Mermaid:  Sea Princess, hand made, unique, ceramic wall sculpture, 20"t x 12.5"w, by Tammy Vitale $175 retail

I have decided to start putting prices up with the new work.  This will be a base line as popular lines tend to go up.  Witness the torsos used to sell from $185 to $325 (retail) and now start at $400 (retail).  It is always nice to be able to track that. 

Sea Princess was finished yesterday during studio time.  Her hair put on, her tail stained (the top part of her is glazed) and her necklace made.  The holes in her shoulders are for the hanger, which is a pale green covered wire that almost matches her skin green tone…Obviously I haven’t finished that yet, and will take another picture when done.  I have been after a design that will get me a full mermaid in one piece in my kiln.  By rounding the figure out instead of making it linear, the whole thing now fits on one shelf.  I could go a bit larger if a had both hands down, but I like the movement of the one arm up (and I’m thinking now about packing, and how hard it’s going to be to travel that figure safely with the one arm up – I don’t always think of everything when I’m designing.  But travel always tells).

I also finished two totems, shown here full and in detail.  The first:  Totem:  Rain Forest Blues is 25"t x 7.5" wide and sells for $115; the second: Totem:  Up From the Ocean is 26.5T x 7.5w and sells for $115 also.

Both totems have pieces of amethyst – I’ll need to wander back to Asheville someday and get some more.  Asheville has the best rock shops!  We don’t have anything comparable around here, so I’m buying from shops that have already marked up their prices.  Good in a pinch but that does preclude using a lot of semi-precious such stones in my work because it makes the work cost prohibitive.

And the last piece for today is another in the series of Dancing Women, Totem:  A Joyful Noise which has amethyst and citrine (or maybe it isn’t citrine, now I’ve forgotten, but it’s a pretty yellow , semi translucent stone) and a small peacock feather.  This piece is 17.5"t x 10"w and retails for $135.00.

I meant to take time to make more Women Dancing while in the studio yesterday, but after the totems and the glazing and the loading of the kiln and the walking of the dog (many many times and she still peed once in the house, but also once outside, so I feel like there is some success happening there), I just didn’t get around to it.  I’m also ready to make more masks.  I’m thinking tomorrow, Monday, after I go back for a check in on the permanent crowns, I’ll have a day of creating instead of a day of finishing.  It seems to break out like that – and I like the days of making better than finishing but finishing has to happen, so.

thought for the day:  Face it, marketing strategies depend on pleasing other people.  your calling depends on pleasing yourself  You can’t listen to statistics and inspiration at the same time.  You can look for a snug harbor in the opinions of other people – or you can find protection in your genius.  But absolute genius requires absolute heart.

"If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your potential," says the advocate of ‘follow your bliss," Joseph Campbell.  And if you knew your potential, you would laugh at your efforts to fit into smaller molds…Haven’t you heard a song or read a line and immediately identified with the artist? … Or haven’t you thought to yourself, "this is just what I’ve been waiting for"…  Tama Kieves, This Time I Dance