2013 has arrived!

After a very hectic holiday season and a major clean up of my studio after last season, I needed to come up with a project that would kick start the new year.  Usually I start my year by building a new teapot, but with orders and an upcoming wholesale show, I have to come up with a quicker boost!  I started by custom blend some new colour sheets.  Afterwards, I created some fun simple tumbling block canes with them.  I couldn't stop doing it for 2 days!  These brightly coloured patterns has really boosted my creative juices and it's time for another year of creativity!  Sometimes all we need is a simple perk up....kind of like a shot of expresso!

Damask Cane

For part of the teapot, I wanted a damask wallpaper pattern. This black and white pattern took me almost an entire day to create.

Poppet's Face Cane

Just a few pictures featuring my face cane process. I've been making millefiori canes for over 18 years now and people still believe my work must be painted!

It's that time of year again!

For me, that time of year means creating my first piece of art. This has become a new year ritual for me.....after all the fall shows and holidays are over, I create a unique piece that makes me happy!

During the fall shows, I read the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The book took me to a magical world that conjured up imagery that were very Tim Burtonesque to me. I knew a teapot had to be created from it. And for some of you who knows me, I have a 'few'....about 2 dozen teapots in my possession, just waiting for me to cover them! I knew the exact set that would be perfect for the job.

For most of January, I created component canes and refined my design for the piece. Alot of thought went into it.....constant revisions. Most of this is done in my thoughts...without sketching it out too much. Other than the full length view of Poppet, which was transferred...all other details were drawn and carved directly on the teapot.

What I found fascinating is how much time simplicity takes. For me, this teapot is graphically simple, but technically complex....a combination of canework, carving and inlaying..and a new one for me, carving and revealing. This seems to be the case in most of the pieces I make.

I'm very pleased with my results...this piece makes me happy and energizes me creatively. It motivates me to produce my art for the rest of the year for others to enjoy!

Sneak Peek on my Work Process...

Many questions have been asked about my work...'Is it Painted?' is one of the most popular one. I thought I'd add a few photos of my sculpting of a cat face cane for my cat winestoppers to show you a bit of my work process....Enjoy!

National Post Update

Well, still never saw my pictures in the National Post...will have to wait till I get together with Gera. But since I now have fast enough internet, I can show you the pictures that I submitted to them.

2008 Froggy!

Well, I'm feeling I'm on a roll with making teapots lately. While I was working on the previous RetroLady teapot, a frog teapot was brewing and here's the end results! It was done on these brand new glass teapots I found at the last wholesale gift show I went to. They're very lightweight but withstands alot of heat. Unlike previous glass teapots, these come in a variety of styles that have inspired me. Like all the other teapots, most of the details are caned including the sculpted frogs.

You can see more views of the teapot on my Flickr.

New Face Cane!

Well, I had one of those creative polymer clay moments a few days ago and made a face cane. I'm in need of new ones for the next year's production. This one is inspired by 80's illustration icon Patrick Nagel's women. I've always liked how the eyes are done. Very pleased with the outcome....now I have to see what I'm going to do with it!

A new promotion for shows!

This past summer, a good friend of mine suggested a great idea to showcase my millefiori technique at shows. I'm always trying to describe the process and most people end up with a glazed eye look trying to picture it.

A digital photo frame! What a concept!

I spent last night making a floral cane and documented the progression of it. So, now I have it uploaded to show all of you and also have a copy for my digital picture frame for the upcoming shows. Let's see if this will stop the questions being asked about 'how did you do it?'