A Peek at Things to Come

We're firing again!! We fired a bisque load yesterday and we're firing as I write this. Tomorrow and the next two nights we will be firing glaze loads. I thought I would give you a little peek at some of the things we are working on right now.
The first is a pitcher which I made and a vase which Ambre made. I painted my pitcher to match the garlic jar in Herb Garden Crystalline. Ambre did hers in Cappacino mint.
This cute little birdhouse is one that I made. I painted it in Herb Garden and did the leaves in dark green highlighted with mint green. The bird feeder, Ambre made, but she allowed me to paint it. I think it turned out pretty good. The birdfeed will still need to be dipped in a clear glaze, and the leaves on the house will need to be painted with clear, but other than that they are ready to go into the kiln.
Here's one the bird villages that Ambre is working on. It's really time consuming on these pieces. When you use underglaze and regular glaze for that matter. If you brush it on, it has to be brushed on three times to get the maximum coverage.

Now, don't freak out!!! Ha! Ha! I know it looks kind of garish right now but once it's dipped in clear and fired, the colors with sorta of blend together and soften up a bit. Also, the bluish color on the leaves is actually light green. It has to be fired to bring out the green in it.
Here's another garish one. These are the plaque type birdhouses that I like to make sometimes. This one is supposed to resemble the sun. Hopefully when it is fired and the yellow and orange kind of blend together I will get that effect. Keep your fingers crossed.
Ambre likes to make jewelry pieces and has done some beautiful Raku pieces. I decided to try my hand at making some. I had a few made and we bisque fired them last week. When Ambre started the kiln the next day, she painted a few of my pieces and threw them in there just to see how they would turn out. Well , she sold all but one the next day. Here we have some more pieces looking very dull right now, but they well be shiny when done.

Here is a couple of close-ups of the jewelry pieces. As you can see they need to be shiny. The ones that look as if they have bumps on them, those are the crystals in the glaze that burst and cause special effects on the piece. Well, that's all for now. Just stay tuned, we should be able to share some finished pictures by Thursday or Friday. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment. We really love to hear from you. Jen

For our local folks.....

We will be having an Independence Celebration Sale on Friday and Saturday, July 4th and 5th.
We will be set up outside the Stop & Go on the corner of US 221 South and Tanner St. in Rutherfordton.
We will be there from 8 AM - Until on both days.
We will be displaying a lot of new pieces unloaded just this week!
Come by to see us and be the first to get a crack at the new stuff!
Thanks!

PUPPIES

They're here! And they are adorable. We have 3 boys and 1 girl.

The 3rd from the left is the girl!
I want the one on the far right.

Okay now she's on the left and my little man is next to her. All that brown just kills me. Casey is such a good little mommy!

Are you ready for this?

Well, here they are! They all turned out so unbelievably well, it really makes us feel good when we open the kiln to find such awesome things. Okay, here we go!

This is a jug that I made for Kojak. It is dipped in Floating Blue. The blue in it breaks to reveal a dark brown over ridges! It is awesome but also unpredictable.

Coffee mug. I painted it with Tahiti Grape!

This is Mom's garlic jar! I painted it with our new crystalline glaze, Herb Garden. We have fallen in love with one. It's the best piece out of this load, I think! You can't really tel but it is a minty green background with dark green, golden yellow, blue, and light brown specks! It really is lovely!

This is my pitcher. I think it is dipped in Ryoko and Twinkly blue. Twinkly Blue is not really blue though, it is more of a light green.

Birdhouse in Floating Blue, can you see the breaks in the blue that show brown?

This is another birdhouse that I think I dipped in Matte Iron Yellow and either Moss or Twinkly blue. Cute huh?

This is one of my birdfeeders. I know it is Matte Iron Yellow but can't remember what else.

I dipped this mug in Floating Blue and the unpredictable happened. It turned more brown that blue. I still love it though.

This is my tall pitcher, dipped in Ryoko and Moss Green.

This vase is also Ryoko and Moss.

This birdhouse was dipped in Twinkly Blue and nothing else. See, it's more of a green than blue.

This is my cookie jar that has been sitting on a shelf for a while waiting to be glazed and fired. i think it turned out really nice!

This is the front view of one that I tried something new on. It is dipped in....well, I don't remember. Anyway, I placed a piece of stained glass on top of the handle.

And this what happened. I like it, it's different but I think I would like it better if I had dipped it in a darker glaze. Tell me what you think?

This the other vase I did. I think it's Ryoko and Moss but with my memory I can never be sure.

So, we would like to know what you all think? What's your favorite piece? New glaze combinations, yah or nah? Your opinions matter greatly to us!

Note: We have PUPPIES! Casey had them late last night! I will post a picture later, they are way too adorable!

Teaser post.....

I loaded the kiln this morning and then I peeked in it this evening after class!
The End!

Ha Ha Just kidding! No really I did load the kiln and I DID peek in there this evening. We even peeked long enough to snap a quick photo but believe me when I say, You DON'T want to see it!
Don't get me wrong it's a nice peek pic but it would just ruin all the fun!
I will be going to Mom's in the morning to unload it and will have pictures up tomorrow asap!
I'm so excited!!!!!! Stay tuned!!!!

A new kind of birdhouse

Ambre and I started back to pottery class tonight. This will be the last time for a long time that we will be able to go together. It's very relaxing to just go and work in an atmosphere where you don't have a lot of disturbance going on. Everyone there is enjoying themselves as they learn to do new techniques or just learning a new hobby. Anywho! I digress. I threw a couple of things tonight. One was a bird house that I had an idea for. First I threw the house itself on the wheel, sorta like a bowl but with the top drawn in. This first picture is of the house.

As you can see it just looks like a cup with no handle. I added the log feature under the door and scratched the sides to give it a tree like look. Next I threw the top. It's shaped kinda like a cone.
To the top I added some leaves and scratched the exposed area to resemble a tree. The only thing is I forgot how fast things can dry in the classroom because of the fans, so my little roof dried out too fast to get attached to the bottom. But not to worry. When I glaze both pieces, I will rest the top on top of the bottom and let the glaze adhere them together. Believe me that will work. I know, Ambre and I forgot to take a lid off of one of my canisters, and now I have a sealed canister. Anyway, the picture at the bottom shows the completed house.
Ambre did a lot of glazing tonight at the college, so be prepared, we are going to start the kiln tomorrow after the glazes dry a little more. We should have some pics up by Friday night. Keep your fingers crossed that everything turns out OK. Have a nice evening and God Bless!!

Oops, our bad.......

As some of you may have realized, our Picasa Web Album link does not take you where it should. It was set to the Picasa sign-in page. I'm so sorry, that's probably a result of trying to type something with one child jumping on the couch, one dancing on the table and the other making a disastrous attempt to paint her nails. Oh well, it's all fixed now.
So, if you have tried to view our album but were not successful, please try again. Thanks! Ambre


Special Note: We are firing again soon so be on the look out!

Maybe an Old Woman Can Learn New Tricks

Ambre has been telling me I need to throw some birdhouses too. I tried a couple of times and they turned out horrible. Well, you know the old saying, "If at first......yada, yada yada!!!!"I tried again today. These turned out pretty good. (I've been watching Ambre more closely- so don't tell her). Here are my two tries for today.

This one is about eight inches tall. I did it in Little Loafers. At the top I put an acorn and leaves and a couple of leaves to shed the door. The next one is also LL but is only about 6.5 inches tall.
It also has an acorn at the top with leaves. I think I'm improving. Ambre also threw some today.
This one is a nice big round one. I love how she used the larger stencil leaf to shed the door. I think I may try that on my next one. But I saved the best for last. Another bird village. This one has a church. You'll love it.

I made the cross for the decor and she added little steps. Isn't it the cutest. The next two pics are the other views. Then I'll sign off the night. Thanks in advance for visiting our site. And don't forget to leave your comments. There are two ways. At the end of each blog or inside the c-box over on the left. Just type in your name and tab to the message box. It's that easy. Have a great week and ya'll come back soon. J

Update on Casey

I know that this has nothing to do with pottery and clay but this is an update on Casey our dog. She is due in less than a week. And Ambre posted a blog on her a couple of weeks ago. It has been unseasonably hot here and we had a problem with our air conditioner. But we replaced it and the house is now cool. She's not suffering so much from the heat now as she is the burden. Poor thing. She had gotten so big.

As you can see, she has spread out a little bit. She can no longer jump up into her Daddy's lap. He has to pick her up. But she can still sit up and beg, although to me it looks kind of painful.
Anyway, she's due in less than a week, so we'll let everyone know when they are born and post some pics. Ambre is having trouble with her computer today. It won't let her on the blog, something to do with her anti-virus protection program. So she'll be back on her spot when everything is straightened out. Bye for now and thanks for visiting. Oh yeah! We'll be posting some more pottery soon.

Houston, we have a problem......

Unfortunately, Tom Hanks is not here and this one can't be fixed with spare parts. Okay, all jokes aside, this is a serious problem.

I went to get this:

But I found this:

Does anyone else see the magnitude of this situation?

It must be rectified immediately.

Like tomorrow morning!

See this is what happens when I have no mud to play in. I get a little panicky!

I need therapy!

ANOTHER VILLAGE

WOW!!! Ambre has created another village. She's getting pretty good at this. What do you think?

This is one side, notice the little stump to the left and the bent log on the right she added for perches.
Moving on around to the right is this little doll that sorta looks like a dimpled golf ball. We also see another perch to the right.
And the last one in this village resembles a beehive. I love the leaf overhangs she has added on these to keep the rain out. These villages are great and I can't wait for them to dry so we can fire and paint them. Beautiful work, Ambre!!!!!

Introductory Post!

Every great once in a while I have a really good idea and yesterday was one of those times. On our way down the interstate Mom and I were discussing our pottery biz and out of the blue I had this awwesome idea. It completely took me by surprise. Within a few minutes I had explained it to Mom and knew exactly how to go about it. This morning I got up, went to Moms house and got busy.

I'll stop rambling now!

I'm calling these Bird Villages!

This is the front and left sides.

Front and right sides.

These will be a post type bird village. They are too heavy to hang so I will be selling them with or without a wooden plank that can be attached to a 4x4 post and the bird house will need to be mounted on top with some form of glue. You don't really want to try to screw them down because they may crack. I am so excited about this new project, this one was so fun to make.

I made this one today by request for a bigger bird house, although you can't really tell how big it is in this picture.

This one I made about a week ago. It's right at 12 inches tall and I love it!

On our way home yesterday we stopped in South Carolina to see Bo and Millie. They are doing good, they're both still workoholics. And while we were there I took a few pictures of some pieces that they had of Moms. this one is a casserole she did last year.

This is one piece of a canister set she made. I hope she makes more of these this year.

On the subject of Bo and Millie, Bo makes furniture. Very unique furniture. He just started a blog page today and will be featuring his hand made furniture and home decor. It is rustic and beautiful. Below I am including a few shots of pieces he had available for me to shoot. Take a look at his blog and his creative wonders.

www.carolinarustics.blogspot.com

I think I need to get busy!

Mom's prediction was correct....these birdhouses are selling like hotcakes!
Mom took them to work with her last Thursday and sold 3, then sold 2 at the bank this morning! How cool is that? I am very excited but worried at the same time because I only made 11 to begin with. I gave 1 to a friend who was in the hospital after breaking her leg in 3 places! So we only have 5 left!


I guess I need to get a move on. Only now I have a problem, I hurt my finger yesterday and I can't do any throwing until it heals. I do have some up there that need painting so they can be fired so I guess I could do that. I also have some more from the first batch that need to be glazed. Or I could talk Mom into making some birdhouses.



I also got my birdfeeders bisque fired so they are almost ready for their debut. Mom's 2 large platters have been bisque fired and came out perfect so they are ready for painting.

Mom and I both are signed up for pottery class this summer again. We haven't taken the class in a few semesters and I figured if I get into the nursing program we won't have very much Mother/Daughter time for a long while. So, we are going this summer to spend time together. And make pretty pots of course. Plus, it gives us both a chance to get out of our houses and do something for ourselves.


Also, I would like to say "Thank You" to everyone for all your comments and encouragement. They are all greatly appreciated!

Gotta start somewhere, right?

Well, I wanted to show everyone some of our first pieces so here they are. And just so you know, I am not ashamed to say Mom and I have come a long way!

The first projects we had in pottery class were a pinch pot (right) and a coil piece (left). These two are Mom's!
These two were mine!

The next project involved using slabbed clay. This is Mom's birdhouse and cup!

This is a taco bake dish that Mom made from slab!

This is my slab bowl!

This is a mosaic cup that Mom made.

These are a few more pieces that I made....that one on the far left is a crocus pot.

And this one is a coil flower pot that I made! It is so heavy!

Anyway that's all the pictures I could find for the moment! Can anybody else see the improvement?

Water water everywhere......

And all the pots did shrink!

Hahahaha.....sorry, sometimes they just pop in my head.

Okay, there really was a point to that and it is thus. Clay stinks~I mean shrinks. During drying our clay usually shrinks about 12%. Drives a girl nuts!

But even with the shrinkage I am still impressed with these babies! Check them out and tell me what you think!

The handle on the right one has been removed (AKA I broke it) and it's now just a vase.

I love these two, they are very tall for me and turned out great!

Keep your eyes peeled for the next post which will contain pictures of some of our first pieces.

Ambre's Buildin' a Big One

Ambre got a big ball of clay last night and sat down to build a big one. Didn't really know what she wanted to build but it turned out pretty good. This first picture shows the pot already up and started.

Next, she's expanded a little more. I'll add a couple of more to show the progress and bringing it on up and out a little.


Now if you will notice in the above picture, the bottom was getting a little rounder. Well, the bugger tried to sit down on Ambre. You'll see a wider bottom on the next picture. She had to work fast to get it to come back up before it sat down completely and ruined the piece.
She's working hard to keep it from falling. But she made it and in the next picture you will see the finished product. Mind the piece looks whiter at the top but that is because it is in the drying stage now and drying from the top down.
Now, I'm going to throw in one more picture and another piece she threw after throwing the large vase. I have to say that while I know I am bragging ( forgive me Lord!) my daughter is a very talented artist. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget the leave a comment.

Boosting Bloggers

Hi! Everyone, Jen here. Just wanted to let you know about another blogger. Her name is Dana and she designs jewelry. She's very talented. Her blogspot is called "Charmed Designs" ( catchy huh?). Anyway, her link is on my page, so go visit with her. Her jewelry sells almost as fast as she posts them. There is one that I love and I am hoping I can get her to make me one for the cruise. Will match two of my outfits. Visit her site, you will not be disappointed. Bye for now. Jen

Ambre here......

You know, sometimes it takes a while to get things done in our mud slinging high-fired world, with waiting for pieces to dry, ('cause you DO NOT want them to explode in the kiln) sanding, bisquing, cooling, dipping, the endless decisions and the final firing! Man, that's a lot of waiting! And honestly, I'm just not a patient person. (yeah, I said it, I'm not ashamed....I have LITTLE patience) Although, it's hard for me because I'm also a procrastinator.....don't even ask how that works.....I'm not sure myself!

Okay, enough with my deep-seeded personal issues.

The point of today's post is that I know some of you have as much patience as me and I thought maybe ya'll would like to see some of our pieces we have done in the last year or so! I think we started pottery classes when the boys were around 7 months old so I guess we're going on 2 years now. It has been fun! Ya know, I should really post some pictures of our very first pieces, that would be cool. Keep your eyes open for that one! Okay, so here we go!

This is my EYEBowl...it's kinda cool! I carved and painted it so that as you turn it each set of eyes looks different (AKA.....CRAZY).

This one is my very first Wicked Tree! Just an oval plate but I loved it! It was sold to a Log Home Builder who wanted it to use in a display home!

These are Mom's Rice Bowls! They turned out so cute and sold pretty fast. I'm hoping she makes some more this year!

My Big Pitcher! This thing is about the size of a soccer ball and dipped in Raspberry and Nutmeg!

These are some of the pendents I did last year!

Above and below are pictures of birdhouses that Mom and I did last year and Boy Oh Boy, did they sell fast! I am here to say the number of homeless birds in Rutherford County dropped last year, I'm sure of it!

This small pitcher was dipped in cobalt and white which have a really nice effect!

Mom threw these cups and I got bored, so I stole them from her dried shelf and painted them! Cute huh? I don't think she was mad so it's all good!

Kojak calls this my Irish Pot....I don't really know why! Anyway, I threw it, carved it, painted it, fired it and said goodbye to it and it's new owner! I hope they planted some beautiful flowers in it!

So, all of these pictures and more can be viewed in our Picasa Web Album....the link can be found on the right! Go check them out!

Thanks for stopping by....and for putting up with my tendency to ramble!

Your comments are welcome and appreciated!

Spectacular Birdhouse

Ambre came up to the house today and made another birdhouse. Folks, this one is the bomb.
It's two tiered and very large. The first photo shows how big it is with Ambre and Haley in the picture.
The next picture show the house a little closer up. It kind of resembles an acorn. Ambre used some twisted vine around both doors and added a ring around the joint. Then she added some oak type leaves for decoration. We know it will be fine when we bisque fire it but when we have to glaze fire this one, Oh Boy!
I made the next plaque style birdhouse today also. I threw this dome on the wheel and added it to the plaque. It did save some time and was much easier to work with. Please remember that these pieces you have seen today are freshly made and greenware. They are extremely fragile. Wish us luck in keeping them from breaking til their fired. Thanks for stopping by.

More Birdhousees

I made another birdhouse yesterday. It's part of an idea I had with plaques. This first one is one that I made a few months ago. Unfortunately, one of the points broke off. But I'm going to try to make another one again today.

This next one was made yesterday. The face part was formed by hand using slabwork. But this morning it hit me that I could throw the bulb part of the house on the wheel. Well, that's an idea that will save a lot of time. It's kind of time consuming to do it by hand and the clay dries out very fast. It's sort of a race against time. I added a small feature on the back of this one. I'll add the pic but I'm not sure it can be seen very well. When its fired and painted it will show up much better.

Now, the next picture is the backside of the one above. It reads, " Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare", Ps. 124:7 Well, that's all for now. I'll try to have some more soon. And thanks again for stopping by.