LotsaPotsa's Super Ceramic Skull Saturday

Holly Murphy of Zanesville, OH is rockin' tons of skulls in her ceramic and pottery works with lots of different designs and a diverse offering of items.  This is just a sampling of what she's been up to(see more of her LotsaPotsa stuff here), but of course these skulls are our favorites.  Holly's works are fun and functional, and we thank her for sharing them with us.  Keep up the great work, Holly!

Pottery Skull

Gray, made this skull in a pottery class that he attend. He said, "Starting out I had no idea how it was going to turn out and I think its pretty cool." I was amazed to know it was made out of clay, vs metal. The finish on it looks like distressed metal. I like the contrast of the grey crown and details against the shine of the skull. This is a great piece, that shows great instruction and artistry.

The Gift of Skulls

Just wanted to share a few lovely skull gifts I was given recently.

This beautiful cup was made by Bruce Gholson of Bulldog Pottery...

I got a set of fun duct tape bookmarks from Lauralyn Sciretta as part of her Bookmark-A-Day project (which I featured recently on my other blog MakeSomething365.com) which she sent along with a fun collapsible skeleton...

Thanks guys!

Pot Head Skull

Okay, how many of you expected to see a skull with a giant doobie in his mouth? Not today, my friends. This bit of witty, pottery art comes from Andrew Bennion.

Even without the traditional skull on top this piece easily earns a place on our site. The spinal column of cups is smart and funny. This piece easily represents any lover of brewed beverages; so be it coffee, tea, or whatever you please, we tip our cup to you, Andrew. Thanks!

Simple Circle Studios Skulls

Potter Rob Lorenz of Simple Circle Studios in Carbondale, IL wrote: “I've been following your site for a while now and have been enjoying it thoroughly. I have created skulls from time to time, but never submitted anything...until today. These skulls were done for Valentine's Day, I'm not much on traditional Valentine's Day stuff, so I made these instead. They are hand thrown on a potter's wheel, then decorated with the sgraffito technique. Which means, each piece is covered with multiple layers of colored slip (liquid clay). The designs are then hand drawn and carved through the slip to show the white clay below. The work is finished by dipping them in a clear glaze and firing them in an electric kiln.”



Kneaded C says:

I truly enjoy this sgraffito technique that you use. The style reminds me of type of reverse wood block printing creating a perfect union of two of my favorite types of art- printmaking and ceramic. It is through the involvement of our readers becoming contributors that we are able to continue each day. Thank you for being a long time reader, as well as now being a contributor to Skull-A-Day.

Candle Lit Skulls

Mike Webber from London, Ontario Canada told us: “I've been a fan of Skull-A-Day for about a year now. I've always wanted to post something on your site, but never got around to either creating a skull, or e-mailing you - until now. ”

ShellHawk in Folsom, CA said: “I'm a beginner potter who is into Halloween. I made this skull to give myself a break from making jack-o-lantern pots, and I like the way he turned out.

Light C** says:

I know visions of Halloween immediately come to mind in these two examples, but the act of containing a flammable material in a non-flammable container is universal for any time of the year. I really like decorative lanterns because I am mesmerized by the patterns of light and shadow they cast, and imagining the patterns these two pieces cast has removed them from a holiday decoration and made them into works of art for me. Thank you both for sharing your work with us.

**(1/3 less calories than regular C)

[CONTEST] Win a Handmade Skull Mug

Cris from Skeletal Dropkick kindly offered to give away a fantastic hand thrown skull mug to one lucky reader of Skull-A-Day

To be entered in the drawing just leave a comment below describing what a skull's favorite food or beverage would be. [NOTE: If you're reading this on Facebook, be sure to leave your comment on the actual Skull-A-Day.com post if you want to be actually entered in the contest]

IMPORTANT: Don't forget to include a way to contact you (either an e-mail in the post OR make sure your Blogger profile has an e-mail link for you on it).

Everyone is welcome to enter, but please note that if you're out of the US Cris will only cover the first $8 of shipping and you will have to pay the rest.

You have until just Midnight Eastern Time February 2nd to enter so don't delay!  [UPDATE: The contest is over, thanks to everyone who participated! The winner will be announced soon.]

And of course you don't have to wait til the end of the contest to get your own mug from Cris, check out the range of items for sale on the Skeletal Dropkick Etsy page!

Good luck!