ShellHawk's Creations is Open!

These guys are available for a limited time in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy Shop! I usually sell out every year, so hurry over there!

Plus, you'll be keeping me in clay and glaze. And electrical. And tools...

 

OMG, They're SOOO CUTE!

I did a low-fire glaze firing the other day and have been too busy here to post these guys but aren't they the most creepy/adorable things you've ever seen?! 

I had such fun with their gestures and expressions, and I really can't wait to make more!

I've been puttering with different kinds of goody bags for the little pumpkin people, as well. Below are the before and after pics of this little charmer as a completely creepy-cute trick-or-treater!

Remember, if you're buying tickets for Midsummer Scream so you can acquire one of these beauties, use code SHEMSS22 for a little discount!

More WIPs

Done for now. Next stop: first firing!

Success!

 My first Artist Open House in three years went beautifully, in spite of the 'Rona! It was a real push to get everything done on time, especially with having a full-time job, too, but it got done!

Here's the part where I plug my awesome dad. He was incredibly supportive and helpful at every turn. Coming from the background of a VFX producer, he kept tabs on all the little tasks which needed doing and kept things moving along on his end. He made signs, suggested changes on the Craigslist ad and the personal invitations, and was an all-around good sport! He was a soothing presence to my artist's anxiety and pre-show jitters! 

A friend came by and helped with setup and hung around to help wrap and bag each piece sold, so they'd arrive in their new homes in one piece.

 

 

 We got lucky with a beautiful, clear day and light breezes.

 

Our patio is a mixture of wisteria-covered trellis and solid wood, so we set up in the comparatively cooler shade so people could shop in comfort. I didn't get pictures, but dad made up a "masks required" sign with that cute German Shepherd showing you how to wear a mask, so that people would be a little safer.

 

I wasn't able to get pics once people started showing up, but we had a busy time there, for a bit. Busy enough to make doing the Open House worth it. A number of my old high school friends showed up to support my little business and they were really surprised to see not only the volume of work I had made, but the quality and variety! Many of the cups and bowls I had on display had come from my old digs in Folsom, and I even brought out my Christmas ornaments.

As always, people were drawn to the Raku-fired jack-o'-lanterns I had made. As far as I know, you can't get them anywhere else.

Eventually, the day wound down and folks ambled off with their purchases, looking happy behind their masks. Their pleasure reminded me of why I make ceramics; my pieces make people smile! It gives me an enormous amount of satisfaction to know, for instance, how much joy a set of cups will give my friend for years to come!

We sold a respectable amount of pieces, but of course there were some left. Lucky you! If you keep an eye on my shop, you can have one in your home, too!

These guys are already in my Etsy Shop, ShellHawk's Creations!

 

I'll be adding more as the week progresses!

Working on Hallowe'en

 

(This post contains links to Amazon and I may get a commission for qualified purchases.)

Good grief, it's been busy! It's been so long since I've made a significant amount of ceramics with the intent to sell them, I forgot about the sheer volume of work needing to be done. Things need pricing. I need to make an inventory spreadsheet. I need to enter everything in my Square Up. I need to take pictures.

And, oh my gosh! The annual mug shot! I have to figure out how I'm going to shoehorn that into the schedule!

There are so many tasks needing attention. Back when I lived in Folsom, I had everything I needed close to hand; my point of sale setup, my business cards, the shopping bags I use for my customers, price tags, hang tags, etc. I had a very kind crew of people who would come out and help with whatever needed doing. Clear-glazing. Tagging. Packing. Data entry. Good friends and good neighbors, for sure!

All of it is in storage, now, and I need to make a special trip to get what I need. And I have no crew, though my dad is willing to help, as always! It's just too risky to have people close together with Covid-19, and they'd have to be for the help I need.

The good news is, the low-fire glaze firing went spectacularly well! The owner of the studio gave me a special consideration for the necessary firings. I think this is the first time I've had both the bisque and the glaze firing done in a gas kiln.

I messed around a little with layering the glazes for some of the pumpkin stems, and I really like how they turned out!

Ceramists will want to know that I used Amaco Velvet underglazes under Mayco Stroke-n-Coat. They worked together very well, with no pitting or bubbling.

 

I included this quick video to show how different the glaze is when it's applied (above) as opposed to when it's gone through the firing process (below).

I was forced to sell my Raku kiln before I left Folsom, but it gave me the opportunity to build a new one out of a trash can and fire wool. As always, if I used this type of kiln again, I'd change a few things, but I'm still pretty happy with my firings, even though I'm getting used to a smaller chamber and thus, things heat up faster than I'm used to.

I got a high temperature no-contact pyrometer to start gauging my temps inside the kiln. I'm still learning, but I'm getting better at it!

Of course, Grace had to supervise the kiln setup!

And she helped supervised the guys who were working on our electrical box upgrade! Yes, all this going on at the same time. It's just a perpetual motion machine, here! Oh, and please note how nice the blue on our old table is! ;)

Some friends came by to pick up a couple of pieces, and happened to get to the house when I was pulling out some jacks from the Raku kiln.

It's a productive chaos, though. This is the first year I've gotten back into what we call a "making cycle," and it's been easy in the sense that there haven't been outside sources of distraction for me. I'm really looking forward to next year!

A Little Color

I added a little color to the carved parts of the new sugar skull jack-o'-lanterns I made. The next step was to wait for everything to dry and scrape off any of the overflow so the lines could look crisp. Afterwards, I touched up the spots where the white underglaze was too thin or missing, and now these guys are drying with the rest of the jacks I've made so far.

I'm really looking forward to the studio opening so I can get everything fired, but man! I am nervous about getting them all there without breaking anything! Dry clay is so fragile, and can beak or crumble far too easily, making transport a nervous endeavor. The pumpkin people, in particular, are going to make me sweat, because their little fingers are at the biggest risk for breakage.

Crossing my fingers! 

Dark Reading for a Sunday Afternoon

Click on the pic to go to My Scary Bookshelf...

The Autumn Equinox has come and gone, and I know that the beginnings of the Hallowe'en tourists will be traveling through my blog, soon, if a few haven't shown up, already, so I'll keep the life reports to a minimum from here until after The Big Dance (a.k.a., Hallowe'en).

In between doctors' visits, attorney phone calls and divorce mediation calls, I managed to commit to having a little ray of happiness shine in my life; I wrote a new segment for Hauntcast: Post Mortem's next episode.

It's an original story, and I think it actually turned out well! It's the longest one I've done to date, but I don't think it's so long as to be boring to listeners (at least I hope not!).

Add in the intro from Dick Terhune, the Voice From Hell, and it's absolutely wicked! (Oh, man! I love that guy's voice!)

After I got done recording, mixing down and producing my segment (with the foul luck of airplanes, lawn mowers and carbon monoxide beeping to contend with), I got it sent off to Chris Baker, our G-Host, so he could get it dropped in to the rest of the show. 

Then it was time to take a break. Voicing this particular segment felt very intense and emotionally draining, if you can believe it (or maybe it was the emotional hangover from this week's mediation call, bringing up all kinds of pain), and I was exhausted afterwards. I forced myself to take some time for myself to unwind and decompress for a while. I took a long walk in the neighborhood, and when I got back, I poured a glass of wine and brought out a book to get me in the mood for the season: Dead Harvest.

It's a collection of creepy short stories, and I've had it hanging around awhile, but haven't made the time to get to it. Yesterday seemed a good day to pour a glass of wine and enjoy the warm Sunday afternoon on the back patio, and dive into this. And so far, I like it!

As some of you may know, I have a Pinterest board of stories, prop-making books and other Hallowe'en eye candy, which I'll feature again in one of my October posts.

I also wanted to remind you my ShellHawk's Creations shop is open, so you can pick up a Hallowe'en thing or two! I have a few more jack-o'-lanterns to put in there, but there are some really cool ones available now!

Ah, I absolutely love this time of year!

Jacks in the Shop!

At long last! My shows are done and I can put my jack-o'-lanterns in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy shop!

 I'll continue to get them in over the next couple of days, plus I have a couple of fun Candy bowls and other goodies I'll be listing!

 I'll be listing these guys shortly, too!. Don't they look wickedly wonderful?

For my shop, click here.