Latest porcelain creations..

Carol Dekle-Foss

Hi Everyone! I hope you have had a chance to enjoy some wonderful summer activities! I have stayed home most of the time, which isn't like me. This time of year, I'm usually camping, visiting the beach, or hiking in our amazing Sierra Foothills. After the accident though, I felt like I had lost three months so I have been really focused on catching up and working on new designs. 

 Lately, I've been influenced by affirmations and positive quotes, so I've been incorporating some of my favorites into a new line. Below are a few I've made so far. 

My first batch of "it is well with my soul." I just love this quote. I made them into pendants so they can be worn close to the heart. They need a different glaze for sure, one that highlights the font better.  I changed the design to include a cute border.

These pendants are in their greenware state, I'm so excited to see them glazed! I plan on making more designs like this. If there is an affirmation or quote that you think would be a great addition, please let me know!

Latest designs fresh out of the kiln...

A new petal shape.

More yummy cherry blossoms.

Mandala, lotus and swirl charms and pendants.

First try at the "just breathe" quote. 

A large flourish pendant.

These beads are supposed to be carved with lotus petals. Ugh...not quite as I had envisioned!

Also, I've been working on some porcelain cone ring holders. I like the swirl leaf base and the shape is good, but I wasn't going for little brown turds. Lol! I think spaced in my booth they won't look like turds in a toilet. Hahaha! I'm working on the glaze color. Any suggestions? 

Alright ya'll, give it up for the husband!

Ronnie's beads...

and his very first pendant!!! Isn't it adorable?? It's so much fun watching him play with clay.

All of the above will be listed by the end of this week to our Etsy store here. Minus the turds. Haha! 

Thank you for reading. I hope your were inspired to create!

mary jane dodd

mjd - 2014

so many wonderful things are happening here for the contributors of the blog - 

things they work hard for, 

take chances on,

dedicate their time to. 

a new talented member has joined in - welcome, carol!

it's not easy to keep a group blog 

(much less your own)

going. 

i thank them for their dedication and desire to inspire and educate 

you.

i've not been so present - 

life can be unpredictable - 

before a serious illness i was more productive,

attending to blogs,

teaching classes, 

writing for publications.

in short, doing what the goal of many of us becomes.

mjd - 2014 beach and forest finds

but what happens when you cannot do as you did before? 

after you have grieved 

after you have gotten frustrated?

because it is in making that you speak 

that you feel

that you make sense of things. 

mjd - 2014

as in dealing with many of life's challenges, 

you adapt

you accept

you learn to let go.

i know i am not alone - 

we have deaths in families,

illnesses

job losses

things that change our lives 

and can strip us of passion.

be gentle with yourself. 

find what works,

what makes you feel good

what allows you to speak. 

mjd - 2014 - everyday love pins

inspired by rumi

things work out. 

the necklace in the first photo evokes a cupped hand ever so gently holding a heart - 

a heart wrapped, but softly and openly - keeping it from turning hard.

no matter how bad it gets, remember that love is ever present. i challenge you to go outside and look around. how many plants have leaves shaped like hearts? stand before them, breathe deeply, smile and know. know you are loved. know that this life of yours offers an opportunity to touch others. 

then figure out how you want to do that. 

you're a maker, aren't you?

so make something for someone who has touched you. 

then set it free into the world.

guess what? you've created a ripple - maybe that gift will reach someone just when they needed it. and they will be able to do it for someone else. 

spread the love - 

and never stop believing in the power you hold to make the world a better place. 

what is your intention?

mary jane dodd

mjd - 2014

you are a maker -

whether you work with raw materials like metal, textiles,clay or glass or you purchase handmade components and artfully assemble them into something that speaks your language.

you use your hands and both sides of your brain.

mjd - 2014

i think most of us agree that making is a therapeutic activity, one that we cannot imagine living without. 

you put so much of yourself into it. 

do you think about how you release it into the world?

mjd - 2014

what i wish for first is that my work connects with people - not everyone naturally. but with those who are like minded, your tribe.

do i hope that someone might buy it? of course. this is how i make my living. while i wish i could give it all away, i can't. 

but what i can wish is that it brings someone joy, or peace. that it perhaps gives them a chance to step outside of our demanding world and connect with something that was made by hand. to appreciate the depth of meaning in the simplicity of a stitch. to connect back in time to others who worked in a similar way. 

and so how do i release it into the world? 

with intention and love. 

i hold each piece in between my hands & give thanks for the ability to give voice to my heart through the use of those hands. i give thanks to the person who values what i do. i give thanks for the ability to connect with people.

you do all the work you do to create your finished piece - whether it be a necklace, a bead, a finding - why send it out from you without a blessing of your own?  

you are a maker

mary jane dodd

mjd - fragile strength 2013

and you are human.

it's no secret that last january i became mortally ill. 

there have been surgeries, 3 months of iv antibiotic infusions, and more.

more is the residual, lingering pain.

but this post isn't about the pain -

it's about being a maker and being human.

and what do you do when you get cut off from what allowed you to express yourself?

when i couldn't get to the bench to do metal working, it sent me into a depression. not just because of my inability to physically work (though that was big), but because it was and is how i process thoughts and feelings. 

mjd - pin weaving 2013

to my great good fortune, this post came to my attention - and i was able to interpret this technique into something that spoke my language. above you see it as a pendant. below, i changed the shape of the pins into leaves.

mjd - woven leaves 2013

mjd - 2013

i then became interested in small affordable looms that allowed me to make these:

mjd - mat with carved stone 2013

thanks to pinterest (that font of inspiration) - i learned about boro and japanese stitching

mjd - peace flag 2013

and added it to my weaving.

autumn arrived with its gorgeous foliage and hydrangea petals stained by summer.

mjd - fragile strength 2013

mjd - pumpkin garland 2013

i find the stitching to be very soothing

mjd - 2013

mjd - 2013

the point of this post isn't about me -

it's about you.

life doesn't always go along as planned.

and if you are a maker

it is imperative that you find a way to keep doing that.

for you it might be baking,

knitting

crocheting

making your own cards

sewing

or something else that resonates with you.

i just ask you to keep trying

depression

physical injury

emotional injury

are all debilitating.

but you are stronger than any of them -

even on your worst day.

mjd - open heart 2013

remember

'the wound is the place where the Light enters you.'

- rumi

guest post - shae freeman

Sometimes the hand remembers 

what the brain does not.
It recalls what the rest of the human has never known.
There are unknown cartographies in the fingertips, 
ones that map old memory. 
- anonymous   

       

Objects exist as visual language, representations of complex ideas before spoken language itself was even established.  Ritual objects, spiritual objects, fetishes.  Objects for remembrance, objects for hexing.  Objects for containing the spirit after death, family heirlooms and objects for earthly remains. Good luck charms, protection and safe travel. Functional objects, objet d’art and artifact.  Objects are tasked with carrying precious and sometimes fearful power. Our species has an affinity for tangibility, for acquisition. Our relationships to objects are so vast and complicated that very many of us are not consciously aware of them.

As a maker, I use the same tools and traditions that have been used in metalworking for thousands of years.   I am following an ancient and deeply embedded tradition of object making.  My hands, the intermediary between brain and tools, are the executors of intent which make the ideas a tangible reality.  As an artist, my responsibility lies in truthfully reporting the world as seen through my eyes.  The end result of my interpretation of the data I receive through my senses is what name we give to an object- art.  As a creator, I am tapping into genetic memory, collective unconscious and archetypes imprinted in the human animal’s psyche- the wellspring from which we all draw.  This skill is only honed by the act of creation itself, and by opening interiors doors to allow it to enter.  In creating, the attempt is being made to enter into a state of grace to receive creativity.  By allowing myself to be open, if I am very lucky, I can channel this imperative and let my hands do the rest.  The object thus made will be invested with power shaped through my unique focusing of the lens.  A uniqueness we all have in common.

I am a visual artist, a visual learner and most of my communication with the general populace is visual. So let me tell you a short story, visually.

Thank you for letting me share my limited understanding of the universe.


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shae's work ranges in scale from jewelry to large sculpture (7+ ft. tall)

find her here:

etsy

flickr