Monday, March 31, 2014

More Pottery * Chris Parris

The second piece of pottery that we purchased at the Paradise City Craft Expo was handcrafted by Chris Parris of ParrisWorks in Fall River, MA. I have other bowls by Chris in my collection and hadn't seen his work in awhile.  I was taken by several of his designs. We did purchase a Ikebana type vase. His work often includes folded clay forms combined with stunning glaze applications.





Update: Today I put tulips in this vase. Check it out!


I already own a set of his nested bowls each with a fold notch but here are other designs of his that I also love. I especially like how he combined the folded clay with the function of a pouring spout for both the gravy boat and small pitcher below.



 And check out these espresso cups.......

Maybe at the next craft show!

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© 2014 Marji Roy, Ashbee Design


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Collecting Fine American Crafts

I love crafts and have always been a creator. But I also am a collector. I love going to an excellent craft show and seeing the wonderful things being crafted by others using techniques I know little about. And occasionally David and I buy for our craft collection. Last weekend was one of those times. We visited the Paradise City Craft Expo in Marlborough, MA. This is an annual show that is always worth a visit, and we often expand our collection.  Here is a piece of pottery that now graces my dining room table.



I have posted before about my love of ferns and the ferns of the Connecticut countryside figure prominently in this design.  This piece has a beautiful mixture of form and natural design that we found stunning.

The artist is Tim Scull and he has a pottery school in Canton, CT.  He explained the firing technique as a sawdust technique in which the pot is fired while being packed in sawdust. The ferns were applied to the vase before firing, a layer of slip clay was applied over it and the entire pot is buried in saw dust and fired.  The smoky pattern is caused by the cracks that form in the slip during the firing. The ferns leave oxidized markings on the pot. The end result is very organic. 

Here are some links for more information about Tim Scull and his work.



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© 2014 Marji Roy, Ashbee Design

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Floppy-Eared Bunny

Last spring I designed a simple beginner pattern for a floppy-eared bunny to be cut on the Silhouette. I didn't become a contributing artist at Silhouette until June, well after Easter so I didn't make this file available until this week.


It is now available here and I have completed a tutorial here. It is a wonderful beginner project although the grass does require a good blade and mat.  And there are so many things you can do with it. I had such fun using wonderful spring papers and making bunny crowds!



Last Easter I paired them with birch logs and tulips plus my ombre Easter eggs to create this center piece.



If you've been waiting for this file, today is the day to go and get it - and make it!

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© 2014 Marji Roy, Ashbee Design

Sharing this post at some of these link parties. They are worth checking out for other ideas.