Ceramics

Hey there! This week I want to share with everyone something I've been working on for the past two months. If you follow me on Instagram or any of the Alana Kruse Creations pages that we have, then you've already seen some of the work I've been doing.

I want to level with you guys...I'm actually having a little bit of a crisis right now. I signed up for a pottery class, I've taken this class before, same professor and everything...and I'm rediscovering a deep passion. Well, that's obviously not the crisis part. The thing is...I don't know what to do anymore. I had plans to apply for graduate school as a counselor, put my bachelor's in psychology to good use...but now...ugh! I just love making things so much. That's all I want to do...make stuff! Let me show you what I mean...

This was my first attempt at sliptrailing. For those of you that don't know, slip is basically watered down clay that has pigment added to it; and sliptrailing is when you put the slip into some form of bottle and trail the slip onto a piece to make patterns. So, not only is this bowl actually pretty well formed, but I think my very first attempt at sliptrailing turned out pretty good!

After doing some experimenting with the slip I created these:

As you can see, I took to this pretty quickly and pretty well. And I'm really passionate about what I'm doing. I absolutely love the creation process from start to finish. From wedging clay, to throwing, to trimming, to decorating. I love every step of the way.

Another decoration technique I've been playing with is called sgraffito, which just means carving, essentially. Take a look:

Yea...I gotta say, sgraffito is holding me just as enthralled as slip trailing. This bowl is one of my favorites. That flower! I surprised myself. Really.

Another fun part about doing this from start to finish is the end result:

You can never really tell how a piece will turn out. And that's part of the magic, I think. And it's also really fun when happy accidents happen:

Yea...this is my favorite bowl so far. I'm keeping this one! Haha! But I am also trying to recreate that effect on the inside on other pieces. This one took even my professor by surprise. And sometimes things don't quite turn out the way you wanted:

There's definitely an element of suspense and stress over how your pieces will come out of the kiln. I'm so, so nervous about how those plates will turn out! I have high hopes for those pieces! If you'd like to see more of what I've been doing, Instagram is the first place I post, and there's not 100% carry-over onto other social media accounts like Twitter, although I do share some things. If you want to find me on Instagram I'm @alanakrusecreations. If you prefer Twitter, I'm @akrusecreations, and we're also on Facebook as Alana Kruse Creations. So, if you want to see more of what I've been doing, you can find my work on any of those.

And...of course...I had to make myself a yarn bowl!

So do you see what I mean, now? I'm having a little bit of a life crisis because I really love what I'm doing now and I want to keep doing it. Problem is...it's pretty expensive to keep up independently. So...what do I even do? Just stay in school forever so I can keep doing this?

(*deep sigh*)

I guess I'll end up doing what I feel like is the responsible thing...I'll have to let you guys know what that is when I figure it out!

Till next time,
Alana

I Know I Have A Book Addiction: First Step....Admitting You Have A Problem

While Alana deals with her Pinterest addiction, I have my own addiction to deal with....my addiction to books or should I say to reading books.

Ever have that book or series of books that take you to a happy place? You know that book that every time you read it endorphins are released in your brain to give you a natural high. Well that's me in a nut shell, always reading trying to get that natural high lol. If you check out our Pinterest you will see some of my favorite reads from the classics to sci-fi / fantasy.

I go through phases of wanting to read different genres. It's like food, ya know, you eat what you have a taste for. Well, I read what I have a taste for lol. Sometimes, I have a taste for an epic journey in a foreign land or in outer space. Sometimes I want to play hard to get with a wealthy duke or viscount. I never really know until I get ready to read what I want to satisfy my appetite.

I do know this, I have to read at least one book a day or I get cranky. Reading soothes me, it's my escape from the real world. I do tend to prefer romance to thrillers or suspense but every now and again I do enjoy the occasional thriller. The real world we live in is so far from fantasy, it's a cruel reality at times. So yeah, I stick to the books where you are in love at first sight, married in a week and stay married til death do us part. What a laugh, that's so unreal but what can I say, I love it.

I think it's time to address whether or not you, my fellow readers, have a book reading addiction.

You may be a book reading addict if:

1. You stare longingly at the book store as you drive by
2. You read at stoplights
3. Your wishlist on your ereader has 20+ books that are sequels or are part of a series
4. You have an ereader and actually use it to read books
5. You prefer apples to oranges
6. I was just seeing if you were paying attention ;-)
7. You love the smell of a new book
8. You binge read entire series
9. You pre-order the next book in a series
10. Reading helps you stay awake and the TV puts you to sleep

So yeah, even if you don't fit this particular list, you have a problem if you even had to check lol. I fit the bill for quite a few of these. I have a problem, do you?

If your answer is yes, add to the list in the comments below with your own book reading addiction problems.

Happy Reading ;-),
Andrea

Am I A Pinterest Addict?

Most people view Pinterest as a way to pass the time, but I genuinely use it as a tool. I find so many projects on Pinterest, and so much inspiration! I use Pinterest as a search engine almost as much as I use Google! No, wait…I probably use it more. 

A lot of my inspiration comes from Pinterest. I have a board for everything! I made a board for crochet before I learned how to crochet merely because I wanted to learn. After I finally learned how to crochet, I started pinning things like crazy. I ended up with a board with over 800 pins! After I finally learned how to crochet it started getting tedious to find things I wanted to do, so I eventually made several more crochet boards and started organizing. I had so many pins I couldn’t even organize all of them! I just got tired of doing it! And I know I need even more subcategories for my crochet boards. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that under control!

One of my favorite boards is my “Handy Tips and Tricks.” This is kind of my catch-all space. I have home improvement tips, natural remedies, life hacks, and most importantly, I have survival skills pinned here. You know…just in case there’s a zombie apocalypse or something…

On my own, I have 44 different boards. And now, since I’ve created our business Pinterest profile, and have added myself to the boards from the business account, I have 56 total boards! (That’s not counting my secret boards!) 

Do I have a problem?

I don’t know.

Maybe I’m just really organized and I have a lot of interests?

Don’t judge me…

Till next time!

Alana

Valentine's Day Giveaway Winner!

We are happy to announce Brittany Tucker as our Valentines Day winner. Thanks to all who participated. Our next blog giveaway won't be until March for St. Patrick's day, but you never know when we will have a social media outlet giveaway through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram so stay tuned for interesting blog posts and future giveaways.

Black History Month: Yes! No! Maybe?

In honor of black history month, this post will be about some major black history highlights, some little known facts and of course my opinion on black history month. But first I would like to share this video by Smokey Robinson: I Love Being Black: Black American

Being a black person, I've always felt that there shouldn't have to be a black history month, but I never knew how strongly I felt about it until I started writing this post. Now, don't get your undies in a bunch, what I mean by that is that black history isn't something that should be relegated to just one month out of a year. Black history is something that should be discussed on a regular basis as is any history. There should not have to be a month set aside to bring out information, old and new, that has been discussed since the induction of black history month in the U.S. in 1976. The information brought forth during this month is information that is relevant no matter what month of the year it is. Now, this is just my personal opinion, some agree and some don't. I understand that this was brought about out of necessity in the 1920's with the formation of Negro History Week, as way to keep black history alive and celebrate those who have paved the way with blood, sweat and tears to bring about a change. But in this day in time I feel that it should not be necessary because we as people, not just black people, should have the information/discussions that we bring forth every year during black history month throughout the entire year. Maybe it is still necessary because we, as human beings, still have a lot of growing and maturing to do and if not for this month this information wouldn't be discussed but it is my sincere hope that one day it won't be necessary and American Black history will be just that, American history. What can I say, I love being black and its something that should be celebrated throughout the entire year not just one month. So let's have a Black history year, for that matter let's have a White history, Indian history, Hispanic history year, etc. Sorry if I offended anyone, that's not my intention. I could continue my rant but I think that's enough for one post lol.

So, being that it is Black History Month and it has been ingrained in my head by society that this is the time to share black people's accomplishments, I'll do just that. This list of facts was obtained from history.com.

• Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” which was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator, and publisher. It became a month-long celebration in 1976. The month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

• On February 12, 2009, the NAACP marked its 100th anniversary. Spurred by growing racial violence in the early twentieth century, and particularly by race riots in Springfield Illinois in 1908, a group of African American leaders joined together to form a new permanent civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). February 12, 1909 was chosen because it was the centennial anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

• Jack Johnson became the first African-American man to hold the World Heavyweight Champion boxing title in 1908. He held on to the belt until 1915.

• John Mercer Langston was the first black man to become a lawyer in Ohio when he passed the Bar in 1854. When he was elected to the post of Town Clerk for Brownhelm, Ohio in 1855 Langston became one of the first African Americans ever elected to public office in America. John Mercer Langston was also the great-uncle of Langston Hughes, famed poet of the Harlem Renaissance.

• Thurgood Marshall was the first African American ever appointed to the United States Supreme Court. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and served on the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991.

• George Washington Carver developed 300 derivative products from peanuts among them cheese, milk, coffee, flour, ink, dyes, plastics, wood stains, soap, linoleum, medicinal oils and cosmetics.

• Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American ever elected to the United States Senate. He represented the state of Mississippi from February 1870 to March 1871.

• Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives. She was elected in 1968 and represented the state of New York. She broke ground again four years later in 1972 when she was the first major party African-American candidate and the first female candidate for president of the United States.

• The black population of the United States in 1870 was 4.8 million; in 2007, the number of black residents of the United States, including those of more than one race, was 40.7 million.

• In 1940, Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American performer to win an Academy Award (the film industry`s highest honor) for her portrayal of a loyal slave governess in Gone With the Wind.

• In 1992, Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to go into space aboard the space shuttle Endeavor. During her 8-day mission she worked with U.S. and Japanese researchers, and was a co-investigator on a bone cell experiment.

This is by no means a complete compilation of facts, just a mere tip of the iceberg, so to speak. So my question to you is, "Should there still be a Black History month?" Yes, No, Maybe? and Why? I know in my rant above I said we shouldn't have to have a Black History month, but I feel it is still somewhat relevant. If we don't have a Black History Month will this information be lost? Will our youth of today not be exposed to these facts or will there be more discussion on black history throughout the entire year? I don't know. I'm torn. I want black history to be something that is up for discussion/celebration at any point during the year but I not ashamed to admit that I fear if there isn't a Black History Month our struggles and triumphs won't be made known to the youth of today. Its a lot to consider.  

*Those who comment please be respectful of all opinions, everyone is entitled to there own opinion whether you agree or not. Express yourself but please be respectful. :-)

Here are a just a couple opinions on the subject:

(Edward Bowser)Do we still need Black History Month? Unquestionably. It just needs a facelift. 

Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."

"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes". "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."

So? What do you think?

Happy Reading,

Andrea

Valentine's Day Giveaway

Hey Everybody!

Valentines Day is coming up here in the U.S. and we want to do a giveaway for all of our beautiful supporters who follow us and keep up with us to let you know how much we LOVE your support.

We have this adorable heart handle mug ready to be customized for the winner with a name of their choosing!

And we also have an adorable crochet rose put together by Alana:

This is an international giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling us where you follow us (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bloglovin' etc.), where you're from, and a blog post topic you'd like to see from us in the future in order to be entered into the giveaway! The giveaway starts now and will run until Sunday, February 8th. We will announce the winner on our blog on next Tuesday so stay tuned to see if you are our Valentines Day Winner. Good Luck!