Support Your Local Potter (even if you don't live close by!)

There is so much cool stuff in my Etsy store! Seriously, GO LOOK NOW! 

It Was a Very Good Autumn!

One of my pumpkin people and a jack-o'-lantern in their new home.

This year has seen some significant strides forward for me. As my healing process has continued, aided by some hard-core therapy, I've felt lighter and more steady. I'm developing new coping skills, I'm becoming more mindful. I feel as though a part of me now has room for other things; plans for the future, space to rest and relax, awareness of each small moment of happiness and the return to the habit of searching for those moments.

I discovered the unexpected rewards of doing the work have been the resurgence of my creativity and the desire to get my hands back in clay and do what I do best. I find I look forward to sketching out my ideas and I'm feeling free enough to accept the mistakes which come with experimentation. They feel more like an, "a-ha!" than an, "uh-oh!"

The open house went well, as I mentioned before. Afterwards, I received a few pictures of my creations in their new homes, or waiting to go on to their new homes as gifts.

Several people sent messages telling me how happy they were with their new purchases; how they use them daily, how they put them on display for all year, rather than just Halloween, and how much happiness their purchases give them.

You can see the jack in the upper left corner!

There's a warm glow of satisfaction comes with pictures like these! And it makes me look forward to making even more wares for my clients.

BTW, I'm having a sale in my Etsy store until tomorrow night, so if you've been wanting to grab something for yourself, now's the time!

This Week's Goals

This week is all about clearing space and reorganizing. I've been in the process of doing a "purge" around the house, getting rid of old clothes and old things I don't use any more, just because things are getting cluttered and I have this irrational dream of actually using my garage to park my car! 

Crazy talk, I know!

Plus my studio still looks like a bomb went off in it and all of that needs to get cleaned up and organized again. I have a massive chunk of ceramics magazines I'm going to be going through and donating to the local college or high school, too, I think!

In the process of purging, I've decided to cut prices on my t-shirts for the holiday season, so if you liked them before but couldn't come up with the cash, now's a good time to pick up a couple for yourself or as a nice stocking stuffer for a friend.

I mentioned last week that I'll be putting up the Halloween stock I never got around to posting this season. I took a bunch of pics yesterday of the goblets and coffee mugs I made for West Coast Haunters, but which never got sold because the hotel lost the box until a few weeks ago.

I'll be getting a few more pics of this guy, who is my first Raku jack-o'-lantern in lavender!

I had the goal of doing this last week, but our darling Coda blew out her other knee (the first one went in March), and since she has to be in her crate to allow it to heal for a bit before we get her in for surgery, I have to stick close to her when I'm home or she gets restless and starts looking for me. Mr. ShellHawk was out of town for most of last week, so I was kind of stuck sitting in the same room with her until he got back from his trip.

If you wish to take advantage of my current cleaning rampage (and help me raise some money for poor Coda's surgery, which ain't going to be cheap) in my ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store, you can type in "BLOG2016" at checkout for a 15% discount on a minimum purchase of $25.00. The coupon code will be valid until December 31st. Ornaments and things like that make for great hostess gifts and Secret Santa gifts, and they're well-made and priced to sell.

Please feel free to share this blog post around to folks who are Halloween enthusiasts, ceramics enthusiasts, etc. so they can take advantage of the coupon code, too.

Speaking of dogs, both of our pups made it into the Potters Council's "Pets in the Studio" 2017 wall calendar! Hooray! They're both so adorable, and funny enough, they are Mr. and Mrs. October! The person who was in charge of putting the calendar together said that she thought they were perfect to be side by side in the same month.

Well, on to another week!

It's Been Awhile!

Sorry I've been absent for so long! It's just been weird, and busy, and Mr. ShellHawk and I went out of town for Thanksgiving, and...


Well, you know. Life happened!

And when we came back from vacation (literally at 1:00 AM), we discovered our sweet dog, Coda, had blown out her knee. And then, a couple of days later, her hip started making alarming clicking noises. She has her vet appointment tomorrow, but it looks like we're in for another very expensive surgery for her.

So, I'm hoping that perhaps you'll consider heading over to my shop to pick something up for yourself or someone you love for Christmas or whichever gift-exchanging holiday you celebrate!

I have things available for nice, but inexpensive hostess gifts or Secret Santa gifts, plus a few things just for you. So head on over to browse ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store and get yourself something nice for the Holidays! 

Please feel free to spread the word and link to my store or this blog post. I'm putting more things in the store every day, and you'll be helping to build the world's best bionic dog! ;)

Thanks, and happy shopping!

Christmas at ShellHawk's Creations

 It's time for ornaments and pretty serving plates at the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store!

These make great hostess gifts, stocking stuffers for those who just can't have enough Christmas ornaments, or fun Secret Santa gifts.

Click here for more!

Guess What I Got For Christmas?

A new shoulder! :)

Which is why this will be a brief post; typing with one hand stinks!
From what I can remember the doctor telling me through my anesthesia-soaked brain, the surgery went well, overall. Just before we went into surgery, he told me that depending how thing looked once he got inside, I could expect about 70% of---mobility? I think? To which I said I really needed 100%, of course. I told him about the international shows I'd already been in, and the submission deadlines I would be missing this year because of my shoulder.

And really, why should I allow 70% be my expectation? Why not 100%? I mean, if this guy, Arthur, can walk again, after the doctors told him he wouldn't, why should I settle for 70%?

I shouldn't, right?

I don't remember most of what he told me after the surgery, but I do know that while he was in there, he cleaned out some "debris" having to do with my arthritis, which is all to the good. Since I seem to have inherited my mother's genetics--and she had a shoulder replacement several years ago--I'm glad that he was able to do something about the arthritis. I really am not looking forward to having my very own shoulder replacement anytime soon, let me tell you!

I did get a bunch of stuff taken care of before my surgery, not the least of which was shipping this custom 20 ounce mug off to its new home!

As usual, I had a couple of minor train wrecks in the kiln when I opened it, but I don't think they're anything which can't be repaired.

And hey, if you want to get some presents for folks, here's my plug for my shop, ShellHawk's Creations: Buy gifts from me! Ornaments, plates, a teapot, mugs! And if you would do me the service of passing word along, I'd be grateful!

News

Getting ready for glazing!

It's been a week since Thanksgiving and I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! I've been prepping the house for my shoulder surgery and getting loose ends tied up. And by loose ends, I mean getting one final load of ware glazed and fired. The kiln is still cooling. I may be able to open it tomorrow!

I'm also trying to clear out my collection of ceramic ball ornaments, so do stop by the ShellHawk's Creations shop if you're looking for Secret Santa/ornament exchange/hostess gifts! I only have four Jack ornaments left, and have decided I won't be making any more of them, so if you've wanted them, now is the time!

I also have more traditional ornaments, all ceramic and tougher than your typical glass ornaments, plus Christmas plates.

Thanks, too for following along on my adventures and being so supportive. It's much appreciated!