Monday's Muses

Jasper, and magnets from my sister Sue...

An embroidered heart...

A painted hummingbird...

The Magician...

Snowflakes. Indoors...

...and out.

And this exhibit. What are you using your hands to make, build, or bake on this fine Monday?

Operation C.U.P.

ceramic cup by Arthur Halvorsen.

My friend and fellow MECA alum, Arthur Halvorsen, is spearheading (or should I say cupheading??) a terrific movement called Operation C.U.P.

He writes:

Operation C.U.P. (Citizens Using Pottery) is all about getting handmade into the hands of people who don't normally buy handmade, to gift it this holiday season to their best friend. It's about educating the public about handmade ceramics. It can't be put into words what it is like to drink from a handmade cup - it is something that has to be experienced!

You can find more info about this terrific project on Arthur's website. Buy a cup! Buy handmade! Support the cause!

A Cup-la other sites where you can find cool cups made by MECA alums:

http://www.kaitlynduggan.com/

http://www.ccceramics.com/

Handmade Memories

Reading Amanda Soule's wonderful blog post this morning prompted me to post this old photograph of me in the tub with my two daughters, Kaitlyn and Lisbeth, in the summer of 1982. Amanda tells about spiffing up her small bathroom with handmade items. My old bathroom in Sanford needed some of that TLC. You can see a bit of my handpainting on the side of the old clawfoot tub, and just a peek of a skirt that I had sewed for the sink - it had colorful appliqued triangles all along the hem (if you have an old sink like this, a hot glue gun and velcro make it possible to hang a skirt around the exposed pipes...)

Too bad this photo doesn't show the window curtain and the wallpaper, which were all covered in big birds and flowers, in a blue and orange color scheme. We were living on a shoestring back then, and much of my decor was handmade!