A Week in Review

Here's a small review of the artistic
happenings in my studio this past week.

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
afternoons I give private art lessons to three
students. Here's a little peak at their work:


Tuesday's Art Lesson ~
Graph drawing a self portrait on canvas.


Wednesday's Art Lesson ~
Painting a family portrait on canvas.


Thursday's Art Lesson ~
Painting an Impressionistic Landscape on Canvas ~
this will be the background for his self-portrait.


Meanwhile, I still have work to produce ~
here are a few of my pieces:


Sketch of a wedding platter for our good
friends who are getting married this weekend.
Our friends own a "fifth wheel" which is kept on a campsite
in Hatteras, N.C. I thought it would be fun to give them
a platter commemorating their day, and their love
of camping.


Wedding Platter ~ Glazed, Fired, and ready to
be wrapped.


The women who meet during my Monday
Morning "Women who Art" Class enjoy drinking coffee
while they work. To add an artistic touch to our
coffee time, I painted these fun coffee mugs.


A few plates sketched and ready to glaze ~
in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.


Sample preparation, using the "bowl and coil" method
for my "Halloween Tea Party" art class. During this
class - which meets for the first time tonight -
students will be creating whimsical teapots and teacups out of clay.


Surf Shack Teapot
This is my all time favorite teapot.
My son created this during an art class in high school.
I'll use this as an example tonight, but I think a teapot
like this is a little above my students skills and time allotment.
But, I know they'll love it too!

Have an enjoyable weekend

MacKenzie Child's Addict

I admit, I am addicted to MacKenzie Childs tableware, and decor. Their whimsical patterns and shapes appeal to the artist in me. If price were no problem, I would furnish my house with items from their store. Unfortunately, this is just a dream. But ~ with a little creativity, some paint, and a paint brush I have used their patterns to decorate various items in my home.

Our stove - which we need to replace~ but I'm not ready to part with just yet.

Our dishwasher ~ which runs just fine ~ knock on wood.

The window treatments in our front room ~ which I created to go along with our colorful Christmas theme ~ then decided to keep up year-round.

Recently I've been playing around with handmade pottery tea sets in the whimsical style of MacKenzie Childs. Here are a few of my finished pieces. I think they turned out quite cute.


Tea Pot
1.5 x 1"

Sugar bowl and Creamer Set

Sugar Bowl - 1x1"
Creamer - 2x1.5"

Pitcher and Tea Cups

Pitcher - 1.75"x1.5"
Tea cups - 1.5"x1"

Celebration Cake and Cake Stand

Cake - 1.5"x1"
Cake Stand - 1.5"x1.75"

If you love the whimsical look of MacKenzie Childs, stop back by - I'm sure I'll be painting more!

Hand built Pottery Crosses - Another day of Production

In The Art Studio:

A Day Of Production
Creating Hand Formed Pottery Crosses
My focus for today's production schedule ~ after putting away all art supplies from this weekend's art show ~ was to create hand formed crosses for a custom order.
I drew and cut out the cross shape then gathered together my supplies: fishing line, rolling pin, low-fire white clay, drywall board, 2 wooden strips, and a fine point "Sharpie" marker.

The drywall board is wonderful for wet clay. The clay doesn't stick to it, and it helps soak up moisture during the drying process. Fishing line is an easy, and inexpensive way to make a clean cut through the clay.

Unfortunately, I don't have a slab roller, so I made my own using 2 strips of wood (1/2 inch thick, and 2 feet long) and a rolling pin. The wooden strips act as a guide for the rolling pin, helping to give the clay a uniform thickness.

I use my "special cutting tool" ~ a martini pick :0) for cutting out the cross shape.

Once all crosses have been cut,

I smooth out the edges with my fingers and a wee bit of water.
I use the end of the sharpie marker to create a hole in the top of the cross.

I now let the clay sit out for 48 hours allowing time for the moisture in the clay to evaporate. Once this step is complete, I'll bisque fire it in my kiln.