It's 10 PM. Do You Know Where our Winner Is?

Winner of the drawing for two mugs is none other than.....Drum roll.....
Naomiliba!

Naomiliba, the mugs will be winging their way to you tomorrow. Congratulations! Hope you enjoy them!
All of you who subscribed, thank you so very much for reading and for feedback.
There will be another drawing for some other neat thing down the line. All blog followers will be eligible.
And in other news- Stay tuned for the arrival of my new, redone, overhauled, functional, tuches-kickin' pottery website! It is evolving even as I write this, and will be emerging from quarantine all healed and robust in only a few more weeks.

What is it?

Before you answer this riddle, here's a reminder: If you haven't signed up to follow or subscribe to my blog, now's a good time. You will be instantly entered into the drawing for 2 very nice and completely free mugs. Thursday, March 31st, is your last day to get into the drawing! I delve into the lottery hat Friday morning.
Now for the "What is it?" or, better yet, "What will it be?" photo:

Hint: It's about halfway there.

Skipper and Scooter Get Markers

Sitting on the back deck one sunny hour earlier this week, my husband and I realized our neighbor and friend, M., was digging in her flowerbed nearby.
“Planting?” I asked her. M. planting is a sure sign of spring.
“No- I’m burying my bird,” she told us.
“Oh! I’m sorry!”
“He died a few months ago,” she said. The little bird had been in the garage freezer till the snow melted and the ground was soft enough to dig. She pointed out where her other bird had been buried a few years ago. There was a brick over that spot. M. was thinking of putting a brick over this one, too.
M. is creative in both her personal and professional life. I suggested she make a grave marker for each of the birds in my studio. Last evening, she came by and did so. It didn’t take very long, maybe forty minutes from start through cleanup.
She was able to roll out a 1/2” thick piece of clay quick as can be, using my slab roller. M. cut them into shape and cleaned up the edges. She put to use bird and flower stamps, and other stamps I have made over the years from clay and plaster.

Skipper and Scooter, remembered!

My Interview at Damomma

Boy, was this ever a busy period at the computer. Not at the potter's wheel, at the computer. Most interesting, nonetheless. Damomma.com interviewed me, in my role as an artist with a spiritual side. This terrific blog, subtitled "Motherhood is not for Wimps" does interviews and runs contests and delivers a dose of humor and common sense on a fairly regular basis.

I made the e-mail acquaintance of blogger Elizabeth Soutter through our mutual friend Shana, (Thanks, Shana!) who suggested to Liz that I was a possible candidate for a short series of interviews for Damomma. The results were- well, you can read 'em for yourself and see. The upshot for me was that following the post "going live," I had the pleasure of looking at and replying to comments it engendered.

It was meditative and thoroughly enjoyable.
Here's a photo my friend Maddy took, which is in Liz's interview with me.

Just a reminder: The free mugs drawing ends March 31st, so if you don't see yourself in the "followers" boxes, remember to sign up quick so you can have a chance.

Did You Appear in the Followers Boxes?

If it works, the best way to Follow is to go to the dark blue bar at the top of the page and click Follow. Then I'll be able to see that you're subscribed, and will know you're in the drawing for the free mugs. Otherwise I can't see you there, and can't enter you in the drawing. If the link doesn't work for you, will you let me know? I'm not sure it works with every browser.

*Win a Free Pair of Blue Mugs*

I feel the time has come for another mug giveaway.
You must be a subscriber to be eligible for the drawing.
These are the two lovelies being given, basking on the porch in the first cloudy, faint glimmers of Spring:

You must be in the U.S. to be eligible. Otherwise there are no rules. Oh, it would help if you were attracted by handmade mugs, so light to hold, so happy to make your acquaintance. Because these are that oxymoron, cheerfully blue mugs, just for you.

How do you subscribe? Option One: Allllll the way down to the very bottommost bottom of this page, there is a link that reads Subscribe Now. Click it. Choose from the options how you want to subscribe- do you want notice of new posts to come to your Yahoo? Your Google page? Or-? Then just follow directions. Easy shmeezy. Option Two: In the URL box at the top of this window, you will see a blue (mac) or orange (PC) squarish shape with some curved white lines in it. Hover your mouse over it. It will say Subscribe to This Page. Go for it, same as in Option One. Still easy shmeezy. (Oh yes- subscribing does not mean I will somehow invade your personal computer space. Your privacy is yours alone. I don't collect or use anyone's data in any way for any reason. I'm just glad to know you read my blog.)

I will give you until March 31st to subscribe. Then I will put your name in a hat (a very nice felt and velvet hat, by the way) with the other names. I will put my right hand in, right hand out, right hand in and shake it all about, and say the magic words, Duo Muggulus Winnus. Your name will probably fly to my hand, as to a magnet.

Why not post a link to this on your FB page? It would be so nice of you! Nice people deserve a chance at a couple of new mugs! Your friends are most welcome to visit my blog.

Previous subscribers and winners are already in the pool. Subsequent mug drawings will always contain all U.S. subscribers who are still with me. If, perchance, you do not win, there will be another drawing eventually, and another...

I Took Out My Camera & They Started Mugging

They have been proliferating in my studio. They are lounging on the shelves. They are snooty, not talking to the bowls next door. Worst of all, they are incredible hams. As soon as I cranked up my camera, they started mugging all over the place. They can just move on out, as far as I'm concerned. Someone might like to pay their moving expenses...

The cutie pie mugs double as espresso cups. They hold about 6 oz, and they are a friendly lot, varying a little in height and color but looking like siblings. First they were just standing around... then they did a stack. Little showoffs. ($12 each)

Then the small mugs hurried over. At a little over 7 oz. capacity, and about 3 3/4" high, they think they're pretty cute. They're kind of a diverse crew. ($15 each)

They begged for a closeup, being pretty vain. I obliged.

(Note: The top left small mug has been sold. Thank you!)

The quite-a-bit-bigger mugs (which I think of as Medium) were asking to be handled next- they intended no pun. These ambled over a little slower, as they are built to contain 12-13 oz. At 3.5"-4.75" tall, they swagger a little, too. There were 8 of them, some related to each other and some just friends of the family. They thought they were the biggest, but they weren't. ($22 each)

Then the Muggi Jumbissimi arrived in a pack. They are quiet for their size, gentle giants, but the other mugs shrank back in respect. At 16 oz capacity, they know their own worth, but never brag. ($24 each)

(Note: One of these Jumbissimi has found a new home. Thank you!)

Four shy ones had to be coaxed into being seen. The cream ones hold 8 oz and the green ones hold 10 oz. They are self-conscious, because they are the only ones with 2-finger handles instead of 3-finger or 4-finger handles. They don't need to feel inadequate, though. They're really very sweet. Some people love the 2-finger-handle types and these were just made for those folks. The cream-colored ones ($18 each) can hold 8 oz, and the green ones ($20 each) 10 oz.

(Note: The upper green mug has been sold. Thank you!)

mimi@mimistadlerpottery.com
You can give these characters a new home and give me room for the next group!

Raised-Leaf Tall Bowl; Only on Sunday group

Chinese Blue-Green is strong enough to stand on its own merit. It pools into carved lines and is thinner on raised areas, making it interesting on this narrow-footed, triangular-profile bowl. Third in the tall bowl series, although shorter than the others, this one is 6" tall, 8" at the mouth and 2.5" at the foot.

It's interesting inside as well as out, because the raised areas on the exterior were formed by carefully and gradually pushing out places in the interior. (It is $45 from my studio, plus shipping, and tax if you're in NJ; e-mail me at mimi@mimistadlerpottery.com to purchase.)

In other news, my website is being worked on and should go back up, fresh and robust with a new look, sometime in the pretty near future. Rena is the graphic designer we needed, and Web-a-Deb and I are back, armed with method and madness to get this sucker rolling.

More on the piggy-toe of a dream from a previous post: I am looking to talk with artisans who are in NJ and can't do the regular weekend shows because they don't "do" Saturdays. I don't have a plan in place, just a few ideas, but would like to talk about forming a traveling group of artisans who would like to put together home and community center shows on Sundays now and then. My reason? Besides the Sabbath thing (no commerce on Friday evening/Saturdays), there is the 50% galleries often take to make it worth their while to show our work. It's not that galleries don't deserve a decent cut- they deserve a profit for showcasing artists' work, and their rents are high per square foot. Besides rent, it takes plenty of work and overhead to keep a gallery going. But it's a difficult line for me to walk to keep prices accessible without radically shortchanging myself, and at the same time adequately compensate the gallery.

So I also need to have some other options in addition to galleries. Maybe you do, too. If you want to talk about perhaps forming a NJ group of artisans looking to show and sell together, (for this moment and so far only in my mind called "Only on Sundays"- not really the name to end up with), e-mail me and put "Only on Sundays" in the subject line. We'll discuss. Remember, talking does not guarantee inclusion, assuming this puppy ever gets off the ground, but I'm game to talk and look at your work. The only promise I am making is that I will be opinionated, and this request is not a guarantee or even offer at this embryonic juncture. Let's just dip a little toe in the water and see what the temperature is.

Maybe something artsy and interesting will begin to come together.

Mezuzah Cases Delivered! 3 Available

I delivered 20 of these yesterday to a very nice nursing home/rehabilitation facility in Edison, NJ. Here is a sample, just set up against a board in my studio:

I have only 3 of this batch left right now. (I will make more after I get finished making the little plates to go under the seder goblets I just made.) The mezuzah cases are individually handmade from clay I roll out, cut and form into tubes with a side flange for style. Color involves both brushing-with and dipping-into my homemade glazes. At $35 each (plus shipping, and tax in NJ) these can be bought by e-mailing me at mimi@mimistadlerpottery.com, or by stopping by the studio. These mezuzah cases fit beautifully on a standard doorframe.