Family Heirloom 2

I took more photos of our ceramics studio time today.  I think they pretty self explanitory.

 And it wouldn't be complete without Ringo the ceramics dog eating his ice cream treat. So cute.

That's all! Thanks for following us on this journey.

xo,

Suz

Life's a gift. Open now.

Making Heirlooms

Bob and I are about to go to our 4th Saturday morning pottery studio together. We signed up to take this as sort of a "date" activity. Neither of us had thrown a pot since high school or college. Bob and I love making things, specially making things together.  We have a list of items for our kids we are going to make.  After making our first pots we realized Bob would use his strength and size to throw the biggies. I am ornamenting and glazing, and making the smaller pieces and slab work.  Below he is throwing a "Buddy bowl." One of two for our dog "Buddy." I made a sugar and creamer and glazed all our other pots.  Covered serving dishes are next on Bob's list.

The place we go to is in a woman's home. She is a professional ceramicist, and teaches out of her studio which is attached to her house.  We are greeted every week by "Ringo" the dog.  He is our teacher's shadow, as Buddy is mine.  We are served tea or lemonade half way through our morning in mugs made by Marlese our teacher. Ringo is given doggie ice cream that he licks right out of the container.  Most of the time he sleeps.  Ringo is clearly part of the studio.

Ringo taking a nap in the shop.

We are making very practical items that we plan to use for holiday meals. We hope that our kids will use them for their holidays, and their kids also.  It's fun to actually MAKE family heirlooms.  I think I would have loved something my Mother or Grandmother made with their own hands.   However, I do have some of the family silver, which is pretty spectacular.  So I'm not complaining. :-)
I sort of picture my daughter and son sitting down to Christmas dinner long after we are gone and serving the meal out of these handmade heirlooms.  Besides being really relaxing. We both leave very happy and satisfied with our progress. Off we go!

Thanks for reading.
Each day is a gift. Open now.
xo,
Suz

Snow in the Desert

-2 degrees this morning.  I thought I had given up this kind of weather after moving to New Mexico. But I guess not.  I type this to you in  Uggs, wool fingerless gloves, and my hat from the Italian Knifemaker's Guild.  Buddy wanted to go out at 6;30 this morning.  One of the smoke alarms in my studio was beeping every 60 seconds.  Unreachable even, by our tallest ladder...it's making me crazy(ier).  Our high in Albuturkey will be 10 today.

All complaining aside, I've been busy making new items and sending out meteorite hearts.  That is this year's Valentine hit.  Here are a few pieces that are in my new shop: The Polkadot Magpie on Etsy.

Expect more Mid Modern designs for jewelry and flat art.  As well as steampunk additions of ornamented skulls.

It's Black History Month, and I am not sure what a "dropper" like me who has 1.5% black is supposed to do this month.  I made a treasury on Etsy in honor of Irma.  She used to say: "you have the nappiest hair for a white girl!"  She was a housekeeper for my family.  I loved her to pieces. She would bring me 45 records of R&B music from her neighborhood record store.  That's pretty old school, right?  I used to listen to "urban contemporary" music on the radio.   She braided my hair in corn rows, much to my parents disapproval.  I ate beans, greens and rice with country ribs like there was no tomorrow when my parents were away.  And she turned me on to Gospel Choir music.  When the whole "African American" term became fashionable to say instead of "Black"...I asked her what she wanted to be called. Her response was slow in coming and finally she said: My Grandparents were "niggers," my parents are "colored," I am "black," and my children are "African American."

To this day when I am feeling a need for some uplifting I put on Kirk Franklin and am known to say: "time for Church!" Here's the link and a photo of an item I really want.  I forwarded this listing on Etsy to Bob...but I doubt he will get me a doll.  She reminds me so much of Irma.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d48696c318c8eeff6f6e266/irma

"Nadine" from Old World Primatives on Etsy.com

Gotta go cut out more meteorite hearts.  I'm almost out. They were on the front page of Etsy this morning and well, you know how fantastic that can be. Over 400 views until it sold. Amazing.

Each day is a gift...open now. 

xo,

Suz

What I Bought on Etsy

Remedios Varo

Remedios Varo

Remedios Varo

I thought I'd share the first thing I ever bought on Etsy and some recent purchases.  I am a surrealist at heart being lured into the genre by Magritte and Dali, but staying for Remedios Varo.  I saw her show 3 times in one month when it was in Chicago.  The 3 paintings above were at the show. Google Images is a fun way to explore artists. The middle one made me laugh out loud in the museum. She is leaving the psychiatrist's office and dropping her father's head down the sewer...smugly.   Look up Varo if you would like a surreal ride.  So naturally I was drawn to some of the more surreal Etsy Artists.
 

Nadia Turner 

The above is Nadia Turner's work: "Symbiosis."  Her shop is Wayward Creations on Etsy. She's an Australian artist that was having her illustrations published in a book the last time we communicated.  Clearly she does not try and earn a living through Etsy.  When I visited her shop today it was on holiday. Here's her shop:  http://www.etsy.com/people/WaywardCreations  .

Below are Jesse Draper's 2 shoes, and he makes others.  My former costumer self is drawn to wild shoes.  I have always been a funky shoe girl.  In kindergarten I have told you I wore my red cowgirl boots daily from my Halloween costumer until the hot muggy Chicago summer made it impossible to put my  ever growing feet inside them. I know little of Jesse's training. But what I know is he able to create such memorable images by taking the real to the surreal. Your eye does not ever see the edit from one world to the other. The top is "Doc Rhino" and the bottom is called: "Hedgeclog."  Clever this Jesse is. His shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jessedraperstudio .  Jesse's wife also has a vintage dress shop on Etsy. Something tells me they are in the costume biz. 

As I clean out my print drawers and prepare for a new body of work. I am paying close attention to what artists print their work on. So far everything I have bought has been on shinny photo paper.  Not the look I want for my work that will be turned into prints and cards.  Oh, the struggle I have gone through to unsuccessfully so far to find one.  I'm getting warmer, though.  :-)   Below is a piece that's watercolor and pencil that's bordering on my surreal side.  I see the painting version of the house running on chicken legs as dark, sepia and black.   I went through a bright color period when I first moved to the sunny state I live in now.  Going to Italy year after year dipped my brush in the colorful inkwell again.

My new lights blew out during my last shoot. The color changed with candle power I was told today. It's all still a mystery to me, my new camera.  But I have the name of a digital photo class...and so of course I am going.   Ceramics tomorrow morning first. 

Every day is a gift, open now.    Thanks for reading, xo  Suz

My Other Shop

More prints are finding their way into my shop.  I continue to add new items daily to ThePolkadotMagpie.   I am thrilled to have them out of the flat file and up in my Etsy shop.

Most of them are Italy inspired from my time at Santa Reperata Art School.   I collaged pieces of paper into these monoprints.  Above "La Lettre."

"Della Robbia"

Thanks for looking!  For some reason the images look washed out on the blog...well you get the idea.

Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz

Class Picture Day

Yesterday I continued my reshooting of all the items as well as new items in my shops. I now have a Nikon 80 "big girl" camera and some big hot lights.  I had an idea to line the personalized shapes I had up like a class photo we used to take when I was in grade school.   You know how sometimes you think of something, but the execution is another story.

The bunnies and kitties were the tallest, so they went in the back row. Then came the bigger birds, and smaller birds in front.  I stood them up in a scarf box lid with waxy sticky stuff to hold them in place. It was a comedy of errors.  I always turn the lights off between set ups, as they get so hot I am fearful of starting the little photo tent on fire. When I shot the meteorite for ThePolkadotMagpie I couldn't pick up the hearts when I was finished because they were soooo hot.

Once they were lined up, I started shooting. Getting them all at the same angle so the light lit them was the first buggaboo. Then, they kept falling down because the stickum was melting. It truly was like photographing kindergarteners. A bunny would fall, I'd set it up. Then a bird would go beak down.  This is the best shot I got with them all standing. Not perfect, but you get the idea.  I think I am going to make some holders out of clear lucite like they use to hold rings in jewelry catalogs.  "Necessity is the Mother of Invention."  Oh yeah.

Below is my raven who is perched high in my studio. I like to dress him up.   Who is the kindergartener? :-)

Thanks for reading.

Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz

What I Bought on Etsy

"Kelley's Cow"  Old School Suz in my new shop: ThePolkadotMagpie

This starts a new feature on my blog.  I was first a shopper, before I had two of my own shops.  I am still a shopper on Etsy.  It is a land of amazing finds. Vintage is a category I could live in all day.  There seems to be some mathematical formula between what item I want to buy and the shipping being as much if not more than the cost of this wanted piece. Be it on the other side of the world, or 500 pounds...usually those are the things I REALLY want.  The art and illustration shops are also amazing.

I worked my ass off this year.  True, I did it in my pajamas half the time.  There is something to be said for working the entire morning in one's sleepwear.  I love it.  As a reward I wanted to buy myself something.  I love the surreal work that is photography based.  So I decided to set myself a budget of $100.00 and went shopping at some of my favorite shops.  The following two pieces are part of my gift to self.  I have them up on an easel in my studio.  I plan to rotate pieces there like the front page of Etsy. However not every hour. :-)  I bought 5 pieces.

Top is "The Wing Collector" by ThisYearsGirl  on Etsy.com

Below it is "Theodore W. Elwood"  by Emporium51 on Etsy.com

One makes me laugh and one makes me cry.  Ahhhh life.

Everyday is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz