Imagine Peace

I found myself in this amazing treasury this morning. There is my Peace Lamp at the end of the second row. It is carved with a bamboo design and the word "Peace" is incised on the side.


This tribute to John Lennon was put together by JoliJoli Designs. See her blog as well!

PEACE!

A Gift of Inspiration!

Just got back from Christmas Eve dinner at my brother's house. We have a long-standing family tradition of only giving gifts to the kids, but there's always someone who feels the need to buy a gift for one of the adults, causing all the rest to say "I thought we were only buying gifts for the kids!"
This year I thought I would be the one to break the "kids only" rule for gift-giving because I wanted my sister-in-law to have one of my platters, which she had admired at Thanksgiving. But it turned out that she also had a gift for me... and what a fabulous gift: 500 Bowls: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design. This is a fantastic book, full of color photographs of the most beautiful bowls... It's like food for the eyes! Inspiration on all the pages! I am poring over the pages tonight and going back into the studio tomorrow after too long a spell of not getting any clay work done!

A Holiday for the Grandkids!

This year only the grandkids are getting gifts. That's how it was when I was growing up. We would put our shoes out on the night of January 5th and on January 6th my brother and I would wake up to find what the Three Wise Men had brought us. Afterwards Dad might take us to the beach. That was in Uruguay, of course, where the holidays come in the Summer!

My 6-year old grandson, Jacob, asked me for Shel Silverstein books and that's what I got him: A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends. I'm so happy that he is enjoying this author because his Mom loved him when she was his age. His 4-year old sister, Sofie, the only girl in the bunch, is getting a Fancy Nancy cloth doll and book because she's a very fancy girl herself. Both of them are also getting a board game to play with Lela (that's me!) when she babysits on Wednesday nights!

Alex is only 16 months and his Mom (that would be Andi, the daughter I bragged about in previous posts who just opened her own Etsy shop) said to just get him some clothes he could grow into. So I did that and also got him a farm truck with some animals in it that he's sure to love.

Ben lives far from us and we don't get to see him very often. This year the family got a wonderful Holiday gift in the form baby brother Josh who was born a couple of weeks ago. Grandad is sending Ben a Santa on a Harley that sings "Born to Be Wild" (daughter is sure to get a laugh!). I'm sending him a Mr. Potato Head and some cars (he loves cars!). And for Baby Josh? He's going to get a lot of hugs and kisses when we visit soon, but for now we're sending him the cutest plush bear and tiny pair of shoes to put out for the Three Wise Men.

300 Hearts!

Another milestone! My etsy shop has 300 hearts! There's no better feeling than that of being loved! What is this all about, you wonder? Let me tell you:

Hearts are a way in which buyers and seller on Etsy.com bookmark a shop or an item in a shop that they like. Then, when ready to make a purchase, they can easily find their favorite shops and items simply by looking at their hearted shops in their "Favorites" pages.

Hearts can also serve as a means of saying "Welcome to the Team!" When someone new joins one of the Etsy teams to which I belong, I like to visit their shop and give them "a big heart" as a virtual hug and kiss of welcome.

Some hearts are particularly important to me; namely, those that come from fellow potters because there is nothing more satisfying than to have a colleague admire one's work.

Please visit the Etsy Mud Team's Shop and look over the wonderful work for sale there. All sales from the Team's shop go to support team activities. A quick and easy way to find the work of all Mud Team members on Etsy is to visit the Team's official website. On the front page you will find a link to the Mud Team Catalog organized by function (bowls, plates, mugs, etc), color, design content (birds, cats, butterflies, skulls, etc.) and medium (stoneware, porcelain, raku, pit fired, etc.).

Treasuries!

I have a treasury ready to go, but I can't seem to catch one! What's a treasury? A treasury is a way of showcasing other artisans whose work you appreciate. It provides a way for Etsy community members to support each other. However, the trick is that you have to "snag" an empty treasury when the treasuries reach a certain low threshhold... and I haven't been able to do that for a while!

Nevertheless, some wonderful friends have featured my work on their treasuries. Please take a look at these! I think they'll give you great gift ideas:

Purple and Orange by Glassnwood from the Coastal Bend of Texas

I Love Flowers by JillsTreasureChest from Mississippi

Strawberry Honey by LittleBayClay from Texas

Pottery, Wood and Lace by RSSDesignsinFiber from Southern California

Hurry up and check these out before they expire! And also look at the beautiful work of these curators. See Glassnwood's handmade stained glass and woodcarvings, like this Ferruginous Pygmy Owl carving. And check out this Farmer Santa from JillsTreasureChest.

LittleBayClay is on vacation so her shop is currently closed (and, sadly, I can't pick an item to show you), but make sure to check out her pottery made with heart and imagination when her shop reopens on January 5. Last, but certainly not least, RSSDesignsinFiber has beautiful home decor and gift items, including this gorgeous and ecofriendly gift bag that's absolutely perfect for the holidays.

It Runs in the Family...

I am extremely pleased to announce that my daughter, Andrea, has just opened her own Etsy.com shop. As I noted a couple of posts ago, when bragging about the beautiful holiday card she made for me, Andi, who's a teacher, has been dabbling in design since high school. For the past few years she has been designing all manner of photocards for her friends and family, and she has decided that it was time to take the next step with her photocard business. Her shop is at www.aGephotocards.etsy.com

A Great Bunch!

I had a wonderful time at the 16th Annual Falls Church Holiday Craft Show! Not only did I have great customers who kept me busy ringing up sales, but I couldn't have been in happier company! To begin with, the Falls Church show attracted a wonderful bunch of people armed with their shopping baskets. I was very pleased by the visit of one of my old customers who told me how much she still treasures a bowl she bought from me several years ago.

Then there were my daughters who took turns helping me: Bibi on Saturday and Andi on Sunday. They are both great salespersons, engaging with the customers and explaining the "great virtues" of my pottery, figuring out sales taxes and wrapping up purchases without ever forgetting to include a flyer in the bags. Thanks girls!

And finally, there were the four other vendors in the area where my booth was located who could not have been nicer! Katie Hoffman is another Etsian who focuses on painting and wire work and also makes the most precious wooden block ornaments! Tiffany Corl makes beautiful shadow boxes to commemorate every occasion and had lovely Christmas scenes, as well as clever clothespin wreaths to hold Holiday cards. Jim and Mo ("Oh No! It's Mo!") Chism had us in stitches the whole time with their stories and upbeat personalities. They were the big attraction of our little corner of the show, selling glass nail files beautifully decorated by Jim.

And then there was Wendi Green of Jewel Obsession who makes the most beautiful necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Wendi and I were surprised to find out that we both lived in Bogota, Colombia, in the early 1970s. But we were floored to realize that we actually lived on the same street, about 2 blocks from each other! Small world, indeed! Oh yes, and you know that I bought a pair of her earrings and I'm still wearing them!

Falls Church Holiday Show~~Day 1~~

Day 1 of the 2-day Falls Church Holiday Show was a great success!

The show has many great things going for it.

1. I was able to set up the night before and that really makes a big difference because it removes all the stress of rushing about to have everything ready before the crowds arrive.


2. There are two vendor areas, the (larger) gym and the (smaller, more intimate) seniors center, upstairs. I was a little apprehensive about being in the smaller of the two areas because there were only 5 of us there. However, the lighting was much better, there was more room for customers to mill about, the bathroom was right outside [ :) ], there was a microwave oven (so I could drink as much hot tea as I wanted to!), and it was cozier and less echo-y than the gym. All of these are major ++++ in my book!


3. The show is very well advertised and, contrary to my fears (because of the state of the economy) it was very well attended, all day long... there was hardly a lull!


4. They provide a complimentary continental breakfast for vendors.


5. They have yummy lunch for sale at very reasonable prices.


6. Parking and unloading are easy and hassle-free.

My wonderful daughter, Bibi, spent the day with me and was a tremendous help. I met some really nice people, including another Etsian. One of my old customers paid me a visit. And... I bought a pair of fabulous earrings!! More on all this next time... for now, here's a photo of my set up.

My Very Talented Daughter

My very talented daughter, Andrea, made this fabulous holiday card for me to send to my customers. I just love it! She did wonders with a not-so-great photograph. And I love how she picked out the green from the teapot and the red from the bow for the lettering.


Andi has been dabbling in design since she was in high-school. In fact, she designed the T-shirt for her senior year class party. Lately, she has been designing all kinds of announcement for her friends and family: births, birthdays, thank-you cards, holiday cards, you name it! We finally convinced her that she should starting charging for doing this, so she has settled on $25 for the design. You can email Andi if you are interested in having her design an announcement for you. And, if I have your address, you might be getting one of these gorgeous cards from me!

Weekend Craft Show

I made three of these snowflake lamps for the craft show this week-end. I also made a whole bunch of candleholders, same idea but they take a candle rather than a snap-in socket. In addition to the snowflake designs, I made several with stars as well as a couple with holiday trees and a few with six-sided stars. So I'm ready with candleholders for everyone's preference! You can see them in the Flickr slide show to the right of this posting.

I also have a whole bunch of brie-bakers, which everyone seems to love. They make a wonderful gift for the cheese-lover on your list. Simply place the brie or other shoft cheese in the baker and spread your favorite topping. Cook until the cheese softens. One of my favorite toppings is this one:

Baked Brie w/ Mango ~~ Place brie in dish. Spread 2 Tbsp. raspberry preserves on top. Top w/ 1/2 cup diced mango and sprinkle 1 Tbsp brown sugar. Place in cold oven; bake at 350 degrees F until the cheese softens. Et voilá! Serve w/ bread or crackers.

And finally, I have the ever-popular MUG. I've got lots and lots of gorgeous mugs! I made "I Voted for Obama" mugs but I don't know what I was thinking and made only 3. I thought I'd list them on Etsy before the show and put the shop "on vacation" during the week-end. Well! I had barely posted one "I voted..." mug when it sold! So, I posted another one and, you guessed it!, it sold too! So I'm left with the one solitary "I voted..." mug. I'll be making lots more before Inauguration. And I will be taking orders. Email me if you'd like to place an order. Or go to my website and send me a message via the Contact Us page. Or convo me through etsy.

See the posting below for when and where information for this week-end!

See You at the Craft Show!

For functional and decorative pottery made in Northern Virginia, make plans to visit the 16th Annual Falls Church Holiday Craft Show and stop by the Glynt Pottery booth (#50). I will be showing brand new work, hot off the kiln! And, to make your shopping easier, Glynt Pottery is now accepting credit cards!

Saturday, December 6 ~~ 9 am to 4 pm

Sunday, December 7 ~~ 11 am to 4 pm

Falls Church Community Center

211 Little Falls Street

Falls Church, Virginia

There will be over 60 crafters represented, as well as children's activities and lunch available for purchase. The admission fee is $1 for adults and $0.50 for children under 12.

Come see me in Booth #50 and mention my blog for a 20% discount.

See my etsy shop for a preview of my recent work.