crappy holidays...

sorry, i'm one of those people that just gets bummed during the winter celebration season. i think etsy seller anakim must have picked up on that! here's her christmas treasury featuring one of my pieces. i think you can guess which one. yes, in among all the pretty pink flowered and sparkly items, that grumpy one on the bottom row. thanks, anakim.

try handmade

i was featured on this awesome blog yesterday. try handmade is "on a mission to get people to move away from shopping at big box stores, and back to the more intimate and personal world of handmade." check it out.

kinda grumpy before you've had coffee?

then one of these mugs may be for you. let everyone know you're in no mood for bs. by special order in my etsy shop. (this bunch is spoken for.)

r.i.p. penny

this is an urn i made for little penny's ashes. i hope she rests comfortably in here.

from our house to yours

by way of regretsy.

in the navy

from regretsy, the worst of etsy. sorry, i thought this was hilarious, especially the "view this image in a room" feature.

stocking up my online store

for the holidays. new for this year, these small scrafitto dishes. you can check them out at etsy.

cast glass and gold leaf brushes

yes, that's what i said. i saw these amazing objects at green horse gallery in manitou springs, colorado. the artist is ray tomasso. of course i bought one, although i wanted the whole pan!

commonwheel artists co-op

in manitou springs, colorado, carries the work of several outstanding potters. this is the beautiful raku work of paul rogers. rogers is working with clay he digs from local deposits and motifs he draws from kalahari dreamtime images.

so, i lied...

i did visit van briggle pottery after all and even went to have a look at the original 1900s building (now part of colorado college.). designed by artus van briggle, the old pottery has wonderfully decorated chimneys, gorgeous arts and crafts era tile, a ceramic sundial, and a couple of quirky gargoyles.

i will be here on friday

colorado springs...although i'm not visiting the pottery this trip, the city is home to van briggle pottery & tile. established in 1899 by artus van briggle, an american painter of dutch descent, the company has the distinction of being one of the only american art potteries from the period to never go out of business. van briggle is best known for art nouveau style designs and traditional matte glazes.

antiques, art and collectables

loblolly general goods, 813 main street, bastrop, texas, is now carrying my ceramics. sweet!

it was a gorgeous day on the green

and lots of people came out to see what area artists had been up to. here are a few things that were offered for sale. bottom two photos, my booth; middle photo, my neighbor for the day, andrew, the blind weaver (!); top two photos, gersonartworks' whimsical sculptures. i love the thermos head!

threepots

these new pieces will debut at "art on the courthouse green." sponsored by the bastrop (texas) fine arts guild, the show and sale on the county courthouse lawn will run from 10 am to 4 pm on saturday october 24.

time traveling...not!

so, i was supposed to be part of a renaissance fair in april 2010. It seemed like a fun idea to make a little money while traveling back in time. but, because of the sluggish economy, i and my would-be fellow merchants had to drop out. i'd already started making things evocative of the period to offer for sale. i'm posting a few in my etsy store.

dreamtime

in addition to ceramics and a full time job, i built and maintain the website for dreamtime animal sanctuary in elgin, texas. The shelter has cats and dogs, of course, but was mainly established for large animals: horses, donkeys, burros, and the new throwaway pet, the pot-bellied pig. last week, an amazing 12-year girl who had visited the sanctuary, gathered up some of her belongings and held a garage sale to benefit dreamtime. amy ended up donating $200 to help feed the animals. you can read her story here.

super bowl saturday

as of today, two more local stores will be carrying my teabowls and other ceramics pieces! fat cat kitchenware, 920 main st., bastrop and cripple creek & co., 928-a main st., bastrop.

potters' tango

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6CQouI-OMA

a little song about questions and comments from potential pottery buyers.
david hendley and the extrudinaires with bastrop's own max butler on saw.
embedding's disabled; check it out anyway.

thinking of trying this clay

sounds like just what i've been looking for in a porcelain body and has the coolest logo around. from matt and dave's clays llc.

yellow fields

is the name of this etsy treasury from barcelona-based seller niutaller. (check out her striking porcelain jewelry. ) thanks mónica for including my bowl in this pretty collection.

i won't name any names...

but i have the loveliest customer in arizona. she's building a new house there; i'm outfitting her kitchen with a set of dinnerware. as she is an artist herself, she gives me loads of freedom in terms of shapes and patterns. so far, we've made several large shallow bowls and a gravy boat, and have plans for a butter dish and a huge soup tureen. this is a cream and sugar set i just finished for her.

the seasons

here are some installation views of the smithville show.

happy friday

i'm in a striking etsy treasury from anakim today. that's my little grumpy gal box.

kind of a hokey show name, but...

shhh...don't tell

this tray is going to be a "restaurant-warming" gift for houston friend lynette hawkins. she's opening her new place, giacomo's cibo e vino, on westheimer road this summer. named after her beloved yellow lab, giacomo's will serve boutique wines and cichetti, small dishes in the style of spanish tapas, made from fresh local organic ingredients. check out her menu here and stay tuned for further updates.

road trip

heading over to houston on monday to see the famous terracotta army, an enormous group of warrior and horse figures, dating from 210 bce. a form of funerary art buried with emperor qin shi huang, china’s first emperor, their purpose was to help him rule another empire in the afterlife. the group of clay statues was discovered in 1974 in the eastern suburbs of xi'an, shaanxi province by local farmers drilling a water well. the figures vary in height from 6’ to 6’5” according to their role, the tallest being the generals. the figures include warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians. current estimates are that in the three pits containing the terracotta army there were more 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits. the exhibit will be at the houston museum of natural science through october 18.

so...

on thursday, i noticed that the hits on some of my etsy items were going wild. i could see i hadn't made the front page, but couldn't find a treasury or etsy article showing the pieces either! a google search finally led me to "geraniums and potatoes," where an unamed minneapolis blogger was showcasing my pitcher and tray. to make things even sweeter, this morning i logged on to find three plates and a bowl of mine were featured on "a plate a day," a popular ceramics blog i visit every day! a big thanks to both, you made my week.

new canvas

on the old homemade slab roller...life is good.

the mercantile

w.w. treenware is now set up as a general store selling produce, freshly-baked bread, eggs, pecans and preserves in addition to handcarved wooden utensils, handmade pottery and other house and kitchen wares. my work is in the window this month, nestled in little wooden boxes on beds of cedar shavings. thanks, nancy lou!

no excuses

i'm just a crappy blogger. here's an experimental plate and mug combo made using printmaking techniques.

finely, inc.

is a lovely design/decor blog maintained by greece-based sophia diamantopoulou. her latest post on tea culture features one of my tea sets as well as beautiful teapots by dalhaus, happylake and a piece by denise, and a bird themed cream and sugar set from anthropologie. thanks sophia! check out "let's talk about tea" here.

nothing whatsoever to do with clay, but very cool

from the documentary, "playing for change: peace through music"

"stand by me" sung around the world

as promised

here are the finished boxes and a few smaller ones.

something you don't see every day

my friend jan invited me to a pit firing next weekend. i've never done one before, but jan says you can get some great effects using dried cow pies in the fuel mix. i promised to pick some up at my sister's since she has cattle. but it's been raining like crazy here, so even the dry ones were wet. here they are on the hood of my car baking in the sun.