Special custom order

While the past few months I've been struggling to get back to work in the studio, I was a bit hesitatnt to accept a custom request. After mom passed away, it's just been really difficult to get back into my studio work. The impact of losing a loved one  has proven to be more difficult then I ever anticipated.
And while I did make feelings, anything else failed because I was feeling too tired or just without energy. I do have inspiration and I do want to create but somehow I fail because my mind isn't set on it...

The other day, I got a really sweet e-mail from J.  She told me that she loved my work and was curious if she could have something custom made. I sighed at reading the word 'custom' as anything out of the ordinary feels just too much to handle at the moment. But I read on and I was intrigued and touched by what she wrote me. She and her partner are in a long distance relationship in war-torn countries and she wanted me to portrait two people living apart but also looking forward to that moment when they have a door to share together.

The way J. described how difficult it is to be seperated from her loved one, made me realize that I'm not alone in this and that how hard a situation is, we should never give up loving, hoping, believing. So, with much confidence and pleasure, I was back in my studio. My mom would have been proud for sure.

I do think that it's amazing how Etsy brings people around the globe together and that this can be the result of brainstorming ... Trying to portrait someone else feelings can be daunting and challenging but as long as the person on the other side of the globe is willing to let me have a look into their world, magic things can happen...

J. wanted me to inscribe the quote above. It translates: "Let's go home and close the door, because otherwise, people could hear our happiness"
I think that's such a beautiful quote to finish off this work. I wish them both courage and happiness.
May they live long and happy after...

Porcelain keys

It's been a while since I posted creative stuff on my blog. This work above was done in between over the past few months and I only now get around making a finished product of it.
I just need to pimp the packaging a bit but hopefully I have time to do so later this week!
I haven't had much time to work on new things lately so I'm actually happy I managed to make at least one new thing...
Next weekend I'll be at the ceramic market in Maaseik (Belgium) and I'll be taking these along.
So if you're in the area, please pop by and say 'hello' to me! :)

Workshop results transfers

Above are some results of yesterday's transfer workshop! It was such a lovely group of people
together and we had great fun cutting, applying and eating cookies. :)
The results are super too! It's all in the kiln now so cross fingers that it will all come out well!

At work in my studio

 I've had a few people coming to my studio to work with transfers. I love it when I see all the pretty illustrations and color designs. It's a fun workshop and thankfully there hasn't been anyone who hated working with transfers. :)

My absolute favorite piece is the vessel above. I love the girl with her real life goldfish balloon!
The vessel was scored at a local secondhand shop that I visit nearly every week and I wish I had found it first! LOL :)

On the shoppinglist...

 

 

I've been working on the new collaboration project and my hand is sore cutting up a transfersheet. But the images are mighty cute and I can't wait to apply 'em onto the mosaic tiles. 

 

I love the colors & I'm pretty sure they will look awesome after firing.
Soon magnets to be and in our shops (LilaRubyKing & ArtMind)

Free

Last week I had a very good work week in my studio. I had a few days off work and worked in the feeling factory.

When I have a list of feelings to make, I usually make a few feelings of the most popular ones. It's easier to make a few of the same feelings then switch from one feeling to another.

I also had a request to make 2 large free feelings so lots of free feelings will fill the kiln this time...
It's great to feel free, isn't it?

Updating my stock

Every now and then I do a stock update and make a list of feelings that I need to make in the feeling factory. The list is never empty and it usually grows while I'm making.
However, I always dream that it would be empty so that I would have time to start making new things. For now I'm just grateful that I'm able to make and enjoy. It also means that feelings are flying out of my studio and are lovingly adopted by many new owners. Thank you for supporting my work as it enables me to do what I love most. 

Workshop working with transfers

The first workshop 'working with transfers' filled up really fast so I added another date to the calender. On Tuesday 25th of June from 1pm till 5pm. If you want to participate, please send me an e-mail.

In the mean time, I've been preparing a bit for this workshop and made a few examples. If you don't design your own transfers, we work with colored sheets and make a collage on existing tableware.
I went to the secondhand shop to gather some pieces. It was so much fun to make 'em totally different.

These pieces are not fired yet so the colors will be different when fired. So curious how they will come out of the kiln. I especially liked the penguin on Julie's plate. She's supposed to turn lime green. And the fondue dish will make a nice painting dish when she will be bigger. Can't wait to get crafty with her! :) I hope she will take after me when it comes to creativity...

Workshops spring

Finally I have taken some time to take out the calender and plan a few workshops in my studio. You can find the new dates on the workshop tab on the right hand side.

I have a new workshop which is called 'working with transfers'. In this workshop we'll use different pieces of colored ceramic paper to make collages on existing tableware. The idea is to create your own set of tableware. You need to buy and bring your own tableware since I don't know what everyone's taste is. You can buy brand new tableware or go to a second hand shop and choose some pieces that you like. I think about teapots, bowls, plates, cups,... Or if you like, you can buy tiles in the hardware store and make your own set.

But in case that you would like to have your own designs printed onto ceramic paper, you can let me know in advance and I'll bring you in contact with the company who does that or I can order them for you. Here is how you need to prepare your artwork:
All A3 sheets will have an unprintable border around the sheet. If you are preparing the sheet in Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator you will need to ensure the document size is 28cm x 40.5cm This will allow us to print the work without any image cropping. Image resolution should be 300dpi for good quality reproduction. They can only except JPEG high level format.

Please note that the material cost nor the shipping cost is included in the price since it depends if you like to buy a material package or have your own transfers printed. I will fire all work after the workshop and send it to you or you can come and pick it up. Shipping depends on how heavy the things are that you bring. You can check the prices per weight on the Belgian post site.

If there are any more questions about this workshop, please contact me for further information.

Here's a little sneak preview on our new collaborative work with transfers...

Drying moulds

I did plan to do some sewing but with the good weather outside, I wanted to take advantage of the sun to dry my moulds. So instead of getting my fabrics out, I covered my studio in plaster dust and an overal general mess. It is that moulds make the life of a ceramicist easier otherwise I probably would not make any at all! :)

The making of... invincible

 

Invincible was the first mini-art-feeling I made. As I mentioned in Etsy's Handmade Portrait, it is something I would love to be & feel always. It's such a strong feeling that encourages you to  go for it & face just about anything. Making the feeling is a complete different story. It's not as easy as it looks unfortunately and I must admit that I do swear and curse sometimes! :)
I start out by cutting the tail from a slab of clay. Then I place it on the base and trace where it should go. I make sure I add enough roughness and clayslib for it to be stuck really well. Sometimes, when I want to place the tail back, it breaks and then I curse. I roll out a very thin slice of clay and place it to the side to finish off the sides smoothly. I do this with a blunt, wooden tool. Then the magic with the wet paintbrush starts. I use a lot of paintbrushes to make things smooth and nice. And last but not least, the clay rib makes sure to smoothen out all the last bits. 
Ready to conquer the world now!

Workshops

I'm back from a lovely trip to Greece and coming home to rainy Belgium is not a very warm welcome. We really enjoyed the time spend in Athens with Anna (LilaRubyKing) and escaped a few days to a lovely coastal town recommended by her. A short get away that gave me lots of energy.
Being back home means that work is calling. I have planned some workshops in the coming weeks as there were quite a few people who told me they wanted to experience working with porcelain. I don't think I'll be doing any more workshops this year so in case you are interested, sign up while you can. You can find the information about them in the workshop button on my blog.

The making of... passionate

The feeling passionate is made with starting out to roll a slab of very thin clay. I cut out shapes of flames and save them in a wet cloth. Then I start applying the flames onto the still moist feeling. When all the flames are applied, I go over them with my clay rib to smooth them out a bit. Then I make sure that you don't see much of the rough edges of the flames anymore and use a wet paintbrush to go along them. It is then too wet to touch so I'll let it dry for a while and afterwards I use my pointy rib tool to make it all smooth. With a fine needle on a cork, I apply some lines on the flames so that it gives it a bit more depth. Our cat loves to sit on my lap when I work which is not always the most comfortable position but I can not refuse her to sit with me... :)