Artsnic Gallery Opening Night

I met a lovely lady through a mutual friend a couple of years ago who has just opened an art gallery and photographic studio in Camden NSW, which is the town where I my husband and I went to high school together many moons ago. Sarah Lamond from Artsnic Photography does wedding photography, family portraits and artistic photography. She contacted me a couple of weeks ago asking if I would be interested in selling work in her new gallery, to which I said... YES PLEASE!

Last night was the official opening night. There was a small gathering and the general vibe and feel of the gallery was really nice. It is a pleasure to be asked to have my work on display in her gallery, especially in a town that is dear to my heart.

Sara has on display some of my birds including a collection of Australian birds, a dry glazed vase, some raku pieces and a collection of pendants

I quickly put together some of my pendants yesterday on little cards I had at home and took them along last night. They were well received as was my other work. Made a few sales. It's always really great to talk to people who are interested to know more about the process of my work and to meet and talk to other like minded people and last night was one of those opportunities to do just that.

Artsnic Gallery / Photographic Studio is located at 'Camden Cottage' 39 John Street, Camden.
Contact Sara on (02) 4602 8100

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog today. Why not drop by and see what some of folk on Mud Colony have been doing this week.

Inspirational Road Trip

My husband, three year old daughter and I had a marvellous trip travelling around parts of Victoria recently. This is a short visual diary of our trip. We took hundreds of photographs, but I have chosen just a handful to show some of the great times we had along the way.

Apologies to those that usually follow my blog for pottery reasons. I am going to bore you today with some family pics as it's a great way for me to connect with family and friends about our holiday.

We were very impressed with Victoria. We visited many places along our journey and despite the fact that the countryside is starved of rain at the moment, its a beautiful state, with so many quaint, old fashioned, historic towns to drive through and so much open space in between. The major roads in and around Melbourne are fantastic and a pleasure experience in comparison to Sydney.
We left home and headed for Jervis Bay on the South Coast of NSW. We stayed for 3 days at a place called 'Green Patch' then from there drove to Jindabyne. We then travelled over Snowy Mountains and the 'Great Dividing Range' to Victoria. Melbourne for a quick visit, then along the 'Great Ocean Road', Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca (Murray River) then home. Lots of pretty towns and places in between but basically that was our trip.

I am not going into length about our trip as it will bore the socks off you. Photos say it all, plus a few comments to go with them.




'Greenpatch' at Jervis Bay



Couldn't resist showing you this photo - one of Emily's many faces

                        

                                 We did part of the Mt Kosciuszko walk - Mt Kosciuszko on the left in background



Anyone that knows my husband Glen, knows his passion is the weather. Weather station at the top of Thredbo

Glen carrying Emily 'again' on the Mt Kosciuszko walk

One of Emily's better faces ha ha...

Thredbo Chairlift



Beautiful CARPET of  plants layed the snowy mountains.
Photo doesn't do it justice but the textures were amazing.





One of our many campsites in our home away from home



The highlight of our trip was easily drive along the 'Great Ocean Road' to see the amazing 'Apostles'. You see photos on the internet and in books, but until you visit, you can't imagine how spectacular they are in real life.





Glen carrying Emily AGAIN





Great day spent at 'Sovereign Hill' - Glen caught Gold Fever lol





                                         



Town called 'Glenrowan' - The historical place of 'Ned Kelly's' Last Stand



An OMG moment - An Antique Shop in Bendigo
was selling a picture i made over ten years ago.
It travelled from NSW to Victoria and still looks great after all that time and travelling.



Great visit to 'Bendigo Pottery'



An old Paddle Steamer on the Murray River at Echuca

Went on a paddle steamer along the Murray. Emily loved it.





Clay impressions of Barnicles on the rocks at Jervis Bay to use in my clay work.



For me, other highlights included the opportunity to go to the 'Pottery Expo' at Warandyte. I had the pleasure of meeting so many inspirational potters including the lovely Adrianna from Mud Colony. Our visit to 'Bendigo Pottery' was also fantastic.

Thanks for reading my blog. Hope you enjoyed the journey.

Back into Pottery Prior to a Road Trip

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since my last post. I trust everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year. I had a break from potting over Christmas and all of January. Been giving my dodgy shoulder (partial tear) a bit of a rest.

This week has been mental. We are heading off on a road trip to Melbourne in the morning and it's been a week of organising, appointments, decorating birds and pendants, packing and firing the kiln, packing the caravan and last minute housework ( I like coming home to a clean house).

Back into it the last couple of weeks. My first firing for the year was more of my little Australian Birds and just today I unpacked a load of Pendants and some more birdies. Some examples below. I have been working on some more varieties. More pics for follow after I get back from holidays.

Recently, on a visit to my husband's grandmother, I asked if she had any handmade lace or crocheted doilies that I have to use in my pottery work. She was very happy to know what I wanted to use them for and gave me a collection to take home. I am so happy to be using something so precious in my work that has a family history. I have used some to make some lovely marks on the pendants below.

Very excited to be leaving for Melbourne in the morning, but even better is that I discovered our trip coincides with the 'Pottery Expo'. It is held at Warrandyte on the banks of the Yarra River. I only realised it was happening after one of my friends from 'Mud Colony' mentioned it in a post. Thanks!

Why don't you catch up with the 'Mud Colony' family to see what everyone else has been doing.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. Until next time.

Recycling Things With a History

This week we have had our bi-annual Council Clean Up in our suburb. We always manage to find things to throw out as does everybody, BUT I always manage to accumulate a few MORE things much to the disappointment of my husband. He says I have a problem. I just love to look for things to save.

This time I managed to SAVE - A wonderful old fruit crate. It still has the original labels on it. The delivery label is also still on it too and it is dated 1970. I plan to use this on my market stall as a display item.

I also picked up a lovely old timber door with brass fittings. Picture of the door I found and a pic of the proposed project in store for the door below that.

Another great find was an old wooden ladder. One side, was completely broken, so I removed and replaced it with some oak we had left over from a reno project.  I sanded and oiled it and added some recycled hardwood fence pailings and made a great shelf display unit. I might use it as a display for my pots at the markets. Best of all, it cost me nothing.



Anyway, that is it from me for now. Super busy as I preparing for a market next weekend. If you want to drop by and pick up some nice Handmade Christmas presents, come and see me at Mittagong Markets on Saturday 15 December.

Why not drop by The Mud Colony to see what everyone else has been busy doing this week!

Hot Out of the Kiln

Just opened the kiln and happy to see that my little brids have all turned out beautifully. My Galah's, Kingfisher's and Cockatoo's look great. More to go in this week too. Crimson Rosellas and King Parrots as well as my standard ones. Now to get busy putting the ribbons on each one of these so they can hang up and be enjoyed. I have them hanging in my garden. They look bright and pretty and lead your eye around the garden. Many have been bought to hang on the Christmas tree too. These make a lovely, inexpensive Christmas Gift. If you are interested in purchasing any of these, email me for me details. I am happy to post to anywhere in Australia. Merry Christmas everyone and keep an eye out for my next kiln opening.

Is It Time to Slow Down Yet?

I have been slack in the blogging department this last couple of weeks as I have had my hands busy with making a last run of things for my next market in December. I have also decided to invite friends,family and locals to a pottery garden party at home in early December. As my next market is at Mittagong, having a party at home makes it closer and more personal for friends and family.

Things I have been working on this week.

Stand I made for my little Birds

Stall at Mittagong Markets

 We have friends over for a BBQ today, so its time to relax and enjoy the day. Have a great weekend everyone. Why not head over to Mud Colony to see what everyone else has been up to this week.

So Much to Do........

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for reading my post today. Feeling a tad overwhelmed at the moment. You know what it's like when you know that you have a certain number of days until the next market. Which broken down into bits, means that you have stuff all time left to make, dry, fire, decorate and fire. Arghhh.... Anyway, BREATH IN, BREATH OUT...... it will all be okay. Well, that is what I keep telling myself.

I feel like I have a hundred and one things to do. YET, I keep making more things, just to make sure.

For those that read my last post, Mittagong Markets went quite well. It blew an ABSOLUTE GAIL all day which was horrible. If you attend markets with your work, you will sympothise with me about windy days at markets. It was my first time there as a stallholder, so I was not sure what to expect. I have not long been back on the market scene. Did it years ago when my eldest daughters (19 and 17) were little. Now that I am home with a 2yr old, I think I have time to do it all again. Hmmm.....

I have tried a few local craft markets in my area, but found that there just weren't enough people frequenting them. Times have changed. My biggest seller at the markets are these hanging birds.  I make Christmas decorations as well this time of year, which are also popular, but these little birds are my bread and butter. I guess they are pretty and CHEAP at $4 and $5. I probably sell them far too cheaply considering the time and effort that goes into making them but hey, they sell.

Ceramic Birds with underglaze & glaze, various other glazes and fired to Cone 6

Original drawings and cardboard templates that i made

I started out by making a few very basic bird shapes and have now expanded to include more detailed birds like Kingfisher, Cockatoo, Major Mitchell, Galah, Willy Wagtail and Parrots. They do take me alot longer, so I might add another few dollars to the price of the new ones?

Kingfisher's and Cockatoo's drying

Anyway, that's enough from me so head over to Mud Colony to see what everyone else has been up to this week.