Pottery. Photography. And All Things Handmade.
I have been busy with my last pieces of pottery for the year. Yes. Last pieces! Can you believe it? It seems as if I just started throwing yesterday! Pictured below are before and after pictures: Greenware pieces, dry but not yet fired, to be loaded into my kiln for a bisque firing in preparation... Continue Reading →
We had five spectacular sunny days in a row last week! I barely knew what to do with myself with so much sunshine. 🌞 Do I weed? Mow? Bask? Well, I ended up doing all the above: weeding, mowing and basking.😎 You may recall from my June 21st post, Notes From My Back Porch, I... Continue Reading →
It was May 20th when I finally sat down behind my pottery wheel for this throwing season. It takes me four to six weeks to create pottery from a ball of clay to a glazed piece. My newest addition to my standard mugs are my dragonfly mugs which came about accidentally! The first mug I... Continue Reading →
Summer is here! Things are heating up on my back porch . . . in between rain showers, of course. I've been working on dragonfly mugs for what seems like a long time. Now they are glazed and ready to fire. As I was rolling my kiln onto my back porch from the garage, the... Continue Reading →
Finally! A slight break in the rain last week! Three days of glorious sun! 🌞 Which means I have been busy in my back porch studio and back yard. The first job I tackled in my back porch studio was cleaning my kiln shelves. As a potter, keeping kiln shelves in tip top shape is... Continue Reading →
Rain, rain, go away.Come again another day.Pauline the potter wants to play! "The Farmers' Almanac predicts a potentially rainy summer for Ohio in 2025, with the potential for above-average temperatures and rainfall, especially in the southern part of the state." My back porch pottery studio is open to the whims of mother nature so my... Continue Reading →
I am back behind my wheel throwing things! Because my back porch studio is open to all the elements and whims of Mother Nature my production is determined by the weather. We have had rain and thunderstorms just about every day for two weeks which is slowing production down quite a bit. Meanwhile, the squirrel(s)... Continue Reading →
In my seventeen years of selling my pottery on line, difficulties with USPS have been extremely rare. I hand over each parcel to our friendly neighborhood USPS with care and track each piece to it's new home! (Really, they are so helpful and friendly! They are the best!) This month, however, several parcels are seemingly... Continue Reading →
A carpet of leaves are scattered across the back porch. I fired my last kiln load of the season. I made new plate settings to go with our new kitchen and I am tickled with the results! The mug on top is a prototype of soup mugs I plan to add to my shop next... Continue Reading →
Time to pack up my tool box and put my pottery wheel away. I have a couple more firings to do of larger pieces that take up a lot of room in the kiln such as plates. I love making plates but because they take up so much room I just don't make many ~... Continue Reading →
I've been behind the camera for a few weeks photographing new pottery I made over the summer and behind the computer writing item descriptions. The scene of Elaine Benes writing for the J. Peterman Catalog comes to mind. The Urban Sombrero, Seinfeld, Season 8 Episode 1 "It combines the spirit of old Mexico with a little... Continue Reading →
Last day of July?!? 😱 Summer seems to be zooming along! Foxes have moved on. Rabbits have moved back. So, I resorted to growing lettuce in a bucket near the house away from little bunnies. I think my bucket of home grown lettuce is coming along nicely. The squirrels finished off my sunflowers and have... Continue Reading →
All creatures great and small. From my back porch, I see them all! Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~ John Muir
Survived weeding over the weekend! Flowers are thriving! However, I noticed the geraniums leaves had turned red. I have never seen that before. Thanks to the internet, I learned the red leaves can be a symptom of over watering. We certainly had a wet and soggy week last week! In-between weeding, I was able to... Continue Reading →
It has been a wet, soggy and humid couple of weeks. Ideal condition for the weeds to take over. Meanwhile, on my back porch I've been busy throwing. [Click on the photos below to view a larger image and read the captions.] It was so soggy and humid I thought I would never be able... Continue Reading →
Warm weather has returned to my back porch studio which means I am back behind my pottery wheel! 😍 This is where it all happens: starting with a ball of clay to a finished glazed piece of pottery! I'm actually behind my phone camera taking a shot of my studio surrounded by ostrich ferns. I... Continue Reading →
Finally decided on a "white" paint and painting our kitchen! Gone are the days when we could paint a room in ONE day! LOL Our peas are coming up nicely! Covered with a light mesh cloth to deter the rabbits from feasting on the tender little shoots; although, I don't think rabbits will be a... Continue Reading →
Tying up loose ends before leaping into spring's busy season. It has been a seemingly long two weeks behind my new computer. I never realized how slow and clunky my old computer was until I was forced to buy a new one. Everything so new, pristine and fast! Books I've read over the winter include... Continue Reading →
A steady stream of orders since Thanksgiving. Each piece of my handmade pottery securely wrapped and boxed. Shipping labels printed. Boxes secured. Tracking numbers noted and sent to each customer. Then off to the post office. Unboxing and unpacking Christmas decorations. A sense of nostalgia of Christmases past. Trying to remember where Christmas gifts are... Continue Reading →
My blue glaze finally arrived after being on back order since August. I have been using this delightful blue glaze for over 15 years. My customers nor I have ever been disappointed. So . . . I opened my new jug of blue glaze with great anticipation of glazing a set of custom made bowls... Continue Reading →
Much has been going❗️ I have yet had the time to blog. I have been glazing, firing, photographing, listing*, glazing, firing, photographing, listing, aaaannnnnd glazing, firing, photographing. (*Listing: writing descriptions and pricing of my new handmade pottery for my BackPorchStudio shop on Etsy.) In the meantime, enjoy our neighborhood hawk who frequently stops by! 😍... Continue Reading →
I have had my hands busy over the last two weeks. Glazing and firing and photographing. Glazing and firing and photographing and throwing. Glazing and firing and photographing. Thank goodness it is Friday and I am in a nice in between place today! Life as a potter, among other hats I wear, can look quite... Continue Reading →
Back Porch Studio 