A Handmade Moment on Etsy

Etsy is running a contest to spread the word about their site and the amazing artists who sell there. They're asking for 15 to 30 second videos - "The guidelines are simple: your ad's theme must be "A Handmade Moment" and must legibly display the text "Etsy.com"."

Here's my first draft - carving by me and camera work and video production by my son Harry. This was done in iMovie on my Mac - which doesn't really meet the needs of the video - so I think I'll be investing in Quicktime Pro to create the final version - the tile still needs to be glazed and fired!!!

And - it needs a soundtrack. So, let me know what you think!!

Flying Carpet Trays

Exploring new ideas is such an interesting and unpredictable exercise. Sometimes I think and sketch and explore...and nothing ever finds a solid existence. Other times I grab materials and MAKE things, not knowing where I'm headed. The pieces themselves become the sketch, sometimes just throw aways with one or two details that lead me to different places.

Flying Carpet Tray with Ants

Last month I grabbed my box of handmade stamps, and a bunch of slabs left over from tile making, and began to MAKE. I became totally immersed and when I surfaced I was happy to look at what was there. I had made about a dozen stamped slabs that I then decided needed to become functional. After attaching coiled feet I stood them all out on my work table. They immediately brought up the image of flying carpets, even though they were still clad in their grey clay suits, not even leather hard yet. To add to the "flying" image I decided to slump them over a large round tube as they dried and angled the edges down on some.Multi-colored Flying Carpet Tray

As of today I only have three pieces out of the glaze kiln, so the next part of the challenge and exploration is glaze decoration. I'm testing a new cone 5 clear glaze base with many oxides and stains - I know I want color, so I have a place to start.

Orange and Blue Carpet Tray

Let the fun begin!