Mother Nature Inspires Me

I love Fall Harvest time in Ohio! There is a distinct scent in the air; it's dry leaves, campfires and crops being harvested all rolled into one. Deep blue skies and beautiful bright leaves! Leaves are one of my favorite things to study up close and personal. I'll have to get a microscope because I'm really fascinated by leaves. They're not all exactly the same at all. Even if you get them from the same tree--they can be different variations on a theme; and I think that's really cool. I gather as many leaf specimens as I can so that I can use them in my pottery. They come from our yard and downtown Troy near our store. Where-ever I am and happen to see some nice leaves, I pick them up! It's so exciting to see the clay pick up the veins and texture of the leaves! Then comes the challenge of glazing them!! I like to use a black underglaze first, to highlight the veins; brush on then wipe off with a sponge! Then I layer various other glazes on top; yellows, browns, oranges and reds. It's always thrilling to open up the kiln to see what you get!

New Mugs!!

I've been playing with laser decals lately and here are my first results! I'm thrilled with how they turned out. The iron oxide in the toner burns into the glaze during a final low fire, so the designs are permanent. These 3 mugs are currently in my Etsy shop. I have lots more designs that I was to try, including more crop circles. Have a great day!

NEW Dolphin Sculptures glazed!

Hey! Just took these babies outta the kiln and I have to say, I love 'em! Terry dropped our camera, so I had to take these with his cell phone--yikes. If it has a "micro" setting I can't find it! So, sorry for the blurries! As soon as I get better pictures I'll be listing them in my Etsy shop. Thanks for looking!

Labels & Masks

I've been thinking about "labels" lately. You know, like how people label eachother in order to put them in a nice, neat category. "She's the wild one" or "he's a nerd." I can see this clearly living in a medium sized town where many people know one another, sometimes for their whole lives. This makes me crazy. None of us are good or bad or funny or angry all the time. There is no black or white, life is gray. Growing up, my sisters and I were taught to be "good girls." Meaning, be nice, don't show your anger because that's not good. I'm sure my parents had this behavior instilled into them too. But it's not good to hold things in all the time. You have to take off the mask and show yourself for who you are. Personally, I get tired of people thinking I'm so "nice" all the time. Sure, I have alot of empathy and I can't stand to see anyone (even a fly or ant) suffer; and I try to be pleasant to people when I can. But, I get angry and cranky and pissed off like everyone else!

Then, of course you have your cultural labels, like "Americans are rude, Italians are dirty, French are wimps", etc. I don't even want to get into racial and regional labels. Why can we all accept eachother as we are? We're imperfect, all of us. We're connected and we're family. Please take off your masks and I'll try to do the same. It takes honesty and trust.

We live pretty much like slobs, Terry and I. We both work full time, but find great joy in our creative passions. So, when we have free time we like to go to our studios and create. We don't really cook, clean, weed, dust, or do laundry until we have to. We're also "allowed' to be "selfish" because we don't have kids, so we are able to focus on what makes us happy instead of raising children. In a perfect world we'd be able to spend all of our time creating our passions and have a housekeeper, cook and gardener to do the rest. But, we don't and I have plenty of guilt because I can't do it all (Terry doesn't). I laugh to myself when I see all of our neighbors tending their lawns and flower beds while Terry and I have weeds growing through our gravel driveway and we're both in the studio. What can I say? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sink full of dirty dishes, but I'm off to my studio. Screw it.

ETSY MUDDY ARTIST FRIENDS...Check them out!

Please CLICK ON PICTURES to go to Artist's
Etsy Shop! Thanks! :-)


1. CHARITY ELISE

2. JUDY B. FREEMAN

3. AMY HUNT

4. JD WOLFE (Jen)


5. Song & Branch (Karen)

6. Judi Tavill

7. Sweetpea Cottage (Jannett)

8. TMusichans - Todd


9. Morris Pottery (Denise)

10. Barb Dunshee


I'm so happy that I found Etsy!! I've met so many wonderful artists through this site and I'm very grateful. Please click on the pictures of the artwork you find here, it will take you directly to their Etsy shops! These friends are all from the Etsy Mud Team, of which I'm very honored to be a part.
Enjoy!

Artist's names, in order of pictures:
1. Charity Elise 2. Judy B. Freeman 3. Amy Hunt 4. JDWolfe (Jen) 5. Song & Branch (Karen) 6. Judi Tavill 7. SweetPea Cottage (Jannett) 8. TMusicHans (Todd) 9. Morris Pottery (Denise) 10. Barb Dunshee


REMEMBER--click on the pictures!

P.S. - Did you see my post from July 2nd? Here's the first post that I did with 4 Etsy Mud Team members! http://dancingdolphinpottery.blogspot.com/2009/07/muddy-friends.html

Quick trip to Florida

Last week I took a quick trip to FL to help out my little sister who just moved down there from CT. I was overwhelmed by the heat, even though I knew it would be very hot. My northern body just does NOT do well in extreme heat. Anyway, the beauty of the ocean and the tropical plant life really struck me. Suddenly, I could see how artists naturally take in their environment and incorporate it into their art without even realizing it. I wanted to sculpt the trunks of a particular palm tree by the time I left! I am looking forward to returning in the winter! Let's see, I'll dig up some pretty pics for you...

Coil, Pebble & Spiral pots--glazed!

Hello! If you've been watching the progression of some of my new pots, I first mentioned two large coil & pebble pots after they were bisqued fired, and then as I was glazing them with black underglaze to bring out the stamps and the textures. Well, here they are glazed! Each one was layered with many different underglaze & glaze colors, then wiped off with a wet sponge to give them a weathered look. There's something elemental about these pots, I can't keep my hands off them--tee hee!! The pebbles make you just want to touch them for some reason. They're both listed in my Etsy shop and in our store in Troy. Thanks for stopping by!

Muddy Friends!

I've met wonderful friends through Etsy and the Etsy Mud Team. In this post I'm going to share a few of them with you! They are all wonderfully talented women and I encourage you to check out their shops full of beautiful artwork!

PLEASE CLICK ON PICS TO GO TO THEIR SHOPS!
(no particular order...)
1. LoveArtWorks - Kristin
2. LadyMudWerkes-Margarete
3. TerraWorks-Terri
4. Mudgoddess-Kathy

In the studio...glazing

Happy Thursday, it's almost the holiday weekend for those of us in the U.S.! I just came in from my studio and thought I might share a couple of pictures. I've got 2 new coil & pebble pots that I bisque fired last weekend, so they're ready for glazing.

I've decided to cover them in black underglaze first, then layer other colors on top of the black; continually wiping off the glaze with a sponge. I want them to have a real "whitewash" or watercolor type of effect.

Here's the first stage...just put on the black tonight. I'm posting a "before" and "after" shot so you can see how much it helps bring out the stamps and the textures. (Nice towel, huh? Note to self, move towel next time! Actually there was a purpose for the towel, it was there to protect the bottom of that bowl from some black glaze on the wedging board). Too fun!!

Lotus Zen Fountain IN ACTION!

Before I packed up my Lotus Zen fountain to take to Troy-Hayner Cultural Center for the "Small Scultpures" exhibit, I just had to get some pictures of it with water! Oh, I'm in love! I used a wide plastic tube from the pump up to the "seed pod" and it makes the sweetest sounds of water bubbling up into the flower. I ran it for 2 hours to test, and it didn't splash! This is the best news!! Also, I love to take pictures of water in action. It's amazing. I love to see faces in the water. The Opening Reception for this exhibit is this Sunday, June 28th from 2-4 p.m. Then the exhibit will run through August. See http://www.troyhayner.org/exhibits.html for more information. Cheers!

Doggy Love...

I love my dogs so much! They follow me room to room in the house, and even stand right beside me as I'm outside taking photographs, or working in my studio. Here's an adorable picture of Buddy. He was standing in my pottery shots and I finally asked him to lay down. He did so right beside my new butterfly bowl! I wasn't even worried he would damage it.

Quee is our little black Lab, doesn't she look happy? She's a sweetheart who welcomed Buddy into our home a year and a half ago. She also taught him how to be a good guard dog!

Do you know the proof that God exists? He/She gave us dogs to love us unconditionally! What more proof do you need?

Pebble Pots!

Hello! My first grouping of pebble & coil pots are finished! I love how they turned out and I hope that you do also. I'm having so much fun making these, and even the glazing is fun because it's more like painting than glazing. Here they are...thanks for looking! Oh, guess I should mention that I've got them listed on Etsy and they're in the shop window of Brower's if you'd like to see them in person. Cheers!

Lotus Zen Fountain - FINISHED!!

I'm doing a happy dance!! I glaze fired my fountain last night, together with my pebble pots and it came out exactly as I had hoped! Yippeeee! Now I have to hook up the pump and then deliver it safely to Troy Hayner Cultural Center for the Sculptures Exhibit Opening Reception whichis on Sunday, June 27th from 2-4pm. It will be there until August. (sigh of relief)...

[picture: pebble & coil pots drying]

Hello! I'm glazing firing the "Lotus Zen" fountain and my "Pebble & Coil" pots tonight! I spent most of the weekend and last night glazing and now I can't wait to see how they turn out! I'll post pictures here when they're done. Keep your fingers crossed! Cheers! Diana

Studio Creations...

Hello! Happy Friday! I had today off from my day job, so I played in the studio this afternoon. I'm loving hand-building lately! This pot is made from porcelain and I'll glaze it a pretty transparent color so the butterfly & angel stamps show up. Guess how long it took me to make this pot! Give up? Four hours! It's not hard to do, just time consuming. I love the "pebbles" because it looks like a stone wall. Letting it dry slowly now.

Kristin's Fountain--finished!

I'm doing a happy dance! I glaze fired Kristin's fountain and some other pieces and they came out beautifully! This is my "Mother Earth & Father Sky" glaze combination. Just wanted to share the finished piece. It's being shipped off to Seattle! Yeah!!!