Cracker Trays

The cracker tray above is a new item I have been working on. It fits very well around my brie bakers made with the twisted rope handle. They will be made in the blue, Redwood and Red colors to go with all my lines.

Most of the week I have been working on orders from the Seagrove show last weekend as well as making more cracker dishes. Today I unloaded the kiln and I need to price and pack for the Sanford show this weekend. I will leave tomorrow morning to go set up.

Vice President - What?

Sunday afternoon our clay guild had a field trip to the Betchler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte. It was fun. And also interesting, because I was approached about becoming the new Vice President of the guild. The previous Vice President had to become the President only a few months into her term and they needed to fill the Vice Pres. spot. Of course, I couldn't think of a good reason not to do it. The only thing that freaks me out is that I do not like public speaking and I will need to lead meetings in her absence and I will become the President next year.

Today I unloaded another glaze load. This pedestal bowl is a new piece I really liked. I reloaded the kiln and tomorrow I should have some good photos. I will pack up all the new pieces and load my truck. Thursday we head to Greensboro for the Second Annual Seagrove show.

Dragonfly load

I unloaded the kiln yesterday and here is a shot of what came out. My favorite is the handled bowl.

I reloaded the kiln with a bisque load this morning. The tall vases were fit into this load. I will be doing at least 2 more glaze loads before leaving for the spring Seagrove Festival in Greensboro. The week after that is the Sanford Pottery Festival. If anyone is interested in complimentary tickets to either the Sandford Pottery Festival or the Wine Festival, please email me and I will mail you some tickets. First come, first served, limited quantity.

Votives

This evening I unloaded the kiln. These are the votive candle holders I made for my friend Lynda. She is giving them to the volunteers who have been with Hospice for 10 years, as a Thank you gift. I also unloaded a pitcher I made for a customer, but boohoo, the blue ran and stuck to the kiln shelf. I will have to glaze another later this week. This is the reason I have thought about giving up this blue. It runs too much. Today we went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia with my Husband, Son & Mom. We just wanted to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Four Handled Vessels

Today I made these vases inspired by this vessel seen in DC. I liked the use of 4 handles for decoration. I also made 2 lobed pitchers, creamer & sugar and 7 brie bakers. But only 2 brie bakers made it. I forgot to cut under the pieces early in the drying process and I tore thru the pieces trying to get them off the bat. Such is life. I will make brie bakers tomorrow. Soon I will be sending out my Spring Newsletter. If you are not already on my mailing list and would like to receive my Newsletters, please email me at jabdelaziz@carolina.rr.com to sign up.

Lidded Jar

Today I made this lidded jar inspired by a piece I saw at another DC museum. It is very not very similar, but I liked the hanging rings and the lid. I make alot of vases but not many covered jars. The other pieces made today were: 3 pitchers, 2 large handled bowls, 5 sm. bowls & 2 cracker dishes.

Canteen

Here is another piece inspired by a museum piece. I like the idea of a canteen made out of clay. Of course it is not functional but fun. After it is glazed I will probably get a leather strap to attach. I am out of clay, so today I am off to the supply store. Tomorrow I will be back in the studio. I have 3 shows coming up in a few weeks, so I need to get my inventory back up.

Inspiration

Today I worked on some pieces using my inspiration photos taken in DC at the many museums I went to. This piece was made from 3 pieces thrown separately and attached together. The small pedestal bowl will probably be a large candy dish. It is not very practical, but I like the look of it. Yesterday I cleaned my studio. It is so much better now.

Happy Easter

Just got back. Had a Craft show in Chantilly last weekend. My Mom and I went a week early and went to Richmond, VA and Washington DC to site see. After the show we went to Williamsburg VA and the Outerbanks of NC. We had a great time. In DC I went to a bunch of Art Museums and got some inspiration for some pottery pieces I want to try. I came back ready to go to work and discovered that my clay supplier went on vacaction for Easter weekend, so I relaxed today and got a pedicure and tomorrow I am going to clean my garage/studio out because the temperature will be very warm and I can pressure wash the floor to get the clay dust out and dried in one day. Watch in the coming week for pictures of new pieces I am going to try.