Ok, so it's official - I'm going to be a vendor at The Big Crafty at Pack Place on December 6th! While I'm very excited, I know that I must crank the work out this month (starting with next to no inventory) and have gotten some tight chest, headache thing. I should be in the studio right now while the kids are in school but I just need to drink some ginger tea and chill in front of the computer a while. I'm certain I can shake this and get movin' soon. 

I made a couple of wonderful salt and peppers yesterday. I put facial hair on the guys and they look great! I love meeting all these crazy characters as they come to life in my studio. I never know what I'm going to wind up with when I start - I just begin and see how things wind up. 

That's all for now so don't forget to mark your calendars for the Big Crafty and make sure to come down and do your holiday shopping there! 

Here is a photo of the tiny bud vase discovery. It's not a great photo but is shows the concept. I've just ordered a little light photo box thing that will hopefully improve my photography. It's all trial and error - right?

I realized after my last post that I didn't really give much of a background in how this whole business came to be. I used to teach art in the classroom but now as the mother of two small children I've found a way to work out of a tiny studio in my house. My kids love clay too - who doesn't? My son, Jake named the business around the time that Kung Fu Panda came out in theaters and after days of tossing out options for names, he said, "Oh I know, how about Kung Fu Clay?" and after saying it a few times, I liked the way it sounded. He's so proud of having such a part in naming the business. He also willing offers tons of advice for building my product line. He is clever and has good taste so much of what you see, he's helped me in one way or another come to that end result. You wouldn't believe some of his creations. He's a budding ceramist too. My daughter is younger and is very tactile, she mostly likes adding vinegar and squishing things in her hands. She's very inspiring too because she's so explorative with the clay that she tests limits that most of us are too afraid to try and I wind up finding out that clay is even more forgiving than I thought. Both could work at the wheel for hours. I love working at the wheel. I call it my cheap therapy. Each salt and pepper shaker and many of the other pieces begin on the wheel and then are amended into little people with personalities. I hate saying bye to each one when they sell but also am thrilled to add conversation and joy to someone's table. There are certainly no two alike so you know that the one you own is the only one like it on the planet and that is certainly part of the Kung Fu power behind the work.

Hello All, 

After a very long relationship with clay in one form or another, I've finally found a comfortable niche that involves the wheel and lots of amending that results in a sculptural feel. I've been working in porcelain and making figurative salt and pepper shakers and several other funky, yet functional porcelain ware for the contemporary home. 

Those of you that know me well realize what a big step this is for me! I was actually encouraged by a friend and fellow artist (Sumner with Spotted Dog Farm) to set up a blog and I've actually done it with very little assistance. As updates on my website rely on my husband, I hope that this can be a spot where I can post new photos of my work and write about exciting breakthroughs (which I had one just a couple of weeks ago while making some commissioned business card holders and I discovered the beauty of including a tiny bud vase in many of my configurations). I'll get better at uploading photos and such and will include images to reference what I've written as time goes by.

If you're curious about seeing more of my work or interested in shopping for holiday gifts, I have several options for purchasing my work. After experimenting with etsy, I found that until I get better at taking photos and listing items (one of my new-years-resolutions for 2010!) I'd better get into some galleries in order to get this business going. I'm currently in downtown Asheville at  Atelier 24 Lexington and Woolworth Walk Galleries and Miya Gallery in Weaverville. They are wonderful spots for art enthusiasts and feature hundreds of local artists and certainly worth browsing through and checking out all of the amazing work being produced in this area.

Keep checking back for updates! 

Thanks,

Jennifer