Etsy Shop Sale Extended through 10/31/09

This week is going to be a bit crazy for me here at home...

Dave and I are buckling down and moving a lot of my studio and office stuff into the basement studio (he has taken off work to help, so you know it's going to get moved this week).

So I've decided to extend my Etsy Shop Sale through Saturday, 10/31/09.

All of the items listed in my shop are currently listed at 40% off their regular retail pricing, so what you see is what you pay... Have fun shopping!!!

I will be shipping any orders that I receive on Friday 10/30/09.

And remember, 20% of all sales through the end of October via Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop goes towards the room dedication to My Mom Pattie at Tri-State Bird Rescue.

Thanks For Visiting!

It has been so enjoyable to spend the afternoon with so many friends from blog land!!!

If you have any suggestions for improvements on Open Studio Events like this hosted through Beads-of-Clay.Blogspot.com

please email me: Marsha @ MarshaNealStudio.com

and I'll make sure to get it to the right people so we can continue to hold events like this more often...

Don't forget to spend some time looking at blog posts from the day for more insight into participating artists studios and stop by their Etsy shops or websites for specials throughout the end of today!

Thank you for participating and all your support!

Fall Tradition I'd Like To Share

Second Blog Commenter Winner is SueBeads! Congratulations!!!

Days are getting shorter...

A chill is in the air...

Leafs have started to change color and are falling to the ground...

And a spark of new excitement enters our lives...

The Fall Holidays are upon us...

In our house that means we break into monthly decorating, including Pumpkin Carving...

Dave and I have been the Halloween Pumpkin Carving ring leaders in the last couple of years... Probably because we are the most child-like, holiday loving, big kids in the family (on his side anyway). We get together with everyone right before Halloween night, scoop out pumpkins, toast the pumpkin seeds, and spend hours with all the kids (adults included) carving out pumpkins.

Here are some funny pictures from when we first started dating and getting "our" holiday traditions underway...

To get ready for the family pumpkin carving event we put the word out to pick the date, pick the carving themes, get the pumpkins, and of course, bring out all of the cool tools (clay carving tools are especially handy!)

Dave usually starts the pumpkin carving and I finish up with the details...

One of the sites we use for templates for the pumpkins is Zombie Pumpkins.

Here are some images of pumpkins past...

We also have made it a fall tradition to go to a local farm to pick out our pumpkins. My friend Natalie has a small farm right up the road from us... how convenient!

I think I've found someone else that will actually like scooping out the pumpkins and getting seeds... Yay Chloe!!!

Last year Dave thought it would be cool to take a picture of Chloe and put it into grayscale then attempt carving the image out...

Kind of creepy, but yet, kind of cool...

We've got a bit more practicing to do with this technique...

Some tips I'd like to share with you about pumpkin carving...

1. Pick out your theme ahead of time so you can find the design and the right shaped pumpkin to work with that picture.

2. When carving a pumpkin with multiple layers, play with thickness of pumpkin (scoop out more or less from the inside) to give shadowing more depth.

3. Use a stapler to attach the template to the outside of the pumpkin in order to outline the design without moving it.

4. Try different tools! There are electric pumpkin carving tools out in a lot of the stores - Dave and the other boys love those... I prefer the hand held saws for more control, but have to admit... when your hand gets tired, that little electric cutter is awesome!

5. Have a couple of extra pumpkins, just incase you have little ones that don't have the patience to carve in detail like this. Painting pumpkins is a lot of fun for them too!

Tips on Roasting The Pumpkin Seeds:

I separate out the seeds from the guts, but don't rinse them. In a bowl, coat with a little bit of vegetable oil, salt to taste (try different flavors by using garlic salt or other seasonings in separate batches), mix in bowl, put on parchment paper on a baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes in an oven around 350 until they are toasty brown. I have yet to perfect this, and think I may attempt to stir the seeds mid-way, and bake a little longer. I like my seeds crunchy toasty brown...

Thanks for stopping by for this Blog Open Studio Event!

Remember to check out my Etsy Shop and other Beads of Clay Artists Blogs...

Open Studio Blog Giveaway #2

Giveaway Number 2 is one of my oval large pendants in my Wallpaper Flower Design in my Asian Green Red Glaze.

Just make a comment on this post and you will be entered into a random drawing to win this pendant! Good Luck!!!

Step Into My Studio Space...

Congratulations Lorelei on winning the 2pm giveaway!!!

Here are some pictures of my physical studio space...

It is purely functional at this time as the place where I go to make stuff...

Not the place where I go to find inspiration...

I mentally block out the "basement" surroundings when I'm working by listening to music, drinking hot tea (or coffee when not pregnant) and just zoning out and getting to work...

I am in the process of moving all of my business, studio and bead stuff all into one space...

Seems like that will never end!

And as my good friend Kelly of Beadfuddled often says with a laugh, of those of us with studio spaces in the basement: "We're all a bunch of cellar dwellers..."

This is the area where I sit and create pieces or glaze...

When you first walk into my studio area this is what you currently see on your left. And what you may notice if you were physically here: under that counter space sits 2 Kitty Litter Boxes. They've got to be somewhere in the house...

Down at the end, some of my storage shelving that holds tools, older test glazes, my texture plates, clay and plaster storage on the bottom shelves, and a place for a number of oddities...

Contents of one of the shelves with a lot of my pottery and carving tools...

Here are where I keep my hand carved texture plates that I use to make my textured porcelain pendants. Have a lot more than this too, these are just the ones I commonly use...

As you turn a little to your right, you run into the space where I can usually be found working. Complete with Peeves the cat chewing on some of my carving tools. Bad Kitty... time to move those tools back onto their shelf...

Here is a closer look of my working space. I use the end of my slab roller to work. It's the perfect height and area - and my favorite and most used piece of equipment in the studio...

This is where I've started to sort all of the pieces for my new line of decal pendants...

Sticking with my new studio "creative place" mantra:

All in one place, neat and organized so I can spend more time creating and less time searching...

Below is a quick shot of my clay wedging table and clay storage underneath...

And as you keep turning to your right, here is the kiln room we built so we could have proper ventilation and a safe place to run them without kitties, kids and myself running into hot kilns.

And Peeves knows she isn't allowed into that kiln room, so she usually sits outside waiting for me to finish loading a kiln to get some attention...

See her mouth open? She talks like I do... A lot...

And with your last turn right again, you are facing some additional shelving that holds bisque pendant stock and you are at the door you came through in the first place...

CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN MY STUDIO:

Inspired by Almost-Ready-To-Open Morning Glory Flowers...

Picked from the garden...

Balls of clay, rolled in between the wooden texture plates

(in the opposite direction than the shards)

Clay Twirls with the tight flower petals...

In Chocolate Clay and Porcelain Clay...

Here is a bit of a close up before going into the bisque kiln...

Bisque fired, glazed, into the glaze firing, out of the kiln, and to be sorted for sale through my Etsy shop and bead shows...

OPEN STUDIO UP NEXT:

3 pm EST: Blog Commenters Giveaway #2

3:15 pm EST: Winner Announced

3:30 pm pm EST: Fall Tradition I'd Like To Share

First Commenter Giveaway

Here is a picture of the first giveaway for the day...

These are my brand new "Clay Twirls" that just came out of the glaze kiln last night.

You just have to leave a comment on this blog post to be entered to win, at random, these three sets of clay twirls...

The winner will be announced at 2pm!

Good Luck!!!

Marsha Neal Studio Open Studio Welcome...

Welcome to the Marsha Neal Studio Blog Open Studio!

Part of Beads-of-Clay Blog Fall Open Studio Event...

All day today I will be running a 40% off sale through my

Marsha Neal Studio Etsy Shop

All of the prices have been reduced already so the price you see will be the price you pay.

Shipping will happen on Tuesday, October 27 so I can have time to combine multiple items.

There will also be 2 commenters giveaways today through this blog

(and via the other participating artists: Click Here for a list).

On the giveaway blog posts, just comment and you will be entered to win the item pictured on that blog post.

The first at 1:45 pm EST.

The second at 3 pm EST.

The winners will be announced 15 minutes later.

If you are a winner, contact the artist with your address via email.

Ok, enough with those details...

On with the show... Part 1:

INTRODUCTION OF THE ARTIST

I've been working with ceramic clay since 1997 when I took a beginning ceramics class at the University of Delaware. After graduation in 2001 I spent some time trying to figure out how I could continue to work with clay, pay off school loan debt, and where the heck my life was going...

Here are some pictures of my work from my time at the University:

Studio space and early works (underwater sea scape tile and Raku box):

MA thesis work:

Basically small alien and organic forms that I created by throwing clay on a potters wheel and texturing press mold pieces, then joining them...

I felt pretty uncomfortable in the "art world" at the University coming from a background in Entomology as an undergraduate. I felt at home in the ceramics studio itself and spent most of my time there making things. But having to put meaning to those things... that was where I myself felt alien...

Installation at the Urban Environmental Center in Wilmington, DE

Since graduation in 2001, I started to work on smaller scale pieces, concentrating on mainly pendants and beads made from Porcelain clay (and recently, a chocolate clay as well).

To view my current line of porcelain pendants, you can visit my website:

MarshaNealStudio.com

or my MarshaNealStudio.Etsy.com Etsy Shop

On a personal note about me, and not my work...

Since graduation I have gotten married, had a baby, and currently am expecting baby #2 in January 2010. We've got 2 cats: Stinker and Peeves. And we just love spending time together as a family...

We moved into a larger house a few years ago which had a bit more room for my studio which had been taking over almost every inch of the townhouse from before and in preparation for the family we knew we wanted to have...

I've got lots of garden space, and we back up to a small patch of woods, right in the middle of a suburban setting. We have lots of critters around us from White Tailed Deer, Red Foxes, Racoons, Opossums, many, many birds, garter snakes, and so on... It's a great place to raise kids and expose them to nature...

Check out my garden blog for more on that...

Marsha's Garden Blog

OPEN STUDIO UP NEXT:

1:45 pm EST: Blog Commenters Giveaway #1

2 pm EST: Winner Announced

2:15 pm EST: Step Into My Studio

Peek At Fall Open Studio Blog Inspirations...

Here is a sneak peek into some of the stuff I've been working on as I am pulling together information and pictures to share with you all on Sunday, Oct. 25 (1-4pm EST) during the Beads-Of-Clay Bloggers Open Studio Event.

First there are some inspirational photos to look at that I've taken from my garden...

These first two are from late summer, the latter are quite recent...

There is something about the way flower petals open and close that captivate me...

The way that they delicately fold and curl...

The way that they are held in place,

On their "plant pedestal" to be held so delicately while growing and blooming...

Seed pods and flower petals...

Something I've always enjoyed...

Something I've always wanted to incorporate into my work - somehow...

And now that I am taking some time to refocus on my work...

And really draw from my inspirations...

To recreate not exactly what I see,

But to make my own components from what I see...

And from what my friend Laina of Artful Bead Studio & Workshop did with one of my shards...

And other artists as well (see Flickr site and add your own pictures)

I can see that I'm on the right path...

Wonder how they will look glazed...

And within other finished pieces too...

I'm thinking more beads...

And materials such as felt...

Make sure to stop back in a few days to see more...

I will be uploading new stuff to my Etsy shop for the open house as well!

Blogging Events and Open House...

Hello Everyone...

Have you heard about the Open Studio Beads-of-Clay Bloggers Event?

During this event, 16+ Earth Clay Bead Makers will be hosting an open studio through their blogs to give you a bit of an insight into their creative, and often messy (we work with clay!) lives. During the event, they will be present to answer questions as time allows...

You will see pictures of their spaces,

Works in progress,

Their inspirations,

Something "fall" related from traditions, events, a recipe, or whatever comes to mind.

They have been asked to participate in two giveaways for blog commenters during the event, and to consider hosting some sort of "special" through their Etsy shops for that day as well.

That means that there will be chances to get your hands on over 32 different treasures that day if you stop by during 1-4pm EST and comment on the appropriate posting on each blog.

If you can't stop by that day, make sure to catch up that night. Many of the Artists will be hosting their Etsy shop specials through Midnight that night... And the blog postings will remain, so you will have a lot of time to go back and spend some time in cyberspace, in their studios.

I thought I would take some time to quick post some links to some other Blogging Events and Studio Open House Blogging Events to help give the participating artists and the visitors a little insight into what to expect. Not saying the blogs will duplicate these, but talk about being inspired by the creativity of these Artists Blogging Events...

Vanessa Valencia's Blog:

She throws magnificent Blog Halloween Events

2009

And Vanessa's 2008 Halloween Event (Click Here)

Jennifer of Jangles hosted an Open Studio Blog Event Last Year...

Heather of Humble Beads hosted an Open Studio Event not too long ago...

Artists, you've got a week to go now to pull this all together. I would highly suggest having everything ready to go before the open house so you can sit with a warm cup of cocoa and a fall treat of your own while viewing the other blogs and responding to comments and giveaways on your own blog...

Don't be overwhelmed... Have Fun!!!

Short checklist:

1. BOC recommended guidelines for open studio?

Contact Mary Harding if you need a copy

2. Are you advertising for the open studio on your blog right now?

I've created some images for you to copy and paste for use on your side bar of your blog or in a blog posting or your website... If you have a newsletter, have you sent any info out about this event?

3. Have pictures taken, and blogs written, ready to be uploaded during the event.

4. Decide what your giveaways are going to be, and maybe post some pictures ahead of time to entice viewers to comment so they can have a chance to win the little treasures...

5. Decide on what your Etsy shop special will be for that day, and please run through midnight so people that can't make it to the open house will still have a chance to participate by purchasing your wonderful items...

6. Have links in each blog posting for the following

(for ease of visitor navigation):

Beads-of-Clay.Blogspot.com

(so visitors can click to other participating artists blogs)

Your Etsy Shop

(which should also have a link back to your blog)

If this event goes well, we will plan on doing more of them in the future...

So don't stress about having everything done and perfect for this one event.

People want to see into the lives of artists - and we know that often artist studios are in shambles during our most creative times.

Be yourself, be interesting, and add a touch of humor...

Everyone likes to be entertained and feel human once and a while...

Email me if you feel overwhelmed or have questions...

Beads-of-Clay Bloggers Open Studio Event Pictures

Beads-Of-Clay.Blogspot

Bloggers Fall Open Studio Event

On Sunday, October 25, 2009

1-4pm EST

Keep checking out the Beads-of-Clay Blog for a list of participating artists (deadline for signing up is Wednesday, Oct. 14) and a schedule of events for the Open Studio...

I spent some time this evening trying to figure out how to put some images together for this event to make it stand out a bit...

And so some of the participating artists can easily create their own to help promote the event on their blogs...

Here is one "mosaic" version...

Which I discovered how to do it by coming across a post on one of my garden blog links:

Little Red House

This particular link is to her tutorial on how to make a photo mosaic - and it's WONDERFUL!!!

I took 2 recent pictures of my new glaze fall glaze colored pieces, then used one of my photograph images of something "fall-ish"...

I quick created this info block, and with those 4 images, created the mosaic...

Before figuring out the mosaic technique, I used my fall photo to add this block of orange and black type to make a small floating ad for the side of my blog...

If you are a participating Beads-of-Clay Blog, Fall Open Studio Artist, you are welcome to use these pictures to help promote the event on your blog. And please, add pictures of your own beads! Hopefully this will help you save some time and get you excited about the event...

I welcome comments about the photos and mosaics if you care to leave some input for me...

I am by no means a professional at this kind of thing and am just giving it a try...

Thanks!

HERE IS THE UPDATED LIST OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS IN THIS EVENT AS OF 10/15/09:

MarshaNealStudio http://www.marshanealstudioblog.blogspot.com
MaryHardingJewleryhttp://www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com
Chinook Jewelry http://chinookdesigns.blogspot.com
Diane Hawkey http://dianehawkey.blogspot.com
Marsha Hedrick http://porcelainart.blogspot.com
Joan Tucker http://offcenterproductions.blogspot.com
Indian Creek Studios http://pampots.blogspot.com
Lisa Peters http://lisa-petersart.blogspot.com
Kristie Roeder http://artisanclay.blogspot.com

Tracy Isley http://tracyisley.blogspot.com
Melanie Earthenwood Studio http://earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com
Winchell Clay Works http://www.winchell-clayworks.com
Summers Studio http://summersstudio.blogspot.com
Jessica Sharrah http://jessicasharrah.blogspot.com
Creative Impressions in Clay http://www.claybuttons.blogspot.com
EveryHeartCrafts http://everyheartcrafts.blogspot.com
Donna Kornegay http://blingbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com

Round Belly...

I've been offline for over a bit of a week really...

Due to a family visit (my dad and step-mom up from FL) which was quite long overdue...

So for those of you wondering how my round belly is coming along,

I thought I'd post a quick picture that I just took from my photobooth on my Mac:

Here is my round baby belly:

It's funny how once your belly starts to stick out farther than your boobs,

You actually feel like you are looking pregnant, and not just fat...

And so far, this second pregnancy of mine has been so much harder on me than my first with Chloe...

I thought that it was because it's a 2nd pregnancy and that my muscles are different than they were before, and that maybe I've been having such breathing issues because I'm only 5' 1" and everything in there is really pushing up on my lungs (out of breath going up or down a flight of stairs... forget going up 2 flights without taking a break to seriously catch my breath).

It's got me a little freaked out thinking about all this Swine Flu crap and that it's being reported how women in their third trimester are more prone to getting pneumonia and dying (due to compressed lungs because baby is taking up so much room). But really - is it any different with Swine Flu vs the regular Flu. I don't think so... Well, I hope not anyway... I'm just trying to keep my sinuses clear and keep healthy really... I am planning looking into the regular Flu Vaccine and possibly a Pneumonia vaccine before considering the H1N1 Vaccine.

Anyway... Sorry to vent about some things that have been on my brain recently...

Back to what I started to say...

Well, Riley (baby #2) finally gave me a bit of a break in the last couple of days. He must've flipped or rotated into a new position that makes me feel SO much better! I can now feel his swimming antics on both sides of my belly and from top to bottom of my growing belly - not just all on my right side. THANK GOD!!!

Let's just hope that he stays where he is for the next three months, just wiggling around and growing... No more flips in there little boy, or mommy is going to put you in a time out (or just deprive him of the little treats of chocolate he's been getting via mommy)! Not sure yet...

Hope all is well with you all!

Thanks for stopping by...

9 New Glaze Colors for Fall

So here they are...

Some quick pictures of the new glaze colors that I'm planning on adding to the line of Marsha Neal Studio Glaze Colors sometime this fall 2009.

If you like any of these glazes, you can use their numbers and names (the ones that have names) to order them, just make a note of it in the "message" part of the order via Marsha Neal Studio Online Shopping Cart...

The four letter code after the name will be my catalog code for that particular glaze.

#1 New Glaze: Rhubarb "RHUB"

Pinkish Red background breaking Blueish Purple:

UPDATED 10/14/09:

#2 New Glaze: Torched Copper "TOCO"

Thanks to Marie Dodd for naming this new glaze!

(And THANKS to everyone for the name suggestions!!!)

This glaze breaks blue/purple where it hits the texture and the background can have a brown/purple tone to it. Here is looks a little more brown...

#3 New Glaze: Midnight "MIDN"

Black breaking slight Blue and Brown:

#4 New Glaze: Blue Green "BLGR"

Blue puddling of glaze and Green background:

#5 New Glaze: Oceanarium "OCEA"

Metallic Spots of Blue, Green and some Purple

(darker green/blue shade of my older color: ASGR)

#6 New Glaze: Rusty Blue "RUBL"

Foamy Blue/Green glaze that breaks brown:

#7 New Glaze: Green Sea Glass "GRSG"

Pale to mid tones of green, more satin finish:

#8 New Glaze: Dusty Denim "DUDE"

Frothy Blue that breaks brown:

One of my favorites of the new colors!

#9 New Glaze: Pomegranate "POME"

Red/Pink/Purple-ish colors:

*changed PLUM to POME... more pink than purple to me, and just makes more sense...

Hope you like the new colors!!!

They are available now at shows run through D7 Studio (run by my friend Darlene).

Or you can purchase them via my online shopping cart by using the color codes above in the message part of the order. You can always do a follow up email to make sure things are as they should be... Will put them on there sometime soon...