Six months in. Six months to go!!!
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me & four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
And now we’re half way done! Hard to believe 2016 is already half way over???
When did THAT happen?

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
After last month’s fish ornaments, it’s not too surprising that Cory stayed aquatic… err, amphibian… close enough… and went with some adorable frogs for June! And as usual, Cory supplied us with a piece-by-piece, part-by-part photo story. Sorry, no tadpoles to start with, but…

Legs…

Body parts…

Assemble line…

Sightless frogs…

And here they are…. Cory’s adorable amphibians for June!!!
Can’t wait to see them in color after she glazes & fires them!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
According to Sarah… “The June ornament is covered with snowflakes that were etched into the brass. Very glad that there are no actual snowflakes in sight right now!”

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta is for the birds! This month she created these beautiful “two turtle doves.” The holes on the top will be filled with a wire ring for hanging.

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
For June, Amy went with a longer hanging ornament… complete with dangles, spangles and a faceted black onyx stone.

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
And for my June ornaments, I went with textured squiggles. These will be destined for my next soda kiln… but I’ve got to add some color to them first. They’ll get a couple layers of different colored flashing slips before they start to dry.

So there they are… June ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

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Here we go…. our fifth month… May.
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me & four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
I think it was a little tougher this month for many of us as we were all prepping for the kick-off of the art fair season… but somehow, we all squeezed them in!!!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory went back to her roots a bit… and revisited clay fish! When I first met Cory MANY years ago, we were both at the Hinsdale Arts Festival and she was making fish. I know have a whole school… and a great friend!!! This month Cory also shares a step-by-step photo tour of her ornament production. Starting with a few sketches & maquettes…

And then the fish started taking shape… piece by piece, fin by fin…

Then underglaze colors to really bring them to life!!!

A – DOR – A – BLE – !!! Must have at least a few!!!

And now she’s just showing off… but… Cory went one step even further and glazed & fired her fish for this month’s entry!!! It’s typically tough for we ceramic people to get things made & fired in a timely basis to meet this monthly challenge. But somehow, Cory was an over-achiever this month!!!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
For May, Sarah went a little twisty with her ornament. Holes, twists, curves, beautiful.
THese would look especially cool on one of those Orna-Motions that rotates ornaments.

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta went a little organic this month. Adorable little cactii and succulents. Like miniature versions of her already “mini” pods & shapes. So cute. Can’t wait to see these after they’ve been glazed.

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
Amy continued with her ornate & stunning metal ornaments for May. A beautiful trio of holiday glamour. Each one with a beautiful, swively hinge on the top.

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
And for my May ornaments, I went with textured ornaments. Three sides with three different patterns. I got them built in time, but haven;t quite had time to paint them with colored flashing slips. These will be destined for my next soda kiln… but I’ve got add some color to them first.

So there they are… May ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

Just surprised the Birthday Girl in her booth at the 57th Street Art Fair. Stop by Booth 608 today or tomorrow to wish her well… and she LOVES when you sing loudly!!! Happy Birthday my talented friend Sarah Chapman!!!

Here we go…. our fourth month… April.
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me & four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
We’re four months in… it’s hard to believe we’re a third of the way through already!!!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory was a bit “sheepish” about turning in this month’s ornament. She didn’t have time to create a whole flock like she wanted to. She was a baaaaa-d girl. I’m in the days to come she’ll be cranking out a few more… as she wouldn’t want to pull the wool over our eyes with just one!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
For April, Sarah made a patterned metal ribbon ornament out of copper. According to Sarah, “I needed a break from making earrings for One-of-a-Kind this week and decided hammering some metal would do it! I started by roller printing the floral pattern onto a copper sheet. Then I went to work hammering folds into the piece, letting it be as ribbon-y as it wanted to be!”

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta made a few “Queen Of Hearts” ornaments by carving & poking some porcelain. A beautiful stylized ornament.

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
Amy switched back to her metalsmithing ways and offered up a few ornaments very reminiscent of her hinged jewelry line. Sweet little jewels for anyone’s tree!

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
And for my April ornaments, I returned to a variation of a favorite from two years ago. The stamped star impression becomes more dimensional when the star “puffs up” with a gentle curve on both sides.

I started by cutting out the stars and giving them the gentle curve. I then attached tow of them together… one with the stamp impression for the front, and a plain star for the back.

I then painted the back solid with Nichols Gold Flashing Slip… as well as the front border around the star impression. Once soda-fired, we should see some nice “mustard” gold-ish colorations on the front & back. The star impressions will most likely be inlaid with temoku glaze and then soda fired in my next kiln… in about two weeks! So we should see some results relatively soon!!!

So there they are… April ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

Spent the day at the Spring One-Of-A-Kind Show with “My Talented Friend” Sarah Chapman. Wonderful metalsmithing and designs… like this beauty made of copper & silver. I’ll be there tomorrow helping her out again. If you want to see some amazing art, and her incredible jewelry, c’mon down to the Merchandise Mart tomorrow!

A better close-up shows better details of Sarah Chapman’s incredible handiwork. Oxidized sterling silver with a roller-printed “embossed” pattern and iolite points protruding from the side. Gorgeous!

Here’s the “other” side of the twosome necklace by Sarah Chapman. This side is roller-print “embossed” copper and “stitched” with beads of iolite, labradorite & chalcedony

For more about Sarah’s amazing metal works, click here for her website.

Here we go…. the third month… March.
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me & four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
We’re three months in… a quarter of the way!!!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory embraces Spring this month with brightly colored ornaments of flowers, petals and textures. So while we’re tap dancing on the front edge of Spring, the past few gloomy days have been brightened a bit my Cory’s cheery ornaments.

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
For March, Sarah “returns to her roots” and mimics her jewelry style with a beautiful brass & beaded ornament. According to Sarah, it’s “definitely inspired by my penchant for reversible jewelry and now ornaments!”

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta continued her “galactic” ornaments! Last month they were porcelain “moon and stars”… this month see’s focused more on the “transportation” aspect of the galaxy! Methinks the Millennium Falcons will be a BIG hit!!!

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
Amy takes another spin on her already popular ADORBS jewelry collection…
this time celebrating Spring showers with that one ADORB-able Spring Green eye!

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
And for my March ornaments, I’ve been making small flocks of birds. Trying to keep them simple & stylized. I can’t decide if I like them better with textured bodies or textured wings?! So I’ve decided to make some of each.

And since I’m not really sure how I’m going to glaze finish these avian delights… I decided I should make another flock of birds for the soda kiln. These birds are made with soda clay… and still need some eyes!!! And maybe a some accents of colored flashing slips?!

So there they are… March ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

And oh, but wait there’s more!!!
Remember, the ceramic folks have a little tougher time actually finishing their ornaments due to kiln firing schedules. So we’re frequently posting the dried greenware versions monthly. And then, once they get glazed & fired, I’ll post the “finished” results here too.

Like this one… a few finished February beauties from Cory McCrory!!!

Here we go…. the second month… February… second of twelve…
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me &  four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
We’re two months in… one sixth of the way!!!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory embraces our second month of ornaments with a wonderful batch of textured & constructed ornaments. They’re amazing so far!!! And I LOVE them… so I’m sorry, but there may not be any of these left to share with anyone else after I buy them all from Cory!!!  Ha!!!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
This month, Sarah takes a more “natural” approach with a beautiful stone and “twig.”
Some stylized wire-work and voila… another beautiful ornament by Miss Chapman.
I’m sure this one will really glisten in the sun… or Christmas lights?!

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta continued her love affair with porcelain & carving. Her ornaments could make a beautiful Christmas Constellation if you promised someone the “moon and stars.”

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
Amy takes another spin on her already popular ADORBS Collection…
this time looking forward to Spring with that one ADORB-able eye!

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME!!!
And for my February ornament, I’ve been making some porcelain snowflakes. The stamping is giving them a sort of knit texture. I’m hoping to glaze them with a clear glaze that will make them shine with a very slight cool blue hue.

So there they are… the ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

And oh, but wait there’s more!!!
Remember, the ceramic folks have a little tougher time actually finishing their ornaments due to kiln firing schedules. So we’re frequently posting the dried greenware versions monthly. And then, once they get glazed & fired, I’ll post the “finished” results here too.

Like this one… a few finished January beauties from Cory McCrory!!!

Well, here’s The Challenge… we’re doing it again!!!
Three years ago Sarah Chapman and I did the Challenge – just the two of us.
It was a tough task to come up with twelve new & different ornaments. One each month. Keeps you on your toes… and we were looking for another challenge to keep us going this year. We struggled with new project ideas. And finally decided to stick with the Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge. But to mix it up this time, we’ve invited three of our other Talented Friends to join in on the Challenge!!!

So, this time around, we have five artists playing our silly little reindeer games. Three ceramic artists and two metalsmiths. The challenge is to make a new holiday ornament each month. Each group has different “struggles.” It’s easier for the ceramic folks to make multiples, but tougher to get them done, fired & glazed in time to post… so you’ll be seeing a lot of greenware ornaments. Finished glaze photos to come as pieces are finished. Whereas the metalsmiths work with materials that are generally more expensive than clay. So they may only make one or two… and in some cases, maybe not even in metal?!

So there will be a few “challenges” within the Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge. And we’ll see how this plays out over the course of the year. Hopefully everyone will keep up with it. I’ll post them here on the blog, as well as on my pottery Facebook page. I plan on making multiples of all of mine… so I’ll have plenty to sell at the Holiday Home Shows!!!

So here we go…. the first month… January… first of twelve…
and your first glimpse at the five “Talented Friends” taking on The Ornament Challenge!
Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know that I have quite a crush & quite the collection of Cory’s whimsical pieces. She is an amazing handbuilder using paper clay. Her pieces include a lot of textures, colors, and humor. I can’t wait to see these ornaments glazed in bright colors. You know I’m going to need one for my tree… okay, well at least one!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
An amazing metalsmith and good friend, Sarah is known mostly for her oxidized silver jewelry with an urban-architectural-textured flair. I have quite the collection of Sarah’s work as well. And since we did this challenge together three years ago, I was interested to see where she would take it this time. Looks like she’s going back to her childhood with some traditional “paper cut-out” snowflakes. Except they’re no longer just for paper…

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta is known for her exquisite carved porcelain pods, urchins and other organic forms. So it’s not a big surprise that her first ornament in the Challenge is miniature versions of her pods. I love them. So sweet. So precious…. and I can’t wait to see where she goes to from here.

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
What?… no hinges??? Taking a spin from her already popular ADORBS Collection, Amy came in with an ADORBS-able ornament to celebrate the New Year. I have an ADORBS necklace, and my niece Taylor has an ADORBS necklace that she refers to as her “good luck charm.” Since everyone loves their ADORBS… let’s keep the lovin’ going with an ornament version. And I love how that one green eye totally matches the tree!

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME!!!
I’m the fifth artist partaking in the Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge. My ornament for January is a porcelain stamped Christmas Tree. My plan was to glaze it green, but now I’m considering making it a White Christmas after all. For more about my January ornaments… just read the blog post right before this one!

My niece Taylor got a new Taylor for Christmas!!!
Her Grandma & Grandpa (my parents) bought Taylor a beautiful new necklace from “My Talented Friend” Amy Taylor. She makes these wonderfully whimsical necklaces that she calls ADORBS… because they’re ADORABLE!!! I love having an adorable niece…. and I love having talented friends. And I really love when these moments come together!

So cute… so ADORBS.
For more of Amy Taylor’s work, click here for her website.

For those of you who may have missed MUD & METAL this past Saturday, here’s a quick glimpse of the beautiful metalwork by Amy Taylor. She had quite a few beautiful pieces in my dining room!!! If you’re still looking for holiday gifts, be sure to check out her website or shop on her Etsy page.

Website : http://amytaylorjewelry.com
Etsy : https://www.etsy.com/shop/hingedjewelry