits exactly at the perfect spot, both comfortable and eclectic chic at the same time.

Then I reached down inside to find a key cord with a vintage key on it. Hilarious!! I laughed out loud.

It is the most beautiful bag I have ever worn. There are no words to express how incredible I feel to own this bag. The leather is so buttery, the fur so rich, the wooden accents so smooth and earthy, and the strap with all its history and mileage….OH the STRAP!! I am in love.

There are certain possessions that make a person who they are. For me, they are my chocolate suede coat, my silver handmade watch, my silver and leather hoop earrings, and now Dawn’s poet bag. I’m wearing all four in these pictures. People will say of me: “Oh I think I know the woman you’re talking about...does she wear that beautiful collage of a leather bag with the fur on the front?”

Yep, that’s me!

Where will your artistic inspiration take you?

2011-11-18T11:24:00.001-05:00

Sometimes artistic inspiration comes from unexpected places. Recently I got a custom order from another seller on Etsy. In fact, he “found” me after I ordered a bazillion handmade soaps from him (they’re incredible…buy some!).

He said he wanted cereal bowls akin to my scroll handle mugs. He imagined them shorter and wider than the mugs but left me room to experiment according to my creative whim. I love the results!

By the way, I asked for his permission to credit him with the inspiration for these bowls and here’s what he said (and I quote):

“Yeah... sure! But I did nothing really :o) I'm just a lazy schlub who wants to drink out of bowls.”

Love him!

Incredible Yoga/Break Dancing - Unreal!

2011-11-14T22:45:00.001-05:00

Break ton Neck from Alex Yde on Vimeo.

A bucket for your coffee

2011-11-11T14:02:00.001-05:00

This mug is Mega Ginormous. No, seriously. It's a whopping 32-ounces. Waaaay bigger than you think it is. It’s so big that it comes with it’s own Doberman Pinscher.

Nah. I was just kidding about the Doberman. Wouldn't know how to mail that out to you anyway. But it’s big. Really big. Your ego needs to be well intact for this one.

Denim and Leather

2011-11-04T12:30:00.002-04:00

There are so many aspects to the creative process involved in making pottery. When it come to the glazing, I’ve been known to mull over colors for weeks before I come to conclusions. Sometimes I will stand back and squint my eyes at a piece and imagine colors and combinations. Sometimes I will dream about them instead. The Denim and Leather series came to me in one of those quiet moments before falling asleep one night. It just clicked and I smiled visibly. I knew it would be a passionate and perfect glaze combination.

On the Bisque Shelf

2011-10-31T21:56:00.002-04:00

Here’s a peek at what is on the bisque shelf in the glazedOver pottery studio. These babies are going into the kiln by week’s end.

Gym Membership and Protein Shakes

2011-09-23T16:26:00.001-04:00

I bit the bullet this week and signed up for gym membership, for the first time in my life. I’m very intimidated, I must tell you. I’m thin and in very good shape. I have a naturally muscular body, so it certainly looks like I would fit right in, but I don’t. I’m a runner, not a body builder. I’ve been running on and off for about thirty years, but this past winter, I finally committed and successfully translated my love/hate running relationship into a fruitful and productive habit that at this point I’m convinced I can’t live without.

I was even shocked to discover recently that if at any time anything thwarted my running schedule, I’d be depressed and preoccupied with trying to get back out again. And then, once I did and started my run, I noticed that I’d breathe an audible sigh of relief just to be back out there.

So why did I join a gym when I’ve got the roads? Turns out that a runner needs cross training as well, who knew? I lost more weight with the running than I had planned for, so now I’m on the other side of the process. Now I need to gain. It’s surprisingly difficult to gain weight and a little disheartening too, because all of the media buzz is focused on weight loss, not weight gain. I feel like a salmon fighting to swim upstream, only I don’t have any salmon buddies swimming alongside me. It’s very lonely, and being at the gym with all of those people who look like they know what they’re doing is very daunting. I’m completely intimidated, I admit. I’m doing everything that I can to conquer my intimidation and press ahead. So far so good.

Today when I got home from the gym and in the spirit of doing things right, I made myself a protein shake. I’m not going to give you a specific recipe, because it’s really just a dollop of yogurt, one splash of milk and one splash of orange juice, a smidge of flax seeds and some fresh fruit, in this case some kiwis, a banana, and a peach. All blended up, it was yummy and made me feel like I must be doing something good for the system.

So let’s see how this thing goes. Fingers crossed it doesn't defeat me. Truth be told, I’m feeling a little delicate and inadequate right now, but I’m going to give it a go. A little more upper body strength can only be a good thing for a potter, right?

Custom order ceramic coffee and tea mugs

2011-08-09T22:56:00.000-04:00

Here are some mugs I’ve been working on. They are a custom order for one of the mechanics who fixes my car. He recently commissioned me to make an 8" x 14" ceramic planter for his two year old daughter. One day she said to him: "Daddy, I want a cactus garden!" Devoted father that he is, he set out to find the perfect planter for her but everything was too small, so he asked me to make him one and write "Kaylee's Garden" on it. When I showed him glaze options by thumbing though listings in my shop, he got keen on my mugs and ordered some. He wanted one for his wife and one for himself. First, he thought to have me write her name and his name on them, but then he changed his mind and went with “tea” and “coffee” instead. I made an extra “coffee” mug just for good measure. I’ve listed that in my shop here.

This is the process photo of his mugs:

And here’s how they turned out. I love them!

Talk about a Green Thumb!

2011-06-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I pruned the shrubs in our garden using my new, green, Burpee gardening gloves, the same ones I used as a photo prop for this picture of my garden stakes:

I loved these gloves especially because they were green, but I have to say, they’re not terribly practical. They got wet while I was using them and this is what I found when I pulled them off my hand:

Crazy! How is that Burpee doesn’t realize this happens? It took a whole day, a pumice stone and several attempts with butter, lemon, mineral spirits and soap to make even a dent in this. Just imagine how pretty it was to watch me eat the pizza I had for lunch that day!

Sleepy Bunny

2011-05-22T19:14:00.000-04:00

“Mommy!” my little one yelled from the side door of our house, “Come quick! There’s a sleeping bunny!”

I came running. We get bunnies from time to time. Bunnies in our yard always remind me of Watership Down and I always apologize if ever I have to I start up our hrududu and drive off while they are nearby.

Never have we seen one ever taken a nap in our yard. Sure enough though, there it was in the fur, lying on its side and snoozing just 10 feet from our door. I ran for the camera to get a few shots but I had trouble focusing well through the screen. So I got brave and slowly opened the door. The bunny didn’t move. Maybe it knew that I was the one who had put out the celery leaves for her the previous day. Either way…

Slowly, she roused herself,

yawned,

stretched,

…and yawned again. Finally she sat up for a minute to collect herself. Then she hopped off.

I put out some carrots for her after that. Fingers crossed she comes back to find them.

Coil Pot

2011-05-20T09:57:00.000-04:00

Remember that coil pot on the bisque shelf I said would require some extra special mulling? Well, it’s all mulled and finished and it’s just perfect, if you ask me.

I love it!

Auto Body Repairs and Oil Change Opportunism

2011-05-18T10:09:00.002-04:00

I love this photograph! I snapped it this week with my new, fabulous iphone while I was waiting for the mechanics to finish doing an oil change on my car. This car, as they told me, is some mint something-or-another with an $8,000 paint job (who DOES that??). They bring it every week to one of those pop-the-hood car shows. They say they make some really decent money buying, fixing up, and selling cars like this.

It all reminded me of the auto body work I did way back when I was in high school. I had worked for several summers at a very cool snack bar at our local ferry dock to Fire Island. I loved working there because all of the Manhattan weekenders would come through on their way to their island bungalows and it made me feel like I was a part of all of that. Difficult bosses excepted, it was a great experience.

Anyway, I had saved up my money and bought myself this awesome Volkswagon Superbeetle convertible. It was the most fabulous thing, I felt like the cat’s meow driving it. The honeymoon lasted for a while and even included the great day when it made an appearance in the high school homecoming parade.

This was the photo that made it into the yearbook. That’s me in the back seat all the way on the right and that’s my dad driving the car.

But alas, like most old beetles, mascara and blush could only get it so far before the rust started to become a serious problem. Once we started to dig around looking for it, we discovered that it was covering most of the body of the car. It was so severe that it ate through much of the floor. Funny, we still needed to use the car at that point so we simply drove it without most of the floor. We were driving like Fred Flintstone, watching the highway speeding by under our feet! I kid you not.

Here I am on the day we started digging around for rust. I was heartbroken as you can see.

And it only got worse.

It was a long and grueling process and I learned more about fiberglass and Bondo than I would ever have wanted to, but in the end we too turned a profit. We sold it for twice what I bought it for.

Not bad for a couple of rookies.

What Photography and Allowance have in Common

2011-05-06T17:00:00.001-04:00

Shev just got a some good shots of me with this new ceramic tray. I think I'm going to double her allowance.

Thanks, duckie!

On the bisque shelf

2011-04-20T17:47:00.000-04:00

Here’s a peek at some of the pieces on my bisque shelf today. I’m now in “glaze inspiration” mode. That’s when I mull over what combinations of glazes I think will work best on which surfaces.

I admit, some mulling is quicker than other mulling. That coil pot in the back, I fear, will require some extra special mulling.

Springtime blooms

2011-04-17T12:40:00.001-04:00

After the winter thaw, it’s such a delicious relief to see the blooms of spring, wouldn’t you say?

After my mother died, we planted one of her favorite trees—a Weeping Japanese Cherry—in our backyard. Each year without fail, it blooms exactly in time for Passover. Happy spring, everybody!

Clay

2011-04-07T09:59:00.000-04:00

This makes my eyes happier than you can ever know.

The System Fails – Trauma at Public School

2011-03-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

I have to share with you a traumatic experience I had this past week. I share it not only because I want to rinse my own system from the remnants of the panic and anxiety that it caused me, but also because I want to shed light on how damaging a flawed system can be. And when you read this, I know you will quickly see how a small tweak in the bureaucracy could easily have had other, happier results.

My little goes to school each morning on a mini bus which comes directly to our house to pick her up. We have a responsible, dedicated and punctual driver who always tells me in advance if she knows that she will be absent on a following day. This one particular morning, she was more than 15 minutes late and when the bus did finally arrive, we saw that there was a substitute driver. My daughter was the first stop but since the bus matron was also there, I figured it was alright to put her on. The driver was holding the sheet with the addresses in his hand and he seemed like a decent fellow.

I have to stop at this point in the narrative and tell you that he WAS a decent fellow. He delivered my child to school along with the other children, and he did a fine job. He got them there at 9:15 rather than 9:00 but that probably had more to do with the last minute change in drivers and his unfamiliarity with the route than with anything else. The issue was not the driver.

The issue was that at 10:30, I got a call from the school asking me where my child was.

Ten thirty.

According to school policy, the kids who aren’t in class by the time the 9:00 bell rings are marked as absent. The attendance monitor makes calls, house by house, to inquire about the reasons for the absences. In our case, however, she sent me into a panic.

“Oh my GOSH! We had a substitute driver this morning!!! She’s not there?????” My head started spinning, my hands started shaking, my heart stared pounding out of my chest so hard that you could see it from the outside. I was trying to figure out in which direction I should drive to go find her.

“Wait a minute, hold on,” she said, “let me just call the teacher to find out if she’s in class. It’s possible the bus arrived late. Just hold on.”

One full minute passed. I begged like I’ve never begged before.

“I’m SO, SO sorry! Your daughter is here. Her bus was just late to arrive. I’m so sorry I got you all worried like that.”

Apologies are a nice thing. I appreciate them. I do. But think this through for a minute. Had something—heaven forbid—actually happened, then the driver would have had more than a full hour and a half to have driven in whichever direction he cared to before anybody would have been alerted to the crime. And on the other hand, had the office had a simple policy in place whereby they check their late busses before the attendance monitor places calls, then I would have been spared the seven hours that I spend with shaking hands and uncontrollable tears and panic attacks.

When my daughter got home from school that afternoon, I hugged her tighter than I’ve ever hugged her before. I picked her up off of the ground and held her there for a good few minutes. Lucky me, she LOVES to be hugged. She soaked it up. But then she felt my tears and she pulled her head away from me, gave me a funny smirky-kind of look and said: “Mommy? Are you ok?”

I’ll be ok.

Around town

2011-03-08T13:11:00.001-05:00

It’s beautiful outside today. Faced with the dilemma to choose between glazing or doing taxes, I decided to play hooky instead and take a few minutes to go for a short drive around town. Here’s a glimpse of where I live.

We’ve got ship yards and ferry docks…

Charming beaches of all shapes and sizes…

Summer reading…

And a charming downtown.

Right now, on the cusp of Spring, the grass here is doing its best to become greener. Sometimes it actually is.

Mini Dipping Bowls

2011-02-25T15:36:00.000-05:00

I tend to go in spurts with respect to my creativity. I could go on a binge making just mugs for weeks and then switch over to TAPAS sets and back to nesting bowls in record time. These past few weeks, the muse has navigated me towards the minis. I’m loving how the glazes are coming out.

It's only fair – a nod to JCrew

2011-02-06T12:13:00.000-05:00

I totally lifted the color scheme for these bowls...

...from the JCrew catalog:

Watch out. Soon I'm going to dress like this too.

Heart You Lime Popsicle Mugs

2011-02-05T23:11:00.003-05:00

I’m getting more into the carving on clay thing. I love how the seem to have so much to communicate.

Happy Mom’s Birthday

2010-12-26T15:14:00.001-05:00

The day after Christmas was my mother’s birthday. As some of you may already know, my mother died in 2004, and my heart has been irrevocably broken ever since.

The first few years after her death, December 26th was an impossible day for me. So early on, I decided that doing something in her spirit on her birthday was the best thing I could do not only to honor her memory but also to comfort myself. Mom was a big fan of culture and the arts and when we were growing up, she’d regularly take us in to the city to see a play or visit a museum.

So, that’s what I decided we would do every December 26th. This year, we were set to go see Mummenschanz, which was all the more significant for me because mom had taken us to see Mummenschanz way back in the 70s when it first came to New York. But alas, we had to scrap our plans because of the blizzard.

So what did we do instead?

Avi made cream puffs from the cookbook that her cousins in Israel sent to her for her birthday in November. (Yes, they WERE as delicious as they look.)

And then the girls went outside to play in the snow. Not bad for making lemonade out of lemons.

Clayground Wizards – Part II

2010-12-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

The wizards are all done. Aren’t they cute?

Sheldon is not his real name

2010-12-19T22:18:00.001-05:00

Voicemail message, 2:24 PM:
“Hi, Jill. This is Sheldon Mugman. I saw your work at Flushing Town Hall and I took one of your business cards. I’ve had a chance to look at your online shop and I really like your work. I wanted to find out if you take custom orders. I’ll be here for the next several hours so please return my call if you can. You can call the number, whatever number that is that showed up on your screen.”

Returning Sheldon’s call, 2:41 PM:
“Hello, Sheldon? This is Jill, the potter of glazedOver Pottery returning your call.”

“Yes! Thanks for calling, Jill. Yes, I saw your work at Flushing Town House [sic] and I really like your work. I was there for a performance and I went into their gift shop. They have a WONDERFUL gift shop, you know! It’s just gorgeous!! Well, and I took one of your business cards, which is also just perfect. I was a graphic artist for years and your business card just communicates so much. It’s really well done, I wanted to tell you that. “

“Well thank you, Sheldon.”

“You’re welcome. So, I was interested in your mugs. I have a mug—my favorite mug—but it’s starting to crack and, OH! I just love it, but now I need a new one. It’s great, it has a thumb spot. I love the thumb spot. I saw your Latte mug and I really like that one. I would want the inside white, can you make the inside white? I can never see what it is I’m drinking. Is it tea? Coffee? Who knows. I need it to be white.”

“Sure I could make the inside white. That wouldn’t be a problem.”

“And you could keep the outside that latte color?”

“If that’s what you’d want, sure I could. Of course.”

“Ok, great. Is that glossy or matte? I like matte.”

“Well, that partly depends on the conditions inside the kiln during the firing. Sometimes the glazes can come out more or less glossy depending on the temperature the kiln reaches and how quickly it reaches high temperature. That’s the beauty of handmade pottery. Every piece is very much one of a kind.”

“Yes, I understand. I’d really like it to be matte for the latte color and glossy for the white.”

“Ok, I’ll do what I can.”

“And, do you make that curly thing on the bottom of the handle?”

“Yes I do. That’s my signature design.”

“Oh. Ok. My mug doesn’t have that, but…ok. Can you make a thumb spot?”

“I could, but I don’t usually. That’s not part of the Scroll Handle mug design.”

“Oh. Ok. I understand. Now, is the body of your mug straight or curved?”

“It’s straight.”

“Oh. Ok. Mine’s curved, but that’s ok. I understand. How big is your mug?”

“Well, I have three standard sizes: 16-ounces, 23-ounces and 32-ounces. The 32-ounce mug is almost embarrassingly big—"

“No, no. I want a small mug. Can you make a mug smaller than 16-ounces?”

“I could if you’d—”

“Wait, let me get my mug and measure it. I’m just going to go upstairs…[pause]…Oh, where is it?…[pause]…Ah! Here it is. Yeah, um. Let me measure it. Yes, it’s 12-ounces. But yours is 16-ounces. That’s ok. I understand. How tall is your mug?”

“Let me look at the listing in my shop, just a second. It’s 4½" high.”

“Oh. That’s tall. That’s very tall. Let me just measure mine—”

“If you look at the photos that I have online of that mug, there’s one where I’m holding it, so that gives you an idea of how tall it is.”

“Oh, mine’s 4¼". Guess it’s almost as tall as yours. Ok, that’s fine then. Now, the handle would be latte colored?”

“No, well usually I bring the color that is inside the mug out and onto the handle so the handle would only be the latte color on the edges with the white in the middle.”

“What?”

“Are you near a computer?”

“Yes. I’ve been looking at your latte mug all this time.”

“Ok, let me navigate you to one of my mugs where you can see what I’m talking about…”

[and here I’ll save you the details. You’re busy, I know. The conversation resumes with Sheldon’s reaction to having seen what I meant.]

“Oh NO!! I don’t like that. Can you keep the handle latte colored? I don’t want it white.”

“Sure, if you’d prefer.”

“Yes, do that. How much is the mug?"

“The 16-ounce is $23 plus shipping.”

“Ok. I saw somewhere—I don’t remember where—that you offer a discount if we sign up for your newsletter or email, is that right?”

“Really? You saw that somewhere?”

“Yeah, I don’t remember where, but you give a discount, right?”

“Well, usually I give a 10% discount coupon after a first purchase, but I can apply the discount to this if you’d like.”

“Yes, that would be great. So how do I go about paying you for this? Do you take a down payment?”

“No, I usually require full payment up front. If you have an account on Etsy, I can make you a custom listing there, otherwise if you give me your email address, I can send you an invoice via PayPal if you’d prefer. Do you have a PayPal account?”

“No, only my children fool around with PayPal. I don’t want to get involved in that nonsense. I just want to use my credit card.”

“You can do that on PayPal without setting up a PayPal account. I’ll send you an invoice and you’ll just have to follow the PayPal instructions to follow through with payment using your credit card."

“Ok, so it’s $23, minus 10%, plus shipping, right? You’ll send me an email?”

“Yes, I’ll try to get to this tonight.”

“Ok, wonderful! Thank you, Jill. Bye-bye”

“You’re welcome, Sheldon. Thank you. Good-bye.”

Sheldon hangs up 3:04 PM
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bike Mug Custom Order

2010-12-12T10:55:00.002-05:00

I'm not a huge fan of handmade pottery custom orders, mostly because glaze can do some unpredictable things in the kiln and the results are not always possible to control. But I recently took on an intriguing custom order request from a woman who wanted one of my scroll handle mugs for her boyfriend. She wanted me to carve in a stick figure of a guy on a bike on the side. It sounded to me like a cross between my garden stakes and my scroll handle mugs, so I took her on. She drew the stick figure and emailed it to me; I dutifully copied it to the mug body.
Take a look at the results:

I could see myself going in this direction. It’s so charming!

Clayground Wizards

2010-11-25T23:00:00.000-05:00

This week at the glazedOver Clayground, the kids and I made wizards out of clay. There were many steps to the process, but it wasn’t very difficult. We made them from various sizes of slab triangles: one for the cloak, two for the sleeves, one for the beard and another for the wizard hat. Then all we needed to do was add the details: the hands, the moustache, the eyes and eyebrows. Some kids even added wizard props like a magic wand, a staff and a magic ball. We were all able to finish them in just one class. It was great fun and they came out looking like magic could happen any minute!

Handmade Ceramic Sake Set

2010-10-27T13:36:00.008-04:00

I just wrapped up this sake set for local delivery. The buyer said she’s planning to give it to the guy “who has everything”.

It looks so pretty to me, I wanted to share it with you.

How to Soothe a Burn

2010-10-21T12:53:00.000-04:00

Do you want to know how to soothe a burn?

Blisters. Ouch.

First, one ground rule: never wipe the crumbs off of a burner with your hand. Never mind that you didn’t realize it was just used a moment ago to boil water for somebody else’s tea. What were crumbs doing there anyway?

But you’re in a rush, so I’ll get to the remedy straight away.

Make a paste of baking soda and water. It should be pasty, not liquidy.

Put a thick dollop all over the burn and keep it there for a few minutes. It will work rapidly to cool the pain. Each time you feel the pain returning, reapply the paste.

Rinse and repeat until the pain subsides.

All better!

Gearing up for the Women’s Expo

2010-10-04T13:36:00.000-04:00

Thursday is the 10th Annual Women’s Expo and glazedOver Pottery will be there!

The Expo is a “showcase and a marketplace for Long Island women entrepreneurs: artisans, importers, designers and distributors of products such as jewelry, clothing, fine art, pottery and wood/metal/leather/glassware, children’s items, culturally diverse crafts, fiber art, specialty food items, gift baskets, household accessories, paper products and more.”

I was honored to have been one of four artists interviewed for the article in the Times Beacon Record in advance of the show. Come to the expo and visit me. Mention this post to receive a 20% discount on your purchase from glazedOver.

Burying Treasure

2010-10-02T23:44:00.003-04:00

Here is the behind the scenes from Cap’n Sheva Bartholemew Red’s expedition to the nether regions to bury the treasure.

Doubloons!

Scoping out the lay of the land

Navigating the challenging terrain

First mate, Zozie-bird

The paparazzi close on our heels

The Cap’n marks the spot on the map

glazedOver Clayground at the Sayville Library

2010-09-18T22:04:00.000-04:00

This past week, I taught a kids clay class at the Sayville Library and it was so much fun. The title of the program was “Back to School with the Clayground” and we made pencil holders out of air dry clay.

The reason why we used air dry clay was so that there wouldn’t be the need to fire any of the pieces in the kiln and the kids could bring their work home right away.

I brought a few completed examples of different artistic approaches to the design and I showed them to the kids.

Then, once I had illustrated some clay techniques for them using the air dry clay and the tools I had brought, I handed out all of the materials and they got to work.

The kids had so much fun and their projects came out so cute! I love teaching clay classes to kids. Although the air dry clay we used at the library is not food safe, we use only food safe and lead free clays and glazes in the glazedOver Clayground pottery studio. Our next 8-week session starts October 4th. For more information, check out our flyer or email me at jill[at]glazingOver.com for details.

Peeking Over the Fence

2010-09-04T21:51:00.000-04:00

Do you see who was hiding between the two fences?

Bunny!

A Visit to Lloyd Manor

2010-09-01T21:29:00.000-04:00

What do Charles Lindbergh, Billy Joel, Jupiter Hammon and Joseph Lloyd all have in common? Why, Joseph Lloyd Manor, of course!
Joseph Lloyd Manor was built in 1766 in an exquisite spot overlooking scenic Lloyd Harbor. By contemporary standards, it was a luxurious estate with two stories, higher ceilings than in other typical construction of the period, and a full service kitchen.

Interestingly enough though, James Lloyd came by his ownership of the property in a roundabout way. It’s a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. He married the widow who had inherited the land from her conscientious sea captain fiancée who had the foresight to sign prenuptials assigning land ownership to them both before he left and was lost at sea.

Joseph had four grandsons and it was James Lloyd who eventually erected the house which later came to serve as a major international trade depot. In one of the rooms can be found logs recording transactions and other letters dealing with commerce matters.

And what about Charles Lindbergh and Billy Joel, and who was Jupiter Hammon? Charles Lindbergh and Billy Joel were both famous renters of the property who lived there for a period of time. And as for Jupiter Hammon, he was America’s first published black poet and slave to four generations of the Lloyd family. He was granted his freedom, he but declined to accept it and lived in their service until his death.

The gracious curator who gave us our tour allowed the girls to try on some period costumes and pose for a few photographs. Subtract out the flip flops and the Teva sandals and they look quite convincing!

Ceramics Classes for Kids at the glazedOver Clayground

2010-08-16T21:39:00.002-04:00

Once again, we will be offering children’s ceramics classes at the glazedOver studio Clayground here in Sayville, New York.

Space is limited. Sign up today!

stoneWEAR handmade ceramic pendant necklaces

2010-08-13T20:08:00.003-04:00

I’ve been toying with my stoneWEAR pendants necklaces lately.

This one is the mutation that happened when I crossed my garden stakes with my stoneWEAR pendants.

I love making them. It’s almost too much for me to resist. There’s something on the tactile level that is very satisfying to me.

Handmade Stoneware Coasters by glazedOver Pottery

2010-07-30T14:57:00.000-04:00

Several years ago, while I was still in graduate school at the University of Chicago, I brought my friend Zehava to the Hyde Park Art Center pottery studio so she could see my work. Zehava has always had a very unique and eclectic aesthetic. She also has mind of her own, one of the many reasons why I have such love and respect for her.
At the studio, she described to me what she’d like to see in a ceramic coaster and asked me if I could make them for her. She’s not an artist but she does know what she’s looking for. So together, we worked to bring her design to fruition.

Her basic design is brilliant in it’s simplicity and elegance. It has grown with me as I have grown as a potter. Here are some of the latest manifestations of the Zehava coasters. Enjoy!

Lost but not Found

2010-07-22T21:00:00.000-04:00

Today I lost the tin foil. Here's a haiku in honor of the occasion. I dedicate it to all of those who have loved and lost (various kitchen supplies, a wallet, cell phone, glasses, car keys...).

Looking high and low,
Shiny wrap has gone missing.
Mind lost. Hope gone too.

Lumpsuckers and their Dumpy Parents

2010-07-20T12:05:00.006-04:00

My eleven year old is very independent, so when she asked me to read her a bedtime story recently, she caught my attention. But she’s not only independent, she is also very cerebral. So she pulled Eyewitness Books: Ocean (rather than, say Watership Down) from her bookshelf, and she didn’t surprise me at all. She promised me that I wouldn’t have to read each and every page so I jumped right in.

You’d never think there’d be so much to laugh at in such a book and maybe it was just because it was so late and we were both a bit punch drunk, but Sheva and I had a giddy time of it. She wanted to know, for instance, if octopi make octo-pee-pee, how to cook lobsters to minimize the screaming (I used to work in a clam bar, I had the answer), and why the dolphin’s flipper bones look so reminiscent of my wind chimes. But nothing caused the giggles as much as the lumpsuckers. I wasn’t familiar with lumpsuckers, but apparently, they have really motly parents, putting a new spin on “your mama is so ugly that…”
Not among the great marvels of the ocean, lumpsuckers are primarily bottom dwellers. They are mostly spherical in shape and have suckers on the bottom of their bodies which make it possible for them to cling to rocks snail-like.
The young fish, which according to Miranda MacQuitty, author of Ocean, are “more beautiful than their dumpy parents,” use their suckers to cling to rocks in shallow, warm water until they are fully developed. Then they move to deeper waters where their muddy adult color allows them to better blend in.

Swimming to the left Swimming towards you Swimming to the right

And for those of you who are wanna-be jet-setters shackled by budgetary constraints, you’ll be relieved to hear that lumpsucker fish eggs are a popular and affordable alternative to caviar.

Sun, Surf, and Wind Chimes

2010-07-11T23:52:00.004-04:00

I love my wind chimes. I not only have several decorating the inside and outside of our house, but my neighbor across the street has one in her front bucket window, so I blow kisses to it all the time. As much as I love seeing them and love making them, I hate taking photos of them. It is incredibly difficult to do them justice. They are very busy, so the background that I use for them must not be busy, and their triangular outline makes photo composition a challenge. So I had a brilliant idea: take them to the beach! Here are some of the results.

I make my chimes from beads, beach findings collected over the course of months and pottery shards from the glazedOver studio. Each item is wound with thick copper wire and hung from a beautiful specimen of unaltered driftwood.
I like this shot especially, because not only can you see my husband’s shadow as he holds the wind chime and mine as I crouch in the sand to take the photo, but you can also see a game of volleyball in progress in the background.

And here’s another photo which calls for a closer look.

Do you see the brown fabric of the bag that my husband was chivalrous enough to hold for me? That’s a glimpse of the most deliciously comfortable, beautiful backpack made by Yael Eshkar of PazzaPazza. You can see more of her backpacks on her blog (which I highly recommend you follow – she is a breath of fresh air!). Yael’s backpacks are the epitome of functional beauty!

How to use Adobe Photoshop for Good and Evil

2010-07-07T13:29:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home. Um, on second thought, DO try this at home and then post links in the comments. This could be fun.

glazedOver Pottery at the Vanderbilt Museum Vanderfest!

2010-06-30T00:13:00.001-04:00

glazedOver Pottery is thrilled to have been invited to be among a select number of artists at this year’s Vanderfest fair. Mention this blog post for 10% off your glazedOver Pottery purchase. Looking forward to seeing you there!

glazedOver Pottery at Coming Home to Country

2010-06-14T23:23:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, glazedOver Pottery was honored to have been the featured artist at Coming Home to Country, one of Sayville’s most charming Main Street gift boutiques. Mary, the proprietor, is such a kind and warm person and her shop is filled to the brim with unique, New England style treasures from nautical to primitive to whimsical. (I looked on, amused, as one customer, a newly in-love young man with his girl, purchased a rubber egg to toss at his friend as a gag!)

Mary and I spent the day greeting and meeting and we enjoyed a wonderful turn out. The weather was kind enough to cooperate—the rain showers that had been predicted never made even the hint of an appearance. It was an all around perfect day.

Before I arrived to set up, Mary had cleared off a tall display shelving unit for me to use and she gave me risers and other props to help set up everything. We hung my wind chimes above the display and they looked beautiful. I brought a couple of my own vintage milk crates and set them up in front of the shelves so that I could put my pendant necklace display on them and arrange other pottery inside them. It all came out looking so beautiful. Mary introduced me to each customer with a generous and admiring tone and I was greeted with warmth by everyone. It was a delight!

She had refreshments for everyone and she was terrific company. She helped me advertise my children’s ceramic class by spreading the word and handing out flyers. More than that, she convinced me to go ahead with my tentative plan for an adult ceramics class.

So it’s settled, then. I will be offering a five week Adult Ceramics class at the glazedOver studio:

Monday nights, from 7:00-8:30
beginning July 5th

If you would like to sign up, please email me at jill[at]glazingOver.com. We will learn hand building and wheel throwing techniques. I’m looking forward to it as much as to the children’s classes!

So, a huge thank you to Mary. She is a delight and I am enriched! Do visit and patronize her shop and follow her on Facebook for all the latest announcements.

Kids Pottery at the Summer Clayground

2010-06-02T12:45:00.001-04:00

By popular demand, the glazedOver Pottery studio is offering a five week children’s pottery class in Sayville, New York. Once weekly, from July 6th until August 4th, kids will get a chance to expand their creative horizons while learning basic techniques of wheel throwing and hand building. Emphasis will be placed on each child’s independent growth and enjoyment of the creative experience.

So, bring an old towel, put on some messy work clothes and come ready to have some fun! Details for signing up are in the flyer above. For questions and to sign up for the glazedOver Pottery mailing list, send an email to me at:

jill[at]glazingOver.com

Outdoor Decor - Rustic Garden Stakes by glazedOver Pottery

2010-05-14T15:55:00.001-04:00

According to the National Gardening Association, “When you Garden, You Grow.”

Planting a garden is an enriching experience not only for soil and seed, but also for you, the gardener. When trowel pierces moist earth, there is something that feeds the soul, and the satisfaction one feels nurturing the garden and watching it develop is hard to describe in words

Back by popular demand…glazedOver rustic garden stakes!

I make my herb and veggie stakes from slabs of stoneware clay which I first roll out with a slab roller and then allow to air dry until the clay is just shy of leather hard. Then I cut out each stake, smooth out the edges and incise the letters and dots with a ball tip stylus. Like any flat ceramic piece, the stakes need to dry very slowly, otherwise they’ll warp, so I lay them side by side in a single layer and allow them to dry between cut pieces of sheetrock which not only keeps them perfectly flat but also helps to absorb the moisture from the clay. Once they are bone dry, I bisque fire them to approximately 1800◦ F.

When the stakes have cooled, I slosh a coat of glaze on the entire surface of the stakes and then I wipe off each one with a sponge. In this way, the glaze only stays in the incised areas and not on the surface of the speckled clay, which itself has such a charming character that it’s a shame to completely cover it up. As a final step, I paint on the glaze along the edges of the stakes to frame up the composition nicely. One more firing, this time to around 22oo◦ F and viola!

So what are you waiting for? Go plant!

Custom Order Dinnerware by glazedOver Pottery

2010-05-03T19:58:00.001-04:00

Today I shipped off a custom 16-piece dinnerware set. This was no ordinary custom order, I have to tell you. It was the dictionary definition of “joyous.” It started with a convo from the buyer asking me, innocently enough, if I am able to make 8” dinner plates.

“Absolutely,” was my rapid reply, plus details to proceed with a custom order if she was interested in going ahead.

Then, without skipping a beat, she simply bought some of my tiny dipping bowls in the glaze pattern that first caught her eye.

“She’s coooool,” I thought, “I like her!” She was clearly checking me out in the flesh (in the stoneware!), doing some industrial espionage first. What a smart cookie.

She gave those dipping bowls as a present, she told me. Then she missed them and bought some more for herself. She missed my bowls! Now I reaally liked her.

When it comes to socializing, I’m usually inclined to be very reserved with my buyers. I generally figure that overly-friendly letters from the artist might be more than the buyer bargained for. They like the pottery, but they might not necessarily want to sit and have coffee with the potter. In this case, though, I’d like nothing more than to meet this particular buyer for a coffee. She works for a family foundation working on preservation of history and heritage, and the conservation of resources and sites. The custom order took a little while to manifest, so we’ve had some time to get to know each other. We exchanged not only friendly emails, but personal pictures too. At one point, she and her husband even wrote from an internet cafe during their trip to Peru!

With her freshness of spirit, charm, and admirable worldliness, she has inspired me both artistically and personally. Would that every transaction could be so joyous and so enriching!

Joie de vivre

2010-04-27T22:29:00.001-04:00

This past weekend we went out to take some photos of the new glazedOver Pottery indie ceramic pendants. It was a chilly Spring day, chillier than it should have been for late April, and it had rained earlier that morning, so the grass was a rich, gorgeous green. Everything was still wet, including the fence next to where we were shooting, but that didn’t stop my little one from bouncing around like she usually does with the hop that is perpetually in her step. Mesmerized by how beautiful the pink of her jacket was next to the moist green of the grass, I snapped this picture of her climbing the fence just moments before I realized…

…that she had just climbed the fence (read: wet fence) in her new pink jacket. It’s in the wash as I write this.

Pretty new jackets aside, there’s a lesson here that, perhaps, doesn’t immediately meet the eye. Did my daughter have fun at the photo shoot? Yes, definitely, but not because she has any love for ceramic pendants or photography. She had fun because she was free to run around and climb whatever she could find, you know…in the way that only a kid can do. So here’s a gentle reminder for you – go do something fun, and forget about the mud stains.

glazedOver Pottery Tapas Set and a Short History Lesson

2010-04-15T22:15:00.001-04:00

Napoleon III, also known to some as Don Alfonso Tapas, almost singlehandedly shaped the course of Spanish cuisine.

He had a broad and discriminating palate and is known for having influenced a whole generation—and all those that followed—to eat a variety of exclusively small appetizer sized portions together with their sherry.

Historians differ as to his rationale for this, but there are three prevailing theories:

1. Tapas, in an attempt to manage his increasingly girlish figure, resorted to eating smaller portions

2. Tapas actually had only a small appetite

3. Tapas didn’t have much food left and was just trying to make it last longer

Historians may differ, but whatever. What IS important is how glazedOver has risen to the occasion to celebrate not only Don Alfonso Tapas, but the small portion based cuisine which he invented. New from the glazedOver Pottery studio is this four piece eclectic stoneware tapas set featuring the glazedOver signature Green Sherbert glazing on an earthy speckled stoneware backdrop.

For some serious history, I should admit that rather than giving Don Alfonse Tapas the credit, credit is actually due to the Spanish tavern owners for first having served tapas, which is a variety of small and succulent appetizers served either hot or cold. The word “tapas” itself comes from the Spanish word tapar which means “to cover.” Why does “to cover” have anything to do with such cuisine? An excellent question. I’m so glad you asked!

According to The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer et. al., tapas began as slices of bread or salty meat that patrons would use to cover their glasses of sherry in order to keep the fruit flies out. It made good business sense for the taverns to continue to offer such snacks with libations so that customers would continue to order more drinks. “Eat while you drink; drink while you eat,” as they say. Nice motto!

In case you are culinarily inclined and just about to google “tapas recipes,” I should tell you that there are no set rules for what constitutes tapas, per se. Garlic marinated black olives, spiced meatballs, stuffed tomatoes, shrimp fritters, artichoke croquetas, mushrooms vinaigrette, hot fried patatas…whatever strikes your fancy. Bon appetit!

glazedOver Scroll Handle Mugs – Part II

2010-04-11T01:48:00.001-04:00

Good news! The glazedOver ginormous handmade ceramic mugs with the curly handles came out of the kiln last week and they are just GORGEOUS! I experimented a bit with the glazes and I’m very pleased with the results.

These are the embarrassingly large mugs. At 28-ounces, they’re the ones for which you’d have to keep your eyes on the carpet during the walk back to your desk just so you won’t have to see the snickering and finger pointing. We know you like your coffee bucket. Nobody says you should have to strike up conversation about it though.

OK Go – Chain Reaction Heaven

2010-04-01T00:32:00.001-04:00

Who doesn’t remember setting up a trail of dominoes and knocking over the first one to set up the captivating chain reaction collapse of the whole shebang? The visual treat is as intoxicating as the sound the dominoes make click-clicking against each other as they fall. Worth the effort, one must agree.

Chain reactions of this sort fascinated Rube Goldberg (1883-1970). First and foremost, Goldberg was a cartoonist, but he is well known for his deliberately over engineered machines which performed very simple tasks in a very complicated manner. His machines usually included a chain reaction and were so fascinating that they came to be called “Rube Goldberg Machines.”

The Chicago based indie rock band OK Go has a music video for their song “This Too Shall Pass” which is a mind-bogglingly long Rube Goldberg Machine. While you watch, notice that they shot the whole video in one long take without cuts. They did this to show that the whole sequence was one continuous machine without editing. Flawless, geek-worthy and so impressive.

It would be one thing if just the song was cool, but this video is one of the best visual manifestations of lyrics I’ve ever seen.

The glazedOver Studio Gets a Lick of Paint

2010-03-23T13:29:00.001-04:00

Well, I should be clear, there’s no point in stretching the truth. The studio itself didn’t get painted, just my mother’s old childhood bookshelf did. Here is where my inspiration came from:

We’ve long had this gorgeous photography book Cats in the Sun by Hans Silvester. Looking now I see that it was first published in 1993 which, gosh! is a full 17 years ago. (Funny, it feels like just yesterday I was writing 1993 in my checkbook…where does the time go?)

Silvester spent months in the Greek islands observing the behavior of cats before he even took a single photograph. He writes:

“…I observed them at all hours of the day and night, and through every season, with all the patience needed to disturb them as little as possible. To the Greeks, I quickly became the fool who runs after the cats. I made them smile, but it was with the greatest kindness that they brought me coffee and cakes and told me stories about their favorite cats during the long hours that I waited for the best moment to take my photographs.”

He captured some phenomenal cat moments. My girls love to flip through the pages because the cats are so cute, but beyond that the spectacular splashes of blue on the white stucco backdrops of the Greek islands has always made my heart go pitter patter. If I could successfully do my house over in white stucco and paint the window shutters cobalt blue without it alarming the neighbors, I would.

Alas, my neighbors already wonder about me so the house should probably remain shingled for now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t put a nod to the Greek islands in my ceramic studio!

To accomplish that, I’ve painted the bookshelf blue. The walls have a light brown clay colored paint which will have pretend it’s white stucco and the pop of blue that the bookshelf adds is just the cat’s meow, pun intended!

Mango actually sniffed a little too close to the wet paint and got a smidge on her nose. If Hans Silvester hires me to write the sequel to Cats in the Sun, I think I’ll call it Cats in the Kitchen and use this photo as the cover shot. What do you think?

Here’s what it looks like in the studio. See the new shelves behind the pottery wheel on the right hand side of the photograph? My studio is painfully small. With any luck we'll eventually be able to move to a place where I can have my own huge barn completely dedicated to clay work. Why it must be a barn, per se, is beyond me...somewhere along the line I must have associated barns with all things rustic and romantic.

The other day while I was seated at the pottery wheel trying to brainstorm the space problem, my husband saw potential over my right shoulder. Ikea for supplies and my daughter to the rescue now I've got more shelf space AND a blue blookshelf.

Better? Better!

glazedOver Slab Built Stoneware Mugs

2010-03-17T23:32:00.001-04:00

Today in the glazedOver studio, I’ve been working on some custom order stoneware mugs. I make these from slabs of clay that I roll out with the slab roller that my husband surprised me with a few years ago. I kept arguing that I could be blissfully happy with just my simple pastry dough roller and he kept dutifully agreeing until one day the slab roller showed up on our front door step. He’s a good guy, my guy. I’ll keep him.

The conical shape of a mug of no matter what shape is often quite aesthetically pleasing as is. As a tumbler, such a shape is sufficient, but as a mug, it requires a handle and the challenge is often to create a handle that doesn’t spoil the balance of the piece or distract from its gracefulness. I’ve been tweaking my handles for a while now and I’ve been listening to the comments of people who drink from them. I’ve gotten quite a few votes in favor of my curly handle design. People say they are not only comfortable, but they’re also kinda cute.

Here are the handles all curly-Q’d and waiting to be attached.

All done and off to the drying rack. Don’t they look like a bunch of annoyed women with their hands on their hips standing around saying:

“Hrumph! Well, will you just look at that!”

And here is a sample of what the future may bring.

Fresh from the glazedOver Pottery Studio

2010-03-07T14:41:00.001-05:00

Here at the glazedOver pottery studio, I’ve been experimenting with some new glazes and with using my familiar and beloved glazes in new ways. I'm very pleased with this iridescent meadow green.

It has a metallic sheen to it such that it practically glows when the light hits it just right.

glazedOver Plumbing Services

2010-02-26T17:30:00.001-05:00

This morning, I unpacked the bisque kiln and was all ready to start glazing when I discovered that the drain in the studio sink was clogged…AGAIN!

Several years ago, my husband built the studio for me in the basement just beneath the kitchen (that was the only spot we could allocate). As it stands, the water from the kitchen sink drains through the studio pipes and then goes out under the entire house (over 30’) to the cesspool. Unfortunately, periodically the studio gets clogged and it drives me nuts and puts me out of commission each time.

Instead of calling the Chief Operating Plumber, who labored for over an hour last time, I did it myself. The COP was on hand capture the moment.

Enjoy, if that’s your thing.

That's a big job...Oh yeah, that's gonna cost you.

The New Artisans Gallery Team – Centralized Gorgeousness

2010-02-20T21:56:00.001-05:00

I’m overjoyed to have been invited to join the new Artisans Gallery Team.
Artisans Gallery is a juried team of artisans of distinction, vetted by peers for excellence in design, skill, presentation, integrity, and customer service. Our team offers buyers an online experience akin to shopping in a gallery by creating a marketplace of high quality, exceptionally skilled artisans. We are a network aligned to promote the goals of the Handmade Revolution, to connect and support each other across language and geographic barriers, and to recognize and encourage professional standards and unique artistic voices.

For more about Artisans Gallery:
Etsy
Twitter
Facebook
Flickr
Blog

Small Business Loan Purgatory

2010-01-28T16:58:00.002-05:00

If' you’ve been peeking over my shoulder on Twitter at all then you probably know that I regularly complain that I really need a clay pugger. What’s a pugger, you ask? A pugger (or as my friend Liz calls it, a plugger), is a clay processing machine which automates the reclaiming of unusable clay and will not only convert it into reusable clay but, if I get the right model, will also wedge it into air bubble free clay.

A lot of people are shocked to find out how labor intensive handmade pottery is. The lifecycle of a piece from start to finish is at best 2-3 weeks, and that assumes that all of the planets align. Usually 4-5 weeks is a more accurate estimate. I’ve had to turn down many a custom order request because the buyer didn’t expect such a long wait. But never mind that, I was really just interested in talking about the pugger.

Without a pugger, I’ve been hand wedging clay. Hand wedging is very strenuous, tedious, and time consuming work. To wedge an amount of clay that would last me an hour at the pottery wheel can take me upwards of 30 minutes. The only good thing about hand wedging is that it keeps my biceps in killer (!) shape.

So I need a pugger, that much is clear. Next came the decision about how to pay for it.

I mulled it over, checked prices, made phone calls, balanced the checkbook, and discussed it with my financial advisor (the husband).* In the end, I decided to apply for a loan through my bank. Well, it had been my bank until it was recently swallowed up by Chase Manhattan. Now with the fancy lobby and all of that bulletproof glass, I hardly recognize it anymore.

Here’s the synopsis of my experience, diary-style. Read it and weep (and then leave a comment to commiserate).

December 20– Called bank to inquire. “Come on in! We can help you with all of your financial needs!”

December 22 – Sat down to discuss options with loan officer. Got the gist and brought home the three page application.

December 23 – Delivered completed application to the bank.

December 28 – As per their request, brought in the husband to cosign app.

January 4 – Back to the bank to discuss and provide website link. Nearly went ahead with the home equity line of credit (the easier route) until it became clear that the $100 fee wouldn’t be waived. Decided to pursue the business loan version instead.

January 13 – Called loan officer to inquire about status. Was told they’ve decided to convert the app to an SBA sponsored loan. They’ll need more documentation including detailed specs for the pugger and a copy of my ‘08 tax returns.

January 21 – No word back yet. Called to inquire. Still awaiting a response from corporate. Waiting patiently, but getting angrier and meanwhile reading articles praising recent SBA loan incentives for small businesses.

January 28 – Rep called requesting ‘09 tax returns if I have them completed already (don’t) and all glazedOver sales data from ‘08.

So that’s where it stands right now.

No…wait! Hold the phone….

The postman just delivered a letter from Chase. They want me to fax over a recent paystub. glazedOver is an online pottery shop. No paystubs.

If this isn’t an exercise in futility and frustration, I don’t know what is. It seems I’ve been kept busy producing tons of paperwork so that the bankers can be kept busy. I think I’m fully cooked at this point.

You know what, Chase. I’ll just pay for the pugger myself.

*The husband is not licensed to provide legal or financial advice in the state of New York.

Giveaway – Greenpost – Plantable Mixed Bag Gift Tags (Set of 12) - CLOSED

2010-01-13T14:05:00.001-05:00

And the winner is…..(chosen by random.org)
Min:1 / Max:174
Result: 9 = StayTuned! That’s Laura of creativelytangled and lauraslocumpainted

Congratulations, Laura, and thank you to everyone who entered.
Don’t forget to check back for the next giveaway!
******************************

How many times have I stared at my pile of accumulated junk mail in despair and lamented over the useless waste of it all? I’ve often wondered why they even send us these things anyway. Now I have my answer. They send it for Kendra.

The multi-talented and environmentally committed artist Kendra Zvonik of GreenPost and teamzvonik has figured out how to successfully make a beautiful thing out of junk mail. She transforms it into these charming plantable gift tags which she has generously donated to our giveaway. So you attach it to your gift, your recipient marvels at it’s charm and then she can plant it in her garden and wildflowers will always remind her of your generosity. How’s that for sustainability?

Be sure to also check out Kendra’s teamzvonik shop where she sells moody, hypnotic abstract collage paintings that she upcycles from scraps that her boat canvasser husband brings home to her (how sweet is that?).

WHAT YOU GET

Twelve plantable tags:
(2) Cerise/Overcast Hearts
(2) Hayfield/Wasabi Hearts
(2) Spike/Overcast Hearts
(2) Wasabi/Overcast Stars
(2) Marine/Overcast Stars
(2) Blossom/Overcast Stars

HOW TO WIN

Visit the GreenPost or teamzvonik and comment here below letting us know which item is your favorite.

FOR ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

(1) Tweet this post
(2) Blog about this contest with a link back to this post
(3) Follow my blog
(4) Follow Kendra’s blog

In your comments here below, let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING
Midnight on January 24th

Bon chance!

glazedOver Pottery in the Works

2010-01-06T20:07:00.001-05:00

Here is some pottery I am working on right now. These are at various stages of air drying. I’m hoping that everything will be sufficiently “bone dry” and ready for the bisque kiln firing before the end of the week.

This is my creamer and sugar set. I recently finished a custom order for these. When this one is complete, I’m planning to list on my shop.

Here is how the custom order came out. I’m very pleased with what the glaze did.

Some more tiny tea bag bowls in the works plus some square trays (drying upside down), some buttons, and one bowl I’m making for an experiment with mixed media.

Internet Brides, circa 1907

2010-01-03T00:54:00.001-05:00

On September 29, 1907, a steamship called “The Baltic” docked at a New York harbor and let 1,002 would-be brides from Europe disembark in search of husbands. Apparently, the women on board were as excited as the hopeful men waiting at the docks.

Photographers snapped pictures, bachelors ogled and a brass band played “Cupid’s Garden.”

“I like tall men and blondes,” said Susan Thompson frankly, and then her companions all screamed and Susan laughed until she could hardly speak. “I have read much about Americans making good husbands.”

Miss Agnes McGirr’s home is in Edinburgh. “I want a man with dark hair,” she chirped. “A city man? No, a farmer. A man who is making $1000 a year will do. That isn’t too much to ask in this country is it? How old? Thirty. He has some sense then.”

“They tell me,” remarked Nellie O’Brien from Loch Crae, Tipperary, “that there are no men in Pittsburgh but millionaires. I’m going there, and it’s soon I’ll be riding in my own carriage, I suppose.”
(excerpt from New York World newspaper)

It is fascinating that the world has changed so much in just one hundred years. Just as amazing is that in many ways, it has remained quite the same.

Caution: Legs May Appear Larger than They Are

2009-12-29T20:11:00.002-05:00

Today while I sat and watched Little-Miss-Can’t-Stop-Jumping have her piano lesson, my mind wandered away from the music without my realizing it. Quite by accident, my gaze had landed on her legs and for a moment I sat there astonished by their extraordinary length. I had flashbacks to her infancy when her folded little legs couldn’t even clear the edge of her car seat.

It’s not a surprise she’ll be tall. At one ounce shy of 10 pounds at birth, the doctors made sure I knew what I’d be in for. They predicted 5’10” at least. Chronic neck pain aside, that’s ok by me. But that’s not my point. It’s a forest for the trees thing – the day to day grind distracts me away from observing the passage of time. They grow, I know. I just have to remember not to blink or I may miss it.

“Hic, Haec, Hoc” or: How to Memorize Practically Anything

2009-12-14T21:33:00.001-05:00

I used to teach Latin. When I was an undergraduate, my Latin professor and head of the Classics Department was so impressed with my command of Latin that she offered that I teach the Beginning Intensive Latin class. As it happened, another (significantly less generous) professor was slated to teach that class and he wouldn’t budge. To appease us both, she let him keep his class and gave me the Advanced Intensive Latin class instead.

I think I was only 22 at the time. That was a big deal for me.

Significantly older now, I look back on that particular class with a proud memory. I barely slept for the duration, as I was either planning class or writing or grading tests. I had been teaching High School Latin for a while and I enjoyed that, but what I loved most about teaching college level Latin was that I didn’t have to get involved with students on a personal level. I could teach for the joy of the language. If a student couldn’t recite the principal parts of laudo, what did I care? I preferred the more impersonal nature of the teacher-student relationship at the college level.

One of my best tips for learning the seemingly never-ending string of paradigms that Latin requires—or anything else for that matter—is to make use of as many senses as possible to aid memorization. Looking at the printed word uses your sense of sight (brain is working). Saying the paradigm out loud adds speech and hearing to the mix (brain is super-duper-working). If Latin could be tasted or touched, I’d have recommended those too. When I was first learning, I’d turn my paradigms into songs and sing all day long.

Thanks to that, my husband—who never studied a stitch of Latin—can recite the entire Hic Haec Hoc paradigm to this day.

GIVEAWAY - Mockingbird - 5x7 Photograph by CatLudwigStudio - CLOSED

2009-12-07T22:09:00.001-05:00

And the winner is…..(chosen by random.org)
Min:1 / Max:54
Result: 51 = Bella!
Congratulations, Bella, and thank you to everyone who entered.
Don’t forget to check back for the next giveaway!
******************************

CatLudwigStudio is the breathtaking photography shop of Kansas native Cat Ludwig. Able to penetrate the depths of form with her camera lens, Cat seems to magically capture complex beauty in simple settings. As a “plein air” photographer, Cat wanders treasure-hunt style through streets and gardens to capture that perfect shot.

About her “Mockingbird” photo, Cat said:

“I took this at a local garden in town. I was following the bird around trying to get just the right shot when it flew over the wall and I thought I'd missed it. I walked out the entrance and there it was posing for me. What a sweet moment.”

We are so fortunate to have Cat’s photo for our giveaway!

And there’s even more good news…the winner will be permitted to substitute “Mockingbird” for any other listing in Cat’s shop!

HOW TO WIN:
Visit the CatLudwigStudio shop and comment here below letting her know which item is your favorite.

FOR ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

(1) Tweet this post
(2) Blog about this contest with a link back to this post
(3) Follow my blog
(4) Follow Cat’s blog
In your comments here below, let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Midnight on December 13th

Bon chance!

And the Oscar for the Best Packaging Goes to…

2009-12-03T23:04:00.001-05:00

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my producer, agent, speech coach, set designer, and director without whose support and constant belief in me, this groundbreaking documentary would never have been possible.

“Who wants pie?”

2009-11-22T23:50:00.001-05:00

Have you ever seen any of the old Jimmy Neutron episodes where Jimmy’s father, Hugh, wiggles out of an uncomfortable moment—in which he’s invariably reprimanding Jimmy for something or another—by saying (in his ridiculous voice): “Who wants pie?” Well, I can’t seem to serve my pies without copping Hugh’s accent but luckily, in my house, everybody wants pie.

The most remarkable Yael, of FabricCrafts and Pazzapazza has encouraged me to share my recipe for apple pie and since Sheva has also blogged about one of our favorite recipes this week, I thought I’d chime in with the details. We did have all those apples, you know.

The Crust
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups of shortening
8-10 tablespoons of cold water

Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the pieces are pea-sized. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over the mixture and gently toss with a fork. Repeat this using 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dough is moistened. Divide dough in half and form each half into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, flatten 1 dough ball and roll it flat until it forms a 12-inch circle. To transfer it to the pie dish, drape it on a rolling pin and trim it evenly with the rim of the dish. Roll out the 2nd dough ball the same way. Cut slits (or fancy schmancy shapes like I did) so that the steam can escape during baking.

After the filling is in the pie (see below), drape the top crust on top and trip it to 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the pie dish. Fold it under the bottom pastry and crimp the edge to create a fluted edge.

The Apple Filling
7-9 ripe apples
3/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Peel, core, and slice 6 cups worth of ripe apples. In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apple slices and toss until coated. Fill pie crust and cover with remaining pastry as explained above.

To prevent the pie from burning while cooking, cover the edge of the pie with aluminum foil. You can simply fold the foil in half and rip off a smallish half circle right at the fold and then drape it over the pie. Bake covered like this in a 375° oven for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes until the pie finally looks like a pie.

Enjoy!

Inaugural Giveaway – glazedOver Tiny Tea Bag Bowls!! CLOSED

2009-11-16T11:21:00.005-05:00

And the winner is…..(chosen by random.org)
Min:1 / Max:72
Result: 42 = CaitThroop!
Congratulations, Cait, and thank you to everyone who entered!
******************************

For months, I’ve been mulling over the idea of doing a giveaway here on my blog. I’m here writing this and you’re here reading this, so that must mean that I’ve decided to go ahead with it. So here goes!

I’m starting with a giveaway of something of my own, but I’d like to branch out to feature other artists as well. If you are interested in being featured, please convo me at my glazedOver shop.

WHAT’S UP FOR THE TAKING?

Four tiny tea bag bowls in my Hawaiian Coconut glazing pattern.

They’re the perfect size for spent teabags...or for soy sauce for the sushi, or to use as prep bowls for spices, or for giving a small portion of M&Ms® to the little ones, or even to dole out the meds. These much beloved little guys are a fun and handy addition to any kitchen collection.

Speckled stoneware clay and speckled white food safe glaze (so they're SUPER speckled!). Each bowl measures approximately 2¾" in diameter x ¾" H.

And yes, they are dishwasher safe (I perch mine atop the silverware tray).

HOW TO WIN:
Visit my glazedOver shop and comment here below letting me know which item is your favorite or something you would like to see me create.

FOR ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

(1) Tweet this post
(2) Blog about this contest with a link back to this post
(3) Follow my blog
In your comments below, let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Midnight on November 22nd – just in time to use as a hostess gift on Thanksgiving!

Bon chance!

Can You Spot the Difference?

2009-10-27T15:06:00.008-04:00

Heh, heh.

Primordial Fire

2009-10-27T15:04:00.001-04:00

It is an eerie sensation to walk into the studio when the kiln is ablaze. I can’t resist conjuring up imagery from Dante’s inferno. I know that if I lift the lid, all sorts of demons will pop out. This is my Pandora’s Box, but mostly good things come out of it.

As I’m writing this, the kiln is at 2150° Fahrenheit and still climbing. It is truly a mysterious process, difficult to fathom. I put in ceramic pieces coated with various drab looking liquids that have dried on the surface, and out they come with beautiful and vibrant glassy surfaces. It’s a true metamorphosis.

How Do You Like Them Apples!

2009-10-15T10:02:00.002-04:00

It’s apple picking season here in New York and once again, we took the girls to our favorite apple orchard. The farm management got savvier this year and made the apple buckets a wee bit bigger and adjusted the price accordingly. But that’s ok, I’ll just make 16 pies. And strudel, and cider, and baked apples, and apple sauce, and apple fritters, and apple turnovers, and…

We had to walk quite a distance from the entrance to find some trees with apples still on the branches (rather than rotten or half eaten and lying on the ground).


Apple Girls 2008	Apple Girls 2009

Some people do the age progression photo album assembled from school pictures. We do the hatchback-pose-with-the-apple-bucket age progression album instead.

We’re so clever.

A Custom Order for Vered

2009-10-10T23:54:00.001-04:00

Perhaps you have come across Vered Skolnik’s exquisite Etsy shop, veroque. All of her work involves intricate woven bead creations that are as much a marvel in design as they are a delight to behold. My daughter and I can spend forever just clicking through her entire shop. And she recently launched a second shop, ByTheBelt, which is no less impressive.

A few weeks ago, I was tickled positively pink to get an email from Vered asking me to make her a ceramic dish that she could use to hold beads as she works. She said she was flexible in the design and left it to me to come up with something, as long as it had a few sections to keep the different colored beads separate from each other. She gave me full creative liberty, what a bunny!

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. Of course, the glazing can bubble up during firing, another piece can fall on it in the kiln and smash it into tiny, tiny pieces, I could accidentally drop it on the floor taking it out of the kiln…anything can happen. But so far, right now, today...it's the cat's MEOW!!

The Kid with the Halo

2009-10-06T12:40:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, my daughter stumbled upon my kindergarten report card. I had Dr. Maas for a teacher (my parents were convinced that she went for the doctorate only because without it, we’d all have to call her “Miss Maas” which was just too much to ask of a class of kindergarteners).

I remember only certain (and mostly questionable) things about being in her class. By today’s pedagogical standards, her discipline tactics would force a gasp to leap off your lips quite involuntarily. Judging from her comments on my report card, though, it seems she had her finger on my pulse quite accurately.

She wrote…
“As you know, Jill is doing superior work. She sets extremely high standards for herself and may become distressed if she feels she is anything less than perfect. Jill responds well to praise and encouragement, however, so her own successes seem to have built a bulwark against the tension you were concerned about earlier. Jill is highly individualistic, and I suspect she will derive much satisfaction from grades 3 and 4 upward when she will be both ready and eager to plunge into sustained individual projects.
“I feel sure Jill will be able to forge ahead in first grade and achieve a superior level of success if she is not permitted to lapse into disproportionate negative emotions over small events. Your attitude was most helpful this year in this regard. Your continued cooperation will be beneficial.”

Funny how key character elements can be manifested at such a young age, and how apparent that can be to the observer.

A Lunchbox Worthy of the Cause

2009-09-11T10:53:00.006-04:00

I'm not one to purchase anything in a museum gift shop, but on a recent trip to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, I was won over by a Rosie the Riveter lunch box because:
(1) my kid needed a new lunch box, and (more importantly)
(2) it was a Rosie the Riveter lunch box

I don't think I'm the exact personality type to have been a suffragette, but I can promise you, I'd have been a riveter.

Rosie The Riveter by The Four Vagabonds

Cap'n Lunk - Pure Pirate Gold

2009-09-07T23:36:00.016-04:00

She’s our beloved rascal, mischievous and true,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Still trying to sleep in our bed the whole night through,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

She owns a chest of Spanish gold,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
With a ton of costumes in the middle hold,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Always a-twirl with a song to spare,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Chasing the cat around in just her underwear,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Her favorite snacks are a bit strange,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
It’s mustard or capers when we are out of range,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

A Lunk at the core with magical curls,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Our sweet Avitali, the fairest among girls,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Never Too Young to Learn to Fly

2009-08-17T22:05:00.020-04:00

Maybe we overdid it and pushed our children a little too much. But in our fast paced, ever expanding world, all sorts of life skills are not only advisable, they are practically essential for success. So with this in mind, we decided to give our children flight training starting from an early age.

You can argue that we got carried away with a little over-aggressive parenting, but we feel that we’ve done the right thing. Luckily, the financial outlay has not been debilitating as we negotiated a reasonable, per-minute rate. The kids too have responded well to this initiative and have easily adapted to my husband’s accelerated aviation boot camp.

To preempt the skeptics, we’re letting all of you in on our award winning “Fly, Be Free” program. Here are the operational components you will need to start your own program:

· A queen or king size bed
· A few soft blankets
· Many pillows
· A runway of at least…what, 6 feet?
· A burly-type guy able to toss approximately 70 pounds across the room
· A camera
· A kid or two

That’s it! Here are some shots of the solo flights.

The Young Cadets (Sheva and Tali)

Good to the Last Drop, Part II

2009-08-04T00:43:00.039-04:00

In my Good to the Last Drop, Part I post, I described how I recycle as much as I can of the scrap clay that I generate while making pottery. Any excess clay that has not been fired and is not contaminated gets thrown into a plastic bin where I reconstitute it into reusable clay. After many days of throwing scraps into the bin and pouring water on top, the clay becomes what potters call “slurry”, that is very drippy, liquid clay.

In the large Chicago studio where I first learned the craft, they had an alcove with two large plaster covered surfaces which they would use to dry the slurry into usable clay. They would slop about 5 inches of slurry all over the plaster surface and then let the plaster slowly absorb the moisture and convert the clay for reuse.

Alas, I currently have a small studio and I cannot spare even an inch of table top space for a plaster surface, so I use small wooden bats to accomplish the slow absorption that the plaster does. Rather than slopping on several inches of slurry, I create little bridge shapes of clay.

The bridge shape not only allows the wood to absorb some of the moisture from the clay, it also allows a maximum of the clay's surface to air dry around and through the exposed external surfaces. Left uncovered, my clay bridges dry sufficiently in about 4-6 days depending on the temperature in the studio.

Have you seen the movie Amélie? One of my favorite scenes is right at the beginning where Amélie’s favorite things are chronicled documentary style. Among other things, she loves peeling dried glue from her fingers, she loves putting raspberries on each finger and eating them one by one, she loves cracking the sugar shell on a crème brulee, and she loves sticking her hand into a big burlap sack of dried beans at the street corner shop.

For the tactile oriented (and I include myself in this group) Amélie’s list makes us giggle with recognition…of course, we are all like this. Well, with that in mind, I want you to imagine the tactile sensation of digging down into the cold, wet slurry bucket to grab a handful of clay, shape it into a bridge, and carefully place it down onto a wooden bat so that it doesn't collapse. Mmmm, yummy.

Brutal but Effective

2009-07-26T12:28:00.004-04:00

We were living in Chicago while I was doing my graduate work and I blame my occasional migraines on my tendency to internalize stress. I’d get several migraines per month and each one would kill a whole day’s productivity. That was way beyond tolerable levels when papers and class work were constantly piling up.

Every day after class and work, my husband and I would go jogging along Lake Michigan and then we’d jump in the lake for a refreshing swim reward (carefully dodging the dogs leaping into the lake in pursuit of freshly-tossed tennis balls). One afternoon, after a particularly grueling migraine jog, we were astonished to discover that the reward swim in the lake scared my headache away completely. Just like that. One dunk in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan was all it took. Eureka!

The next chapter is about how my husband discovered that making me dunk my head into a kitchen sink filled up to the top with water chilled in a bag of ice has the same effect on a migraine as a dip in Lake Michigan. (Not sure if I resent him more or love him more for discovering this.) I have to bend over upside down (out of the question with a migraine, of course!) and hold my head submerged to cover my entire scalp for a count of ten seconds. Then I stand back up again and cry while he wraps a big towel around my head and hugs me. I do it three more times, (crying and getting hugs each time), and then I’m done. No more migraine.

Just throwing it out there, do with it what you may.

Laura Slocum and a Global Embrace

2009-07-19T06:54:00.034-04:00

This past January, I opened my pottery shop on Etsy.com. Although I had been an artist and writer among other things, I had never been a merchant per se and I must admit to having had deer-in-the-headlamps syndrome at the beginning. Navigating my way around Etsy without a map or guidance wasn’t impossible, but until I understood what marketing really meant, it was slow going.

Then I discovered the joy of treasuries – both weaving them and appearing in them. Beyond their sheer marketing value, they allow sellers to connect with each other and they create a venue for an artistic and supportive community of sorts. It was in the treasury comments that I discovered Laura. She stood out like a hammered and throbbing Fred Flintstone thumb because she was such a prolific social butterfly and her comments were so hilariously funny. I was smitten. We started a warm friendship and I quickly came to hold Laura in well deserved high regard.

Fast forward the clock a few months to the beginning of June. I was browsing through the treasuries and finding my favorites when I stumbled upon a few somewhat cryptic treasuries dedicated to Laura that were created by and included Etsy sellers with whom I knew Laura to be friendly. They were “sending Laura love” and she was “in [their] thoughts and prayers.” I spent some time fruitlessly trying to understand what was going on; I could only guess. Then I found her announcement in her Etsy shop—Laura had just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Virtual friendship is an odd thing. Although we are removed from each other by everything except a computer screen, one can still develop a close connection and affection nevertheless. I was suddenly feeling a hole in my heart.

I assumed she must have been overwhelmed and had little time for emails, but I sent her my heartfelt thoughts and prayers anyway. Then with her reply came the next surprise – she was at peace with it all. She will (I hope) forgive me for printing part of our email conversation:

“…I have always lived my life in that I take the best care of myself that I can. I exercise, I eat right, try to get enough rest...and if I ever got sick, so be it. I never wanted to be 'kicking' myself that I did something wrong. So, I'm at peace with it and accept that this is the path I'm taking. God has a plan - so it's really not up to me.”

Like a trooper, Laura went in for multiple surgeries, started a chemo regimen and then…well, you should have just seen what exploded on Etsy! Kim of slinkymalinkicat and Amy of ThePeachTree spearheaded a tidal wave of support for Laura in what they titled “EtsyProjectEmbrace” where sellers could donate sale proceeds from designated items to the American Cancer Society in honor of Laura’s new fight. (Click here to view the current EtsyProjectEmbrace selections.) Then Lynn, from UnaOdd, set up the ACS EtsyProjectEmbrace team so making and tracking donations is easy.

Laura sure has one formidable cheering squad. If an outpouring of love and support could cure a disease, Laura could skip the chemo. EtsyProjectEmbrace proves it, the world can be a beautiful place.

Here are some links for more information:
Laura’s blog

The ACS EtsyProjectEmbrace page

lauraslocumpainted, creativelytangled, and CreativelyTangled2 Laura’s three Etsy shops

Some blog posts written by her friends:
kathiroussel
sigmosaics
happyment
unaodd
polarity</A

Straight from the Horse’s Mouth

2009-07-12T21:26:00.030-04:00

This past Sunday, friends of ours invited us to join them at their daughter’s equestrian competition. We gladly accepted the invitation as the girls had never been to one before and we thought they might enjoy watching the day’s events.

By way of introduction to the genre, my husband gave the girls a verbose “Horses 101” primer so that they could get a sense of what the whole thing was about. By the time he got to the point about safety around horses, they were only half tuned in. He was telling them how to always keep a safe, half-a-horse distance between themselves and the horse's rear. He explained, “Horses can be easily startled and they may do this—," and he picked up his leg to illustrate how they kick. But he never actually got to complete the lesson, because his lengthy oration was abruptly interrupted by communal shrieks and screams, a loud crash, and a crowd—20 feet away from us—fitfully clamoring to clear out. When the dust settled, we discovered that the commotion was caused when a startled horse fell on the woman who had been seated on her lawn chair just behind him. Miraculously, she was ok, though her lawn chair suffered a severe blow.

After that, the girls enthusiastically tuned in for the remainder of the lesson.

Breaking Rules and Sleeping Over

2009-07-09T12:56:00.014-04:00

Sheva, our 10 year old, is such a good egg. As a toddler, she would exhibit pathos and intelligence beyond that which seemed appropriate for her age. I'll never forget how once--before she was even speaking yet--I was lying on the carpet exhausted from the day's strain and there was little toddling Sheva carrying over a pillow for me to place beneath my head. In Hebrew, to say: "that was touching," they say: "it pinched my heart." Sheva pinches our hearts daily.

As a principle, we are opposed to sleepovers, but when Sheva asked if we could reconsider our long standing rule, we quickly agreed. For a good egg, rules should be broken, no? The party was a huge success; the girls had a great time. Sheva asked me kindly not to orchestrate every move, and I definitely get extra parenting points for dutifully acquiescing. One thing she did request was to decorate cupcakes which you can see in these photos. That was a highlight, and I just want to say: "Long live the disposable tablecloth!" Or rather, "Short live the disposable tablecloth!"

Buttoning it up

2009-06-25T00:16:00.007-04:00

There once was a seamstress,

Who lived near the Rhine.
She refinished a ceiling,

Made it look like washed pine.

She needed some buttons,

As odd as could be,

To add to her bags,

And gosh! she asked ME!

Fire Away!

2009-06-19T12:11:00.007-04:00

Today I woke up to find that everything I had hoped would be bone dry by morning in fact was, so I just closed the lid on this next bisque load and fired up the kiln. There are a few shelves stacked beneath this one with more bowls and stakes and some bud vases, I think. Funny, I must have a version of kiln load amnesia…once I pack it, I forget what I’ve put in there.

Clay work is time consuming. I think what most people don’t realize is that drying the finished piece from its wet, plastic stage to sufficiently bone dry for bisque firing takes a long, loooong time. For smaller pieces like my tiny bowls, I can sit them in front of a fan to speed up the process with no ill effects, but for flat pieces and larger pieces especially, drying must take place slowly under plastic covering and over the course of several days to prevent warping. This is because the water content of the clay is evaporating and bringing the clay particles themselves closer to each other in the process. If a piece is exposed to air and dried rapidly, the clay particles align quicker on the top than they do on the bottom and this is what causes the warping. In some cases the warping only shows up after the bisque firing (surprise!), so I’ve learned to be very careful and patient during the drying stage.

Next, adding color glazes. Stay tuned!

One of the many benefits of being the first to finish getting ready...

2009-06-15T09:48:00.005-04:00

...it leaves time to catch a few ants.

(No ants were harmed during the taking of this picture.)

Perfect Weather

2009-06-07T18:21:00.011-04:00

Branches are rustling gently in the breeze, birds are tweeting, the sun is warm...it's another perfect day for watermelon up in our treehouse.

Got a blender?

2009-06-05T08:43:00.006-04:00

Strawberry Peach Smoothie
8 frozen strawberries
8 frozen peaches
1 cup skim milk
¾ cup orange/mango juice
¼ cup vanilla yogurt
1 T flax seeds (ok, that’s optional but GOOD for you!)

Throw everything in the blender and wait patiently. Go find the straws or something.

attempts to get a reluctant eater motivated

2009-06-01T11:13:00.000-04:00

Planting with Broken Pots

2009-05-19T19:44:00.013-04:00

As you may know I've spent the last several months making a truckload of ceramic garden stakes, so I thought it just might be appropriate for me to actually *plant* the herb garden too. I use fresh herbs in my cooking all the time, so why not?

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have a terribly black thumb. Nevertheless, I'm keeping my fingers crossed (sans the thumb) that my herb garden will somehow not know that it was me who planted it. My daughters helped me and the jury is still out on what color their thumbs are, so with any luck together we’ll fool the basil.

As an usual accent, we lined the edges of the garden with broken pottery shards. That was particularly fun - we took some of my old unusable or flawed pottery pieces and we smashed them down onto concrete. I'm sorry that I didn't think to record the delicious sound that made...it was an indescribable sensory delight. It made the girls giggle and the neighbors peek over the fence to see what we could possibly be doing! (There goes the neighborhood!)

Good to the Last Drop, Part I

2009-05-18T22:44:00.011-04:00

In an effort to minimize waste and in the true spirit of recycling, I save every bit of excess clay that I generate. Here are some scraps from smoothing the edges on my garden stakes. They are so picturesque in their own way; I often frustrate my creative juices trying in vain to figure out what could be done with such perfectly delicious curlicues of clay. Just for indulgent fun, I once even plunked some down onto a kiln shelf and bisque fired them! Of course they emerged more permanent but alas, they still refused to communicate their purpose to me.

My kids like breaking them up into little bits...it's almost as much fun being the first and lucky person who gets to drag a knife across the top of a new tub of butter. My kids fight over that one. I think I'll buy two tubs next time just to avoid the conflict. And maybe an extra one just for me.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the airport

2009-05-18T15:07:00.016-04:00

I've been invited to join several other artists selling their wares in the gift shop of the Flushing Town Hall Cou ncil on Culture and the Arts! Very, very excited about this! Flushing Town Hall hosts art exhibitions and various music and dance performances, plus they have a gorgeous gift shop to boot!

So this past Sunday, I brought the whole family with me to set up our shelves and hang up another, larger wind chime. It looks beautiful...I feel both exhilaration and anticipation at the same time. I hope, hope, hope it works out!

Mother’s Day

2009-05-10T23:53:00.004-04:00

My first experience celebrating Mother’s Day as the mother being celebrated (as opposed to the daughter celebrating her mother) was when I was pregnant with my first born. A friend of the family sent me a Mother’s Day card in the mail and I read it in disbelief, partly amused that I would soon be a mother and partly shocked into realizing that this meant I too could legitimately celebrate Mother’s Day. Today my girls are 7 and 9 and I revel in the pampering and handmade gifts that they shower upon me.

Here is a picture taken sometime in the mid 70s of me, a friend and my mother on the day we added our Siamese cat, Rastis, into the family. I’m the little cowgirl on the right with the fabulous hair and the exquisite one is Mom.

I miss her, on Mother’s Day especially.

Watch me

2009-05-07T10:49:00.007-04:00

This is my favorite watch. I probably shouldn't but I wear it every single day as long as I'm not getting covered in clay. It is handmade by a company called "Shablool" which in Hebrew means "snail" - funny name for a watch maker, don't you think?

I bought it several years ago during a trip to Israel. Well, that isn't really true...I picked it out and was admiring my newly spectacular wrist for a moment but when I went to pay the bill I discovered that my brother-in-law had already paid for it. Is it ok to fall in love with your brother-in-law too?

My perfect vibe

2009-05-05T22:16:00.004-04:00

Vered Skolnik of http://www.veroque.etsy.com/ recently put together another most gorgeous treasury, only this time she called it "Her Morning Elegance" and added a link to the YouTube video of Oren Lavie's song of the same name. It is the most remarkable of compositions in every way; I've been watching it over and over obsessively. Here is the link ~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY

Please tell me I'm not the only one whose heart melts watching this.

Love Letters of Late

2009-05-03T21:18:00.006-04:00

It's getting hot in the studio

2009-04-29T12:26:00.005-04:00

I just fired up the glaze kiln...three shelves worth of tiny bowls, mugs, planters and garden stakes. This time I've added more herbs to the mix - cilantro, sage, chives, thyme and maybe something else that slips my mind at the moment. The S&P shakers on the right feature my "Sand and Sea" glazing. Funny how the raw glaze doesn't at all reflect the final product, isn't it? Oh and can you see there's a Desktop tray there too? It's the Desktop Business Bunny, first cousin of the Desktop Business Frog. Should be just as eccentric.

High glaze firing takes the kiln up to just over 2300° for cone 6 stoneware. That usually takes about 14 hours or so and then the cool down takes another who knows what. I just know I have to tie my hands down to my sides and not go anywhere near the kiln for 30 hours after I started it. The slightest gush of cooler air into the kiln--even at a cool 250°--can cause the pieces thermal shock and invite cracking and shattering. I won't admit to how many kiln loads I've trashed because I opened up too early.

"Never fall in love with any of your work until it comes out of the kiln for the second time," was what I was told during one of my early formative potter moments. Yeah, but easier said....

Busy Hands are Happy Hands

2009-04-28T09:44:00.005-04:00

Loads of bisque ware to glaze this week

Happy Customer

2009-04-22T22:07:00.004-04:00

Recently the amazing BeneathTheRowanTree.etsy.com bought my last four Sand and Sea Tiny Tea Bag Bowls. Not only did she leave me stellar feedback (*blushes*), she also featured my bowls on her own blog!

Beneath the Rowan Tree: None of Your Beeswax! No, wait...

Lori of BeneathTheRowanTree specializes in handcrafted toys and such made from only natural materials Check her out...she's an inspiration!

A million (!) more tiny bowls are in the works, stay tuned...

Career Day

2009-04-21T21:03:00.007-04:00

"What are you?" was the question most asked as I sat throwing at the pottery wheel at Lincoln Avenue Elementary School's annual Career Day last week.

"I'm an artist; a potter," I said with a gleaming sparkle hopping off one of my front teeth.

The wheel itself that they brought for me to work on was severely under par. I had to compensate by using more strength and I have the sore muscles to prove it, but otherwise the day was a joy! The kids showered me with "ooooohs and "aaaahs" and that did wonders for my ego!

Interesting- the younger ones were so verbal, asking me a million questions. The fourth and fifth graders were already more self aware and very cautious about what they asked lest they might sound silly. They wouldn't have, of course...no question is a silly one. Still, they were as glued to me as the little ones were; some even resisted the magnetic pull to join in the Freeze Dance that the DJ was conducting. ..gosh!

Love Letters

2009-04-16T12:34:00.005-04:00

I successfully ambushed my husband today and got him to add a dynamic link here for the love letters that I send in for my daughters each day. They love them and I love writing them. Plus, it gives me an outlet for my creative twitch. Click to view the current album (I will be adding more on a regular basis...I've been collecting these notes for YEARS already!).

Today in the studio...

2009-04-14T17:19:00.007-04:00

Catching up on custom orders this week. This is the start of a large salad bowl set to be given as a wedding gift. One large server bowl with four small individual salad bowls.

Desktop Business Frogs in progress

2009-04-13T12:14:00.000-04:00

More Business Frogs are on the way...

http://www.glazedover.etsy.com/