DIY Pumpkin Pie Garland

This pumpkin pie garland is a great addition to your holiday festivities and it looks good enough to eat! You’ll need: air dry clay, paint, twine, a knife, and 10 or so metal hoops (you can find these in the jewelry section of your local craft store).

Step 1: Roll out a ball of clay. This will eventually be the base of your pie. Roll out two skinny pieces of clay. The larger one will be the pie crust and the smaller one will be the dollop of whipped cream.

Step 2: Flatten the ball of clay with the palm of your hand, the slice off two sides of the circle of clay to create a triangle with one rounded edge.

Step 3: With the tip of your finger or the blunt edge of a knife, waffle the top edge of the larger skinny piece of clay. Remember, this will be the pie crust. Attach it to the rounded end of the pumpkin pie base. It helps if you use a little water to adhere one surface to the other.

Step 4: Swirl the skinniest piece of clay into a circle to look like a dollop of whipped cream. Attach it to the top of the pumpkin pie base.

Step 5: Slide one of the metal hoops into the back side of the pumpkin pie. You’ll attach the garland string to it later on.

Step 6: After the clay has dried a little, paint the crust brown, paint the pumpkin part orange, and the dollop of whipped cream white.

Step 7: After the paint and clay have entirely dried, tie the garland string onto the hoop of each pumpkin pie you’ve created. Now you’re ready to give thanks in style!

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DIY Sugar Skulls

Sugar Skulls, or calaveras in Spanish, are typically made of sugar paste or clay to celebrate Día de Muertos. The traditional Mexican holiday is one of remembrance for friends and loved ones who’ve passed. Made as offerings, these little artistic beauties have captured the hearts of many. Just in time to celebrate, I came up with a spooky craft in honor of the colorful sugar skulls.

You’ll need a skull cookie cutter, plenty of polymer clay, and access to an oven.

• First, cut out the silhouette of the skull with the cookie cutter.
• Then add in facial features in all black.
• With tiny balls of various colors, create patterns around the facial features.
• Once your design is complete, preheat the oven to 275 degrees and cook your creations for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on their thickness.

Use your imagination to take your skulls to the next level. Turn them into a garland, use them to decorate a wreath, or string them onto a necklace.

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DIY Polymer Clay Earrings

I am so excited to share this DIY with y’all. Polymer clay is so much fun and I can’t wait to pass it on. It’s fairly easy and it really allows you to let your creativity lose. You’ll need an assortment of polymer clay, earring posts, small metal loops, and clay tools. It is possible to improvise and create your own clay tools. I’ve found that toothpicks, chop sticks, and knives can come in handy.

Take a close look at the steps below (from left to right). They are a lose guideline for you to create your own earrings. Don’t be afraid to alter any of the stages. Remember to bake your clay at 275 °F for 15 minutes before you put on the hardware.

Once you’ve made a pair or two, start to experiment with color and size. Don’t be afraid to mix it up. It’s a blast! Here are some of the other designs that I’ve come up with.

You can even take your polymer jewelry making skills to a whole new level and give necklaces and beads a go. Take a look at what I came up with using the same techniques above.

 

 

Ceramic Artist Andrea Denniston

After one semester of ceramics during my sophomore year of college, I learned a whole new respect for all handmade pottery. The sheer amount of time, skill, and love poured over each piece was something I’d never experienced before. From a mound of clay, wedged and formed by your own two hands into something with purpose; then on to days of waiting for your work to dry till you can then bisque fire, glaze, and fire again.

My amateur description depicts the simplest of processes, but imagine the in-depth and incredibly challenging methods you’d have down after 9 years of learning and perfecting the skills of the trade. Just ask Andrea Denniston. After she got a BFA in Ceramics at West Virginia University, she studied traditional Chinese porcelain and qinghua in China.

Andrea was able to soak up the culture and learn from the level of craftsmanship that surrounded her. It was in China that she fully appreciated that almost anything is possible in ceramics. Since then, she’s made it back to the US and is working towards a MFA in Ceramics at Syracuse University.

Andrea’s advice to any beginners in the field is to,


“Have fun, find your confidence, take some risks, travel as much as possible, and study under as many people as you can both in and out of an academic setting…take some business classes and immerse yourself in a community of like-minded makers.  Be okay with having a second job for a while, but be willing to quit this second job when your time is better spent making and growing your business.  As scary as it may seem at times, trust it is possible to support yourself through your work in clay!”

Andrea is wearing: Carhartt Women’s Sandstone Sierra Jacket, Hamilton Flannel Shirt II, Series 1889 Slim Double-Front Denim Dungaree, & Soft Hands Glove.

Peaceful Power in Sculpture

Stepping into the front room at Stephanie Revennaugh‘s house, I knew I had happened upon a tremendous artist. Her work thoughtfully placed among her beautifully Montana inspired living space played a melody between rich colors, textures, and elements of nature. Different projects were sprawled out, not quite finished, but still breathtaking. She captures a perfect moment of movement in her sculptures, full of life and resounding with a peaceful power.

Stephanie began her career as an artist in oil painting. After a few years, she took a sculpture workshop and felt she’d finally found her native medium. In the thick of the thrill of starting a new piece loaded with endless possibilities, she relishes the challenge of embodying the clay with a spirit all it’s own. Then in turn, seeing the finished work speak to and affect others.

Stephanie’s advice for other women hoping to get into the arts as a full time career is to “start right now clarifying your desires and acting on them consistently.  The road is guaranteed to be full of challenges. Keep showing up through them. Build the best support network around you that you can (which often starts with family) and stay dedicated. The most challenging part for me is balancing creating work with running the business end of an art career. My Mom has stepped into a business manager position for me, which has been wonderful. I’m all about hiring people who have skills in areas I don’t. It relieves frustration, saves time and usually money as well. “

That being said, if you’re dreaming of it now, get after it! There’s no sense delaying when you could be finding your way and building skills as you go. Focus and hard work can get you places. Take it from Stephanie and “trust your creative instincts and passionately create what is in your heart.”

Stephanie’s workwear: Carhartt Women’s Hayward Henley, Carhartt Women’s Sandstone Mock-Neck Vest/Sherpa-Lined, & Carhartt Women’s 1889 Slim Double Front Dungaree

The Fountain of Youth

You can spend a lifetime chasing your dreams and building your skills. Each passing year brings knowledge and a greater familiarity with your craft. Your hands learn the motions. Your feet know each peddle and step. Mixtures and solutions are written over and over in your mind so many times that you’ll never forget them. Each day you create new thoughts and ideas to make your work better or different. That accumulation is one of the most beautiful parts of life. Each time you put on your Carhartts, still covered in yesterday’s work, you’ve grown stronger, smarter, and more capable. The seasoning of each passing year, with all the mistakes and successes you’ve seen, can only add to who you are. Always wear your dirty work vest with pride.

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” -Sophia Loren

take a look at the El Paso Utility Vest worn above 

How to Reclaim Red Clay

 

As you may well know, Carhartt women are known for being innovative. So when it comes to craftiness, don’t be wasteful and think green. For those pottery lovers who want to be resourceful and re-use scrap clay, take a look at this tutorial Victoria from Pewabic Pottery is demonstrating above.

How to Reclaim Clay: (in other words, how to recycle dry clay bits back into a workable material)
1. Soak dry bits, chunks, failed projects of clay in water.
2. Soak for a few hours or days, depending on dryness of clay. Stir mixture with your hand.
3. Scoop out rehydrated clay onto plaster block.
4. Make sure clay is even thickness on the plaster block to allow for even water absorbtion.
5. Once clay is no longer tacky scrape it off the plaster block into a medium size pile.
6. Wedge it. Rock clay back and forth in kneading motion until air bubbles are compressed and clay feels pliable.

Victoria’s workwear: Carhartt Women’s Short-Sleeve Signature Tee & Slim Fit Nyona Jean

DIY: Slab Constructed Bowl

 

Victoria from Pewabic Pottery has some advice when making a slab constructed bowl. Basically, that’s making a bowl off of a bowl mold. It’s a great craft to do with kids or on your own for fun and relaxation. Here we go:

1. Pound a ball of clay into a square shape about 3/4” thick.
2. Throw the slab at an angle to further lengthening and thinning.
3. Use light pressure with a rolling pin to smooth out any unevenness in your slab.
4. Pick up your slab with flat hands and drape over a plaster hump mold. (plaster bowl shape)
5. Gently push down slab to conform to shape of mold.
6. Smooth out with metal or plastic rib. If tools are not accessible a sponge with work also.
7. With knife, a needle tool, or something sharp cut off excess clay around lip of bowl.
8. Continue to smooth out the exterior of the form until your clay has released from mold.
9. Once clay has hardened up and begun to release from the plaster mold, gently pry off the bowl.
10. Allow to stiffen up and decorate with colored slips, underglazes, or stamps.

Victoria is wearing the Carhartt Women’s Clarksburg Sweatshirt. It is slightly fitted with triple stitched seams and perfect for a day in the studio. 

Minneapolis Ceramic Artist Ginny

Ginny specializes in functional domestic pottery, essentially pieces meant for the home with a specific purpose. The idea that memories and home can stir up an interesting conversation for everyone drives her work. No matter what thoughts or recollections you bring into your home and kitchen, there is something about using items that are made by hand. It’s another connection, another conversation to be had. There is such a story to be told in a piece of handmade pottery. You can feel the grooves, the intent, and the beauty in such a way that inspires you. See more of Ginny’s work here.

check out this great throwing outfit: Carhartt Women’s Sandstone Mock-Neck Sherpa Lined Vest, Linwood Chambray Shirt, & Original-Fit Canvas Crawford Dungaree

Ceramic Artist Susuannah Goodman

Detroit artist, Susuannah Goodman, spends much of her time teaching enrichment programs around the city. She helps children find their own creative spark from molding clay to repurposing recycled goods. Susannah sells a lot of her pieces in local coffee shops, galleries, and online. When it comes to her own work, she told me: “There are two kinds of pottery in this world: the kind that gets broken in the dish drain, and the kind that breaks other pots in the dish drain. I prefer to make the latter.” To Susannah, the sturdiness of Carhartt work clothes is similar to the sturdiness of her own pottery.

shop Susannah’s look: Trenton Hoodie, Double Fronts, and Watch Hat