Tonight, a number of new pieces, mostly my larger work, made their way to Etsy. Take a peek:

Coming soon: gift tags, coasters, a wee bowl restock, more pendants, and little vases!

There is currently a lot of small tweaking, fudging, updating and overhauling going on in the Etsy shop. Most of it will go unnoticed, and that’s kind of the idea. I am hard at work getting everything a little bit simpler and a little bit better. Soon I hope to go through a re-photograph a lot of my older stock to get things looking a little more polished and uniform.

I am also now going to be offering a number of my already-sold, but very-loved, items on a made-to-order basis. They will be sold at the same rate as my in-stock items. I believe this will make it easier for me to get my customers the pieces they want. All made-to-order pieces have a turnaround of a few weeks.

One of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the direction of my work. I feel like 2010, in many ways, was a time of stasis for my ceramic pieces. It was a momentous year for other parts of my life: I got married, spent a month traveling in Europe, lost two beloved family members, made many new friends and had many wonderful, unique experiences. But my volume of work decreased, and in a lot of ways, I wasn’t “feeling it.”

Now that I have my new, big studio space to work in, I am allowing my artistic self to come out of the doldrums. I want to really listen to my inner voice and encourage it to speak up. And the only thing that is holding me back, is me.

i compare my work to other people’s too much.
I forget what I want from myself.
I get distracted easily.
I worry things won’t sell.
I worry that I’m not good enough.
I am afraid to push my limits.

For me, I hope 2011 will be a year of confidence and growing. I want to make beautiful things. And I want to share them.

This awesome bracelet, which spells GEEK in amino acids, was made by the very talented molecularmuse, who makes all kinds of beautiful, science-grounded items, perfect for the geek in us all!

I had a hard time choosing the best thing to feature from sihaya09 (aka Sihaya Designs). I’ve known her online since long before she started selling her jewelry online, and it’s so wonderful seeing her become so successful. Today I think this gorgeous necklace best represents the direction her work is now taking her–into a world of sophisticated, subtle color schemes, professional workmanship, and shimmering semi-precious stones.

One of the things I am really longing for as my birthday approaches, after stalking them from afar, is a print of one of dkim‘s beautiful, dreamlike artworks. There is something inutterably heartbreaking about “Too Alive to Stay,” one of my new favorites from her shop.

PreciousMeshes does absolutely amazing things with wire, working with it like it’s yarn! I love her woven, wrapped pearls, especially. These Protozoa earrings are just one example among many.

Every single item in lake‘s shop seems to tell a story, and her Apothecary earrings are no exception. when I picture them I think of a children’s picture book, maybe something like Little Nemo, riding around in a dirigible with these dainty, little cages hovering all around.

When I went shopping through antb‘s shop, I saw lots of lovely items, but didn’t expect to find anything as fangirly as this Ferris Bueller bowl! What an awesome surprise.

This CRAFT diorama by beebalalou is amazingly intricate. What a great art piece! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Jen Rowan doing her thing at several local craft and art shows, and she has a great personality to match her work!

BirdNerd is a local favorite Etsian of mine. She has so many amazing illustrations and representations of different avian friends (in many different mediums too! including plushies!) that it was hard to decide which one I would feature today–but I decided this barn owl had the best color scheme.

Another really talented local illustrator is jenoaks. I have been stalking this Striped Socks print for months. As you can see, I’m a big fan of stripey socks myself.

This purple lace choker from jewelry artist Aranwen is so beautifully delicate and intricate. I love it!

I love that this adorable tunic was made by thimblescratch using all recycled fabric!

Etsy user omaha made this “primitive” journal to look aged, soft, and well-traveled, and she did an excellent job. I would love to be sitting in a cafe in some little French village, sketching away in this!

sheilasthings is having an extreme sale in her store right now, and so many of her lovely items are going for a song, such as this very round blue pot, for only $7!

I wouldn’t even be advertizing juror2‘s ChefChop Tee or Apron if I didn’t know she could make more. I totally love this and want to buy one for my boyfriend’s younger brother, who’s going to culinary school. I had an opportunity to meet Ms. juror2 at Craftaluma a couple months ago (I bought a magnet with a pirate on it) and her illustrations look even better in person!

aorta makes all kinds of beautiful, one-of-a-kind applique clothing, often incorporating some of my favorite animals, squids! I’m totally digging this “>applique squid tie. She uses upcycled clothing for all of her creations, which gives them even more of a unique feel.

La Traviata- The Fallen Rabbit is one of my favorite paintings currently in amberalexander‘s shop–but it was hard to choose because her watercolors are so lovely. I think the item description sells this print better than I ever could: She couldn’t help herself. She was a beautiful, young Rabbit and Men wanted her. Why shouldn’t she enjoy?

I’m really digging the jewelry that philosophia makes, incorporating real butterfly wings, such as this one, which also has a scrap of vintage paper trapped inside. I’m a real sucker for science-meets-art, and this fits the bill nicely.

motleymutton‘s little needlefelted animal necklaces are always totally adorable, but I’ve never seen her make a bat before. The little goth girl inside of me is squealing with glee!

And that’s the five for today, folks! Tonight or tomorrow I will have another post talking all about the event that’s happening at Brownies Vintage tomorrow night!

I’ve also spent a shocking amount of time on my big hobby: running decant circles for Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. It’s a really rewarding, fun hobby that fills my house with wonderful smells and is always very inspiring–and even though it’s not something I really make money from, and certainly not something from which I’m trying to profit, since starting to do decant circles a few years ago, I’ve learned a lot about efficiency, good recordkeeping, good customer service, and the ins and outs of the USPS, that has served me very well in my enterpreneurial/artistic efforts–but it’s also time-sensitive, which means sometimes it ends up taking time away from my real work.

Well, anyway, this entry is actually about a Treasury I put together on Etsy a couple weeks ago. I’d like to give these great items some more publicity, so here we go:

From top to bottom, left to right:
Photographic Print by sfjamiejones
Earrings by heronmoon
Wrap by rainbowrevolution
Cuff by hollyhawk
Ceramic Mug by LASdesigns
Wall Art Block by suzannaanna
Ceramic Ring by panopoly (me!)
Plush Squid by Caelista
Painting by BellatrixArt (Sold!)
Pendant by leandogpottery (Unlisted)
Photographic Print by ritagpatel
Purse by theseawithin
Ornament by pattihaskins
Painting by purelypainting
Coasters by abbsmcnabbs
Photographic Print by sfjamiejones

It is my new goal to make 7 entries in this blog in the next 7 days. Let’s see if I can keep it! I certainly have enough to write about…

A few new items have been added to the shop over the last few days. I’ve been in the middle of glazing a bunch of stuff for days but have been a bit stuck in a rut due to my housemate moving out, and all the general turnover and confusion and unexpected tasks that added to my life. Things are starting to settle down, though, so I’m hoping to get that stuff fired within the next couple days. In the meantime, new stuff:

[Blushing Pink Bead Set]

[Desert Sage Beads]

[Orphan Bead Set]

[Delicately Pink Beads]

Oh, and as you can see, I’ve made a new banner for here, as well as for my shop and Etsy user icon, to more correctly represent current crafty focus. (Nice alliteration, huh?)

Meanwhile I recently made an Alchemy request for some new skincare products, and I couldn’t believe the outpouring of responses I got. Not just bids, but just general Conversations from other Etsy users about things that had worked for them. It was really awesome and reminded me about how much I like the Etsy community as a whole. I ended up accepting bids from Swan Mountain Soaps, Tamara’s Herbs (I also got a sample of her Hair Therapy product), Greenberry Soaps and Botanicals, Unico’s Cauldron, and am currently figuring out exactly what I want from Parrot Feathers. I’ll be sure and let y’all know how all that turns out!

So, I’m kind of saving the best news for last, but–I just found out that my Weathered Green Handmade Ceramic Shank Buttons are getting featured in tomorrow’s Etsy Finds e-mail! I’ve never gotten publicity on that scale before, so I’m mega-excited. Yay!