Dandelion Market show (July 9th Denver, Colorado)

Come see my dog & cat paw print mugs (and other stuff) at the Dandelion Artisan Market at Girls Inc., July 9th from 11 to 4 pm. I will be selling my pottery and jewelry at this artisan market that benefits girls in poverty at Girls Inc. This is a fantastic organization that helps young women continue to be strong, smart and bold! Ten percent of the sales go to Girls Inc.

July 9th Dandelion Artisan Market will be held at Girls Inc. located at 1499 Julian St, Denver, CO 80204.

I will have cat and dog paw coffee mugs.

Tea bowls and soap dishes.

Jewelry and mortar & pestles.

Watching sufferers of Craft Show Delusion Disorder

Freshly fired jewelry pieces in the kiln.

Today, I was reading an article (blog post) over at The Survival Mom and she mentioned Craft Show Delusion Disorder (CSDD), and I could not help laughing--because I have seen this firsthand at both craft shows and in my regular profession.

As a writer, I have noticed (especially now that you can publish your own ebook though places like Smashwords) that everyone thinks that they can be a writer...which might be true; after all, I can do it, and I am not the shiniest apple in the barrel. Of course, the self-published market has became one giant slush pile as a result of this mindset (at least, I have cashed checks from magazines in the print market before going indie). But the trend does count down on the number of people who have a great idea, and want me to write it up for fifty percent of the net, so that is a positive...I guess.

I can understand why everyone thinks that they can be a writer...it requires little equipment, and we all get told in school how great our writing is by our peers (no one ever tells a friend or classmate that their writing blows chunks). But I have watched people at craft shows (which my wife has made me help at) suffer from Craft Show Delusion Disorder about crafts that they should not be suffering the delusion over.

Right in front of the two of us. And one of us happens to be the ceramic artist; the other just is a knuckle dragging spouse brought to the show to lift heavy things...and be bored out of his cotton-picking mind.

It is the people who suffer CSDD that believe that they can reproduce my wife's pottery that fascinate me. I have watched people believe that they can reproduce paintings, drawings, and jewelry...some of which I can understand believing that one can do (not everything at a craft show is top quality work). But my wife's pottery?!

My wife has been doing pottery longer than I have known her--she has twenty-three years of experience doing ceramics. And in the seventeen years I have known her, the product has improved greatly. I have lost track of the number of mortar and pestles that I have photographed for her over the years.

And we have watched people with just a semester of pottery under their belt, who have not touched clay in years, plus have none of the required equipment (an awful big expense), believe that they could make what my wife is making. Ok, maybe they could make a mortar and pestle...but it will probably look like a melted marshmallow. For the record, I am the person who does shop at the local college's biannual pottery club sale--and the stuff I see there, my wife would call seconds (items that are flawed and possibly buried never to be seen again by any living human being)--and that is what a semester or two of pottery class produces.

Is there a cure for Craft Show Delusion Disorder? Actually, yes--become a professional craftsperson yourself. I find that artists tend to be realistic (and far too busy with their own specialty) about what they can and cannot do (which is why a certain amount of barter happens among the artists at a craft show).

In other news: my wife's Facebook fanpage recently gained its hundredth fan, and new items are currently being listed on the Celtic Soul Jewelry and Pottery Etsy shop page.

One of the latest mortar and pestles that my wife finished.

Spirit Ways 17th Anniversary

Some of the pottery available at Spirit Ways

This upcoming weekend, Spirit Ways is going to be celebrating their 17th year in business. There is going to be refreshments, local artisans (including my wife---Celtic Soul Jewelry and Pottery), raffles, psychic readers and spiritual healers, chair massage, and live music. There will be a drum circle on Saturday Night. The celebration will be held 10am to 7 pm on Saturday, September 17th 2011, and noon to 5 pm on Sunday, September 18th 2011.

Spirit Ways, a unique metaphysical shop, is located ar 3301 E. Colfax, Denver Colorado 80206.

{Opps, it turns out that this was there 14th anniversary.}

Just four days away

Some of the stuff we had at the last Handmade Hookup Show.

It is just four days away from the September 10th 2011 Hademade Hookup Craft Show. This Colorado craft show is held outside at the Shops at Stapleton Northfield area (just north of I-70 east of Quebec). Admission is free. Toni's booth will be someplace south of the Macys store. She will be doing primarily jewelery at this show (I think)---though she might have some bowls, coffee mugs, and mortars and prestles also with her.

(I will not be at this show---I have a lot of university homework that has piled up that I need to deal with.)

At the Celebration Metaphysical Show

Handmade plate by Celtic Soul Jewelry and Pottery

Handthrown plate by Toni Penn

For those of you who are in Denver Colorado this Labor Day weekend, Karen (a local shop owner) is going to be displaying some of my wife's pottery at her Quatuam Alchemy booth during the Celebration Metaphysical Fair (415 E. 58th Ave #4240, Denver Colorado 80216).

The Celebration Metaphysical Fair runs September 2nd to 4th 2011. It is the oldest Conscious Living Fair in the United States; it has ran during Labor Day weekend since 1978.

The daily admission is five dollars. Last year, they were doing reading for twenty dollars for twenty minutes (I am not sure what the rate is this year).

The hours for the Metaphysical Fair are Friday: 1 to 9 pm; Saturday 10 am to 7 pm; and Sunday 10 am to 6 pm.

Been taking pottery photos for a long time

Assorted pottery by Toni Penn of Celtic Soul Jewelry and Pottery.

Morgan here---Today, I am busy editing the latest round of jewelry photos. Earlier today, while doing a "brute search" on the computer for a photo that Toni wanted to consult of a past pottery piece, I realized that I have been taking pottery photos for six years now. Some of the photos I am still pleased with (aka I still like the photos). Like this photo which was taken in September 2008 of assorted herb jars, a mortar and pestle, and a cauldron---I still think that this is a good photo. The herbs in the background, spearmint and mugwort, are from the herb garden that grows outside of the pottery studio.

Toni is busy throwing more stuff for both the September 10th Handmade Hookup Craftshow and Spiritways as well as writing up descriptions for some pendant pieces that are going to be put up on Etsy by the end of the week.

Handmade Hookup Craftshow this Saturday

Wheel thrown jars.

If you are in Colorado and near the Shops at Stapleton Northfield area (just north of I-70 east of Quebec) this Saturday July 30th, noon to 5 pm, come by and visit Celtic Soul Jewelry and Pottery at The Handmade Hookup Craftshow. Besides jewelry with handmade clay pieces, there will also be wheel thrown items (mortar and pestles, jars, kitty bowls, candle holders) for sale. For the first time ever, we will be accepting credit card payments---yah progress! Both Toni Penn (the artist) and her husband Morgan Drake Eckstein (the photographer and blogger) will be present.

Upcoming craft show---The Handmade Hook Up July 30th 2011

Celtic Soul Pottery at a Craftshow

Celtic Soul Jewelry and Pottery is going to be at The Handmade Hook Up craft show (Northfield Stapleton outdoor mall) on July 30, 2011 (noon to 5 pm). It will be mainly jewelry this time around, though a few regular pottery pieces might make their way into the mix depending upon how much time Toni has after her summer classes are over.