BIG Fish

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

Finding works

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

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

On a roll

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

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.....

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

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

What color would you like him/her to be?

Here kitty, kitty...

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

New glazes

Here are some interesting fish 

New work

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.....

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.........

yup, thats what I am doing.

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

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

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

New work, new color

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

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....

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....

                                         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.

                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.