pottery blog: emily murphy

Last minute holiday shopping? Have you been thinking about getting a new mug for yourself? Do you need another serving bowl for Christmas dinner? Your procrastination has paid off.

I think you’ll find a little something for everyone. There are mugs, tumblers, bowls in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Necklaces, soap dispensers and honey pots fill the shelves. I even have these great new spoon/ teabag holders that are the perfect stocking stuffer for that tea lover in your life. You can’t put off your holiday shopping much longer!

I’m working on a whole slew of new necklaces that I’m really excited about.  I might have to pick out a couple to keep for myself :)

The details:

Saturday, December 20, 2008

10am – 6pm

Emily Murphy’s Pottery Studio

Studio 205 West

4401 N. Ravenswood Ave.

Chicago, IL

1 day only

20% off everything, including pieces that have already been marked down!

There is plenty of street parking which is not an easy thing on Chicago’s snow covered streets.  You can also find your way there with many public transportation options- like taking the Brown Line to the Montrose stop.

There are tons of other studios to shop in, as well as the gallery at Lillstreet.  And Montrose has a bunch of little shops and restaurants.  My favorite little gift shop, Hazel, is just down the street. You can make a day of it and get all your last minute shopping done by shopping local!

Tags: Hazel

I’ve had an Etsy shop for more than a year, but it’s been an empty store. No more. I’m starting to stock it with pendants, mugs and soap dispensers. New additions will be up daily over the next week.

I’d been putting this off for a long time. I kept waiting to have the perfect photo set up and a little more time. Then I realized that I should just jump in. Those things can come later. I’ll be posting new pieces in the coming days. I’ll keep you posted.

Happy Shopping!

Tags: Jewelry, Mugs, pendant, soap dispenser

There has been a little program that I’ve been using for years: Picasa. This last week I downloaded an update, Picasa 3, and it’s fantastic! This is a program that will change your life… or at least your computing life. Picasa is a photo management program from Google. It finds all of the images on your computer (even the long lost hidden pics) and allows you to view, edit, organize, print, etc… all through the Picasa interface. And the best part is because it’s from Google, it free! Unfortunately for Mac users, it’s not available yet. It’s just for Windows and Linux currently.

Here is a little overview of what you can do with Picasa:

• Resize pictures for email: You can select images to email and Picasa will automatically resize them to a reasonable size for emailing. No more overloading other people’s inboxes.
• I’m Feeling Lucky: One of the cool editing buttons is I’m Feeling Lucky. It automatically adjusts the light and contrast and can balance out the colors from a flash photo.Below is a photo that I took on a piece of white poster board with natural light from a window and no flash. Then on the right is the same photo after using the I’m Feeling Lucky button. If you’re an Etsy user and uploading 5 pictures per piece, think about the time this will save you.

• The Straighten Tool: I’m not sure if you can see this on the screenshot below, but another cool editing tool from Picasa is the Straighten Tool. It puts a little grid over your image and you can adjust the picture to go from crooked to straight with a click of the mouse. Think of all the askew images that you can fix!

• Print Screen: You might also notice all of the nice screen shots I have to illustrate what Picasa can do. Well, it’s one of the new tricks that came with the update. If you click the Print Screen button on your keyboard, the screenshot will automatically pop up in Picasa. I’ve been wanting to figure out a way to easily to do screen shots for years! There are so many times on this blog that I want to illustrate something with a screen shot – and now it’s easy!

• Print Photos: You can upload directly from Picasa to pretty much any of the online printing companies (Snapfish, Shutterfly, etc…), but you can also print using your printer. You’re given options for sizing and if you want the images cropped or shrink to fit. And it lays them out so you can cut them easily with a paper cutter.

• Low Resolution Warning: This might be hard to tell from the image below, but when you’re printing images and the resolution is too low for printing, it’ll warn you so you don’t waste ink of pixelated images.

• Create Collages: There are many collage options. Too many to go through. You can change the way the pictures are lined up, add borders of different sizes and colors, pivit or shrink or enlarge the images in the collage.

• Text on Pictures: I had a show application a few months ago that required putting text on the digital images and it wasn’t an easy task. The Picasa 3 update now allows you to add text onto your image. You can change the font, size, color, etc… and make a spiffy show announcement.

• Slideshow: I’m not sure if I need to explain all of the cool uses of the slideshow feature, but here’s a sample of one for you: (Update: as of 2012 this seems to be broken)

• Web Albums: With Picasa you get some free online storage for uploading your digital images to share.
• Movie Editing: The Picasa update now includes movie editing. I haven’t used this yet, but I’ve been waiting for this feature! I have tons of little movies that I’ve taken with my camera but haven’t had a way to edit them yet.

This isn’t a complete list of what Picasa does, but I tried to point out some of the tools that aren’t easily found elseware and are hard to live without. Download Picasa and give it a try. I think you’ll like it!

Tags: Etsy, I'm feeling lucky, photo collage, print screen, screen shot, slideshow, web album

There’s a new way to share handmade pottery with your friends: American Mug. Simon Levin, created a cool Facbook application where you can share a mug with your Facebook friends made by an American potter. They’re not actual mugs, just an image of a real mug. Simon says: “You will be sorely disappointed if you try and fill them with coffee.” If haven’t tried that yet, but I’m guessing that he’s right on that one.

This is what it looks like (you might recognize some of the mugs):

If you’re on Facebook, just follow this link, and start sharing some pottery love.

And for some more virtual pottery sharing, here are some images of Simon‘s work:

Tags: American Mug, Facebook Application, mug

The opening reception for my holiday sale (and throughout Lillstreet & Lillstreet Studios) is tonight, Dec. 5, from 6pm – 9pm. But if you miss the opening, you can stop by throughout the month of December. Or if you’re not in Chicago, you can take a tour here. As promised, here are some pictures of my studio and new work for my holiday show:

I have been making tons of soap/ lotion dispensers this season. I resisted making them for a long long time because I didn’t want to use plastic pumps. I finally found beautiful brushed stainless steel and brushed copper pumps and I’ve gone a little crazy with them!

This is a new wall display that I’ve set up outside my studio door. The shelves are bamboo shadow boxes and they’re quite fun to arrange little groupings in.

I have spent the last year making mugs. I LOVE designing and making them and the demand for them has been higher than ever. Mugs are so personal. Everyone’s idea of the *perfect* mug is different- so I make a wide variety of shapes and sizes. People are also quite opinionated about the interior glaze color. Some want something light so they can see how steeped their tea is. Others want something dark that will hide the coffee stains. There is a mug for everyone :)

I have been making more ceramic pendants. I’m more excited than ever about this newest series of necklaces. They are made out of a variety of clays, with different slips, glazes and textures that are enhanced by the soda firing process. They’re finished off with hand dyed silk that is knotted onto the pendants.

This is one of the serving bowls that you’ll see in my studio. Each side is totally different from the others. I feel like I should have put up a series of images to capture all the details.

You might remember this series of tea bowls that I have been making this year.
peace. hope. change.

These shallow bowl-plates are part of a dinnerware set that I’ve been working on. I love using this shape of plate at home for most meals. Some might call it a pasta bowl but at the Murphy-Bicking household we call them bowl-plates. They’re perfect for salads, stir fry or a good mid-western casserole.

In addition to finding my work on the 2nd floor of Lillstreet Studios, you can also find it at Lillstreet Gallery on the 1st floor as part of the Dinnerware Show. The show is beautiful. I’m happy to be sharing the table with Kristin Pavelka.

Happy Holidays!

Tags: holiday show, Kristin Pavelka, Lillstreet Gallery, Lillstreet Studios

Here is the letter from Joanna with all the information that you need to know.  Also, you can RSVP to the even via Facebook. 

 

Dear Artist and Supporter,

Bring us your bowls and help feed the hungry! Join us on December 12, 2008 for a bowl of soup and help to feed the hungry. The Empty Bowls Project is a nationwide effort by artists to help fight hunger. Lillstreet Art Center is proud to host the 3rd annual Empty Bowls Project to benefit Chicago-area hunger-fighting organizations. We’re asking student and professional potters to donate bowls for this cause. 

Empty Bowls works like this: guests choose a bowl and are served a generous serving of soup and bread made by First Slice Cafe, in exchange for a $20 suggested donation. Guests keep the bowl as a reminder that there are always empty bowls in the world. Bowls with an estimated price of over $30 will be placed up for auction. Empty Bowls will take place on Friday, December 12, 2008, 5-8 pm in the Lillstreet Gallery. 100% of the money raised will be given to First Slice, so they may continue to create healthy meals for these local organizations whose mission includes helping those who are hungry and/or homeless:  Heartland Alliance, The Night Ministry, American Indian Center Youth Program, and Howard Area Alternative High School and Chicago-area soup kitchens.  With the revenue generated from last year’s EMPTY BOWLS event, First Slice was able to donate 1000 meals to youth in need.  All donated bowls may be mailed or delivered to Lillstreet Art Center by December 5th. We hope you will participate in this important hunger-fighting event. 

Thank you in advance for your generous donation to help feed Chicago’s hungry.

Joanna Kramer

Drop off / Ship bowls: 
Lillstreet Art Center
Attn: Joanna Kramer, Empty Bowls Coordinator 
4401 N. Ravenswood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
(773)263-5581

 

Tags: American Indian Center Youth Program, First Slice Cafe, Heartland Alliance, Howard Area Alternative High School, Joanna Kramer, Jordan Taylor, The Night Ministry