Beads, 2010 - Interweave

Woo-Hoo!!!

I sent in a bunch of pieces to Interweave and they picked a bunch of them to be featured in Beads 2010.

And seeing as how Dave and I have been "working" on updating my website: Marsha Neal Studio.com we are now under a new set of pressure to get it finished. Or at least updated in it's current state of what I consider "mess".

In reality, we have talked about it, he has worked on a general layout and has spent the majority of his time on the new header...Which we probably won't even use because the clouds move in and the butterfly used to move too - very cool if I do say so myself (Go Dave!) - but it just makes your computer work hard to download it.

And let's face it, not everyone shopping for my beads is going to be connected to super fast internet.

But what really is getting me frustrated is that I just can't seem to get the new decal pieces and clay shards & twirls up on there.

I've had them scanned back in December 2009 (lost where I saved them to for a bit - had a second baby and a two year old running around...)

It's a mental thing then a time thing really...

Mental because there are SO many potential choices:

With the decals: sizes and drawings in particular...

With the shards & twirls: clay body then the sizes and colors...

I hate having to choose...

So I think we will update the home page to have some new navigation for these pages, even though they may be under construction for the time being.

And I will put the pieces that are featured in the magazines up there to start with. 

That at least gives me something to "choose" to focus on and get my brain and website in gear.

If you see any of my pieces in magazines, but not on my website, email me and I will make them for you.

They might also be in my MarshaNealStudio Etsy shop.

That is until they are featured on the new publications page, where there will be active links to add the pieces directly to the shopping cart. 

Oh, my... it's been since Beads 2007 came out that the publication page was updated... oops!

Guess I've been a little distracted from keeping my website updated since my mom got sick and passed away in 2007 and I've had two kids since then... Thank goodness for blogs and Etsy since I can update them more frequently without fear of screwing up all the inner working of the website. Dave "loves it" when I do that and he has to figure out how to fix it...

Oh, and you can find some cool artist made finished jewelry pieces featuring Marsha Neal Studio items, with all profits being donated to a non-profit organization through the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop.

Thanks for understanding! I hope to get my butt in gear soon...

Go grab your copy of Beads 2010 on newsstands now! They have some really yummy stuff in there!

Remake Of Cutout Flower Pendants

This Flower pendant has been one of my best selling textures for years...



Above is my BLMO (Blue Molasses glaze).

It is a version of the flower design my Grandma Neal showed me how to draw when I was very young. It occupied the margins of notebooks while I was in school daydreaming and doodling.




Above is my AUTU (Autumn Glaze).

It was a natural progression for me to transfer (by carving) this image into clay to be used for making textures for pendants and for additions to art pieces...



Above is my GLAC (Glacier glaze).

When I first started making pendants, they would be a bit more "one of a kind"... Meaning I would cut each design out (like these pictured in this post) instead of using my now cataloged regular shapes.




Above is my TLTE (Textured Light Teal glaze).

When my I started to get requests from businesses for multiples of the same piece to be able to sell online, I decided to concentrate on a standard set of shapes, sizes and glaze colors...




Above is my DUDE (Dusty Denim glaze).

And my porcelain pendant line, as it is today on MarshaNealStudio.com was born.

It has been from necessity that I am remaking these. And frankly I rather enjoy spending the extra time making these pieces. It reconnects me with that creative place that I need to find again. And I may break out some of the other lesser made cutout pieces to sell on Etsy as well...

Look for these to show up on my Etsy shop in the next day or two... It depends on if Riley allows me the time to create the listings.

Speaking of flowers, check out what is in bloom right now on the Garden Bloggers' Bloom post on my other blog: Marsha'sGardenBlog.Blogspot.com.

Be forewarned though, if you like flowers and gardens, there are lots of awesome garden blogs out there once you click around a bit... Leave some breadcrumbs to find your way home again!

-- Posted From My iPhone

Glaze Info for BOC Blog

I'm excited about being asked to contribute something on a regular basis to the BOC blog. My mid-monthly contribution will focus on glazing, specifically electric kiln glaze firings at Cone 6, using commercially available glazes.

I recently picked up some new glaze samples at NCECA and can't wait to test them out and share my results with you on the BOC blog...

Here are some of the samples I plan on starting with from Georgies:








BOC stands for Beads Of Clay. It is a group of people interested in learning about the process of making, using, and admiring artists work in earth clay to make beads... Anyone can join.

There is a BOC website, Flickr group, FaceBook page, Yahoo group, Blog, and even an Etsy shop. Once I get on my computer I'll edit this post with active links to each... (links done 4/15/10)

Look for my first post later this week!
-- Post From My iPhone

Reed's Beads Trunk Show

Marsha Neal Studio Trunk Show

April 6 - 17, 2010

At Reed's Beads
32 N. Main Street
Ambler, Pa

Just dropped off some pendants, scarves and silks to Erica on Thursday... It was Riley's first trip to a bead shop, so we snapped a picture:





And she had some beads that I couldn't resist! I have plans for these little jewels (if Chloe decides I can have them back)...





Peeves likes them too...




- Post From My iPhone

Sometimes A Little Gets You Started

I just buckled down and started to get the studio into a place where I can maybe actually work...



I had some clay slabs that got too hard to use back when I was pregnant with Chloe (3 years this summer - yikes!) that I decided to break up and put into the dry clay reclaiming buckets. +2 square ft of table space earned, yay!


Things have just been piling up on my slab roller table, which is my main work table for makind stuff and glazing...


And now, things have been shifted around, put away and I've got some room to get some work done when I find a fleeting few minutes.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone - as I feed and burp the baby and type one-handed... Got to love these phones!

Take Each Day...

We had such beautiful weather this weekend. Sunny with a slight breeze and the temperature peaked in the low 70's...

With having two little ones around, not much on the to do list gets done. It feels like weeks just go by and all we do is manage to get some laundry done. But this weekend was different. We had a great mixture of house cleaning and organizing, fixing leaky toilets, scrubbing mildew from the shower corners, unclogging drains (oh how I forgot about how much hair you lose after pregnancy), birth announcements and thank you cards done and mailed, oodles of piles accumulated were gone through and disposed of... It felt great!

And we even had time for outside fun! Thanks to Haley and Ali for starting this cool sidewalk chalk colored block decoration on the patio! I just LOVE it!!!




And I have to say, living in a suburban neighborhood has it's perks... We have probably the coolest group of kids living within a few houses of us. And they all like to come by after school and on weekends to hang out with Chloe and to help in the garden. And the girls are itching to babysit Chloe. Which for now, having them over so I can work on the garden (soon) will be such a blessing!

Last night, Dave and I actually got to sit and eat dinner alone while Riley slept and Chloe played 'kick the plastic bouncy ball up on the roof' with Mark (she just watches him and cracks up then runs around like a crazy person with arms flailing about playing airplane). And then he blew bubbles and she ran about and tried to catch them with her bubble wand and yelling "get back here bubbles" and squeals of happiness and "bubbles... more bubbles".

And I must admit... If she wasn't in school I don't think I would have the energy or patience to deal with her and a newborn all the time. And she wouldn't be such the great kid she is (her teachers are awesome and she learns so much there)!

So at some time in the very near future, Marsha Neal Studio will be going full throttle again. Not sure exactly in what direction (maybe some miniature things as garden treasures) along with the beads and pendants...

It's about time for some experimenting...

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone