penelope.

BIG Fish

2010-08-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

A BIG fish for a great gal!!!! The red really works Philoma!!!!!!!

Finding works

2010-07-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

I do not have a lot of work available at this time but, what I do have you can find at The Market on Main in Prosperity and penelopepottery.etsy.com. I hope to have more work available once I get caught up on my orders! There is always room for more orders though so if you see something (in my slim collection) that you like drop me an email.
penelope

Philoma's Fish

2010-07-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here it is........ the photo does not show the colors very well, the green is lime and the face is yellow.

On a roll

2010-07-15T07:20:00.000-07:00

Time is moving along so quickly these days, I have been in the studio for two nights until 10 pm working on orders that have time stamps on them. My husband is thinking I have traded him in for a block of clay!
I'm working on plates, something I haven't ventured on much so I have my fingers crossed!! I'll post pics when they are done, no matter how they turn out. Check back for results....

Finished cup just for me

2010-07-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the lemon tea cup all finished! I made this as one of my proto types, well, also for myself . If you are going to work this hard to get an idea perfected at least make it good enough to use yourself!!!!!

more new stuff.....

2010-07-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

I am so, so excited, these are some pieces I have been wanting to make........

YEAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Decipher, L to R
Good Freinds & Good Wine = Good Times
Lemon Tea
Water (love the periodic table)

(I know, no big deal right? but I love em')

Pottery Trip

2010-07-03T02:56:00.000-07:00

For anyone who loves pottery and has not made the short and beautiful trek to Seagrove, NC, go now.
Put down your watering hose, laptop or what ever distraction keeps you at home and get into your mode of transportation and go.
I just returned, it was only for a day because I want to make this a regular thing. There are over 100 potters in this quaint rural setting and to try and whip through it in one or two days would be a shame, but if you want a nice day or so trip this is a super choice.
The first stop as you hop on 220 was A.R. Britt Pottery, I purchased the coolest egg cooker, I should have bought several, so see I have to go back. I had a great time talking shop with these guys for an hour or more and really got to know the town.
Then off to several more potteries, I especially enjoyed Village Pottery. They carry a huge selecion of potters from areas all over and Melanie, the owner was most delightful.
Next was Kings Pottery, unfortunatley I arrived after hours, but I still got out and meandered around the gardens, which in itself was so cool. They have metal art pieces made from recycled farm and garden tools placed in the flower beds and along the splitrail fence that leads you up to a cozy porch. What really struck me were the hand made quilts that were laid out on the benches along the front porch. I can only quess why they were there, but what ever the reason, it made me feel comfortable and welcome.
So, now that I have returned home and I am motivated to get into the studio and get crackin'
I will keep you posted on my progress!!

Fish for Philoma

2010-06-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

What color would you like him/her to be?

Here kitty, kitty...

2010-06-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

For all you cat lovers, these are something new I have started.

New glazes

2010-06-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some interesting fish

New work

2010-06-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have fallen in love with a new clay!!! Thanks to Brian Nettles (nettlespottery.com) who was a potter doing a workshop at the Alabama Clay conference this year and he said he used this B Mix clay, his work is extraodinary so I gave the new clay a shot..........whoa, I had no idea clay could make such impact on ones creative level!

The photo is deceivingly small, the jar with the lid stands 8" tall and soooooooo soft to the touch, the vase with the tree actually stands about 5" tall. I hope to have them perfected and up for sale soon. A few more pics to see what glazes I have been playing with...

Since I work in Gamecock Country I will call this one "Cocky Coffee" . If you aren't familiar with the gamecocks, 1 shame on you and 2 you just wont understand the colors on this mug!

the plan continues.....

2010-06-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

OK, so where was I, oh yeah the plan. So, here I have wet clay, hot metal and green plants, what can I do with all of this, not absolutley sure. I currently sell pottery on etsy ( thismuds4u.etsy.com and of course the shop below) my metal work is in its infancy so I don't really promote it, although I have made one sign for a business in town (pictured above) and have been commissioned to do another, not bad for a newbie. And, the plants, I sell those from my home at the yearly Art in the Yard sale and the new shop I helped start in town. Someone one told me to never put all of your eggs in one basket, I wonder if you can apply this concept toward work.....have several jobs and only have one in the basket at a time........any feed back?

I'm still reading.........

2010-06-11T09:43:00.001-07:00

yup, thats what I am doing.

Do Over...............

2010-06-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

If you have stumbled onto this blog by accident, (or found one of my randomly placed cards) welcome!

Here is what inspired this blog and my grand plan here forward..... I recently purchased an ebook called " The Unconventioal Guide to Art and Money" written by Chris Guillebeau. Now this guy has got it goin' on. I wandered into his blog about 2 or so months ago, "The Art of Non Conformity" I highly recommend it to any one who wants to step out of thier 9-5 box and live life in a TOTALLY different manner. If you feel trapped, un-fullfilled or just plain bored, visit Chris' blog and see if it can change your mind set.

Oh, the plan! Well, I have been a Clay Artist for about 12 years, mmmmmm clay artist maybe a bit over stated, more like I've been playing with wet dirt and finally got something to stick (no pun intended). This originally started in high school. Art was all I was ever interested in and I took as many art related class that one person can get into and still meet the minimum state requirement to walk across the stage. The next few years are quite boring...graduation.....work...baby...blah...blah....blah.... I'll come back to this when it gets interesting.

Moving forward to 2009.

Summer 2009 ---- my best play in the mud "bud" Judy, you will probably see reference to her alot since we also work together on our "real" job. Anyhow, we were working one day and perusing the local community college continuing ed classes ad and "Ta Dah" a welding class caught our eyes, well folks, thats all it took, off to welding class we went. The addiction has begun.

And finally, I am a master gardener! I have always assumed this emerged from my childhood where yard work was punishment, remember those days? Mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, picking up those dumb - - - sticker covered hickory balls, you know, the ones you step on in your bare feet and you can't cuss because there is an adult within ear shot! So, I think I succumbed to the torture and turned into pleasure. Yes, I know it makes no sense, but its all I've got.

Oh, yeah the plan.... well I would like to take all three of these obsessions if you will and turn them into full time life support, I hate to use the term career, work or job those words are so over used. Life support may not be a keen word either, I may come up with a new term soon, I'll get back with you on that.

So, today will be my first step in a new direction. I have to get back to reading my ebook and see what Chris recommends I do next....STAY TUNED.

penelope

Special Order Lamp

2010-04-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a special order lamp for my cycling buddy Lynn.

New work, new color

2010-04-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well, here is my newest lamp!
I struggled with this one, taking it apart and putting it back together until I was happy with it. The original plan was entirely different, that is what is so nice about these works, there is room for CHANGE!, which is what I live for.
ENJOY.

Balance

15" tall on a matte, black base.

Design Style Guide

2010-04-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

Design Style Gudie is a website designed to invite interior designers to visit artists nationwide in hopes of finding wonderful art pieces for clients. You can also find my work here.
Click on the link to visit:

http://designstyleguide.net/

Spring is REALLY here....

2010-03-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

and I am not conquering the clay as I had hoped. I hope to have a few more things to add soon so stay tuned.

Changing things up a bit....

2010-03-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Detail

This is a newer, softer look. Black and white is still the constant although there is a hint of red breaking through. Visit my ETSY site if you are interested in purchasing this lamp.

Finally..... We will call this one cosmic.

2010-03-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

Here is my newest lamp, I may have to take a few more photos to make it brighter.

Slipped in shades of blue with suggested cedar trees and random cosmic happenings through out, a sphere is located on the top and bottom representing the balance of the universe. The entire piece is washed in a black finish.
Assembled on a matte black lamp stand and finished with an off white shade. Stands approx. 23"
$125 plus s/h.

Maybe Spring is finally springing?

2010-03-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

The kiln is cooling inside and the weather is warming outside what else could I ask for! If all goes well I'll have new lamps posted this week, the last firing did not go well at all.
Took a break last week and visited Troy, Alabama and attended the 25th annual Clay Conference. It is amazing how I can't sit for two hours and watch a movie, but I can sit for 6 hours in a car then 8 more hours watching awesome artists make pottery two days in a row! The best part of this conference was the Mata Ortez Pottery, I learned so much about how it came to be. We were fortunate enough to see a piece made and painted right in front of us, then fired to perfection. Truly amazing. When you see artists at work like this, it really makes one sit back and analyze where their creativity is and where it is going. What really hit home was something so trivial yet, important (to me) Juan worked with 3 tools which he carries in a travel toothbrush holder. How many tools do I (we) have? I immediatley went home and gave away every tool that I was keeping for "just in case". Think about is, how many tools does one really need?

February

2010-02-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

Wrapping up another month in 2010, already another year is fleeting by. It seems not so long ago I was sitting in history class day dreaming how far away the year 2010 was and doing the math on how old I would be, so, here it is and here I am, although, I will not share my age, maybe on a day when I feel closer to 22.
OK, back to the art world, the kiln is cooling off and I am dying to see how my new glaze looks, keep your fingers crossed for me!

New lamp New colors

2010-02-15T17:22:00.000-08:00

Here is the newest lamp to add to the collection, we will call this Beach! Nice clear sky blue clay spheres with carved areas showing the white of puffy clouds or the foam after a wave breaks, accented with actual pieces of driftwood all assembled on a brushed stainless lamp base. Visit here to purchase.

New work

2010-02-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

TGIF...... well the kiln is loaded and new work should be out soon. The process is slow as most things made by hand are! Good things come to those who wait, isn't that what they say?

let is snow.....

2010-01-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

Well, as expected the weather was cold and wet but, not as bad as they said. I did take advantage of the time and worked on some new lamps:

This is before I get started decorating, I burnish the clay so the slip will sit nicely on the surface.

and, here we are after the glaze and etching is done.

I do not have a huge plan when I start and this piece definitely shows it, I was hoping to etch a lot of work on this one and ended up stopping, I kinda like the simplicity of this......

Thinking out loud....

2010-01-29T05:42:00.000-08:00

Living in the south has its funny moments, one thing is the weather! Today they are calling for inclement weather, i.e. a few snowflakes, this in turn sends everyone to thier local grocery to stock up on essentials, milk, eggs, beer what ever one thinks they will need to get through the blizzard! I on the other hand found myself in the pottery studio extruding clay and mixing slips so I would have everything ready to create while stuck indoors. This is the mentality of a potter........

Breaking Ground

2010-01-18T07:14:00.000-08:00

Penelope-
In a world of mass production it is a nice to be able to offer a line of one of a kind pottery created for everyday use. Each piece is made by hand and it takes a little while, so check back periodically for new additions.

Enjoy.

Black & White Table Lamp

18" Tall

$110

Black Glazed Table Lamp with Silver Accents

18" Tall

$85