Mamma Mia

Moms make the world go 'round. I think we all know this. Dads are great, but if it weren't for Moms, nothing would get done. They are organized, persistent, nurturing, and never lose their energy and focus. They make sure we are raised polite kids, who are prepared to take on the world. They keep their cool, even when we drive them crazy.

 

My Mom in 1956

My mom raised six of us. I don't know how she did it. And how she didn't drink alot. Somehow, we didn't break any bones, or kill each other.
Even though this was in the 70's, my mom had a $40 a week budget to use for groceries. For 8 people!!! Somehow, she made it stretch! Granted we ate a lot of Hamburger Helper.
My mom taught me to be tough, and take on life without being afraid. She pushed me to be better. She made me be a strong woman like her. She taught me to not give up. She always said to speak up, and speak my mind. I listened, mom!
Now, don't get me wrong, she also embarrassed the heck out of me too. Two times in particular stand out in my mind the most. Whenever we would go to a store, and I would wander off on my own, if she was ready to go, she would have me paged over the loud speaker!! Oh, how humiliating when friends were around.
Or the times when she would see a guy around my age, and introduce me to him by saying, "This is my unmarried daughter." Sigh. And she always wondered why I didn't bring guys over to meet her.

                                          My mom at 19 on her honeymoon. 1957


My mom was also my biggest supporter of anything I wanted to do. She urged me to move to Washington D.C. my sophmore summer in college to be a congressional intern. When I wanted to marry the man of my dreams, and move to California, she told me to make sure there would be a guest room for her to visit. In 2003 when I wanted to open a business, she is the one person who said, "I know you can do it." My mom taught me to love crafts of every kind. She was the first to introduce me to ceramics. I think she would be amazed at what has happened with the studio in the last 10 years. Moms deserve our thanks and respect for all they do.

 

Mom at 17. 1955

 

 

 

Mother's Day is just two weeks away. They only get one day a year to feel really special. This is our chance to tell, and show our Moms just how much they do for us, and how much they mean to us. Whether you buy Mom a nice gift, or a fancy dinner, I'll bet the most meaningful to many moms would be quality time spent with their families.

Happy Mother's Day!

I love you, Mom!

Why Oh Why?

A lot people ask us why it takes a week to fire their pottery. That's such a great question! And because we get it so frequently, we've posted a pictorial answer on our website. I thought I'd share it here as well.
The first reason is that we have several days of customers pieces ahead of you.
So, once you pick out, and paint your piece, you leave it with us for a week.

It has to dry for at least 24 hours before we can glaze it.

 

Each piece is marked by day so we can keep track of who did what when.

 

The viscoity of the glaze has to be measured each day, and it has to be perfect! More errors could come from the glaze than the kiln.

 

 We have to time the viscocity just so. Each piece is hand dipped one by one. At Christmas, ornaments are fun!

 The glaze is a strange bluish, green color. But, not to worry, your paint colors will shine through!

Once the glaze dries, 24 hours later, we have to touch up pieces for any missed spots.

 

Next, each pottery piece is place on its own stilt. (Bed of nails) This prevents it from sticking to the kiln shelves.

 

 The piece is then placed into the kiln on the stilt.

 24 hours later, when the kiln cools, you have your finished piece!

 We remove the stilt which can leave sharp edges from the glaze.

 We sand off those sharp edges smooth.

 

Then, your piece is ready for pickup!

 

 

 

 

When the moon hits your eye...

I had been debating for years about whether or not I should add another "fired art" to my studio business. I went back and forth about fused glass, but I was scared to do it, and unsure how to go about it. It just looked so daunting, and I had the pottery thing down pat. And then my honey, and I visited Murano in Italy in 2009.

And my second love was revealed. Fused and slumped glass like the famous Italians do it.
First of all, they have a much bigger kiln then me.

And they're doing glass blowing as well. Can you imagine trying to offer that in the studio? Uh, no thank you! But, fused glass is the next best thing! Imagine a customer of ours can create their own glass plate, bowl, platter, candy dish, cross, candle holder, and much more. It still boggles my mind, that they can create that in our studio!

 

 

 

So, I came back to the States, and set out to learn all I could about how to create fused glass pieces. I took a lot of classes, and researched alot. There were experiments, and failures along the way.
I started small. We did just tiles, and flat pieces in the beginning. And through trial, and error we learned to create all kinds of wonderful masterpieces, and works of art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We find that many customers are still intimidated by glass fusing. We explain that it's actually easier than painting on pottery. Once, they do it, they are hooked. We'd love to invite you in to try it. Even just to make your own glass letter, or a coaster. We'll walk you through it ever step of the way, and you'll be hooked like I am.