Feeling Tender

I spent a good part of my weekend at the International Storytelling Festival. The tellers had me doubled over laughing and sobbing into my hankie. Some managed to do both in the span of a half hour.

I came home feeling both recharged and raw. I am ready to take on the world... after I have a good cry.


Today, I am remembering my stepmother, Linda, who we lost two years ago to pancreatic cancer. She was a force of a woman who was blunt and honest, but secretly tender. She gave love easily to animals, as none had ever hurt her, but was sometimes cautious sharing her soul with people. She had been let down and hurt too often as a child.

Linda would have never considered herself an artist, or even crafty, but she created constantly. One of her creations was a giant lighted Christmas ornament, made from plastic cups and Christmas lights. I thought they were redneck and tacky, a little goofy and the kind of thing your neighbors would snicker at. She would hang dozens along the front of their house and people would stop and buy them from her. She made about 50 each year and sold them for up to $50 each!

When she became ill, it was important to my dad that I learn to make them. Suddenly, instead of being a joke, the giant ornaments became a tribute to Linda. I made one after another and hung them from the front of my house. People's reactions vary from "What the heck?" to "Man those are cool!"

For me, they are a tribute to Linda. She helped to make me the wife and mother that I am. She loved my dad with all her heart and sought to protect his. She cared for the rights of animals long before it was cool. She called me her daughter. And I am.

EMT Teapot Contest Winner!

The results are in and the official winner of the Etsy Mud Team's September teapot Challenge is Ginny, of GinPins! Her imaginative teapot mimics a cup of cocoa!The marshmallow is the lid of the teapot and the handle of the spoon makes up the spout! Congratulations, Ginny! Your teapot is amazing!

Pumpkin Pie

Why are you so comforting? Is it because you only appear twice a year following a wonderful meal with a loving family? Is it because you are shared while laughter floats above and children crawl below? You are a harbinger of the holidays - a time of joy, giving, and love. You are the goodbye to autumn, the hello to winter. Your orange pays tribute to the leaves now browning and crumbling under the trees. Your white cream whipped to perfection welcomes the coming snows. Today, I pay tribute to you, pumpkin pie, with a mug that awaits your arrival.

EMT Teapot Challenge

Vote for me in this contest!

Striped Tea Bowl

I had a definite vision for this little tea bowl and I was bowled over when it came out of the kiln exactly as I imagined it.

It is glazed in our bamboo glaze and our teal blue. Where they overlap, a lovely jade green appears. I am so pleased my lines are parallel and the glazes stayed put. Usually when I overlap glazes, I want the glaze to run. but in this case I was hoping for clean lines.

I don't test all my glaze combinations. I know - I should be ashamed, but I really enjoy this risky part of ceramics.

Building Teapots

Alex and I have been preparing all month for the Teapot Challenge that the Etsy Mud Team is holding next week. Twenty-three team members are participating in the contest and the competition is stiff.

Teapots are some of the most challenging functional pieces to make. The body of the pot, the spout, and the lid are all usually thrown as separate pieces and then assembled. The handle is usually pulled or extruded and then added. So, you have to have an assemblage of parts that will hopefully works together and you have to slowly dry the pot so that those pieces don't crack and fall back off.

Another difficulty that potters have with teapots, and the reason so few regularly make them, is the dribbling spout. So often, a gorgeous teapot comes out of the kiln and whenever it is poured, a good amount of tea runs down the belly of the pot. It is the potter's bane.

My teapot goes into the kiln tonight, but Alex's is ready and up for sale. The Bamboo Forest Teapot is a somewhat traditional teapot with loads of details that make it something special. To see what makes this teapot special, just check out the listing on Etsy.

Fresh From The Kiln

Every kiln load brings about great pleasure, and usually sadness, too. There is always something that didn't turn out right or whose glaze isn't what you expected. It is the nature of pottery, but it can be harsh. These are all from the same kiln load and all bringers of pleasure. I won't too often show the disappointments here, at least not until I've lived with them a while. I don't know if other mediums are such harsh masters. Do other artists frequently have to trash their work? I suppose if I stopped experimenting I would not have theses disappointments, but I am not willing to give up the joy of an experiment that wields something amazing.