Dark Horse Discoveries

DIY Time! Paint Your Own Ceramic Horse

2011-04-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

I remember when I was a little girl and there was a carnival in town, I always coveted the miniature horse statues that you could win as a prize at some of the games. I never did win one... sadly I guess I sucked at those games (but doesn't everybody :) So my search for getting a horse statue that I could love for my very own continued until today.

After searching for the last 2 years, we found a great design for a small standing horse that I just love! And the best part is, unlike the plastic Made In China horses that you get nowadays, our horses are ceramic and can last a lifetime... plus you get to paint it!!!

You can see an example of my first try painting this little darling horse. I think he came out beautifully. Eventually, we will offer some finished horses in this style - and since I am always looking for ideas, if you have a favorite type of horse, leave me a comment so I can make one - but for now I am offering this little horse as a DIY Paint Your Own Ceramic Horse kit at our Etsy store or just bisque piece paif you have your own paint.

It is very easy to paint, and girls go crazy over this project. Really memorable for birthday parties, or as a gift that will last a lifetime. Really... I have some ceramic pieces that I made when I was 11 years old that look like new 30 years later (OK I just gave away my age a bit! lol )

I really ope you love this paint your own ceramic horse as much as I do! Love to see your comments :)

All my best wishes for your health and happiness,
Jeanie

The Amazing Cucumber - 13 Things You Didn't Know It Could Do

2011-04-16T14:07:00.002-07:00

I love finding natural ways to combat household problems or everyday issues -- and of course we all know what cucumbers are: they are just another vegetable we put on salads and possibly in cruditès. But I bet you had no idea how versatile cucumbers really are. You'll probably never look at a cucumber the same way again.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeine and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up which can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance (try it on your car windows when it’s raining or cold).

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Give yourself a micro version of that expensive spa treatment without all the chemicals in most of those expensive spa products. Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!

Read 8 more ways you can use cucumbers (including how to use cucumber for hangovers, a "green" way to clean stainless steel sinks and faucets...and more!) Enjoy!

For information purposes only. The content on this page is not intended as advice. Your results may vary.

To your great health every day,

Jeanie

My Natural Health Online Helps Others Help Themselves

2011-04-06T19:04:00.003-07:00

One of my passions is natural heath and natural remedies for healthy living instead of traditional medicine (allopathic) and I love this new resource at MyNaturalHealthOnline.com. My own health experience has taught me that traditional medicine is not for everyone and natural methods are really becoming more mainstream today as other people are finding out that nutrition and natural remedies makes a huge difference in quality of life.

Having suffered a major disease twice in my life, I try to help others whenever I can learn more about the options that are available to them for better health. It's really wonderful to see someone improve and flourish, and if I can help be any part of that - how awesome!

I have written a few articles for MyNaturalHealthOnline.com based on my own natural health experieinces with thyroid problems, IBS, Candida and others. I will be contributing more as time goes on in hopes to help others who are seeking natural solutions. Hope you enjoy the website as much as I do!

You can leave comments on any of the articles. There is a wealth of information there already ~ and growing. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to see 'em!

To your great health~
Jeanie

Exclusive Ceramic Christmas Tree Site Is Up!

2011-01-24T10:28:00.007-07:00

We have been working on a new website at CeramicChristmasTrees.info to bring together all our poplular Dark Horse Arts and Gifts ceramic Chrsitmas Trees in one place - and it is up and running beautifully! It has been exciting to create this new website to showcase our entire collection, plus checkout is easier with major credit card or PayPal (your choice).

We love making ceramic Christmas Trees. Every one is a little different since they are entirely handmade. We put a little piece of ourselves into every tree because we know that we are helping to create new and lasting memories of Christmas for the familes that get our trees. It is very rewarding for us to have such wonderful customers and awesome feedback.

Our new website allows for lots of customization features like choosing the oclor star that you want, adding a music box, different bases for each tree, plus we offer 3 sizes of trees and more...

Come and check out our new site here: CeramicChristmasTrees.info

and if you have one of our trees already, please leave us a rating and feedback so that others can benefit from your shopping experience with us :)

May every day bring bring you the joy of Christmas!

Eeek! Roadkill Critters...

2010-11-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

We have a strange sense of humor at times at DarkHorseStore.com, but we love to see people smile and our roadkill armadillo has always brought a chuckle to our customers at shows and events. So we have expanded our designs of roadkill critters... we now have Squashed Squirrel, Roadkill Opossum, Oops! Roadkill Raccoon and Roadkill Skunk (minus the smell of course!)

These makes great stocking stuffers for family and friends with a sense of humor, or as a unique gift - they are very unusual and you will not find these in stores :) All handmade in the USA with all food safe materials made in the USA, they can be used as spoon rest in the kitchen, as tea bag holder, tea spoon holder, desk accessory for business cards or paperclips, as ring holders at your bedside, and more...

Despite their macabre circumstance, each one has a little grin, so you know they died happy ;) and we take extra care in painting to make them cute and appealing (not gross or gory-lol).

Hope you enjoy!

Liquid Clay to Shining Lights - Ceramic Christmas Trees, Part 2

2010-11-04T11:24:00.003-07:00

Got a little delayed in making this Part 2 - sorry 'bout that! Things can get a little crazy with the holidays coming up --- I am sure you understand ;) Last time we left off with our ceramic Christmas Tree almost ready to be fired. We poured the tree, put holes in it for lights and now it's dry and ready for cleaning!

When we poured our Christmas Tree mold, there were 3 parts to the mold, so when we removed it, there are 3 seams on the tree. And who wants to have a tree with seams?Using a small cleaning tool, much like an exact knife but with one straight end and one flat end, I carefully scrape off the clay seams being careful not to chip the tree since it is in a very fragile dry unfired clay state - called "greenware".

Oh, and did I mention the holes yet? Each hole needs to be carefully cleaned and checked for fit. While the clay was drying, shrinkage does occur so we need to go over each hole again to make sure there is nothing blocking (dry clay remnants in the hole) and that the hole is still big enough for the twist light that we will be placing on each branch later.

After cleaning the tree and base, each one is wiped down with a wet soft sponge to remove any remaining mold seam marks so that it is ready to be fired in the kiln.

Once completely cleaned, we can "fire" our tree in the kiln which will take it from the greenware state into the ceramic bisque stage, ready for glazing! It will take about 4 hours in the kiln, at a temperature of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and the kiln will take about 8 hours to cool down before we can remove the tree.

Here is the tree just about to be removed from the kiln - it is bisque now and ready to paint!

OK, we are in the final stretch. Part 3 coming up... we will glaze our tree and get it ready for one more firing and then we can decorate our tree and get it ready for one lucky winner of our giveaway!

I hope that seeing how we make our ceramic Christmas Trees is interesting so far :)

Wishing you great health and happiness until next time,
Jeanie

26 More Chilies To Go - Special Giveaway Coming Up!

2010-10-14T17:18:00.003-07:00

I am seeing red, red, red as I paint all these chilis! Our special order of 60 Red Hot Chilis Spoonrest/Tea Bag Holders has kept me up at night pouring, cleaning and painting... and I could not do it without the help of my mom and my husband - thank you Mom and Glenn :)

At last over half the order is done and the rest are underway for my target finish date of this weekend, which means I can get back to the ceramic Christmas Tree project.

Meanwhile, wish me luck that my arm doesn't fall off and that my vision remains clear and true until I finish the chilies :)

Wishing you a great weekend ~ Jeanie

P.S. Here is an example of the ceramic Christmas Tree that we will be making for the holiday season in 2010 ---

12 Inch Ceramic Christmas Tree at DarkHorseStore.Etsy.com

Spicy Ceramic Surprise!

2010-10-09T14:27:00.002-07:00

I know I am supposed to be posting Liquid Clay to Shining Lights - Part 2 Ceramic Christmas Trees, but to our surprise we receive an 'emergency' ceramic order :) Two days ago we got a call from a wonderful woman in New Jersey who is putting together a very special Bridal Shower for her daughter in Missouri. To make the occasion very special, the theme for the shower is Sweet & Spicy and it seems that our Red Hot Chili Pepper holders fit the bill perfectly!

Red Hot Chili Pepper Rest - Ceramic Holder

Now, we do not stock large quantities of any item, so for the next few days, we are busy pouring, painting, firing and finishing all 60 of these little chilies --- a tall order indeed! We only have two weeks to complete the order, but we are determined and thrilled to be able to make such a special occasion a memorable event.

I will be posting Part 2 very soon. Stay tuned :)

Liquid Clay to Shining Lights - Ceramic Christmas Trees, Part 1

2010-10-02T12:19:00.006-07:00

We really love making ceramic Christmas Trees for everyone, and I wanted to share some of the process of making these beautiful Christmas Trees out of clay. You may or may not know, but all our ceramic art at DarkHorseStore.com starts out as liquid clay. All our clay comes from the Southwestern United States and is top quality.

I start by mixing the clay with an electric drill mixer. Although we originally get the clay in gallons, it needs to be mixed before every use to make it uniform, otherwise pieces would come out lopsided and weak in places. So after the mixing, here is what a bucket of liquid clay looks like:

This is the start of our tree!

Next step, pouring the clay (called "slip" in ceramic terms) into our mold which is made out of heavy plaster. The plaster will absorb the water from the clay, pulling the clay into the sides of the mold, which creates the "skin" or shape of the piece we are molding. This next picture shows the tree mold being slowly poured with our clay slip.

Once the water starts getting absorbed by the plaster, you will see the slip start to recede within the cavity of the mold. So we slowly add more slip to fill it up. The pouring for this piece will take approximately 15 minutes. But each piece is different and must be checked to be sure that enough of the clay has formed a skin within the mold, otherwise the piece will be too thin and fragile.

Once the desired thickness is achieved, I slowly pour out the remainder of the slip back into my original bucket to be used again. Pouring out the mold takes a few minutes and requires a good bit of turning, twisting and maneuvering to remove any pockets of the clay from inside the piece. The mold must be left upside down for a few minutes to allow the remaining slip to pour out. This is also the start the drying process inside the mold, which we want to be as even as possible.

Want to build muscle? Start making ceramics! I have to tell you, with the tree mold having a dry weight of 20 pounds, then adding wet clay, the mold ends up weighing over 32 lbs. Lifting, pouring, pouring out, etc. - that will build muscle on ya! ;)

Since the mold has absorbed the water from our slip, the mold itself will stay wet for about a day or two, making it difficult to pour another piece because the mold will not absorb as well the 2nd time. So quite often, we can only pour one piece per day. At times we can get two pieces in a day, especially if we can place the mold outside during one of our sunny Arizona days which helps it to dry.

Now that our piece is poured out, what next? Well, if you have not noticed yet... ceramics is a messy business! Liquid clay is not a neat and tidy substance to work with. In fact, it gets everywhere. Once it dries, it will be brittle and can turn into dust, so getting it off of our mold needs to take priority not only for the sake of mess, but also to keep the mold in good condition.

Now the mold is cleaned, and the neck of the mold has been trimmed as well. The piece needs to sit in the mold for a few minutes more to be sure that it is set and slightly hardened, otherwise it will turn to mush when we try to remove it.

Now we are ready to take the tree out of the mold. At this stage, the tree is made out of very wet, malleable clay. We must remove it from the mold before it gets too dry or else it will crack as the water absorbs further into the mold and the drying clay starts to shrink. Most pieces are a little stubborn.... enter the mallet!

This Christmas Tree mold is made of 3 separate sections. Each section must be removed separately and very carefully so that we do not smush and ruin the details on the tree itself. When the last section is ready to be pried away from the piece, I use a large rubber mallet to gently strike the mold which creates just enough jarring motion to help the wet clay tree to separate from the mold. The piece sort of "pops-up" slightly as I pound. This is always a tricky bit because I certainly don't want to chip or break the delicate clay piece; which can and does happen - but I also want to get our tree out of the mold, so I have to risk it! ;)

Once the tree is out, you may notice that there are no holes in it yet - so how are we going to light our tree? I use a small drill bit to hand-drill each of the 50+ holes in our tree where all the colored lights will go, plus I have very carefully position the bit and drill the top of the tree for the star. Although the clay is still wet, special care must be taken not to crack any of the limbs, or to apply too much pressure which could cause the tree to collapse altogether.

Whew! Our tree is ready to be dried now before it moves on to the next step.

Time for the start of pouring the clay into our tree mold until the holes are hand-drilled is 1 and a 1/2 hours. Tomorrow, the tree will be fully dried and we can start to clean the mold seams and our holes to get ready for firing in the kiln. The base for this tree was poured at the same time and you may notice it in the background of a couple of the pictures above.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the start of making our Christmas Tree out of clay. Join me in the next post to continue making our tree, and meanwhile, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! :)

Thanks~ Jeanie

CartoonLovinMomma's Great Pumpkin Giveaway!

2010-10-01T14:57:00.005-07:00

An amazing mom - Stephanie from Dover, Arkansas - contacted our little shop about a blog giveaway contest she is holding NOW through October 14, 2010. She loved some of our Halloweenies (I do too ~ Halloween is my favorite holiday) so we decided to combine forces and make a special offer to her blog readers!

Find out more here: http://cartoonlovinmomma.blogspot.com/2010/10/dark-horse-arts-and-gifts-etsy.html

Win this pumpkin at Stephanie's Blog!

The contest rules are easy and I hope you enjoy her great blog! :)

A special thank you to Stephanie for having such a great idea and for sharing with others :)

Wishing you all the best of luck ~ Jeanie

Ceramic Christmas Trees - new additions

2010-09-29T23:03:00.003-07:00

It may seem odd, but it is the end of September and we are already getting ready for the Christmas and holiday season with our newest additions this year - 12 inch tall ceramic Christmas Trees! We had so much fun last year with the smaller versions - and great feedback from everyone who got one in 2009 (thank you!) - that we are sure this will be a fun and exciting holiday season again this year :)

We are currently making all types of styles including white ceramic Christmas trees, classic ceramic Christmas trees in evergreen (some with permanent 'snow' flocking and some without), and we are trying out a few surprises too.... pictures to come soon!

We have a special pre-holiday sale going on now at our Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DarkHorseStore?section_id=7110147
Sale prices end November 15, 2010.

We hope you love these holiday ceramic trees as much as we do!

Do you want to paint your own? Here is a bare naked, but fully fired bisque ceramic Christmas tree all ready to paint! Comes with the electric light kit, bulbs and star :)

Innovation In Ceramic Wall Hangings

2010-08-15T17:36:00.001-07:00

It's been about a year now since one of our customers on Etsy asked for a custom order steer skull. I have a mold that is of a steer skull that is a figurine; great for putting on a bookshelf or tabletop, but not suitable for hanging on a wall.

When I got the request, initially my response was that I could not make it hang on a wall, but after a couple of day's thinking on the matter, I decided to give it a try. Now, if you have ever worked with wet clay, then you know this can be a tricky business!

I started by pouring the usual figurine, releasing it form the mold. While the piece is still very wet, I sculpt out the back of the skull very carefully (without squishing or mutilating the piece - hopefully - lol) cut away the back to form a new surface that will lay flat against a wall.

With a little trial and error, I got it right and I have been very pleased with the results, as was the customer! Since then we have made several of these handing ceramic steer skulls, with our newest addition being the steer skull with rattlesnake pictured below.

I am very grateful for this wonderful innovation by way of customer request that I may not have thought of on my own. It just proves that creativity can come in all forms from places you may not expect!

Please leave a comment if you like this post, or if you have any innovative ideas of your own! :)

Steer Skull & Rattlesnake - A Dangerous Combination!

Our original Hanging Steer Skull Creation In Bronze Limited Edition Glaze

Spring Decorating with Frogs, Geckos, and Bunnies - Oh My! Plus DIY Ceramics for Easter...

2010-03-19T18:54:00.009-07:00

I love Spring! So many beautiful flowers starting to emerge and not too many bugs --- yet! Even in the desert here in Arizona flowers are abundant and even the weeds that have sprung up from the rains we recently had have pretty little yellow and purple flowers.

With weather getting warmer, I start getting ideas about decorating my home and garden. Having just planted a few dozen oleandars about my place (great for creating walls of colors and screening out the neighbors :) now I can take a break and get back to creating some unique and unusal ceramic wall hangings and garden animals.

My husband was busy over the winter creating new things too! Just check out his Tie Dye Gecko and Frogs at DarkHorseStore.com and pictured below. We love to create unique gifts and interesting critters!

I hope you love a few of my favorite pics here of ceramic wall hangings, garden decor and home decor pieces. They go great indoors and out. Easily hung on a wall using nails or hooks. I have a few of these critters hanging around the living room myself... :)

My husband's creation and a new favorite of customers
whenever we show! I think he managed to get all of the
colors of Spring into this one ;)

I call this one Lava Gecko. Black base color against the red "lava"
crystals make this one of my current favorites.
I place each crystal by hand, making each piece very unique.

Tie Dye Gecko - Long Style!

This copper frog (copper glaze) really shines in sunlight.

Warm earthy tones of brown and soft orange on this fellow!

Who can resist a Southwest classic? This hanging steer skull
is in copper glaze that reflects light wonderfully,
but when in a darker setting,
looks like a deep wood grain - really unique!

These smaller geckos are 5 inches long and make a great
addition to any space. I just love these little guys!
Kids absolutely go crazy for them - boys and girls alike.
It's great to watch kids pet them when we go to shows :)

And here's a little lava pair - aren't they sweet?

Tie Dye Frog - you will never see another like it!

What about decorating in the kitchen or office?
This budding cactus tea bag holder is useful as well as decorative.

Green leaves to add color to home and office -
great as ring holders, hold paperclips, teaspoons, tea bags and more!

Can it be Spring without bunnies?

Just in time for Easter - DIY Paint Your Own Bunny Set!
Grab the kids and paint your own memorable bunny,
or add this kit to an Easter backet this year.
Let your imagination run wild ~ why should I have all the fun painting?

You can check out more DIY paint your own ceramic kits and ceramic bisque here. I love to hear suggestions on anything you might be interested in - for instance, the hanging steer skull was originally created as a custom order for someone who requested it and it worked out quite well!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy Spring time where you are :)

New Lighted Ceramic Christmas Trees

2010-01-30T20:42:00.006-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that I was creating a new lighted ceramic Christmas tree...and here it is! This ceramic tree stands 12 inches tall including the star and base. I am creating them right now in evergreen glaze with and without snow. I will make some in white and other variations very soon.

Hand made from start to finish using premium white ceramic clay, I hand paint each tree in non-toxic lead-free glazes, and fire in my electric kiln. Each tree has about 50 lights, is hand wired with a permanent light fixture and the star on top is removable and inter-changeable. I hope you love them as much as I do.

Soon I will be offering this tree in bisque (unpainted ceramic) for those of you who love to paint your own. Keep watching at my Etsy shop: DarkHorseStore for them to be listed.
P.S. Next up... something for tea time, your desk and of course a great gift for most any occasion.

Lighted Ceramic Christmas Trees

2010-01-06T18:26:00.015-07:00

Whew! Was 2009 supposed to go that fast? I introduced lighted ceramic Christmas trees to Dark Horse Store on Etsy in mid-November and everything is a blur from there!!! Many, many thanks to all of our new customers that shopped with us for the season and I am thrilled that you all loved the classic ceramic trees that I lovingly created. I personally have very fond memories of the classic ceramic Christmas trees that were around back in the day and so I set out to create a miniaturized version that anyone could enjoy - I think it worked out very well although I worked around the clock (no kidding) to make all of the trees that we sent out in time for Christmas. A few pictures below just to give you a glimpse. Over 40 little lights on each tree, powered by a 5 watt night-light type bulb.

Here's a sneak peek for 2010 ---- I just couldn't resist creating even larger trees for this year :) Soooo, watch in the next month or maybe two...I am creating new ceramic trees that will stand over 1 foot tall, include a wonderful base adorned with holly, and, well.... you will just have to tune back in to find out, but I promise you will see some beautiful, classic ceramic trees made from vintage molds, but updated for a "green" approach ;)

This is a collection that I am offering at DarkHorseStore.
These little beauties really light up!

Here are some single trees that I created to give everyone a good selection to choose from:

"White Christmas"

"Let it Snow"

"Lighted Ceramic Christmas Tree"

More trees can be viewed in my holiday section here. The trees pictured here stand about 7 inches including the base and star; can't wait to create the bigger trees! Stay tuned and Happy New Year. May it bring you peace, health and happiness.

What Santa's Elves Must Feel and Wild Horses Couldn't Keep Us Away

2009-10-04T10:54:00.004-07:00

It's been a while since my last blog post, and for that I apologize. It is not my intention to neglect you or this blog. However, in my defense, the busy season (aka the holidays) is upon us and my family and I have been spending long hours and late nights working on new pieces. We have been as busy as, well, Santa's elves. So, like many crafters out there, we empathize with Santa's elves wholeheartedly.

Nevertheless, we are having a lot of fun creating new pieces like our Hanging Steer Skulls (which are made by modifying our classic Steer Skulls and adding a steel wire hanger), incorporating new and vibrant colors into our line of Geckos (which are the most sought and bought at every show we attend), and experimenting with new molds and colors for brand new line of Thanksgiving and Christmas items (more will be online soon) to compliment our Halloween holiday items. (Speaking of Halloween - become a fan on our Facebook page and get a special discounts - this month receive 10% on all Halloween items by becoming a fan and using the special code.)

This is what my dining room table has looked like (with pieces interchanging day to day) as we get ready for our upcoming shows.

Speaking of shows, we have quite a few lined up in the Southern Arizona area - so if you are in the area, stop by, we'd love to meet you in person! (see our show schedule here.) We have so much fun at the shows meeting new people, spending time with our new artist friends, and immersing ourselves in all the wonderfully creative art on display. Wild Horses couldn't keep us away!

And that's not just a reference to a great Rolling Stones song! Dark Horse Arts and Gifts is donating 5% of all item sales to the American Horse Defense Fund. The AHDF rescues wild horses and donkeys; purchases, restores, and maintains land for natural habitats so these majestic animals can roam free; coordinate efforts with other non-profit groups and more!

Halloween is ghoulish fun, with tricks and treats and my favorite holiday!!!

2009-09-17T13:07:00.022-07:00

Fall is here and I am so excited that Halloween is just around the corner! Halloween is hands-down my favorite holiday of the year. I love that it's all about fun and decorating and dressing up. Typically I don't make it out for trick or treating, but I do love to decorate just the same. What other time of year can you add skulls, carved pumpkins, ghosts, scary witches, hang a skeleton from the ceiling and use colors like orange, purple, red and black in your decor and not be considered truly odd? Plus, you get to eat candy and treats without any guilty feelings! :)

I've been pretty busy this past month making a few new favorites for the season. I'll share them here, plus some other great discoveries for Halloween I found at Etsy and 1000 Markets...

I am really honored to have this handy pumpkin candy dish featured
in an Etsy Gift Cuide for Halloween!

Here's a little ghost candy dish/box that is just too cute!
He looks bashful and somewhat embarrassed... and he should be -
hiding all that candy under his lid!

These grinning pumpkin dishes are my favorite this year along
with the lighted jack o'lantern that I posted at the top. They are
really fun and unique and I was very lucky to have found this
mold which was being disposed of by a company that
went out of business - lucky find indeed!!!

Black and white pumpkins are very popular this year, and I really
like the way this jack o'lantern figurine turned out. I used a jet black
underglaze against the white clay and used a sponging
technique to highlight the leaves.
I think this would be a great addition to decorations, and envision it
as a lovely centerpiece to add to any Halloween party table.

These Halloween Tags are so adorable and made by Catnip Studio
at 1000 Markets.
I love the name "Catnip Studio"!!

Anna's Trunk created this Halloween-Edgar Allen Poe-Raven
Nevermore Quotation-Sachet/Mini Pillow. I love E.A. Poe and his
spooky stories.
What a great and unique idea for adding a little "spooky" feeling around the house!

Another great table-decor idea from YourWayEmbroidery -
Embroidered Lace Halloween Doily.
I love the little bats around the cat with the witches hat - great design!!

Wishing you a great fall season and Happy Halloween!! Pumpkin juice cocktail anyone?

Something old and something new.... Victorian Crossroads

2009-09-01T15:31:00.013-07:00

Dark Horse Arts and Gifts was recently accepted into the Victorian Crossroads Market and I cannot begin to tell you just how wonderful this market truly is! While browsing this unique and beautiful market, you start to feel as if you have been transported to a time past that is full of elegance and beauty, simplicity and grace.

The feeling of the Victorian-Edwardian Era (1832-1918) is represented very well at VC, and I love exploring all it has to offer. It is fascinating to me that an old era can be blended so beautifully in today's world.

I have found wonderful prints and cards, jewelry with an old-fashioned flare, lovely hats, great drawings and even honey! For me, being part of the Victorian Crossroads Market has meant an exploration in something old, but something new as well.

I have always loved this interesting time, but have never fully explored it. Now, day by day I explore and learn a little more and find it is very nostalgic and peaceful to browse and expose myself to this lovely marketplace. As explained in VC, this was a time of etiquette, glamor and romance amidst so many changes in the world like the many scientific advancements and the industrial revolution.

What a time it must have been, and how like the times we live in now....

Bloomin' Cactus!

2009-08-19T09:15:00.009-07:00

Well, it's mid-August and still awfully hot here in Southern Arizona. Amazingly though, just this past Saturday, I noticed that despite the high heat some cactus around the house have started to bloom! I was thrilled to see such beauty in the middle of the hottest and driest season.....rather late bloomers I must say!

The colors on this small barrel cactus are really dramatic~

I love the flower-within-a-flower on this tall flowering cactus~

I just planted these cactus in April 2009, so to see them doing so well is inspiring. I must not be too bad at gardening :)

Also on Saturday, I went to a local art fair hosted by the Central Arizona College. I brought along some of my favorite ceramic pieces to show. Unexpectedly, a local store-owner in town commissioned me to make several sets of cactus salt and pepper shakers and a couple of large saguaro cactus for them. So it turned out to be a wonderful bloomin' cactus kind of day!

Custom order for Cactus Salt & Pepper Shakers will include
"Casa Grande Arizona" painted on the front of each piece.

Paint Your Own Ceramics Now Available!

2009-08-03T17:26:00.011-07:00

Earlier this year, I offered paint-your-own Easter Baskets at some local shows because I thought it would be great for kids (and adults) to get together to create their own unique ceramic bunnies and Easter eggs. The kits included the ceramic pieces in bisque - ceramics that have been fired in the kiln already and ready for glaze/paint to be applied. Plus I included the paints and a brush. Several people bought these kits for their children and grandchildren - I was thrilled knowing that I may be helping to create the next great artist.. hehe :o)

I have lots of fun painting our ceramic figurines and other items at darkhorsestore.etsy.com, but there is a whole new generation of DIY-ers (do-it-yourself) out there. Plus I love to see others create their own works of art. So, I decided to start offering bisque and whole DIY kits at DarkHorseStore.Etsy.com

Here are a few of the ceramic pieces that you can paint yourself using the kit which includes the ceramic dolphin, snake, steer skull, gecko, etc. plus the paint and 2 good brushes. I think this makes for a great family activity and also good for birthday party activities.

Paint Your Own Dolphin

Paint Your Own Snake

Paint Your Own Dinosaur

Paint Your Own Coyote

Paint Your Own Steer Skull

I plan to keep adding kits so that every piece that I have available as a finished piece can also be a DIY piece. I would LOVE to see what masterpices you can make! ~~♥~~

Frog Days of Summer SALE!

2009-07-31T10:51:00.009-07:00

Ok, so it's hot outside and summer continues here in super-sunny Southern Arizona.... so started our Frog Days of Summer sale! Why not have some fun and add a frog to your patio, garden, planter, or hand one on a wall? These guys are cute, some really funky, and best of all - they are ALL on sale for only $20-25 each plus I will ship for free in the U.S.

I have to admit - we went a little crazy being cooped-up in the air conditioning all day and created some unique amphibians :o)

Have a great summer y'all! RIBBIT !

Got Frog?

Firefox Frog

Purple and Bronze Frog

Freckled Frog

Blue Funky Frog

Ceramic Art - It's a messy business!

2009-07-12T10:54:00.024-07:00

Unless you have had first-hand experience in school or at a recreation program making your own ceramic pieces, then you may not know the process in making ceramic art. I thought you might like to see a glimpse of how we make our ceramics....

The type of ceramic art we produce is called "slipcasting" because we use natural liquid clay made in the United States and this type of clay is called "slip" and the method of pouring it into preformed molds is the "casting" part.

Here you can see the plaster mold that shapes the bunny

The two parts of the mold are held together by a large rubberband

The slip (liquid clay) is poured carefully into the mold

The mold is a very dry plaster and as the slip sits in the mold, the water from the slip is drawn into the plaster and a type of skin starts to develop, sticking to the inside of the mold.

The mold must sit with the slip inside for approximately 1/2 hour until the correct thickness of skin has formed - too long and the piece will be extremely heavy or even solid, which is no good, or if not enough time and the piece will be too thin and brittle.

The slip that remains liquid inside the mold is poured out and re-used for more "pourings" later

After the mold sits and drys for a few minutes, the spout skin must be removed, leaving the characteristic hole in the bottom of all slipcast ceramic pieces.

After about a 1/2 hour more, you un-band the mold and very carefully separate and lift half of the mold straight up - if not done correctly, the piece can be dented or even ruined.

This bunny is poured to a correct thickness and since the top of the mold has just been removed, the set clay is very wet and the piece must wait another 1/2 hour to dry more fully so that it can be lifted from the mold without mis-shapping or damaging it.

Now that the bunny is cast, it must sit to dry for at least 24 hours before the next step - cleaning.

Because there are two parts to the mold, a seam running around the piece must be trimmed off the fragile, dry piece and then a wet sponge is used to smooth the seam until it can no longer be seen - possibly the messiest part of the process since the dry clay forms a fine dust that gets everywhere when being scraped off, in spite of one's best efforts to keep the dust down!

After cleaning, the piece is finally ready to be painted, fired in our electric kiln to approximately 2,000 degrees F, which brings it from the "greenware" stage to "bisque" stage. Firing time lasts for about 5 hours, but cooling takes at least 8 more hours. There is no way to cool faster, and if you do then the pieces themselves will crack and can even completely break. After cooling, the bisque piece is glazed with finishing coats and then fired again to bring it to a glossy finish that will never fade or wear out.

The average piece of ceramic art takes a minimum one week to pour, clean, paint, fire, cool, paint again, fire again, cool again and then - voila! - you have a ceramic piece created by hand start to finish! It's a messy job working with the clay, dust and I'm not even going to mention that I tend to glaze myself as well as many of the pieces...hehe.... but I love it!

The Wild, Wild West

2009-07-06T15:25:00.022-07:00

We are located in Casa Grande, Arizona, about half-way between Phoenix and Tucson, which is one of the hottest and windiest places in the U.S.! It amazing that anything can survive (and thrive) in this climate. Right now, it's 110 degrees F outside and I am staying inwith the air conditioning! :)

Our shop is located next to a beautiful mountain and we are fortunate to have incredible sunsets almost daily...

There is such diversity here.... rabbits, jackrabbits, ground squirrels, quail, snakes, lizards, road runners, prairie dogs, coyotes, and of course desert flowers, mesquite trees, saguaro cactus and even purple colored cactus are all seen here throughout the year.

Rabbit in Mesquite

White Lined Sphinx Hummingbird Moth at our Honeysuckle Bush

Crystal Castles saguaro cactus taken locally by Cory Schreider

Lone Star saguaro cactus taken locally by Cory Schreider

Being in this rural location is such a treat and indeed some of our work is inspired by the nature and scenes of the Southwest. We thought it would be wonderful for people to be able to bring a little of the Southwest into their homes, patios, gardens, even some red-hot chilies to spice-up your kitchen...

Saguaro Cactus in ceramic with howling Coyotes

Authentically Painted Southern Arizona Rattlesnake

Red Hot Chili Peppers - bring on the heat!

Classic Symbol of the Southwest - Steer Skull & Rattlesnake

and one of our very favorite pieces -- hanging on my living room wall as we speak....

Gecko made in Bronze Glaze

Horse Whisperer Shadow Caster discovered at chriscrooks

I love this "Horse Whisperer Shadow Caster" made by Chris who we actually met at a local arts and crafts show in Tucson this year! He does great work and I was thrilled to see his work on Etsy.

Hope you will follow-along as I embark on my next blog project... posting the process of making ceramics start to finish. It's a messy business, but we love it!

Grace & Beauty

2009-07-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Gray Adult and Baby Dolphin in Foamy Surf

(email me at jeanie@darkhorsestore.com
to get this piece custom-made for you or a friend)

Graceful White Dolphin Playing in the Surf
discover at DarkHorseStore.Etsy.com

What can be more graceful than dolphins playing in the surf?

One of the very first that we got and made was a dolphin playing in the surf. This mold is unique because it has two parts - the primary large piece and the baby dolphin piece which rides along side the parent dolphins in the waves.

A bit about the process of creating our ceramic pieces: We hand select all of the plaster molds that we use to create our ceramics. This method of creating ceramics is often called "slipcasting" since the liquid ceramic clay we use is called "slip".

The nature of this mold enables us to offer either a single dolphin figurine, or dolphin and baby.

Pictured above is a adult and child dolphin in gray riding on foamy waves. I hand paint all of the detail on this piece and use a special glaze on the waves that creates a "foam" effect that is raised from the rest of the piece. Pictured next is a single dolphin in pure white glossy glaze.

We love this dolphin piece because of its beauty and elegance. It's great to see a collector's joy when they find this special treasure at one of the local shows we do in the Tucson and Casa Grande area - we know that they will cherish it forever!

We handcraft all the ceramics start to finish, using our own electric kiln to "fire" (bake) each piece at over 2000 degrees F and then finishing with quality glazes and firing again. This creates a sturdy piece that will never fade or change in appearance. We have pieces in our own collections that are over 30 years old and they all look like new! Who knew we were creating heirlooms?

Stained Glass Dolphins Yin Yang Round Subcatcher or Wall Hanging
discovered at livingglassart.Etsy.com

A little of this, a little of that...About Dark Horse Ceramic Arts and Unique Gifts

2009-07-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

My mom and I started making and teaching ceramics over 25 years ago. Mom had her own ceramic shop in a little town in the Midwest called Fox River Grove. The little town in upstate Illinois was only 1250 population at the time, but our little ceramic shop was always busy. My mom is a true artist and patient teacher and she taught classes so that others could enjoy the art of making something for themselves. Being 12 years old, I was thrilled with learning all about ceramics, pouring our own molds, mixing clay, using glazes, and helping my mom create all kinds wonderful ceramic keepsakes and little treasures.

For various reasons, mom closed her shop after only a couple of years despite good business and great students and customers.

Having recently battled breast cancer and winning (yeah!) mom told me she would love to get back into ceramics again. I have to admit, I was looking forward to it as well :) With a little coaxing, my husband Glenn even got interested in creating with us and there began our little family business.

We started Dark Horse Arts and Gifts. Named so because a dark horse is one who is not expected to win and often comes from behind in the race to do just that!

I created a website at DarkHorseStore.com where we showcase a few of our items and you can always find a full range of items at our Etsy Store here.

I hope you enjoy the chronicles of our journey in ceramic art here. I also will post other artist and hand crafter's work here for your enjoyment.