Good and Not So Good Times...

It's been a while since I've had time to spend in the studio finding my creative self.

I've found my organizational self - which did release some of my inner creative being...

Chloe loves coming into the studio with me to work on stringing beads…

She makes lots of bracelets for her friends at school...

Chloe gets her own area to work in, away from  mom's stuff.

And she loves to paint with underglazes on bisque beads I've got around the studio…

I think it is amazing to watch her techniques at this stage - it is all by feeling and instinct.

And she and I spend time outside exploring in the garden together...

I think I may be rubbing off on her with some of my interests…

I hope she rubs off on me just as much with her 3 year old visions and inclinations…

I recently heard that the Helen Graham Cancer Center installed a green roof garden outside of their chemo treatment floor in their new building. My mom would have loved this view instead of a hospital room when she was trying to fight her Leukemia back in 2007.

Unfortunately we were there to get some blood work done for my husband on Monday.

We are praying nothing too serious - maybe just oddly normal stuff (so far things are pointing in that direction). But this is where the hematologists offices are…

I hope we only have to go back for follow up visits with good news…

We want to spend more time here having moments things like this...

…and this:

And for me, I am happily finding a little time here and there to get into the jewelry area.

I can actually just reach up and grab the stuff I need, use it, then put it back…

SWEET!!!

Especially happy to work on some custom earring orders for some customers that ordered them through my Etsy shop!

I really enjoy this side of the process…

Thanks for letting me create these for you!

Don't you want a pair too? I can make them for you…

Just go pick your shard & tell me to make them into earrings for you ;)

Shard Earrings - almost completed...

Oh, and I got my hair cut on Monday afternoon - chin length…

And have been glazing like a fiend getting a ton of cabs ready for upcoming shows for D7 Studio.

Will have more pics of all that stuff soon.

We have a birthday this weekend & Harry Potter movie to go and see…

Hope you're getting through the every day too…

Thanks for swinging by!

BOC Second Saturday State of Your Studio

Welcome to my post to join in on the Beads-of-Clay Blog post for

Second Saturday, State of Your Studio.

Make sure to swing by the blog for this monthly blog hop to look into some artists studios...

If you have a studio or creative space, you are welcome to join up on this blog hop by including a direct link for your blog post to the BOC post so that visitors can take a look into where you create. 

My creative space for clay, jewelry and office work is in my basement.

Unfortunately this is what the view into the outside looks like:

I've been trying to figure out the best time of the year to be most productive in the clay studio.

I love being in the garden from March/April until June.

Then it just becomes horribly humid and hot and I happily go into the cool basement and hang out in the clay and jewelry areas.

I managed to even get some clay-work in yesterday and made some domed cabs for my friend Teddi and some for Darlene (D7Studio).

I just love the way these domed cabs look...

I have yet to clean up the bottoms & edges with a wet sponge,

but that will be for me to do once the kids get to napping (maybe today or tomorrow).

I've also got my glaze tests underway for my next post for Beads of Clay Blog Third Friday, Cone 6 Commercial Glaze post I do every month.

I've been glazing up some pieces and firing them in my small kiln (which gets different results than my large kiln) so that I can make up a limited "glaze color selection" for some of my jewelry listings up in my Etsy shop. I did this so that I can have a faster turn around since I don't have to have quite so many pieces ready before firing the kiln. I like to try to fire a full kiln load. Firing a load almost empty is such a waste of energy...

I've been getting in a bit of photography time too.

These are the 12 glazes I decided upon for the Porcelain Clay Twirl Earrings in my Etsy shop.

I just love the tone of blue and the translucency of this new Peacock glaze.

It picks up the detail of my textures so well and shadows nicely!

And here is my jewelry making desk.

I just got a new shipment of silks in and want to spend some time pulling some for new bundles for my Etsy shop.

Also, last night I went out to see a fellow Delaware Etsy Street Team artist (Nicole Kristiana) at her opening at The Grand on the Wilmington Art Loop then went to the after loop party "re:fresh" at the newly opened World Cafe Live at the Queen… 

Words cannot explain how great it feels to go out and be around other artists.

Especially when you are an artist working alone in a house…

Standing under the staircase, looking up the interior side of the building.

And to be in such a unique building that has so much history.

I blogged about it over on the DEST Blog if you want to see more.

Don't forget to visit the Beads of Clay Blog to see what other artists studios are looking like right now…

Thanks for stopping by for a bit!

Twelve Colors For My Clay Twirl Shards

All of the pieces are out of the kiln…

Marsha Neal Studio Porcelain Twirls In Twelve Colors

In all the right colors...

So now customers that are looking at this earring listing below can pick their own color right on the spot.

Porcelain Clay Twirl Earring with Sterling Silver

And I've also created a listing for anyone that wants to pick out just a pair of these twirls and make their own earrings (or whatever you can think up to use them with).

Through creating this custom listing it dawned on me that I really should have an Etsy "shop section" for all of the listings I've got for the silk and clay "you pick the color" listings.

So that is now done too…

Now if only the sun would peek out from behind the clouds so I can photograph the other two main porcelain clay shard textures I've got in these 12 colors too…

Including two NEW glaze colors:

NEW Glazes: Blood Red and Peacock

Blood Red Glaze on Chocolate Clay

Glacier Glaze on Chocolate Clay

I think there will be an Etsy shop update happening soon…

Make sure you are on my email mailing list to get the heads up on the update and any special coupon codes I may decide to run for my newsletter customers…

Don't forget, if you like to make treasuries, I'm running a "contest" for anyone using the jewelry listings with the new modeled pieces (on Claudia and Becky) that is running until July 11, 2011.

Winner gets a $25 MNS Etsy Shop gift certificate.

See the bottom of my previous post for details and to add your qualified treasury to the list.

Good Luck!!!

***After I looked over this post again when it was live, I really didn't like the way that first color choice photo looked in the center. But I did like that circle photo…
What do you think?
Is this better???

***Ok - here is the final photo update - I promise:
I just changed the positions of the labeled colored shards to match the inner photo.
I like things a bit tidy...

Favorites Into Treasuries Again...

Do you ever just fall in love with Etsy Treasuries?

I think they can be challenging to make with you have to make one for a team, or something specific…

But if you are able to create them from your favorites list…

Well, that is all together something enjoyable and quite addictive.

Muted Colors Whisper To Me

Circles and Cycles

What do you think?

Do you like these collections?

What about them speaks to you?

Or do they do nothing for you?

Click on them and leave a comment on the treasury if you don't mind...

Narrowing Down A Color Palette For Etsy

There are ways to look at ones business…

For me it has always been:

I make beads & pendants.

I sell these beads & pendants to people that make jewelry.

I sell things through bead shows, bead shops, and online shops.

I have a website that allows people to pick out their exact porcelain pendant by:

Texture, Shape & Size, and Color...

12 selected glaze color choices.

But things are not the same for me anymore.

I am not personally traveling to bead shows.

I work from home and can't be away from my two little ones for long…

(I become a miserable grump)

My pieces are still at shows through D7Studio

Which is my friend Darlene's business.

I sold her my bead show stock right after I had Chloe, and she made it her own…

You should see the stuff she carries!

Really - click to her blog to see where she will be next…

There are bead shops that still carry my pieces - if they have not closed up shop yet and gone online…

And as far as online resellers, there are a few…

So in the last two years I have really focused on my Etsy shop:

Selection of items in my Etsy shop.

I have taken, and retaken, and then taken more photos of my items.

Worked with a professional photographer, Katy Timney for better images of what my pieces look like finished and worn:

And so now from an outsiders point of view…

I like these, but would like them in another color.

What do you have to offer?

Right now it stands as:

Take a look at my other listings.

You know, the ones under porcelain pendants, shards…

Or maybe go outside Etsy to my website.

Search and find the pendants, then hopefully your computer/phone can download the flash (outdated) glaze color chart.

Oh, and I have new glazes - but they aren't there…

See the point?

Or rather - get lost in the point?

Customers that are there to buy a pair of earrings or a pendant get lost and uninterested when they have to hunt (I know I do).

That first photo at the top of this post are 12 of my best selling glazes that I am going to offer to people buying finished jewelry as their palette to pick from.
The pieces are still working through the kiln, then to be photographed…
But soon - they will be up there.

Make things simple and impulse shopping friendly.

I am my ideal customer...

I may be your ideal customer too...

I love to shop for unique handmade items…

But don't make me work for it or I'll go buy something else.

You know - unless it is something I "have to have".

What kind of things are you doing to make your Etsy shop more desirable to shop?

Way In The Back, Buried Underneath...

Way in the back of my basement, buried underneath all the piles of crap lies great potential…

Do you have areas piled up similar to this?

The "catch all" area?

I could line up the excuses for why this area looks like this…

Life happens and we are all probably way too familiar with hearing the excuses...

Motivation.

I want in on all the fun jewelry making things I keep reading about online…

I am SICK of seeing this & not being able to get to what I need...

Finding then making the time.

Get through it all...

Starting with overall sorting while putting the smaller detailed "to be sorted" to the side:

In an organized way of course…

Determination. 

I will get through this area "this time"…

Nothing will distract me!

And here is one of the final pictures of this one area...

Beads on the left - organized by color and type - easy to get to & see.

Silks to the right - in bags in bins (as they are always kept).

Just in better lighting now...

Things were really rolling along this time, but right in the middle of it:

Bam - Tuesday night a fever…

After 48 hours of low grade fevers (no school of course) it was time to call the Dr.

We ended up at our first ever visit to the ER at the Children's Hospital on Thursday night with his fever all of a sudden getting up to 105 and not dropping below 104 - even on Ibuprofen.

Diagnosis: Middle Ear Infection. 

On antibiotics and Ibuprofen…

Poor little dude!

Here are some other pictures of that back room jewelry area as I've been working in spurts over the years down there.

The photos are from various "studio clean-up" moments from:

2009, 2010 fall, 2011 winter, 2011 summer:

Look - No more crawl space hole!!!

Moving stuff from shelving areas to tables and back again...

Making room to clear things up, then put things back where they are usable...

Dave asked: will we ever be able to get into that crawl space?

Well, yes - those tables are just folding tables and are easily moved!

This girl is thinking ahead to that once every 10 year event...

And finally...

I'm nearing the finish line…

For now anyway!

It feels great to finally go through all that stuff in boxes & bins…

To know what you have…

All that potential there - waiting to be re-discovered!

More to be done, but for now, this girl has a place to make jewelry!

And even lay out beads before they are glazed…

To see what I have to use with those pieces…

Imagine That!

Organization…

Who knew!