earcandyarts – a region of StudioWhat

My Holiday Open Studio event was wonderful! If you missed it and are still interested in purchasing some of my pottery or earcandyarts earrings as gifts, please call and you can still come by my studio for a private showing. I have bowls, lidded jars, and tiny dishes and large plates at great prices. Also, I am selling pottery and earrings in two events on Bainbridge Island this weekend, December 10th and 11th:

Saturday, December 10th – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Holiday Extravaganza – 724 Ericksen Avenue (Eagle Harbor Building) The office of Lydia Harrison, Island Educational Services.
There will be about 8 vendors with many hand made items for sale. Bring a canned good to benefit Helpline House, or enter a raffle to win a basket of items – proceeds benefit Helpline House.

Sunday, December 11th – 1p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Home of Amy Weber, Designer, Wanton Willow Designs, fine hand painted textiles for the home.
6268 Lariat Loop – coming from the north: just before Lynwood Center central, go right up Baker Hill Road to the top of that long hill, then go right onto Lariat Loop.
Amy is opening her home for a showing and sale of Wanton Willow’s exquisite creations. Come by for a warm drink and nibbles. I’ll have my pottery there and a small selection of earrings.

Please pass this information on to friends who might be interested in coming. Thanks!

Dear Friends,
It’s that time of year again and gift-giving is on our minds. My tip: Buy locally and buy handmade…

You are invited to attend my third annual Holiday Open Studio at my home and pottery studio on
Saturday December 3rd and Sunday December 4th from from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
with special guest artist and friend, Wendy Armstrong.

At the Open Studio event I’ll be offering earrings in sets of three (and pairs too), and new pottery creations. My good friend Wendy Armstrong will be offering her exquisite rocks – beautiful, detailed paintings of beetles and other things – like those shown above. She will have a good selection at great prices!

Please stop by for a visit and refreshments. You’ll be entered in a door prize drawing just for showing up!

If you can’t make it that weekend but want to come and have a look, call me to arrange a convenient time. OR call and make an appointment to stop by on the Sunday after Thanksgiving if you’d like to get a head start on shopping. Check my earcandyarts web site for updates on what’s available.

I accept VISA, Mastercard, and American Express  and cash or check for all of your purchases. You can also make earring purchases from my Etsy shop where I accept Paypal, OR use your PayPal account at my shop during the event.

If you’re on Facebook, you can “like” my earcandyarts Facebook page and participate in future earring giveaways. I hope to hear from you soon! Forward this on to friends who might be interested.

Sending love,
Linn
Drop me an email to get directions.

Dear Friends,

You are invited to attend a Holiday Open Studio at my home and pottery studio in Kingston, Washington, on Saturday and Sunday, December 4th and 5th from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days. If you’re local or nearly local to Kingston, Washington, contact me through this site and I will send directions. There will be strategically placed signage to guide you here.

At the Open Studio event I’ll be offering earrings in sets of three, my line of PAIRS called simplesweets, and pottery from my hands (when they were both working – see Update below). News! Wanton Willow Design’s Amy Weber (also my good pal) is featuring her beautiful hand-dyed and painted scarves this weekend! Another great reason to come by.

Please stop by for a visit and refreshments. You’ll be entered in a door prize drawing just for showing up! Also with the pottery, I’m offering a “Buy One, Take One” deal, where if you buy one of my “firsts” you can choose a free pot from my “seconds” shelf. If you can’t make it that weekend but want to come and have a look, send me an email to set a convenient time.

I now accept VISA, Mastercard, and American Express  and good old cash or check. Earrings come in gift packaging and I can mail them to anyone, anywhere in the US for free if you like! Bring your address list and I will provide gift notes to include with your gift which you can fill out yourself. You can also make earring purchases from my Etsy shop where I accept Paypal.

Remember to check here for updates, and if you’re on Facebook, you can “like” my earcandyarts on Facebook page and participate in regular earring giveaways. I hope to hear from you soon! Let your friends know. Special note: If you’ve read this far, mention this blog post when you come by and get 15% off your purchase! Indulge yourself silly.

Sending love,
Linn

Pottery offers so many challenges, both creative and technical. I’m not a technical sort, so I work with what know-how I have though I continue to seek more. My latest kiln opening offered these porcelain lidded jars. Photographing pottery is not easy and these images don’t do justice to the surface colors and details in some cases. I’ll be bringing them to the Kingston Farmers Market in the next weeks so come by so you can see them!

This is where they live for now.....on the piano and under Greg's paintings.

This is a set of three. Their insides are the colors of the outsides but mixed up!

...and their tops

This is a whimsical jar that I had a lot of fun making and glazing. Side 1.

Side 2 of the Whimsey Jar.

...and its lovely aqua interior.

Cobalt - deeply beautiful blue and soft, round lines. It's yellow on the inside.

Inside the cobalt jar.

Lid detail.

Moonrise over the dark horizon...a lovely, light jar with domed lid.

The colors on this are stunningly beautiful, like the sea on a sunny day.

Last Saturday’s market day was sunny, hot, beautiful, and packed with visitors from all over the area and from far away. Since I had just opened the kiln early last week, I thought I’d bring some of my pieces to the market but discovered I didn’t have any packing supplies until it was too late. Meanwhile, I brought some tiny pinch pots anyway since they’re small enough to wrap in some tissue.  As I was finishing my set-up routine, a market mate pointed out a tiny and unexpected visitor. This lovely bumblebee decided to have a rest in one of the little bowls and remained there preening and resting long enough to allow me to capture a few photos.

Oh, and these little pinch pots can be used for anything from spices and salt to a place to leave your rings or earrings when you take them off at night.

Today I unloaded the kiln for the first time in a few months. I am usually always apprehensive to take that first peek, mostly because I don’t fill the kiln often enough to have consistent results. Usually, I’m trying something new whether it be a type of shape, a different glaze combination, or hand building or throwing technique. Sometimes the kiln produces a mostly beautiful load. Other times I experience disappointing disasters which I chalk up to experience. My motto in the studio is this: It’s just dirt. With that attitude I can continue to make mistakes and experience successes. Today’s load was mostly a success.

I did learn a few things about my firing. 11 of them are here:

1. My shadow green glaze is too thick and fell to the shelf on a few small pinch pots. When I mix a new batch and add it to an old batch, I have to be sure to get the right consistency or this happens.
2. The glaze I just started to use called Ketchup finally gave me some good results though the one called Crocus is still coming out very dark brown.
3. Ivory needs a little more water and remains one of my all time favorite glazes, especially on a gray clay body.
4. Celedon is FINALLY the right consistency after removing water from it for the last year or so.
5. I really do love making little pinch pots.
6. I must make more lidded jars.
7. Plain white bowls on a gray clay body are a thing of beautiful simplicity.
8. Refiring a piece is sometimes the right thing to do.
9. Clay Art Center’s kiln wash is FAR superior to Seattle Pottery Supply’s.
10. I reaffirm my love for my clay studio on a regular basis.
11. My husband is a very supportive fan of my work.

Next, throwing porcelain. Lovely, buttery smooth and pure pure white. The perfect canvas on which to play with glaze.

Come by my home and Studio What on Sunday 13 December between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. I’ll be selling earrings never before seen and pottery straight from the kiln! I might be able to entice Greg into giving a “WhatUp” studio tour so you can see and purchase his beautiful paintings. Treats will be available too.

West Sound Academy was a great location for the 11 of us who showed our work there. It was a fun event and the first time I sold earrings, little chairs AND pottery.

These are my first buyers...wonderful women who knew exactly what they wanted!

One of my big bowls in a lovely turquoise glaze.

I love this new flyer for the Bazaar…I’m looking forward to this event! Please come if you live near enough.