January Adventures

I have been having a hard time keeping up with this blog lately. I have been keeping myself so busy with not only my business but also with a few personal projects I started.

This month I took another session of the wheel-throwing class. Here are some of the pieces I have thrown this month. I wanted to try bellying out this bowl and if you really look closely you will notice that it is not even on both sides. I did figure out what I did wrong here.

I didn't take pictures of the clay cut out and when it was fired on these stars. I used these as test tiles, to test out some of the glazed I purchased. Some of them are so pretty.

This is the bowl from above after it was trimmed.

This is another thrown piece and I like the shape of it. It is funny how after you are done you think it is taller than it is, there is some shrinkage but it still always seems taller after I throw it.

I threw this one the same night as the above piece.

The cylinder from above I made into a small mug. This is a picture after it had been trimmed and I put a handle on it. My handles tend to still be a bit wonky. I need to practice this more.

And the little bowl from above after it was trimmed.

This mug I threw on a Saturday for more practice. I think this one has ended up being one of my favorites. I still didn't get it has tall as I wanted but it is the perfect coffee mug size. I need to make more time to go in on Saturdays and practice. I am thinking about making a series of these smaller beer stein looking mugs.

Here it is all trimmed and with a handle.

This one I threw in class and it ended up wider but not taller.

Here it is trimmed up with a handle added.

This is the white mug from above. I decided to paint some green underglaze on the earthenware and sgraffito some shamrocks in it.

Here are some pieces I finished the glazing process on them. I plan on doing some blog posts of just the finished pieces on some of these. 

Another smaller beer stein. I was able to get this one a bit taller but I think it is a bit to narrow.

I decided this year to give a yearly project another try. I wanted to practice painting with watercolor and decided to do a small mini painting everyday, well almost everyday. I did give myself permission to do makeup days. I got this idea from Andrea Gomoll, over the month of December she created an Advent calendar where she did a small painting in a circle everyday for Advent. I thought it was such a great idea that I decided to give it a try as a yearly project. I wanted to put a whole week on one page, so seven days per page. The journal I am using is a Mixed Media Strathmore Visual Journal that is 5.5 in x 8 in. I am also using a few different kinds of watercolor paint and might add to it throughout the year. I am using a Sakura Koi Pan Watercolor Travel Set, I have a few of the Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor tubes, and I have purchased both of Jane Davenport's travel watercolor sets. As for the black linework I am using a few different types of fineliner pens, and also some gel pens for details and additional color.

Here are the weekly pages from January.

This month a couple of my girlfriends decided we need to get out of the house more often. We planned to do this on Sunday's when we could all get together and go explore some of the local parks and nature preserves. If you would like to see more pictures from this hike you can check them out on my flicker page.

Our city has started a group where you paint rocks and hid them on your outdoor adventures. We spent a rainy Sunday painting some rocks. Here are the 2 rocks I painted. I still have yet to set them free into the world.

Thank you for taking the time to join me on my monthly adventures.  If you would like to see my work in progress pictures or just some creative randomness you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Best of Both Worlds Ad Design

This was an ad I designed that went in the February 2015 Issue of the School Library Journal Magazine. I came up with the idea of the twins showing the two ways the books can be sold in a combined offer. I feel the design of this ad has a more editorial look to it then some of the other ads I have designed.

December Adventures

December was very productive with my clay projects. I started taking wheel throwing classes. Here are some of the my first pieces throwing on the wheels. This first piece is from my 1st class.

In the second class we practiced more on centering the clay and then pulling a straight cylinder. This one flares out a bit but not bad for my second piece.

In the next class I learned how to throw bowls and I was able to finish 2 of them. I kept one a little more shallow than the other.

In the last class we were supposed to learn about glazing but I already have some experience and I am experimenting with my own glazes. So we decided to keep throwing. I gave mugs a try. The first one is a really small mug. The second one is a bit more like a coffee mug but it could be a bit taller.

The next day at the studio I gave pulling handles a try. They came out a bit wonky but not bad for my first time. I need to practice this a bit more.

Here are some of my other ceramic pieces that finished getting bisque fired. The next couple pictures are progress pictures from glazing the pieces. These pieces have already gone through the glaze firing and I am in the process now of taking final photos for them.

The Budweiser Clydesdales did a small parade in downtown Ft. Pierce right in front of the clay studio. They are such magnificent creatures.

It had been a while since we had gotten dressed up and gone anywhere. We were getting ready to head down to Miami to see the Cirque Du Soleil's Kurious show. I had actually did my hair and put on a little bit of makeup, so I had to take a selfie.

The show was actually held in a circus type tent. It was really neat the way it was set up.

This was inside the entrance tent where they sold the concessions and souvenirs.

And a picture of the stage at the beginning.

The show was amazing with all the steampunk theme and acrobatics. The really neat concept of everything occurring within the minute of 11:11 was really interesting. 

After the show the boyfriend made reservations at a restaurant that was at a resort. Outside the building there was a small pond with these huge Koi fish in it.

All together we had a great December and New Years. I had been doing a New Years post where I look back on the past year and then go over my plans and goals for the next year. I am going to skip that this year.  If you would like to see my work in progress pictures or just some creative randomness you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Big Cedar Missouri Adventures

This year for our big trip we went to Big Cedar in Ridgedale, Missouri, which is only 10 miles south of Branson. It was so beautiful up there.

I am only sharing some of my favorite images from the trip. If you would like to see more you can check them out on flicker here.

This first image I took while we were in Alabama driving over the big bridge.

I really wish I would have gotten a better picture of this. It was one of the most funny things I have seen in awhile. This huge flatbed truck was carrying this tiny tractor on it bed.

We finally arrived at the resort and there were a couple of big deer heads hanging on the wall.

It was a bit gloomy and rainy that first day we got there, but this is the view right off the balcony of our room. We were right on the mountain.

The next day was also a bit gloomy so we decided to go into Branson and do some shopping and visit some of the sites. The boyfriend want to check out this Tractor and Auto Museum. I really thought this old hearse was really interesting.

There was also a beautiful Chevelle, I had to take a picture.

The next morning I got up before the sun had completely risen. I grabbed my camera and when out the front of the room and waited for it to rise to take pictures. While I was waiting I took this picture of some yellow leaves. I was really hoping that the colors would have been brighter but I think we missed the full color change.

Here is one of the best photos I got of the sun coming up over the mountain. This is one of my favorite photos I took.

Looking off the balcony there was this neat fog just over the water of the lake.

After we got ready we decided to go on a nature trail that was just up the street from the resort. This was really fun because you rent a golf cart and drive it around the trail.

When you first go in the cavern there is a little bar that you can pull up to and they will make you drinks for the rest of your ride.

I had never been in a cavern before and it was super cool and so pretty.

After leaving the cavern there was this bridge we had to cross.

From the bridge looking back toward the cavern was this beautiful waterfall.

After the nature trail we decided to go check out the Indian Museum. This was looking out over the golf course before you get into the museum.

I was really impressed with the detail of the pottery that they created.

That night we went on a River Cruise Showboat. This was a lot of fun and it was beautiful to be down on the river looking up at some of the mountains.

On our last day there we just walked around the resort and I got some really cool pictures of some of the fall foliage.

This deer skull was hanging up on the restaurant we later ate dinner at that night. 

There was a small putt putt golf course that was open to the residents. So we played a round. It was cool to see that you had to go inside this big fish.

It was really interesting to see a lizard up there, considering it was pretty cold. This lizard is definitely different then the ones we get down here in Florida. I also saw a chipmunk and tried to take a picture but he was to fast. (We don't have chipmunks in Florida.)

Here is the sun setting on our last night. 

We had a lot of fun up there and it was so beautiful. I could see myself living up on a mountain like this.

Fall Adventures

I feel so bad for leaving the blog so dormant for the past 3 months. I got really busy with projects for my business that there wasn't time for much other than getting them completed. This is my first year starting a freelance business and I am still learning how to handle everything. Please bare with me while I figure all this out. Handling how busy I had become has been tough but it has been a blessing and I hope the projects keep coming.

I do still work at the clay studio on Fridays, so I have been able to complete some of my clay projects. Here are some pictures of projects that were in the works during the fall. I do plan to take pictures of the final pieces and write a blog post showing the process of each piece. This is another adventure that I have been doing for just over a year and I enjoy tremendously. 

This first picture is my Big Mouthed Witch. I had just finished building the sculpture and it was ready to go in the kiln for a bisque firing.

This is my Big Mouth Monster. I had just finished applying the glaze. I used underglazes on this and it needed to go back through another firing to set the glazes.

This is a finished picture of the Witch Hat Incense Burners.

This one is my Big Mouth Jack 0'Lantern after completing the building of the sculpture.

Here is the Big Mouth Witch after applying the glaze. I also used underglazes on this one and it was ready to go for a second firing.

I put these up in the studio for sale, but I did not sell them. I do plan on getting my Etsy shop back up soon.

Here is another pumpkin I started using the Brown Specklestone Clay.

I had started an online art course called Ever After and that also got put on the back burner. I am hoping to pick back up on this after the holidays! This one is of Snow White and I finally had transferred the sketch to the paper I am going to paint on.

The beginning of October we had to prepare for a Hurricane!

Here is an after the Hurricane photo and as you can see there wasn't any damage. We got lucky and the hurricane shifted a little to the east putting it a little more off the coast. I will tell you it was still a bit scary. This is the first hurricane I experienced living in this house.

A friend of mine had a pumpkin carving party. Here is what I had come up with.

And here it is lit up. I see that I could have gone a bit deeper in some spots.

We went on Vacation in November to Missouri and I plan on sharing the photos from that next week. I plan on getting back to trying to post something once a week again. If you would like to see my work in progress pictures or just some creative randomness you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook.