I love this idea!!!!

I found this on instructables.com.  The link is below if you want to check out the instructions for this project, or browse other instructables.  There are a lot of great art ideas to be found!

                             http://www.instructables.com/id/Pocket-sized-Watercolor-Altoids-Tin/

Its Turkey Time!

On my search for some fall pottery ideas, I found some really cute turkeys made from clay.  I also found a cool website for art lesson plans for children too!  Scroll on down and see...

These are made from polymer clay but I thought it they were a real hoot LOL.  On Etsy by Krisi

This turkey  made from a pinch pot was found on the website I just mentioned.  It's www.deepspacesparkle.com

Look at this lovely pair of wheel thrown turkeys!

They were found on Etsy, made by Suzannes Pottery Farm

Tiny turkey leg tiles!  How cute :)  On Etsy, by Popogirl

Not really a turkey, but fowl non the less!  On Etsy, by Adorome

A bit about Bernini

The other night at pottery me and a few friends were discussing one of my favorite sculptures, Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa.  When I went to Rome this was one of the things on the top of my list of must-see works of art, and it did not disappoint!  It is located in a smaller church, less crowded with tourist than most of the other usual Roman sites, which made for an awesome experience.  In looking up information on the internet about this sculpture I found a really cool site if you are interested in learning more about famous works of art and art history.  There was a ton of information about Bernini and his sculptures, photos, and videos too.  Check, check, check it out!

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/bernini-ecstasy-of-st.-theresa

The History of Raku

Today I started to write a lesson plan on raku tea cups and the japanese tea ceremony.  I found another awesome website for all my pottery loving friends!  This is the site to Japan's raku museum that is located next door to the original raku family home and workshop.  There is an awesome summary of the history of raku and lots of photos of raku ware :)

http://www.raku-yaki.or.jp/e/history/index.html

ce – ram – ics:

ce – ram – ics: The art and science of making and using solid articles which have as their essential component inorganic, non-metallic materials.

The word ceramic can be traced back to the Greek term keramos, meaning "a potter" or "pottery." Keramos in turn is related to an older Sanskrit root meaning "to burn." Thus the early Greeks used the term to mean "burned stuff" or "burned earth" when referring to products obtained through the action of fire upon earthy materials. 

Ceramics can be defined as inorganic, nonmetallic materials. They are typically crystalline in nature and are compounds formed between metallic and nonmetallic elements such as aluminum and oxygen (alumina-Al2O3), calcium and oxygen (calcia - CaO), and silicon and nitrogen (silicon nitride-Si3N4).

An awesome pottery website!

I ran across a really great website by an awesome group of artists who specializes in crystalline glazes and other alternative firing methods.  There are a lot of glaze recipes too!

http://www.creativecreekartisans.com/

A ceramics teacher throws a pot with his feet!!! LOLOL