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Kiln Opening 14 January 2025
This was a big kiln opening: with over 50 new pieces, so it took awhile to photograph everything and post. All pots are wheel thrown, hand carved porcelain. Food and Microwave same.
Owl Cups
Owls have been a recurring theme in my studio, so there are LOTS of OWL cups–brace yourself.
They are $50 each and available to purchase in person only.Click any image for a closer look
Teacups
These are a little shorter and wider to accommodate tea
$50 each – available to purchase in person only
Saucers
a teacup needs a matching saucer $25 each – available in person only
Teapots
The teapot is considered the the potters ultimate test in craftsmanship. These give a good pour and were built using the techniques I learned last year at Arrowmont .
Teapots are $120 each and available in person onlyclick any image for a closer look
Cardinal Cups
Kentucky’s state bird!
$55 each – available in person only
Fox Cups
Foxes In love – In time for valentine’s day!
$55 each – available in person only
Lucky Rabbit Cups
these lucky bunnies will make all your dreams come true!
$55 each – available in person only
Superb Owl Bowls
celebrate the big day with one of these Suberb Owl bowls
$50 each
Owl Spice Jars
lidded jars perfect for keeping spices or tea safe and dry
$55 each – available in person only
Tomato Cups
i was daydreaming about what I would plant this spring, and these tomatoes appeared on my cups!
$55 each – available in person only
Chicken cup and Bowl
for the chicken lovers!
cup $55 bowl $80 – available in person only
Block Printed Owl Patch
One of my favorite kinds of art are the art objects that become a part of my everyday routine. That’s why I love functional pottery so much, and the same with printmaking.
I have been experimenting with printing on fabric, and just started making patches. I love them not only because they are like stickers you an put on clothes and other textiles, but its also a great way to give old clothes a little more life and personality.
I don’t have a lot of experience with sewing, but found it to be meditative to slow down and repair a hole in my hoodie’s sleeve by hand stitching. And it looks awesome!!!
If you would like one of these patches, I’m selling them for $6. That includes shipping to the USA. The fabric is a textured cotton. The ink is oil based printmaking ink. Its color intensity will soften just a little bit after the first wash, but after that it’s permanent and machine washable.
I’m really excited about this! Thanks for your support!Glazing Day
Today is glazing day—not my favorite part of the pottery process.
It’s messy and not very creative. You can’t have pretty flowers without a little rain and pulling some weeds.
We don’t get to have a kiln firing without glazing day!
GLAZING DAY UPDATE:
I’m doing the happy dance!
Unloaded the kiln to 4 new teapots –including this goat and owl and a bunch of other wheel thrown porcelain goodies!!!Teapots are considered the ultimate test of a functional potter and after lots of practice and failures:
I’m happy to report that all the lids fit, handles feel good in the hand, and they pour great!!!
2025 Year of the Snake
I’m getting ready for Lunar New Year 2025 with some SNAKE cups!!! This has been an adventure because the shape of a snake pushed me out of the normal way I compose a surface design…lets hope 2025 is full of creative breakthroughs for all of us!!!
*work in progress–still plenty of carving to go before they go into the kiln
all carved and ready for the kiln!
My collection of snake cups have grown–now to get them in the kiln in time to celebrate Lunar New Year-Year of the SNAKE.
–i think we need a snake teapot? yes?
Decorating Cups
We kicked off 2025 by making a lot of pots, and now its time to decorate them all–my favorite part of the process!
I know it’s winter–and not garden season, but while trying to decide what to decorate my cups with, I was daydreaming about how I’d like to plant tomatoes this summer, and they found their way into January’s designs.
Here’s a closer look at the work in progress, including a lucky bunny cup: a happy bunny surrounded by four leaf clover.
Since i have the black, red and green colors out, I need to make some cardinal (Kentucky’s state bird) cups. I’m snowed in right now, and the cardinals at my bird feeder is the only splash of color i see when I look out the window.
I’m looking forward to these cups drying out and then we can have a kiln firing! Will update soon!
The Last Pottery of 2024
During the turning of a new year, I have a tradition of doing something symbolic to set my intention for the upcoming year.
I usually do some sort of creative work, and this year it was firing my kiln and throwing pots on the wheel.
The kiln firing was a success! Lots of new pieces with my owl design.
This batch included a few lidded spice jars
If you are familiar with my work, you know that I inscribe my name, location and date on the bottom of all my pots.
2024 was a really big year for me in the art studio!
A big, heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who have believed in me and my work and helped made this possible, and lets hope for a wonderful and creative 2025!!!
Kiln Opening – Owl Cups
After taking a few months off from making pottery, I just had my first kiln opening! Click any of the photos for a closer look.
cup 1 
cup 2 
cup 3 I decided to work in a series: OWLS
cup 4 
cup 5 
cup 6 These will be available at my studio (#400) this FRIDAY (13 December 2024) at the Pendleton Art Center
cup 7 
cup 8 
cup 9 These are all porcelain cups: food and microwave safe. Carved by me, Ken Swinson. They are $50 each, and only available in person. I want you to pick it up and hold it before deciding whether this is the right cup for you.
I have had a lot of requests for cups, and don’t expect these to stay in the studio for very long–if you make a special trip to Final Friday to get one of these cups, I recommend coming asap.
Frontier Christmas Card
Tomorrow (Saturday 7 December) is Frontier Christmas in Old Washington, KY. My tradition is to open my studio to the public and give a free printmaking activity-where guests can use my press to make their own Christmas card.
carved and ready to print!!! I’ve been thinking about Owls a lot recently-teachers are some of my favorite people–and the owl represents wisdom, my appreciation for teachers and love of owls inspired this year’s card design.
hot off the press! This year’s cards will be unique, because we have a NEW metallic ink. It’s hard to see the reflective quality of the ink in a photo, so I hope you’ll come to the studio and make one for yourself!
The studio is at 2111 Old Main Street-Upstairs above Lil’ Jumbo’s Coffee Shop-Across the Hall from Rewind Design bookstore. We’ll be printing cards from 10-4pm! Hope to see you there!
HOO likes owls?
I’m working on an owl pottery project–just finished carving these owl themed designs. Will be ready for the kiln after they dry. Stay tuned!
Fox + Hens – Woodcut
Hot off the press! I’m excited to share with you my latest reduction woodcut: Fox + Hens
This is a reduction woodcut. An interesting technique where all 6 colors come from the same block. The block is carved in stages, and the paper goes through the press a separate time for each color. Scroll down to see all the steps
LAYER 1–Whites of the paper and light grey 
LAYER 1 light grey (above)-LAYER 2 Light blue (below) the block is visible on the right 
LAYER 3- dark blue (below) LAYER 4-Orange (above) block visible on the right 
LAYER 5-red (left) the block is visible on the right 
THE FINAL LAYER 6-black!!! This is a limited edition (only 21) woodcut print. Printed on acid free, 100% cotton paper with archival oil based inks. You can order one online or in person at any of my events for $60 (while available)
The image is 8×10″
The paper 11×14″
