Studio Fruit Basket Upset

Yes, you read that right...a fruit basket upset.  It's a term I grew up hearing from my mother.  Anytime the furniture in a room got rearranged, it was a "fruit basket upset".  I've been making due with my old studio set up because I thought we would be moving this summer and didn't want to do the extra work.  The way life has it, we will be staying in our current location for another year, so I decided to better my studio.  It was functional before...but as my sales increased and the business grew...and my health deteriorated, I can no longer throw. 99% of my work is now handbuilt from slabs of clay.  So the wheel (sadly) has just been collecting dust, and the studio was getting cluttered.  It took me 4 days..but I finally have it done...and I love it!  SO much more user friendly!  Here is what it used to look like:

   

Making Pottery Textures/Stamps Tutorial

We all have those certain people, whether we know them or not, that we look up to and admire.  As a potter I have many such people who I follow near and far that I do not know personally.  That's the great thing Social Media has done for those of us stuck in solitary confinement..I mean our studios.. hehe  One person who's work I admire is Gary Jackson, of Fire When Ready Pottery.  His work is nearly always full of unique and gorgeous texture.  On a lazy Sunday, I spent the afternoon reading down through his blog and thought I would try my own hand at making some homemade stamps.  They're not pretty (just like my Sgraffito Tools found here), but they work.  :)  

What is a Kiln God/Goddess??

Sitting here in front of our wood stove, staying awake all night (to sleep during the day) to ensure the fire stays stoked... my mind started wandering.  My first pottery instructor and mentor was quite superstitious about the kiln goddess being placed on top of the kiln for every firing.  Staring into the fire tonight..I got to thinking about the origin of the kiln god/goddess...And I'll be damned if I couldn't find anything!  So here is my interpretation based on some background knowledge I have of ancient cultures.  :)  

Always Learning - Ceramic Mug Critique

There has been a lot of talk about how bad Social Media can be for us and our youth...But when used appropriately, it can also be a GREAT help to those that are home bound for a variety of reasons.  I've been lucky enough to have been invited and/or accepted into various pottery/ceramic centered groups on Facebook.  I've mentioned "clay buddies" in the past.  A new group I've been welcomed into is "pottery critiques".  I took a big gulp and submitted one of my mugs for critiquing.  There are some AMAZING potters/ceramic artists that are members of this group. Some of whom I follow through their blogs and other means and truly value/appreciate their opinions.  Anyway..getting off topic. :)  I thought I would share the mug I posted for critique and some of the insights offered by some well respected artists in the ceramic community.  :)

Oak Leaf Camo Mug

 I call this my "camo" mug as inspired by the hubby.  He asked me to make a camo (woodland, not digital) mug and this is what I came up with.  Inside is glazed blaze orange, green/red leaves, and iron ore for the mug itself.  The handle has been carved to try and mimic the natural wood/branch texture.  It's available in my Etsy shop if you're interested.. :) 

Without further adieu...here is the advice/critiques I was given:

First Solo Art/Craft Fair

  So.. the weekend after Thanksgiving this year was my very first SOLO arts/craft fair.  I've done a few in the past, but it was always with a fellow potter, or other Maine artisans.  With the type of ceramics I make.. nearly ALL of them are personalized, so I make the orders as they come in.  That being said...I had virtually NO inventory to speak of.  So for the end of October and all of November, I was busting my @$$ trying to make sure I had inventory for the Christmas show.  I made a bunch of earrings and ornaments, thinking those would be big sellers.  Lower price points, great gifts for the holidays, etc.  Needless to say, they weren't!  I had a smorgasbord of sales.  My goal, was to bring in enough profits so I could replace my iPad that I got two years ago. 

The Internal Debate

Don't mind this post... more to do with me thinking out loud, and seeing what you all have to say...  Looking for input.

Right now, I do a lot of hand building.  95% of my work is hand building, working with slabs of clay rolled out with my slab roller.  Which, don't get my wrong, I enjoy doing...or I wouldn't be doing it at all.  But I have found that my true calling/niche is in sculpting.  And I really want to delve into that some more...explore the possibilities.

BUT, I have just gotten to the point where I have 5 stores where I have my items displayed, and soon to be 6!  This is HUGE for me!  What great opportunities!  But I don't know if my sculptured work would fly in these spaces.  One of them, perhaps..  Actually..  2 .. now that I think about it.  

With Christmas coming up, I know I'm going to be busy with Christmas ornaments and Christmas orders, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to "play" now..but maybe after Christmas I'll get to let this creative muse explore the ideas floating around in my head.  I've been trying to get better at sketching them out so I don't loose them.  It's helping quite a bit, surprisingly.  I need to find a way to balance my "good days" with fulfilling orders for the hand built stuff, and still giving me time to play and sculpt..  Hmm..

Footsteps For Freedom

I am thinking for my next sculpture, that it's going to be another set of military boots...thinking about creating a series..  And the series will be titled "B.O.G. - Boots On Ground".  No two sculptures will look alike, but they will all share a common theme and be somewhat similar....  So if you have any ideas, please feel free to let me know!  

http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/

Very small fish vase I made

Transitions...

The last year has been chock full of transitions.  The best one of course, is being referred to as "Mrs. Barnes" now that I am a married woman. :)  But there have been other transitions.  My 11 year old son has come to live with us full time (YAY); I am unable to throw as much on the potters wheel as I would like due to my legs; and as a solitary potter, it is difficult to learn new techniques from other members in a studio, my "teacher" is YouTube.  Which don't get me wrong, there are a lot of wonderful videos on various pottery techniques on YouTube, but the camaraderie just isn't the same..

Having my son here with us is amazing.  It completes our little family, for sure.  He likes to come into my home studio with me and play with clay.  He has been making a snake family.  Very proud of him!  School started nearly two weeks ago, so getting into that routine, making sure chores are done, homework gets completed, and soon we will be adding sports practices and games to that as well!

I have been having increasing pain and weakness in my legs.  I have discovered that 15 minutes is the max that I can sit at my wheel and throw.  And where I am still learning much of the nuances of throwing on the wheel, 15 minutes just isn't going to cut it.  I have considered raising the wheel to a height so that when I sit on a bar stool, my legs are not at the same angle as when I am sitting.  It will be trial and error to find which angle works the best...perhaps this winter will be a good time for that... As a result, I have switched over to most hand building..ok...entirely hand building.  My slab roller is getting a lot of use.  However, if I do say so myself, I have been creating some pretty cute things!  Hoping that a lot of what is currently cooling down in my glaze firing in the kiln will turn out awesome, and the store in Caribou will take it in on consignment.  Speaking of which!  There is a new store that I will be selling my wares at in Caribou!  It's called "Works of Heart".  You should definitely check it out!  GREAT hand-made, Maine Made, items.  They also feature wooden furniture made by a local Amish community.

I have also begun using a new logo, created by the amazing Patricia Shea, of Patricia Shea Designs.  I feel that it showcases more of what I'm about.  The red, white, and blue coloring almost always invoke feelings of patriotism.  It's what I fought for for nearly 4 years as a combat medic.  Love the stars as well.  The smaller one, without pictures, is currently my FB business profile image as well as my Etsy avatar.  The larger, rectangular shaped one, is my FB cover photo. What are your opinions of the new logo???  Would love to hear your thoughts/feedback!!

http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/

Making Ceramic Wedding Favors - How To

As I was making my wedding favors...I thought this might be a good time to create my first tutorial on how I make them.  Little back story...  My fiance and I are getting married August 10, 2013 and we live in northern Maine.  One of Maine's slogans is "The Way Life Should Be".  Well, that's what our relationship is like.  We've been together almost 2 years, and it has been amazing!  We have had our share of ups and downs...but we have managed to come out on top, happier and stronger than before.  So that was the inspiration for our favors.

Well... Here goes!

Tuesday Tips - Loading A Greenware Kiln

Wow... can't believe it's 5 pm already!!!  I have been searching all my links and references in an effort to be able to tell you guys where I got my information about loading a greenware kiln.  If I find it... I will definitely share it!  If any of you potters/ceramic artists out there can share the link if you know what I'm talking about.. PLEASE, feel free to leave it in the comments!  :)  Anyway... back to the tip of the week...

When You Think of Maine...

What do YOU think of?  For any people, my out of state friends and family included, the first thing that comes to mind is probably moose....and then it's lighthouses.  I was contacted by a gift shop in Kennebunk that typically sells beach themed items and asked if I had anything like that.  Well...I didn't.  So I started playing with my new extruder, which led me to play around with sculpting... So of course the first thing I make is a lighthouse sculpture!!  hehe  Better to go big than go home.  Afterwards I made some cute little trinket plates..  

Back to the lighthouse.  I wish I would have taken more photos during the process of me sculpting it... but alas... before and the first after photo will have to do. :)  If you have been following my blog for a bit, you know that there are 3 steps to the handmade/handbuilt ceramics process.  First ya make it....then ya bisque fire it (1900*-ish F.  Cone 04 for the potters out there).  Then it gets glaze fired (2200*-ish F.  Cone 5/6). 

So the photo to the right shows the stage of just having been constructed on the left.  And on the right is the post bisque firing with underglaze/glaze added to it.  The lighthouse itself was extruded (yes, I have a hollow cylinder extruder die.. LOVE IT!! :) ).  Then I added all the little "stones" one by one.  Let me tell you what.  It was a PITA!  haha.  And then the tall grass that you can see around the door?  I used my little handheld extruder and attached each "blade" individually.  Again...a PITA!  haha.  But I love the attention to detail.  I can't wait to see what it looks like when I pull it out of the kiln!  The intention is to put a light in it so that it is an actual lighthouse.  :)  I will either update this post with the finished product, or just write a new one... Haven't decided yet. :)  Here are some more "beachy" themed items that have had a clear glaze coat applied and loaded into the kiln.  Will be happy to see the finished product of these too! 
                                   

Patience is a Virtue

Did you ever hear that from your parents growing up??  "Patience is a virtue"??  Lord knows I DID!!!  Well let me tell you what, having to wait for my extruder (which is coming via TA Metalworks) to come in is TORTURE!!!  And they didn't have the pugmill in stock, so that hasn't even shipped yet!!  OMG!  I want to get my hands on my new toys so I can start playing!!!!! There are so many things I can make with the extruder... vases, cups, sculpture bases..

Anyway... while I have been waiting for my new toys to come (that are only possible thanks to my Kickstarter backers)... the creative bug has bitten me.  I have been working on hand built hummingbird feeders.  I am working on two different versions; one that will hang with the help of wrapped wire.  The second feeder will be a garden stake type...hopefully.  These are all prototypes as I've never made them before.  But I am looking forward to process.  Inspiration has definitely found its way into my hands.  As I sit here typing this, I am wishing I was in the studio creating.  Lucky for you all... my legs have other ideas and are hurting; so I'm sitting in my chair with my feet up.  To see the sneak peak photos of the hummingbird feeders, you can see the album I have on Facebook.      

Here are a few sneak peaks if you can't access the hummingbird album!!
HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Speaking of my chair..its new!  Well, old new.  My honey and I hit up a couple of garage sales today that were still happening despite the rain.  Found some REALLY GREAT stuff.  We got a wooden rocking chair, a green upholstered rocking chair that swivels (of which I'm sitting in now), a big jack for Justin to be able to raise up his truck in order to work on it, a nice tall dresser for Caden... and there's a bunch more little stuff, but those were the big items.  And we got everything for amazing prices!  So overall...it was a really good day! :)

Patriot's Day

Good day to you all and thank you for stopping by!  Today is Patriot's Day, the day we commemorate the battles of Lexington and Concord which were fought near Boston in 1775.  Anyone remember the Paul Rivere poem?  Patriot's Day is typically held on the third Monday of April and is a state holiday for Massachusetts and Maine.  Though many people do make the mistake since the names are so close, Patriot's Day should NOT be confused with Patriot Day, which marks the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001.   In the areas of Lexington and Concord, there are numerous reenactments for the public to see.  Anyone in Massachusetts planning on going to one?  I've never been to one and would love a first hand account and/or pictures of what it is!

(Information found on Timeanddate.com)

How are you celebrating Patriot's Day?  Why not take the time to support a disabled veteran in her pursuit to gain as much independence as possible, regardless of her disabilities?  Who might this person be, you ask?  Why ME of course!  Last week, Monday, I launched a Kickstarter project to raise funds in order to acquire equipment for my pottery studio to make the processes of creation more ME friendly...if successfully funded, it will give me near complete independence when it comes to my pottery, and I won't have to ask my fiance to help!  When you have to rely on someone on a daily basis to get around because I can't drive, for help getting into bed on my bad leg pain days...gaining any form of independence is a true blessing.  Please help me reach my goal.  You can find my Kickstarter project HERE.

Time for a little Kickstart..

I've been busy working on a little project the last several days.  Though I do my best in my little home pottery studio, there are still tasks that need to be done that are very difficult for me to accomplish with the equipment I have available.  I LOVE what I do.  I infuse my emotions into each and every piece I make.  My heart and soul goes into my work.  Clay absorbs the sorrow, the pain and hurt, the joy of accomplishing a new level in a task... It heals all wounds...for me.  With all this in mind, there are various pieces of equipment that will greatly help me as I continue this endeavor.  SO, I created a Kickstarter project.  For those of you that have linked up with through Facebook, you may have already seen the link.  For those of you that haven't, here is the little blurb I have been sharing. :)

"The last week, I have been quietly working on a project, reaching out to a few people for guidance and advice. Well, today, it goes public! I have started a Kickstarter project to help achieve some goals with expansion for my business. This will help make creating pottery so much easier. Please check out the page, spread the word, and help me achieve this new milestone!
Freedom Through Clay - Kickstarter Project "

Many of the pledge rewards are NEW items, not yet released to the public.  My Kickstarter backers will be the first ones to receive these new creations in my new line of ware...inspired by dragonflies! 

If you have a moment, please look through the project and considering lending a helping hand.  If you can't pledge anything, no worries!  The key is to get the word spread out through the digital web.  Sharing is caring, right?  :)  So share away and help me accomplish this goal!!

Coming soon:
Feature on Spruce Cottage Knits!!

Been a while...

So I have been thinking that I've only been MIA for a month...but my last post was nearly two months ago!!  My apologies!  It's definitely been a roller coaster few months.  My health has decided to throw some wrenches in the generally day to day life.  Haven't been able to work as much in the studio as I have wanted...nor have I had the where-with-all to do all the computer and bookkeeping work needed...like I still have to file my taxes for the biz...  I have 2 more weeks to get with it!  Let's hope it doesn't take me that long!

In other news... a New England magazine featured my garden stakes!  AND I'm listed as #1 of the 4!!!  I was SOOOOO excited!!  Here is the link if you have a few moments to check it out:

Four Spring Finds from Mainers on Etsy

On March 29, I unloaded a glaze kiln full of goodies.  MOST everything turned out the way I wanted and was hoping for.  

And believe it or not...my kiln was FULL...4 half shelves and 2 full shelves!  I have a smaller, home-studio sized kiln.  it works for me and the size space we have.  As you can see...LOTS of handbuilding going on in the Mayo house.  I have a hard time throwing for any long period of time unfortunately, because of pain and weakness in my legs.  *SIGH*  But that's ok. 

On a final note...For those of you who commented on my Facebook post about the first 10 businesses to comment I would leave feedback/feature for ya...I promise you I haven't forgotten!  As I said earlier... life and health kind of got in the way!  I will working on those features in the coming days, so stay tuned!!