Studio Cats

Our youngest cat, Simba, is an artist at heart. Named for the Swahili word for lion, because it would be hard to find a kitten more adventurous and courageous.  We had a devil of a time keeping him away from our unusually large (95+ lbs) greyhound when we first brought him home.  Our greyhound is so fond of cats that he thinks he himself is a cat, but he is not used to dealing with a 6-8 week old kitten, and can be a little rough.
  At 6 months of age Simba continues to approach every new situation as an adventure. He sits, barely able to keep from dipping his paws in my watercolor paint water, and watches me paint. He looks at the images and looks back at me as if to say "how did you do that?"  When I'm sculpting, he's a bit of a problem. I don't know how many times I have left a piece while I took a short break only to find Simba standing on it  and squishing his toes into the clay.  It can be frustrating, but at the same time I really love that he is so captivated by my work.  And now I must go and smooth yet another pawprint from a bowl I'm working on!

What's New

I'm in the process of trying (once again) to create some ceramic mobiles.  Every time I decide to do this I get sidetracked and never manage to complete them.  This time I'm using some great old pieces of embroidered and eyelet fabrics to create a pattern. I think I'm going to start with three "dangles" instead of planning some huge piece. I REALLY need to apply the less is more mantra to more of my life's issues. I tend to over think a lot. I'm going to force myself to keep this simple. Stay tuned for further developments! ;)

Thinking of Spring

As I can see it's been a full month since I've posted, I've got a new treasury to add. It makes me so happy to see these cheerful items listed by some of my new and old Etsy friends!

Visit my Etsy Shop and save 25% with my coupon code: Butterfly!

'She's a Butterfly' by ALDDesigns

The monarchs are visiting my milkweed.......and laying eggs!

The Monarch Conserv... REALBUTTERFLYG... $39.99	Flutterby Butterfly... peacelovevinta... $23.00	35% OFF SALE - Fly ... Raceytay $19.50	One day I'll fl... gardensofwhims... $12.00
Table Decor, Paper ... LBCpaper $48.95	Lemon Chamomile, H... TallulahsSoaps $6.00	Blooming Tea - 5 as... TableLabs $7.99	Yellow Mod Sunflowe... redtilestudio $28.00
Marigolds linen tea... giardino $22.00	Vintage Leaves Felt... ekofabrik $45.00	He Loves Me, He Lov... BeSomethingNew $12.99	Gemyma -Orange Butt... judithhowellde... $4.95
organic baby quilt ... SewnNatural $120.00	Into the darkness -... Lori411 $25.00	Matte Gold Butterfl... DanaCastle $17.50	elyse SIGNATURES Ci... elyseoriginals $109.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

Pretty Is....

'Pretty Is...' by fosterbk

Wood Vase COTTAGE P... OldNewAgain $20.00	Micro Eco Journal S... NaturesCubbyho... $50.00	MINI Alphabet (naut... lovemaestore $18.00
Earrings Coffee Bro... GlassRiverJewe... $14.00	Needlecase, Jumbo, ... midnightcoiler $20.00	Signed and Numbered... bythewayside $25.00
Recycled Newspaper ... hippiekingdom $22.00	Hooty the Owl 6x6 a... redtilestudio $50.00	Orange Poppy - felt... Baymut $20.00
Sea urchin jewelry ... jennyhoople $32.00	Woodland Hedgehog P... ALDDesigns $18.00	ACEO-SUMMERS BEAUTY... nikid2 $6.00
Chubby birdie - Arc... joojoo $15.00	Linen pincushion -... namolio $11.00	Alice's Adventu... JezebelCharms $41.99

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

I'm so thrilled to have had my hedgehog sculpture included in this remarkable treasury by Fosterbk!  I really love the understated elegance, soft neutral colors and brilliant pops of orange.  Brenda has a knack for creating artful combinations of soulful items and stunning color.  Please check out her Etsy shop to see her beautiful photography! Thanks again Brenda! :)

What's New

It's been awhile since I've written, have been sick...and absorbed with some new stuff I'm working on.   Thanks to Jenni of Foreverbeading I was inspired to make my Cheshire Cats into beads.  I'm pretty excited about them so far.

I've also been working on some more designs where I incise an image into the moist clay. It gives a stamped appearance but it's an original each time.

 

I started to make another raven today, but it ended up being a dragon.  I try not to fight the process to much because if it didn't want to be a raven, it wasn't going to happen. 

 I think I'll try to do something where I give it a light coating of glaze and stuff most of it in the pressed design. Can't wait until it's dry and bisque fired!

Silky Birds

Yesterday I made some super cute bird sculptures, they are so silky soft with plump bodies like little wrens or sparrows.  I think I'm beginning to realize why I am enjoying clay so much.  Don't get me wrong, I love the glow and sparkle of glass, but the frustration of being constantly interrupted at home and fact that my hands would go numb at the most inopportune times, it was too stressful to get very much enjoyment out of it.  The kneading of the clay feels so nice on my hands.  When I'm sculpting, it's almost like I'm caressing the clay into being.  The design I like best is so simple yet I think it is elegant.  I've made some more ornate birds but the silky smooth ones will be the kind that people just want to hold.  I wanted a very simple design because I think it will show off the raku glaze to the best advantage.  Now if only my kiln would arrive so I can fire this enormous pile of greenware that is amassing in my garage.