Down by the sea

 After School Art Enrichment Program

For my first art project of the new Art Enrichment Program at a local Montessori school I had students work with clay to create a collection of handmade pottery fish.    During lesson one the children hand cut their fish shapes from a slab of clay.  They added eyes, fins, scales and an array of fishy details.  I took the clay fish home and kiln fired them to a bisque state.  During lesson two, the children painted their artwork with non-toxic glazes.  The fish were kiln fired once more and a saw tooth hanger was added to the back. 

Preschool Fish

Elementary School Fish

A school of children and fish ready for another exciting year of sharing, creating and learning.

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Girls Night Out

Friday night was a conglomeration of women, wine and art as three fun loving ladies gathered together in my studio for a step by step painting party.

Planning for the party:

In preparation for the party I pre-painted the image to be used for inspiration and gathered together all painting supplies.  The ladies were encouraged to bring a bottle of wine and snacks to enjoy.

 

The Art Party:

The ladies began with a blank 16x20 inch canvas and after a brief discussion about complimentary colors and composition were lead step by step through the painting process.  For this painting we used four colors:  red, green, yellow and white.

 

The Finished Masterpieces:

Acrylic paint dries quickly so at the end of class the ladies were able to take their creations home.

If you're interested in an art party, contact me here

Art washes away from the soul the dust of every day life.

Pablo Picasso

Custom painted house portrait

Today I'm featuring a new listing in my shop ~

Custom home portraits hand painted on an 8 inch ceramic tile: 

An image of the house is sketched in pencil then outlined with black glaze.  The drawn portrait is hand painted with non-toxic lead-free pottery glaze colors and fired in my kiln.  Since this is a new item in my shop, I used my home as the model.

 
The tiles can be personalized, making for a nice housewarming or hostess gift.  Portrait tiles are available in my shop.  If interested, just click here

Custom painting of a little girl on the beach

makes me eager for summer!

I loved the original image I was given to use as inspiration for this custom painting and was pleased with the way the painting came out; so I decided to make it into a print for a baby girls nursery or beach bedroom.    I thought the quote, "May your heart be filled with dreams, and faith give you the courage to dare to do great things." would tie the image and our feelings for our daughters together beautifully.  I am sending a complimentary print to the mom for whom this sweet image was painted.

If you are interested in a 8x10 inch copy of this print it is available here

As cold rain falls upon the roof of my house I am ever more eager for the warm days of summer!

In my studio

After setting aside work for a fun weekend trip down south, I was left with an assortment of custom ornament orders to paint.  Time to buckle down, get back into the studio and wrap my head around the task at hand.   So, yesterday was spent sketching, painting, personalizing, glazing and firing a bunch of ceramic house and wedding portrait ornaments.

Sketched and Painted

 Kiln Fired and Ready to Ship

I have to say that there is nothing more refreshing than fun time spent with friends and family - especially if takes place in a cool city like Charleston!  I am now energized and happy to be back to work.

Whimsical beach art

Frames add a fun, tropical flare to these small canvas paintings.

 

I love the way these new frames, which were primed and painted in tropical colors, showcase and add color to the small beach paintings.  The surf board and palm tree pottery pieces are an additional element of whimsical, summertime fun.   These are just a few of the new framed paintings that are now available in my shop   Tropical colors are my favorite because of the happy, summery feel they add to everything!

Sneak Peak ~ Day Two

In between teaching summer art camps and days filled with activities related to good ole summertime, I've been trying to crank out some new art work.  Here's another sneak peak into what's been happening in my studio.

 Roxy, in the middle of my art work - right where she loves to be. 

TROPICAL COLORED 

BEACH THEMED

PAINTINGS AND PICTURE FRAMES 

Original surfing and beach themed small acrylic paintings on canvas, matted and framed.

Each one of my original paintings have been adhered to a 5 x 7 inch plain white mat board and placed into a hand painted, tropical colored frame.  For a bit more beach flare, I added a hand painted pottery surfboard, palm tree or starfish.  Then wired the backs so the paintings are ready to hang.  These happy little pieces of art will be available here in a few more days.  So please be sure to check back!