I'm almost Embarrassed!

Seriously. It has been a long time since I added to this blog. I do have a good excuse, though. This year, the holidays season kicked our rumps and bled us dry! We are so grateful to all of our customers, but when New Years rolled around, we collapsed in two heaps.

We are just now recovered from the mass shippings and rushed custom orders. Did I say how grateful we are? Before we get back to REAL WORK (not that doing what you love to make a living is ever REAL WORK), we decided to revisit some old haunts.


Ten years ago, I did a series of rocking bottles. I only stopped because my exploration of them was interrupted by a wedding (ours), a house buying, moving, and shop opening. This year, we decided we really needed to go back and explore this form again while we have the time. The first in the series has come out of the kiln and we are in love. There are many more to follow - the next glaze firing is being loaded as I type!

If you love this, please give it a vote at the Etsy Mud Team Sweetheart Challenge. Please look at all the wonderful entries!

It just keeps spinning.

The world, that is. Everything is moving so fast and there is no time for anything right now. Not even creating.

Last week we sold our studio and retail space. It was a good thing - I was feeling overwhelmed and getting further from my dreams. Having retail hours made me feel trapped. We have been unable to to shows or travel. We have not been away for a weekend in a long, long time.

So, we decided to sell and it was so much work! But finally, we made it to closing and kissed our kiln goodbye. We went to buy a new kiln and GASP!! It takes 4-6 weeks to arrive! Now we are fixing up our home studio space and waiting.

In the mean time, we have entered the Etsy Mud Team's Salt Shaker Challenge. As with all EMT challenges, it was pretty open ended and the entries came in the form of salt cellars and salt pigs, stopperless salt shakers, and traditional salt and pepper shaker sets. Our entry is above. It is a stopperless shaker that was thrown on the wheel by me, carved by Alex, and then glazed by me. I love it! Below are all the entries.

To vote, click on the picture to be taken to the voting page. Your vote will automatically enter you in a drawing for free pottery. If you do not have an Etsy user name, just put NONE in the field for Etsy ID. Good luck! To all of us!

Challenges

The Etsy Mud Team has regular challenges that encourage members to try new things and step outside their comfort zone. The January challenge is a salt and pepper shaker challenge and members have been trying all sorts of designs.

Antonia turned many of us on to a stopperless salt shaker design that dispenses salt from the bottom. (Note the suggestive last image in her listing.) The shaker is thrown in one piece with a funnel going up the center. The shaker is filled and emptied through this funnel.

I decided to try throwing a stopperless shaker and had a good time with it. I wanted the sides of the shaker to be carved, using our wave stamp as inspiration. When I shared this with Alex, he wanted to do the carving. We decided by collaborating on this project, we could both participate in the challenge. So... here is our entry! It is ready to go into the kiln for the bisque firing and then we'll pray the glazing is spectacular.

EMT Autumn Challenge

The Etsy Mud Team's Autumn Challenge is under way! The Autumn Challenge invited Etsy Mud Team member's to create ceramic pieces inspired by autumn. Some artists relied solely on autumnal colors, while others featured leaves or gourds in their work.

There is an amazing group of artists participating. All voters are entered into a drawing for ceramic magnets made by EMT members. The artist receiving the highest number of votes will receive a pendant made by Ginny of GinPins. Please vote at the EMT web site.