Chasing the end of the Rainbow

Since the Olympics are officially over, I finally feel like we can all embrace Spring here in Vancouver.  It's a shame to feel sorry that the flowers are blooming in February- it seemed like we had to make up excuses for the lovely spring weather we've had over the past 3 weeks. 
There was a glowing pink light in the sky the other night and I quickly donned my cute clogs to run down the street with my camera and my umbrella to catch the rainbow that was showing off it's colours in the sky. 

Making sense of Anthropologie...

Is there anyone else out there that gets depressed when they look through the serving/kitchen section of the Anthropologie online shop?  Seriously- that mug is $12 Canadian? Are you sure about that? It looks pretty 'handmade' to me with that seam on the side, fired 3 times- 1 bisque, 1 glaze and 1 decal covering the entire exterior of the mug.  That's a whole lotta work... the mark-up on this stuff has to be at least 50% if not more- it is retail after all. So, let's say, to be generous, that whoever is actually making this mug is getting $6 a mug to cover for labour and supplies and the firings, not to mention all the overhead of actually running a business.  It says 'Imported'.  Hmmm... 
The bowl, looks like a steal at $14 but is also imported.  Then there's these vases- hand-made in a studio in New York by Potter Judy Jackson for $28-37.  So she's getting a maximum of $14-18.50 per vase to wheel-throw and glaze each one by hand?  I mean, this stuff is really lovely.  And cheap.  How is it possible?  Who is making the imported wares and how much are they getting paid?  This doesn't even account for the designer fees- someone had to design the mug or the bowl and get paid for that too. 

 

And then there are these bowls, designed by Australian ceramic artist Samantha Robinson (based on her award-winning watermelon bowl series- her work is beautiful- do check it out), that are made and glazed and decaled, by hand, out of porcelain- get this- in China (it says 'Imported' but if you read the 1 not-so-nice review, the person says they were made in China).  The smaller bowl is $598.00 and the large bowl is $168.00.  What?!? 

All this to say that I don't understand.  How some people are making money at this.  And other's obviously are not.  How one artist is getting (from my very speculative knowledge of this contract) $299 for a bowl she designed and another artist is getting $14 for one she designed and made by hand. And finally, how can a ceramic artist possibly compete with these prices?

Slow and Steady

You know the old story of the Turtle and the Hare with the line 'Slow and steady wins the race'?  I've often identified with the Turtle for most of my life.  I always felt like kind of a late bloomer in some respects.  Like I was on a path to somewhere, and slowly and steadily plodding my way there with intent and purpose.  Much of my work has been along this path- no real quick short-cuts to making it or selling it, just slowly plodding it's course, waiting for the ideas to finally bloom.  Nothing happens suddenly or overnight, and not everything I make turns out right the first time, but it is on a course and a path that is hopeful of that end.  I'm trying to be content in that place, that slow and steady place.  Sometimes I want it to all happen faster and I look for ways to short-cut my way there.  This week I was reminded that slow and steady is really better here (under the question about what advice you would give).  Wise words and good reminders... 
I've got a busy week ahead with Dean out of town for 4 days and spring break coming up soon.  Next week we are heading off to Vancouver Island to visit friends and hopefully my new baby niece or nephew.  I'm so looking forward to posting the big news soon!

Wild Ride

The wild ride of the Olympics is now over.  It's been years in planning and anticipation, and while it has been fun and exciting, I'm kind of glad it's over.  I know we have the Paralympics yet to come but we are nearing the return of our city back to 'normal'.
Today I'm working on my tax stuff.  I'm not much for accounting and book-keeping and it's a little disturbing to add up the monthly expenses at the end of the year and realize how much certain things have been costing.  I keep wondering how to improve on my 'profit' rate so I can pay myself regularly.  I have theories about attempting to cut some of my expenses down, possibly raise some of my prices, limit my wholesale and only doing shows that have trusted track records for good sales.  All in all I am realizing that I have to produce a lot more work in the meantime and again have been looking at ways that could be possible.   Business advice would come in handy about now...

New work

Here's a little sample of some new work that has been listed on my shop along with my regular work that is now in stock and ready to ship. More in the works!

Hip Hostess Give-a-way

 

The Hip Hostess blog has all sorts of great entertaining ideas, from recipes to table decoration and they are celebrating of  2 years of blogging with give-a-ways for the entire month of February!  Today they are hosting a give-a-way with my lovely Poppy Bottle Vase, so hurry and swing on by- the  give-a-way ends tomorrow!

Just the beginning...

I was pretty excited when these came out of the kiln.  Black, white and grey.  Lines that give definition and allow for pattern emerge.  Simple, modern, smooth and silky feeling.  Plus lots of room for me to expand the series. I've been working towards this series for a few months with no good results until now!  I have more work to photograph tomorrow and will let you know when it's all up in the shop!

More big news: we got a new kiln at the studio!  I'm so very excited about it- it was exactly the kiln I was hoping for- a large Skutt computer kiln in really good shape even though it is used.  I can't say enough great things about our landlord who fronted the money to buy the kiln for all of us!  It has been frustrating to fit my limited studio schedule into everyone else's kiln schedule along with only having 1 working kiln for 6 of us.

Freshly squeezed

To beat the winter cold bugs I've been drinking freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice in the mornings.  The colour of the countertop, our juicer and the pink grapefruits has been good for my mental health as well.  Along with the occasional visit from our neighbour cat, popcorn, who keeps popping up in the window by the sink to say 'hello'.

I'm unloading the kiln with some new work later today.  I hope to have a shop up-date by tomorrow with lots of 'freshly squeezed' pottery- finally! 

Spring chicks & baby kittens

My 'new' orange clogs that I found at the thrift store are proving to be the perfect slip-on shoe to be out in the yard with.  Our miniature daffodils are blooming and the new baby chicks have arrived at Dean's folk's place. 

 

And which kitten would you choose to take home?  Our neighbours cat had 3 kittens on February 14th and we've been patiently waiting to have a new kitty in our home since our cat of 14 years had to be put down last June.  Sasha and I are partial to the grey one, Johnny the one with the black head and Dean the one with the orange flecks.  They are so tiny and won't be able to go to new homes for a little bit yet.  Lots of time to decide...

Pen & Ink

 

Here are some more glimpses into the past with some photos of notebooks that once belonged to Dean's Grandparents.  Mostly in german and almost illegible, there is such a beautiful flow to the letters and numbers.  This last image with all the numbers is actually music notations with the words to old hymns in German.  It has inspired me to dig around in my supplies cupboard for my old nibs and ink again. 

I know there are a number of very talented artists using calligraphy and pen & ink these days.  Here are just a couple that I've found recently:

Shana Murray

Betsy Dunlap  

I just remembered that there is also a great article with some other calligrapher's in the new Uppercase Magazine...

Playing in the Sand

 One of the best things about living in and around Vancouver is that we aren't far from the ocean.  There is something so therapeutic about heading down to the beach on a balmy February day and making a sandcastle with the boys.  It was great to see their faces and imaginations at work as they built tunnels and roadways, borrowing buckets to see whether the water would make it through their canals. 
Today we celebrate Sasha turning 6.  It is amazing that the time has flown by so quickly and every time he grows a year older I feel a little sad that he can't stay 3, 4 or 5 for a little longer. 

facing the past

These are just some of the photographs that had belonged to Dean's grandmother of her friends and family through the 1920's in the Prairies of Canada.  Some familiar and unfamiliar faces of the past re-appear for us now as enlarged prints since Dean's mom scanned her mother's photo album into digital format.  We've noticed details within the photos that weren't clear before- little mysteries about who the faces are and what they are doing have made us more curious about our past heritage. 

In Process

It seems like my week goes by so fast these days and I am scrambling to keep up by thursday.  I've been meaning to glaze these new wheel-thrown vase forms in a new soft 'satin Matt' glaze that I mixed up in various shades of grey.  Hopefully that can happen today or tomorrow.  Won't they look lovely? Out of the 10 or so vases that I threw last week, I was happy with these three as a grouping.  Must make some more!
I must link today to the Luxirare blog- perhaps you've already found this AMAZING blog- for which I'm blown away by the Cuisine portion of the blog- the Pie Pops are stunning and look amazing, the Parfaits were jaw-dropping when she starts making juice 'caviar'... anyhow- photographer meets scientist meets packaging designer meets chef and I am absolutely blown away!

Chasing Pirates

We weren't actually 'Chasing Pirates' more than singing the song as we scoped out this old ship from Russia, complete with teenage Russian Cadets, that is parked in the harbour during the Olympics.  It was quite a sight to see and the boys were so excited to run down the dock to check things out. 
There's been lots to see and do here in Vancouver.  Unfortunately, having 2 boys with colds that are still busy with school and swimming doesn't really lend itself too well with seeing all the free concerts and being part of the masses of people downtown sharing the excitement of the day's medals.  Oh well, Jay and Kat came over for dinner and wine and we watched 2 hockey games and men's figure skating in their good company.  It made for a great evening!

Poppytalk International Art Market opens today!

I've got a bit of new work (and more to come this month) over at the Poppytalk Handmade Market that opens today! My new 'racing' stripe mugs and espresso cup and saucer have just been posted on Etsy over the weekend and I'm really excited to be introducing this new 'line' into my regular work.  I started this series in December as a custom set (2 Mugs, 2 latte mugs & 2 Espresso cups/saucers) for my photographer from his wife.  I made a couple of extra Mugs and espresso sets for Dean and have had rave reviews from men on these mugs.   I know there are men out there that use my Poppy mugs, but won't necessarily admit that to all their buddies;) 
After a quick peek over at the market, this is what caught my eye:

Teal and Gold's lovely wood-burning and S & P Mills

 

Good Morning Midnight's Wool knits  

  

Lines By Davis : Geometric Pillow -love that scarf too!

 

Paper Cuts and Hand-drawn Maps By Studio K

There's so much more to see over there so go and check it out!
Poppytalk Handmade Market