Pottery. Photography. And All Things Handmade.
Feeding birds through the winter has been a family activity for over 25 years. It started as a homeschool project where we could observe wildlife first-hand. We learned about bird identification, social behavior (pecking order on and around the feeder), and which physical characteristics of birds dictated food choices (sunflower seeds, thistle, millet, nuts, berries... Continue Reading →
It is official. I am completely sold out. 😳 All of my pottery pieces found new homes in 2022! 🥳 Meanwhile, I am enjoying a few of my handmade kitchen prep bowls and wine glass that had slight imperfections such as cracked bottoms or a glaze snafu. These imperfections don't happen often but when they... Continue Reading →
December's photo challenge: (top left) technology, (top center) candle, (top right) Santa, (center left) all wrapped up, (center) 7 pm, (center right) colorful and Christmas song, (bottom) tradition
We have survived husband's first year of retirement! His retirement started off with a bang when we both came down with covid this time last year. I barely remember last December but we have pictures to prove that we, indeed, celebrated Christmas. Wow! The lawn and building a new deck kept husband busy spring... Continue Reading →
“Once you have tasted the taste of sky you will forever look up.” – Leonardo Da Vinci Trying to regain my footing after the passing of my Aunt last month. The volume of work that needs to be attended to after a death is far greater than I imagined. I found refuge in the clouds... Continue Reading →
Waiting for me in my splash pan this morning! Gray Tree Frog The frog wanna-be-potter was placed just off the back porch onto a nice cool shady rock. The frog climbed up onto a fern frond. The frog watched me for a seemingly very long time. I honestly thought it was contemplating whether or not... Continue Reading →
Due to the rain and high humidity, the weeds have taken over. Daisy, Purslane & Thistle Yellow Woodsorrel (sour grass) Spotted Spurge/Prostrate Spurge creeping into the cucumber bed Largest Dandelion Ever Crab grass, purslane and yellow woodsorel making a home among the dill, basil and oregano I'm reading a lot about common weeds. Why? Because... Continue Reading →
I need extra hours in the day and extra energy to complete all that needs done. Planting Mowing and weeding Weeding and mowing Soccer Baseball Each and every day, I wake up, thank goodness, and seize the day clay! Oh yeah . . . ...and laundry!
It starts with a ball of clay. Each ball rolled out flat into a slab then placed over a hump mold. A hump mold is a convex form over which clay slabs are draped until stiff enough to hold the shape. When the clay is stiff enough to hold the shape, it is set aside... Continue Reading →
Spring has sprung! 100 pounds of clay! Playing in the mud, indoors, of course! Still a bit too chilly for the back porch. I am making bowls using slabs of clay draped over a mold. Finishing the rims of these three bowls while enjoying while enjoying a cup of coffee in a handmade mug 😉Next,... Continue Reading →
The falling leaves gather around my pottery wheel. My throwing days have come to an end for the year. The temperatures have dropped quite dramatically this week making it a challenge to photograph my pottery on my back porch. "They" say it may snow this weekend! This month I have been busy with many behind... Continue Reading →
Would you look at that! It's mid-October. And here I am running around like a squirrel gathering nuts before the snow falls! Instead of gathering nuts . . . I'm glazing and firing. Glazing and firing. Repeat. Mugs, after their 1st firing, waiting to be glazed. Glazed mugs drying. When I'm not glazing and firing,... Continue Reading →
Soaking up the sun on our back porch. Why, yes. I made the mug! 😉 Test tiles waiting to be fired then glazed and fired again. I feel like somebody is watching me! This is Midnight. He is the Semi-feral cat we adopted. He seems to be adjusting very well and has become the most... Continue Reading →
The snow has melted. Temperatures on the rise. Dusted off my tool box. Unearthed my clay. Started some slab work. From a ball of clay to a slab of clay then onto the hump mold. Bowls made from a slab of clay air drying. Resting.
We have had many cats through the years. Five over the past 30 years. When Miss Kitty passed away in October, I was done with cats and gave away all of our cat things. The cosmos laughed and laughed. Meet the newest additions to our empty nest . . . Yes, that's three cats. THREE!... Continue Reading →
As with every year, we spend so much time preparing for Christmas and then it is seemingly over in the blink of an eye. We had a nice Christmas Day - different, but in a good way for us. Each decoration, tradition and recipe held a very special place in our hearts and minds this... Continue Reading →
2020 has definitely been a challenge for me as well as so many other people. I lost my Mom in June. I lost my Mother-in-law in September. And I lost Missy Kitty in October. Though social media and blogging took a backseat, I have been blissfully busy filling orders @ etsy.com/shop/BackPorchStudio My inventory is low.... Continue Reading →
2020 has sucked. It has really sucked. I lost my mom in June. Lost my mother in-law in September. And this week we lost Miss Kitty who was 20 years young. “The earth will never be the same againRock, water, tree, iron, share this greifAs distant stars participate in the pain. A candle snuffed, a... Continue Reading →
This is not the post I had in mind for today but it's Monday so . . . I overslept. I woke up to husband having video conference with his work colleagues at the kitchen table. (He's been working from home since the Mid-March covid virus outbreak.) This meant I had to make my power... Continue Reading →
Today was glazing day. And laundry day. Glazing and laundry on the same day? What could go wrong? I shouldn't ask. It is still 2020 after all! While eating lunch, I noticed a young Robin drinking from one of Miss Kitty's handmade water bowls. It is nice see other critters enjoying a drink from my... Continue Reading →
Originally posted in September 2018! Not much has changed in our backyard. We are a little older and hopefully a little wiser. Summer vacation? Well, I really didn't have one but I sure enjoyed my summer! I enjoy summer, vacation or not. Summer is my favorite season! Being on our back porch throwing things,... Continue Reading →
Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. I'm finding the whole social media thing overwhelming. I can't seem to keep up. I started this blog to promote my business as a potter. Then I started a facebook page followed opening an instagram account. Blogging and facebook I can do from my desk top. Yeah! Instagram, not so much. Boo!... Continue Reading →
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