Featured Artist: MaidOfClay

I just read this fantastic blog interview with one of my all time favorite artisans, Felicia Nilson. (as I just wrote this sentence, I realized I may have spelled Felicia's name wrong earlier today, I'm so sorry if I did! will go see if I can edit my post)


Here's the link to the interview:
http://phydelle.blogspot.com/2009/06/handmade-artists-maid-of-clay.html

There is so much there! Even a video of Felicia working :) I have been a fan of MaidOfClay since my early days of Etsy, because she shares my love of Arts & Crafts pottery, and much of her body of work is in this style. Gave me an instant connection when I saw her shop.

We both belong to the Mud Team of Etsy, and have had many conversations over the past year or two about the pottery we love, and I thought of her shop first for a recent gift I needed.

Oh! I also own a very cute bunny dish that holds my paperclips on my work desk, and one of the gorgeous lady pendants that is hanging in front of me right at this moment. I am inspired by this lovely woman/artist, and was thrilled to read the fabulous interview.

You should read it too!

Ceramic Erin: Survey: potter John Bauman

Ceramic Erin: Survey: potter John Bauman

I just read this fantastic survey on the blog linked above. I just love this guy's words ♥ Wish I could express myself so well! I especially liked this part:

"We notice everything pottery. In the background scenery of a movie set, in a commercial on TV, we'll notice the pots.
If we walk into a strange place and there happens to be a hand-thrown piece in the room, little else occupies our mind – at least until we’ve had the chance to pick that piece up, feel its heft, and look beneath it. It calls our attention like an overheard conversation that sounds more interesting than the one in which we’re currently engaged...
"Oh, excuse me. Did you say something?”

So true! So true!

The whole article is worth reading. Good job, and what a great guy too!

New Issue is out!

The new issue of Artisans in Miniature is out! Great online magazine, best read (for me anyway), when you download it in Scribd



Artisans in Miniature Artisans in Miniature All About AIM New directory title page MAY's AIM MAGAZINE!! Magazine Help & Information Magazine Archive... Join the AIM Association... Fair date page 2009 Contact us... Helpful Links...
AIM...

"An association of professional international artisans,

dedicated to promoting a high standard of excellence

in original handcrafted scale miniatures."
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The 'Summer' edition of the AIM magazine is now online...!Website last updated: 02.06.09


Online AIM magazine - Summer 2009 - Issue 13

'NEW LOOK' AIM DIRECTORY, now it is even easier to find your favourite artisans!!!


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Remembering Slavko

Every now and then someone passes through your life that truly touches your soul. Slavko was one of these special people. I am not good about putting my feelings into words sometimes, but wanted to have a permanant post somewhere as a tribute to this very special man.

He will be personally missed by many of us, and I hope his art will continue to inspire millions forever.


Slavko's website
Slavko on Etsy
Storque article on Etsy

Miniature Teapot Project

Many years ago, I worked for a mail order company making miniature objects of all sorts. One of the projects I had was hundreds, and hundreds of miniature teapots. My husband made me molds of the teapots so that I could make many of them at once. The teapots for the project did not have to be functional, only cute, so what I did back then was just make the basic teapot from a mold, then paint the bisque piece with colorful designs in acrylic.

Fast forward to my new obsession with all things scale miniature, and finding these molds was a very exciting day! This time, I plan to make the teapots properly, with real glaze and carved designs. Not as easy as I thought it would be...what happened to the claim that slip-casting was fast?

I broke at least a dozen of the clay teapots when I first tried to carve on them. The handles were the first to go. I wanted the teapots to be "true" scale, knowing that the handles on the basic teapot would be far too thick and wide for a hand to actually get around if it was really in scale of one inch = one foot. So the first two that did make it to completion have new handles. My second breakage came from trying to make the spout functional. I broke a lot of spouts this way, and finally figured out to just chop off the molded spout and make a new one.

Still, the first two teapots did not end up functional. The spouts cannot pour on the two teapots in the left of the picture. The second two teapots were not designed to have a real handle, (the molds had a formed handle I just painted to give the illusion of a handle), so I made holes for a wire handle to go through. I have not been able to get a non-kinked wire handle on these two teapots yet. I have tried 3 different kinds of wire so far, but they have all been too tough to manipulate once they are on the teapot. I have some very thin copper wire that will be the next experimental handle on the two teapots in the right of the picture. I am using the #3 bugle bead as a handle on the wire to be more like a real teapot. These two teapots are functional :)

This is one of those getting side-tracked days. I started out thinking I would be taking pictures and listing the vases I made last week. That was really a couple of days ago...because the side-tracking from that was deciding some of the vases really needed flowers first. So I put off picture taking and started making flowers. Then, I just couldn't stop thinking about, and trying to fix the wire on the two teapots that need a separate handle.....that's how it goes so often. I don't stay focused on the task at hand, and feel all over the place on what I "should" be doing, and go do something else instead.

(new listings will be done soon, at least the poor neglected blog got a new post today ♥)