Art in the Garden in Photos

Last Saturday was my annual studio sale that I hold in the garden. It was our least sunny year but one of our best sales... You just never know how it's going to go.

Photos here include one of my stacking sculptures, a lovely arrangement of Louie Gizyn's work and a table of Jerri Bartholomews glass creations.

Had at least one customer just happen to see our sale on the way to the co-op. He bought a sculpture before getting his grocery shopping done! Another customer saw one of my "basement art collection reduction bargains" over a decade ago at Ceramic Showcase and remembered it from then. It was really nice selling one of my older feminine gold leaf sculptures to her.

People came celebrating their birthdays, their moms, themselves. Other came by just to be friendly and lend some support to the day.

Thanks to all who came by and to everyone who help support the arts!

Six months of Etsy

At the sixth month mark of being an Etsy seller I'm employing only 1/10th of the tools out there to increase sales. One that seems to be working is the cross promotion that comes via the Treasuries. Buyers and sellers alike create themed mini-collections. They help bring visibility of our work to a broader audience. This one was entitled "Brown" and is lovely.

A month ago I joined a Treasury Team that requires members create a treasury of team members' work at least once a month. So far I've been included in 1-3 treasuries each day! (See links in the sidebar.) I've also had a few more sales in the past week--my first since the first of the year--so perhaps this extra traffic helps. Of course, if I could manage to list a new piece or two more often that would help, too. Watching traffic on Google Analytics shows that each new listing brings a spike in viewership that drops off after 3-4 days.

Ceramic Showcase 2011

Ceramic Showcase is a pottery mecca for three days every year in Portland. Not only is it a chance to sell some work, but it is also incredibly inspiring to see all the new work that our peers are making.

A few booths blew me away with incredibly clever displays (Brenda Scott) or outta sight work (Brad Mildrexler yet again). Sorry no photos... More and more wood fire is coming to the show. Glad that there more iterations than just "asian knock-off". Most of us are Amis for goodness sake...

Thoroughly enjoyed myself even tho still exhausted five days later.

Ceramic Bowls Finished Product

Here is how my roly-poly bowls look after being glaze fired. I'm enjoying making them even tho they're time consuming, they're certainly different than a thrown bowl--different than most all other bowls for that matter.

Will people like or dislike their river rock-like bottoms?

A show in two weeks will let me know...

Promoting Art on Etsy

One of the ways Etsy is nicer over some of the other "catalog" art sales sites is the cross-promotion by all the artists and buyers who use the site. We all chose favorites that we promote by "liking" and hope that our work gets picked up in other people's favorites. Another way people promote work they like is in Treasuries -- little "mini-shops" of work people chose based on themes. Themes can be about color, the season, humor, bawdiness, horses, dog, cats, bird, books, movies...whatever people chose to group together. Needless to say there are thousands of Treasuries on Etsy.

I've been lucky to have been picked up in a couple of Treasuries and I've made a couple of my own. Below are some recent groupings in which my work has been featured. (To go directly to the Etsy page, use the link below the screenshot.) Would love it if you took a look at these collections and see what you like.

"Ceramics Treasury #3"

"Breakfast is Ready"

"For the Dogs"

"My Name is Ozymandias"

"Buttery Treasury"

And one I created with pieces showing some off-beat humor. "Washing out the Sunday Blues"

All this cross-promotion has brought many new viewers to my Etsy shop and hopefully one day it will translate into more sales for all of us liking each other's work.

Yesterday's post in video format. It could use some background music...

Comedy for Throwers: Handbuilding a Bowl

It takes about 16-17 separate steps to handbuild a simple roly-poly bottom bowl, even though there are only two shapes to cut out. The first is a circle that is slumped into a mold to get the concave shape, the second shape is a long strip of clay cut to the height you want for the sides of the bowl, and the length that will go around the inside edge of your bowl bottom.



Let the bottom concave circle set up to leather hard, but keep the side strip moist and fairly pliable. Once the bottom has set up it is time to put them together. Bevel the short edges of the strip and then seal them together to form a ring of clay.





Attach the side ring to the base, giving yourself a little bit of overlapping edge on the outside.



When it's all together it'll look like this.



Then using your thumb and forefinger compress the side ring to the bowl base with as much pressure as you can to make the attachment secure and begin to smooth out the transition inside. Here is where the bit of overlap on the outside helps keep the sides attached to the base with all the inside compression outward.



I use a piable rib to shape the inside of the bowl, and then use a piece of plastic to compress the rim of the bowl.



Done.



Because the base and sides are slightly different moisture contents good idea to cover loosely with plastic so it can dry slowly and the seam can relax without distorting as it dries.

By now all the potters who throw are probably having a good chuckle at how long this took.