Bike Mug Custom Order

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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!

Burying Treasure

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

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

Do you see who was hiding between the two fences?

 
Bunny!

A Visit to Lloyd Manor

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.

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!