The good news is I get to work at home and set my own schedule.

The bad news is I get to work at home and set my own schedule.

I have tried so many times to get my work time in the studio onto a set schedule. Once in a while I've been able to actually walk into the studio at 8 or 9 AM and not break for anything until  4 or 5 PM, a normal workday for most people. When you work at home and your studio is right behind your house, it might seem like an easy task to be able to just walk out of your house and go to work, but it never seems to be just that way.

As I write this, I have my husbands car at Maaco for a repair. It's 10 AM. Prior to this, I had to clean my house and get ready to host our AirBnB guests who are arriving this evening. Tomorrow, I have to take my car at 10 AM for an oil change. There always seems to be something, whether it's shopping that needs to be done or errands or doctors appointments or things that just can't happen in the evening, that always seem to cut into my workday.



And then there is the inevitable pile of dirty dishes or the laundry that you tried to ignore to go to the studio and do your work FIRST but it's sitting there staring you in the face every time you come into the house to get a drink of water screeching "WASH ME,  do something about me, sweep the floor for crying out loud!" and inside you're head you're saying, "But I can't, I can't, I'm an artist I have to make pottery and  I have to work, I have to paint!" I try not to succumb until I have made some art but it's a never-ending battle!

 So like today, I probably won't get into the studio and be able to actually get busy with my work until 11 AM or 12 PM. With any luck, I'll get four solid hours of work done before I have to break to make dinner for my husband. I could go back out to the studio after that, but when I don't see him all day we want to spend time together. (Yes, after 24 years of marriage, we still like each other)

I'm not complaining. It's a luxury for me to be able to be an artist and work at home because Lord knows, it doesn't pay the bills. It's just that sometimes I think it's easier to get up get dressed and get in your car to go somewhere else where you have no other distractions but the work that you have to do.
Even though I always feel like I am being pulled in different directions and never have enough hours in the day, I manage to get quite a lot done. One day has passed since I started writing this. I spent my afternoon glazing yesterday and I am firing a full kiln at this moment. I realized that because my studio will be one of the stops on the Chester County Best Kept Secrets Tour, there will be 16 days in November when I would normally still be making things for holiday sales when my studio will have to be all spiffed up and clean for the tour and I won't be able to throw mud around. That means that I have to have all of my holiday inventory made in October.


So I am throwing like a mad woman and making plans for some new paintings and would really like to create a "Millicent and the Faraway Moon Coloring Book" to add to my growing collection of books that I have authored and created. So far, the kiln is full of very affordable items in the $20 range, which I plan to have a lot of on hand throughout the holidays like ring bowls and dip spreaders, tea lights, soap dishes and cereal bowls. There are also a lot of yarn bowls firing right now, an item I need a large stock of because it is my biggest holiday seller.

I have been all about butterflies this summer and I am doing a lot of hand painting with butterflies on what will be wall hangings and plates. I am also making really cute hand painted cake plates, flower plates and flower bowls with stems that act as pedestals. Naturally, the hand-painted items will have to be  a little more expensive as they take me more time to produce.

I am also having a lot of fun making miniature ceramic houses. These would make great housewarming gifts or look cute in a terrarium or just on a shelf. While the kiln fires, it is time to do some more painting on bisque and after that it will be time to start taking photos of new pieces  for uploading to my website and then writing the listings for each one.  Blogging and using social media is the only marketing I do right now and is also a huge time suck.

We'll see how far I get today. Always much to do and never enough time to do it -especially when you're a one-woman band like me. :0)

Photo borrowed from "The Blue Lantern"

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Ok, Well it's not really a secret, but if you see signs around in Chester County, Pennsylvania that shows these crazy cartoon ladies having fun, in front of a business, the shop is a "best-kept secret" or hidden treasure and part of the Chester County Best Kept Secrets Shopping Tour.

I can't tell you the names of the 37 business on the tour, but I can tell you that the tour is made up of lots of different kinds of businesses from garden shops, to little boutiques, to candy shops, consignment and on and on. It's kind of like a treasure hunt finding out-of-the-way places that you might otherwise be unaware of.

My studio is one of those those establishments. If you never met me at an art show or haven't seen my work in a gallery or don't follow me online, you might never be aware of my work or my adorable little studio which is located behind my house. The shopping tour is a fantastic opportunity for me to welcome people from all over to visit my studio and see what I make..

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Please forgive me while I stand on my soap box for a bit today.

I never wear shoes like this but maybe I should :0)

It's that time of year again. Your kids have either already started back to school or they will be there shortly. Does your child's school still have an art program? More and more schools across the nation are eliminating arts and music programs. If they replace them with anything at all it is sometimes with pseudo art instruction performed by an unqualified classroom teacher.

That statement is not meant to disparage classroom teachers, it is just that they are not trained arts specialists.  The major justification for ending arts programs is almost always budget. School districts are constantly complaining that they don't have a enough money for basic programs, so first on the chopping block is usually what administrators and parents see as the most extraneous and unnecessary programs- art and music.


Here are some of the common myths and justifications for deeming art as unnecessary and thereby eliminating it.

Every child is not a talented artist
Every child is not going to be an artist
Training children in the arts has no application to real world (job) success
Art is meant to help children "express themselves"

Here is what arts education really gives to your kids:

The number one most valuable thing that art education provides to your child:

It teaches them to THINK critically and innovate. It teaches them to TAKE RISKS and to see the BIG PICTURE.



Making art is not just about making pretty things or providing some slapdash approach to "self expression" devoid of rules and structure. There are rules in art- Elements and Principals of Design- which provides a framework for making good art and once understood, provides a vehicle for creating good art while breaking those rules and learning to innovate.

Art history provides a cultural framework and point of reference for history and innovation throughout time. Children without skill in creating art are still given an understanding of the cultural heritage of art, get exposed to great thinkers and artistic creators (ex. Picasso, Matisse) who broke from the mold of realistic art making to devise a new way of SEEING and creating.

Art is not always about the end product. The value of art education is more in the processes of creating art and learning about it than in the outcome of making a pretty picture.


Most other disciplines only work on finding right or wrong answers. There is no room for thinking out of the box or for creating a new paradigm. Children who are only being educated in these limiting disciplines will grow to only seek the correct (predetermined) answer, never being able to consider another option and will accept as irrefutable that which is spoon fed to him as fact.

We need to keep raising generations of Picasso's, Da Vinci's, Van Gogh's, Louise Nevelsons and even more Andy Warhol's, whose art was not just pictures of Campbell Soup cans, but a shrewd commentary on our massed produced society as a whole, a concept seen through an artists ability to view "the big picture."

Louise Nevelson

Louise Nevelson- Royal Tide IV-Assemblage

The world needs both kinds of thinkers, both right brain and left. Here is a perfect example:

Steve Wozniak, a left brain tech head computer guy who, left on his own would probably have had his own small company or gone to work for IBM or Microsoft or Oracle or any other computer giant out there at the time.

Steve Jobs, a hippy dippy, right brain college drop out with an understanding of business,training in art and a devoted sense and love for beauty and good design.

It is the combination of these two very different types of talents that brought us all of the elegant and beautiful Apple computer products which many of us enjoy and other companies try to emulate.

The marriage of these two divergent genius brains resulted in something of a lightening strike which created (in my opinion) one of the greatest tech companies ever.

Steve Jobs (standing) and Steve Wozniak (at keyboard)

Is your kid going to be the next Steve Jobs or Picasso or Frida Kahlo? Maybe not. If given the benefit of a meaningful art education, what they can be is a well rounded human being who can think outside of the box, challenge the status quo, consider various answers to the same problem, create something from nothing, use the tools at hand in new ways and make cross cultural and historical connections.

Oh, and they may come home with a nice painting sometimes, too.

Frida and Me- © Karen O'Lone-Hahn

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The other day, I had the extreme pleasure to meet  a really unique and talented woman and visit her made by hand clay or "cob" home studio. A cob house is a mixture of sand, clay, straw and water and ends up looking something akin to an adobe structure because of it's rounded and smooth walls and spaces. Cob structures have been around for centuries all over the world according to Wikipedia, but this girl had never heard of one until last year.

I became aware of this remarkable woman, Cara Graver, and her cob studio a little over a year ago when I signed up to be a part of The Chester County Best Kept Secrets Shopping Tour. I didn't get a chance to meet with her and see her studio then but since I signed up to be a part of this year's tour in November, I didn't want to miss meeting her or seeing it while I was in the area for a meeting.

Cara did not disappoint. First of all, she was such a warm and welcoming person that I felt like I had known her all my life upon our first meeting. When I followed her back through offbeat gravel roadway to her home and the "Cob" behind it, I felt that I was visiting a very special place indeed.


Inspired by the book, "The Cob Builders Handbook,You Can Sculpt Your Own Home", Cara   decided at the age of 55 to go to Oregon, where she lived in the woods with no heat, electricity, or running water for a 6 week course on how to build a cob.

On her return, she and her husband used a backhoe to dig the 3 foot bed where the local rocks would be laid for the foundation of the her building. Then the hand building began with the mix of straw, clay, water and sand. Windows and doors were found at dumpsters and rehab sites. The thick walls retain heat and cold and water is supplied by a well. The structure took 4 years to complete though Cara is continuing with a recent edition, a composting toilet annex!



The cob is a very special place where Cara makes beautiful pottery and gives classes. She is also a holistic healer and just an all around amazing lady. If you would like to visit her Cob Studio located in Chester Springs Pa. or learn more about her, please visit her web page at http://www.thecobstudio.com and tell her Karen sent you :0).

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Yes, some of it is green and leafy, but it's not that!

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Every studio needs it's basic equipment for whatever it is that you're making. In my studio it is my pottery wheel,my bats, clay and assorted tools. I also have to have shelving to put items on both items in process and finished items. I  have to have my easel, paints brushes and good lighting.

Beyond that there are a few things that enhance the process and just make for a better creative experience. In my case, the outside has as much to do with it as the inside. I love the happy colors that I had my daughter paint on the outside. The yellow, green and purple  greet me with a feeling of perpetual spring, even when we are buried in snow.

My studio is basically a 12 x 20' Amish shed that came to us bare-bones and unfinished studs on the inside. My husband and I finished it with drywall,insulation, flooring etc. We made the ceiling Cathedral which gives the small space a feeling of having more room than it actually does.We added track lighting to shift around the room to light paintings on the wall and I ordered extra windows in the back and large rounded windows on the doors. My window boxes were an essential for me. The flowers that I add them to each spring add a homey touch and contribute to the happy feeling of the exterior.





















Inside, some of my must-haves are my little portable speaker which hooks up to my iPhone and plays my music as loud or as quietly as I am in the mood for. This replaces my iHome which stopped supporting my iPhone about two generations ago.




I also have my cute little red IKEA couch for those times when I just need a break or a place to sit and gestate ideas or a home base to wrap and write up orders during open studio.



My coffee pot is essential. I guess I shouldn't called it a pot anymore now that we have Keuregs. We used to be very anti-Keureg in this family because of the waste of all the little k-cups but my husband relented last Christmas and got me a small one for my studio. I have to say that I absolutely love it and the coffee that it makes is just the best. Aside from McDonald's, I don't think there's anywhere that I get it as piping hot. I keep a small refrigerator in my studio though I'm not sure that it's an essential except for during open studio when I put cheeses and fruit in there to keep from one day to the next.  I do also keep some cold beverages like seltzer and beer and soda for studio visitors.


My two other essentials, or maybe I should say three, are my window air conditioner which I absolutely cannot be without in the summer and in the winter I am kept warm with two electric space heaters.



It depends on the temperature whether I need to run both heaters or not, but this winter, given our many days of temperatures below freezing, I had to keep them both running 24/7 to prevent my clay from freezing and rendering it all unusable.




I bought a handy little thermometer which keeps me apprised of such things and therefore is an indispensable studio item. My little wooden figure which stands next to the thermometer, is sometimes helpful when painting people, but he doesn't bend too much so he just hangs around a lot to remind me that I am indeed and artist.



  Not sure it's essential, but the Frida Kahlo flower head band that I made last Halloween, is fun to have around and wear when I'm throwing or painting because it feels like I am channeling some mystical creative juice from artists like Frida who came before me. Plus, I just like to be silly sometimes.

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On Saturday I hit the road again bound for Gatlinburg, Tn. where I am attending Arrowmont School of Crafts for a week. I am taking a class from Jason Walker a Seattle area based potter known for his narrative sculptures in porcelain. I was torn about which class to take here, but when I saw Jason's work, I was completely blown away. My latest goal with my pottery is to bring more of my painting onto it and when I saw Jason's work it was a no-brainer. A I mentioned in last weeks post, one of the things that I enjoyed with painting once again was the ability to tell a story in a painting. Jason tells a story with his clay both in construction and surface painting. I am so jazzed to learn his techniques this week! We had orientation and a mini class tonight and so far I think it's going to be a swell week. He seems like a very communicative and supportive instructor and a generally nice guy.
I drove down to Gatlinburg, splitting the ride over two days. Cruising down Rte 81 through the Shenandoah Valley all the way is such a beautiful ride
. Surrounded by mountain ranges on both sides  with breath taking views at some places and best of all being able to do it with a 70 mile per hour speed limit is just awesome! The highway is also nicely paved and the truckers even obey the speed limit and stay to the right, making this a dream drive.

Anyway, I needed the break from the road and sat down with my cooler of road food and enjoyed the view and the wine.
About 3 hours later, my next stop was at my hotel, my halfway point in Salem, Va., nice Comfort Suites affording the same magnificent views of the mountains and a much needed hot tub for my weary bones and sore back.

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Right around March I start to get really excited because the sweetest strawberries start showing up in the grocery store. I don't know where they come from but it seems at that time of year is when they are really ripe and really sweet. I love strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. Blackberries- eh, not so much. It's not that I don't like them, they're just not that great to me and don't warrant the price that you usually have to pay for them.

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Here are some songs that sum up my life in the studio each day:

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I wax the bowl design There are quotes from the Bible that help me do things that I didn't know I could do, like, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13.

Next I carve the words and design

Brush away the nubbies

Fill the grooves with black underglaze

Paint the entire bowl black to create antiquing effect

Add layers of colored underglaze over black bottoms

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I have had the pleasure over the years of creating special pieces of both art and pottery for various customers. Creating custom artwork can be really fun, challenging and rewarding.  I like taking on custom work, because it often takes me out of my comfort zone or challenges me to do things that I didn't know I could do or to find a new way of looking at something.

 I remember doing special projects for people as far back as high school and feeling so proud that someone would not only trust me with their vision for the thing that they wanted to be created, but that they would give me money to do it.

Most of my artistic life has been spent as a painter using oils and more recently acrylics. Three years ago I became a potter which has been a never ending journey into various techniques for making and glazing. In addition to these areas of experience, I have often been called up to expand my repertoire and create pieces in media that I have little experience with which is especially fun.

My "People on the Couch" series of paintings is always a unique adventure as I create them from a customers candid snapshots  of themselves and/or loved ones on the couch.

I love this painting from a 1960's family snapshot

This one was created without any people in it from a series of snapshots of family pets and favorite items for a special  Graduation couch picture.

See more couch paintings here

A wooden blue hen painted as a fundraiser for the Newark Arts Alliance in Newark, De.

A large hand thrown bowl glazed with my well known colorful cows

A whimsical cat painting featuring a "cat in the beanstalk"

A really neat project. A lineage of piano teachers from Beethoven to my clients husband painted to look like parchment.

A custom  yarn bowl for an Irish shop in Delaware

A little acrylic guitar  and keyboard painting for a teen

Donut shaped Salt and peppers

A door sign for a bake shop

a spoon rest

A whole set of large, colorful cappuccino mugs

      Have an idea for custom art that you would like to see brought to fruition? Feel free to contact me!

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A roundup of mugs by some of my favorite pro potters-

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Click here to get one! oink!! All pottery designs copyright Karen O'Lone-Hahn 2015 registered with the US copyright office

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 In fact the first one that I made was a custom order for someone who wanted a grey tabby creamer.

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I display my own work and other artists that I collect in my living room salon. Do you own a lot of artwork? How about pottery? Do you have fun or intersting ways that you diplay yours? Please share!

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