Happy Halloween & More Mugs

The last cup stuck to the plastic and fell over and got squished and I unsquished it and put it back to dry. Hence the narrow space for the handle and the dent at the bottom, too late to fix those now. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Small But Mighty

One day this summer we saw hundreds of tiny critters running across the road on the way to our local beach. The closer we got, the faster they ran. Not a single one was crushed under a car tire. How could they do that? When I tried to get close to take a photo, they ran into the weeds.

Initially we thought they were spiders or tarantulas. Finally I jumped out of the car and captured one in a photo. That's when I saw it was a tiny crab. They're about the size of quarter, the small but mighty crab. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Use It or Loose It

The other day when I was at the gallery changing my display someone asked me if I had any large mugs. I said I didn't usually make mugs, but I could make one. They wanted a big mug that was heavy. How could I go wrong with that request? So last night I started making a mug. The first one I made was small, 5 x 3 inches, and I had a hard time getting it all to go together correctly. My fingers felt clumsey.


I started thinking it's been a long time since I've made anything other than tiles and that had me thinking. If I don't hand build pieces regularly, will I loose that skill? I might not loose the skill, but I could become rusty. So I decided to make a mug a day for the next thirty days to keep in practice. How about you? Do you find if you don't do something for a long time, you become rusty and need a warm up? Oh, the second mug is big, 6.5 x 3.5 inches, almost tankard sized. Not overly heavy, but something that big is bound to be fairly heavy anyway. This post is part of Show and Tell Saturday for Artists in Blogland. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Salmon, Peas, and Raspberries

This meal can be made in less than half an hour. Melt some butter in a medium sauce pan on medium high heat. Sprinkle some ground cardamom, dill, and thyme on salmon fillets. When butter is good and hot place salmon fillets in hot butter skin side up and sizzle for about a minute, turn down heat to medium and let cook for two more minutes, then turn down to low, cover and let cook till flaky. The idea is to get a nice browned surface on the fillet.

After you cover the salmon, in another small sauce pan melt a little butter add your snow peas and sprinkle with crushed mint and a pinch of sugar. Stir peas so butter coats them, sugar melts, and mint is distributed. These just need to be heated since snow peas don't need much cooking. Serve with a garnish of raspberries or some other colorful fruit or salad. Unfortunately the Greek festival is a rain out. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

The Story of Stuff

This videos is worth a view. I wish I still had some of the 50s, 60s and 70s cars I used to drive. They didn't cost me that much and never broke and if they did I could fix them and they really did not get that bad of fuel mileage and contrary to public belief if they were tuned up well they didn't pollute. Many of mine went through those smog check stations and they couldn't believe how clean the report was. Crushing the old cars was just another way to get us to buy more.

And what about the old furniture that was made with real wood and stuffed with natural fibers, it lasted a long time too and was comfortable. Pressed wood is heavy and filled with chemicals and glues to keep it together. Oh, well I could go on about all the processed and genetically modified foods, but time is short. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Pendants, Pegboard, and Portraits

This is a small concrete statue I've lugged with me, for what I don't know. A bit small for displaying a pendant but here it is.


I strung some pendants I made some time ago on some hemp cord and added a few glass beads from my stash.


Wondering if I should remove the smaller glass beads and just have one instead of three? I could have put a metal spacer between the glass beads but they are too narrow to string on the hemp. Oh well. This was kind of a last minute thing.


Sometimes it's better to buy something ready made instead of making it yourself. Gary and got this pegboard display put together. And, well we didn't put enough hinges, the support wood was warped, so the hinges cause the wood to be too close together, so it won't fold up completely up, the pegboard is too wide which makes it too heavy to lift four sections together, and not having a top and bottom makes it too flimsy. I'll have to think about it again today.


Feedback from the gallery is the members liked my tropical couple, the long birds, and the alligator, but didn't remark about the other portraits. The portraits at the gallery are the pondering woman (upper left), the man with the pipe (middle left) and the one of Gary (middle). They haven't seen my other portraits. The whole group meets Thursday so I may have more feedback then.


I think the wall plaques and tiles look much better standing alone rather than in a group. Which brings me to the dilemma of how to display them at a show.


Now that I have these pegboard systems, maybe they aren't the best way to show off the work? Maybe less is more? Then there's the question of do I make art because someone likes it or because I have to? I just had to make all of these, so I did.


I figure if I like the portraits someone else will like them too. Maybe that's faulty thinking. Gary always says there's a buyer for every car. Is there a buyer for every piece of art? I do think some of them look better on an easel than on the wall. Maybe they're more appealing displayed as they would be in a home. At a recent event at the gallery one woman made that remark to me about my wall plaques.


Maybe I should stick with animal portraits, everyone seems to love animals. Gee, I'm not feeling chipper right now, what with the pegboard failure. Wondering what to do next? Maybe I'll have to lug that wrought iron lamp with me wherever I go. Ha. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Copper, Silver, and Gold

Just finished putting the hanging mechanism on the back of this tile which I fired the other day. I added some copper, silver and gold accents over the textured surfaces of the sun, mountains, fields, and tree. The tile is made from cassius basaltic clay and is approximately 10 x 10 inches. It will hang flush on the wall or can be placed on an easel to be displayed on a counter, table top, or in a bookcase.


Here's another cassius basaltic tile about 5 inches square with porcelain sprigs. The next few days I'm getting ready for the Greek festival this coming weekend. I've been putting hangers on tiles, made up a few refrigerator magnets, and I strung some ornaments and pendants. Tomorrow I'm building another pegboard hanging system, then everything will be packed up and loaded into my car.


This time of year the gopher tortoise sometimes come out of their underground dens just to sit in the sun and warm themselves up. I'd like to join that tortoise, but this week I don't have the time. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Being Happy Is Being Rich

At a recent show the only bowl which sold was my galaxy bowl. If you recall months ago this was the bowl which didn't turn out the way I liked. But several folks remarked they liked the bowl. Who am I to argue with the public; after all they are the ones who are purchasing my pottery.


So in that vein I've made a few more of these galaxy bowls, the first photo is a new one I made. The second photo is the one I sold. The photo doesn't do it justice. Perhaps it's the size or shape of the bowl which is a draw too. It's about a two person salad size or good to serve vegetables, chips or a bowl full of cookies.


All of my botanical plates and platters sold except the rose colored one. So I've made a few more of those too. All of my ornaments sold, the ones with red or green, but the turquoise crackle snowflakes didn't sell. Now I like turquoise, but perhaps others don't like that color, perhaps it's because it's not a traditional xmas color. I think of blue for snowflakes but maybe turquoise isn't close enough.


Only one vase sold and it was another one of my seagrass vases. I hope the person who purchased it appreciates all the time I took making it, carving and texturing, then hand glazing each stripe. There were actually cooling crystals inside the bottom of the vase. For what I sold the vase for, I figured I made about $2.80 per hour because of the time it took to make and glaze it. I had lowered the price of this vase because I personally didn't like the color of the glaze on the exterior, but apparently someone else did, at least for the price I sold it.


The average city factory worker in China makes $1.08 per hour, but their cost of living is much less than ours. The average city factory worker in Mexico makes $2.38 per hour; their cost of living is higher than China but less than ours. With the cost of living in America, I made the least per hour than either of the factory workers in those countries. What I sold was not a factory item. This is in no way a complaint, just an observation.

In order to make a comfortable living with my lower priced items I'd have to mass produce them and sell lots of volume. I could do that with the botanical platters and ornaments, but not the vase. Well maybe I could make a mold for the vase I don't know, but I don't want to get into factory production, if I did I'd let a factory do that work. I'd rather make and sell one of a kind handmade items. So I'm looking for those buyers in galleries and other venues.

If only my health permitted me to flip hamburgers or greet at wally world I'd be much richer, but not too happy. So I guess being happy is being rich. I'd be a little happier if I was a little more comfortable though. Years ago I worked as a waitress and I enjoyed that. In fact that's how I put myself through college. Of course college was much less expensive back then. But I couldn't be on my feet or do all the bending a waitress has to do now, too bad for that. I don't even hope or want to be rich, but if I won the lottery, which I don't play, I wouldn't turn down the money. I'm sure if I won the lottery I'd have plans to help make other people's lives more comfortable. Wasn't there a TV show where a rich guy gave money away to deserving strangers, wouldn't that be fun. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Happy Sunday

Bottom Shelf

Middle Shelf

Top Shelf

Happy Sunday to you. Now that the weather is cooler we decided to build an outdoor fire pit. But then I thought an outdoor fireplace would be nicer looking. We're using some block we got for free. More about this project later. Thanks for all your comments and emails. I'll get back to you shortly.

One by One

Just finished this tile of a sheep which is about 10 x 10 inches. I applied multiple layers of slip for the wool. I might darken the nose a little. Following is the poem, Sheep, by Carl Sandburg:

Thousands of sheep, soft-footed, black-nosed sheep — one by one going up the hill and over the fence — one by one four-footed pattering up and over— one by one wiggling their stub tails as they take the short jump and go over — one by one silently unless for the multitudinous drumming of their hoofs as they move on and go over — thousands and thousands of them in the grey haze of evening just after sundown — one by one slanting in a long line to pass over the hill —

I am the slow, long-legged Sleepyman and I love you sheep in Persia, California, Argentine, Australia, or Spain — you are the thoughts that help me when I, the Sleepyman, lay my hands on the eyelids of the children of the world at eight o’clock every night — you thousands and thousands of sheep in a procession of dusk making an endless multitudinous drumming on the hills with your hoofs.


When I told Gary I signed up to have a booth at the Greek festival and asked if he'd help me. He said sure, they have great Greek beer. Part of my heritage is Greek on my mother's side, perhaps that's why I love the seafood and the seashore so much. Sadly my mother didn't share much about Greece with us; so I try to absorb some when I have the opportunity. I've been working on the tile above post firing; I might change his hair to white. Gary said he looks like a fisherman; I think he might be a Greek fisherman.


Next week I'll have a booth at the Greek Festival at Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Lecanto on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 11 am to 8 pm and Sunday 11 am to 3 pm, that's October 27 through the 30th. Gary will be there to help out since it's such a long show. I'll have my wall sculptures, tiles, and functional pottery too. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hi. We highly recommend this festival which has excellent and authentic Greek food, music and dancing. Stay away from the ouzo till the end of the day. Ha. Just turned on the kiln for another firing. This post is part of show and tell Saturday for Artists in Blogland. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Hogfish and Blue Boy

Gary brought some hogfish home from our local fish market. When I looked up hogfish on the net I noticed it has a beautiful color and shape. Gary said they filleted the fish right in front of him. Too bad I wasn't with Gary because I would have taken some photos to show you. Maybe if I had seen how beautiful the fish was I might not have wanted to eat it though. The fish is regulated and only so many can be fished. I plan to make a wall sculpture of this colorful fish. The photo below is from wikipedia.


I coated the hogfish fillets with egg and dipped them in gluten free crumbs to which I added chives and dill. I melted some butter in a sauce pan and added some minced garlic. For a nice crunchy crust get the butter just short of burning and then put in the fish fillets and sauted them over medium high heat. I added a very thin slice of manchega cheese to the top after I flipped the fillets over. I served the fish with a slice of lime and quinoa as a side. The quinoa is cooked just like rice on top the stove; two cups of water to one cup of quinoa. Both were delicious along with a treat of some raspberries. We're on a pretty strick budget, but once every couple of weeks we splurge on some local fresh fish.


Here's another whimsical tile I made of a blue boy singing in the rain. I'm debating whether to add some blue rain drops. I don't know where his tail came from but it makes me smile. Instead of a vestigial tail, his is prehensile. I was reading about vestigial organs and behaviors in humans and it was quite interesting. The background color is actually tan, but it looks like the color of the clay. Not sure how the tan color will fire or any of the colors since I've switched over to speckled stoneware clay.


Above are some big puffy clouds we saw one day driving along the highway; I was smitten with their billowy look. Coming up another animal portrait and another personal shrine, this time with a botanical influence. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Mountain Cabin

For most of our married life Gary and I have lived in the mountains, the northern, central and southern Sierra Nevada mountains and the Cascades near Mt Lassen. Now that we're living in Florida we both find ourselves missing the tall trees, the cool air, and a mountain lifestyle.


It was a blustery day today with the wind whipping in the trees and leaves blowing all around. I planned to make a shrine and decided beforehand to build some Greek columns deteriorated with age. But when I started making the form a different shape emerged. I'm sure I was unconsciously missing the mountains. Why is it when you live somewhere you long to be somewhere else? We can't really afford to travel right now so I guess making what I'm thinking is the next best thing.


I textured the roof, thinking about this building which I drive past on the way to the gallery in Floral City. I plan to make another shrine with the roof line going the other direction so I can capture the shingle shapes and colors like those here. I'd love to see inside this building; I wonder if the fireplace is a double sided one. There are three other buildings similar to this one in a group. I think it's an old motel. When I got out to take the photos I noticed these building are probably still inhabited. Oops, Gary waited in the car that day, Ha. Maybe I have enough of the red underglaze left, darn I need that color. You'll see why I've almost run out below.


Once I got to this point I started thinking about what to put on the porch and on the wall, but I was stumped for an idea and totally frustrated. How could that be I never lack for ideas. All of a sudden I knocked over an open bottle of red underglaze. It tipped over and started dripping all over the table top and on to the floor. I had to act fast so it didn't get into the grout lines of the tile. It was quite a mess. By the time I finished cleaning that up, Gary came home with some fresh fish and it was time to cook dinner. So I set the building in the cabinet and decided I could always make it a mixed media piece and add embellishments after firing.

Later on I thought about adding a canoe and some fishing rods leaning up against the building but then I thought the canoe would be too large for that spot. I went back to the building much later and added the door and windows. Meanwhile I've talked Gary into making something for the porch. So this will be a collaborative piece but you'll have to wait and see how this evolves till after the firing.

Up next a fresh fish recipe, another whimsical tile, and another animal portrait so please check back again. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Job, Hope, Cash

The economy seems to be on every one's mind lately including mine. I've added a few embellishments and some color; the three scrolls at the top say Job, Hope, Cash. The face looks clownish, not sure I like that, but too late to change it now.


I started out the other day with this niche. Mixing my love of nature with my idea about making a personal shrine. Later I graduated to the niche above. Funny how things move along in this type of genre. Black seemed like a good frame color, but I think it's too stark for this piece.


I went back and took another look at the photos of the mockingbird and found another surreal one; it shows the bird, my cat and myself reflected in the window. I hope to print these photos on some thin paper and decoupage them in a niche wall. Maybe some rice paper. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

She Bears Gifts Large & Small

Over the last few months while I've been making wall sculptures and tiles, I've been thinking of shrines and niches. I've made a few of them. Here's one bearing gifts; more embellishments and color yet to apply.


This is an un-retouched photo of a mocking bird outside my studio window teasing my cat. We have reflective film on our windows and the birds think they see a rival in the window. The bird kept flitting here and there up and down the window and I kept trying to capture it still so it would be in focus and then, strangely, this is the photo I liked the best. I love the mystical quality of this photograph as if from a dream. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Bout Them Apples

The other day Gary came in the house and said he found an apple tree in our back yard. We've lived here a little over a year and our roles have reversed. I stay inside working with clay and Gary works outside taking care of the landscape surrunding our home. I said there aren't any apple trees back there. He said yeah there is, there's a small shrub with some apple looking things on it.

I went out to inspect. I found a small persimmon tree with a few persimmon fruit on it. Isn't that the most luscious color? While I was out there I heard the tap, tap, tapping of a woodpecker. I looked up to see a pileated woodpecker in a dead tree chipping away for insects. Kind of hard to see him on the left side of the tree, but he's there. The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America and can reach 20 inches in length. What treasures I discover even on a short walk out of doors.


No matter what's happening around me, I can always find something joyous in nature. Here's a gopher tortoise tile I made today. We have lots of these tortoise around here too.


Remember I had my doubts about bringing my pottery to a show recently. The show was local and the entry fee was reasonable. Well the results were OK but not great. Based upon the comments of the organizers, I brought only inexpensive items to the show, all $20 or under. One item for $15 sold, the rest were less than that. The entry fee for the show was $50 and I sold $100 worth of items. Gary said even a penny profit is a profit. Gotta love a positive attitude.

I decided to arrive at the end of the show early to see what sold and what didn't. This show is set up and run by the organizers so artisans don't have to be present while items are being sold. When I arrived they said someone had stopped in and asked where my work was, an admirer or a lurker, hopefully an admirer. As I looked around I couldn't help but notice many of my items were placed at the back of tables or on the lowest shelves so were less likely to be seen.

There was one other potter in the show. I noticed she had lots of bowls left at the end. I also saw a beautiful covered round bowl of hers priced at $10 which didn't sell, but it was barely visible on a lower shelf. I think that show is mostly to showcase and sell items made by members and the organizers, jewelry, knitted scarfs, and painted glass. Live and learn. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

A Rooster Crowing

Top of the morning to you. I did a large rooster tile today. Sometimes hearing a rooster crow in the morning is a good thing.



At the NYC Times Square protest, one person coming out of a musical was quoted as saying, "I think it's horrible what they're doing," she said of the protesters. "These people need to go get jobs."

Two hundred people applied for a part time job here recently, six were called for an interview, Gary was one of them. At the interview they told Gary he was their top choice. When he called them back a week later, they said they weren't hiring just now.

At a job fair for one employer, thousands showed up for a few jobs; they said they'd hire Gary. He went back four times, each time they said they were going to hire him. Finally they said they weren't hiring. We talked to someone who works for that employer. She said they don't have the business to hire and never did hire anyone after the job fair. The employer who held the job fair was a local major auto dealership.

At four other local businesses they told Gary they'd hire him when business picks up, he's gone back to each one periodically; they've all said business hasn't picked up yet.

Yes it is horrible, these people want and need jobs. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Where Have All The Flowers Gone

There can never be too many flowers, can there?


As I was making a couple of flower tiles the Joan Baez song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" popped in to my head and I started singing it out loud. I found it on youtube so you can listen or sing along too.





For these tiles, I textured the background and then added several different slip colors by dabbing them on. Next I cut out and formed each flower, slip painted them, then attached them to the textured tiles.

If you're in Florida, you can find my work at the 7th Annual Artisan Boutique in Inverness today, where I was juried in earlier this week. I have over fifty different pottery pieces in the show at various price points which I spent this week pricing and packing for the show. You can also find my work ongoing at the Florida Artists Gallery in Floral City an artist's cooperative where I'm also being juried. Look for my wall tiles here on my rotating display. Please check sidebar for locations. This post is part of the Artist's in Blogland show and tell Saturday. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.