Coastal cool octopus

Just creating with a girlfriend, playing together in ceramics 

and working with analogous colors to

create a happy dish design with a watercolor effect!

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Mermaid necklace

Inspired by the cool coral mushrooms found in the sea

I've created my own version in clay!

Then fired them and punched holes to create buttons.

After firing using a little craft twine created this fun necklace!

They are called Corallimorph mushroom corals.

 I think they make the perfect mermaid necklace!

Grateful to have it them published in Jewelry Affaire magazine!

Mermaid sail boat

created with porcelain clay

and a remnant of dotted swiss fabric was used for sails...

We cannot control the wind... 

but we can control our sail as it catches the wind.

Learn to set the sails of your perspective

 and use the winds to move you forward toward your goal.

Happy New Year friends!

Grateful to share the creativity in Somerset Home Magazine!

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Here's the scoop

with the latest assorted ceramic serving pieces,

and mix and match fun

in coastal cool colors

just out of firing!

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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!

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... 

Seashore inspired mosaic tray

I began creating various sizes of ceramic tiles to use in an old 

wooden tray that I found at a thrift store.

 I chose to paint it all white. I had primer and house paint leftover 

from work around the cottage, and it worked perfectly on the 

old brown tray.

The goal was to incorporate the varying shades of Tiffany blue hues 

that I had been using on some of my latest ceramic serving pieces 

for alfresco dining at the cottage along with the color of new

 growth in the spring a lovely green that I had used to paint all the

 shutters around my historic cottage.

 I intended to use it for serving in the charming bricked in courtyard 

full of flowering plants and vines.

I added in some beautiful glass tile samples leftover 

from a sample card, some flat marbles typically used for floral

 arranging and even a few stray pearls, and vintage buttons just 

because I could!

Pieces with raised shells and embellishments I placed in the corners

 of the tray to reserve the center to be flat for serving.

I chose liquid nail to glue the pieces in place, and when it was 

completely set I used white grout following the manufacturer's 

direction to fill in all the spaces.

There are some days when it all comes together and causes your heart to sing! 

Thrilled to have it published in Somerset home!

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Seashell assemblage

Inspired by the always amusing and creative O.C. Cottage

and her post "Just use it"

I pull out a bowl full of seashells and spread them out across the studio work table

and create this seashell assemblage with them using e6000 adhesive.

...just wanted to share the fun.

One World One Heart ♥

Thank you to Lisa @ a whimsical bohemian for hosting this

fun world wide event for bloggers to participate in

What a great way to discover

and meet kindred spirits from all over the world !

I LoVe meeting new people,

bonding with kindred spirits,

sharing joys with like minded friends,

fellow artists, writers, photographers, designers,

seamstresses, crafters, collectors & creatives of all sorts ...

As a bonus to each blogger participant

for dropping by to view my world,

and leaving a comment

I would love to know what part of the world you are visiting from and what inspires you !

You will be entered in the drawing for this door prize,

Limited Edition Giclée of Original Oil Painting -- Laguna Beach California, Shoreline

for description click here

The drawing will be held on February 17 th, 2011 and a winner will be selected.

Purple sea urchins

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inspire my latest ceramic designs

Sharing is good

Yesterday I had the good fortune of having the opportunity to share Summerland

Cottage as a location, with an amazing group of artists, who asked to use the guest

cottage and gardens at Summerland for a Body Glove bathing suit photo shoot.

Even the weather was participating with 80+ degrees

and cool ocean breezes in November!

The swimsuit designers Carolyne Deshaies and Alicia Barrett met their photographer

Dominic flown in from Canada, along with the talented and inspired makeup artist

Dehx from Huntington Beach California to bronze and beautify the models,

Elizabeth Crompton from Los Angeles and Tyrie Rudolph who flew in from Florida.

Here the models pose in front of one of my largest creative ventures

at the entrance to Summerland Cottage

a higgledy piggledy vintage brick wall with my ceramic seashells

embedded throughout

it is more than 60' long and over 10' tall

Life is good!

 Tyrie liked this photo I snapped of her well enough

to use as her new face book profile photo.

The cooperative creative energy with all the varying artists was amazing,

everyone had such fun working together

it was a great day and new friendships were made...

you could say it was magical!

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Fun & camaraderie

sharing talents with each other

{ hand made goodie bag gifts }

Last Saturday I hosted a workshop with Julie Nutting here at Summerland Cottage.

Since the studio is a bit messy we enjoyed the fun alfresco in the courtyard.

Julie taught us how to create the mermaid decoupage you see above.

Always in art classes you will find each piece is as uniquely different as the individual,

and though I share it in this photo I still have work to finish on mine.

After a delightful lunch I had the opportunity to demonstrate painting on a bisque dish

and encouraged adding values to give it depth and add interest.

sample dish

Every one had such a great time, the weather was perfect,

and all have creative seashore inspired tokens from our day spent together.

Sweet Beth's creative writing talent and telling of the day we shared surpasses mine,

and she took the time to take photos,

so enjoy reading and viewing much more on her blog couture over coffee

Seashells and Teapots...

My latest concoction created with clay...

the view from the front,

and the other side with the lid removed.

You can see it before glazing process here!

Playing with pink

polka dots prevail ...

on my new ceramic creations

A tiny corner of my world...

Where I have vignetted some of my seashore inspired creations

The lamp began as a vase,

then evolved into a lamp

( funny how that happens )

It was the perfect addition to the corner of the sitting room,

my favorite place to curl up in the evening hours

to read, and write in my journal.

Assemblage in a box

I painted the background paper

and pulled out a tray full of beauties,

then...

It's almost as if the little hand crafted ceramic jewels climbed in and assembled themselves.

I love when that happens !

It's titled Twin hearts

in memory of my twin brother

Ceramic wine cooler

created using crackle glaze

a custom mixed ink stain

clear glaze and platinum luster

to create the look of a silver base.

I love experiments

especially when they are successful !

Summer entertaining continues at the seashore...

Platinum jewelry pieces

created with clay,

using platinum luster,

looking like little silver adornments from the sea ...

These little gems were inspired by my surroundings

and my fascination for the sweet finds glistening in the sunshine

discovered on the wet sands of the seashore.

For this project I began by sculpting a mould out of clay using typical sculpting tools

and a dull pencil lead for grooved details.

Once it is done it is fired and I then have a mould to work off of.

I created numerous press moulds that can be used repeatedly.

Rolling a small ball of clay in your palm and then pressing it into the mould,

then pulling it out gently and setting it aside to let it dry completely before firing.

After the 1st firing I added a clear glaze and re fired.

Then it is ready for the platinum luster glaze application and the final firing.

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Now the possibilities are endless...

they can become jewelry pieces such as the lapel pin

using a magnet to attach it to clothing

( so as not to harm delicate fabrics )

or by attaching jewelry findings they can become necklaces,

charms for bracelets or key rings.

They also make wonderful decorative buttons!

later...

playing with package design ideas

using paper scraps found about the studio

Being curious about everything and living to create

there is always a new projects covering my large studio work table

that faces out to the sparkling Pacific Ocean.