Denise Loves Art: April 2010

Apr 23, 2010

A small comment on Critiques

I wrote this as a response to a thread on the Etsy forums. A seller was feeling down about a critique that she felt told her that her stuff sucked. I thought I'd post it here for you.----

The hardest thing any artist or craftsman has to face is her(his) critics. Whether you choose to believe or not is what will define you.

One thing you will do well to learn is how to take 'no' for an answer without crumpling. Lots of people will love your stuff or tell you they do because they empathize with you. That's wonderful and it's why we love what we do.

But there are going to be those who don't like it, can't understand it, or just don't get excited by it. Those are the people you can learn from. Ask what it is that they don't like. Maybe it's the color, maybe it reminds them of their mother in law; for whatever reason- you can try to take these as constructive criticisms.

Learn from them how to do better without taking it personally. If the critique is given more as a personal attack at you than a criticism of your work, you can just tell yourself that person is an assh*le and thank god you don't have to see or work with them every day. Life's little blessings, eh?

My Hedgehog on Etsy's Front Page

That's a fun treat! I like the eclectic mix of items in the collection,

and I'm happy with my blue hedgehog's central location. Thanks, Etsy!!

I have lots of new greenware (not yet fired clay) that's about to go in the kiln.

I hope you like what I'm working on ~ a bit of a departure for me, a new line and

a bit more nostalgic ~ you'll see.

Apr 16, 2010

Spring Cleaning Time

This looks like an episode of "Hoarders". I need to get this place organized!

Apr 15, 2010

Turquoise is the color for 2010

Turquoise Ceramic Pendants

Pantone, the color color authority for fashion and industry,

has announced PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise, an inviting, luminous hue, as the Color of the Year for 2010. Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise inspires thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a comforting escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.

Turquoise Hedgehog

In many cultures, Turquoise is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that to many people, Turquoise represents an escape, taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting – even if it is only a fantasy.

Turquoise Bowl

Whether envisioned as a tranquil ocean surrounding a tropical island or a protective stone warding off evil spirits, Turquoise is a color that most people respond to positively. It is universally flattering, has appeal for men and women, and translates easily to fashion and interiors. With both warm and cool undertones, Turquoise pairs nicely with any other color in the spectrum. Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens.

Apr 13, 2010

Drink water, lose weight

As you know, drinking plenty of water is an essential part of losing weight; but for me, it's really hard to choke down 8-10 glasses a day. Here's how I manage to drink my quota of water and love doing it.

I bought one of these insulated mega sized mug at my Weight Watchers meeting. I saw all these ladies carrying these mugs and I finally got one, too. It's great. It holds 32 ounces; is insulated so it never sweats; has a sliding open/close top; and a big plastic straw. The only downside is the cheezy Weight Watchers logo on the side. Seriously, do they think people want to show that they're on a diet?

I squeeze a half of an organic lemon, add 2 or 3 Splenda packets, ice and water to fill to the 32 ounce line. Awesome! I just top it off and add the other lemon half when needed. This is so much better tasting than a prepared mix and good for you, too. I try to drink one before lunch and one after.

Find your local weight watchers ( about $6.00) or find on eBay ($10 and up).

After Easter joke

Okay, this is kind of silly. But I love it. Thanks mom, for sending me a bit of humor to break up my work day!

Ha, ha, ha.

It makes me love chocolate even more!

Apr 12, 2010

Animal Spirit Guides

I make a lot of animal spirit guide sculptures which have been very popular among those who collect my work and people who just generally search google for such things such as Spirituality.

coyote spirit guide - available in my Iktomi shop on Etsy

An animal totem or guide is an animal that a person spiritually identifies with. Each animal has characteristics that are specific to that animal. Many people believe that their animal spirit guide is there to teach them lessons or are there to protect them. Others just feel a connection with certain characteristics displayed by the animal they feel a connection to, and that's pretty much my feeling.

Regardless how you interpret the animal spirit guide, they're fun to make and everyone seems to have their favorite. Here are some of mine that have gone to good homes.

If you're interested in learning more about animal spirit guides and totems, a quick google search will turn up lots of resources to explore.

Apr 6, 2010

My Interview with A Thoughtful Life

AprilMarieMai interviewed me for her blog A Thoughtful Life.

She posted a lot of nice pictures of my stuff, too. Thank You, April!

Please go to her blog and read the article and all the other fun goodies she has there.

I have major respect for bloggers who get into it in a big way. April's blog is really lovely!

Apr 4, 2010

The funkiest clay tool you will ever use

Here it is, the funkiest, cheeziest, and wackiest clay tool in my bag of tricks --

a pencil with a bobby pin taped to the end.

Yes, it is pretty ugly and not very sexy, but I do so much with this tool. The bobby pin has just the

right stiffness to carve clay, and it's thicker wire than most wire-end clay tools. I use the end

of the bobby pin to make perfect closed eyes, smiles and fish scales.

I've used it for so much, I can't even remember what.

The other end, the pencil, is great for drawing lines in clay. The graphite in the lead just glides through without catching or dragging.

Okay, I admit the tape is kind of lame, but this is a guerrilla tool, made on the run. You can't have

pretty when you're doing down and dirty clay.

The tool in the middle is actually the one I use the most. I feel out of sorts when I misplace it, and I've tried to buy substitutes, but they never feel the same or have the same finish. I guess over time, I've polished this one just to where I want it.

I use these three tools about 90% of the time, for all my work. Here's a look at my latest-

You can see the face, where I used the bobby pin tool for the eyes and mouth. The rest was all pinch pot, and using my favorite 3 tools, and the back of a ball point pen for the buttons.

Apr 2, 2010

Non-Technical Google SEO for Dummies - and Etsy sellers?

Etsy sellers have lately noticed a precipitous drop in views starting sometime in early February or March (depending on who you talk to). If you frequent the Etsy forums, you'll find many threads discussing the behind-the-scenes changes Etsy has been making which may or may not (again, depending on who you talk to) be causing these low views.

I noticed myself that my shop on Etsy -Iktomi has experienced a drop in views starting the first week in March.

This has gotten me to go back and reread the SEOmoz guide to Etsy SEO that was published last year ( http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/etsy-guide-to-seo-5224/ ). That lead me to start googling SEO - search engine optimization - and how to use it to get better traffic to my Etsy shop.

I ran across a fantastic article by Shaun Anderson of Hobo SEO titled ," Non-Technical Google SEO for Dummies".

Shaun places a lot of importance in creating quality links as a way to increase your ranking in Google. He explains in pretty simple terms that Google is a links based search engine and once you understand that, the idea of linking to other sites makes more sense. I encourage you to go to his site and check it out. He also has lots of free SEO articles and tips that I'm still reading.

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