The Dreaded Mug

I was talking to one of my dearest friends Shanna about throwing mugs last week. I love mugs. I love drinking out of them, love heating them up in the microwave and sipping my favorite beverage. But making them....hmmmm. Let's just say that the mug is not my most enjoyable form to throw. It's the handle. Let's face it, when I make bowls and tumblers, it's the few steps of weighing the clay, throwing the form and then trimming. With mugs you have to add the extra steps....

of pulling the handle, and then.....

drying them ever so slowly upside down for days and days so that the handle dries and the same speed as the rest of the mug.

Don't get me wrong, I love mugs, but this time of year, I'm mugged out! What about a nice tumbler or tea bowl???? Yeah, I know, you all want mugs. grumble grumble

Just kidding really! Okay, off to heat up my coffee in my favorite....mug!:)

New Encaustic Work

Here are some new encaustic pieces that I've finished in the last month. Above is titled "Orange Leaf". A few of these will be in River Roads Gallery, a wonderful little space in Skowhegan, Maine that has been showing my pottery and small clay sculptures since February.



Showing paintings is something very new for me. In the past, my paintings have been created just for me or given as gifts.

"Tree Sky"

"Green Leaf"

"Green Ovals"

I will be in the Holiday Show at the Old Crow Gallery in South Portland, Maine, from December 13-24 next month. If you're in the area, stop in and check out all the local artists. I'm the only potter so I'm really looking forward to some good sales.

Cool Uses For My Buttons!

I've been making ceramic buttons since last winter and love them. They are really enjoyable for me to make since they are whimsical and just plain fun. They are awesome "kiln stuffers" which fill all the empty spaces in a firing so a potter saves money because there is no dead space. Carol Dean from SandFibers makes the most beautiful woven bead creations. She bought a few of my large buttons several months ago and listed one of them in a felted wrist cuff.

And.....she sold it!