One idea leads to another

I've really been sidetracked by this project. I have so many other projects lined up that this one really isn't the priority but I am having so much fun I just can't help myself. These are the 36 tree themed designs that I have settled on. I am also working on tatted lace designs. I keep getting ideas for even more designs and more applications so who know where this tangent will take me? I find it fascinating how my creative mind works....yes it is a mystery even unto myself. Sometimes I get frustrated with myself for being "all over the map" with my ideas and I feel that it makes me counter productive. But oddly, when all is said and done, nothing that I do is ever a waste of time. All things have a way of magically intertwining to bear a delicious fruit in the end.

SUCCESS!

The first "batch" came out of the kiln this morning and I am very pleased with the results. I started out with the idea to make JUST ceramic buttons but as I was punching the button holes I thought, "Why not medallions for jewelry"? I used to make all kinds of really cool one of a kind medallions for necklaces so this was a natural progression. So the options are not just limited to buttons.








I will be listing some of these in my Etsy shop today and the rest I will take down to "Indie Made".
I have a total of 36 tree designs that I settled on so you will be seeing a lot more of these.
What can I say? I LOVE trees!
....oh oh and oh, I am also making these with tatted lace designs...so stay tuned tatting friends!

Spring Cleaning

I was all gung-ho to get to work in the studio today. I have about eleven ideas running through my mind for what I want to produce. So I got in there and rolled out a big slab of clay, put some texture on it and draped it over a bowl. Then I just stood there and didn't know what to do next. Every time I tried to start something I couldn't find all the tools I needed. Then I realized what a deed'n mess everything was so I started cleaning, but haphazardly so.
I vacuumed part of the floor then got distracted by some disorganized shelves which then reminded me that I need to bring all my glaze chemicals up from the basement and so forth. So basically I need a good Spring clean but am I out there doing that? No, instead I am writing this post and telling myself that I will come up with a plan of attack tonight and "bust my rump" tomorrow....
In the meantime I got distracted by another project I had started but didn't have the right tool to finish until today...
Remember the tag I was working on for Indie Made? Well, I am proud to present this final draft which will be placed on the higher priced pieces....for that extra little magical touch.


The tool I was missing was an eyelet punch so now that I own one here are my cloth tags. I think they are pretty cool! I built upon this idea from PatchworkPottery. She has an excellent fabric labels tutorial.
Well...I must be off to waste some more time! Mwa ha ha!

Time for a new stoneware set....

OLD SET






My husband has mentioned more than once that we need a new stoneware set. If I start this project this will be the third complete set I have made in the past 10 years. I do settings of 8 so a set consist of 8 dinner plates, 8 desert plates, 8 tumblers, 8 goblets, (I know..goblets are non-standard but they are just so fun to drink from, 8 large bowls, 8 smaller bowls. In addition I make a complete tea set with tea pot, serving tray, creamer and sugar pot. Pitcher and vase. Salt and Pepper Shaker and butter dish. I also do a crock with lid and at least two very large serving bowls.
Yes it is a lot of work and I am busy being a new mom, refining tatting patterns for two new books, making new tatting shuttles and a couple other secret projects! But my husband keeps buzzing in my ear so I've been thinking about the new design. What will I do?? I am toying with the idea of using colored porcelain. That will be extra work but I think will have a nice effect...but who knows? I may change my mind a couple of times from now until then.
In the meantime what will I do with the old set?

A few changes

The older I get the more I hate change. Perhaps that is true for most of us. But I think I hate change mostly because I have experienced more of it than a whole room full of people put together. I have moved 50+ times in my life. I've lived in 9 U.S. states and 4 countries. People have waltzed in and out of my life quicker than some change their underwear. That is a lot of change.
But some changes are good, like the kind that indicate we are maturing as human beings and refining our skills. A lot of things in my life are starting to come full circle especially my work and family life, both inspiring one another.
All this leads to some slight changes involving my artwork specifically. I am no longer focusing solely on my pottery, I am also greatly involved in the tatting world. So I am balancing those things with photography, painting, glass and precious metal work.
For the last decade I have been MadMadPotter.Com. This past week my domain subscription expired. I wasn't notified and when I went to renew I ran into all sorts of problems and conflicts which I won't go into. In short I am now JUST MadMadPotter. No more dot com. If you Google me I come up first in all the searches so I don't need to pay tons of money for my own domain anymore. So Register.com you can take your overpriced service and all your fees and shove them you know where.
Anyhow, with a renewed sense of purpose I am expanding my repertoire to include all my interests and I shall share them here. So even though I will remain the MadMadPotter (notice no spaces in the moniker), I will be ever so much more.
Of course I will not be making any changes to my other alias LadyShuttleMaker. That blog will remain dedicated to my tatting endeavors and personal life stories.

Now on to the meat of the post, I would like to start with slumped bottles. This isn't a new idea, other artists have been doing it for years. I had some ideas to put my own twist on this particular endeavor. I have been slumping pretty much any glass bottle or jar I can get my hand on.

These turn into....
...these...
...and this...
...and this.
The spoon rest is one of my twists as well as...
this new design feature. Typically these slumped wined bottles are used as cheese boards, but I wanted to add my own flare. These can also be hung in a window for decoration.

As soon as I can get a group of these together I will be listing them in my Etsy shop.

I still got it!

After a much too long hiatus I am back in the studio and throwing again. And it feels GREAT!
I was able to finish these two goblets today. They will be going to a church in Seattle.
I am using my tatting bits here for a top secret project which I hope to reveal in a few weeks.

I have had a few false starts over the past year with this blog...but I hope this start will stick and that I will be able to blog often about what I am doing with my clay work. If health and time will permit maybe I can get back into my "groove".

Returning to the studio after waaaay toooo long!!

I finally got my husband to bring my large kiln back to the studio. This means that I can return to my large projects and crystalline glaze pottery.
I have fired the kiln 3 times since Friday. When I looked at my kiln log I was appalled to see that it hasn't been fired in over two years. GASP!!!!

Of course one year of that was spent in South Korea. Another 6 months remodeling my studio and yet another 6 months being really sick and then pregnant. After begging hubby for several months and not getting anywhere I finally laid down the ultimatum..."Bring up that kiln or else!!!!" ....never did determine what the "or else" part was...but he finally listened and now I am a happy camper!

I cannot tell you how glorious it is to have my studio back. I have felt a bit dead inside for the last two years. The only thing getting me through were my tatting endeavors and thank God for that...but really??, two years is way too long and I hope I never have to experience that again. Experimenting, mixing glazes, throwing on the wheel and hand building, and now working with glass. I am back in my element.

Now..for those who didn't know, I am now 5 months pregnant. Don't worry I employ the highest standards of safety in the studio. It has been a super rough pregnancy so far and I still have yet to gain any weight due to throwing up all the time. But I have been miserable laying in bed or on the couch all day, so I really needed something to look forward to. ..baby needs a happy mom right?
So yesterday was the first full day I have spent in the studio and yes I puked in the middle of it all..but the feeling of accomplishment is priceless and worth it!

Want to see what I've been up to??

I've been wanting to do this for a very long time. These are slumped bottles and they are my very first attempt. Of course they need further manipulation to make them useful which I shall do. Yay for recycling!!!



While in Korea I bought a large BBQ bowl to use as a form for my signature coil bowls. This is the largest I have done at home (did a huge one in college). I have been itching to use this form for the last year. I am quite pleased with the results. It is a very pleasing shape and I plan to do several more. This takes up the entire diameter of my kiln.

...now all I have to do is start listing work in my Etsy shop once again.

Getting ready for tatting convention

I can't believe how long it has been since I have thrown on the wheel. It is absolutely criminal!

Anyhow, it feels good to get my hands back in the clay and I am hoping this will be the new start of many happy days to come. I am my most happy self when I am throwing on the wheel...it is one of the only things left that hasn't yet become "work".

Even the most fun things in life can become drudgery when you've done it a thousand times.

Well...this was just a quick "pop in" to update "ye olde blog". I am going to go play in the mud some more!

Honey ...I'm home

Ahem....excuse the dust around here! WOW! It has been FOREVER and a day since I have posted up in here. Now that my newly renovated studio is up and running I plan to remedy the lack of posting!





...this! Ta dah!

I just had my first kiln firing in over a year and a half. It is not much but still a pretty good start. The kiln is firing well..I certainly had my concerns since it sat in a damp basement for so long.
I cannot wait to get back to my pottery routine...it is like I am starting from scratch. In case you were wondering what exactly "this" is. They are ceramic tatting shuttles...they are not new to this blog but it has been a long time since I've posted about them. You see, tatting has nearly taken over my life so now I must find room to juggle both tatting and ceramics into my new routines.
Come on back soon to see what the MadMadPotter is up to!

Trimming down the stock

Well there won't be much posting of new work here for awhile since I am moving to South Korea in a couple of months. I am working on selling the stock I currently have. I don't know what next year will hold for me as far as pottery is concerned. I won't be able to bring my studio or anything like that so it will probably be a year long sabbatical for me. **sad sigh**
South Korea is fertile ground for potters, at least that is what I gather, so I plan to soak in as much as I can. It will be exciting when I finally do get back to my work what kind of influences will spill over.
I will probably use this blog space to share my Korean experiences as they relate to all things ceramic.


This is a neolithic pot from Korea: wikipedia.org

Yoga Pottery

Here is a set all together. I am toying with the idea of glazing it or not. I do like the natural red clay but glazing will add strength and durability.

More Yoga people

Here are more wall hangings. I am having a lot of fun making them.

Sourdough Starter Pot

My friend asked me to make him a lidded ceramic pot to keep his sourdough starter in.
This is what I came up with. I hope he likes it!

Santa Dog

Well my reindeer bells turned out awesome! I will be listing them in my Etsy shop soon. I wanted to dress my dog up like a reindeer and take a picture of her. She is the best sport EVER! What a sweet girl to let me do these things! Anyhow, I couldn't find her antlers so I just put a santa hat on her and she patiently let me take pictures while my not so angelic cat Raku played with the bell.

Reindeer Bells and more Custom Orders

The funny round looking things are reindeer bells. They sound so pretty, and I thought I would make a few this season.
The white funny looking things are tatting shuttles.
The lidded jar is a custom order for a friend.
I switched to working with red clay for awhile, It is absolutely the biggest pain in the butt because it is ever so messy, but it is really pretty when fired.
All these pieces are still in the greenware state. I have a little sanding to do and then I will pop them in the kiln.

Ceramic Books

I had this idea YEARS ago and then not long after this idea I saw another potter doing something similar so I gave up on it. Then I decided to give it another go. Not only is this a handmade ceramic book but I also handmade the paper in it as well. I recycled all my stupid junk mail and threw in a few organic materials and voila!



I made a whole bunch of ceramic covers for more books, I even made some crystalline book covers but I found that handmaking the paper is a total pain in my tush so if I make future books I will buy handmade paper from other artists.
These take forever and a day to assemble as I hand stitched all the pages into the binding. Of course I did a ton of research on book making and binding before I set out on this surprisingly monumental task.
I am still on the fence wether I will continue along this line. I guess it depends if anyone else shows an interest in them or not. I don't see them being very profitable for me.
Anyhow, I listed this one in my Etsy shop today.

Fantastic Crystals...(sadly this is not my work)

Work by Dwight Crossley
I was delighted to come across my crystalline friend's booth at the Boise Art in the Park festival this weekend. I was familiar with his work and had corresponded with him on crystalline related matters before but I had never met him in person until this past weekend.
His crystals are gorgeous as you can see by this piece that I could not resist buying.
We talked a lot about crystals which was heaven for me since all my crystalline friends are via the internet. It is nice to get an immediate response to your questions for a change. Anyhow, he tried to talk me into switching to the higher cones. And trust me, he is not my first crystalline friend to try and sway me from my stubborn path.
I started out in cone 10 crystals with the idea from the very beginning that I would pioneer in cone 5. I have been working in cone 5 with moderate success for the last two years. Well.....after seeing these beauties I may just throw in the towel and jump in the high fire pool with all my other crystalline friends.

The last of the TULIP series

I love tulips, cobalt blue and coil pots, so I combined those ideas to create my "Tulip Series". I sold many many pieces in this series.
I stopped making them a couple years ago because if I lose interest in something I stop doing it. I know that sounds fussy but it's the way that I am. If I don't have a passion for what I am doing then I simply won't do it.
I have been hanging on to this large pot for awhile and have finally decided to put it up for sale. It measures a foot tall by aprox a foot wide. It is a visually stunning piece with 8 hand painted tulips around the circumference of the pot.

More crazy whacky-ness

Here is the other chips and salsa server. The photo doesn't really show the awesomeness of the glaze. It is called antique blue and it mottles in a very interesting way.
Oh...wait...what's this? There's a surprise inside:

A nice big chile pepper to remind you what the salsa is all about! Boooyah!

I've also been working on some new and interesting crystalline necklace sets. I have some really gorgeous sets I will be listing in the weeks to come.