I love that I have my creative studio space in my house.
I dream of having a secondary building somewhere where I can run my business and hold artist retreats, but right now with young kids, it's just not something on my horizon.
I try to sneak in an hour or two of clay time a week.
I remember those days where I could work all day and night on my work, but having kids, those days are long (LONG) gone. And even though I miss it sometimes, I really enjoy where I am right now in life...
And sometimes when I work on new pieces in series, I should listen to my brain that says:
"Hey! WAIT!!! Now that these are drying in groups, you should immediately sort them into smaller bisque containers for the bisque firing NOW instead of having to sort through all of these pieces after the bisque firing!"
Did I listen to my brain?
Not at all... (kicking myself)
So I had to spend (waste) an extra 20 minutes to sort through this entire 6" x 8" container full of my new flower disc beads.
Truth be told - I think my brain ignored itself because it somehow knew that I needed that 20 minutes of extra bead fondling once these were out of the bisque firing.
Now that they are fired and sorted, when I get to the glazing point, I can easily pull out the plastic drawer (I use the ones from the hardware store that stack high and have 30-50 drawers in each) and pick pairs.
I like to work in pairs from the glazing point. If they make it out of the kiln with a matching mate, then it was meant to be.
If not - then well - independence is theirs!
I have some in my Etsy Shop, and will be glazing more in early May for a shop update and for stock for Bead and Button (booth #610 with Nikki Thornburg Bead Studio).
And to send to Darlene of D7Studio where she represents Marsha Neal Studio.
And I am taking a little bit of time here and there to tend to the garden and spring clean up.
I just love these Hellebores...
First time this one is really blooming!
Curious to see about the cross pollination of this double blooming head with some of the others in the garden (they take 5 years from seed to blooming mature plant).
And a little educational treat for myself...
I adore felting, and have had two opportunities to take classes with the very talented Sara Renzulli of Sarafina Fiber Art, where we have been needle felting structural creatures.
This one is the Bunny Puff Kit (she has all kinds of critters as fibers are available and restocks often).
I love these for my house, and learning about creating structural fiber work is really going to help me take the next steps towards where I want my body of work to end up...
If you have ever wanted to learn needle felting you should check out her shop and her SarafinaFiberArt You Tube channel for a bunch of tutorials.
8 comments:
I watched a needle felting demonstration a few months ago and learned a little about it. It was a fun demo! I love the discs! Kelli gave me a tip about using bisqued bowls while firing. it certainly made digging them out of the kiln a hell of a lot easier!
You are a busy person! I have done a little needle felting. It is an interesting process.
How flippin' cool are those flowers, Miss Marsha! I will be saving my pennies to get some at the BB show for sure! Enjoy the day. Erin
That puff bunny is adorable! Like the ceramic flowers too!
i am so very very fond of your work and i know what you mean by having your time of working in long stretches get cut short. but soon enough, they will get busy (or get licenses) and you will have your stretches back. the bunny is wonderful! looks like you have been doing this for years.
Wow, these flower disc beads are SO Spring-y & jolly to look at! Lovely colors!!! I even like them in just the bisque-fire state…
Curious about these fabulous-sounding "hardware store" drawer units you mention: 30-50 drawers in each?! I haven't seen anything like that in any of my hardware stores.
I could certainly use such a thing - can you give us some details (size, brand, etc.)?
The storage units are just basic plastic drawers - no brand on them (and if there was, it was with the plastic wrap, and has been gone for a long time). I found them at my local ACE hardware years ago - but they might not carry them all the time. They are meant to hold nails, screws, washers, bolts, etc. I think I've even seen them in Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They are about 20-30 inches high x wide and around 6 inches deep. The drawers they have all differ in size.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the response, Marsha! I've been away & didn't see your response 'til today.
The extra info will help in my search for something similar.
Thanks again!
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