Tea time at the seashore

Created for a special occasion…

 then used for every day.

The woman's club in my little seaside town was celebrating it's 90th year
 with a high tea luncheon.

I was asked to participate and bring a favorite teapot.

I chose to bring one of my own creations.

Four of the women attending were in their 90's

and had some amazing life stories to share.

It was inspiring!

As Margret Meade said, 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people

 can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

.

I'm thrilled to have Stampington and Company share the creative fun 

with their readers in their Somerset Home Magazine!

.

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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From rags to roses

I love experimenting, repurposing and sharing the creative fun with the blog world! 

And seeing all the new viewers visiting from across the world,

brings a smile to my heart, hello Russia !

 ...curious about the technique I use to create these sweet little

 embellishments on my ceramic vase designs.

You may view the process by clicking here.

I am using soft cotton fabric, 

mostly old T-shirts, that I dip in liquid clay and artfully twist 

and attach to the form that is also still wet clay,

before putting in for firing.

It is a very messy process 

but so much fun, and well worth the effort!

Спасибо, что посетили мой мир!

Не стесняйтесь, пишите мне с вопросами, я всегда рад поделиться.

Roses continued

in yet another ceramic vase design...

using ripped cotton sheets with clay

and a little watercolor effect with glazes

adding to the collection

of fun experiments in ceramics

beginning to take over my studio

Grateful to share the fun in Somerset Home Magazine!

Pinkalicious

I was asked by Tasha Anderson

to share something

" Pinkalicious "

.

so here you have what I would call

" Pinkalicious "

My latest rosebud vase created with clay

and bits of cotton fabric dipped in slip

then fired with lots of pink glaze

completely covering the sweet vase !

Yellow Roses

an old cotton sheet ripped into 2" strips

then dipped in slip and creatively twisted into stylized roses

are attached to a wet clay vase form with leaves and stems artfully arranged

and after untold hours of glazing & reglazing

then firing...

TA-DAH !

and it all started with the gift of gratitude here

Voluptuous pink rose vase

created with clay

using a ripped cotton tee shirt

dipped in slip then twisted and turned

and designing a stamen stopper

then lots of soft pink glaze...

and it all started with this little beauty on the right in white

created by my friend Cheryl while playing together at Summerland Cottage

Thank you Cheryl for the inspiration !