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  • Squirrel Butter dish – 26 July 2020

    I don’t always show work in progress, because I don’t want to get people excited, only to be disappointed if it doesn’t make it through the kiln firing.

    porcelain butter dish with squirrel oak leaf and acorn design

    But this squirrel themed butter dish is too stinking cute to keep to myself!

    Keep your fingers crossed that this makes it through the firing. I’m excited about it because i don’t do a lot of handbuilding. Most of my functional pots are thrown on a wheel. This dish was made by a different technique. More like sculpting than throwing. Stay tuned to see how it comes out!

  • I have been painting – 24 July 2020

    So far, this has been the summer of porcelain, but I am still making paintings.

    I just finished this group of charming little 6″x4 1/2″ oil paintings (below) . My originals have been popular, but sometimes tricky for collectors to get…especially online. Since they are one-of-a-kind, i struggled to figure out how to display them on the website and keep everything up-to-date.

    UPDATE: All paintings have been sold. Signed reproductions on watercolor paper are available for $20

    The pandemic is forcing me to try new ways of doing things. I prefer to show originals in person, but I’m trying something different; my website’s gallery has a new “originals for sale” category. Click here to visit.

    Hope you enjoy, and this holds you over until we get to see each other (and our art) in person again!

  • Check in video – 21 July 2020

    I haven’t been on Facebook or Instagram for the month of July, as part of the #stopHateForProfit boycott. I thought I’d check in and let everyone know that I’m doing ok. i miss my ‘friends’ but life is actually nicer in some ways without facebook. I’m getting a lot more done: staying productive, learning to work with porcelain..and today, i carved a mug with a horse!

    Feel free to comment and let me know how you are doing…i do miss hearing from you all!

  • kiln opening 7/18/2020

    collection of porcelain pottery displayed on a porch

    My first kiln load using only porcelain. Porcelain is a beautiful clay, with a rich history. It does take some extra care, and there is a learning curve. Still—over half this load are beautiful. Some are going to need some touch ups, and a few are going to end up in the garden. They are on my front porch, if you want to see them in person.

    Click any of the photos below (or right here) to see the gallery with photos of all the pots from the firing

    snapshot of porcelain pottery gallery
  • Saucers -16 July 2020

    I have been working on a series of cups with saucers.

    greenware porcelain mugs in a row
    Porcelain cups with saucers

    The saucer is a new form for me, but I LOVE it! it’s relatively flat, so i can approach surface design similar to the way I would a painting or 2d art. It’s not so big, like a plate, where I run into technical problems, like warping, cracking (hopefully!)

    scraffito technique carving porcelain saucer
    carving the design into a saucer

    one thing that attracts me to functional pottery, is that it is art made to be used; to be picked up, to serve food, it’s a kind of art that can become a part of people’s daily rituals.

    notebook with sketches and porcelain saucers with sgraffito designs
    Saucer designs in my sketchbook – finished saucers, ready to dry and go to the kiln

    I imagine the joy these saucers will bring other people, when they lift their cup, and see the surprise looking up at them from the saucer. THAT IS WHY I MAKE POTS!

    Stay tuned to see how they turn out!

  • Little handmade opossum porcelain beads

    Some of the best inspiration comes from playing and having fun in the studio! I was squishing a little ball of porcelain in my fingers, until the clay became a opossum!

    greenware porcelain clay beads shaped like opossum

    I poked a hole on it, and now its a bead! The first one brought me so much joy, I made another! What in the world will I make next?!?!

  • Weeds are flowers too…

    …once you get to know them.

    porcelain greenware jug

    These weeds were the inspiration for todays pottery design. I think the plant is called chickory. It is blooming EVERYWHERE along the highways (and in my garden) here in Kentucky. I don’t know if it’s a native plant, but it has a big presence this time of the year. I like the idea of handmade pots reflecting the time in which they were made…

    animation of porcelain sgraffito jug

    This still needs to be fired, once it is, it’ll be porcelain, and the blue will be a deep cobalt color.

    Stay tuned to see how it works out!

  • First look- kiln opening 9 July 2020

    shelf on porch with beautiful handmade pottery
    fresh out of the kiln!

    I just opened the kiln filled with plates, sugar bowls and bowls in stoneware, English porcelain and porcelain. I need to setup my photo booth and get a good photo of each piece, but here’s a sneak peek!

  • 9 July 2020 – new pottery

    Yesterday, I had a pretty good kiln firing. A couple of losses, and some lessons learned, but also some beautiful pots! This was my first time firing translucent porcelain with the sgraffito technique. It is beautiful. Something you have to see in person to appreciate.

    you can visit the gallery and see better photos of each piece by clicking here or the image below

    gallery of handmade porcelain pottery

    Like all my pottery, it is for sale, but not online. you have to visit my home in old washington, KY; where you can hold them in your hands; to decide which is the right one for you. They are dishwasher/microwave food safe. The design technique is labor intensive and carved by hand. Plates are $80, sugar bowls $55, bowls and the mug $40 each. First come, first serve. They are sitting on my porch and first come, first serve. If you are going to travel a long distance for something in particular, contact me first to make sure it is still available. I wear a mask and have hand sanitizer for safety, and ask one household to visit the porch at a time. Hope you can make it! It’s a nice day for a drive in the country!

  • back in the print shop 3 July 2020

    After a pottery intensive month (june) i found my way back into the print shop.

    linocuts hanging in a rack with 'love one another' design
    Love One Another – ink on paper

    I printed some of my “Love One Another” prints. Most were on paper. A few of the artists at the Log Cabin Print Shop are textile artists. Watching them over the past year has inspired me to think outside ink on paper, and to print my design on fabric.

    printing on fabric with linocut
    using the press to print a design on fabric
    animation of artist holding hand printed fabric
    Print on fabric is fun!

    Ok, i’ll tell the truth. I did not have a pottery free day. I DID also make these cream pitchers. What can i say? I might be a pottery addict!

    greenware hand thrown pitchers