New Inlay Wood items

While we were in Portland a couple of weeks ago, we visited the Portland Saturday Market.  We take every opportunity to scout out new things for the gallery and have been wanting to add more "non pottery" items.

Mark especially likes wood boxes and has wanted to get some for the gallery. We were lucky to find Jim at the Saturday Market.  He is a marquetry craftsman. Since 1976, Jim has pursued the art of cutting and fitting together choice wood veneers. Domestic and foreign woods are carefully selected for each unique design.

His designs are inlaid or overlaid on handcrafted boxes, purse mirrors, hand mirrors, barrettes and crochet hooks.

A great gift idea for pretty much anyone!

Wood Bowls

We have a customer who has decided that her wedding gift of the season is a beautiful wood salad bowl - and she's giving 3 of them as gifts this summer.  It is a gift that will be cherished for years. 

Washington wood turners, Richard and Gus, use wood that they harvest or salvage. Almost all the wood was removed because it was dying, outgrew its location or was being cleared for other reasons.

Wood salad bowls are extremely functional.  These particular bowls have a food-safe finish that is IN the wood so it will never lift or chip.  After use,  just wipe them out with a damp cloth.  The more you use it, the better it will look!

Did you know that the traditional 5th anniversary gift is wood? A customer earlier this week came to Throwing Mud because he was looking for a wood bowl for a 5th anniversary gift.

I like Richard and Gus' quote on their care and use card:  "From the Tree to Thee"

Wood turned pens for Dad

I don't know about you, but finding a gift for dads is a bit more challenging than moms. We have a few ideas of things that dad might like that.

In an era of computers and smart phones, the written word is a lost art.  How about presenting dad with a turned wood pen, handcrafted by a local (Tacoma) wood turner:

We only have a couple in the this size left, so hurry in before they're gone!

If dad is a Civil War buff, he also makes pens that include replicas of Civil War era bullets.  The cap is a replica of the 58 CaliberMinie' Ball.  This was the most widely used bullet in the Civil War.  The tip of the pen is a replica of the 44 Caliber 1860 Colt Army Revolver bullet, and the clip is a Model 1861 Springfield Rifle Musket replica.

 

New items in the gallery

We've added some beautiful artwork and crafts to the gallery in the last couple of weeks.

Mandy combines the vibrant colors of hand-dyed anodized aluminum and the natural elegance of fine and sterling silver to create striking designs with wide appeal. I bought a pair of earrings from her at the Salem, Oregon Art Festival in 2010 and am happy that we finally have some of her jewelry here.

Chumil is the creative collaboration of Glynn and James, who create elegant sterling silver classic modern jewelry.  Again, I bought earrings from them at a crafts show and have been eager to get their beautiful and unique jewelry at Throwing Mud Gallery.

Rabun is a fellow pottery with a unique style.  He adds a lot of details, textures, and interesting glaze techniques to his pieces.  One customer made the comment that they almost look like some of the details are made of wood.

If you know somebody who likes to play cribbage, we now have handmade portable wood cribbage boards with playing cards and pegs stored inside.  They even come with a suede case.

Mark and I stopped at a gallery in Bellingham while coming back from visiting Jordan and when we walked in the door this colorful glass on display caught out attention. We saw Nancy at an art show couple of weeks ago and were eager to place an order with her. She brought in her gorgeous colorful glass items just this morning.  Each piece is individually designed and carefully hand-painted.

Stop by Throwing Mud Gallery to see these fabulous unique items in person.  We've got something for everyone on your Christmas list.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

According to legend, Christmas stockings honor a charitable gift of the historical Saint Nicholas, a 3rd and 4th century bishop in modern-day Turkey known for his anonymous gifts. The story tells of a poor widower with three daughters who had no chance of marriage since they could not afford a dowry. Saint Nicholas left gold coins in the girls' stockings as they hung over the chimney at night to dry. Saint Nicholas inherited significant wealth from his parents and is believed to have made many anonymous gifts to the poor throughout his career as a bishop. He was later transformed by legend into the gift-giving Santa Claus, and Christmas stockings may be an homage to the gift-giving of the real Saint Nicholas.

If you have some stockings that need to be filled, here are some handcrafted ideas from Throwing Mud Gallery:

Adults and children alike will be tempted to see how long they can keep these tops spinning.  A customer in the store of Jewish faith told me they could also be used as a dreidel.

For a little more action set these larger tops spinning with a quick pull of the string.  With some practice, the craftsperson showed me, you can even spin the top on your finger.

While we're talking about wood products, how about a wood pen?  For the Civil War buff, the fat short pen is made with remarkably detailed replicas of a Civil War cap, tip and clip.

We have soap scents that will appeal to both women and men.  Peppermint ice scent is a perfect way to end a long day or start a new one. This refreshing, cleansing bar is especially prepared with nutrients to soothe the skin.  In the kitchen, the pungent oil of peppermint is helpful in removing fish, onion and garlic odors from the skin.

For the wine lover, we have beautiful fused glass wine toppers.  These would also be a wonderful gift along with a special bottle of red wine.

This little raku puffin has a lot of character in his little face and is sure to bring a smile wherever he is placed.  We also have some flying puffins that can be hung, as well as our whimsical raku fish - each one unique with a lot of personality.

A teapot, teacup or bird house magnet will add a bit of a bright spot of color to the kitchen.

And then there's always lollipops in flavors for kids (birthday cake, root beer float...) and adults (hazelnut coffee, guava colada...).  You can give a themed collection such as "breakfast" or "fruit basket".

There are many other items in our gallery small enough to fit into a stocking - small pottery bowls or plates, fused glass sauce dishes, wooden utensils, and of course JEWELRY.

If you live too far to come into the store, we can ship.

Autumn is in the air

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." - Stanley Horowitz

Beautiful autumn ....the leaves are turning colors and there's a crispness in the air.  I love the colors of fall...the many shades of brown, yellow, orange, green, red...and even purple.

 

...and then there's the smells.  The air outdoors smells different and inside, we're lighting candles and baking.

Today is a beautiful sunny fall day in Tacoma.  We don't get those very often so we need to treasure them.

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”  - L.M. Montgomery

Wood Turned Bowls

We knew that we wanted to have woodturned bowls in the gallery, and so we were happy to find these beautiful bowls when we went to a Seattle art show in March.

Richard only works with wood that would otherwise be cut - never with wood taken for the sole purpose of turning. Much of his stock is salvaged from saw mills, construction sites and firewood piles.

His bowls are treated with easily maintained food safe finishes and he believes that they will always look best AFTER they are used.

Mother's Day Ideas

Mother's Day is this Sunday - so, what do you get for the person who gave you life? Handmade items are always appreciated by moms. But not all of us are creative enough to come up with an idea. Let one of the artists at Throwing Mud Gallery do the creating for you!

Any woman likes jewelry and we've got different styles for many tastes - from simple classic to eclectic, we're sure to have a pair of earrings, bracelet or necklace that mom would love.

Maybe jewelry isn't your mom's style. If mom loves her coffee or tea, why not get her favorite flavor and a handcrafted mug to go with it?

For the mom who loves to cook or loves having beautiful serving dishes, we've got any size and style of bowl that she could want.

Moms that love to garden or display flowers, would appreciate a new vase and we've got vases that will hold one single stem or a big bouquet of flowers.

We've got journals or notepads for mom to record her thoughts, small glass dishes to hold her jewelry, beautiful fused glass wine stoppers or letter openers, teapots, soap, wood boxes and even some small items just to make her smile - like a raku fish or a pottery cat.

False Bay Boxes

Richard Nevels is another craftsman/artist that we've known for years. We have several of his boxes in our home. For 29 years, Richard has transformed driftwood that he's picked up beachcombing in the San Juan Island and turned them into beautiful boxes.

When describing his work, Richard says it best: "Beaches exist on the edge between two worlds. It is this place of balance between land and sea that inspires my "Rough and Smooth" style. What we perceive on the beach to be nothing more than silvery patinad wood is only half the story. Underneath that exterior lays another world of color, contrast, texture and aroma that most people never experience. It is my goal to bring both elements into play for the enjoyment of the viewer and art patron."