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My colorful ceramic sea creatures cover a villa in Spain!!

handmade ceramic sea creatures and fish on the Villa's exterior

I was commissioned to create handmade ceramic sea creature wall decor for the exterior of a villa on the sea in Spain. This was quite an undertaking requiring months to create. I had to design each piece so that it could be attached to the exterior wall, look fabulous and survive being shipped to Europe. My client requested 35 fish all different some swimming in one direction- others in the opposite.

colorful ceramic starfish
colorful ceramic starfish

Each sea creature must be exciting and different.

When I create my wall sculptures; whether fish, turtles, owls or other wonderful animals, my intention is use textures and color to make a piece of art that interests any viewer. I use stamps that I have shaped and sculpted, jewelry, zippers, and odd bits of things with useful textures to cover the animal in a way that enhances their structure. Usually people purchase a single wall sculpture to add zip to a room-inside or outside, others will group several on a wall. This was my first commission using sea creature decor as architectural ornamentation. And it turned out great!

handmade ceramic octopus

The client was so pleased he reordered twice as many more! 20 crabs, 10 octopus, 4 turtles, 10 star fish and  30 more fish!

outside of villa with ceramic fish

fish on wall looking toward the sea

Figuring out how to make delicate sea creatures like crabs and octopus so they would be durable, meant some engineering improvements like clay slab backing.

clay sea creature crabs
sculpting and imprinting designs on crabs
colorful handmade ceramic crabs
colorful handmade ceramic crabs

blue and green handmade ceramic crabs

The other sea creatures presented other challenges but were fun to figure out and create!

ceramic squid sculptures
ceramic squid sculptures

a variety of handmade ceramic octopus

handmade green aqua crab

I love doing commissions, whether is tile, sculpture or paintings. Your ideas are a spring board offering me an opportunity to design and discover.  If you would like sea creatures to hang on your wall, or to use as architectural detail give me a call. I am happy to work with you to determine colors, subject matter and construction. Prices will vary depending on the level of labor and complexity. We will quote the price based on each job. 


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Spoon Rests, Great Hostess Kitchen gift

Danasimson.com Handmade ceramic spoon rest with raised image of peace dove.

Spoon rests were requested by a customer and I realized that we needed one in our kitchen too!

peace dove spoon rest

Our spoon rests are fun, functional art work for your kitchen. The round handmade ceramic spoon rest has a notch for the spoon. Its shallow bowl shape catches any gloop from your culinary creation, keeping your stove tidy. A hand-painted raised image on a colorful background decorates the inside of our spoon rest.

Each  spoon rest measures 5 inches in diameter and is glazed front and back. Every spoon rest is food safe. Just wipe clean with soapy dishwater.  A spoon rest is a useful gift for anyone. It will brighten up your kitchen along with keeping it clean.

We have added a hole at the top of our spoon rests. You can hang it on the wall as a decoration when not in use. Several spoon rests hung in a group look great in any kitchen.

Our spoon rests are handmade & painted, food safe and functional.

Each spoon rest is made individually by me in my studio! I roll out clay and press it into reverse relief tiles that I made from a master tile. This process is like making a print, but using clay rather then paper. Next, I press the relief peace dove surrounded by raised waves into a shallow bowl so if the spoon has gloop on it, that will stay in the bowl. I cut a notch for the handle of the spoon. The spoon rest dries and is fired to bisque. Afterward, I paint in the details with underglazes, adding the aqua flow glaze that defines the back ground texture. Finally it is fired once more with clear coat that seals the clay body in a thin layer of glass. This guarantees it is food safe and durable. Below is my honey bee spoon rest: https://www.danasimson.com/product/honey-bee-spoon-rest/

honey bee spoon rest

 

Check out more neat spoon rests at https://www.danasimson.com/product-category/ceramics/spoon-rests/

handmade ceramic spoon rests


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Working Clay Studio with Dana Fridays in March

For years people have been requesting that I teach a class here at Chesapeake East. February was a test month to see how that might go. It was so wonderful and invigorating- I and the lovely people who came are now addicted to Clay studio night. New Friends creating together- Excellent! We have just remodeled and spruced up the PIY pottery painting studio to include space for my classes and more. Look for painting, drawing, poetry, writers workshops, quilling and more classes to be added with my wonderful artist friends as teachers as we go forward. PIY is now part of the ARTWORKS at Chesapeake East. Give yourself a treat and the freedom to enjoy making something just for the fun of it.

To request a PDF class list  contact us at 410.546.1534. Best Wishes! Dana

artworks classesMarch-1 artworks classesMarch-2


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