Etsy shop

My Etsy shop is once again full... well, full as it ever was. Someday in the next few months it will be even more full with not only cups, but teapots and other tea accessories. The Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild is having a tea-themed show in March, so I'm getting ready for that. In the meantime, take a look at my shop here. 5% of proceeds from my bicycle cups will be donated to Wish for Wheels, a Colorado charity who donates new bicycles to underprivileged Denver kindergarten kids.

Which design is your favorite?

Shop Etsy.

New bike cups

My cups enjoyed a little photo shoot in the kitchen today... not the best lighting, but it'll do for now. I hope to have these and more pots up for sale on Etsy by Monday. Here are "Lost," "Curiosities" and "To the Moon!"

Curiosities in 2010

The first bike cups of 2010 in progress:



My "Lost" design here has evolved into "Curiosities," with the flower kissing the bike, or sniffing it's nose like two cats greeting each other, and some other flowers remind me of winged insects. I'm enjoying this design most of all! To the right is a new design inspired by a delicious apricot beer at Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora, Colorado, and in the back are "To the Moon!" and "Dive!" bike cups. Someday I'll have my work for sale again on Etsy... for now it's sold at the Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild gallery, Madison & Main in Greeley, and soon I hope to have some at Leta's Loot, a housewares consignment store in Aurora.

Studio update

I've been a busy little potter this season, making a lot of cups as usual, along with pitchers, jars & teapots. A friend commented on my lack of direction and the fact that I don't stick with one thing for long. It's true, I get bored easily, but I do have plans for a full dinner set, or luncheon set rather. What those pots will look like I haven't figured out yet. At the moment my mind is set on making a cup inspired by my cat Leo. Here he is enjoying a cuppa:


We're also experimenting with glazes at the Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild. Connie Christensen is in her glaze testing phase of the year, now testing dozens of cone 6 glazes, and we have a cone 6 electric glaze workshop at the Guild January 30-31. I haven't experimented much with glazes myself, but I would like to make some ^6 electric microcrystalline glazes. Here are two beautiful examples of a microcrystallines: Susan Filly tumbler, Susan Filley cup. Any advice on making & testing these sorts of glazes is welcome. If you're in the area & you'd like to join us for the workshop, call the guild for more info - 303.423.0448. The Guild is on Facebook too & I post regular updates about our events & news from other Guild members: Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild.

Snow Day!

In front of the Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild (I joined in October):The snow made for a slow opening weekend of our holiday show, but I still had fun with it this morning. Making a snowman is a great workout! We're considering having a closing party near the end of the show to make up for the lull. If you're in the area, let me know if you'd like to be on our mailing list. We're also on Facebook - search Arvada Ceramic Arts Guild.

Interview: potter Lucy Fagella

Finally we have another ceramic artist's interview. I've been busy with working, moving, and traveling, and I haven't made time to find artists to interview. So I was excited to get Lucy's email last week. I've followed her blog for a while anyway and she's a wonderfully skilled potter. Take a look for yourself. I still plan to continue the artists interviews as long as I hear from them, but if I'm m.i.a. from my blog, I'm in the studio - it's that time of the year!


Vital statistics (name, age, location, link to website/blog)?
Lucy Fagella, 45, Greenfield, Ma. luciapottery.com, lucyfagellapottery.wordpress

Where do you work in clay?
Greenfield, Massachusetts, renovated barn.

Do you have another job?
I teach adults pottery from my studio. I consider this part of my being a potter. Teaching keeps a great flow going to my work. The questions asked by students are a constant reminder of how the non potter, or beginner potter views pottery. That is important from the business side of selling work to the public. It reminds me not to get too caught up in just what I want to make as an artist, but to incorporate the potential customers wants and or needs for their daily rituals of using handmade objects.

Are your studio and occupation decisions made by choice or necessity? Please explain.
Most are by choice, some of the objects I make, or the amount of classes I teach are sometimes made from necessity... paying the bills!

How do you budget your time (in the studio and out - family, errands, etc)?
Mornings/afternoons from 8am-2/3pm is studio time five days a week no matter what. Then it's exercise of some sort, bike, ski, walk, or watch a soccer/basketball/baseball game of my two sons. Classes are three nights a week. Some Saturday's I may fire a kiln, do a Farmers Market once a month. Sundays are off... need one day completely away from the studio.

How concerned are you about environmental issues? Does this affect your work?
I am very concerned about the way a make a living and how it effects the environment... every time I fire the kiln! I really don't think being a potter is an environmentally friendly occupation. But there are offsets... like buying handmade, local, and the fact that I don't get in a car everyday and drive for miles to get to work.

What do you do when you're having a bad day in the studio?
I stop, do one of the many other tasks that need doing, like web stuff or blog stuff, or pay bills. Or like right now answer your interview, (as my back is killing me and need a break from throwing and trimming!) If all else fails, I get on my bike and ride!

Do you create art in other mediums?
Not any more, my hands are too tired from being a potter. My first love was drawing, and printmaking.

Where do you sell your work?
I sell at some shops. From my website. Many Urn companies carry my line of cremation urns, so many of my sales come from that. I have been wanting to open up an Etsy shop... hopefully very soon.

How did you approach those venues about selling your work?
Shops... I just brought samples of my work. The Urn companies came to me, and asked to represent me.

If you could change one property of clay, what would it be? (from potter John Bauman in the second Monday survey)
Make it so it would not have to be fired... wave a magic wand and poof, food safe, durable pottery, with no fossil fuels used in the process!

Change in weather, new love for tea bowls

Being the first cold day of the season, I had a lightbulb moment with my morning cuppa tea. Instead of the usual mug, I instinctively chose the non-handled tea bowl to warm my hands. I used to shun handles because I was terrible at making them - most beginners are - and at the time I preferred non-handled cups anyway... maybe that's just an excuse since I didn't like making handles & I hadn't found many mugs that I liked. In the past year I fell in love with mugs, but I have a newfound appreciation for tea bowls - it's all in the season. On cold days like today mugs might be used more for cold beverages, but a warm cup feels comforting cupped in the hands, more intimate. I can picture me sitting on the couch after a long day at work, wrapped in a blanket, watching the cats run around while imagining different pots form in my head, drinking a toasty cuppa tea. Though I enjoy the long days and outer warmth of summer, I welcome the change in seasons, with the inner warmth of tea, and wearing long-sleeved shirts.

I can't remember the last time I made a tea bowl... if ever. I make many cups, though none I would describe as a "tea bowl." In fact I don't know what it means for a tea bowl to be a tea bowl, except that I have seen enough labeled so that I understand the general form of one. Please, educate me on the history of the tea bowl if you can. Meanwhile, here are some beautiful yunomis (tea bowls that are generally more tall than wide) from one of my favorite artists, Kristen Kieffer: