2020

Arkansas Art Center Museum School Sale

November 23, 2020November 23, 2020 mud&string2 Comments

We are LIVE!

Follow the link and see what all the excitement is about!

So many shops and plenty of time to visit them all! My shop, ClayDreamsPottery is under my name – Beth Coleman. Stop by and say hi!

2020

Clay Today

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I’ve working hard these past two weeks getting my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery, updated. This is a multistep process and pretty tedious. Way tedious really, but I’m taking part in this year’s Arkansas Art Center Museum Sale, a once a year sale when the Art Center students get to show off all they’ve learned and hopefully make enough money to support their various art/craft habits – at least until the next visit to the art store. This year, it’s going to be different. This year, instead of an in-person sale, it’s gone virtual. SURPRISE!!!!! AM I RIGHT???? Here’s the progression of my emotions since, oh, I don’t know, like 2020 happened and everything changed.🤞🙏😟☹️😭😤😠😡🤬😡😠☹️😕😮🙂😀

I’m not the only one on this rollercoaster, making the best of a bad situation. My mama used to tell me that it’s just as easy to smile as to frown. She was right. I must have gotten my optimistic mindset from her. ❤️ But I digress.

Here’s what came off the wheel today –

In a week or so they will be ready for their first firing

Stay tuned, I hope to follow these guys until their final, most exciting, nailbiting firing. Every potter I know, though, keeps their fingers crossed throughout. 🤞 I sure miss my pottery peeps!

To practice art, no matter how well or badly is a way to make your soul grow. So do it. Kurt Vonnegut

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WIPs As Far As The Eye Can See

September 30, 2020October 1, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON MY NEEDLES

I’m going to dive right in……..

New Gray Day Sweater

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes

Sprinkle Heather

Five Roses Shawl

Knitologie by Knitcrate Sparkling Sock in Turquoise (speckled)

Emma’s Yarn in Turquoise

Twisted Flower

Yarn Bee

Rainbow Wrapsody

Kew Socks

URU.YARN by Knitcrate Sugared Sock

Hidden Pool

Dissent Cowl

Faithful Beauty by The Verdant Gryphon

Arco Iris by Malabrigo

Shell Cottage from The Handmade Sock Society

Knitpicks Stroll Fingering in Seashell Tonal

Helen Stewart, Designer

So, lots of knitting happening here at Casa Coleman, just not a lot of finishing. 🙂 I’m trying to be more diligent about recordkeeping and such, so you can find pattern details and progress in my project pages.

Silence is a fence around wisdom. German Proverb

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Show and Tell, More Proactive Changes and What’s On My Needles

July 17, 2020July 16, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

SHOW AND TELL

My sweet son in law has been requesting a pitcher for I don’t know how long. Being a pastor, he wanted something he could use for baptisms and communion. After many unsuccessful attempts, I finally came up with one that passed muster.

Clefton’s Pitcher

Inside glazed with Spectrum Cinnamon Ripple

Outside glazed with Amaco Seaweed

Test Bowl

Outside glaze Amaco Seaweed PC-51

Inside glazed with Mayco Stoneware Glaze

SW-156

Galaxy

Here’s a better look at the inside –

TODAY’S PROACTIVE CHANGE

This one is turning out to be the most difficult – putting all my devices aside 30 minutes before bedtime. Yep, this one is by far the most difficult. There’s always just one more thing I want to check on, which leads to another page, then one more site and then just one more peek at Facebook. Putting it all aside 30 minutes before bedtime gives my brain enough time to calm down and I fall asleep faster and stay asleep. 🥱😴

ON MY NEEDLES

Shibui Sock

Colorway unknown

100% Merino

Petty Harbour by Rayna Curtis

We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision. Anonymous

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Has My Warranty Expired? or Now What!!??

May 20, 2020June 8, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

It’s 11:48 p.m. and I’m wearing my insomniac hat tonight. Now, it’s 11:49 p.m. which gives me about 11 minutes to have that last glass of water before midnight. If you’ve ever undergone a “procedure”, you’re familiar with the nothing to eat or drink after midnight rule. So, yes, there is a “procedure” in my near future. To be more specific, tomorrow at 11:30, I’m having oral surgery to extract three molars on the right and placement of two screws into my upper jawbone for eventual implants and a bridge. I admit that while I don’t have a phobia regarding dentists, I do get anxious a few days beforehand. I will be under heavy sedation so intellectually I know that it will be painless and quick, it’s just that my nervous stomach and jitters haven’t received the It’ll be OK memo.

This dental adventure on top of my broken arm and my subsequent ER visit, followed by a visit to a hand and arm specialist and the surgery to repair it using a steel fixator and let’s not forget about Covid-19 and it’s cousin, Quarantine, has me wondering what next!

I got a photo of my postop x-ray. BTW, if looking at stuff like this makes you feel woozy or sick I encourage you to skip over the low tolerance stuff.

This month’s Knit Crate carried a naked hank of yarn and enough kool-ade to dye it up right. Here’s how mine turned out using cherry on half and blue raspberry on the other half. I think it will knit up into a very interesting pair of socks.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

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Could the End Be In Sight??

April 29, 2020April 30, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

You’d think that with the quarantine/social distancing/mask wearing and sheltering in place I’d be throwing pots and knitting like a maniac, but my orthopedic adventures brought these things to a screeching halt. The backstory is here if you missed it the first time around.

Anyhow, besides just the couple of weeks being bored out of my mind because I couldn’t do much of anything – when you break your dominant arm you’re pretty much out of luck for a while – being housebound hasn’t been too bad. You can bet, though, as soon as I got my cast off I was knitting, even if it was a super slow process. I got my hands back into the clay, finally able to finish what I’d started before I broke my arm and every day is a little bit better than the day before. Here’s three very patient pots that waited for me to heal.

Word on the street is that life is starting to normalize. Mr. iknead said there was toilet paper on the grocery shelves, no hand sanitizer or gloves, but at least it’s a move in the right direction.

From error to error one discovers the entire truth. Sigmund Freud

p.s. Don’t forget to visit my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery. I’m always adding new pots and you don’t want to miss out on the perfect one!

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Cooler Heads

February 14, 2020February 14, 2020 mud&string

Thank heaven for cooler heads!!! I took ya’lls advice and put Gray Days in timeout for about a week, during which I calmed down a bit, enough for an attitude adjustment. . I picked it up again Monday morning and Gray Days is knitting up well and once again, all is well at Casa Coleman. 🙂 Here’s a look at my new, improved Gray Days Gansey:

Things are also going well in the pottery studio also. I’ve had a couple of kiln unloads that I’m very pleased with and want to share with you all. Both pieces are made of the same clay, Speckled Brownstone.

Thanks to all who sent me good advice when I was ready to relegate Gray Days to my personal limbo — the back of my closet.

Oh, and don’t forget to visit my etsy shop for more pottery love!

And we are put on this earth a little space that we might learn to bear the beams of love.

William Blake

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Surprise!

January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

Ever glazed a bowl or knitted/sewn a project that you had such high hopes for that, on completion, was so ugly it was a real challenge to NOT throw it in the trash or banish it to the recesses of
of your darkest closet? Let me tell you about my latest bowl of shame………

There was nothing wrong with the naked bowl, one of my better ones IMO. Sorry guys, I took no photos of the first glazing. Too painful. 😜

The first glaze consisted of Toasted Sage poured into the bowl and swirled to cover, followed by Oatmeal brushed on the rim x3. I laid a band of Textured Turquoise below the Oatmeal rim inside. I then brushed the outside with Spectrum Cinnamon Ripple x3. When the glaze was dry, I fired this bad boy to cone 5. All I can say about the final result was YUCK and double YUCK. I tried to console myself by saying we can’t all be beautiful and made up my mind to keep it around for a little while; sometimes a glaze combination will grow on me. Not this time.

I decided to refire it, using a new glaze I got for Christmas, a Hot Pink by Spectrum. So, I just sort of slapped a few coats of this pink on it all over and fired it again. BTW – all glazes are Amaco Potter’s Choice unless specified otherwise. This glaze was a cone 9/10 and since I like to live dangerously, I fired to cone 10. 🥵

Here’s the surprise:

Love this!!

I’m so glad I gave this pot a second chance! Forrest Gump’s mama was right:

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.

Knitting · pottery

Score!

January 18, 2020January 18, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

After a try out of Kollage Square Circular Knitting Needles I’ve fallen deeply in love with these babies and want one of every size and length. The rub? Kollage has quit making them.😢 My LYS does carry them, but with very limited choices. I spent way too much time last night trying to track some down – a rollercoaster of emotion, let me tell you. I was ultimately successful, finding a nice selection of needle sizes and cord lengths at Paradise Fibers and bought three new circs, sizes 1,1.5 and 2 with 60” cables, my favorite! I’ll start stalking our mailman in the next day or so.

ON MY NEEDLES

I’m back on track with my Gray Day Gansey and am about an inch away from separating for the sleeves.

34120738-277A-4B4D-883C-1071A266DB65

Gray Day Gansey

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes

Haze

A86267E0-6CD5-495D-BD01-AE865827CB76

Petty Harbour

First Light Handicrafts

Manos del Uruguay Fino

Turkish Delight

JUST OUT OF THE KILN

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ClayDreamsPottery

Buncombe White Clay

Glazed w/ Blue Rutile on exterior and Arctic Blue interior

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. Robert Kennedy

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Etsy Update

January 11, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

Hi all, Yes, here I am. The Insomniac Potter is alive and well. Storms are moving through my neck of the woods with lots of thunder and lighting. I love storms and so couldn’t pass this one up.

I also wanted to give you a look at my newest Etsy shop update. Hop on over to ClayDreamsPottery, my Etsy shop and see what’s new!

You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows. Bob Dylan

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Christmas in Bangkok

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 mud&stringLeave a comment

Hi all!

So, what did you think of the changes in my About Me page? It took me a long time to get the new content from my head to WordPress! As for my 2020 Intentions, one of my main one is to start and stick to a blogging schedule. I haven’t quite gotten that one settled in my mind but just getting started feels like a big step in the right direction! 👟👟

I hope you had a great holiday! Mr. iknead and I went to Bangkok for Christmas with the Bangkok Bunch. So good to see them…..even with Facetime, etc., sometimes I crave being able to hug them in person, hold their hands and hear their voices in person. Unfortunately, I was sick the. whole. time. with bronchitis. I went to the doctor and he gave me antibiotics and cough medicine. They helped a little and at least got me through the long, long flight home.😷🤒👨‍⚕️💊

Best gift ever? The Bangkok bunch is coming home! 🏠🏠🏠 The excitement and the relief of having them close by again is overwhelming! 🎇🎇🎇🤸‍♂️😍

I’m still plugging away at Gray Day. I’ve had to rip the entire cable pattern out and start it again twice.🤬but it’s progressing slowly!

I plan to do an update of my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery, in the next day or so, keep an eye on it – you don’t want to miss a thing! Here’s a preview –

Tag: ClayDreamsPottery

Arkansas Art Center Museum School Sale

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Clay Today

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Show and Tell, More Proactive Changes and What’s On My Needles

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Has My Warranty Expired? or Now What!!??

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Could the End Be In Sight??

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Cooler Heads

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Surprise!

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Score!

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Etsy Update

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Christmas in Bangkok

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