Ceramics & Crafts

Greetings!!

I am a "hobby ceramist".  I make ceramics and crafts to sell.  In the ceramics I primarily focus on utilitarian items for the kitchen and bath such as mixing bowls, coffee mugs, canister sets, dish sets, serving bowls, liquid soap dispensers and such.  I'll include a few pictures for you to look at below.

I also make a few crafts such as home made soaps, hand dipped beeswax candles, soy candles, polymer clay beads, rag rugs, etc.  I love to do decorative painting on wood and other surfaces.

I use only certified non-toxic, lead free paints and glazes.  With the ceramics, I pour a lot of my own molds, or hand form as well as all my own firing in the kiln.

I started out doing ceramics when I was a teenager.  A lady I babysat for took me to a small studio in a lady's basement.  While I loved working with the ceramics I hated the class because I was the youngest there and the older women were busy chatting about things like raising their kids, etc.  I was very out of place.  But I did take a couple of classes and learned the basics.  When a new ceramic shop opened downtown I was their first customer.  They were fantastic.  I told them I did not like sitting in a classroom but I would like to be able to tell them how I wanted a piece to look when it was finished and they would tell me what I needed to do to get it to look like that.  They agreed.

Ceramics became my passion.  I would spend every spare dime I had on making ceramics.  I could sit for hours painting and glazing pieces.  Over the years I accumulated a lot of paints, glazes and brushes.  I kept growing in my hobby and learning more and more.  Eventually, I bought my first kiln.  Taught myself how to operate it.  Had some failures along the way but I just see them as learning lessons.

At one point I took on a part time, temporary job in a ceramic shop in NM.  It was cool.  I was primarily glazing but while there, they taught me the basics of pouring molds.  They were selling off some of their older molds to make room for new molds, so I took some of them as part of my pay.  They thought it was great and wished they could keep me on longer because I had such a desire to learn.  Unfortunately the job had to end.  But I had fun playing with those molds I got.

Of course, my first few pourings were not the greatest, but I was determined to learn how to do it right.  I read a lot and kept trying until I was good at it.  I had about a dozen molds to play with.  A few years later, after I moved to Illinois, I got really serious about the ceramics and decided it was time to start buying some new molds and equipment. 

Little by little I accumulated over 2000 molds.  Thousands of jars of paints and glazes, pouring equipment and even more kilns.  At one point I actually owned 4 kilns!  I also have a potter's wheel, which I taught myself how to use.

I started out giving classes in the basement of my house.  Eventually I opened my first store downtown.  It was great!  I sold supplies and gave classes and also sold some finished wares.  Due to family emergencies I closed that shop and about 5 years later I opened another one.  Eight months later I would up bedridden with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and wound up again closing my shop.  I had done some craft shows after that, but not much else as my health was getting worse.

For years, as I struggled with my health I did very little with the ceramics.  I am still struggling with the fibro and cfs but am once again, little by little getting back into my passion and working with the ceramics.  I am selling finished ware only and not doing classes any more.  I am building it up gradually.  I will be selling at a few shows, online and will eventually be advertising in Country Sampler Magazine.

When I have the web site up and running I will post a link to it.  I'll also let you know my show schedule for next year and other locations I will be selling at in a future post.  In the meantime, here are a few pictures to give you a sneak peek.  They are not the best quality pictures, fair warning!!

Until next time,,, have a blessed day!!