Digging Pits On Vacation...

Hey friends! Life has been super hectic the past few weeks, my apologies for not blogging! I'm finally getting some me time and on vacation for a week and trust me, there is a whole lotta blog worthiness where I am! And amazingly we have wifi this year! 

So, even though its vacation, I am doing some good old fashioned hard work around my families cottage by re-digging the fire pit for my Grandmother. This is how it looked before and then during my "renovation"... more like excavation!

I will totally admit that re-digging the pit is partially selfish so that I can get a few good work outs in while on vacation and so that I can give pit firing a try. But I also know that its is something my Grandma has wanted done for a few years but was one of those projects that by the end of summer still hadn't been gotten to. So its a win win.

 I've brought my cute little brent wheel with me and have been throwing some pots that are now drying.

  Its very likely that all of the pots I've made will die a fiery explosive death because using open flame, or even hot coals is a much more volatile exposure to heat than in a kiln but hey, the 1st ceramic artist never got anywhere by being afraid of losing a few pots in order to try something new! 

 But some of the pots I threw today are really cute so I photographed them pre-firing to keep them in mind for some future pattern ideas incase they don't make it.

 Before I put the in the fire to pit fire, they need to be completely dry. So they hung out by the fire today.

Inspiration from Florida

Whew, life has gotten super busy of late but I haven't forgotten about this little space of mine. While I'm working on some new posts I wanted to share with you all some of the inspiring artwork I saw while on my wonderful 2 week getaway to Florida back in May! 

White on Red

I kind of have a thing for putting white glaze applied non-uniformly over my red stoneware pieces. I just love the rustic quality.

Mmm, I just love the visual interplay of the white with red peaking through!

The Craftsman House

There is a beautiful craftsman home on Central Ave in St. Petersburg Florida and it happens to be full of beautiful pottery by several hundred different artists!

You can bet my brain has been full of ideas for my ceramic work ever since! :)

My 1st Wholesale Order!

So I actually got this order back in the beginning of April, but it is now finished and ready to share! 

After doing my 1st show back in March I received an order for 10 yarn bowls from one of the other vendors who was there and runs a fiber mill! Fortunately she didn't need them til June so I was able to approach my 1st big order with some time and thought. I threw 14 bowls so I would have some cushion for any mishaps like broken bisque, over fired kiln or warp. Of the 14... one of them broke in bisque (its fixable but a project for later) and one of them really warped in the kiln so I had 12 good bowls to choose from! Perfect! 

Here's some of them in greenware stage drying on the shelf waiting for bisque fire. 

And now all 13 of the ones that made it glazed and ready to be downsized to 10 and packed up!

Here are a few up close! 

It was a fun challenge and gave me a much better idea of how working on a wholesale scale works. And I am now on the hunt for my own Kiln so I can have better control of my roll over time even though the studio where I work was and has always been very accommodating to me and other artist who sell their work.

So if you like what you see and would like to order something, please don't hesitate to ask me! :)

Thrifty Thursday

If someone were to ask me my favorite places to shop they may be surprised to hear me say Goodwill is at the top of my list. But really, its one of my favorites. I never fail to find something relevant and useful and for a steal! Plus, I know its going back into a good cause.  Its also our families favorite place to drop off things we no longer use but know might have another life in them for someone else. Also, if you live in Richmond, we have one of the distribution stores... on Midlothian heading towards Chippenham... its at least 2 times the size of a regular Goodwill!

I make a point of only going once or twice a month and never spending more than $20 in a visit. Often though I only spend $10 or less.. like on my most recent visit. Which came to a wopping $8.57!

I stopped by after my daily visit to the gym just to browse as I hadn't been in for almost 2 months. And of course, found a few things that needed to leave with me! Like the pretty green mugs from World Market that I got for $3.25! Yes, all four of them together were just $3.25! They are dishwasher and microwave safe and add the perfect touch of spring.

Some people might say, but Sarah, you are a ceramic artist, why not just make yourself some mugs? Well, I do.. but being a potter I also have a love for things not made by me that are ceramic and these mugs were so pretty. I especially was drawn by the way the glaze pooled and flowed over the details on the outside of the mug. And while these are commercially made and therefore nothing unique or special they are slip cast and low-fired both of which are techniques I don't use as an artist so for $3.25 I was more than happy to add some pretty detail to my collection without having to make it myself. 

If you follow me on instagram @shedesignswithgrace, then you'll know I've been on a flower kick of late. Specifically keeping fresh flowers on my bathroom vanity just to brighten my day every time I see them. So when I came across this pretty glass vase that was just the right size to hold only a few flowers  and the pretty ceramic china painted one below... for less that $3 each, I couldn't pass them up!

As you can see I brought them home and immediately put one to work with some pretty camellias from my mom's garden!