Latest lovelies out of firing

Ceramic vases embellished with handmade mushroom corals.

I was experimenting with turquoise glazes 

and chose to add a luster glaze in the final firing.

The tall peach colored vase is a wedding gift 

for the neighbor's daughter

 and the tall turquoise vase will be auctioned off at a local 

event held here in town called "A Taste for Charity". 

Jewelry making

with a couple simple necklace designs 

to wear with clothing pieces I have.

I like laying out different choices of beads

and getting an idea of how the piece will look.

I'm not sure why these beads are looking pink in the photo above 

as they are actually lavender.

Beading wire used.

LoVe it!

A thinner wire was needed to go thru these tiny pearl beads.

Think flapper girl style long pearls 

done in a seashore themed necklace.

Perfect worn with crumpled white linen blouse.

Beach time...

A mini vacation, just across the street from the cottage, 

and down a few steps...

Some days it is just the lifeguard, seashells, 

large stretches of blue sky, warm sand and the sparkling sea.

I usually bring my tattered sketchbook along with me.

And my favorite pencil, a fat stump for shading and an eraser.

On this day the straw bag and flipflops were more interesting than my pink painted toes.

Surprisingly, Sunday afternoon I seemed to have my favorite little cove all to myself.

Other days I have unsuspecting subject matter all about.

 I had just begun sketching 

when this guy jumped up and ran after his toddler.

So I spy someone else and begin again.

I am hidden under a large straw hat with dark glasses 

with the sketch book in my lap.

Most people have no idea what I am up to.

This gal made it so much easier, she was dozing and not moving about.

Mostly it is just for fun and practice 

but every once in a while I like a piece well enough to frame.

This one ended up in the guest house at Summerland Cottage.

This guy was so engrossed in his Clive Cussler novel 

that he made a perfect model.

(Reminder to self, do this more often!)

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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Mermaid Collage

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I had the pleasure of hosting 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.

First we painted our backgrounds completely on blank canvases

and Julie provided patterns for our mermaids to cut out of any paper we liked.

After decoupaging them in place with modge podge

we ripped all sorts of different papers into interesting shapes

and glued them into place to add interest to the collage.

When the glue dried we painted the hair.

Glitter and tiny jewels were added here and there.

Always in art classes you will find each piece is as uniquely

different as the individual.

After a delightful lunch I had the opportunity to demonstrate

painting seashells with acrylic paints,

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


Recently I added some of my own ceramic seashells and

a few more pearls using e6000 glue.

Every one had such a great time, the weather was

perfect, and all have creative seashore inspired tokens from

our day spent together.

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.

The Hunger Bowl...

created for the

silent auction of the

Annual National Hunger and Homeless

Awareness Week

Check out the other uniquely designed bowls donated by local and renowned artists.

And it's for a great cause, so please bid generously !

Read more about the event here

.....................'tis the season of giving !

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Collecting Seashells

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Seashells are AMAZING architectural wonders.

The mollusks that inhabit these seashells live in the depths of the ocean and

create these unique protective homes for themselves against incredible odds.

They continually inspire and delight !

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( As a designer I realize I am seeing home design at its creative best ! )

New Ceramic Tile Mold

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Created with plaster so I could use it over and over again,

even attach additional seashells while the clay is still wet

making each tile uniquely different and having the opportunity

to experiment with different color glazes on each one.

This one is embedded in the exterior wall at Summerland Cottage

in Laguna Beach, California.

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Playing with pink

polka dots prevail ...

on my new ceramic creations