Well, it’s about time for an update, but not too much has happened…yet! There are a bunch of things on the horizon though. Just hang on! Well, first, let me say that I just finished loading the kiln… which I’m pretty proud of. It usually takes me until 9:00 P.M. or so, but today I completed the job by lunch time. As for things coming up, here are a few. The next event is Open Studios. I’ll be displaying new items at the Village Studios and Gallery on Pendleton St. That will be on Fri.-Sun. (10/31-11/2). I won’t be there the entire time, but different artists displaying with me will be playing host or hostess and keeping the doors open. So, be sure to come!

A larger event is coming up for me in just a few weeks! Our Christmas Show! It’s a little early, we know, but it’s never too early to start shopping for the season. This will be held at Illyria Pottery Studio (more info under “The News” on my website www.illyriapottery.com). Christin Pratt and Amy Tyrpak will be joining me again. I’m excited to have their variety of wearables and handmade books! Their pieces are lovely (I couldn’t help but pick up a few myself at our last show). I will be displaying everything from mugs and serving dishes to candle holders, jewelry and a new line of whimsical Christmas tree ornaments. I think you’ll enjoy my new designs. We’d love to have you attend!

Here are some other items that I love from Etsy artists!

go to www.jewelera.etsy.com

go to www.tanzenchic.etsy.com

I’ve been spending a lot of time on Etsy (address is in my side bar). It may not be new to some of you, but for those who don’t know, here’s what it’s all about. Basically Etsy promotes all things handmade. So, you can sell your work (and do a bunch of other cool stuff). Perfect for me! Almost everything imaginable is available. I thought I would start featuring things I love on my blog. People do this all the time. It makes your blog more interesting (so that you’ll come back again), and it gives my fellow artists some free advertisement space!! Maybe eventually someone will return the favor!

www.sarahkat.etsy.com

I’m in the newspaper! Writer, Kathy Johnston, interviewed me for the Link Magazine. The article ran in the Sept. 9-15 edition. If you’re too late to get a hard copy, go to this link to view the article. It should be online for about a month.

http://upstatelink.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080919/UPSTATELINK/809190343

The article has already proved profitable. I’ve had several people contact me with their interest in my work. I even have a customer that’s asked me to do some interior design work for him as a result!

Well, here’s a little turn of events. Usually I go hunting down the business, but in this case they contacted me! I received a called from Caleb Freeman owner of The Acadia Design Centre on River Street (off of Main in Downtown Greenville). He was very excited about my work (which is always so encouraging). He offered to sell my pieces at the Design Centre and display work in Acadia’s model homes in the area! Woohoo!

Here’s a link to the company’s website. Admittedly, the decorating is not my style, but it’s very plush! I’m happy to be in.

www.AcadiaDesignCentre.com

Ok, so you thought we just painted and kind of cleaned things up a little bit. Nope! There’s way more work behind the finished product that you hopefully got to see at the last art show.

Here’s how things went. Micah totally refinished all the hardwood floors in the house, but that was just the beginning. This summer we discovered that the trim (in the entire house) had been painted with oil over the existing latex! If you’ve ever experienced this before, you’re probably feeling sick right now. We received some advice from the pro’s at the paint store. Their wisdom was to find and hurt the people that had done this! If only we could’ve! It took us about two months (working every night with many friends helping) to peal all the latex off. The process goes something like this…Wet the surface, wait, start scraping with wire brush, try scraping with any number of other items b/c wire brush doesn’t work too well, begin using fingernails, continue with fingernails until too painful, stop to cry. This was every evening’s schedule! Epp!

Well, once we finished getting all the paint off (and celebrated a little), we started in on the walls. Chiseling off old plaster can be kind of fun, but patching, spackling and sanding gets old fast. We ended up needing a fresh skim coat of what they call joint compound over all the walls in the entire dining. You can see us doing a ton of sanding on this in the pics.

Another project that brave Micah wanted to tackle was the ceiling. They were the despised “popcorn ceilings”! Yukky! So, every inch of the hallway overhead was scraped down. Let me just tell you the people that put that stuff up there think that you want it to stay! It took days to pull it all down (remember, it’s coming down into our new hardwood floors). Well, after that was off, we repeated the process that was done to the dining room walls just above our heads. Sanding was a bit harder!

There’s more that I could mention, but it’s finally finished! I thought we might not make it, but we did! Hurray! We actually have a house now. Ahh, sigh of relief…

Friends, Dailey, Michelle and baby Chloe have settled in NYC! Michelle has begun a wonderful venture on Etsy (if you don’t know what this is, you need to check it out…it’s on my blogroll). It’s all about the handmade. So, I love it! Her ingenuity is totally paying off. Visit this site to see her unique, hand painted dolls…very fun. Michelle said she never expected to find herself doing this type of art, but here she is!

See for yourself!

www.goosegrease.etsy.com

I was overwhelmed by the turn-out for this first art show at home! Friday night was simply packed. We had wall-to-wall people! One thing I learned is that you need to turn the air way down well before people arrive…we couldn’t seem to keep the place cool! Saturday, although slightly less busy, was still very well attended. God showed us His kindness again.

Amy and Christin said they learned much about what types of things sell best in the Greenville area. Both did well. I was so excited to have them take part. We had tons of fun!

The general consensus was that the show was a big success! We’ve already started planning for our next event…an early Christmas show. The goal is to have this second show well before the grand Christmas shopping rush. We hope people will be able to attend again and acquire some of their holiday gifts earlier than usual. The tentative dates are Nov. 7th and 8th.

Hope you enjoy these shots of the last show!

The art show is this weekend! Micah and I (and so many friends) have been working amazingly hard to finish renovations on the new house. Things have to look just right for the event! We’re so excited about the new hue in the front room, Garden Sprout Green! It’s subtle and yet bold and rich all in one. I think it has an Anthropologie feel (if you know me well, you know that’s my favorite clothing store…so beautiful!). The dining room is getting its final coat tonight. I can’t wait to see the fresh synthesis of all the newly painted surfaces once everything is complete. It will be a different house!

The artists…

Amy Tyrpak and I have only known each other for a short time, but I fell in love with her work almost immediately. She has just the right funky flair. At this weekend’s event, she’ll be presenting wearable accessories. She often incorporates my pottery buttons into her pieces as accents. Much of her work has that earthy feel that’s so appealing! 

Christin Pratt and I have been friends now for several years. Our time together in grad school has given us a lot of common experiences and mutual friends. She’s combining her knowledge of graphic design and fiber to create very unique, handmade books. I think you’ll be excited to see the unity and variety that her pieces bring! 

The work that I’m presenting this weekend is varied as well. I’m displaying everything from mugs to what I consider “fine art pottery.” I am also showing (for the first time at an exhibit) my line of jewelry! These are affordable pieces that will let the buyer go home with a little treasure in pocket. They remind me of tiny relics.

We hope you’ll make plans to attend this exciting first event at Illyria Pottery studio!

Aug. 15th from 6:00-9:00 P. M.

Aug. 16th from 10:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

416 Perry Ave. Greenville, SC 29601

This firing was the best yet from my kiln! I’m excited to announce that the pieces can be viewed on my new website! www.Illyriapottery.com Please visit to find an extensive gallery of my previous work, a shop loaded with fresh items for sale, my artist statement, an easy method to contact me with commissions and questions, and much more. Hope you enjoy the site!