What a wonderful day!

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Windows and doors wide open, sunshine and a lovely breeze blowing through, what a wonderful day! Fresh air clearing away the smell of freshly primed cabinet and table is such a treat.

Add to that an amazing blueberry-mint smoothie, an unexpected afternoon with my man, grilling on the back porch and getting out of class early. Thank goodness for hints of spring and celebrations of ordinary life.

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Usefullness of scraps - making things from remnants

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There is something so satisfying about making something useful out of the leftovers from another project.  I love making solutions to our needs out of materials we already have at hand.

 I am so grateful to have the tools and space to make these things for our home.

A trash bin for my studio to catch all the little bits of fluff that don't go in the stuffing bag. I originally intended to have a level top to the rectangular bin but then thought of adding holes for handles making it easy to pick up and move.








And an un-paper towel holder and dispenser for under the kitchen sink. It's been many years since we've used paper towels and it's lovely to have a quick solution that we can throw in the wash!

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Getting to class - 3-ring binder cover

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I have a professor that likes printouts. We get four to six printed sheets most every class. After only a few weeks of the semester, I was already tired of shuffling papers around.








Enter the 3-ring binder. The problem is that they're plastic.

Fabric on the other hand?

Fabric, I like.  Fabric, I have. A bunch of quick, straight steams and voila!




Instead of a jumble in a bag I have my re-vamped binder!

Night classes are a little easier when you've got butterflies and polka dots on your side.

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Handsome Visitor

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One of the latest delights of our home is a red bellied woodpecker!

I managed to sneak a few photos before he noticed me.








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Bringing ceramics home - ceramic lantern

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Between the weather and my fall, it's taken me a few extra weeks to get the last of my ceramics home after the close of the student show.

One of our first assignments turned into my favorite piece of the semester. We had to coil-build a sphere at least the size of a large cantaloupe. Beyond the basic spherical shape we were free to use our imaginations. 

I have always loved lanterns and some of my favorite pictures from my international trip last year were of similar shaped lanterns in various states of creation. I even got to watch some ladies making some pretty spectacular silk ones.

Here is my interpretation in stoneware. It's over a 12" in all directions and used over twenty-five pounds of clay.


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