Dawn Whitehand: Visual Artist
Pottery
Happy St Patricks Day :-)
Happy St Patricks Day – and what better way to celebrate than with a 10% discount in both of my ETSY shops for the remainder of March!
Use coupon code StPats2017 in either shop for some great green finds or anything else for that matter!
In case you don’t know I have SHOP that sells handcrafted ceramic tableware and jewellery, and a SHOP that sells craft and jewellery supplies – so go wild!!
Here’s a little teaser:
and from my supplies shop
Happy St Patricks Day and happy savings!!
Sunday Studio Visit – or rather Sunday Kitchen Visit!
The firing schedule is really busy at the moment in the studio due to my ceramic classes and also my own art work …. so I am firing the kiln today, mostly with student works, plus a few of my own artworks.
But my attention today has been in the kitchen – it is that time of year again!
An abundance of produce has meant preserving – so today’s efforts involved squash relish and fermented cucumbers.
We enjoyed a sample of the relish on tonight’s dinner – zucchini (from the garden) and corn patties accompanied by said relish! It was so good…
I wont be able to sample the cucumbers for a week as they need to ferment – but i’m sure they will be yummo!
The other cool thing about having a vegetable garden are the pumpkin and zucchini leaves which leave a great impression on clay. These plates have a pumpkin leaf impressed into the surface which has been highlighted with black copper oxide and finished with a clear glaze. I am pretty happy with them, even though one cracked! I will be making more, and will have to do so in the next month before the plants die off as Winter approaches.
So until next week – have fun! But hopefully I post before then!
Sunday Studio Visit – bits and bops
Happy Sunday everyone!
Last Sunday I shared with you some bowls I was making as a custom order from my ETSY shop which was to be a wedding present. I said I would post an image of the bowls mid-week….. but life just got too busy and I didn’t 🙁
However, here is a pic now! I was happy with the bowls, their uniformity and the finished glazed product which strengthened the uniformity of the set further. The bowls were sent on Wednesday with loads of bubble wrap, so I hope the newly wedded recipients love them too!
As far as today goes, I have FINALLY gotten around to glazing the pumpkin plate sets I made almost a year ago – I know it was this long ago because they were made with last years pumpkin leaves from the garden.
Plates impressed with Pumplin Leaves
Hopefully – all things being equal – these plates will be finished in time for the BOAAmerch Showroom opening this coming Friday night.
I also listed a pumpkin plate in my ETSY shop tonight which I made during the same time last year – I had listed one a few months ago, and this is another in a different glaze. I think it looks pretty cool! The glaze is ovenproof, microwave proof and dishwasher safe, making it ideal for everyday use as a serving plate and for warming up and cooking food!
Well, that’s about it for today’s studio visit – hopefully see you midweek!
Sunday Studio Visit …. custom orders!
I haven’t posted for a while (again)…. what is my ‘excuse’ this time?
Hubby & I have been busy trying to finish the deck we started a year ago! After the initial build winter hit Dunnstown and building was pretty much ruled out. Add to that the ill health I had for most of last year and building was impossible.
So, now that the nicer weather is upon us and my health is in recovery mode we wanted to get the deck finished before it stretched out to a second year – plus we (and our friends) are hanging out for a deck party!
So yesterday I oiled the floor of the deck, but I couldn’t put a second coat on today because it rained all day – thankyou Ballarat summer! But progress was still made – hubby put together the steps (with a little help from me) … and they look great!
But in the studio for today, I have been working on a custom order I received through my ETSY store for a set of bowls. The bowls are a wedding present and are to be personally inscribed on the base – so the pressure is on. It is a big responsibility to make quality tablewares at the best of times – but a personalised wedding gift really heightens the concept of well designed handmade products.
This is the bowl that inspired the custom order and is currently available as a single bowl in my ETSY shop….
Dawn Whitehand – wheelthrown bowl
And this is today’s effort in the studio. I am happy with the uniform shapes and sizes, so think they will be successful as a ‘set’ of bowls. The order is for a set of eight so I made twelve, just to be on safe side. The remaining four will make it into my shop if they all fire successfully – if not hubby will get them (the cook of the house) 🙂
So, that’s it for today’s visit….. have a great week 🙂
Sunday Studio Visit – new sculpture
Evening all – I hope everyone had a great Christmas & New Year 🙂
I have mostly recovered from my stretch if illness which made it difficult for me to keep up to date on the blog posts, so hopefully I will be a bit more regular this year!
Today I have been making new sculpture for an exhibition I am having in ContainArt which I am installing on the 11th January – YES, it is going to be a rush!! With having being ill and then indulging in Christmas festivities I couldn’t get to making any earlier.
I’m hoping to pit fire some of the pieces and it is fire restrictions time in Australia so I have to apply for a permit – hopefully that comes through OK.
The exhibition will consist of ceramic sculpture and photography – but no more information…. all will be revealed after the installation 🙂
But here’s a sneak peek at today’s making fun…. have a great week everyone 🙂
Merry Christmas Everyone 🎄🎉
Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for visiting my blog throughout the year even though I have been scattered in my posts and in visiting others due to ill health. My New Years Resolution is good health and, therefore by default, more regular posting and visiting!!
AND be sure to visit my ETSY tomorrow for a Boxing Day Sale – use ‘boxingday2016’ for 20% off storewide … avoid the chaos of shopping malls and shop online! 🎁🎁
Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone and see you in 2017 🎉
Have a great Christmas everyone 🎄
I said in my last post I was going to start posting more frequently after ill health – but getting so far behind in my teaching and firing schedule and other business stuff – plus a bit of a health relapse – meant it just hasn’t happened. So I am going to call it quits for 2016 and make my New Years Resolution to have GOOD HEALTH!! I have never experienced six months of ill health before and it has done my head in!! So here’s to 2017.
I will leave you with a couple of pics of works in my ETSY store though because I am having a boxing day sale – perfect: no need to visit the chaos of the malls, just buy online!! At the checkout use ‘boxingday2016’ and receive 20% off your entire purchase – what better way to end the year?
Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone and see you – hopefully – more regularly in 2017 🎄🎉☺
Sunday Studio Visit – a bit of photography!
Its been a while since I posted – I have been sick in varying degrees (coming good, then not) for a few months now. I started with insomnia a few months ago which left me run down. I then came down with a virus which I couldn’t shift and which developed from there to a severe chest infection and virus induced asthma! I have never had asthma, so it has been weird! Due to ll of this I have been doing the bare minimum of what I need to do, and now that I am starting to feel better (I think) I am in catch up mode.
I haven’t even posted a Christmas pressie reminder for my ETSY shop – so here is one now 🙂
As for today’s Sunday studio visit – I wasn’t in the studio today. Being a couple of weeks from Christmas we had a family Christmas lunch with a side from my partners family, which was lovely and relaxing. The weather was beautiful, which is only just starting to happen in Ballarat – so it was perfectly timed!
The hosts live a big warehouse which they are slowly converting in a gorgeous home, and there were some fantastic views from the outdoor deck of the surrounds, which included some great geometric architectural juxtapositions which I couldn’t resist capturing on my phone.
So, I thought these shots would be a great re-introduction to my – hopefully – more regular blogging life 🙂
Enjoy!
Sunday Studio Visit – community projects
What a busy Sunday this has been!
This morning I worked with the community from Scotsburn and surrounds as part of the ongoing bushfire relief project – of which you can see previous posts HERE. And then this afternoon I ran a workshop for the Ballarat branch of Yellow Ladybugs – a group that connects girl with autism – its been a great day!!
The Scotsburn group continue to create some fab ceramics – with a concentration on Christmas decorations this session. The bushfire occurred a week before Christmas in 2015, so there were lots of positive messages inscribed onto the decorations.
And there were also some creative additions – all to be exhibited in the end of the year exhibition to coincide with the anniversary picnic in December.
In the afternoon the Ladybug girls produced some amazing treasure boxes – they so enjoyed it, and so did I !!!
Sunday Studio Visit…. custom orders!
I have been very busy this past month, with catching up after being ill for a while (Winter/Spring bugs), and also quite a few custom orders. So yesterday (Sunday) I was very busy, therefore I am writing this a day late.
In my last Sunday studio visit post I showed you a picture of the 200 snow flakes I was glazing for a custom order I received through my ETSY shop. Well, the glazing is finally all done, and now I am threading ribbon through them all for hanging!! What a job!
Besides that order, I also am working on custom orders for some focal beads, some champagne flutes and a coffee cup.
Overall its been a very busy October with lots of orders and purchases coming through my Etsy shop …. here’s a few of the items that have found new homes this month – some within Australia and some overseas.
And of course there is always the customary kiln firing – this firing is full of students works, plus the custom champagne flutes.
Well, that’s about all I have time for – back to snow flake threading!
This work by Dawn Whitehand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.