I can’t believe that last week’s post never got published! Guess I didn’t press the final button — but you can read it today.

UPDATE

We are listening to the government and staying home. We are also not having anyone in so the studio is officially closed until further notice. IF you want to pick up something that is on your shelf, or was fired, or you want to pick up some bisque to work on at home, please contact me and I will box it up for you. This includes greenware to clean at home.

EVENTS CANCELLED

Birthday Party, March 22th

• 10 teens + 7 adults, to be rescheduled (getting their order ready)

Easter Workshop — learn how to MUD, March 29th

• since this is only a week away, it is cancelled for that date
• We are pouring Easter baskets, chocolate bunnies, and Easter eggs for the event.
  IF the quarantine is lifted and we can reschedule before Easter the items will be ready.
• IF the quarantine is in effect through Easter we will reschedule the workshop later in the spring. Other items will be available for the MUD activity if you do not want to do eggs.

Party Van Event, Inn at Ironweed, March 31

• Spring/Easter piece, to be rescheduled

Fashenhues Certification Training, April 18 & 19

• 
  Ruth Ann was coming to the Midwest Ceramic Show, since the show is cancelled so is the training.
• September does not suit the people who signed up for the event, so we are rescheduling for 2021 the week before or after the Midwest Ceramic Show.

Midwest Ceramic Show, April 24 & 25

• It will be combined with the Fall show, September 11 & 12.
• competition entries will be taken then so keep working on your pieces.
• classes scheduled for April will be taught in September
• MVCT will help with the IADCCT table and demonstrate techniques

ACTIVITY

So what are we doing in the meantime?

• firing pieces that are on the firing rack
• pouring pieces requested in greenware
• pouring, cleaning, and firing items requested by students
• pouring, cleaning, and firing Etsy orders
• pouring, cleaning, and firing items for events that were postponed.
• pouring new molds and painting samples

Carol’s Carousel Creations
Where having Fun is why we come!

Remember — We Do Take-Out!

You can still have Fun at home!
And let the kids have some Fun, too!
Call or message that you want a To-Go box,
then come and pick it up.
We will pack up some bisque for you and
can include paints & brushes if needed.

With all the news and social media discussion, I suppose we should also address the pandemic that has been declared over the coronavirus. Some share statistics of other viruses that have come and gone, or other practices that cause death at a much higher rate than this virus, and ask what the panic is all about.

For our family, we have decided to keep Jeremy home from the workshop since the government has declared the schools closed. I see that now the bars and restaurants are closed as well. Hopefully, all this caution and precautions being taken will slow down the spread of this virus. We are doing without milk and toilet paper as some folks found it necessary to deplete the grocery shelves of these items, rather than share them with the rest of us.

However, it is still business as usual. We are here and no one is sick (other than the usual sinus drainage, arthritis, and PPS pain that lives here). So IF you want to come and paint ceramics you are welcome. Or IF you want to come and pick up pieces to paint at home, you are also welcome to do that. We do have some things on the shelf that the kids might like to do.

And we also have some “Easter buckets” if you want to make up one for your kids or grandkids. We premade these last year and have some supplies left. Included were two pieces of bisque, paint & brush, candy, and coupons for free lesson for a child and one for an adult. We sold them for $15 or two for $25.

I also want to remind you of the upcoming Easter workshop which had been moved to Sunday, March 29th. We have allowed extended time as the workshop includes an Easter basket and chocolate bunny as well as a new technique called mudding. This is a special thickened product which is applied with a small bottle and cake decorating tip, then drawn through with a liner brush to make the design. The technique can be done on glass, on unfired ceramic glaze (then fired), or on non-fired products. We will be painting our Easter eggs with acrylic paints in spring colors before applying the mud. Here is the poster.

Carol’s Carousel Creations
Where having Fun is why we come!

So whenever you are feeling well
and not afraid to go out in public
come on over and have some fun!

Saturday’s MVCT Mini-Retreat was a big success and even ended on time! When an IADCCT chapter sponsors a Regional Educational Event, only members are permitted to attend. However, if they have a Retreat, it is open to the public.

These are the two projects that everyone got to do. The Halloween Cauldron Mug was changed to an Easter theme and was taught by Sheryl Wilder. After base-coating our mug with a selection of spring colors, we added a variety of foam Easter stickers as shown in the picture. Making sure they was pressed down, we then glazed the piece with a choice of Duncan Shimmer glazes. After the glaze dried we removed the stickers.  A little clear glaze on the designs and a little cleanup wherever the glaze seemed under the sticker and these will be ready to fire.

Dancing with Dandelions is the title of the plate we painted. Taught by Laura Gilbert, we painted the flowers with toilet paper tubes! First we brushed on a background using three different shades of green Concepts and a fan brush and making wavy lines. We cut the tubes about 2″ up from the bottom into narrow strips and dipped this into Really White paint to make our flowers. The centers were added using a paper towel or a sponge. Then we finished by adding leaves and outlining them with a liner brush. After drying for 24 hours, we will clear glaze and fire.

All of the Make-N-Take classes and seminar classes at Convention taught us new products or new ways to use old products. Since the Make-N-Takes are one-hour classes rather than three-hour seminars we were able to do two projects during our retreat.

Carol Warneke demonstrated the Frog Bank which is done in a similar manner to the mug. Instead of using stickers, they used fabric fringe at Convention and she used regular yarn for the demo (on a soft mushroom fairy house, not on a frog). The effect of the fringe shows up best on the green frog.

Mira Rulong and Lucretia Kaiser are MVCT members who sell both finished pieces and ready-to-paint bisque at Craft Shows. They did a nice presentation, giving us lots of good ideas and resources, including handouts for future reference.

Attendance:  We are sorry that some folks who wanted to come had to work or had other commitments. It is difficult to find a time when everyone is available and we did have a last minute change this time.

Carol’s Carousel Creations
Where having Fun is why we come!

Please watch our blog and our Facebook page for
special studio technique workshops,
Duncan Ambassador workshops,
and open MVCT events.
These are usually held on the weekends.

In the World of Ceramics, there is always something New to learn.

“InDianesKitchen” is the winner of the February Blog Follower Drawing.

Please contact me to redeem your prize.
You may call any day after noon 330-219-8001
OR you may send an email to CarolsCarouselCreations@gmail.com. Congratulations! 

We need more followers! If you are reading this post but are not “following” the blog please enter your email in the box at the right. Next drawing is the end of March.

MVCT Mini-Retreat

The March meeting of MVCT Mahoning Valley Ceramic Teachers will be held next Saturday, March 7th from 10:00 to 2:00 in the studio. Members received a notice and their March newsletter today. Note that it was changed from Sunday to Saturday to accommodate activities of the members.

This meeting is open to the public so students, friends, family, and even long-distance followers are encouraged to participate. Sheryl and Laura will be teaching two of the Make-N-Take projects from Convention (bring $10 for the bisque), Jim will be demonstrating another, and Carol will be giving an overall summary and sharing the other projects with the group. If you are a member of MVCT, you should give a talk, handout, demonstration, or tip and earn Educational Showcase points for doing so.

Skype is available for all of our meetings. Please contact Sheryl Wilder (on  Facebook or slwilder91@yahoo.com) if you plan to join us via Skype. Since this is an open meeting, if you are having classes why not let your whole studio join in! We are sharing new techniques. If you want to paint along with us you will need a plate, a mug, and an empty toilet paper roll for each person. Tech sheets can be sent to you by email or Facebook upon request.

Please let us know you are coming. Seating is available for twenty and we have seven signed up so far.

Carol’s Carousel Creations
Where having Fun is why we come!

Hmmm! it has been a week since I set up the contest for followers. No one new has joined. But I will check it again on Saturday!

It is nearly March and we have been pretty much shut down for the start of the year. Between getting ready for Convention, then a week going to Convention, then recuperating from Convention…. Then Jeremy got sick, then Jim, then me.  Oh well, that’s life! 

1. Pouring new orders, including six extra-large horses
   
2. Painting some of the orders
   (two jazz bands and a chess set)
3. Starting classes again tomorrow, Monday, February 24th.
   
4. Prepping for two March Party Van events
   (need to make more calls)
5. Mudding eggs for the Special Easter Workshop, Sunday March 22nd.
   
6. Planning how and when to share new techniques from convention.
7. Gathering friends for the Fashenhues training on April 18th & 19th.
   
8. Signing up for classes at the
   Midwest Ceramic Show, April 24th & 25th
9. Deciding what to enter in the
   Ceramic Competition at the show.
   
10. Waiting for the mold orders to come in — we ordered 18 new figures, some African-American, some Caucasian figures.

Carol’s Carousel Creations
Where having Fun is why we come!

Please tell us what YOU want to see in the studio.

Open classes where you work on what you want?
Technique workshops where you learn something new?
Party Van going to your grandma’s place?
Bring in Special teachers?
Or maybe you want to teach a class or two?

When you log onto the website, there is a place on the right side of the page that asks if you want to follow the blog.

Click that button and enter your email address. 

Benefits

• Each time a blog post is added, you will see it directly in your email without logging onto the website.
• Each time a page is added or revised, there will be a comment in a blog post with a link to the revised page. You will NOT receive the entire page by email.
• You will be entered into a monthly drawing.

Door Prizes

To encourage you to follow our webpage, we will be holding several door prize drawings.

• No purchase is needed, just sign up.
• Drawing is the last day of February through June 2020.
• Jeremy will choose the winner. (He doesn’t read.)
• Prizes will be a coupon for $20 to spend in the studio. Good on in-house bisque, finished pieces, and supplies.
• You pay postage if shipping is required.
• Your name will remain in the pool until you are a winner. So the sooner you join, the more chances of winning you have.
• Winners will be announced on this page.

Carols Carousel Creations

Where having Fun is why we come!

I posted this notice on the “African American Kids and Friends” Facebook page and shared it to the Carol’s Carousel Creations page and several Ceramic Network pages. However, I know that some of you do not have Facebook so am sharing it again here. It is in reference to the Etsy store — several of our students have requested some white figures, especially in the sports line, so we ordered them and added “and Friends” to the store name and the Facebook page name.

ANNOUNCEMENT
Since the name change on this page to include “friends” we have ordered Clay Magic molds for a number of Caucasian figures. Yesterday I added several more posts of figures we already have in the studio:
** Caucasian Dolls
** Rosie, Dottie & Friends
** Umbrella Kids & More
** Alberta 5″ Caucasian Figures
** White Young Sports Players because there were too many to include with the African American kids.

Wherever possible, white and black figures are included in the same category:
** Man & Woman leisure
** Child Bride & Groom
** Old Man & Old Woman

I have posted only one picture from each Etsy post. They may have up to ten figures in the same post if they are related. So check it out AfAmKidsnFriends.

Then I realized everything I posted was the white folks so I addedd this note in a comment

Sorry, it looks like we don’t have African-American molds. In fact we have over a hundred at this point in time and are adding more.

Carol’s Carousel and
African-American Kids and Friends

We have been recuperating from our very intense trip to Vegas!
So now it is time to get back to work, pouring, cleaning, painting, packing, and more. Also getting ready for our next workshop.
.

The Fun Stuff

Not that the classes weren’t fun but there is so much else going on at Convention.

Shareware

Every member of IADCCT is encouraged to paint a project, write up a tech sheet, and take it or send it to convention. They then get an Educational Showcase point. Then the tech sheets and photos are posted on the IADCCT website so everyone can print a copy. MVCT shareware projects are:

These all replicate plates that we saw at the Museum of Ceramics which we toured last May. We are looking at dinnerware down through the ages. Our display includes a total of nineteen plates, including some others I painted, and a plate with the Homer Laughlin home. There were about a hundred pictures of plates from the museum with dialog either on the plate display or on the back of the photo. We received numerous compliments.

Goodie Bags

Chapters and individuals donate items for the goodie bags, some ceramic related and some not. This year we each received a small backpack full of items to take home. We were so busy getting our display pictures mounted and labeled that we missed getting our contribution into the bags. So Saturday at lunch we went around to the table and handed them out. We made an Award Pin Robbin with the IADCCT logo.

First Timers

Three of us were new and got a convention badge with first-timer ribbon to wear all weekend. We were introduced to the Ambassadors and one of them sat at our table for lunch. We were introduced to the entire convention after lunch and presented with a tote bag full of more goodies.

Food

All meals were buffet style to accommodate various preferences and diets. It was all delicious and every meal had a choice of two decadent desserts. This includes lunch Saturday and Sunday and the Convention Dinner Saturday night.

Awards Dinner

Before the dinner there was a hospitality hour with the bar open and an ice-breaker game. Jim and Carol were too tired to attend and took a rest instead. It sounds like it was a lot of fun.

Awards and Charters were handed out at the dinner. Table favors were glasses holders with a pair of plastic glasses. Table centerpieces were given out by drawing numbers.

I won the centerpiece at our table. It is a fairy totem, a bit hard to see here with the busy background. I left the cement-filled flower pot behind and just took the stakes on the plane.

Drawings

• One chapter gave away Saturday night’s hotel bill. The weekend is more pricey than weekdays so that was really appreciated by the winner
• Chinese Auction — chapters and individuals donated items for the auction. MVCT donated a Painters Package complete with tech sheet, notebook, apron, water bowl, palette, coffee mug, and brush caddy (both a sample and a new one for them to paint). some items broke in transit but the winner of ours was very happy regardless. Sheryl won a beautiful flowered oval platter and Jim won $50 cash.
• Coffee Fund — David Hoff donated free registration for two events: one at his home, and one called My Favorite Things at the hotel in Vegas. I WON the latter! So I will be traveling to Vegas the first weekend in January 2021! The value of the trip was $445 for the registration in 2020. Money from the raffle goes to pay for the coffee setup each day
  .
• Door Prizes — These giveaways included many different types of prizes. Some names were drawn during the dinner and some during Friday’s lunch. Laura won a bagful of ceramic colors.

We had lots of fun! Did not gamble and did not go to the strip at all.
Of course, in Vegas there are slots everywhere, even at the airport. Tried out several restaurants, spent lots of money.
Bought new luggage because the handles were broken on ours.

Do not know how we can afford to go to the Midwest Show in April and to Vegas for My Favorite Things the beginning of January, and Convention 2021 the end of January.

But we will try — with lots of classes, new technique workshops, Party Van workshops, and online sales maybe we can.

Convention Projects

Friday Make-N-Takes

There were six projects to choose from. Laura & Sheryl did three; Jim & Carol did the other three, so we have all six to share. The mushroom jar is shown both painted and finished. Laura & Sheryl also did a bowl. Make-N-Takes are one-hour projects and two of them will be taught at the MVCT March meeting.

Saturday workshops

Mandala plate with Cricut stencils. First we learned to weed the cutout vinyl–a positive and a negative shown. Then we used transfer paper to put a design onto the plate. Finally we painted the dots using a small squeeze bottle.

In the afternoon we painted on a napkin, transferred the color to a plate, and outlined  with a liner brush. Bob had a special silkscreen made of the IADCCT logo and we learned how to use a silkscreen. Some put their design on the back of the plate rather than on the front.

Sunday workshops

Blus jay picture with Cover Coats. We masked out the bird before painting the background and sponged the edge when we were done.

There was a Duncan U workshop created especially for Convention. We outlined the entire picture with a colored wax resist, then filled in the sections with various paints. We will definitely be doing this workshop in the studio, especially for Alice (who was raised in Roswell, New Mexico).

Convention classes held half of the attendees in the morning and the other half in the afternoom, thus about sixty in each class.

Monday David Hoff Workshop

David always offers a special workshop the day following convention. This one is a brush-stroke workshop. We not only learned how to do things and also why we do them that way. .

We had a wonderful, very, very busy time in Vegas.
Will tell you all about it another day.
ALL projects can be taught in the studio
so request your favorite.

This book was recommended by someone on Facebook and I recognized the author as the person who made the ceramic eye-painting molds.  If you attended the Beautiful Eyes workshop we had last year, we used her bisque pieces in class.

So I searched for the book which is no longer in print and found a good used copy. It includes a full-size color poster which we will probably laminate before posting on the wall of the studio. The book includes step-by-step instructions on painting human eyes in various expressions. Also, animal eyes and comic eyes. You are welcome to look through the book when you are in the studio and reference it ini your painting.

Carol’s Carousel Creations
Where having Fun in why we come!

Anyone interested in another workshop
on painting eyes should contact the studio!