Everyone loves a good mug.  People say they enjoy my mugs because they are large, sturdy, and super functional. They love the large handle and the curved body so they can hold the mug with their hand around the middle.  A variety of colors and patterns can be found in stock and ready to ship in my ETSY Shop. Local pick up available in Brown Deer, WI.

I hope you can come and visit my home studio at 8469 N 50th Street in Brown Deer, WI on October 3 & 4!

Press Release: 
The Wisconsin Designer Craft Council (WDCC) will be presenting the second annual MKE Fine Craft Studio Tour,  Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 3 & 4, from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. both days. The MKE Fine Craft Studio Tourwill include 9 working “host” studios with 31 different artists  total displaying and discussing their fine craft. 
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“This is a fun and safe opportunity to explore Milwaukee and shop one-of-a-kind handmade art and gifts directly from the makers,” said Jean Wells, President of the Wisconsin Designer Craft Council.  “Great timing for the upcoming holiday season and it helps support small business owners.” 
 
Attendees will be able to view the creative environments where the host artists develop and produce their wares. Each location will offer a distinct variety of fine crafts such as: fiber, leather, ceramics, woodworking, sculpture, metalsmithing, photography, mixed media, jewelry, and encaustic painting.
 
Each location on the MKE Fine Craft Studio Tour will be observing CDC Guidelines such as social distancing and mandatory face masks. Hand Sanitizer and face masks (for purchase) will be available. Some studios will be limiting guests and it’s suggested that all tents/rooms be occupied by no more than 2 people or family group at any given time. 
 
Visit www.MKEfinecraftstudiotour.org for detailed information of all locations (including printable map), participating artists and tour stops.  Attendees can visit all nine tour stops or select a variety of stops based on their personal interests.
 
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About WDCC:  Established in 1916, the Wisconsin Designer Crafts Council (WDCC) has been a statewide organization dedicated to fostering excellence in fine crafts and making them more significant in the cultural life of Wisconsin. 
WDCC works to elevate the standards of design and craftsmanship among Wisconsin’s artisans and the crafts community. WDCC encourages individual expression, vitality and aesthetic growth opportunities for fellowship, acquisition of skills, and competitive exhibitions.

​Photos above: 1) MKE Fine Craft Studio Tour yard sign, 2) Jef Raasch, sculpture, J.A.R. Studio, 3) Lennis Mathews, Encaustic Collage, 4) Erika Mock, Fiber Artist (Photo by Stephanie Bartz)  5) Andrew Linderman Pottery (Photo by Stephanie Bartz 
6) Lyn Chevrier - Jewelry

During the summer of 2017, I created a new design reflecting the Milwaukee Downtown Skyline, viewed from Lake Michigan. It has been an exciting new design for me and I am currently carving it on plates and vases of various sizes.  A night time silhouette carved in the black slip with a windy sky.....lots of fun to carve!  The water is a blend of cobalt blue and turquoise slip, then carved with rhythmic waves.   

#Milwaukee #Madison #Skyline #Wisconsin #handmade #pottery #lakemichigan #lakemonona #WIcapitol #Downtown

Jean's Clay Studio, Tony Winchester and John Garland & Mary Paul, are potters that will be participating at Bruce Johnson's Clay Studio in Lake Mills, WI.  One of the 7 stops on the tour.

For more information and a map, please visit: The Clay Collective 

Stay tuned as I hope to create a video of the making of the pieces for the 2017 US Open in June.

The Clay Collective, a group of 9 potters based in South Central WI, boasts a combined total of over 250 years of experience and a wide variety of traditions. The Collective formed in 2012 to bring more pottery to the public by showcasing their art in the studios where it was created. Together, they represent styles in pottery ranging from Arts and Crafts to rustic wood-fired pottery.

It has been an honor for Jean's Clay Studio to have been an invited guest in the Spring Pottery Tour for the past three years of this growing event.  This year, I will be a guest potter at Bruce Johnson's Studio, at 302 Campus Street in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, along with Winchester Pottery and Susy & Erik Anderson.

The Tour will be held on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday May 1 from 10am - 5pm both days.  A driving tour with 7 total locations in the towns of Lake Mills, Johnson Creek, and Cambridge, WI, the tour offers a unique variety of contemporary pottery from 27 regional potters.

For more information, maps and photos, visit: www.claycollective.org

This past Saturday was our Bowl-A-Thon for Milwaukee Empty Bowls.  We created approximately 900 bowls that will need to be glazed over the summer and then sold at Milwaukee Empty Bowls' annual event held on Sunday, October 4, 2015 at MSOE Kern Center in Downtown Milwaukee.  For only $20, you can purchase one of these lovely handmade bowls and get served a meal of soup and bread from 35 different restaurants serving their homemade soup at the event.  All proceeds go to fund area food banks and meal programs that were selected as recipients this year.

The Bowl-A-Thon has been hosted for 17 years by Murray Hill Pottery Works, and is an essential part of making Milwaukee Empty Bowls' event a success.  Professional and amateur potters from around southeastern Wisconsin come to make bowls this day. Twelve wheels constantly working from 9 am till 1pm throwing the bowls.  At 1pm we take a break and enjoy a wonderful pot-luck lunch. Then from 2pm - 5pm we sit back down at the wheel and trim the bowls that were thrown in the morning. This can only be accomplished by the many volunteers who are moving, monitoring, and flipping bowls for the potters throughout the day.  Numerous volunteers also work in the morning weighing and forming the clay into balls during the morning trowing time. It is a fantastic community effort by so many generous people!  I feel very honored to be a part of the group.

Back in February, I had my first 'Lifestyle" photo shoot of my work in a art colleague's, Barb Pelowski, beautiful kitchen.  It was a true pleasure to work with Stephanie Bartz from Stephanie Bartz Photography for what took most of the entire day; arranging pottery, lighting, adjusting, re-adjusting and having lots of laughs.  I am thrilled with how the photos turned out.  It is more pleasurable to look at the work in a home setting, the way people would see and use the pottery in their own home.  A good investment in my business as I grow and learn to market my work on my own, in the ever-changing technical world and market place.

In the ever changing world of business and technology, I felt the need to update my website.  If you would like, please take some time to check out the content on various pages and feel free to give me some feedback and suggestions to make the site more user friendly and informative.  What information do you think is missing?  What would like like to see?  How is the navigation?

This blog will also be a new feature on the website.  I hope to post information about my work in process, and perhaps feature different artists from time to time and interesting events. 
Do you have suggestions for blog topics? Questions about what I do?

Any thoughts you would like to share will be appreciated.

Happy Spring! - Jean