Doing a Hundred Things at a Time...

I am still unpacking and checking inventory following last week-end's show in Fairfax, Virginia. After taking time off to cook the vegetarian food for our Thanksgiving get-together, I am back to listing new items in my Etsy shop and deciding which items to take to the store in Manassas and which ones to pack for the Falls Church show next week-end. This means that my house looks like a pottery explosion: pots, mugs, vases, plates, brie bakers, olive dishes, casseroles... everywhere! I am fortunate to have a very supportive husband and also lucky that the fridge is full of Thanksgiving leftovers and I haven't had to worry about anything other than the shows.

Here is one of the items I just listed on Etsy. I am very pleased with the way this little dish turned out! I used a crotched doilly to impress the pattern on a slab of clay and then molded it. I am especially happy with the way the glaze pooled in the indentations.

I am also happy with these mugs because of the way they show the movement that takes place during the forming of the piece on the wheel and reminds us that this "stoneware" was once nothing but soft, squishy mud!

Next, I'll be at the 17th Annual City of Falls Church Holiday Craft Show:

Saturday, December 5 ~~ 9am to 4pm

Sunday, December 6 ~~ 11am to 4 pm

Falls Church Community Center

223 Little Falls Street

Falls Church, Virginia

There will be 60 crafters and bakers selling handmade items. Children's activities will available and lunch will also be available for purchase.

Look for Glynt Pottery in Booth #50 upstairs!

Featured in a Gift Guide

I was excited to find out today that my little angels with the blue lace wings are being featured in Etsy's Ornaments Gift Guide. Click on the link and see all the beautiful ornaments that so many talented Etsians have for sale. This is the second time in the past two months that I find myself in an Etsy Gift Guide! I feel like I have finally "arrived" since I had not been featured in anything before. It's a great feeling!

It's just more good news to add to the great weekend sale at the City of Fairfax 23 Annual Holiday Craft Show. My husband was a real trooper, getting up at 5am to drive the truck to the venue and help me set up. Then, daughter Bibi arrived to help. She is an enthusiastic greeter, organizing the display to show my wares to the best advantage and closing many a sale. Despite her pregnant belly, daughter Andi came to help on the second day of the show, and Bibi showed up again (surprise!) so the 3 of us had a wonderful time!

I was very pleased to have several repeat customers who came by because they got my postcard. Including a lady who walked into the booth and announced that she had come to buy "the lamp that was on the postcard." (See below the beautiful postcard that Andi made for me.)

I was also happy to meet another Etsy seller and member of the Etsy Mud Team, Suzanne Rehbok of Flying Pig Pottery in Greensboro, NC. I got this beautiful mug from her to add to my ever-expanding mug collection:

City of Fairfax Holiday Craft Show

The City of Fairfax is holding its Holiday Craft Show this coming Saturday and Sunday (November 21 and 22) at Fairfax High School (3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax, Virginia). This show, which is celebrating its 23rd anniversary this year, has a very loyal following and organizers expect a crowd of 8000.

The admissions process begins in January of each year and the participating artists are chosen by a panel of local artists, art teachers and a craft shopper. More than 500 artists applied in 2009 about 230 were selected.

I am proud to be participating in this show this year! I will be in booth #199 in the gym and will be bringing all my latest work, including plenty of brie bakers (a year-round favorite item), mugs and bowls, as well as ornaments.

The show is from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and 10am to 3pm on Sunday. Admission is $5 per day or $8 for a two-day ticket (persons under 18 are admitted free of charge).

In addition to juried crafters there will also be gourmet food vendors so come on by and make a day of it!

This fabulous postcard was made for me by talented daughter, Andrea. Check out her new Holiday designs in her etsy shop, agephotocards, and order your Holiday card today!

Kiln Opening !!

I think that this is going to be my last firing before the big shows this month and next... I had a nice firing yesterday and I emptied the kiln today and filled it back up, so it's running again with the last batch. As usual, there were four little trinket dishes I couldn't fit into the load... there is always something that I can't get in the kiln! But I was able to fire all the brie bakers/paté dishes which were my biggest concern since they sell quickly. So here are the results, top to bottom:

Top Shelf: Brie bakers/paté dishes, olive dishes, lace-impressed dish and one so-so result. I put three little feet on the black trinket dish, but it slumped and distorted a bit. Next time, I think I have to put the little feet further apart.

Second Shelf: A nice little casserole and two matching bowls. I really like the way these turned out. My red iron oxide glaze continues to come out more on the red side, which is how I like it. I'm really pleased with the combination with the yellow glaze! The green and blue votive candle holders and wine chiller are darker than usual because they are made with warm brown clay rather than the usual white stoneware, which gives the glazes a completely different look.

Third and Fourth Shelves: Nothing particularly new here. The green and blue glazes continue to perform. And there's the last of the Starry Night lamps... I should have made more as two have already sold.

Bottom Shelf: Something new here. I pressed some leaves into the still-wet clay of three brie bakers (this is, after all, the time of year for being entranced by the leaves falling all around). Then, instead of painting a design over the white glaze as I usually do, I did so on the bisqued pieces. The colors went right into the impressions left by the leaves, accentuating them. Then I put the clear glaze over the top. I am very pleased with these results!

Bells and Angels

My Etsy Mud Team friend, Barbara Dunshee, makes beautiful work and she also teaches ceramics. She recently posted some videos on her blog showing how to make her porcelain bells. I thought I might want to try making them at some point but was not in any hurry to start experimenting with new items right when I'm in the midsts of getting ready for the Fall shows. But I was making some trays and found myself with small slabs of stoneware at hand, so I took the first steps in making Barbara's bells: I cut a circle of clay and then I divided it in half diagonally to make two bells... The pottery fairies must have been twirling around my studio because I didn't end up making bells. This is what happened instead:

A parade of tiny little angels! I don't know if they'll survive the firing... but they're mighty cute!

Soup Time!

It's really getting chilly outside! Time to warm up with a nice bowl of soup. Here are some of the soup bowls currently available in my Etsy store:

October 10 Kiln Opening

Getting ready for the Holiday Season! Here's the latest kiln opening... a lot of ornaments, as you can see! I am partial to the trees, large and small, because they are a great symbol of Winter. They have quite a few uses, not just as ornaments. My favorite is to use the small trees as name tags on presents since you can write on the back of them with a Sharpie.

A small disaster on this shelf: I made a piggy bank prototype and broke it's ear when it was already bisqued. I decided to try and see if I could "glue" it back on with glaze. The thought actually crossed my mind that as the glaze melted the ear could begin to slide off the piggy... and, of course, it did... coming to rest on the lip of the mug next to it.

This shelf also shows a couple of salt pigs I made for a friend (a new item for me), as well as a new direction for my lamps. Instead of making them cylindrical, this time I made them as closed forms and carved a crecent moon and lots and lots of stars.

And... I'm loving the green oval dish with the textured rim!

I fired this load a bit hotter than usual and you can really see the results in my green and blue glazes on this shelf.

Almost to the bottom! I like the way the creamer came out with the white interior.

Here's the bottom shelf! I don't know if you can see the difference in the green glaze on the teapot and on the oval cylindrical lamp... Interesting how the far side of the kiln was much hotter and what a difference that makes on the glaze.

That's it for now! Keep an eye on my Etsy store, I'll be listing these items soon.