Agave Serving Dish set. One of my favorite plants of the Sonoran Desert is the Agave Cactus. There are many different agaves but all of them hold inspiring beauty. What attracts me to them is their elegant long leaves, their texture and their spikey sillouette against the landscapes. And so I have created these whimsical serving plates or spoon rests. It makes a great table decor or give as a wedding gift. Each one is handmade from highfire clay and glazes with food safe glazes. These are available through my website at http://www.robinchladdesigns.artspan.com
Author: robinchladdesigns
I have been doodling, coloring, drawing, cutting, sculpting, painting, sewing, writing and everything in between since I could hold a crayon in my hand.
My first art projects were filling up a big, fat coloring book of bridal dresses. I boldly ventured into new territory with paint-by-number sets. I graduated to luxurious and decadent velvet (paint-by-number) sets. Eventually, I mastered the art of Spirogragh.
Originally from upstate New York I have lived in Tucson, Arizona since 1986. Back then I was a single mom and found myself in the job market. I went to Pima Community College for training. Instead of diving into my academics I kept hanging around the pottery studio. Some people lived there and if I didn’t have two little girls at home I would have ended up living there as well. Joking aside, I fell in love with clay and all its possibilities. Being in a position to care for my kids, in 1989 I created a very marketable, creative, and functional item. It was a simple concept that took me into new heights of the craft world and I became an entrepreneur. Creating and selling became my passion. I had achieved success for many years. I loved being my own boss and living the artist’s dream. Life moved real fast and before I knew it my girls were all grown up, moving out, getting married and having kids of there own. Hey, wait a minute… I am a Gramma at 40? No sweat, I handled it gracefully.
Fast forward to the present: I have been on a journey led by God.
I took a sabbatical for the last 6 years learning new people skills in real estate, retail and care giving to the elderly. But my natural instincts kept leading me back to what my soul cannot deny. New visions, new risks, and a stronger faith has lead me to this point. Have I arrived? It’s like my life is all mapped out and a red arrow points to You Are Here! But the road keeps going and I have learned to listen to that still small voice. My days are filled with a little bit of art, a little bit of caring for my grandchildren, care giving to the elderly and volunteering at Sunday school.
I am currently working on sculpting with clay in a tile mosaic setting, like my Seed Pod series or House of Fruit Trios. Some of my pieces are a mixture of individual 3-D tiles, shadow box shrines, and ornaments. The work that’s being created is inspirational, whimsical, and contemporary. Even though life can be very serious and intense I hope to achieve simply bringing joy or even a smile to someone’s face though my creations.
I am also designing and developing my%2
Sincerest Form of Flattery
There have been times in my career that I have been very protective of my designs. I have had experience designing very marketable products that made my small art business grow and the work I designed was sought after. At the time, it was exciting, exilerating and a feather in my cap. But I remember being overly concerned about someone or some company coming along and knocking off the designs I created. That was 25 years ago, so I was still learning and still maturing. Now, yes, it is business smart to protect and copyright…
Planning Your Summer Staycations
Another couple weeks and school will be let out for the summer. The weather is heating up (in Tucson) and ya’ll are preparing to make a list of places you want to go and things you want to do for fun. Yes, fun! It’s supposed to be fun in the summer. May I make a suggestion? How about take an art class. Get the family together and have a family art reunion, where everyone gets to make something. If you have never done such a thing, you could call it the 1st Annual Family Art Reunion! Do you have…
Springtime in Tucson
These days are gorgeous with our spring season upon us. Here is a quick update to let you know the new items I just restocked the local galleries with. Right now is the perfect time to walk, skip, or ride bike over to Tohono Chul Park. I was just there today and the wild flowers are amazing. It’s so inspiring. Here are a few pieces at Tohono Chul Park: http://tohonochulpark.org/ And there are some fun ornaments or souvenirs for Easter gifts and winter visitors. By the way, I do custom work. If you see anything here that speaks to you…
Murals, Paintings on Tile
Lately I have had requests to teach tile painting. It’s been 5 years since I have done that technique. Mural painting is a commitment. It takes a bit of knowledge of how certain techniques work on a tile canvas. There are many ways to paint a mural. Glaze and wax resist is one way. This is where you use a low fire glaze and outline a design with wax so the glazes do not touch or mix when firing. This style you would see on tile trivets at souvenir shops or at Carly Quinn’s Shop in downtown Tucson. Majolica is…
Paintings
Paintings.
Rodeo Days
Thursday starts the Rodeo Days weekend. I love Rodeo Days because it’s Arizona’s very own holiday. Honoring cowboys and horses, everyone gets to dress in their western wear. Kids are off from school for 2 days. Years ago it was voted that Arizonans would trade presidents day for rodeo days. (Sorry about that, Presidents Washington and Lincoln) It don’t know who’s idea it was but it was a good one. And we can’t forget about Tucson’s very own longest running, non-mechanical, horse driven parade in the country. Or maybe the world. Now there’s some bragin’ rights. When my…
February Fabs
I am loving this time of year….Spring! And this week we are having the best weather in the country! I have been playing around with functional wares the past several weeks. Experimenting with styles and glazes. My latest designs are influenced by East Indian textiles and designs. I love the vibrant colors and stamped designs they have in thier saris and bed coverings. The exotic images of tassles, slipppers and billowy folds of drapery, piles of satan pillows. Those are the images I love of the Indian culture. I thought I would let you see the beginnings of design. I…
Weekend Warrior Grout Workshop!
We had a blast on Saturday and Sunday. My Tuesday Mosaic class finished making thier tiles. So they ordered frames and I taught a grout class this past weekend, Here are some pics of the girls making/ painting thier tiles. This is Dee Jay. Painting his 3-d turtle on a tile. Heather, painting away, trying to beat the clock! Grouting and wiping! More wiping! And more wiping…by now they were beginning to grumble. But as you can see it was worth it. Here are their beautiful masterpieces! Ta da! If you are interested in taking a mosaic class email me…
3D Workshop at Santa Theresa Tile Works
I feel honored to be invited to teach a workshop at Santa Theresa Tile Works in the month of February! A 2 day workshop on Thursdays, February 20 & 27. 3 hours each. It will be a 3 dimensional clay class on how to build a flower shadow box. My ceramic shadow boxes look like this; As you can see, some are more complicate than others but I will be teaching beginning and intermediate levels so not to worry. I take you step by step and you will come away learning a new technique and a piece that will beautify…
Robin Chlad Designs 