A Christmas Gift

This little girl came to us a few days after Christmas – and I’ve been back and forth more times than I’d like to admit – on whether or not to keep her. So far since her arrival, I’ve been doing nothing else but caring for her, the same when my children were born. The exhaustion and panic attacks are familiar – but I know they will pass in time. So for now, I’m hanging in there.

What makes it particularly hard though, is that the studio doors need to be shut for a while. It’s no place for a puppy. I get anxious when I’m closed off from my work – work that is also therapeutic and keeps my energy grounded. Usually after the holiday rush, I take very little time off before launching in again. As soon as the New Year comes, I am bursting with fresh ideas, anxious to experiment with different techniques, revisit old glazes and try out new recipes once the shows are over and my regular production schedule is slowed down. But for now, I need to be content with this sweet face that is looking to me for shaping her day, and teaching her the skills she needs to get along well with our family, and I need to learn to sit still. I trust she will eventually learn to be good company in the studio – like my Marley before her – who I still miss deeply.

Stocking the Shop

Now that the holidays are over, I’ve been keeping myself busy by loading up my Etsy Shop with leftover goodies, like this little carved salt cellar with a bamboo spoon. Next week, I’ll be back to work, experimenting with some new techniques. Winter time is play time in the studio.

Birch Tree Flasks

Silk Screening

A friend gave me this old 4-color silk screen press years ago, and I’m finally putting it to use. After watching Forrest Lesch-Middelton’s video about 20 times demonstrating this process, I’m just about ready to silk screen a slip on newsprint, which I’ll then transfer to clay.

Lesson

Helping my niece throw her first bowl. Her comment: “There’s more to this than I would have thought!”

Pasta Bowls

Pasta bowls, freshly carved and drying on a shelf in the studio.

Iris Bowl

Iris Bowl – or more commonly known as the “chip n dip”. Sometimes, the glazes just do unexpected things. That’s the sun, reflected in the center. Photo taken today, on the brick in Downtown Boston.

Nautilus Plate – Glazed

A new series of plates using a handmade stamp of a nautilus shell. To transfer the image, the stamp is coated with underglazes, then lightly stamped onto leather hard porcelain. Once the underglaze dries, the clay is shaped into a plate.

Heron Monoprint on Clay

This is one of the projects that I’ve been working on in my Surfacing E-Course with Diana Fayt. The image on the left side is the “inked” block, and the image on the right is the print it made on clay.

Studio Assistant

My 15-year-old neighbor helps me in my studio on Fridays. Today, she made test tiles of all of my underglaze colors – something I’ve never had time to do. She did a beautiful job! These will definitely come in handy for the e-course I’m doing with Diana Fayt, one of my all-time favorite potters.

Making a Chickadee Plate

Studio Tour

A converted living room and dining room make a great studio in a space we otherwise didn’t use.