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winter blues

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Inside the Studio with Mary Harding

                                            Inside the Studio with Mary Harding

Welcome to Inside the Studio!

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you’ll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
Congratulations to Kristen Stevens
You have won a a $25.00 gift certificate from www.humblebeads.com
Please send Humblebeads an email  with your information.
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  After spending much of the coldest February in history inside the house and not going to my studio,i.e temps hardly every climbing about 0 degrees and sinking much lower at night–about -20 degrees F- -30 degrees F, I was thrilled when my friend  Mary Ann Evans contacted me for an Art Party in her ceramic studio!! What a great way to combat the winter blues!!  
The  party began with a gourmet lunch prepared by Mary Ann:  a delicious cheddar and jalapeno dip, a salad with raw veggies, feta cheese and a yummy balsamic dressing, fish baked with fresh herb, a spicy soup  and fresh fruit and homemade cookies for desert!! Wow!!  Then this delightful group of 6 artists moved into Mary Ann’s  wonderful, warm, bright ceramic studio. 
 She had set up tables covered with heavy canvas mats,
pugged some wonderful porcelain clay
                       made us a delicious bowl of slip,
 put out supplies and pots for us to decorate
And set us free!!
The stereo was playing and Mary Ann was at the wheel ready to give us each a lesson in throwing a pot. 
 As the beat of Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk flowed, some of us put down our clay work and danced! 
Together and making art, we were all joyful, happy, and breaking out of the winter blues.
What we made has been captured in this collage
from top left:  Sally Hartman; Mary Ann Evans; Melanie Kimbler; Ethel Slocum; Mary Harding; Karan Marie Cross
The afterglow of the party has been following all of us around and everyone is madly back at work in our  home studios and miraculously, the weather has broken and Spring is just about here!!!
Here is what I have been making
some pendants

                                                                Birds

                                    Hollow beads–this one begun at the Art Party

Hand built flower pendants

                                        Maple Wing Stick Pendant

I hope to  have some of my new work in my Etsy shop next week.  This is Sales Tax time in New York State.   Enough said!!
In addition to working in my studio, I have been helping out with the launching of the new Ceramic Art Bead Market.  This is an exciting auction marketplace for ceramic art beads of original design. Anyone is welcome to join.   Right now I am hosting a 2 day giveaway(ends on March 15 at Midnight)  so I hope you will get yourself approved to join in and leave a comment on my post.  Here is the pendant I am giving away.
Now for my question:  What do you do to get rid of the winter blues? Leave a comment below( even if you didn’t  have the winter blues)  and you will be entered to win one of my flower pendants.
Thanks so much for stopping by today.