happy holidays!

I made this ceramic snowman
last year at the 577 Foundation.

Christmas is this Sunday and it really doesn't feel like it's the end of the year.  Apparently northwest Ohio broke an all-time record for rainfall this year. It does seem like it is raining all the time. Right now it's unseasonably warm and the ground in the the backyard is saturated and squishy. There also hasn't been any snow yet this season. At least no snow means no shoveling.

Here's another year we don't get to go to New York for Christmas. I feel bad that I don't get to see everyone out east more frequently. Right now it is impossible to board or leave our lone dog, Benny, with anyone. At 13 1/2, he's now diabetic with twice-daily insulin shots, completely blind, almost deaf and is having trouble with his hind legs. However he is still alert, has a hearty appetite and has seemed to adjust to life without his brother, Jerry. He likes walking all around in the backyard because he's less likely to bump into things as in the house. When the quality of Benny's life deteriorates more, we'll have to make the tough decision at that point. We dread that day and it could come at any time.

Still cranking out the pottery although the busy holiday season for the galleries ends tomorrow. Now I am simply trying to build up some sample pieces and have on-hand inventory. I am extremely pleased how much was accomplished these past six months—from starting to sell my pottery, to building a great studio conveniently located in the backyard, to producing in it, and then having my work represented in 3 top area galleries. Sales have been very good.

This is my last entry for 2011 and I am wishing that all my friends and family have a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012!

and now a new website too!

Not only did I create a second blog last week, this past weekend I launched my own website. After much discussions with others and online research on pricing and building sites, I happened to find a cost-free way to get a domain name and build a 3-page business site through Ohio Get Online. It's free for the first year and is sponsored by bunch of Ohio organizations, Google and Intuit. I was able to alter the Intuit templates to arrive at a satisfactory design and was limited to three pages. I managed to fit what I wanted by doubling up some of my areas. After the first year, the monthly costs are reasonably priced and there is no obligation.

Check it out: cheryltakata.com
Can you tell that Art & Marketing were my majors in college and that I worked in Marketing & Communications for way too long???

please check out my new blog

This month I decided not only to make a page on Facebook dedicated to Cheryl Takata Ceramics, but to create a new public blog for my pottery as well. It is my intention to keep this blog going so friends can read whatever is on my mind while the new one will focus just on my ceramic work. It will feature some of my newest works, announce where my work is available and other related events. We shall see how this works out. I would like to build a
web site at some point but I am still trying to figure a low cost way to
do that.

My new ceramics blog address is http://takataceramics.blogspot.com/