Charan Sachar in The New York Times

I am very excited to share that I have been featured on the Front Page of The New York Times (SundayStyles Section) today (August 14th 2011). Grab your copy today!

Here is a clipping from the article with some great pictures taken by Stuart Isett
"Charan Sachar, 37, a former software engineer who lives near Seattle, used to spend his downtime perusing Etsy, the D.I.Y. crafts site. He daydreamed of an unfettered life at his kiln, creating Bollywood-inspired teapots and butter dishes.

In January, after 12 years in software, he quit to devote himself full time to his online store, Creative With Clay, which sells stoneware he designs and makes. (Last May, he told his story on Etsy’s “Quit Your Day Job” blog.)

Now, instead of spending his free time absorbed in visions of clay, he spends as much as 70 percent of his day on administration. He is not only his own boss, he is his own accountant, sales director, marketing manager and shipping clerk."

I have listed several new items in my Etsy shop. Thank you all for your support through out these years. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you.

New Booth Setup

Almost every year, I make changes to my booth. This time the change is big and it costed big too $$$. After a lot thinking, the Caravan Canopy was just not working for me. It has been very strong and stable for the shows I have done over the last few years. The thing that annoyed me most about it was the cross bars at the top. They blocked the view of platters and dancing Divas which were hung on my back wall. Very distracting. So after a lot of research, I purchased the Light Dome Canopy. I like the open high ceiling and bright light in the booth. This gave me the oppurtunity to add some color to the top as well.

They are a little time consuming to setup, but I bet it gets better with time. The most annoying this has to be putting the top on. With two people it is a breeze but with a short guy like me, it is a challenge.

Would love to hear about the canopies and setups other artists have. Feel free to tweet and leave your comments.

New techniques and New work

I am so excited about this new way I am decorating my work. Of course it is a lot more intricate and lot more time consuming and I wish I had warned myself what I was getting into. :)

I am liking the slip decoration in black and then filing in all the colors. I feel like a kid again, painting in my coloring book with my mom asking me to stay within the lines.

As you can see the designs are a lot more intricate and detailed. Very inspired from henna tattoos. I like the tightness of the designs and how I can give it multiple colors in the small tight spaces. Takes me forever to decorate these. I will probably use this technique on my larger high end pieces like my platters and dancing divas. See pictures of some finished work below.

I will have all the new work at the upcoming Edmonds Arts Festival (June 17th-19th)

Quit my Day Job

I am glad to annouce that I finally quit my day job and I am now a full time potter. It is going to be interesting to see what unfolds.
Etsy did a feature on me last week with my story and here is the interview.
http://www.etsy.com/storque/seller-handbook/quit-your-day-job-creative-with-clay-12750/
Thank you all for your support!

Pantry Storage

I am thrilled that we finally have pantry storage in our kitchen!!
Ever since we moved into our house (few years back), we have been struggling with storage. The kitchen is big, but the cabinets dated pre-Costco, so all shelves are fixed and nothing fit in. So we were storing stuff in our garage. Have gone back and forth several times thinking about remodeling the kitchen, but the expense always is a shock!
I found this pinkish brown corner armoire on craiglist and which would need some work but would be a perfect addition to our kitchen. It is all solid wood and was in excellent condition. And for $40, a steal!
It had some missing hardware and the color was weird. Instead of repainting it another shade of brown to match our existing boring cabinets, I wanted to go wild on this one. Went with a soft lime green with chocolate brown accents which goes very well with the backyard and brings the outside colors in.
What do you think?

Added new hardware and shelves and finally have storage in the kitchen!!

Extruded and Pulled Handles

As potters know, a comfortable and aesthetically balanced handle is a goal we all strive for. And for many it is a dreading part of the whole process. It is a constant learning process and now I actually enjoy pulling handles. I have kept experimenting and changing my handles to get them consistent and the shape that I want.

Since I love my extruder so much, potters at shows and online always ask me if I pull or extrude my handles. Well.. I do both. I extrude mostly for getting a consistent shape for all my handles and also it is a lot faster. But plain extrusions and result in a very lifeless handles. So then I go ahead and pull my handle.

I cut my oval shape extrusions to 5" in length. To make this a more pleasurable experience, you clean warm water for pulling. My left hand is always dry to hold the handle. Dip the handle in water and taper it with your right hand.

After tapering, I run my thumb in the center a few times to create a curve. When finished, this slight curve makes a good place for the thumb to rest.

Check the video below to see the whole process. When attaching the handle to the mug, I cut with a cookie cutter as this lets me join the mug to the curved surface of the mug without distorting it. I got that tip from Ginger Steele on one of our clay play dates.

And here is the finished result.

Below are pictures of pots from Ginger Steele and Kristen Kieffer whose handles I really admire.

Feel free to add your tips on handles in the comments.

Mother's Day Sale

The one thing that my mom loves is a good deal! And I am sure there are many like her.

So if you haven't shopped for your mom yet, this is a great opportunity to make her proud with a good discount.

Purchase any item in my shop and get 25% OFF shipping.
Any two items and you get 50% OFF shipping
Any three items and get 75% OFF shipping
Any four or more items and absolutely FREE shipping.

Just mention "Mother's Day discount" in Message to Seller when you purchase.

Discounts will be given as refunds via paypal as soon as payments are made.
Items will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail or Fedex ground.

Act fast as this deal only lasts till May 2nd, to ensure that your gifts reach in time for Mother's Day!