Jay Jasper's Blog, page 55
November 8, 2021
Mugshot Monday – White
White Currants from the Alchemist’s Studio gardensand it’s nothing but white paper!”
Mug 18
$
42Shipping Included in US and Canada
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French Impressionist painter, 1841-1919If you don’t see one for sale in the colour you like,
please contact us and we can work with you directly.
November 7, 2021
👐 Picture this 👐
You can feel the warmth from the stove and hear the dry wood crackling. The air smells of something cinnamon and nutmeg and … maybe turkey? Whatever it is, it’s exactly right for this moment.
The heat has you cozy and dozy, but you have eaten a lot of sweets this Christmas Eve and are excited to open your one allowable “day-before-Christmas” present.
$100
Shipping Included In US and Canada
$100
Shipping Included In US and Canada
$100
Shipping Included In US and Canada
See more of our raku Christmas trees here
You eye up the Christmas tree in the corner with its lights aglow. It invites you over to come sit and bring your cocoa. Normally there is a chair where that tree is, but for now, the chair has been moved to the hallway and under that tree in the corner present for you from someone who cares for you.
They said it was something different than their usual gifts for you and they are excited to see you open it. But you really have no idea what it could be. Maybe some slippers? It does say “do not shake on it though”
Hmm….What might it be? You have been wondering for weeks. Sometimes alone in the hall as you walk by the tree, and sometimes in front of the gift giver…”I WONDER WHAT IT MIGHT BE??? hoping they might give you a hint. But with a sly smile and a glint in their eye, they say “You’ll just have to wait!”
And so you have waited, but your curiosity is at a peak!
And all the sugar you’ve eaten has not helped!
You tap your mug. Eggnog really only tastes good at this time of year, what is that about anyway?
Mug 20 $42Shipping Included In US and Canada
Mug 19 $42Shipping Included In US and Canada
Mug 13 $42Shipping Included In US and Canada
You wait and continue tapping. playing out a one-note symphony version of Queen’s Under Pressure. A repetitive and not-entirely-inaccurate ting fills the air.
Only a few more minutes.
You can’t wait any longer!
Not much is better than watching someone open up a personalized gift and knowing the thought that was put into it. But choosing that gift? well…that is not always so easy. So with that in mind – we would like to offer our help in finding that gift.
Yes, admittedly, that gift would be from The Alchemist’s Studio, but hey we are upfront about that bias! So maybe we can help 
Is your person a lover of the classics but also have a bit of an edge? All three of these vases are classic stories involving strength – either physically, mentally, emotionally – but each with it’s own twist.
$80
The Pillar of Atlas
Shipping Included In US and Canada
$76Blue Lotus
Shipping Included In US and Canada
$288The Eye of Balor
Shipping Included In US and Canada
or maybe you have a sibling who loves Christmas
Once In A Blue Moon Christmas Ornament Set
$85
Includes Shipping in US and Canada
or
A Loved one or close friend interested in meditation, or science fiction, or both!
$28
Yin Yang Pendant
Shipping Included in US and Canada
$25 Vase of Attraction Buddha
Shipping Included in US and Canada
$28
Intergalactic Yoda Pendant
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More jewelry can also be viewed here
or a relative interested in wisdom
Yellow Owl – $75Shipping Included In US and Canada
Summerberry Owl –
$75
Shipping Included In US and Canada
Turquoise Owl –
$75
Shipping Included In US and Canada
Or a mug for the lover in your life
The Lovers Mug – $48Free Shipping Included in the US and Canada
Or maybe you have a friend who loves colour and is interested in poetry and art
But you may not be a poet or artist yourself.
Raku vase Völuspá is here to save the day! This vase tells the tale from the dawn of creation to the end of the world, of an oracle who saw it all. It will also bring colour to your friend’s home in the darkness of winter (or any time of year!)
Völuspá $138
Shipping Included In US and Canada
Also as an added bonus with our 2021 Holiday Gift Guide, this vase is over $100 and so also comes with a copy my first book A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends at no extra charge, AND shipping included in the US and Canada for the whole package!
You could even get the book on it’s own for the reader in your life who is interested in the unusual, the beautiful, and the sometimes silly.“A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends” collects stories across cultures and centuries, adapting them to his pottery with wit, love, compassion and joy. “A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends” is a decidedly modern take on the traditional topics of pottery, healing, community – and what it means to be human – all interwoven with the magic of raku and stunning pottery.
A Potter’s Dream: Myths and Legends$23
Shipping Included In US and Canada
In other words, we can help you get from this moment . . . right now when you are reading this . . . to that warm and cozy Holiday scene with the tree. You will need to get your own eggnog, though,
as it won’t last in the mailIs there a particular person that
you might have in mind?
This Week In Photos
The last leaf on this tree hangs oneventually it will also let go.
Getting fired up at the studio for raku! You can learn more about the process that brings these pieces to 1000 degrees here in this post!
I think we may have a VERY LARGE MOLE!(Actually, I was adding in compost to the garden, but it’s not as fun of a story!)
Chairman Meow jumped in to investigate inside this large pumpkin, but he did not stay for very long!
A new piece fresh from this week’s raku firing
(please inquire here for pricing info)
A sunset to end the week and the end of daylight savings time. That’s been the week here. How’s your week been?
Click here to add your name to our
Great Pottery Gift Basket
and win before the year is out!
November 6, 2021
Her Mother In Law Is Pregnant Again, And She’s Tired Of The Pressure To Keep Up!
Raku vase ‘Nereus & Doris‘ focuses on the virtuous power couple of the sea, known for their fertility and general good nature. If you know anything about Greek mythology, which is a lot like reality television, this could only mean one thing. They would be replaced.
Nereus & Doris –
$150
Includes Shipping in US and Canada
Nereus, son of Gaia, was an honest man, known for never lying. But there was something fishy about him, and I don’t just mean his scales and tail. Maybe it was his shapeshifting ways, or his prophetic visions.
Doris was the daughter of Oceanus, and was known for the fertility of the oceans and her womb, for it is not every goddess who has the strength and tenacity to birth more than 50 children. There is even a cove named after her in Antarctica. Unfortunately her mother in law Gaia was always at her to have more children.
Nereus –
$38
Includes Shipping in US and Canada
Doris –
$
124Includes Shipping in US and Canada
While it’s true that this couple had over 50 children together
It was never enough for Nereus, who was a bit of a momma’s boy. Add to that his ability to never lie, and we have a real problem.
Outwardly, no one even realized to ask if there was anything wrong with this watery super couple, which is a good thing, or Nereus would have to tell the truth. But behind the scenes, the tell tale signs of problems were almost there from the start.
Doris was pretty happy to end up with Nereus. She wasn’t wet behind the ears when it came to god like status, and she seized the chance to marry up-and-comer Nereus, who would eventually replace her own father as god of the sea.
She hadn’t anticipated the impact of her new mother in law who also happened to be her grandmother. In almost an instant her grandma Gaia had gone from a largely absentee grandma how sent the occasional birthday card to a mother in law who only cared about one thing: Doris making more babies.
At first Doris took this in stride, and maintained her composureBut eventually after birthing 50 children she had enough. She decided to talk to her honest husband, who could not lie.
Nereus, who took after his mother, wanted more children. As the god of the sea he felt the need to constantly have more children, and poor Doris was left to care for all her children.
Doris knew that in order for their love to continue and for her to have a break from labour pains that something needed to change. She not only resisted the pressure of mother-in-law Gaia to have more children, but she prepared her daughter Amphitrite to take over for her.
Doris then set her up with another up-and-comer in the ocean, Poseidon, who would eventually become the new god and king of the sea, thereby freeing herself from the chains of constant labour.
But unlike other dethroned old gods, Nereus was able to fade into obscurity with Doris, where they lie deep below the murky depths.
This was finally Doris’ Day.
Doris –
$
124Includes Shipping in US and Canada
Sign up here to the Great Pottery Gift Basket
t
o
win a raku vase of your own (and more!) before the year is out!
November 5, 2021
What Do You See?
Like looking at clouds,“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life
Are there any images
that you see in this unnamed
newly pit fired vase?
One side
Opposite sideWhat do you see? 
Please share in the comments
November 4, 2021
To The Lovers And Dreamers . . .
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
― Langston Hughes
“” was the November 2019 Name That Vase Winning name, as was submitted by David Redpath ! Congratulations, David!
Kermit the Vase – $98
Shipping Included in Canada and US
You can see much more of what we make here.
Classic
Classic Christmas movies.
Raku Christmas Tree 1 $100
Price includes shipping in US and Canada
What do you think of this
Raku Christmas tree?
Many more styles and colours can also be found here.
and Do you have a favourite classic Christmas Movie?See the latest pieces from The Alchemist’s Studio: sign up for our newsletter
For Lovers
~ A new series of mugs I have been working on ~
“The minute I heard my first love story,
The Lovers Mug – $48Free Shipping Included in the US and Canada
[wp_cart_button name=”The Lovers Mug” price=”48.00″I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.”
–RumiI am working on other mugs like this which are based on the tarot. What do you think of this new mug series?
If you don’t see one for sale in the colour you like,
please contact us and we can work with you directly.
November 3, 2021
On The Wheel Wednesday -Your Personal Invitation To Healing
Though the perspective is surely changing. With the world shifting each day, I am able to see more clearly those things which are truly important to living the life I want.
I am taking this time to reflect on the kind of life best lived for me (don’t worry, pottery is of course in there) and personally, helping with healing is part of that best-lived-life.
Hooray for pottery!In 2019I was contemplating how I might integrate my own healing into my artistic process and how I might involve and possibly help others with their healing. After contemplating this for sometime, I came up with the concept for ‘The Healing Vase’.
My concept is to allow the process of raku and the flames of the reduction process to act as a healing tonic for grief and pain, for myself, for our world, and for all who to choose to participate in this process collectively.
The Healing VaseI would like to extend an invitation to youJoin the Healing Vase project for 2021.
I would love your participation in healing together. I welcome you to
Visit the project page and add your Wishes for Healing.
Thank you and I hope you are keeping safe and well in this time of increased difficulty.
Namaste,
The Alchemist
Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for updates and announcements related to this project.
November 2, 2021
Christmas At Tiffany’s
To help start the day, and to get our Christmas sale off to a good start, we are offering this set of 5 handcrafted ornaments in ‘Tiffany Blue’ on sale. Our ornaments are usually 4/$100, so you are getting a free ornament! They make a unique one of a kind artisanal gift for any Christmas enthusiasts on your list!
Not quite what you are looking for?You can see all of our ornament sets being offered .
The iconic blue might be the first thing one thinks of when referencing Tiffany’s. A close second would be the movie ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ made famous by the iconic and legendary Audrey Hepburn.
Don’t be the ‘timber’ lady if you are heading to any holiday parties this season!Let us know what you think of this set of ornaments in the comments below! What is your favourite scene from the film (if you’ve see it)?
