New Items

These are from the latest firing.  Some are listed in our Etsy shop.  I really need to get a better photo set up.  I know, I've been saying this forever but I'm kinda at a loss.

 

 

Dry already, will ya!

It took a lot of sanding to get the lid to fit again. 

I hate shrinkage!

Bowls, birdhouses, tumblers, flower pots and soap dishes.

Mugs and birdhouses

 

As soon as these banks are dry we'll get a bisque firing going.

And finally....









So this is what my production looks like.  Not dozens of anything but dozens of different things.  I guess we all have to work at our own pace and try not to compare ourselves with the Jones' too much. 

Out of the Firing and into the Fire

I unloaded the kiln with our latest glaze firing over a week ago then promptly jumped on a plane (ok, several planes and slept in Dulles airport!) to AZ.

Beautiful but not green enough for me.

My mother's been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's and finally consented to move out of her townhouse where she's been living alone and 3 hours away from any family.   We found a place 20 minutes from my sister in CO and we all pitched in to pack up her house.  It was not fun and very emotional.  This is her 3rd and most extreme down sizing since I moved out and, boy, what a lot of STUFF!  Not a hoarder or pack-rat by any stretch but....  I'm pretty sure the IRS isn't going to audit a little old lady's 20 year old tax return.  =/

So we sifted a house full down to a trailer full and yesterday was move-in day.  Whew!  What a load off all of our minds!  I'm praying she settles in peacefully and makes some new friends.  Getting old SUCKS!

ANYWHO....  Onto a more pleasant topic.  New friends and happy homes came out of the kiln last week and there were a couple of disappointments (typical) but the majority came out great.  Another "Whew!".

Pigs Can Fly Bird House

Cactus & Lizard Bird House

Fat Frog Bank

Two Tone Turtle Bank

More to come when the sun starts cooperating and I can get more pictures done (I really need to get a better photo setup.).  Stay tuned, boys and girls!

Good Things are a'Comin'

I just wanted to share a quick post to show you the latest bisque firing....

Birdhouses, bowls, leaf dishes, banks and mugs

.... and let you know what's coming up this week.

We're giving our very first pottery class tomorrow night (very, very exciting!) and ALL of the in-laws are coming in for the weekend.  You would think "Not so exciting." but actually it is.  There's no room at the "inn" so they're staying at the local B&B so that isn't exciting but it's less stress for me.  It's been many years since we've had the honor of all of them visiting at once.  It's gonna get loud!

The reason for the invasion?  Craig's dad is being honored for being an inspiring coach and roll model in Mount Olive HS football.  Some of the alumni and former football players have organized a weekend of activities and surprises starting at the season's opening game this Friday.  So you can imagine we'll be a little busy.

Hopefully, I'll get some pots glazed but I'm not optimistic.

The sunflowers are fading but the sedum and mums are gorgeous!

Everyone's enjoying the sedum.

The Lions

After anguishing over getting my lion looking right and getting some great feedback from everyone, here's the final results.

Big Guy

Little Guy

Not quite Mufasa and Simba...

But they're sooo CUTE!

Meandering Through the Mire

So, again, I got stopped in my tracks when I let the dogs out this morning!  God's color pallet never ceases to amaze me.  Not to mention it's gotten up to 57 degrees for the past 2 days.  That makes me very happy!



Come on Spring!!!












But I digress.  I really wanted to share my latest "mini-me" banks.  I've been making larger animal banks for a while starting with 3 lbs of clay.  At Christmas I got a custom order for 3 smaller banks and decided to make some for my shop as well.  So, using half the clay of the big ones I made up these babies.
 

Penguin, ladybug, snail, owl & lion.

Unfortunately, I can't charge half the price.  The clay is the least of my expenses.  It takes less time to throw the main forms but the detail work and glazing are just as time consuming.

I struggle with pricing all the time, as I think most artisans do.  Putting a value on material and time is pretty easy.  But putting a value on your creativity and experience is so abstract and subjective.  To clarify my point I did a search on Etsy for handmade mugs and found prices ranging from $2 to $12,000 (yes, I double checked the number of zeros).  I'm pretty sure self-confidence is the driving factor here in both cases.  One undervalued and the other just a wee bit inflated.  I'm sure you can figure out which one had 200+ sales and which one had none.  =/

How do you evaluate your competition?  If someone is selling something comparable to what you sell and they're charging much less or way more than you, do you adjust your prices?  Up or down?  Or can you justify them and be confident enough to keep them where they are?  Just curious to see just how conservative I am.

It's a challenge finding that happy medium.  I know I can't make a mug for $2 and I'm pretty sure no one would spend an excessive amount (I can't even bring myself to type that number again!) on anything I've made.  When I priced my first birdhouse for a studio show I was embarrassed to charge anything!  Even at the prices I'm asking now some people balk.  I've gotten past the phase of second guessing my prices.  Enough people can see the time and creativity that goes into a piece to keep me in business.  It's not quantity (though that would be awesome!) but quality craftsmanship that's taking me to my target audience.  So I'll bypass the "price it to sell" marketing strategy and plug away where I am.  I'm comfortable somewhere between having low self esteem and being an ego maniac.

Well, this post went in a completely different direction than I intended but, like I said, pricing is something I struggle with.  I guess what it boils down to is realizing and defining your own worth without getting arrogant about it.

Lion - Take Three

I ended up scrapping the last lion I made.  He just wasn't talking to me.  I was talking to him, as I do all of my critters, but he didn't have much to say. So I started again from scratch.  I had pictures of various lions, real and not so real, to inspire me.

This, of course, is my favorite:

 

I didn't go for the red bow but I like the ringlet curls.  So this is what I came up with.  What do you think?

These are his buddies...

On a completely unrelated note, this is what I woke up to yesterday morning...

 

 

 

Oooooo pretty!

However, as the saying goes:  "Red in the morning shepherds' warning..." and it snowed and rained the rest of the day.  =(

Lion - Take Two

I really appreciate everyones feedback so....

Here's take two on the lion....

Is he a keeper? Or should I scrap him and start over?

Lion and Owl

I didn't have to ask the boys on these.  I love the owl but I'm on the fence about the lion.  I like his face but I'm not happy with the mane.

What do you think?

Three Out of Four Isn't Bad

I question myself.  Who doesn't?  Sometimes, when I'm working on a new design, I'll know immediately that I've hit the mark.  Mission accomplished.  Next.  However, there are those times when I'm too close to my work and lose my objectivity.  Then I question.

I spent the afternoon in the studio while hubby took our boys and nephew to pick up a fridge for his shop.  I had a second go at creating a hippo bank and thought I'd gotten it better than the last attempt but there was that question. I've kinda gotten into the habit of presenting a new animal bank or birdhouse design to my boys and asking them to identify it.  So when they got home I unveiled him and just asked "What is it?".  To my delight 3 out of the 4 said "It's a hippo!".  My middle son, (Mr. Contradictory) said "It's a pig!".  I've come to expect this from him.  He says everything I make looks like a pig.  So I don't count his vote.  But it still nags at me if he really thinks it looks like a pig or is he teasing me again.

What do you think?