The Little Flower Designs webshop is now updated with a ton of new work. I also updated some of my staple designs with new size information. Most of the vases are available in 2 sizes and bowls are offered in 3 sizes! Be sure to scroll down to see everything.
Thank you to my blog readers that came out on saturday to say hello! That was just the nicest thing ever. I really loved the Creative Collective show and now that I've done my test day in the steamy Philly heat, I am sure to add a few more dates. I didn't bring my camera because I thought it was going to rain (it didn't!) but I promise to next time. It was a long day, made fun by meeting new crafters and getting recognized from both the Philly Magazine feature and HGTV! And so many people came by and knew my work from Art Star or somewhere else, that made me feel really good!
Jersey tomatoes are the best, and we live just miles from that precious Jersey soil that grows the juicy red wonders. So, this summer we are doing the great tomato experiment. The challenge - Is it possible to grow Jersey tomatoes in Pennsylvania? This is really Steve's experiment but since he has his vines in my garden and I seem to be tending to them and um, eating them, I thought I'd share! So, we bought a bunch of starter plants of various Jersey soiling loving varieties at a farmers market in NJ. We asked about growing the tomatoes and how to get better results in PA - they said it's in the soil, hmmm. So, Steve works in NJ and can borrow a little soil from those NJ grounds which happen to be around the corner from the farmer's market and their fields. We have several plants in the PA soil of our regular garden and some isolated in pots of NJ soil. All seem to be growing very well, however, our fist PA/NJ tomato was stolen! Who would steel a plump juicy PA/NJ tomato?? So we don't know our results just yet- there is a home grown tomato curve that we haven't figured out how to factor in, since home grown always tastes so yummy. But, the isolated NJ/NJ tomato's did ripen quicker and were picked and consumed to our liking. And they seem to be producing more than the PA/NJ's. It is still too early in this experiment to tell and our yard gets less sunlight than most so we are moving at a slower pace than a direct sunlight yard. However, my gut instincts are telling me that yes you can grow NJ/NJ tomatoes in PA!
I now get to pass along the honors! I choose artist blogger's that inspire me to pursue my creative path:
tuesday! wow, I am still working on my web update - it is going to take a bit longer - I've been sidetracked by a little studio project so now I'm hopping between the computer and large slabs of clay. In the mean time, the bowl is another preview of what's being added to the site. I am really loving this bowl - it is my dahlia flower with sporadic dots carved about! So, this bowl is hand thrown, hand carved and hand glazed. All of the lines are carved into the surface then I back fill with glaze - it leaves a very nice texture that often surprizes customers that order online. So, no it is not slip-cast, there is no slip to cast in my studio. The only molds I am using right now are for my tiles and they are hand pressed from slabs. I really do need a tile press, so that just might be my next assignment for Steve - he's handy like that and just might be able to build me one!
I am working on the site today and will keep at it until everything is added. I just thought I'd pop over here and give you a look-see at what's coming. I have quite a bit and its turned into a huge update of vases, bowls and of course tea cups. And for those who keep asking, I'm going to put ordering information on the site so that you can make any of my 8 oz. tea cup patterns into a 12oz. mug. Make sure you are on my e-mail list to be the first to know when the site is officially updated. You can sign up on the right side bar. Happy Sunday, it's a hottie here in SE-PA, a good afternoon for a nap! Or for working on your website...
Almost done! 
Studio: Designing new work specifically tile, has brought back my love of drawing and watercolor. This is a detail of my current painting. The 2 fish leading the way are John-Paul and Amanda, my old goldfish. They were the friendliest fancy's, so pretty and relaxing to watch. I'm having a great time drawing them and even came up with a goldfish tile - which is in the works. I wish I had taken more pictures of them. Maybe a trip to the aquarium will be my next outing to get a few more action shots for reference.
When I was a kid we had an aquarium of tropical fish and my favorite fish was this angelfish. I have been thinking about past pets quite a bit lately and wanting to include them in my work somehow. Maybe not my pottery, I really don't see me doing pottery with dogs and cats on it but, fish would be so lovely and they are great to draw, all that detail! I am still working on sketches today and finishing a water color that I started maybe 10 years ago - how did that much time pass? It is quite large for me 22 x 30, usually I work on small drawings on scraps of print paper. Back in college I took an etching class (which I loved) and somehow ended up with everyone's scrap paper - bits torn off of odd sized prints. I love all those scraps and most aren't really scraps at all! Just odd sized paper no one wanted - but me! I never show my watercolors but I might here to document what I am doing. It is something that I have always done and at times it was my only artistis outlet. Since I set out on this clay path I have been trying to come up with a way to capture my watercolors on the surfaces of vessels, it is such a different process and I have a long way to go. Aww, the challenge of ceramics. And I won't settle on decals, something is just lost in decals.
Awww, independence day! Happy 4th of July! I hope your day is filled with a deep breath of freedom. Ours is starting out sketchy, I'm doodling away this morning and this little wood thrush is my favorite little guy so far. I think he will end up on a tile but maybe I'll give him a few friends and put him in a watercolor. I have been looking at old bird watching books and plant identification manuals to come up with some new characters for my work. I also went thru all my old pictures and have a stack of inspiration, most likely to be seen on a bowl, my old goldfish. More on them in the very near future.
This cloud was across the street from my house the other day and it really made me nervous. It turned out to be just a cloud but I was sure some kind of something terrible was causing it. It made me think, what would i do if it was something terrible? I can't seal myself into my house, i surely can't out run a cloud. I guess I just have to let it be. So this post might be full of duality! Letting things be, accepting things as they are. Being busy makes it easy to do this, I ran around asking Steve about the cloud and then grabbed the camera and in about 5 minutes I was back in the studio and totally forgot about the impending doom of a few minutes before. Thank you Beatles for the lovely song (let it be) and a somewhat easy to take mantra for us nervous types.
