Indian Creek Studios

2012-01-06T08:16:00.000-06:00

It is here again! First one of the year as well! I am in up to my neck, with discounts at both of my etsy shops:

LittleHippieMama

Indian Creek Studios

Use FFAWHIPPIE for 10% off incense at Little Hippie Mama's incense shop

Use BOCFFAW for 10% off beads and charms at Indian Creek Studios

My good friends at Beads of Clay are Art Walking too, go to the BOC Blog to see who is joining in!

Lemongrass and dish washers

2011-12-17T10:13:00.001-06:00

Hello folks out in blogger land. I have been uber busy between making incense for my new shop (LittleHippieMama) and trying to keep IndianCreekStudios well stocked, not to mention Yule and Christmas...and house keeping. Ug. Hate house keeping.

I did make a new incense recipe, Lemongrass! Love it. I have some new aromatics to experiment with (coltsfoot, tonka beans, irish moss). Maybe something good will blossom.
I have broken down my normal work space because that is where the tree goes...and relocated my work to other parts of the house. It messes with my mojo somewhat, but it is temporary....sigh...

So to give you some meat to this blog post, I want to share with you a frugal living tip.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent.

I have looked over the interwebs and I will summarize:

Super cheap and easy......

1/2 Borax (20 mule Team stuff) and
1/2 Baking Soda

mix together and store in an old spagetti sauce jar. Use 1 heaping tablespoon per load.

Put good cheap white vinegar in the rinse agent dispenser.

This method is supposed to be good for fighting hard water, which I have

Little more fancy version......
1 cup Washing soda (found indetergent aisle)
1 cup Borax (20 mule Team stuff)
½ cup salt (sea salt is what recipe called for, I do not see why the cheap stuff would not be ok)
½ cup citric acid ("Fruit Fresh" in Grocery Store, I hear unsweetened lemonaide powder works too)

if you want to go extra fancy, add 40-80 drops of your favorite essential oil, like grapefruit or lavender, that have anti microbial properties and of course smell great. My dishwasher gets so hot, I do not need a germ killer, so I am skipping this step.

Same dose, one Tablespoon per load.

I am going to make some today, provided I get everything from the store this morning, and give it a try.

must go scrub clay from the floor before the tree arrives...see yas

New Mice, catnip of course

2011-11-28T11:05:00.001-06:00

New Mice!

I sold out over the weekend, so I got out the old jeans and my pattern and comenced to cut and sew. The new batch looks more tie-died. There are even some little brothers and sisters, but they have not been photoed yet, hopefully later today

First Friday

2011-11-04T08:51:00.000-05:00

It is that time again! Yay!

I have a coupon code for 10% off at Indian Creek Studios

BOCFFAW

I have new things to photograph and list, and incense to make

for LittleHippieMama's, so I need to get to it while the light is good!

see yall later

Pam

Poor little me

2011-11-02T09:43:00.001-05:00

Hi, just a quick personal update..not that anyone should really care :-)

I had a rather rough experience with a rootcanal yesterday, it took 3 times the normal

amount of numbing to work on the tooth. My doc is great, she has done several rootcanals

on my teeth before and this is the first time I had trouble. She almost gave up getting me

numb enough to work, and I had to endure a few unpleasant, um, explorations, to find the right

place to inject the numb juice. I slept off the drugs yesterday, and today I am sore and grumpy. I hope to get some work done today but I do not expect to be online all that much till tommorow, so I will see y'all then.

Pam

Mice!!! Hippie Tie-Dyed Catnip Mice of course!

2011-10-31T10:37:00.000-05:00

LittleHippieMama's Catnip Mice!

I Heart Macro

2011-10-23T16:19:00.000-05:00

Glass Water Bulb to water my plants
(you are seeing through it and the water inside to the far side)

Brass Eagle's Claw from an antique light switch

Antique Curtain Sheer with Tuft of Chenille

Ceramic Lion Face cast from a very old tombstone by a friend

New Designs

2011-10-19T15:58:00.000-05:00

well, they are OLD really, all my stuff is ancient looking, but they are new to me and the etsy shop

Celtic Cross

Celtic Knot

The Owl and Skulls are newly made too, but from older friends (molds)

Owl

Skull

Ghostly Skull

Sandalwood Incense

2011-10-12T10:20:00.001-05:00

Well, LittleHippieMama's Incense Shop is up and running. I have a few new scents, notably that classic hippie fragrance, Sandalwood!

I have set up a fan page on Facebook for LittleHippieMama, and Twitter, so if you want to follow or like, I would like ! I promiss not to overload you with tons of stupid posts!

Have no fear that I have abandoned ceramic beads and charms, the kiln is firing a bisque load right now with a couple of new designs in a celtic vein, and some skulls, always skulls :-)

It is a full moon tonight, so burn some incense and go out and howl tonight!

Pam

LittleHippieMama

IndianCreekStudios

I heart Macro, and little cat noses

2011-10-02T13:44:00.002-05:00

I also love little tiny tiny cat noses!

I fully own that I am being all mushy and emotional and I care not a fig. My muse, my shaddow, my constant companion has returned after a tearful 4 days missing, and the sight of her curled up on my slab roller is the best sight in the world, so here is my sentimental piece of blather, a macro of that adorable ink black nose.

Her wherabouts durring her missing days still unknown. About 6 am monday morning, when we were all still in bed she just walks into the bedroom and says hi. Hubs says, "Hey, you found her!" and I say "Huh??" I am so articulate before dawn. We had left the garage door open just a few inches, hoping she would make her way back in that way, which I guess she did, but how did she get from a locked garage into the rest of the house? She aint tellin'. Her new nickname, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. Welcome home baby!

Lost cat has returned

2011-09-27T07:37:00.001-05:00

The mystery only deepens, but I am happy.

After four days missing, she just now walked into my bedroom. She ate, went to the litterbox, is talking nonstop, happy to be home. However she managed to leave, she just returned. Teleportation? Another dimension? Walking through walls? Do not know, but she is sitting on the sofa taking a leasurly bath, purring.

Lost Cat

2011-09-25T11:59:00.000-05:00

Hi web friends. I try to only post from a positive place, because I know frankly that most of you do not want to know about every little hick-up in life, you like I, come to the blogs and twitters for happy fun things.
but I just cannot do happy today. I know some of you will think I am being a silly old fool for being upset about a lost cat, but I am.
On Friday when I was firing the kiln in the garage, she must have gotten into the garage without my seeing her, and because the kiln was going, I opened the garage door. I have no real concrete knowledge that she went in, but I do not know what else could have happened. She has just vanished from our lives.
This is a cat who follows me room to room and sleeps where I sleep and is never more than a couple of feet from me. She has a little nest on my slab roller in my studio which is where she is most of the day.
That nest has been empty since Friday morning.
I am camped out in my back yard now, going to spend as uch of the day here as I can, thinking that this is where she is most likely to return to if she returns. I am trying to keep it together but I am not doing such a good job

Little Hippie Mama's Incense Shop

2011-09-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

I have been a busy little hippy lately. I opened a second shop on Etsy to sell my hand made incense cones, and ceramic burners too of course.

I have been making totally from scratch whole herb incense cones. It goes well with making clay things, so it is really just an extension of what I was already doing, and of course it is great fun and smells good too!

This is my grand opening weekend, so for my blog readers I am offering a discount coupon for 20% off. Use the code HippieMama when you check out to get your discount!

Sarah Fimm, Tracks From Near Infinate Possibility

2011-09-08T16:49:00.000-05:00

Sarah Fimm - Tracks From Near Infinite Possibility (2011) by Two Sheps That Pass

I was sent this link to an artist I was not familiar with because they thought I would like, and I do, really do, so I am sharing her with y'all. Enjoy ;-)

Bead Table Wednesday

2011-09-07T23:01:00.001-05:00

I had a special order for 40 hand charms that I packed up and mailed today

(happy dance time)

now in order to have 40 good ones, I needed to make about 50 or so, just in case of accidents. That is about all my little kiln will hold, and my other kilns need an electrician. So I made a bunch, bisqued them, glazed them, then fired them. Let them cool, then open the kiln....oops wrong color......

oh no! So I did it all over again. Second time was good! whew....

bye bye hands!

oh you should have heard all the hand puns my husband treated me with as I slaved away...

can you lend me a hand....

First Friday Artwalk on Etsy

2011-09-02T11:05:00.000-05:00

I have done First Fridays here in Kansas City, but this is my first virtual one. The problem of doing a real life FF is that I want to wander and shop myself, or my helpers vanish to go shopping :-) This way I can take care of business AND go looking too!

Several of my friends at Beads of Clay are also participating, and we are all (I think) offering a coupon code for a discount, BOCFFAW gets you 10% off your
retail order for Friday, September 2, 2011 and Saturday, September 3, 2011

Go to the Beads of Clay Blog to see everyone who is joining in the fun.

Beads of Clay Cyber Monday Sale!

2011-08-29T00:01:00.004-05:00

16 plus Beads of Clay artists are banding together to have a sale! I am not much of a joiner, but I joined this, because who doesn't love a sale?
http://beads-of-clay.blogspot.com/
each of us has our own code so check out our group blog for all the links and details.

My sale is for 20% off and my coupon Code is: BOCCYBERSALE
follow the link to my shop to shop!

I Heart Macro!

2011-08-21T14:19:00.000-05:00

I made a few tiny pinchpots to use as incense burners, and added broken glass to them, and this one, the blue underglaze ran down the walls and mixed with the clear glass in a pleasing way :-)
Clay and recycled glass expand and shrink at different rates in a kiln, glass shrinks more, which makes it shatter as it cools, but the glaze on the clay bonds it together , preserving the fragmentation. It is smooth on the surface, the cracks are beneath. So it is absolutly not for use with food :-) but oh so beautiful!

Love a cool morning!

2011-08-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

On a cool morning I can drink a BIG cup of coffee. This is a cereal bowl sized pot I put a handle on and called it a mug ;-) It is not the best mug in the world but I made it and glazed it with a glaze I created myself, Pam's Butternut, that they use at the local guild. It is a cone 10, so I do not use it at my home studio where I prefer cone 6. I digress.......anyway, it is a beautif cool rainy morning and it has me feeling like getting stuff done. I have a kiln load firing away already! amazing for me, I am not a morning person usually.

In the kiln are some unglazed beads with underglaze. I will tumble them after they are fired. A moter and pestle I made for myself for grinding herbs and resins for incense.....

and a little incense burner for myself....note the piece of glass that will melt in the burner and make a nice flat area for the incense cone to sit on...

here is a bundle of desert sage....I wish you could smell this...wow..It will be one of the ingredients in my incense cones...

I had a few helpers of course....

Barney keeps an eye on things, he always watches me when I make stuff, he is a very curious snake...

Goofy decided to play with my flip flops that tracked in some fallen leaves this morning, it has been so hot lately that the trees are going dorment and dropping leaves already....well I need to go clean the fish tank...see y'all later

Musical Monday!

2011-08-02T16:44:00.000-05:00

Oh my...it is 109 outside right now, the ac in this old convent home of mine is struggling, I am soaked through just sitting here with a fan and weak ac...dog wants me to take him out to play, shoes how not so bright he is, with his black wooly coat. To cool me off, here is a cool tune about snow and ice and wizards....and yeah I know it is not monday, but I am moving slow.....I fired the kiln yesterday and I should be glazing, but it is too hot, and I do not want to fire a glaze load in the kiln till the weather improoves...

Artist: Mariee Sioux

Title: Wizard Flurry Home

Lyrics to Wizard Flurry Home :

dance, dance, snow

flur, flurry home

and dance, dance, snow

flur, flurry home

oh, wizard, weave gold

wave, wave, wave your title

wizard, pound your

mor, mor, mortar pestle

wizard, weave gold

wave, wave, wave your title

wizard, pound your

mor, mor, mortar pestle

oh, mortar pestle and

dance, dance in snow

and flur, flurry home

and winter, love holds

crown, crown, crown your brothers

winter, love snows

crown, crown, crown your mountains

winter, love holds

crown, crown, crown your mothers

winter, love snows

crown, crown, crown your mountains

and dance, dance in snow

and flur, flurry home

oh, flur, flurry home

and cocoon, bedspoon

i beg, i beg, i beg your pardon

cocoon, bedspoon

i beg, i beg, i beg your pardon

cocoon, monsoon

break, break, breaks the roof in

cocoon, monsoon

it break, break, breaks my heart in two

in two, two, in two

and it was two, oh, oh, five

and so new, new, so new

it was so new, new, new

new, new, so new

and brown, brown

oh, brown knees, white bees'

hum, hum, hum are missing

brown knees, white bees'

hum, hum, hum are missing

could you p-lease

turn, turn, turn to honey

could you p-lease

turn, turn, turn to morning

could you p-lease

turn, turn, turn tomorrow and

turn our dance into ice

oh, freeze our dance under lakes

and turn our dance into ice

oh, freeze our dance under lakes and

freeze our dance into snow-oh-angel pillows

freeze our dance into snow-oh-angel pillows

freezing our dance

into snow angel pillows

Musical Monday and I Heart Macro!

2011-07-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

The other day while I walked the dog I noticed this lovely purple flower amongst the weeds taking over my back yard, and I knew I needed use it for a I Heart Macro photo shoot. I just did not have enough time to haul the camera/lens/tripod outside, I needed to photo some beads this morning, so I commited a sin. This morning as I walked the dog, I picked it and took it inside to photograph when I had a chance, in the studio with the photo cube and any other cheat I could use :-)

As I walked back through the front door with dawg in tow, my nose told me something was wrong. Hmm, did I not get the dog out fast enough this morning??? Did one of the cats do a bad thing? Oh No! It was the stupid flower in my hand! whew, it stinks like a wet dog with digestive problems! It may be beautiful, but only to the eyes, certainly not the nose!
Fits my mood of late. I am still in a funk over a bit of family growing pains. Parenting a teenager is not for the faint of heart. I have not been blogging as much as I would like, but I have just been in such a bad mood over "stuff" that I cannot control. I will put the "stuff" behind me for a bit and get some work done.

Anyway, here is my Musical Monday pick, this is what I am listening to in the studio instead of listening to the prez talk about money problems....

Ghost Writing

Neko Case

on Blacklisted

Lyrics to Ghost Writing :

What happens at home since I've gone away?
Needles drop soft and sharp
And the leaves gently sway
Low ceiling moves in and circles the bay
Rain makes the trees
Sound that's counted so many days
So many days

Wet shoes drag you off to school
Shoes that never dry
Crows curse and beat their wings
Why can't you be smarter girl
Lift up your face

Don't feel sorry for yourself
Always wait for you

Your ghost is a lightshow at night
On the Grand Cooley Dam
We're always watching you
At the drive-in tonight
Who will they comfort now
Since I've gone away?

Musical Monday!

2011-07-04T12:28:00.000-05:00

"Numb"

Unable so lost
I can't find my way
Been searching, but I have never seen
A turning, a turning from deceit

Cos the child roses like
Try to reveal what I could feel

I can't understand myself anymore
But I m still feeling lonely
Feeling so unholy

Cos the child roses like
Try to reveal what I could feel
But this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone

I'm fooling somebody
A faithless path to roam
Deceiving to breath this secretly
This silence, a silence I can't bear

Cos the child roses like
Try to reveal what I could feel
And this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone
And this loneliness,
It just won't leave me alone, ohh no

A lady of war

A lady of war

yeah I am feeling a little numb alternating with a twist in my gut over someone's obscuring truth and choices...but life goes on and there are little clay things to be made, taking a lump of mud and making artifacts for the next mellenium..off I go :-\

2011-06-26T21:32:00.000-05:00

Wanna guess again? I promiss it is not a snake this time!

it is a piece of coiled clay that has been bisqued that I use as a press mold to make these:

a brilliant idea for photographing little stuff

2011-06-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

I am trying to get better at photographing those little hunks of clay that I make. if you have been to mt etsy shop recently, you know I am re-doing the photography on all my pieces, I am maybe a third of the way done, as I ballance adding new items and re-shooting exiting listings. I have noted that folks are looking at last page a lot lately, and I like to think they are looking at the items there knowing they are the photos due for a make-over :-) Good photos are supposed to make for better sales, but beyond that I want my photos to be as dead on honest as possible. I want the viewer to see what I see. So anyway...

I was ready a photography blog with some DIY stuff and came across this video, it is just brilliant!!
A cheapy plastic trash can!! as a photo enviroment!!!Better than a photo cube thingie, why did I not see this before I bought that cube tent thing??

go check out http://www.akelstudio.com/blog/mastering-jewelry-photography-my-experience-with-a-shooting-cone/
for more brilliance

pam

I Heart Macro, can you guess what it is??

2011-06-19T20:26:00.001-05:00

can you tell what it is? an exotic glazed piece of pottery?

Here is more.......can you tell yet?

scroll on down to see.....

My daughter's pet snake Ko-Hi (I am just guessing the spelling, it is a martial arts/anime/manga term)

check out the reflection in this one! She is peeking out of her doorway

Ko-Hi is a beautiful female corn snake, an albino morph, I think she has what is known as candycane coloring. My son also has a corn snake, a grayish lavender color known as a lavender ghost. I will take his picture soon...

I noticed she was looking at me so I opened her door and she poked her head out..she did the tongue wiggle thing for me but I missed that shot...

I know snakes are not everyone's idea of a pet, but we enjoy them.

share the love!

I bought myself a maid on Ebay!

2011-06-16T09:09:00.000-05:00

As you know if you read my blog, I have a ton of pets, and the mammals are all shedders, especially Lancelot, our Akita/lab mix I call a Labrakita (I made that up, arn't I clever??). He sheds enough to make several small animals each day. And I work with clay, mix my own glazes, blah blah blah make a lot of mess. For health reasons, you are not supposed to sweep up clay dust, it gets airborn and into your lungs, which will eventually kill ya... On top of all that, I am a horrible, horrible house keeper. So I saw this critter on ebay, a gently used one for about half retail, and jumped on it. It came in the mail yesterday.

It is so cool! It takes a swiffer dry pad and via a GPS guide gets up all the cat fur and dog hair, takes about an hour in the big room I do my clay work in. Then I switched it to a swiffer wet pad and off it went! It went under my work table and cleaned! something I rarely do :-) Oh the nuns who used to live in this house would be shocked at my bad housekeeping and general mess making (yeah, this house used to be a convent) but now I have a little friend who cleans up behind me!! My floor is dust free and mostly fur free! yippee!

Musical Monday!

2011-06-13T16:11:00.000-05:00

Pixies, Where is my mind?

2011-06-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

uploading photos today is being a real pain, I do not know what Blogger's problem is! I did manage to get some loaded though....

Camera Hog Extradinaire! I was setting up to photo beads when she got in my face and started mugging for the camera.....

and more Goofy...because there i a shortage of cat pics on the net ya know....

looks like porcupine quills, but is just more Goofball Kitty

this is a tiny brass knob on an old mailbox

this is lichen growing on a walnut tree

Beads of Clay Spotlight for June, Me!

2011-06-07T16:51:00.000-05:00

http://beads-of-clay.blogspot.com/2011/06/may-2011-boc-spotlight-artist-pam.html

go check it out. Also, for the month of June, I will have a sale in honor of being the spotlight. Use
coupon code: BOCSPOTLIGHT in my Etsy Shop

Musical Monday!

2011-06-06T19:57:00.001-05:00

well it is HOT here in the midwest, and the Mo river is rising and will flood our city in about 10 days. Glad I bought a house on a hill ! So here is a sample of what I am listening to in the studio today....

Mariella

by Kate Nash

on Made of Bricks

I'm heavy handed, to say the least.

My mother thinks I'll be an awful clutcher 'cus I spill things from stiring them too quickly.

I'm far too loud.

Its like, as soon as I've got an opinion, it just has to come out.

I laugh at stupid things just cus they tickle me.

And sometimes, sometimes, I wish I was like Mariella,

she got some pritt stick and glued her lips together.

So she never had to speak, never had to speak, never had to speak.

People used to say shes as quiet as a mouse, she just doesn't make a peep.

She marched to her wardrobe and threw away the colour, because wearing black looks mysterious, but it didn't impress her mother.

She wanted to dress her baby in patterns and flowers, but Mariella just crossed her arms and so she cried for hours.

Mariella.

Mariella.

My pretty, baby girl

Unglue your lips from being together and wear some pink and pearls.

You can have your friends 'round and they can stay for tea.

Won't you just try to fit in please, do this for me.

But Mariella just crossed her arms and walked up the stairs and she went into her bedroom, and she sat on her bed.

And she looked in the mirror and she thought to herself "If I wanna play, I can play with me, If I wanna think, I'll think in my head.

At school, Mariella didn't have many friends, yeah, the girls there, they looked at her and thought she was quite strange.

Boys aren't really into girls at that age.

And the teachers, they thought Mariella was just going through a phase.

But Mariella just smiled as she skipped down the road because she knew all the secrets in her world.

yeah, she always got the crossword puzzle right every day and she could do the alphabet backwards, without making any mistakes.

Mariella.

Mariella.

Pretty, pretty girl.

Mariella.

Mariella.

Happy in her own little world

Happy in her own little world

And she says "I'm never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever, yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever ever, yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever ever gunna unglue my lips from being together."

She said "I'm never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever, yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever ever, yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever ever evereverevereverevereverevereverevergunna unglue my lips from being together."

***********************************************************

Fred came out

2011-06-04T18:34:00.001-05:00

Fred came out of his cocoon and revealed that he was a she....a wingless moth. The females have no wings. I am not sure what the foam all over the used cocoon and husk are, eggs perhaps?

I have not been able to comment on my blog for over a week, so I have not been able to answer quetions!Very frustrating! So, in answer, my camera is a Canon Rebel T3, a brand new Canon DSLR in a lower price range, and I got a macro lens, 100mm 2.8F

The picture above was "stacked" from two images, I should have used at least one more to get the antenae in tight focus. The depth of field with my fancy lens is very shallow so something with dimension like Fredrika cannot all be in tight focus, so I focused one shot on the body and one on the foam. The were put together with a free software app called CombineZM

Update of Fred the Catepillar

2011-06-02T21:56:00.000-05:00

Here is Fred looking more moth like every day.

Goofball looking serious

Guardian of the Laudry Room. Daughter screamed when she saw him, then called me to photograph him. After I took a picture she said ok kill him now. I was willing to toss him outside, but a he is a benifial wolf spider I declined smooshing him. I tried to take this sheet outside to shake him off but he jumped off and ran under basement clutter. Daughter said she is going to have nightmares till I do something about the spider. Oh well, she will just have to deal.

Inkie Ferret Cat

Lance, wondering if posing will earn him treats...

Musical Monday!

2011-05-30T15:33:00.000-05:00

A little Courtney Love oldie for you!

Doll Parts by Hole

I am doll eyes

Doll mouth, doll legs

I am doll arms, big veins, dog bait

Yeah, they really want you, they really want you, they really do

Yeah, they really want you, they really want you, but I do too

I want to be the girl with the most cake

I love him so much it just turns to hate

I fake it so real, I am beyond fake

And someday, you will ache like I ache

Someday, you will ache like I ache

I am doll parts

Bad skin, doll heart

It stands for knife

For the rest of my life

Yeah, they really want you, they really want you, they really do

Yeah, they really want you, they really want you, but I do, too

I want to be the girl with the most cake

He only loves those things because he loves to see them break

I fake it so real, I am beyond fake

And someday, you will ache like I ache

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/h/hole/#share

ok and some pics of recent stuff, some brand new and some with photo make-overs :-)

Weekend Eyecandy with new camera

2011-05-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

I have blabbed enough about waiting for new DSLR and Macro lens that gives me the ability to do remote live view on my computer to take pictures of my beads and charms....I am still learning that but very happy so far. So while I wait for the kiln to cool (under 400F so soon!) I decided to untether the camera from the computer and walk around my yard and take some pix...I just got this baby so I am not as skilled as I will be after a few months practice, but not bad at all...and at the bottom of the pile of photos is an update on Fred the Catepillar and what he is doing on my back door now..

Robin

Rose

Cedar

Lilac

Locust

Snap Dragon

Spider Wort

Sticker Bush

Tiger Lily

Fred!

Mocha Difussion

2011-05-26T08:40:00.001-05:00

Mocha Difussion

These are some bisque pieces that I amgetting ready to glaze. I am anxious to see how they turn out. I used a variation on an old English technique. You brush on slip to a leather hard pot, and quickly while the slip is still shiny wet, you touch it with a brush laden with a contrasting pigment in a mild acid liquid, like vinegar or tobacco juice. The slip is base/alkaline, so the acid reacts by branching out, taking it's pigment with it. In this experiment, I used balsamic vinigar because that is what I had. I do not chew tobacco or dip snuff, so I did not have a can of tobacco spit, which is how this is believed to have started. I mixed underglazes with the vinegar.I hope they look good after glazing !

Look what I found on my back door!

2011-05-25T19:46:00.002-05:00

I do not know what kind of catepillar it is, but it has taken shelter from the storms on my basement door. My daughter was passing through between social engagements, and spotted it. She said to me, "Hey, didn't you just get a new camera with a macro lens?" Why, yes, yes I did! Thus I captured the likeness of Fred the Catepillar. He is actually only about 3/4 of an inch or so. I thought his antenai were branch-like, only to see in the picture that they are more like dried flowers :-)

Milestone met, new goals being worked on

2011-05-21T11:56:00.000-05:00

Nearly all of my thoughts and actions of the last couple of weeks have centered around my youngest, my daughter M. She turned 18 last week and graduated this week. College, with the goal of becoming a chef has been plotted out and she begins her general ed classes in about a month, and in August she will start culinary classes and will apprentice with a local chef. It is a very intense schedule for the next 3 years. It is a very exciting time for her, and me too:-) I am very proud of her, could you guess? Both my offspring are smart and talented. Now if I could get my son to join me with clay I would be over the top! He is a gifted sculptor but dislikes the dirtiness of clay. He must get that from his dad, surely not from me!

Musical Monday!

2011-05-17T15:28:00.000-05:00

It is still Monday isn't it?? well close enough! A little dark cabaret my friends? Why not?

Evil Night Together lyrics

Artist: Jill Tracy lyrics

Title: Evil Night Together

I'll hold your hand while they drag the river

I'll cuddle you in the undertow

I'll keep my hand on your trigger finger

I'll take you down where the train tracks go

Let's wile away the hours

Let's spend an evil night together

We'll drink a toast in the torture chamber

And you'll go down on a bed of nails

We'll rendevous in cold blood

I'll tie you up to the third rail

Let's wile away the hours

Let's spend an evil night together

Who's gonna make you a hero

Who's gonna blow you away

Who's gonna make you a hero

Hold it right there

It's a multiple down in solitary

And you'll uncover the evidence

Shanghaied by a fishnet stocking

I'll hold you close while they dust for prints

Let's wile away the hours

Let's spend an evil night together

No need for cake or flowers

Let's spend an evil night together

I'll hold your hand while they drag the river

I'll cuddle you in the undertow

I'll keep my hand on your trigger finger

I'll take you down where the train tracks go

Let's wile away the hours

Let's spend an evil night together

We'll drink a toast in the torture chamber

And you'll go down on a bed of nails

We'll rendevous in cold blood

I'll tie you up to the third rail

Let's wile away the hours

Let's spend an evil night together

Who's gonna make you a hero

Who's gonna blow you away

Who's gonna make you a hero

Hold it right there

It's a multiple down in solitary

And you'll uncover the evidence

Shanghaied by a fishnet stocking

I'll hold you close while they dust for prints

Let's wile away the hours

Let's spend an evil night together

No need for cake or flowers

Let's spend an evil night together

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

and what I am listing today if the day doesn't get away from me again.....

ok till tommorow!

pam

Musical Monday, and a new bracelet by a new beady friend

2011-05-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

My newly found beady friend and neighbor Jeana Wells (we walk our dogs on the same trail!) is a talented jewelry maker with very good taste, as we like the same things :-) Go check out Jeana's Etsy shop

and this new bracelet made with one of my bees, and some other very nice elements. Don't you love those colors?

painted desert stoneware and leather

now for my musical monday selection......

The Sunday's cover of Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones

because you need wild hores in a painted desert, right?

Ordered a new camera

2011-05-06T08:27:00.000-05:00

I am bankrupting the family budget......I am filled with guilt over that, but I did it anyway....oh boy..

I ordered the camera with it's standard lens AND a supper cool macro lens.....oh baby.

I am so excited. The reason I picked this camera is that I can tether the camera to my laptop, and use the laptop as a viewfinder, focus and correct color and all that stuff on a big screen. As my eyes age I am having trouble seeing the little screen on my little point and shoot canon (which I still love, but it is so hard to get that sharp focus I want) I better go make some beads......

Cairn Stone Pendants Finnally Finished

2011-05-03T11:34:00.000-05:00

Cairn Stone and Copper Pendants

If you have looked at my work you know I am enthralled by ancient art. One of my passions is for rocks, and rocks made into art, like Cairns, well it just calls to me. Being of Celtic roots (among others!) I just swoon over Cairns. So it was inevitable that I would make them.

I made pebbles from stoneware clay, colored it with oxides, fired them, glazed them with a stony matte glaze, fired them again, and just for a little extra aging, I tumbled them overnight.

Next I took two pieces of copper, my hammer and anvil and made paddle shapes on end of each piece. Then I "strung" my clay pieces on them, and so very carefully hammered the other ends into paddles. I drilled holes in the top paddles so they can be put on a jump ring or have a cord pass through. Finally I added a patina to the copper.

Now they are ready for you! What will you make? A pair of earrings would be stunning. A necklace? I cannot wait to see how these pendants get used in your creation.

Musical Monday!

2011-05-02T12:44:00.000-05:00

Here is my pick for today, horrid subject matter, masterful song and performance

The Rake's Song
Artist(Band):The Decemberists

I had entered into a marriage

In the summer of my twenty-first year

And the bells rang for our wedding

Only now do I remember it clear

Alright, alright, alright

No more a rake and no more a bachelor

I was wedded and it whetted my thirst

Until her womb started spilling out babies

Only then did I reckon my curse

Alright, alright, alright

Alright, alright, alright

First came Isaiah with his crinkled little fingers

Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn

Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery

Mercifully taking her mother along

Alright, alright, alright

What can one do when one is a widower

Shamefully saddled with three little pests?

All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life

So my burden I began to divest

Alright, alright, alright

Alright, alright, alright

Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove

Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath

Isaiah fought but was easily bested

Burned his body for incurring my wrath

Alright, alright, alright

And that's how I came your humble narrator

To be living so easy and free

Expect that you think that I should be haunted

But it never really bothers me

Alright, alright, alright

Alright, alright, alright

Big Bang Theory's Smokin' Monkey

2011-04-29T14:03:00.000-05:00

Text of the ‘vanity card’ that ran at the end of last night’s Big Bang Theory:

Dear Concerned Viewers,

Thanks to the magic of computer graphics, the monkey in tonight's episode was not actually smoking a cigarette, nor was he ever exposed to secondhand smoke. At all times, every effort was made to make the monkey feel happy and safe. Nevertheless, he proved impossible to work with. During the week of production his behavior became increasingly erratic, to the point of refusing to come out of his trailer to rehearse. It wasn't until after we finished filming his scenes that we learned why. The monkey is a heroin addict. Yes, hard as it may be to believe, the monkey had a monkey on his back. Thankfully, an intervention was staged by the Geico lizard and he is now going through detox and a twelve step program at the Bonzo Center in Palm Springs. Everyone at "The Big Bang Theory" wishes him well.

Tornado Video shot at my alma mater

2011-04-28T12:31:00.000-05:00

Longwood University as it is called now. It was plain old Longwood College in my time ('82) and Virginia State Normal School for Ladies some time before that. I do not recognize any of the buildings, they are all new. When I was there I lived in a building from the 1800's, but it burned down some time back, thoughthey did re-build. Anyway, I was checking the net to see where the tornados hit in Va, since that is where all my family live. No tornados near my family, but my old school had a scare. As far as I know this particular tornado did not hurt anyone.

Musical Monday!

2011-04-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

Cat Power
Cross Bones Style

Oh how time flies

With crystal clear eyes

And cold as cold

When you're ending with diamond eyes

Oh come child

In a cross bones style

Oh come child

Come and rescue me

Cause you have seen some unbelievable things

Hater I have your diamonds

And still...

Cause you have seen some unbelievable things

Hater I have your diamonds

Oh come child

In a cross bones style

Oh come child

come and rescue me

Cause you have seen some unbelievable things

Hater I have your diamonds

And still, so still...

Oh how time flies

With crystal eyes

And cold as cold

When you're ending with diamond eyes

Oh come child

In a cross bones style

Oh come child

Come and rescue me

Cause you have seen some unbelievable things

Days of Wine And Roses

2011-04-23T18:38:00.000-05:00

Days of Wine and Roses

They are looking at you.........part 2

2011-04-22T19:02:00.000-05:00

Here they are fresh from the kiln. This is actually round two. These are a refill order for consignment in a museum gift shop. If you are a skull fan, I bet you know what museum . The buyer asked if we could try some lighter, more spring/summer colors in contrast to my earthy stoneware pieces. My first batch was still dark. Beautiful, but dark and the colors burnt out at stoneware temps. So, I made more, then brushed them with a white slip, and bisque fired them all the way to cone 6 (2185F on my controler). Then I colored them with bright underglazes and glazed them with a low fire clear, and glaze fired them at an earthen ware temp, about 1940F. Here we are, colors look good, except for that sunflower yellow that was so vibrant in the jar, was kinda yucky so I will not show that one!
I bought waxed linen cord in pretty colors from Mary at White Clover Kiln on etsy, and I will make simple necklaces from this guys tonight as I watch ghosty tv shows :-)

too bad you cannot smell what's cookin'

2011-04-21T14:24:00.000-05:00

Ok, if you read my ramblings you know that my daughter is in training to be a chef. She is taking her finals this week in her high school culinary program, and she chose a thai menu for her practicals. Yesterday she did an app and entree, satay chicken and chicken panang curry. It all had to be chicken because the day before she had to demonstrate cutting up a chicken, and so it needed to be used up. I am rambling...a couple of weeks ago we had an expedition to a local asian grocer to let her shop for exotic foods to be used in her finals. We got about a pound brick of tamarind paste. She used a bit of it, leaving most of the brick. She suggested that I use the rest in my more rudimentary cooking for the family. I am a decent cook, I used to try each month's cover recipe on Gourmet and Bon Apetitt, but cooking for a family with widely varying tastes killed that hobby. Hubs is more meat and potatos sort of guy and only tolerated my fancy cooking because he did not want to cook. My son is a vegitarian who mainly eats raw foods, rarely eats anything I cook. And the chef daughter is soooo picky (high maintenance child). So all this jibber jabber is leading up to what I am cooking today.
In the big crockpot I have put a nice sized pork roast, along with a fair amount of tammarind paste, couple of sliced carrots, onion, red bell pepper, thai spice mix, and a goodly shot of serracha (thai hot chili sauce). It smells heavenly. No not following a recipe, winging it while using up some of her unused goodies. It smells heavenly. I am debating adding keiffer lime leaves or coconut milk, will confer when the little chef gets home in a few moments.....
Today she was to do her practical exam on desert, her choice was sticky rice with coconut milk, fried bannanas with a coconut coating, drizzled with chocolate sauce.....
I do not have any food pictures, sorry!
I do have new things listed on etsy:

They are looking at you.........

2011-04-17T10:45:00.001-05:00

So I have an order for a bunch of skull necklaces, in happy spring colors :-) Here they are in progress. About 40. Actually it was 40 but I broke one. Now 39. The order is for 25. They have been painted in happy colored under glazes, bisqued, then dunked in red iron oxide. Under that rust are lavenders and teals and mint chiffons. Hard to see the colors yet since they have not been glaze fired. Well in the pictures they have not. In the real world, they are glazed and fired and sitting in a kiln that at last check was @ 600*F, so a couple more hours before I can peek....

so in the mean time I will make like a cat and love the sunshine and nap. Here is Inkie Ferret being annoyed with me and the camera for disterbing a perfect moment

Tuesday Tumble

2011-04-12T09:02:00.000-05:00

cairn stones after bisque

a black bird wing

pile of bisque and glazed stuff from yesterday's mixed firing

My son riding Dallas at hippotherapy at Helping Hands yesterday.

Well it will be another busy busy day here at the homestead. This afternoon my son has an interview with a doc to confirm his diagnosis of autism, since our original diagnosis's (what is the plural of diagnosis?) was was when he was 4 years old, and as you can see he is not a little boy anymore. This is one more step in the road to getting him SSDI, and more independence. Mom and Dad will not be here forever, no matter what I have to say about it. Stinks.

Also on the agenda, the future chef needs to practice cutting up a chicken sometime between school and work today. She made satay sauce for the chicken already, yum! Her cooking finals are coming up, and she will have to demo knife skills on a chicken, make chicken satay for her appetiser, panang curry for entree, and crispy fried red bannanas for desert. All of this needs practice at home, darn. She cut up some keiffer lime leaves the other day and asked me to smell them, wow, that wonderful scent is beyond description, but makes one want to fly to the nearest curry house......

I also want to get some photography done, photoshop too, then list etsy items...do my best to stay out of the young chef's way too

Oh, and I got a refill order for a bunch of skulls, this batch in cheerful spring colors :-) Must make skulls, today! So gulping down the coffee and getting off my butt, now. Really. I am going to. Really.

Musical Monday!

2011-04-11T12:50:00.000-05:00

Sia, Soon we'll be found

Come along it is the break of day

Surely now, you'll have some things to say

It's not the time for telling tales on me

So come along, it wont be long

'Til we return happy

Shut your eyes, there are no lies

In this world we call sleep

Let's desert this day of hurt

Tomorrow we'll be free

Let's not fight I'm tired can't we just sleep tonight

Don't Turn away it's just there's nothing left here to say

Turn around I know we're lost but soon we'll be found

Well it's been rough but we'll be just fine

Work it out yeah we'll survive

You mustn't let a few bad times dictate

So come along, it wont be long

'Til we return happy

Shut your eyes, there are no lies

In this world we call sleep

Let's desert this day of work

Tomorrow we'll be free

Let's not fight I'm tired can't we just sleep tonight

Don't turn away it's just there's nothing left here to say

Turn around I know we're lost but soon we'll be found

Typical Saturday Rush

2011-04-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

Saturdays are busy here at the homestead, I do not drive, (big phobia) so all the errands are pushed to Saturdays when the hubs can run around. Son to classes (he is unable to drive), daughter to karate most of the time unless work gets in her way, like today. Groceries. Take daughter to work. She is about to graduate from HS and will start college this fall to study culinary. She can almost drive but lacks a car, that is a big thing, but she is being gifted with a handmedown car at the end of summer, before college starts. She also has a milestone birthday in about a month. Life is changing. All at about the same time, Iwill have my 29th wedding aniversary, my youngest will be an adult (officially) and it will be mother's day when I remember labor pains. Yes I went to the hospital on mother's day 18 years ago to be induced, she was born in the wee hours after midnight. I think that means I am getting old, but damn I feel like the same person I was when I was her age, I just have slower reaction time....
I am having those same lost feelings I did when she started kindergarten, not so sure I am ready for this transition....

so I need to weed my roses and make beads then try to sell them, so I can buy my rugrat a kewl graduation gift or two
Later my

Musical Monday!

2011-04-04T05:44:00.001-05:00

CocoRosie singing Smokey Taboo live

They call her smokey taboo

I got your name tattooed

High like a helium balloon

Midnight to noon

I'm a desert child

And mountains make me nauseous

I like to look up wild at an infinite sky

Twinkling with diamonds

It's true I get depressed in fancy hotel rooms

Undressed with nothing to flaunt but my loneliness

Thinking of the night song of your hair

Premature as evening falls

It calls to me

Interrupted by the sirens in the street

Somedays you're like an anchor on my heart

They say that stolen water tastes sweet

More like rotten milk and rancid meat to me

I prefers when it is free

Like looking at the stars

Don't need no fancy cars

When we first

Our kisses sparked

Yeah I'm afraid of sharks

But not the dark

the bees are out, looking to break their long winter's fast

2011-04-03T11:10:00.000-05:00

I had this cool little asymmetrical bee charm from a winter kiln firing, but saved it for spring, and today is the day I have decided to send it out into the world to seek out fertile pollens....

Social Links out the wazooo

2011-04-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

Let's share links, follow me and I will follow you, we can all hold hands and sing....um ok maybe not :-)

IndianCreekStudios on Facebook

http://twitter.com/ I am Indian_Creek on twitter
http://stumbleupon.com/ I am Indian-Creek on Stumbleupon

IndianCreekStudios on Digg

IndianCreekStudios on Kaboodle

these are (or soon will be) in the Beads of Clay Etsy shop

and below are new items in my Etsy

Musical Monday!

2011-03-28T04:01:00.002-05:00

The Knife

Silent Shout - An Audio Visual Experience

Heartbeats (Live)

Lyrics

One night to be confused

One night to speed up truth

We had a promise made

Four hands and then away

Both under influence

We had divine scent

To know what to say

Mind is a razor blade

To call for hands of above to lean on

Wouldn't be good enough for me

One night of magic rush

The start a simple touch

One night to push and scream

And then relief

Ten days of perfect tunes

The colors red and blue

We had a promise made

We were in love

To call for hands of above to lean on

Wouldn't be good enough for me

And you

You knew the hand of a devil

And you

Kept us awake with wolves teeth

Sharing different heart beats in one night

To call for hands of above to lean on

Wouldn't be good enough for me

sigh...trying to set up a facebook page

2011-03-27T11:35:00.001-05:00

So here is the thing, I have a facebook page for me as Pam, and linked off that is I guess what is called a fan page, for Indian Creek Studios. Now I have seriously neglected both. The personal one I stay off of for the very silly reason that I guy I knew 30+ years ago is always there in chat, ready to pounce, and I just do not have the time or patience for such siliness, not interested. But I do want to make better use of the fan page:
Indian Creek Studios on Facebook

They have some silly rules there too, I think I need friends before it is fully funtional. Most of my clay and bead friends who "friended" me did so on my personal page, which is fine if you want to get my family updates and less about clay and beads. But I would love clay and bead folks to "friend" Indian Creek Studios. I will even bribe you with a discount coupon code, over there, on facebook.

This is tough, all this social stuff, seeing as I am a hermit after all.

OK, just checked friending is no longer on fan pages, as a matter of fact it is no longer a fan page but just a page. I get so confused when they change things. anyway, I guess you don't friend me, you "like" the page. I wonder if there is a "Follow" like with blogging??

And for those who (like me) think blogs are for more pictures, less blah blah blah, here are some new items in my shop:

Firing results revealed

2011-03-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

ok here it is...the fruit of hours of labor, impressive isn't it??

Here is a quick rundown. I wanted to end up with two good glazes from this test, a clear and a white crackle in a ^6 glaze. I put a favorite and well tested glaze in the top right corner, Hansen's 5 x 20 with 10% zirco.

I put that formula in a glaze software program, and tinkered with it for the other corner glazes, a clear in the top left, a clear I thought would craze on bottom left, and a white I thought would craze on bottom right.

So here are the results, I just got from the kiln, and wiped it down with india ink...probably should have waited a little longer to let the craze to appear....but it looks like the middle section has some good white crackles! Clear, well not so much....more testing to be done... now to convert the formula to a recipe..

Below are a couple of quick shots of things in this load....

Bead Table Wednesday, and some helpers

2011-03-23T18:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been wanting to formulate my own crackle glaze for beads, I make most of my own glazes, but have been buying a clear crackle, it is nice but I will feel more right with the world if I made my own. Just the way I am. When I was studying painting I ground my own pigments instead of using tubes. It may not have made me a better painter, but I sure understood paint better...so anyway, I decided to take one of my fav and most reliable glazes, Hansen's 5x20 with zircopax, a white glaze (write to me if you want the recipe, but it is all over the webs) and a clear variation of it, tweaked to be more clear. Then I used GlazeMaster software to tinker with the formulas to take them out of the safe limits, and hopefully to make them craze..a white and a clear version. Then I made a grid with these four glazes as my corners, and blends inbetween to make up the rest of the 25 varients....
then I had to mix them up....whew...all those little cups....

scale and recipes for the 4 corners...

the tile

masked up

25 little cups....

It is in the kiln now, we shall see how it looks tommorow afternoon....also in the kiln is a new item, I think they will be coolness beadified.

It started like this....

old bronze eagle light switch plate, came with the house, oops you can see clay residue from when

I made a mold...

then I press molded some wings...I like em so far...

and of course I had helpers all the while, though I shooed Inkie away when I was playing with glaze chems..

Inkie on ironing board

Inkie on Bead table

Barney wanted to see what I was doing, so my son got him out....he is a corn snake, the color morph is called Lavender Ghost. He has the cutest purple tongue! He sits right next to me when I work, and watches everything, so cute. We have another corn, she is candy cane colored with red eyes, also very pretty, I will show her another day..............

Musical Monday!

2011-03-21T08:40:00.000-05:00

Throw It All Away
Zero 7

Try talking to you

While you do, while you do

I swap places with you

Just to see things through

full lyrics... Try talking to you

While you do, while you do

I swap places with you

Just to see things through

Try talking to you

While you do, while you do

I swap places with you

Just to see things through

Just sing me the tune and you'll see

I'll keep it here for you

I'll wait for your cue

You wrote down all the words

Black and white in a row

Just keepin' it so

Yeah, you know how it goes

No plans for a change

Nothing strange, no, not today, no way

Now, sing me the tune

Cash it in and throw it all away

Never needed any of it anyway

So you twist and you turn

Uncomfortable fool, you'll never learn

But you can take a stand

Forget all about the plans, California roads

Side one, track two

On a record of you

Even stuck on a groove

That I don't wanna lose

Just play it again as a friend

It's your favorite worn in shoes

Now sing me the tune

Cash it in and throw it all away, yeah

Never needed any of it anyway

So you crash and you burn

Sometimes the road will twist and turn

Some of this, less of that

Forget all about the map, California road

Cash it in and throw it all away

Never needed any of it anyway

Cash it in and throw it all away, yeah

Never needed any of it anyway

Cash it in, let's throw it all away

Never needed any of it anyway

Cash it in, let's throw it all away

Never needed any of it anyway

Songwriters: Henry Binns, Sia Furler, Sam Hardaker, Dedi Madden

Publisher: MCA MUSIC LTD

and of course I have to share a pic of my helper Goofball on my new ironing board:

Isn't she cute? She was a stray ferral kitten living at our local zoo. A zoo employee caught her with a humane trap and took her home. She eventually ended up with us, as well as a kitten of hers, my beloved Inkie. We believe she is half African Blackfooted Cat, our zoo has a male who looks just like her, and she has many very odd manerisms that make her unlike any other cat I have had. She is very sweet natured, unlike Blackfooteds, but her kitten is ferocious so it skipped a generation... anyway, she is almost 4, and is a little heavey since we had her spayed, but she has become a wonderful addition to the family, and sucks up bigtime to the hubs so her place in the family is assured....

Happy St. Paddy's day

2011-03-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all good luck!

My mother's genealogy is heavily Irish, she has red hair (well she did when she was younger anyway), green eyes and a very Irish name. My firstborn got her red hair, and both kids got celtic names, and my son considers St, Pat's day almost like a second birthday for him. I have my cabbage and potatoes, shoot we forgot the corned beef. I will either make scones or soda bread to eat tonight...not going to chase any snakes though, they are our pets (yes we have two pet snakes) . Besides, the snakes that St Pat supposedly chased out of Ireland were people, not reptiles, so none of that here!

Kiss me I am Irish!

(well kinda sorta)

The Hobbit Hole

2011-03-11T18:00:00.000-06:00

I may have mentioned before, that my daughter wants to be a chef, and is taking a culinary course this last semester of highschool. An ongoing project has been to design a restraunt menu and look. She and her lab partner want to design a food truck called The Hobbit Hole that would theoretically serve Irish pub food. I said I would design her logo, for free even :-) She said she wanted green stained wood with gold lettering in an Irish looking font. Ah, a chip off the old block, but we will not say that in her hearing!
so here is my vision, but my client has not seen it, she is at work making pizza....

What do you think??

now I have to find a picture of a food truck and hobbit it up in photoshop......

Bead Table Wednesday, a wee bit late....

2011-03-10T11:18:00.000-06:00

Just unloaded the kiln, need to sort and such

Musical Monday!

2011-03-07T04:06:00.003-06:00

OK, an instrumental today...it will make you want to get up from the bead table and do a shimmy or two....

seriusly, get up and stretch!

The group is Beats Antique, and they create modern belly dance music, it is great studio music!

Tell me what you think!

Busy busy Saturday

2011-03-05T08:58:00.000-06:00

I have been bad about blogging this week. I hurt my back somehow, and I have been very busy too, and the two together made me too grumpy to be social. I swear it had nothing to do with adding another year to my age tally, honest!
I did get some beads made, these coolio crawly beads, I have more with a black slip under the white crawl, they are delicious looking, I will try to get them in the store today.
I should have (if I had time) done the beads of clay blog crawl, I have done the last three I think, but I just had too much on my plate already this weekend...lets see, karate for daughter, reception with son, must do something with that big CSA box of veggies that came yesterday, I am afraid I did not cook all of the previouis week's goodness because my back hurt too much for kitchen work. Ah, but spring is slowly making itself known, the variety in the CSA box is improving, not just potatoes anymore....I got fresh rainbow colored swiss chard yesterday! That was a beautiful sight. I ate the whole bunch at dinner, my family are not chard eaters......
I was pleased that my fish tank is ok this morning, I did a water change yesterday, it is a 125 gallon tank, so doing a water change is a big deal, I just did a small change, maybe 1/5 of the tank, but it needed it badly. The problem is the city water can be variable, espicially this time of year. Everytime they patch a watermain break they dose the water with extra chemicals to keep it safe for humans, but not so good for fish. Two tank cleanings ago I lost 5 fish after the cleaning, which must have been a shock to the poor fish, normally tank maintanace makes them happy not dead....but everyone looks good 24 hours after the event so all is good in fishy land, the danios probably spawned this morning, so I may get a few replacement fry...
ok I can tell I am in ramble mode so better pack it in and get some coffee....daughter needs coffee before karate anyway...makes her mean ;-)

Musical Monday!

2011-02-28T06:00:00.002-06:00

A little something different, a flash animation set to a radiohead tune. I normally hate hate hate flash animations, they give me a headache like cheap anime....but anyway, I found this one and it knocked my socks off, well it would if I wore any....

http://www.lowmorale.co.uk/creep/flash/lm_creep_(FLASH).swf

This song, "Creep" from Radiohead is an anthem to the depression we all feel, and us artistic types I think are more prone than other folks. I think it is theraputic to watch, and then I can get back to normal life....

oh, and the picture above is just Lance pretending to be a cat. He had just washed his face like a cat does, then settled in for a nap. Poor boy, not only does he have to figure out how to be half lab and half akita, two very different types of dog with very different ways of being, his only roll models are cats. I won't even go into the issue of the humane society castrating him when he was barely weened........maybe he needs to have some Radiohead therapy too.................

Birthday, Donuts, and an Award!

2011-02-25T13:05:00.000-06:00

Big pile of donuts...want one?

Here is the deal! In honor of my birthday, I am giving away some wonderful new donuts that I just started selling in my Etsy Shop. Just buy something from my store, and I will give you one of these calorie free yummie donuts. I will do this for purchases between now and midnight Sunday. I know you want one!

Yesterday one of my favorite bead artists, and fellow BeadsofClay member, Maryann Carroll from http://macarroll.blogspot.com/ , gave me the Awesome Blog Award! isn't that cool? it is my first blog award. Thanks Maryann!

So, I am supposed to tell you 7 things you do not know about me. Here goes:

My father's side of the family was probably Melungeon, but we were told we were Cherokee.
I am barely 5'2"
my husband is 6'2"
My mother's family started in America at Jamestown, a boy who was crew on the first three ships to land (John Smith et all) grew up to raise tobacco in Va. and he is her direct ancestor.
I am addicted to paranormal tv shows.
I am addicted to foodie shows.
My daughter wants to be a chef, but will not cook dinner for me.

OK, now I am to pass this on to 15 bloggers that I admire. I will try not to pick folks who have already won this award. Here they are in a totally random order.....

Bead Table Wednesday, and Birthday Present

2011-02-23T09:16:00.007-06:00

skulls for the Mutter, waiting a bit of sanding before bisque

painting colored slips on beads

slip trail dots

first step in making a clay press mold, I need to clean this up. I pressed clay over a vintage brass light switch cover....we shall see how it works out

Now about my birthday!!! I am a bit past mid century, turning 51 on Friday so it is not a big milestone birthday, but it is mine :-)

I would like to celabrate by giving a gift to my customers! Everyone who buys something from my Etsy store will get a gift, one of my new donut focals! Just buy something from me between now and Sunday night and I will give you a donut! Not this exact one, but one from the same batch...

so what do you think? leave me a comment, I love hearing from you...Pam

Musical Monday!

2011-02-21T04:32:00.001-06:00

OK, more Patti Smith, I just cannot help myself....I fuss at my husband for only listening to old stuff, and I mostly like new, but Patti Smith is timeless...and of course I am over the hill so I remember this from when it was new.....

Dancing Barefoot by Patti Smith:

she is benediction

she is addicted to thee

she is the root connection

she is connecting with he

here I go and I don't know why

I fell so ceaselessly

could it be he's taking over me...

I'm dancing barefoot

heading for a spin

some strange music draws me in

makes me come on like some heroin/e

she is sublimation

she is the essence of thee

she is concentrating on

thee, who is concentraing on she

here I go and I don't know why

I spin so ceaselessly,

could it be he's taking over me...

[chorus]

she is re-creation

she, intoxicated by thee

she has the slow sensation that

he is levitating with she ...

here I go and I don't know why,

I spin so ceaselessly,

'til I lose my sense of gravity...

[chorus]

(oh god I fell for you ...)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

ok for those who need more recent stuff, this from Sia is good, though not as deep as Patti's stuff, you may like this, it is good music to glaze by....

Sia

Some People Have Real Problems

Playground

Come with me to a place of fantasy

I'll take you on a sea-saw

Come with me to a place that's by the sea

I'll take you on a board walk

Come with me to a place of fantasy

I'll take you on a sea-saw

Come with me to a place that's by the sea

I'll take you on a board walk

Come with me to a place of fantasy

I'll take you on a sea-saw

Come with me to a place that's by the sea

I'll take you on a board walk

Take my hand I'll take you to the sand

You and me will build a castle

Ready set go, I'll race you to the wall

I will win, I am the fastest

I don't wanna grow old

Bring me all the toys you can find

You don't wanna grow up

You can be my partner in crime

I'll be sure to write you from the war

Put your guns away it's tea time

Water bombs and tea towel tired mums

Looking for a little me time

Close your eyes and count to thirty five

You may never ever find me

Close my eyes and then I realize

You are never far behind me

I don't wanna grow old

Bring me all the toys you can find

You don't wanna grow up

You can be my partner in crime

I don't wanna grow old

Bring me all the toys you can find

You don't wanna grow up

You can be my partner in crime

Let's have fun

Let's play out under the sun

Will you take me by the hand?

Let's see how far we can run, yeah

Let's play chase

Let's put make up on our face

You can catch me if you can

We can make a secret place

Let's have fun

Let's play out under the sun

Will you take me by the hand?

Let's see how far we can run, yeah

Let's play chase

Let's put make up on our face

You can catch me if you can

We can make a secret place

I don't wanna grow old

Bring me all the toys you can find

You don't wanna grow up

You can be my partner in crime

I don't wanna grow old

Bring me all the toys you can find

You don't wanna grow up

You can be my partner in crime

I don't wanna grow old

Bring me all the toys you can find

You don't wanna grow up

You can be my partner in crime

Teapot and left handed drawing

2011-02-18T10:01:00.000-06:00

I made myself a little teapot. If you looked at the blog the other day you saw the beginings of this guy. Far from perfect, especially the lid and handle, but it is (or will be) fuctional and fits my hands perfectly. I think it will make me happy to brew tea in it.

I lapsed in my drawing labs a bit, mostly beacause I lost email for a few days, screwedup my routines.....sigh..

but here we go with week 7 assignment, drawing with my non-dominate hand, left in my case....

well, back to bead work, I have a ton of things to do....

My first BTW, and no beads

2011-02-16T14:16:00.000-06:00

I have so enjoyed looking at bead table wednesdays I decided to join last week...this is my first BTW, and I do not have any beads out! I was in a pottery mood instead, and just went with it. So here is my bead table, with slip and glazes and stuff everywhere...and a helper of course........in the slab roller.........if I have to roll a slab I must ask very nicely!

(needs more belly, but must wait till legs firm up)

all my mess

from the kiln..

2011-02-14T13:45:00.000-06:00

yummy new matte glaze

crackle

matte

gun metal matte

texture

going to be earings...

woodsy

Musical Monday!

2011-02-14T05:53:00.003-06:00

Janis Joplin, "Summertime" Stockholm 1969

You have to listen to this one, the guitar work is amazing, not to mention Janis.....

Summertime,

And the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin'

And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich

And your mamma's good lookin'

So hush little baby

Don't you cry

One of these mornings

You're going to rise up singing

Then you'll spread your wings

And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning

There's a'nothing can harm you

With daddy and mamma standing by

Summertime,

And the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin'

And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich

And your mamma's good lookin'

So hush little baby

Don't you cry

A day spent glazing....

2011-02-13T11:03:00.000-06:00

this is a big bowl full of newly bisqued goodies, waiting for me to get started.

here are a few new things, oh and owls too...

here are some beads, getting their blue underglaze stripes:

I thought that too one note, so I added more sexy lines in teal and green...

then I gave everything a good bath in red iron oxide. That is a fancy way of saying powdered rust. It is realy lovely, the bag looks like high grade cocoa powder, but I imagine it doesn't taste too good!

lovely manicure, right?

potters/clay artists have the most lovely hands!

I have not even started to glaze, and the day is half gone already!

Through all this my helper watched closely, to catch any roll-aways. She is never more than a few feet from me, my sister calls her my "familiar", implying a little witchiness going on with me and my cat companion...like having a cat as a best friend is a bad thing...well ok I also have a husband and kids but they are not nearly as interested in my work as Inkie is :-) Inks is one more good reason I do not use any toxic materials, as she sticks her little black wiskers in everything.....

Ok, Saturday came and went, and it is now Sunday morning, and I meant to finish glazing last night, but didn't. I am just about ready to take these down to the kiln...loading a kiln with all these little bits can get tedious, and I do not let cats into the garage/kiln room, so all the while I am in there, there is clawing at the door, paws reaching under the door, and caterwauling. Cats hate closed doors with humans on the wrong side.......

Anyway, finished glazing, kiln loaded and warming up, cat asleep in my newly aquired slab roller...now I can have some coffee and krispy kremes! Yeah! Hubs bought them last night so no one would have to cook breakfast while mom had glaze/iron oxide hands :-) This doesn't look like much, but it took me all day Saturday and part of Sunday morning to get it done. See the little old windows with the blue glass chips? I hope they come out well, I love them when they do good....We shall see tommorow.....

Pam

I was dreaming of exotic birds....

2011-02-10T12:31:00.000-06:00

I fell asleep yesterday...I get up real early to get my daughter up for school...walk the dog...then pack lunches for the working/schooling crowd. Then there are a few hours before my son wanders on down and needs food or mothering (hah!)...so I sat down to sip tea and watch the news and faded into sleep....

In my dream I was running about my childhood yard and pasture, taking pictures of birds, and the most amazing and exotic birds preened for me while took their pictures....bright red and blue never seen before flights of fancy (sorry for the pun).....then I startled awake....had that feeling I was being watched....and right out my window, I saw this wonderful red tail hawk.

I grabbed my little camera, and took this picture through the window...not the best picture but the best I could do at the time. This hawk, I do not know how long it had been there, but it stayed there for an hour plus. Just below where it is perched is a squirrel nest. One of the squirrels climbed up on the branch just below the hawk, and oh so cautiously sniffed at the tail feathers....then it actually climbed onto the branch with the hawk, reared up so it could look the hawk in the eye, then it seemed to finally become afraid, and backed away slowly. The hawk just looked it it curiously, never attacked. After a while the song birds came out from hiding and went about their busy lives, and the hawk just watched. It finally flew away, past another window fast and low toward the front yard and was gone...

Musical Monday!

2011-02-07T03:00:00.001-06:00

Melissa Etheridge, I'm the Only One

.........................................................
Snow and more snow!!!!!!
It is hard for me to get motivated when there is more than a foot of snow outside, and cold too ***sigh***
The weatherman actually said we were going to get maybe 3-4 inches in the next few days, and that it was just a little bit of snow. Well yeah, compared to what we already have, but not long ago 3-4 inches of snow was a significant amount!
But my friends! I have a new toy, um, I mean tool......a table top slab roller....only it did not come with the canvas..so I am trying to find something in the house that I can use instead, no luck so far, bed sheets are too thin and flimsy...I had a slab mat, but I think I left it at the clay guild....I left a big hunk of canvas there too...well I will keep looking..

.. a few newthings on etsy...

Sale! 20% off at Indian Creek Studios

2011-02-04T12:19:00.000-06:00

Use coupon code BeMyValentine at my etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/IndianCreekStudios and get 20% off. Maybe a good sale will warm things up! The blizzard has done it's worst, and left drifts of snow all around, but the mail man has been making his rounds again, so I thought it would be a good time for a sale!

Pam

(yup, that is the side of my house and my little cedar tree under the snow)

Black Dog on a White Field

2011-02-02T08:07:00.002-06:00

If I were naming a painting ala Whistler...just my half lab half akita out for his morning romp.....this dog loves snow, almost as much as he loves fish...ok he is a wierd dog. So Yesterday we had a blizzard, about a foot of snow...lots of blowing around and now it is very cold, 3* this morning, my camera hand got tingly while taking these pics....
We are all home and warm, most still abed. It was my turn to take the diog out and feed cat breakfast..sigh...

Musical Monday!

2011-01-31T06:00:00.001-06:00

Patti Smith & Sarah McLachlan - Because The Night

I have a kiln load doing its hot stuff, and a stack of hearts from the last firing yet to list...all good since I will soon be snowed in (again). The weatherman used the B word (blizzard) for tuesday. So here is a song to warm us up......

Drawing Lab week 4, letter art

2011-01-28T10:47:00.000-06:00

This week's drawing asignment fit right in with the current zantangle doodling that is so popular now. it was a lot of fun. We took the letters of our names and tumbled them about like they were building blocks and stacked them up without regard how they are normally arranged, then fill in the spaces with doodles...here look.

If you want to see more Dagi and Kim have blogged their homework too! Check it out:

http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/

http://kimzhouse.com/

and for more info onthedrawing lab, check out the class blog:

http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

what is on my computer?

2011-01-26T13:30:00.000-06:00

Several beady folks have been blogging on wednesdays about what is on their bead tables. Well nothing too interesting is on my messy table right now, but my new laptop has got a new feature. It is quiet charming.

It is more nap than app. It doesn't tweet or blog,but it can find a heat source faster than an old farmer can dowse an underground spring....yup, Gooball (I did not name her) has found the heat vent on the new laptop. She is stuck to it like glue, and gets a little anoyed with me when I want to read my email. Feral cat no more. Totally hedonistic house kittie. Well she still has an aversion to being picked up or held, but I think if I need to move her or get her to go somewhere, I can just move the laptop and she will follow

Be still my celtic heart.....

2011-01-24T17:32:00.000-06:00

just pulled this triskele from the kiln.....ok this is why I play in clay.....

Musical Monday!

2011-01-24T08:44:00.000-06:00

two totally random picks from my Pandora play list, I love both!

Radiohead

Com Lag (2plus2isfive)

Gagging Order

I know what you're thinking

But I'm not your property

No matter what you say

No matter what you say

I know what you're thinking

But I'm not your property

No matter what you say

No matter what you say

I know what you're thinking

But I'm not your property

No matter what you say

No matter what you say

Move along

There's nothing left to see

Just a body

Nothing left to see

A couple more for breakfast

A little more for tea

Just to take the edge off

Just to take the edge off

Move along

There's nothing left to see

Just a body

Pouring down the street

Move along

There's nothing left to see

Just a body

Nothing left to see

Move along

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Joey

Joey, baby, don't get crazy

Detours, fences, I get defensive

I know you've heard it all before, so I don't say it anymore

I just stand by and let you fight your secret war

Joey, baby, don't get crazy

Detours, fences, I get defensive

I know you've heard it all before, so I don't say it anymore

I just stand by and let you fight your secret war

Joey, baby, don't get crazy

Detours, fences, I get defensive

I know you've heard it all before, so I don't say it anymore

I just stand by and let you fight your secret war

And though I used to wonder why I used to cry till I was dry

Still sometimes I get a strange pain inside

Oh, Joey, if you're hurting so am I

Joey, honey, I've got the money

All is forgiven, listen, listen

And if I seem to be confused I didn't mean to be with you

And when you said I scared you, well, I guess you scared me too

But we got lucky once before and I don't wanna close the door

And if you're somewhere out there passed out on the floor

Oh, Joey, I'm not angry anymore

And if I seem to be confused I didn't mean to be with you

But when you said I scared you, well, I guess you scared me too

But if it's love you're looking for then I can give a little more

And if you're somewhere drunk and passed out on the floor

Oh, Joey, I'm not angry anymore, angry anymore, angry anymore

Blind Contour Drawing

2011-01-21T09:01:00.001-06:00

Morning! This week in Jeannie's Draw class we did blind contours. This is where you look at an object and trace it with your eyes, and let your hand mimic your eye movement without looking at what you are drawing...I must confess I loved doing this when I was in college drawing classes many many years ago...

The line quality is very free and sexy, though most times your end result doesn't look at all like your reference!
I think you can sort of see a lamp, hands, cats, and a fish...fish and cats did not groove on rthis, they just would not stay put, especially my danios, just to hyper to pose.
I ran through my fellow drawing student's blogs this morning, and Dagi of Kokopelli had posted her class work, go take a look... http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/
or pop over to the classroom blog:
http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

If you are interested in this class, click on the pic of Lucy on the right....
now I really nead to unload a batch of bisque and get glazing....but it is snowy and cold and hard to get to work....

Musical Monday!

2011-01-17T07:42:00.000-06:00

"Who Is It"

His embrace, a fortress

It fuels me

And places

A skeleton of trust

Right beneath us

Bone by bone

Stone by stone

If you ask yourself patiently and carefully:

Who is it ?

Who is it that never lets you down ?

Who is it that gave you back your crown ?

And the ornaments are going around

Now they're handing it over

Handing it over

He demands a closeness

We all have earned a lightness

Carry my joy on the left

Carry my pain on the right

If you ask yourself patiently and carefully:

Who is it ?

Who is it that never lets you down ?

Who is it that gave you back your crown ?

And the ornaments are going around

Now they're handing it over

Handing it over

Drawing Lab week 2, drawing birds

2011-01-14T11:11:00.000-06:00

Well it is week 2 in 2011 Drawing lab, this week we were to work on shading, and our subject is birds.....

Kokopelli has her birdies on her blog: http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/ so go check them out...
If you are interested in the Drawing lab, click in the image of Lucy on the right.....

Musical Monday!

2011-01-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

what a voice this lady has......

Evanescence - Lithium
Songwriters: Lee, Amy;

Lithium, don't wanna lock me up inside

Lithium, don't wanna forget how it feels without

Lithium, I wanna stay in love with my sorrow

Oh, but God I wanna let it go

Come to bed, don't make me sleep alone

Couldn't hide the emptiness, you let it show

Never wanted it to be so cold

Just didn't drink enough to say you love me

I can't hold on to me

Wonder what's wrong with me?

Lithium, don't wanna lock me up inside

Lithium, don't wanna forget how it feels without

Lithium, I wanna stay in love with my sorrow

Don't wanna let it lay me down this time

Drown my will to fly

Here in the darkness I know myself

Can't break free until I let it go, let me go

Darling, I forgive you after all

Anything is better than to be alone

And in the end I guess I had to fall

Always find my place among the ashes

I can't hold on to me

Wonder what's wrong with me?

Lithium, don't wanna lock me up inside

Lithium, don't wanna forget how it feels without

Lithium, stay in love with mmm

I'm gonna let it go

© DWIGHT FRYE MUSIC INC; PROFESSOR SCREWEYE PUBLISHING;
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/e/evanescence-lyrics/lithium-lyrics.html ]

what's for dinner?

2011-01-09T18:41:00.000-06:00

I recieved a lovely bundle of curly purple kale in my weekly CSA box. I am the only one in the house who will willingly eat kale.....sigh....but I am hoping to change some minds with this italian soup....I started with a few handfulls of dried white beans because there were no canned ones at the little market....cooked them till soft, sauted a chopped up pack of italian sausage, 2 onions, some garlic, then added in chicken stock, the kale torn off the stems, some chopped roma tomatoes. I am just waiting for the kale to simmer a little more....it smells so good! time to eat, while it gets ready to snow big time....

Drawing Lab week 1, drawing cats

2011-01-07T16:06:00.000-06:00

I joined an online drawing class, actually several beady folks are in this class. Our first week's assignment was to draw cats...eventually taking one of our sketches and adding color...I have not had a chance to do that yet...but I want to make a habbit of sharing my work here on the blog on Fridays. Check out these other blogs for more cats, and the main class has a blog too, go over to the picture of Lucy to the right and click on it......

http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/

http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/

Musical Monday!

2011-01-03T06:00:00.001-06:00

A bit of fun for the new year.....

Lyrics:

The word is about, there's something evolving

Whatever may come, the world keeps revolving

They say the next big thing is here

That the revolution's near

But to me it seems quite clear

That it's all just a little bit of history repeating

The newspaper shouts a new style is growing

But it don't know if it's coming or going

There is fashion, there is fad

Some is good, some is bad

And the joke is rather sad

That it's all just a little bit of history repeating

And I've seen it before

And I'll see it again

Yes I've seen it before

Just little bits of history repeating

Some people don't dance if they don't know who's singing

Why ask your head? It's your hips that are swinging

Life's for us to enjoy

Woman, man, girl and boy

Feel the pain, feel the joy

Aside set the little bits of history repeating

Just little bits of history repeating

And I've seen it before

And I'll see it again

Yes I've seen it before

Just little bits of history repeating

First Kiln Opening of the New Year

2011-01-01T15:10:00.000-06:00

Just a quick look, I need to go through them to start listing in the store, and some of these are to fill requests too....but all in all a good start to the year...

I love how the medicine wheels turned out except....see the hole for stringing? all filled with beautiful recycled glass.....sparkly but not wearable, and also some of my stones moved out of pattern...I know what needs fixing so the next run should be good.
My little shaddow helper was in good form enjoying sunshine and a warm computer....

she is so helpful, she was renaming my files for me.....

a couple noteables..several good owls and a lovely pentagram from this load......

ok got to run....talk to yall later...Pam

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T08:35:00.000-06:00

Research, experiment, explore

2010-12-29T20:12:00.000-06:00

I made use of my temporary studio space (till the Christmas tree is gone I am exiled to a guest room) to do some research on Medicine Wheel images. In the background you can see a really cool old locust tree that has some wicked thorns...love that tree.

So as I read about making a wheel, you should offer some sage, and maybe cornmeal or tobacco. I thought, if I am making this from clay, wouldn't it be powerful to actually incorporate sage and cornmeal into the clay itself? Sorry no baccy here, unless I sneak some of hubby's sheesha (sp?) but I think it is probably too oily.

So here I am wedging sage and cornmeal into a lump of clay.....and one of my prototype wheel charms..just working it out at this point......

Here are a couple of my cat girls on Christmas morning, trying to find the catnip...

Self Portrait Day

2010-12-28T15:50:00.000-06:00

Well, I have been rather lazy as far as clay is concerned. I have not wanted to have my hands in clay or glaze during the holidays, as I had to cook and wrap presents and other things that do not go well with clay and minerals. However I do plan to have a kiln load firing on New years Eve and a Kiln opening on New Years Day. It may be superstitious but I was brought up to plan to do something you love on those two days to set the tone of the upcoming year. I may even make a little kiln goddess/totem. I had one, made in the style of a Mycenaean goddess, but I have no idea where she is now. Better make a new one, one that represents me, a transplant from Appalacia out on the edge of the American prairie.
A few days ago I was made aware of a photoshop blog with a texture guru Kim Klassen
http://www.kimklassencafe.com/

I have signed up for a freebee class that starts in the new year, and have been grooving on playing with textures and messing with my photographs. Then this morning Marla at Beads of Clay asked all of us beady folk to give her a profile that includes a picture of ourselves. I am kind of a hermit, and not 16 anymore, and always hesitant to show my face, but what the hell, Andrew bravely shares his very personal portraits with us, I should get over this phobia. Well as long as I can use lots of filters and textures and photoshop out those dark circles under my eyes.....but I left the grey hairs and roundness........

Musical Monday!

2010-12-27T10:32:00.001-06:00

A little tongue in cheek holiday song! Enjoy---Pam

Imogen Heap

Speak For Yourself

Just For Now

Just for now, just for now, just for now

Just for now, just for now, just for now

It's that time of year

Leave all our hopelessnesses aside

Just for now, just for now, just for now

Just for now, just for now, just for now

It's that time of year

Leave all our hopelessnesses aside

(If just for a little while)

Dear, stop right here

I know we'll follow the bumpy ride

(I'm secretly on your side)

How did you know? It's what I always wanted

Could never have too many of these

Will ya quit kicking me under the table?

I'm trying, will somebody make us shut up about it

Can we settle down please

It's that time of year

Leave all our hopelessnesses aside

(If just for a little while)

Dear, stop right here

I know we'll follow the bumpy ride

(I'm secretly on your side)

Bite tongue, deep breaths

Count to ten, nod your head

I think something is burning now you've ruined the whole thing

Muffle the smoke alarm

Whoever put on this music had better quick, sharp, remove it

Pour me another, oh, don't wag your finger at me

It's that time of year

Leave all our hopelessnesses aside

(If just for a little while)

Dear, stop right here

I know we'll follow the bumpy ride

(I'm secretly on your side)

Get me out of here

Get me out of here

Get me out of here

Just for now

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T09:10:00.000-06:00

The gifts are wrapped and under the tree, treats sorted out and hidden to go in the stockings later tonight, dog treats and cat toys, blu-rays and video games.....alas the kitchen is a mess and I am out of eggs and I still need to bake cookies for Santa, and the big meal tomorrow. I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone Happy Holidays and to thank all my readers for hanging out with me from time to time as I ramble. I know I should blog more, and I will try to do that (hmm dangerously close to a resolution!)

Have a great Christmas!

Pam

Joyous Seasons Greetings!

2010-12-22T15:57:00.000-06:00

It is so cold! Looks like we may have a white Christmas this year, but just a dusting, not the blizzard we had a year ago. Just as well, when you have teenagers in your house, they do not like being made to stay home. Me on the other hand would happily sip eggnog, sit by the fire, and enjoy the quiet. Most of our family is back east, so we do not usually travel during the holidays. That is ok with me too, I am a bit of a hermit. As long as there is eggnog and cookies!

Not much happening in the store, since it is too late to ship now, and that is good because I have too much to do already :-) Ah but new things will be appearing soon (she says while rubbing her hands together like a comic mad scientist). Gotta go wash dishes and get the turkey from the freezer......

My laptop died....

2010-12-16T12:22:00.000-06:00

it is like I broke my arm. It will get fixed or replaced, but in the mean time, using my husband's desktop is a pain. I have to get all my stuff loaded on here, and clean all his junk on the desk, yikes!

State of My Studio

2010-12-15T13:14:00.000-06:00

It is not where it should be......my table is gone, taken down to make a spot for the Christmas Tree......the front window faces a major street and the side window faces our neighborhood street, so it is the perfect place to put a tree for everyone to see, as well as us in the house.

Sooooo, all my clay stuff went to the guest room, which is already where I take pictures and keep shipping supplies......

crowded much?

But Goofy still has room on the bed to nap, that is the important thing...

oops I woke her up sticking the camera in her face!

and the dog is pouting, because I will not let him sleep on the guest bed with the cats, so here he is in the basement appartment of the cat tower with full on pout. Don't you feel sorry for the poor abused soul?

Weekend Sale!

2010-12-11T07:59:00.000-06:00

at my Etsy Shop, IndianCreekStudios

at checkout, enter the coupon code: mistletoe for 20% off your items!

I will get all the weekend purchases in Monday morning's mail pickup, so they should make it to your house before Christmas!