Ring Holder

My lovely wife has a tendency to forget her jewelry. So I thought it would be a good idea if I created these cute little ring holders so that we always know where they are. And the good news is that they work. The rings seem to be sitting there quite well as she is toiling away at work...

So my dilemma is... Have I simply added to the clutter? Or, is this a helpful addition?

Or is there a third option? Maybe it's irrelevant whether they're truly helpful or not because they're really pretty. I think they look a bit like an opening flower and with winter closer than I'd like to admit these might be the closest thing to new growth in a long while.

Slán,
Colin

As always you can check out my etsy shop to buy pottery made exclusively by me!
www.potterybycuchulainn.etsy.com

Centered Blog Title

This is for my friend who wanted to learn how to center the blog title on her own blog. And though I'm not a computer technician this was well within my wheelhouse.

It's as simple as this...

http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=175740

Hope this helps!

O Canada

I have been feeling a lot of love from, and thus love for Canadians lately! So I thought I'd give a proper Pottery by Cú Chulainn shout out, and briefly mention some amazing facts I've learned about our northern neighbor and their Celtic connections.

I had been aware of that Scottish-Canadians were a large group. However, I was surprised to learn that as of the 2001 census approximately 4.7 million Canadians claimed full or partial Scottish ancestry. That is 15% of the total population, making it the third largest ethnic group in Canada. Amazing!

In comparison, 36 million Americans claim full or partial Irish ancestry, while another 3.5 million claim Scots-Irish ancestry. That amounts to approximately 12% of the US population which makes Scottish-Canadians are a larger ethnic group in Canada per capita.

This absolutely blows my mind. I knew they were a major group with significant cultural impact but that’s huge. Consider also that these huge populations come from relatively small countries. The current populations of the original countries is 5.2 million for Scotland and 6.2 million for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Flag of Nova Scotia

Turning back to Scottish-Canadians more specifically, I was interested to learn more about their profound impact on Canadian culture. I suppose it is not surprising given that as early as 1622 a portion of what is now Canada was set aside as “New Scotland.” Nova Scotia, and Canada more generally, saw many more immigrants after the defeat of New France in 1759, but the cultural importance of a New Scotland is profound.

And there were plenty who took the New Scotland mission seriously. Nowadays Cape Breton Island and the Nova Scotia mainland together have a community of around 1,000 speakers of Canadian Gaelic, which is itself a dialect of Scottish Gaelic. Amazing!

Flag of Montreal

Still, Scottish Canadians are not limited to Nova Scotia. Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia all had strong influences from Scotland, especially after French influence declined. But I am beginning to drone on so I will allow my readers to read the Wikipedia article for themselves!

But in all honesty, much love to all Canadians!

Slàn,

Colin

As always you can check out my etsy shop to buy pottery made exclusively by me!
www.potterybycuchulainn.etsy.com

Pie Plate

I had been reticent to share this because I wasn't sure I could reproduce it. I used a new technique, an underglaze "marker" to create the design. But since I used in over the summer I couldn't get it to work again reliably. But thankfully I was able to revive my marker and I think you can expect a lot of this from me in the future!


Slán,
Colin

As always you can check out my etsy shop to buy pottery made exclusively by me!
www.potterybycuchulainn.etsy.com

Graue Mill

I wanted to share with everyone that I will be at the Graue Mill in Oak Brook November 20-21 for a craft fair. I am helping a friend with his pottery but will have some of my own there as well. I'd love to see people there, it looks like a great time! You can find more information here or simply click on the title to the post.


Slán,
Colin

As always you can check out my etsy shop to buy pottery made exclusively by me!
www.potterybycuchulainn.etsy.com

Call for Props

Andrea really loves the pictures I'm taking for the yarn bowls, and I agree. I like using the alpaca yarn ball and these little yarn mascots. They add a dynamic element to the pictures which just makes you happy!





We bought "sheepsie" from a little tourist shop in Co. Clare after visiting the Cliffs of Moher, Aillte an Mhothair.





Meanwhile, grey "ramsie" was a finger puppet I think my mother up in El Salvador...





...along with the giraffe above.

So, if anybody comes across cute little finger puppets or other small little props I ask you to just go ahead and pick it up and I'll settle up with you. I'm especially looking at all my family and friends overseas! It would be awesome to have a set of these little guys as a kind off signature in my pictures.

Thanks for being so supportive everybody!






Slán,
Colin

As always you can check out my etsy shop to buy pottery made exclusively by me!
www.potterybycuchulainn.etsy.com