Rubbing Alcohol Technique: Create a Fun, Abstract Ceramic Piece in Just a Few Easy Steps

So you feel like painting pottery, but you’re just not feeling very creative. Sometimes, all that’s needed to spark your creativity is to simply start. Here’s a fun, easy technique that uses rubbing alcohol and a few of your favorite colors to create an abstract piece you can be proud of. And who knows – it may be just what you need to get those creative juices flowing.

Step 1: Apply 3 coats of your base color, letting each coat dry before applying the next.

Step 2: Mix the second color with water to a thin wash consistency and then apply one coat to your piece.

Step 3: Immediately add drops of rubbing alcohol using a small brush or eyedropper.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 – 4 with as many colors as you like.

Step 5: Let dry, cover with clear glaze, stilt and fire.

 Once you have applied all your colors and rubbing alcohol, you can leave as is or, if the creative juices have begun to flow, you can use a detail brush to add additional strokes for some extra flair. As with any paint your own pottery project, the possibilities are endless!

Until next time…    Peace, Love, and Pottery

VanGo Pottery™ Offers Art Enrichment Classes

VanGo Pottery offers art enrichment classes to children of all ages—from preschoolers to middle school and beyond—both during and after school programs. We also offer programs for homeschoolers!

At a recent enrichment class, we presented our preschoolers with fun, age-appropriate information about artist, Jackson Pollock. Then the children were given a pottery “canvas” (in this case, a medium size serving dish) along with a variety of paint and tools so they could paint in the action painting style of Pollock.

The children had great fun squirting, throwing, rolling, and splattering paint at their serving dishes, all the while learning about different painting styles. One child commented to his mommy at pickup, “Mom, this was really fun. I want to do this at home.” After looking at the paint-filled tables and floor, mom replied, “Well honey, this is why we do VanGo Pottery classes. So you can learn and have fun and I don’t have to clean up the mess!”

School and Childcare Facility Directors: Contact your VanGo Pottery representative at 602.468.3136 to learn more about incorporating our enrichment programs into your center.

Parents: Inquire at your child’s school to see if they offer VanGo Pottery enrichment programs.

Homeschoolers: Call us at 602.468.3136 to see how we can tailor an enrichment program to your homeschooling needs.

Invite VanGo Pottery™ to Your Next Mommy and Me Event!

Hey moms, are you looking for a fun activity to do with your Mom and Me Playgroup? Then please consider a pottery painting party with the staff of VanGo Pottery™ as your hosts. We will come to the location of your choice – your home, church, park, community center, you name it! – and provide everything needed to entertain your group with pottery painting fun.

The kiddos can paint plates or other dinnerware items and then embellish them with their very own handprint. The finished pieces not only become beautiful works of art, but are precious heirlooms that can be used and treasured for years to come.

Or we can read one of your favorite stories and then paint an item related to the story. One of our favorites, “Eat Your Peas,” by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt, is a hilarious story about a mother who tries EVERYTHING to get her daughter to eat her peas, one of which is the promise of ice cream. At the end of the story, moms and kids can get together and paint an ice cream bowl for the special occasions in their lives.

We have lots of ideas and suggestions for your group. Please call our studio at 602.468.3136 for more information.

VanGo Pottery™ Wins Top Honors in Mom Business Competition

Phoenix, AZ – October 11, 2010– From among thousands of contestants, VanGo Pottery™ has been ranked #119 in StartupNation.com’s 2010 Leading Moms in Business competition (www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business), sponsored by Infusionsoft (www.infusionsoft.com).

Over 709,000 votes were cast in support of the 2010 contestants, reflecting immense interest and supportiveness for moms building businesses at the same time they tend to their families.

“There’s been a sea change among moms as they’ve come to realize that adding entrepreneurship to their lives brings exhilaration and immense gratification, not to mention supplemental—sometimes primary—income to their families in these dicey economic times,” says Rich Sloan, chief startupologist and co-founder of StartupNation.

“We are so grateful for our wonderful clients and friends! You make our job fun,” said owner, Sheri Geiss. The winner’s profile for VanGo Pottery™ can be found at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/contestant/7608/index.php.

The 2010 Leading Moms in Business ranking, conducted in collaboration with Ladies Who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com) and The National Association for Moms in Business (www.mibn.org), highlights some of the dominant trends, motivations and attributes among moms in business. They include:
• A great eye for providing attractive discounts, coupons, savings and value, all especially important to consumer moms of the recession era.
• A likelihood to come up with innovative products and solutions to address the challenging maze of motherhood. It’s an environment that demands resourcefulness.
• Conscience-driven business, where “doing well” is just fine, but the real rush comes from doing good.
• The attraction of being your own boss looms large for moms wanting to take control they just can’t find in a day job.
• Sustainable solutions and responsible business practices are increasingly paramount.
• Making the most of social media for business benefit is seemingly a birthright for the socially adept moms.

The full results of the 2010 Leading Moms in Business ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business.

VanGo Pottery™ - Taking Environmental Responsibility Seriously

A client recently commented that my paint brushes were very clean. I replied that my staff and I make it a point to keep them clean and that I still have many of the same brushes from when I started the business, five years ago. That got me thinking about how important it has been for me to reuse and recycle as often as I can.

I’ve reused the same red, plastic cups for rinsing brushes for five years. When wrapping and boxing my clients’ pottery, I reuse the packaging from supply shipments I have received. Many of the molds and design tools used in my clay handbuilding classes are throwaway household items and thrift store finds. And because the kiln uses a great deal of electricity, I coordinate my firings to be as energy-efficient as possible. In addition, several vendors have adopted “green” practices as well.

There are lots of little things we, at VanGo Pottery, do on a daily basis to reuse, recycle, and eliminate waste. And we will continue to look for ways to incorporate sustainable practices into our business model. I am proud to be a part of the global movement to make environmentally responsible choices.