Margarita salt dish design

Here is one of my fun ceramic creations, 

just in time to celebrate the end of summer

and the holiday weekend with friends!

I created this little number because I couldn't find anything on the market to hold the margarita salt that was both beautiful and useful.

I created the lime mold and used it to attach a half lime shape to the center of a simple plate design to keep the salt in place.

I had help creating the rhyme.

original margarita recipe

Here is my version...

Pour the Diamond Crystal kosher salt into the cool dish with the lime in the center.

Rub the lime wedge on the outside of the cocktail glass.

Holding the glass at a 45 degree angle, dip the outside rim in the salt, rotating as you do.

Fill the glass with crushed ice and place it in the freezer to chill.

Add the tequila, triple sec, a splash of Grand Marnier with the lime juice to a cocktail shaker and fill the shaker 1/2 way with ice. 

Shake well until the outside turns frosty.

Strain the margarita into the chilled glass and garnish with a lime slice.

SALUD! 

Seahorse Vase

Celebrating summer at the seashore with another hand built clay vase.

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Layering seashells on top of seashells and the seahorse as the focal point, 

and adding a little luster glaze for interest.

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Seashore Assemblage

Created using a small 5" square canvas as the backdrop

and adding a bit of turquoise paint 

haphazardly for the background,

a ripped piece of paper decoupaged at the base for texture

then rummage through the studio for small treasures 

to continue the creative venture.

Beginning with gluing on the sand dollar and seahorse

the rest just called out to be added in 

and just seemed to fall into place.

Ceramic seashells, pearls, bits of sea glass 

and the charming heart with the crown

became my favorite.

a little creative fun while at the seashore

Little works in progress...

working in my little sketch book

on new designs

 

doodleliciousness

and then playing with the designs on a bisque vase

just a little weekend fun!

To be continued...

HERE

French Ribbon Roses

Playing with ribbons to create roses and leaves

Coastal Design Towels

I couldn't resist the purchase.

It felt like I stepped back in time, 

and had found a page pulled from a children's coloring book.

I had to have it!

Of course anyone who knows me

knows it is one of my favorite subject matters.

 I could hardly wait to get home and pull out the fabric paints

 and fill in the lines with color.

I think the fish needs a little touch up before 

I gift it to a friend who stopped by today and admired it.

It's always good to take time to play!

One of my all time favorite designs,

It is beautiful and useful,

quirky and fun

and like nothing I have seen before.

 photo by the talented John Ellis

I was desperate for storage, 

as the historic beach cottage I live in was not built with closets in the 1920's

The design challenge was the very narrow 
and small space available to build in the stairs.

photo by John Ellis

The lower pullout was created to accommodate 
the additional steps needed to reach to the top.

photo by John Ellis

All the drawers are real and being used 
to store treasures and practicalities. 

Clients bolts of fabrics, misc. art supplies, 

 my sound system and Cd's and tapes. 

One of the small drawers that is above my head 

with the sea star handle created out of clay,
I designed to open from the top as it is more practical to access.

 The steps give me access to the loft, my little perch

 overlooking the sparkling Pacific Ocean,

with a cool bay seat created with an extra long twin mattress 

for additional sleeping and a great reading space.

 They say necessity is the mother of invention,

certainly true in this case!

(previously there was a ladder to climb upstairs) 


Grateful to have it published in 

Small Room Decorating Magazine!

Coastal cool tags and embellishments

Playing with clay and seashell molds

Embellishments and cool bottle shapes

Fiskar scissors and gift tag ideas

Creating stoppers and key chains, 

drawer pulls and doodads,

bathing lotions and potions

summer fun continues at the cottage by the sea... 

The latest dish!

... a creative new challenge for me,

working with china paints.

Many of us have our collections of china with beautiful roses 
hand painted on vintage vases and dishes. 

Being inspired by painters of the past I wanted to experiment and put my own twist on it by creating a local dish with a map of my little seaside town of Laguna Beach.

I recently had the opportunity to be inspired by some amazing pieces created by Franz A. Bischoff at the Joan Irvine Art museum.

Here is a brief history on the artist...

Franz A. Bischoff (1864-1929) began his artistic training at a craft school in Bohemia at the age of 12. He trained in ceramic decoration. In 1882, he came to the United States and worked as a painter in a ceramic factory in New York City. He moved to Pittsburgh, then to Fostoria, Ohio, and finally to Dearborn, Michigan, continuing to work as a porcelain painter.

      Bischoff became one of the foremost porcelain painters of his day and is still regarded today as the greatest American porcelain painter. His porcelain works were exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. He founded the Bischoff School of Ceramic Art in Detroit and in New York City. Additionally, he formulated and manufactured many of his own colors, participated in exhibitions and won several awards, earning a reputation as "King of the Rose Painters."

He first visited California in 1900, and finding the climate and scenery appealing, made plans to move his family, arriving in Pasadena in 1906. In 1908, he built a studio-home along the Arroyo Seco in South Pasadena, which included a gallery, ceramic workshop, and painting studio. In 1912, he took an extended tour of Europe where he studied the works of the Old Masters and the Impressionists.

    On his return to California, Bischoff turned to landscape painting and gradually abandoned porcelain decoration. Through the 1920s, he painted the coastal areas of Monterey and Laguna Beach, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the desert near Palm Springs. Some of his most charming works were painted in the small central California village of Cambria. In 1928, he and his friend, the artist John Christopher Smith, traveled to Utah, where they painted in Zion National Park. He died at home, on February 5, 1929.

Bischoff exhibited with the California Art Club and the Laguna Beach Art Association. In 1924, he received the Huntington Prize, an annual award given for the most popular painting at the California Art Club exhibition.

I miss drawing...

I've been craving a pencil and subject matter for some time now.

Late last night the muse arrived in the form of a seahorse.

So I dug through my cluttered studio and pulled out a bisque dish, 

a high fire marker and a stump

and satisfied my soul...

 In this case 

the best way to satisfy a craving 

is to give into it!

Binders and book covers

This recipe book was being discarded and since I loved the size,

I chose to rescue it and give it a new purpose and a new cover.

I have been experimenting with marbling paper

and that is where my head was at when I began chopping up the little binder.

I had several sheets of treasured marbled paper

that I had purchased while visiting the town and shops of Venice

and decided this was the perfect place to use and enjoy it on a regular basis.

I also had a swatch of blue suede fabric that blended beautifully

 and I sewed it down the center of the paper,

before laying out and cutting a template to fit the rescued acquisition.

Then I began gluing it all down, fold by fold,

and adding new lining to the inside covers as well.

These paper clips became clamps that were needed

 to reinforce the area where the fabric was glued down.

New filler paper was purchased,

 and I now have a new TO DO notebook to keep all the lovely thoughts

 swirling around in my mind in one beautiful place!

I ended up on a creative roll 

and continued covering objects with leftover scraps of paper 

including a fun sketching pencil!