Poka Dot Dogs

3 dogs a-leaping, really, there are 3 Dalmatian dogs
leaping at Kelly and Laura's house.
They raise beautiful show dogs, now they have a mosaic piece
to add more dots to their home!

Family Walk

Here is the layout of a new design.
It will be a gift to Jimmy.
I have met a wonderful Ann Arbor porcelain artist,
Mary Dixon, who makes (and owns) fabulous dogs!

Here is the project a week later,
coming along nicely.
No sign of those Corgis yet.

Here is the finished project,
a design of Jimmy and our 2 dogs
on a "walk about".
Mary custom designed the figure of Jimmy,
I love her work!

Gone Ice Fishing

This piece is 16" X 24". It is lighter than the photograph but I am showing it dark to pick up the design.
Made with high gloss glass with an iridescent finish, hard to photograph. 

 

Having Fun

A table I had a lot of fun with. It is a "ceramic" view of our house with everyone looking out the window.
Let's see, there's Jimmy, me, Miss Purr, Phuti Radiphuti, Ozzie, hey, where's Pip?
She sleepin', I guess.

Fall Fashion

Concrete Garden Lady gets her new Fall/Winter ensemble 
custom tailored by the top designer 
in the Ann Arbor area,
Cindy Neam. 

Hey, what about ME .... ???
I should be so LUCKY!!!

Totem Pole Workshop in Chicago

I attended a Totem Pole workshop at the Chicago Mosaic School with Sherri Warner Hunter.

Here are some photos of the 5 day workshop. Everyone had fun,  amazing totem poles were made by amazing artists. I will show you my concrete and mosaic piece once it is finished.

Kamelia empties the Buddha's Head.
http://greenstarmovement.org/projects.html

Liz is quite handy with colored concrete sculptures!

www.inspiredmosaics.co.uk

Lynlee and her totem project.

Adding glass scrim to head piece. 

Sherri demonstrates how to add wire and decorations to the sculpture.

Facial detail demonstration by Sherri.

Learning how to Hot Wire a styrofoam armature. 

Bird on a Hot Wire!

                                                     Instructor Sherri Warner Hunter

Good Halloween Masks

Scary Monsters at my door this Halloween.
Or are they singing Christmas Carols a bit early?

What's my Line?

Will the real Jim Neal please stand up?

Professional Man

                

        And now, a song by our friend Stephen Dreyfuss.

          http://youtu.be/gXKbIdPgrWA

Stephen is a former Ann Arborite, now living in the San Francisco area.

His website is: http://www.stephendreyfuss.com

You will LIKE it!

Monday in October

My Work on Monday Morning.

My Dog on Monday Morning.

BEACH DAY

Mosaic Smalti tiles of 2 dogs at the Beach.
Gold Smalti Tiles for the Sun.
Dog Bone is made from Sculpey Polymer Clay.

Cranwich Bird Creation

This sculpture is called a Cranwich because
it is a cross between a Crane and Ostrich.
It will have mosaic glass tiles added to it as a winter's project.

When Tigers Fly

Les came over to move the Tiger,
he has the right kind of tractors to do the job.
Les is used to moving big trees, so a tiger seems easy to move.

When Tigers Fly

Tiger installed into his new home.
I will plant some Tiger grass and Banana trees next year
to make it look like he lives in a jungle.

Orsoni Smalti Cat

This piece is made with Smalti, which is traditional handmade glass used in medieval and Renaissance Europe. Orsoni Smalti is  handmade by Angelo Orsoni in Venice, Italy. This simple design has some charm, yes? 

Fish Table Top

This panel will sit on top of a cabinet at the studio.

Waiting

Hey, when are you going to be finished in the shop???

Lynlee and Flower Pot

Here I am, first photo of me on my blog....kinda smirky, I know....

Summer Dog

Here is Greeter, the welcomer to the studio.
He makes friends quite easily.

Back to Honeoye, NY

These photographs are from the evening at Philippe Faraut's home in New York.

I thought you might like to see some more of his work. (Take a look at his website by clicking on his name.)

This shot I thought interesting, inside his studio.

July Sun Over Warm Waves

I decided blue grout was what this piece needed.
I think blue grout may become my trademark.

Back Home, Studio Day

A portrait of Don, he is a wonderful man who lives in Honeoye, NY.
Philippe Faraut often asks him to be the model for his sculpting class.
http://philippefaraut.com/workshops.php

Jimmy has the time on Sunday to make refinements to the sculpture of Don
 he began in the workshop last week.

Last Day of Class

The sculpture in the foreground is of the model,
she agreed to photographs
while dressed.

Honeoye Lake Pot

I made this pot and saucer this week,
sitting on a picnic table
looking at the lake.

New Sculpture Begins Thursday

This sculpture was started today and will be worked on Friday, too.
It is a full body sculpture of a live model, one quarter scale.
Hopefully, we will be able to find a way to fire it once we are home, to preserve it.

Wednesday in NY

Jimmy's project this afternoon was to sculpt a torso from a live model.
This sculpture took him 2 hours.
I love it.

This evening Philippe invited the class visit his home workshop.
Amazing, inspiring, fun!

Honeoye, NY Workshop

Jim is enjoying (very much) a week long workshop with Philippe Faraut in Honeoye, NY. This was today's project. Nice job, Jimmy!

Tiger Grouting

Tiger's belly is grouted.

Tiger's back is grouted.

Tiger gets a facial with grout.

Making Waves

I have three projects in progress
and a fourth design already in mind.

This morning I am cutting and placing glass waves,
my first experience cutting glass shapes.
I have three band aids on my hands so far....

Tiger Grooming

Tiger likes to get brushed.
Jim is cleaning the thinset off the tiles to make the tiger sparkle.