Slip Molds

A friend decided that she was no longer going to use her amazing set of slip molds and kindly passed them onto me. Not that I needed to get into another medium, but hey I couldn't resist. I was like a small child after receiving these and could not wait to try them out. So far I have successful poured a tea pot and some mugs. I'm in love with the tea pot and so eager to add some glaze.

I love when people share their art treasures. I have received a lot of freebes lately and am loving it. Now if only I had more time to play.

House Beautiful

When I was in elementary school I despised the library, and saw no need to check books out, I prefered to own all of the books that I wanted to read. Perhaps this seemed like a good idea at the time since my parents were buying me the books, however now that my paycheck has to pay the bills I have developed a love for the local library. We are lucky enough to only live about 2 minutes from the library, so I use it a lot. When my creative juices stop flowing I like to check out a pile of magazines and browse through all of the wonderful images and search for some inspiration.

My last search led me to these wonderful fabrics, from House Beautiful. I just love them all, an am excited to try to apply some of these ideas to my weaving. I also just got a working scanner, I forgot how much I liked to scan things. I"m hoping to take my textiles, scan them, and then make some fun collages on the computer with the different colors and textures. I'll post some when I get them finished.

I find that I normally either have a drought of ideas or a monsoon, then never just seem to nicely flow into my head one at time, waiting in line until one is finished and then the next one nicely appears. So right now my head is spinning.

Etsy Sellar: VegetaBowls

Check out these cool bowls, designed to look ike the food that you eat out of them, http://www.etsy.com/shop/vegetabowls?ref=seller_info

Inspired by the beautiful colors and shapes of nature, I make these bowls from real fruits and vegetables. First, a plaster mold is made from the fruit or vegetable. Once the plaster is set, I remove the object. Then I pour a liquid clay (called slip) into the mold. After it dries, I remove the bowl and fire it in a ceramic kiln. Once cool, I glaze the bowl and fire it again. If you are in the Carbondale, IL area and are interested in picking up your purchase, please send me a convo or see me at the Carbondale Farmer's Market on Saturdays. I can also do custom orders if you have a certain object you would like to make into a bowl.

Selvedge Magazine, Feed The Birds

What a cool project put together by Selvedge magazine, http://www.selvedge.org/default.aspx . I would love to be walking down the street and see all of these wonderful stylish stuffed birds perched on a stair way.




If you were going to do something like this, what would you make, and where would you place all of your wonderful creations?

Handmade Leather Bracelets

Several years ago, while I was still in college, one of my roomates bought me a really cool leater bracelet while she was in Italy. It's one of my favorite pieces of jewerly and I always get compliments when I wear it. So I decided to try to make one. I went to one of my favorite stores, PA Fabric Outlet, and purchased scraps of different colored leather. I bought snaps and some cutting tools at JoAnn's Fabric.  I'm having so much fun making these.

They are now for sale in my etsy shop, and will also be at my booth during the Fall into Fine Craft show on Oct 30th at the Zembo Shrine in Harrisburg.

Looking Back

I love teaching art, but once I say goodbye to summer vacation, I hate to see how much less art I make. I do try really hard to get in my studio every night, but sometimes it's only for an hour. While I love creating, I have trouble getting myself to make things during the week.I'm often tired by the time that I get home from work, and sometimes the idea of making, just seems like more work. However, if I can get myself into my studio and begin making, usually I quickly began to fall in love with whatever I am doing and it doesn't seem like work. I just wish I didn't have to fight with myself about getting in there and creating.

Do you have trouble finding time for your art? What works best for you?

Here are my two most recent pieces.

Mini Chalkboards Everywhere

Growing up I had my own little chalk board that I used for everything. I used it while teaching all of the neighbor kids school over the summer, and to teach myself when studying for a test. And even though I'm grown up now, I still have a love for chalk boards, and these little mini chalk board labels bring a big smile to my face. Now if only I was better at putting things away, neating labeling all of my containers might be helpful. Check out this great new etsy shop, and all of her wonderful chalkboard labels.http://www.etsy.com/shop/callaloosoupdesigns

Deep Creek Maryland, Savage Half Iron Man

My brother did a half iron man last weekend and my husband and I decided to go along and cheer him on. The race was in Deep Creek Maryland, such a pretty place. Great for biking, hiking, boating, and cross country skiing. After watching people do a half iron man, I really have little desire to try one out myself, but I had fun watching.

There were some pretty big hills that the riders had to conquer during their 56 mile bike ride before their 13 mile run. On the two biggest hills it seemed to be popular to dress up as a devil and chase after the riders. The red devils did look pretty cool up against the changing leaves.

Since we were camping we took our dog, Peca, along with us. She loves hiking, but did not love the loudspeaker at the race.