The sound of ceramic bells!

Sweet sound of my ceramic bells, available for purchase at my Etsy shop.

ART.FOR.ALL at Annie's Art and Frame in Seattle

Annie's Art and Frame hosts ART.FOR.ALL (small art, under $100) this coming Saturday, December 12th, 6-9pm. I'll be selling tiny Faces, small lidded vessels, bells and luminaries. There will be much flat art (painting, printmaking, etc) too and I'm getting there early to BUY!

"Tongue Man" (4" tall if that)

"Forthright" (4 inches tall if that)

"Spot" (5 inches tall if that)

Holiday Pottery Sale!

In Seattle? Please join me this coming week, December 4th-6th (Fri-Sun) for my Winter Pottery Sale at my studio!

I’ll have a great selection available in stock and I’ll also be taking custom orders.
French butter keepers, ornaments, bells, candle luminaries, bowls of all sizes, mugs, tumblers and much more.

A selection of my work is also online at Etsy
Everything you see there is 10% off in person at my studio.

December 4th-6th
Friday through Sunday (please note: Husky Game on Saturday afternoon so plan accordingly!)
11am-4pm each day.
Or call for appointments 206.229.3311

Barbara Dunshee’s Home Studio
1060 26th Ave E.
Seattle, WA 98112
Google Map Link:


I look forward to welcoming you to the studio!
-Barbara

Ceramic bell making, stringing together the parts, by Barbara Dunshee

This video is the FINAL installment of my ceramic bell making lesson. It shows you one way of stringing the bells together. Of course, you can always buy finished bells from me, in person at my Studio (Sale Dec 4th-Dec 6th), or online at my Etsy shop.
Preview of the bells in action!!


NOTES:
-I used 20lb test fishing line for stringing the clapper to the stop. Other strings will do, but you don't want them too stiff.
-I used thin copper wire as a threader for getting the soft ribbon through the holes in bell and stop.
-If the holes are too small for your ribbon, you can use string between the stop and the ribbon and tie the ribbon to the top of the bell (of course it can get a little trickier if the holes are too small for the ribbon to pass through).

Lil Fish Studio on Etsy

Lil Fish studio's Sunday Window Shopping blog post included my ceramic bell trio and some other unique items from other artists. Love the bird feeder and the porcelain apple.



Lil Fish creates these delicate little robin's eggs in felt and photography. Love the eggs!

Becky Kazana's "Fab Miss B" blog

Becky Kazana "Fab Miss B" featured my Ohm in Braille mug on her blog, along with some other select gifts for her friends. Be sure to check out the felted slippers while you're there!

The sound of ceramic bells!

I wanted to show off the sweet sound of my ceramic bells, available for purchase at my Etsy shop.

My latest Etsy Treasury

This link is good for only a couple days, so take a peak soon!

Ceramic ornament bells, handmade by Barbara Dunshee

I've started listing my bells in my Etsy shop
I'll be listing more in the following weeks, in various glazed colors as well. I'm also taking them with me to a sale and fundraiser for Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, Sunday Nov 15 from 1-5pm.

If you'd like an evite to this event please let me know and I will send you one.

Happy Halloween!

Alicia Tormey encaustics at Pacini Lubel Gallery

I've recently been reintroduced to Alicia Tormey's work. I loved it before and her recent evolution is very exciting. Her new show, opening at Pacini Lubel Gallery November 5th, is called "Second Nature". A great title as her encaustics on wood are nature enhanced to a higher power. Her abstractions are landscape reminiscent but on varying planes of existence, simultaneously macro and micro. And simultaneously above and below water and sky and earth. Scale and place are wonderfully nebulous and I find myself hungrily searching each image for additional mind bending. And this is just from dropping into her studio while she was in progress. I'm eager to see the full body of work at the opening. Pacini Lubel Gallery, November 5th 2008.

Cloth Frisbee contains lead pellets!

We found a cloth frisbee in the park and threw it around for a bit for our dog. It didn't take him long to start chewing it. He tore open the weighted hem and out came a string of little pellets. They looked suspicious so I used a lead testing kit to see if they contained lead. The testing pack says: "If it's read, it's lead!"

This is the frisbee after a few minutes of chewing. To the right are the string of pellets and the lead testing kit.


This is one pellet peeking out of the hem after that chewing.


This is a string of pellets still sheathed in the plastic hem. I can't tell if at any time the pellets are fully covered by plastic. The seam wasn't closing on this one.


My trusty lead testing kit prior to use and the string of pellets.



Following instructions I break the capsule inside the kit to let the yellow fluid flow into the brush at the end.


It then instructs, "rub 30 seconds onto item".




"If it's red, it's lead"
After only 4 seconds, the brush is bright red. The pellets contain lead. The test only indicates a presence of lead, not how much. We will be disposing of the toy. The brand name was unreadable when we found it.

EJP Creations Blog -writing beautiful things

EJP Creations has featured my "Steampunk Monk" sculpture on her blog. That's what inititally brought me to read about "Her Work and Her Musings". Once there I feasted on her visual selections and verbally delish enticements of other artists' works. Equally intriguing is her own work, delicate and dangerous wearables. Explore!

A "Stroll in Fall" Etsy Treasury

The link to this treasury of Etsy artists is active till this Sunday around noon. Do visit these shops, there's so much to love!

Raven Meets Crow now on Etsy!

Mosaic and installation artist Jennevieve has created small sculptural works and made them available on Etsy at Raven Meets Crow, as of yesterday!
I was there for the photoshoot of this wired, buttoned, screwed crow sculpture and it's fantastic. It's beautifully balanced on its wire feet and has so much life. It's the embodiment of the raven and all we love about them.

Plate setters

Potters are often searching for good plate setters. I'm very pleased with mine so thought I'd share. They are Gimson VB V1 and I got them from Clay Art Center in Tacoma, WA.

These are the discs that you place the plate on. See the radial lines? Those allow air to circulate under the plate.



These are the discs stacked with the legs.



This is one of the legs. They come in various heights.


I use mine at cone 6, but I've heard of them firing higher. Again, Clay Art Center in Tacoma, WA is where I got mine. I plan to get a few more of the stilts so I can be efficient with space usage when firing lots of plates. Not that I want to fire lots of plates, but sometime....you just have to.

A Feature on By Hand Gallery

Karen of LemachiGallery, a team member of Design Style Guide, gathered a beautiful collection of works by Etsy artists and created a poster worthy design at By Hand Gallery She included my "Dinosauria" Lively Lidded Vessel.
I hope you'll take a moment to browse these talented shops.

Etsy Lounge finds!

The lovely Etsy Lounge has a nice feature up today and they've included one of my tea light holder cups, along with some other fabulous finds at Etsy.com

Blogging about chairs at Etsy Lounge

Andria over at Etsy Lounge blogs about artists on Etsy. She was kind enough to include my chair napkin holders is her post today. I like Andria's style of writing and she and I agree on the power of the CHAIR, as a symbol many relate and reacte to. An everyday object that says so much. Please check out her article. It's a good read. http://etsylounge.blogspot.com/

Kobo at Higo to display Barbara Dunshee sculptures

"Hero" by Barbara Dunshee
Immature ceramic, milk paint, wood
18" tall x 7" wide x 7" deep

My sculpture is now on display at the fantastic Kobo at Higo, in a window that faces Jackson Street in the International District of Seattle. Walk the International District ArtWalk, Saturday August 15th, 5-8pm (live music 6:30-7:30pm) and see for yourself!
Anybody who knows either of the Kobo locations knows they show an array of amazing works, ceramics and all things desirable, including modern hip pop and traditional treasures. They are worth many visits.

Sarah Takahashi in Portland

This image taken from Gallery Paradiso site


"Red Dress Study 3" by Sarah Takahashi
10" x 13" acrylic on paper

Sarah Takahashi is one of my favorite painters. I have the "Red Dress Study 3" portrait painting of hers and I fall in love with it each time I stop to look at it. Every stroke is inspired. She's going to have a show at Gallery Paradiso in Portland, Oregon during August, curated by Cathy Joy Young. Highly recommended!

Summer Pottery Sale 2009

Pottery Sale at my studio

Friday, July 24, Noon-6pm
Saturday & Sunday, July 25 & 26, 10-4pm

Barbara Dunshee Studio
1060 26th Ave E.
Seattle, WA 98112
visit my website for details!

French butter keepers, teapots, bowls, big and small, tumblers, mugs, vases, bud vases and more!

Sculpture at Annie's Art and Frame July 2009

My sculpture is on display at Annie's Art and Frame in Ballard, Seattle, through the end of July 2009.
Sarah Takahashi curated and hung this show. I love how she arranged my work. It's all visible from the outside. The figurative sculptures are in the front windows and my Lively Lidded Vessels are on the side display window. The Baby Kings in the first photo can climb walls!

Annie's Art and Frame is a great space. It's big, it's light and there is an excellent vibe that you get from the staff and the owners. The gorgeous framing, art, posters, cards and everything else they've chosen to populate their store with is part of that vibe. It's hip, it's focused and it's all about showing art at its best.

Urban Mermaid

She's off to the show this afternoon.

Okay, a little more sneak

We're a work in progress.....

And we didn't explode in the kiln.
Being a little silly before painting (dressing my sculpture with glasses).
The third image is the one that really had me the most concerned in the kiln. All those bubbles? Pop, pop, pop! But that didn't happen.

Annie's Art and Frame

2212 NW Market Street

Seattle, WA 98107

Opening Party

July 11th, 6-9pm (during Ballard Art Walk)

July 11th-August 4th, 2009

http://anniesartandframe.blogspot.com/

Seattle artist Barbara Dunshee's sculptural and functional ceramics will be featured in our front windows. Barbara's porcelain sculptures runs the gamut of the whimsical to the enigmatic, with disembodied faces and crowned babies contributing to a highly original and inspired body of work. Also featured in our side window will be her brilliantly colored functional and decorative ceramic vessels. Come enjoy the complementary techniques of these gifted Northwest artists!

Sneak Preview of new sculptures

Can't show any more than this and ruin the anticipation.

Summer Ceramic & Pottery Sale 2009

Summer Studio Sale 2009
Friday, July 24, Noon-6pm
Saturday & Sunday, July 25 & 26, 10-4pm

Barbara Dunshee Ceramic Studio
1060 26th Ave East
(The Arboretum/Montlake area)
Seattle, WA 98112

I'll be selling right from the studio where my ceramics are born! Peaceful surroundings for relaxed shopping. There will be lots of functional and decorative pottery and a few of my latest sculptures. If you like French butter keepers I've developed a contemporary design that I really love. A bit of contemporary whimsy. I'll have mugs, bowls, vases, cups, teapots, tumblers, tea light holders and well.....more!
I hope to welcome you to my studio.

French Butter Keeper or Butter Bulb (TM) with holes

Whenever I make one of my French butter dishes, (I call mine Butter Bulb (tm) because of their butter chamber shape) large enough to hold 2 sticks of butter, I like to include the holes in the flange that dips into the water below. The idea being that the holes allow the water to enter the butter chamber and keep it closer to the butter, thus less air to spoil the butter. This can also help to reduce suction when pulling the top out.

I really love these little gems. It took me a long time to come up with a French butter jar design that I found appealing and these are the result. The big dots on top I call happy dots. I sell them at my Etsy online shop.

2009 June Tacoma sculpture set up

We installed our sculpture yesterday at Gallery 301, in Tacoma, WA.
In this pic I've got wall faces and baby kings. Those are baby kings crawling down the wall and more sitting on the pedestal. In total there are 20 baby kings. All can sit or hang.
I've got the South and East walls and managed to snap a pic before we closed up for the night.
We open again this Saturday , June 20th, 2009, Noon-4pm.