Featuring Shars Art Pottery

At SharsArtPottery on ArtFire.com you will find many handmade items by Sharlene Sieloff.  She creates decorative original fine art paintings and functional pottery like coffee mugs, serving bowls, flower vases, baking dishes, teapots plates, and soap dishes.  She also makes whimsical and original sculptures and enjoys working in stone, bronze and clay.  Sharlene has studied at many fine art schools including: Cranbrook Academy of Art, Pewabic Pottery, Kay Issacson School of Painting, Naguibe School of Sculpture, and Brooks School of Photographic Arts.  She has also studied under several famous artists/potter/teachers like Marie Woo, John Glick. Tom Coleman, Setphnie Birdsall, Sergio DeGuiste, Ed Chesney and others.  Sharlene enjoys making functional pottery and prefers taking her time to make small series or one-of-a-kind items.
Below is a sample of some of the wonderful items that can be found in her shop.  Be sure to pay her a visit and see everything she has to offer!    
I have to say, this is one talented lady!  I am very impressed with the quality and variety of items in her shop.  You can click on any of the pictures to view the listing, or click SharsArtPottery to view her entire shop (which I highly recommend!).
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

Hard to believe it's "turkey day" already (where did the year go?).  Unfortunately I won't be able to have dinner with my husband's family this year, as we usually do.  I can't leave Gramma for that long and too many of his relatives are sick. I can't afford to bring the flu back home .  I will be cooking a small turkey breast and a few sides, but nothing too fancy.  I am very grateful that my in laws are here for the holiday though.  It's been far too long since I've seen them, and I really missed Mom especially.  I got pretty lucky when it comes to in laws.  While I won't get to see Mom and Dad on Thanksgiving, I will get to see them during the weekend.  Another little miracle I'm thankful for is that my cat Ozzy seems to be feeling much better.  He's eating well, and even came upstairs to say hi to Mom and Dad while they were over.  He's been playful and vocal, just like he normally is.  I also want to thank everyone who sent kind wishes his way.  I think all those postive thoughts helped.

I'm thankful, too, that I found ArtFire, and met so many wonderful artists there.  I've had more sales and more positive feedback than anywhere else I've sold.  I've also been inspired to try more complex projects and dared to go outside my comfort zone a bit.  I think this is a wonderful venue for me, and I've felt comfortable on ArtFire from day one.  I've learned SO much since I started on ArtFire it's amazing. Heck, I'm even able to help the newbies now.

Then there's my family- I'm very thankful for those who have helped, comforted, and supported me in all I've done throughout the years.  I guess I'm pretty lucky to have family and friends who have encouraged me to take my creativity and artwork further.  They had faith in my abilities long before I did.  My best friend, Monica, is an absolute angel.  She's always been there for me, through good times and through some really bad times.  We were college roommates and have been best friends ever since.  I think it was fate that we met.  She's made me a better person and she can always bring a smile to my face.

While a lot a things in my life have been incredibly difficult and downright bad, when I think about it, I have a whole lot to be thankful for.  I have wonderful friends and family, a roof over my head, Gramma's still here, and I'm doing what I love for a living (being an artist, that is).  There's a lot more I have to be thankful for, but I don't want to bore you.  So when life is really getting you down, try to remember the good things.  Even something as simple as a sunset, or the warm breeze through your hair, or the purr of your cat, is something to be thankful for.  So I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!  Now go eat lots of turkey and pass out on the couch!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

So I know I haven't done many personal posts lately, not because nothing is going on in my life, but because too much is going on. Sometimes I've got so many thoughts in my head, they get all jammed up and don't want to come out (not coherently anyway). I probably should be posting more- writing always helps me deal with things better. Of course one of the main issues in my life is Gramma. She never really fully recovered from her last trip to the hospital this spring. Now she's only able to sit in her chair for a few hours a day, if at all. Other than her usual health issues that she's dealt with for years, there's nothing specifically wrong. Her BP is good, heart, lungs, blood sugar- all are good. She just seems to be sort of fading. She needs a lot more care now. She's most alert late at night, so that's when I talk to her about what's going on in my life. I tell her about my artwork and friends, and what Mother and my brother are up to. I talk about the cats, the garden, something funny I read in the ArtFire forums- anything to make her smile and add a little interest to her life. I wish I could do more for her. No matter what, I always feel like I'm not doing good enough.
On the plus side, there's my artwork. While I haven't sold much this month, I have completed a few projects that's I'm really proud of. There's my Lighted Glow in the Dark Pumpkin House
, which took weeks to complete, but turned out better than I could have hoped. My Embrace of the Vampire sculpture is another one I'm quite proud of. One of those where my muse just guided my hands and made it turn out just right. I've done a few Halloween Costume dolls as well. So far my favorite is probably Wendy the Witch and her Black Cat Spook. I managed to find the perfect fabrics for her dress and cape, as well as for Spook the cat. I think he's even got some Cat Magic in him- he's very soothing to hold. Right now I'm working on another plush World of Warcraft Murloc. And I'm in the planning stages for another lighted house sculpture.
Of course, there's a lot more going on here, but I don't want to make this post too long (can't have my readers getting bored- LOL!). I will try to post more about life in general though. I'm getting more comfortable "talking" online, and it really does help to get some of these things off my chest. Until next post, thanks for reading!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Aquariann- the Fantasy Art of Kristin Cornell

First thing i have to say is I LOVE THIS SHOP!  Aquariann opened on ArtFire.com 11-19-08.  Her shop is full of the most amazing artwork found in the form of buttons, bookmarks, magnets, notecards, prints, originals, and ornaments. She's even having a sale right now, in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day.  Everything is 19% off til Monday, just use Coupon Code TALKLIKEPIRATEDAYSEPT19 when checking out!  Better hurry and take advantage of this great offer!

Artisan Biography for Aquariann:

Kristin lives near the sea, and has rarely been too far from its glittering waters. She was born in California at some ungodly hour in the morning on February 8th, 1982 - which makes her an Aquarius completely and utterly. Her parents moved several times before she was old enough to really remember - they just kept traveling east until they ran into the ocean again. She has been living on the east coast ever since. Although she grew up in Bethany Beach, Delaware, she attended Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, and currently resides in Milton, Delaware.

Even though she majored in graphic design which principles certainly contribute to her art, she's a mostly self-taught artist. Messy mediums such as paint and charcoal have never been very nice to her, but the smooth glide of colored pencils is magic.

Some of her customers have said "Gorgeous bookmarks!! Her artwork is fabulous!! I will be back!", and "Just cannot say enough about this artist, such beautiful amazing work.....fast ship, wonderful AF seller, own a piece of her artwork to cherish for years to come!!!" Aquariann can also be found at http://aquariann.com, http://aquariann.livejournal.com, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and IndiePublic.   And below is just a sample of this very talented artist's work (Personally, I want them all!!)

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Craziness!

This last month has been nuts! First, Gramma got bronchitis- not good, but the antibiotics were starting to help. Then her blood sugar dropped really low (she's diabetic) and we had to take a trip to the ER. They sent her home the same day, once her sugar stabilized. She really didn't get much better after that though. She was coughing less, but very weak and tired, and she had no appetite. Did I mention I live with her and take care of her? So I know what's normal for Gramma, and things were not normal. After a few days of this, with no improvement, she decided to have me call the ambulance. There's nothing wrong with Gramma mentally, so these decisions are hers to make. I can offer suggestions, but I can't force her to do anything. I'm here to help her with the things she's unable to do physically, although my responsibilities have steadily been increasing lately. Anyway, they finally figured out that her bronchitis had turned into pneumonia, so they admitted her and she's been in the hospital since Friday. My husband and I have been to see her every day. She's been improving, eating better, sitting up for several hours at a time, and even walking a bit today. She looks more like Gramma now, which does my heart good. I was pretty scared there for a while. She may be 93, but I still can't stand the thought of losing her. She's one of the most important people in my life.

Yesterday (Memorial Day) we went out to my husband's aunt's house for a cookout after leaving the hospital. That's the first time I've been able to see the family for quite a while. I haven't been able to leave Gramma alone for some time now. It was nice to relax a bit and have fun with the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Uncle Don, another gardener like myself, dug up some black raspberries and some rose bushes for me to take home. He's very generous like that. We spend a lot of time talking gardening, animals, and nature. He's a really great man, much like my grandfather. So today I was planting black raspberries and rose bushes (in the rain). By the way, a good way to handle prickly plants like these is to wrap newspaper around the stems and hold the paper. Surprisingly, I didn't get stabbed once. Usually when I deal with roses or raspberries I get all scratched up. I dug deep planting holes for each plant, filled it partially with torn up newspaper, compost, more newspaper, and topsoil. Then I filled the hole with water, to be sure it was well drenched. I put the plant in the hole, covered it with topsoil, more shredded newspaper, and more compost. Then I watered it again. Hopefully all the plants will do well.

When I got home late last night and checked my email I saw that I had made a sale. Turns out I sold 15 items to one lady! By that time I was so tired I wasn't sure if I was reading it right. Now I need to carefully pack up all the individual pieces, which include several of my miniature clay houses, a pen set, several knit stuffed dogs and cats, some earrings, and my World of Warcraft plush Tauren Hunter with his Pet Lion. Oh, and when I logged onto ArtFire last night I saw that the new Fusion studios were live. If you want to check out my new layout go here. I still have some work to do, but I got a good start on it. Feel free to give me your opinion on the new look.

So, I've been incredibly busy this month. Lots of ups and downs. Gramma's health started out as a "down", but is changing to an "up" as she improves. She was pretty talkative today. It's nice when I can call all the relatives and give them good news. They plan to keep her for rehab for another week, which is what she wanted. She'd rather wait until she's strong enough to come back home, rather than rushing things and ending up back in the hospital. My big sale is definitely an "up". To know that someone likes my work enough to purchase a large amount of it makes me so happy. Every sale is a thrill for me. So, that's an overview of my month- no wonder I'm tired! I've barely slowed down enough to eat lately!

organization

I finally got my card catalog from husband's uncle today. It's got 10 long narrow drawers and has a perfect surface for me to trace patterns on. See, my problem is always that I don't have enough storage space for all my "stuff". I've got a lot of "stuff": clay, cutters, tools, jewelry findings, beads, thread, needles, buttons, you get the idea. Now I'll finally have a place for all the little things that tend to get lost in the jumble. I find it's so much easier to create when I don't have to deal with clutter everywhere. Plus when things are organized I can actually find what I'm looking for! Of course I've still got plenty of organizing to do, but the weather's supposed to be pretty miserable for the next few days, so I'll be stuck indoors anyway. And I'll have my cat, Ozzy's help. He enjoys supervising when I clean and sort. He has to be sure to check out everything that gets moved. He makes housework more enjoyable! He had to thoroughly investigate the card catalog when I brought it in. Thankfully he's good about not jumping on my crafting tables and such. So anyway, I'll likely be organizing all my craft supplies tomorrow. Actually that can be fun. I often unearth things I'd forgotten I had. Then seeing all the craft things tends to give me ideas for new projects. As if I don't have enough ideas! I'm currently working on three separate projects: a plush male WoW Tauren, a knit bunny (that I want to complete before Easter), and butterfly beads that will probably become earrings and maybe a necklace. And there are tons of other ideas in my head for new sculptures, jewelry, knit toys, WoW characters, everything imaginable. At least I can be more organized while juggling all these projects. More later- thanks for reading!

My ArtFire experience

I've had a verified studio on ArtFire a little over a month now, and I'm really enjoying myself. It's a very easy site to navigate, and if you have any problems the staff and the other artists are extremely helpful. I now have about 6 pages of products. One nice thing about this site is that you can customize your own studio categories. In my studio I offer jewelry, miniature houses, pen sets, plush World of Warcraft, animal sculptures, cloth dolls, fantasy sculptures, knit toys, and polymer clay sculptures. It's nice being able to organize all the different items I make. Another great aspect of ArtFire would be the chatterbox forums, where you can meet other artists, share your work, ask and answer questions, find contests and promotional opportunities, and have a good laugh. I've learned so much in the short time that I've been on the site, and I'd like to thank the staff and artists who made me feel so welcome. They're very kind to "newbies" and help them find their way. It's just a good place to be. And the talent! You really have to see this stuff! Actually, I'll show you a few of my favorites. Stop by their studio and see all they have to offer.
This is one of my favorites from HaffinaCreations

This Ninja Frog is from WelcomeToMyWhimsy
This is from NinjaJenn. I just love kitties!

These beaded dragon bracelets from WickedOrin are great!
And these are only a very few of the amazing artist of ArtFire.com. I feel honored to be included amongst all this talent! Here are a few favorites from my own studio.

First is my Frog Prince fantasy sculpture. Next is my plush female World of Warcraft Tauren, followed by my double triangle earrings, and finally my kid safe knit cat.
I've just been having tons of fun working and playing on ArtFire!

I'm on Blogger!

OK, so I'm finally here. I had a feeling I'd end up on blogger after checking out the blogs of my fellow artists here. Now I just have to play around a bit to see what all I can do with this. I have several other blogs out there (MySpace, Facebook, JoAnn.com, ByHand.me), and of course they're all a little different. All have pictures of my work: lots of fantasy sculptures, jewelry, plush WoW critters, knit stuffed animals. Whew! I make a lot of stuff! Come Christmas time I feel like one of Santa's elves. I make gifts for all my friends and family by hand, usually starting in October at the latest. Everybody keeps having kids and getting married, so the list just gets longer! I really enjoy it though. Nothing beats a handcrafted gift made with love.
Of course I've got my fuzzies helpers supervising the whole process. Ozzy and Cedric, my cats, are the world's best supervisors. Especially Ozzy. He has to know what's going on at all times. He follows me around like a dog. He likes to sit on my lap while I'm knitting too. It's his job to keep an eye on the yarn, and he's very good at it!
Well, this was basically a test blog- we'll see how it looks. More to come! Here are some samples of my work!