Somewhere beyond the sea treasury

'Somewhere.... beyond the sea ' by octopurse

Enjoy!

vintage pitcher cream g... ZoiShop $42.00	Teal Green Earrings - W... cherryandviole... $37.00	Surf Art California Ins... BeachCities $20.00	Industrial 1950s Fan & ... mirandas31 $25.00
Sea Shell Serving Dish Doublemuse $40.00	Vintage Fruit Jars - Co... jinxxy $19.00	Windy Day Geometric Pri... SeeChangeDesig... $20.00	Animal Totem - Le Nerdy... leanimale $24.00
white whale - archival ... gennebra $18.00	Upholstery Project: Her... EnRouteStudio $125.00	White Chocolate Candy S... andiespecialty... $25.00	Nautical Lantern Brass ... MySelvagedLife $32.00
If I Only Had A Heart ... alexandragrecc... $250.00	Sea of Happiness .dream... joystclaire $25.00	Seahorse Necklace Petit... PoleStar $56.00	4 Large Baluga Whale Be... TheCraftyBead $5.95

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Crazy train comes to Michaels Arts & Crafts

What a day. Don't know if it was the full moon or the rain and storms but whatever it was brought in the Crazy Train and all the nuts got let out at our store today. I really can't understand how a person can come into and arts & crafts store cranky. Really people lighten up.

Sometimes they forget that they are in an"arts & crafts store" and start asking for things like, curtain rods and shoes (yes, I said shoes). I actually went up to a customer and asked if I could help her with anything (that was my first mistake) and she said yes. I am quoting her now "I was in last week and in the front of your store you had this black thing and you can hang things from it. And it had this shape (hand gestures) Do you still have it?" I then asked more questions to try to narrow down exactly what she was looking for. It didn't get any better. After I, and by this time, another associate tried to figure out what she wanted (there was no way either one of us was going to figure out what she wanted because she didn't even know) I turned to her and said "I'm sorry, we sold out of those. Is there anything else you need today?" She smiled and said no thank you and went on her way.
She was the most normal of the customer we had all day.

These are days when I'm glad I'm a potter. I can go home turn on some music, throw some clay and feel much better.

How did it become the middle of August already

I'm really having a hard time understanding how the middle of August got here so fast. The Monroe Apple Festival is Sept. 10th and 11th and may I just say "I AM NOT READY". But not to fear I will be ready. Tired and cranky, but ready. I've changed so many things this summer that I am having a interesting time trying to adjust. Going from a part-time job (mind you with full time hours) to a full time job (at Michaels Arts & Crafts) and trying to stay on top of my jewelry classes and my business is a challenge. But it's the challenges in life that keep us going. So I will go on and it will all be good (and tired).

I had a customer order 10 of my mini tidbit bowls so she can give them as Christmas gifts. So I have been working on those and yesterday a customer asked how much it would be to buy all of Linda's starry night cityscape dishes. Probably should call Linda and tell her. LOL.

Well gotta get ready for work. Talk to you all later.

Exploding Pots

I have been throwing pottery for some time now. Always real careful how I handle my new creations. In the back of my mind thinking about the possibility of loosing a pot or two in my kiln because of and air bubble or maybe the inside of the pot was not quite dry yet. Whatever the reason this happens it does happen. But not to me. Not in all these years. I considered myself really lucky. Until now. Yep folks. Until now.

I had a custom order from a lady in Brooklyn. She ordered 10 bowls. She needed them real soon. So did I rush the pots into the kiln. I didn't think so. Was there an air bubble in my pots. Don't think so. Was the pottery not totally dry. Didn't think so. But alas something went horribly wrong.

Just as I entered into where my kiln was running I heard the sound no potter EVER wants to hear. Pop, Pop, Pop. Kilns too hot to open. So I waited. Knowing with dread what happened to the Brooklyn lady's bowls.

So the next day I opened the kiln. Yep! Done. It seems two bowls exploded and took out 3 others. There really are no words for what I was feeling at that moment in time. I just stared into my kiln, not really sure how long I stood there. My husband saw me staring into my kiln and came over, looked into the kiln. His words were "what are you gonna do?". I looked at my husband of over 30 years and for the first time I had nothing to say.

There was no saving these pots. So I e-mailed the lady in Brooklyn and explained what happened. She was VERY understanding. Thank God! It was too late to make her the bowls she needed. Two of the bowls were for a couple of friends with special sayings in them. They were ok. So those she can have. The 8 others bowls she needed were custom bowls she needed for family members. Since I lost 5 bowls I was heartbroken that she could not take the surviving 3.

At the end of the day She was very nice and said that she understands the nature of my profession. Some things are just out of my hands. She is still very happy with me and will order from me again. Thank the Pottery Gods!!!

Since I'm sure none of you have seen a kiln full of exploded pottery here's a picture. It ain't pretty.

Well tomorrow is another day. Me and my muses are tired and still in a little shock. But we will be fine and start again tomorrow. I really do love to play in mud.

Buttery Beauty Collection by Heirloomlace on Artfire

My pale yellow pendant was included in this luscious collection.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=my_collections&op=widgets&cid=22379

This weeks featured artist

This weeks Featured Artisan is Allurynn - Creations by Moonlight! Alluryn has wonderful creations in her shop! A Must have for every jewelry box!! You can find Creations by Moonlight on:

Etsy
Website
Twitter
Facebook

You can grab the code for your blog here: http://www.box.net/shared/flrg7uret9

Featured Artisan_Tali's Creations

This weeks Featured Artisan is Tali - Tali's Creations! Beautiful creations by a beautiful lady! You can find Tali's Creations at:

Artfire

Facebook Profile

Facebook Page

You can get the code for your blog here:

Ok the bowls are out of the kiln and for a first time I think "not to bad". I was really excited to open the kiln and see how this new technique would turn out.

I used a matte blue green glaze (I love this color) then placed round flat back colored glass pebbles (bought at Michaels Arts & Crafts). (Have I ever mentioned that my "real" job is working for Michaels? Well I do. Anyway. I placed the glass around the rim. On the bottom I arranged some glass pebbles to look like a flower. And this was the result.

I also had a couple of mini bowls that I decided to add glass pebbles to the bottom of. These I really liked. There is a lot to be said for simplicity.

Well there they are. My first attempt. Not sure what I was so nervous about. I will keep on practicing this technique. The possibilities are endless.

A watched Pot

They say "A watched pot never boils" and I think this is very true. My kiln is still too hot to open so I can't check to see how my mud and glass bowl is coming out. Normally opening my kiln is like Christmas (especially with a glaze firing) but today I have more anticipation, speculation, excitement and even a little stress. LOL. Silly me. Like I said in my last post, I have been wanting to mix mud and glass in a piece. So this is really exciting for me. If it doesn't come out how I envision it that's ok. It's a starting point. I will figure out what went wrong and adjust things on my next try. Maybe that is the most exciting part. Learning from the mistakes and trying again.

Well maybe in a couple of more hours I will be able to open the kiln and see how it turned out. Wish me luck!

Mixing ceramics and glass

I was at an arts and crafts fair several years ago and saw a potter that incorporated glass into her pottery. I absolutely loved the look and have wanted to try it every since. Went to try it a couple of times and just chickened out. All the voices in my head were like "your gonna ruin a perfectly good bowl, you don't know what you are doing, just glaze it and get on with your life" UGH!! Well I finally told the voices in my head to "shut up". So yesterday I took a perfectly lovely bowl glazed it and added glass. It is now in my kiln and whatever happens....happens. I must say I am really excited.

Sometimes you just gotta do it. Don't question, don't look at all the possibilities of what could or could not work out. Just do it. And I did. Tomorrow I will open up my kiln and see what happens. Either way I will let you know and maybe even post a picture.

Have a great day.

Blue Burgundy Treasury

Two treasuries today. Wow!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d6d2d45cf9f8eef42be83ba/blue-burgundy

Teaching Jewelry Making Classes

Besides my regular job and making jewelry and pottery I am now a jewelry making instructor. I will be teaching the fundamentals of jewelry making. Crimping, stringing, wire wrapping, wire crochet, knotting, etc. I've had a couple of classes so far and they have been a blast. One thing I have found is that I never get tired of learning and sharing new techniques or new methods of creating. I find myself learning from my students while they learn from me. Creativity truly is a facinating and wonderful thing.
There was a quote I learned years ago, not sure who it was but it said "Everyone is my superior in that I can learn from them" I believe this. If you give any opportunity a chance you can learn from it and from the people you are involved with. And probably make some great friends along the way.

Passionate Pink Treasury

I was so pleased to be included in this Passionate Pink treasury courtesy of on fire for handmade by misspercillapomeroy. So many pretty pink items. Check out all the wonderful artists that were also included.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d6d125808768eefa4f28b59/passionate-pink-courtesy-of-the-on-fire

Linda's fern bowl was included in this new treasury from CherishedSaints on etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d5a9ea36fa86d914d821dc1/the-orange-and-the-green

Cherished Saints is a collection of silver religious saints and icons, new and vintage (from France, Italy and other worldly places). Many include a bit of history and an 18" sterling bead chain. know that you're helping horses from being slaughtered as 10% of each sale goes to: http://www.newenglandequinerescues.com

Check out her shop at www.cherishedsaints.etsy.com

A good way to stop procrastinating.

Eating the Frog

03JAN2011No Comments

by hmorrowin Marketing

I can procrastinate with the best of the best procrastinators. I have projects that I have procrastinated doing or finishing for YEARS! However, you probably believe that I do more than the average bear. I do, because I eat my frogs.

Many years ago I read a business book by Brian Tracy called “Eat that Frog!” It was 21 ways to avoid procrastination and get more done. It was an easy read, so it didn’t end up in the pile of business books I still have yet to read. His theory is that if you write your “to do” list, you do the thing that you want to do least first and all the rest will be easy. You eat the ugliest frog first.

So, this is what I do. I make a “to do” list the night before or first thing in the morning and then figure out the thing I want to do least and do that first. It’s not a perfect science – I sometimes will do the thing on my list that is going to be the most challenging – even though I might enjoy it, because once I have that done, the rest will be easy.

For instance, writing this article was on my list along with laundry and unloading the dishwasher (two things I really dislike doing). Not to mention the really fun things like going and throwing some clay. So I got up and started writing first. I enjoy writing; however, this is going to take a lot more time to do than laundry, plus it has to be sent to my awesome proofreader (my Mom), so she can get it back to me in time to post it on my blog and write my eZine.

Another way that I get things done more efficiently is to lump the tasks together and until I am doing that task – I do not think about it. A good example is paying my bills. I try to pay them only twice a month, so when I am not paying them – I am not worried about how they are going to be paid (as it serves no purpose). I learned this technique from Eckhart Tolle in his interviews with Oprah. He talks about how we spend so much time worrying about something that needs to be done, so we don’t get other things done when we should.

The final technique I am going to share today is the use of a timer. I use this technique when my time is truly limited and yet I need to get something done. I figure out how much time I have to allot to the task and then I set the kitchen timer. I usually do this for getting housework done. It works well as it allows me to focus on only that task – no reading email, checking facebook, etc.

Now, about the things I do procrastinate. I tend to procrastinate on big projects that have no end in sight and this is because I have not found a way to break them into smaller projects that are more achievable. However, I do not beat myself up about these projects. I know they are there, if I ever find the time or figure out how to task them down, they will get done. In the meantime, I eat the frogs I can.

How do you keep yourself from procrastinating what needs to be done?

© 2010 Heather C. Morrow. All rights reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? Of course you can, as long as you include the following with it:

Heather C. Morrow, owner of Pottery Daily, helps emerging artists express their true value and get paid what they are worth. Her products and services show you how to make more money, save more time while enjoying the freedom in your art. For your FREE audio go to www.marketandsellyourart.com.