Prize Winner!

by Eleanor Hendriks

I was just thrilled two weekends ago to be the lucky recipient of The Best in Show Award at the Northumberland Potters Guild Annual Sale! This piece, one of my Milkweed Pod Jars, was the one that did it for me...



It sure feels good to be recognized for work you love by pottery peers at a time of year when all that seems to be important about your art is it's dollar value. The cash prize that comes with winning doesn't hurt either...

So thank you to the Guild and the Juror for lovely boost!

4th Annual StudioÉlan Christmas Art Sale

by Eleanor Hendriks


Pottery -Eleanor Hendriks
Watercolour -Janice Addison
Stonecarving -Peter Martin
Handsewn Gifts -Rene Buist
Stained Glass and jewellery -Janet Tysiak
Woodturning -Morris Young

Friday November 5, 6-9pm
Saturday November 6, 11-6
Sunday November 7, 11-6

From Hwy 121 just north of Fenelon Falls,
turn east onto Victoria County Road 8 and
south onto Hickory Beach Road. #97

Please join us for a lovely weekend with art. Let me know you saw it on the blog and I'll give you $5 Élan dollars to spend on pottery!

Fusion Pottery and Glass Sale

by Eleanor Hendriks

So here's where I'll be this weekend...

Fusion Pottery and Glass Sale


Toronto's Largest Show and Sale of Fine, Handcrafted Clay and Glass.

Featuring 50 clay and glass artists ranging from internationally recognized leaders in the field, to emerging clay and glass craftspeople presenting some of the best decorative and functional clay and glass in Canada.

CNIB Building, Conference Centre,

1929 Bayview Avenue, Toronto
Thursday, Oct. 15th noon to 9 pm Free Admission
Friday, Oct. 16th 9 am to 9 pm
Saturday, Oct. 17th 9 am to 6 pm
Sunday, Oct 18th 11 am to 4 pm

Actually, it's my pottery that will be there -since it is a show with shared work hours, I won't be there the whole time myself. My shifts are on Sunday and I'll be working at the checkout -as always, if you introduce yourself and tell me that you are a blog reader, I'll slip you $5 in Élan dollars...

I have at least three kiln loads of work that I haven't photographed yet including some new pieces with tricky experiments with very runny glazes, so if you think you've seen everything Élan there is to see by cruising through my Etsy shop, you'd be wrong!

If you can get to downtown Toronto this weekend, you can check out some of my new work and the work of a great selection of top notch Canadian clay and glass artists.

I'd love to meet you there...

Bobcaygeon Wine and Food Festival

by Eleanor Hendriks

Calling all Kawarthians -are you looking for something to do this Saturday? Stop by the Bobcaygeon Wine and Food Festival . Celebrity cooks, food and wine pairing demos, music and more at the Settlers Village, a quaint collection of pioneer buildings in Bobcaygeon. And, lucky you, I'll be there too with my pottery wares for food lovers...

Garlic graters

French Butter Dishes

Brie Bakers

And my signature fruit shaped stopperless salt shakers.
I hope to see you there. If you introduce yourself as a blog reader I will slip you $5 in Élan Dollars good on pottery at my studio...


One of the organizers of the Festival is a student of mine. She is a sculptor in cement with a show called "Coming Together" on now at the Lindsay Art Gallery . One of her first forays into the complex world of ceramics resulted in this stunning piece that I just had to show off...
Way to go Pam, You are translating your skills with cement into success with clay at an astonishing rate!

Its not all playing in the mud!

by Eleanor Hendriks

Being a potter isn't all playing with clay -in fact, I haven't touched wet clay in over a week! This past while has been glazing, kiln loading, packing and...

...painting the new table top display my super handy husband built for me...

It's got a nifty hanger for all my Christmas ornaments and it folds flat to fit in the back of my CRV. I've painted my old IKEA crates to match, sewed some table cloths and skirts and loaded up all the pots not already for sale in my Etsy shop. As we speak, my wares are set up at the Kawartha Potter's Guild Annual Christmas Sale in Peterborough.

I completely forgot to take a picture of my display while I was there, even though I remembered to take my camera! If you are in the Peterborough (Ontario, Canada) area, you'll just have to check it out for yourself! If you come on Sunday, I'll be there working one of the cash registers. Introduce yourself and I'll whip some Elan Dollars out of my pocket for you...

The show is on Saturday Nov 29, 10-5 and Sunday Nov 30, 11-4 at the Peterborough Lion's Community Centre, 347 Burnham Street.

View Larger Map

Come to my Christmas Sale!

by Eleanor Hendriks

My 2nd Annual Christmas Art Sale is coming up fast!

This year's participants are:

Suzi Silhanek, Artistic Lamps, Bobcaygeon
John Poole, Photography, Sturgeon Point
Janice Addison, Watercolour Painting, Seagrave
Anne Kulmala, Recycled Fur Creations, Bobcaygeon
Meg Silhanek, Beaded Jewellery, Bobcaygeon
Morris Young, Woodturning, Peace Point

and me, Eleanor Hendriks, Pottery, Fenelon Falls (North of Lindsay in the Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada)

These 6 artists will join me in my studio two weekends from now, November 7-9. We'll have a Christmas tree decorated with all handmade ornaments. Refreshments will be served -after all it is not a proper art event without food!

Hours are: Friday 6-9pm, Saturday and Sunday 11-6. I'd love to meet a blog reader in real life, so if you are near enough to drop in, send me an email with your snail mail address. I'll send you an invitation with 5 Elan Dollars to spend at my studio....

Have no fear -all that snow that I showed off in my last post is long gone! But I suggest you come on out soon before the snow starts to fly again!

A Friday Treat for me...

by Eleanor Hendriks

...an appearance on a busy handmade goodies blog...

Free prints with Purchase...

by Eleanor Hendriks

My Etsy friend, Debra Linker, is running a great promotion in conjuction with a lovely treasury she has curated. The deal is -buy something from her treasury and spend more than $30 in that shop and you will get to choose a FREE reproduction print from her shop! She has included my Rustic T-light Holder Set in selection -so if you had you eye on these hurry over to check it out. This offer ends when the treasury expires -Wednesday 3:30 pm EST.

What a great idea -thank you Debra!

Here is the beautifully chosen treasury... (the links won't work -click on the ones above if you wish to check out the shops -be sure to look at Debra's too!)

Blogged About!

by Eleanor Hendriks





Right now I have the delicious feeling you get when somebody gives you a compliment...


http://vintageindie.typepad.com/vintage_indie/2008/06/vintage-moder-1.html

StudioElan World Domination!

by Eleanor Hendriks

A package of pottery goodies from StudioÉlan reached its destination in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada today -so if you are near there and would like to see -in person- fruit that shakes salt or any of these other clay treasures ......

....you should go to NOMI, the brick and mortar store of fellow Etsian, Kristi Cross

Find hours of operation and location info for NOMI here.

You will also see lovely jewelry, like these earrings , made by Kristi...

If Newmarket isn't in your immediate travel itinerary, be sure to stop by her online shop full of lovely jewelry and FREE shipping until the end of February!!

I'm busy planning an March Break Art Camp for Kids and yes, I am taking any and all suggestions for how to keep eight 8-12 year olds in an arty state of mind for five mornings in a row!!

Meanwhile, back in the studio, my students have been creating up a storm -I'll give you a peek next time -here's a hint -hedgehogs and outhouses!

A Blast from the Past

by Eleanor Hendriks

I found this while unpacking some boxes of books for my studio library earlier this week...

October 1996 the date says!! It makes me want to sing -"she's just a young thing and cannot leave her mother.." and check out those glasses!

The caption says "The 10th Annual Elora Arts Council Studio Tour featured the work and crafts of 21 artists and artisans in the Elora and Fergus Area this past Saturday and Sunday. Pictured left, Fergus potter Eleanor Hendricks at the wheel..." (Yes, they did spell my last name incorrectly!)
I participated in the Elora Fergus Studio Tour for 11 years until we moved from Fergus to Fenelon Falls in 2007. I'm looking forward to being part of the Victoria County Studio Tour here this coming fall. I'll be sure to let you know when and where!

In class notes: this week saw the start of the winter round of classes -welcome to Angela and Lee Ann and welcome back to Sandy and Ross. They deserve a prize for braving the north(ish) Ontario winter to come out to classes from now till the end of February (don't worry -I've built allowances for snowdays into the plan!) I'm looking forward to another great class session!

Christmas Sale Transformation

by Eleanor Hendriks

The biggest motivation to get all the previously mentioned transformation done was the...

1st Annual StudioÉLAN Christmas Art Sale.

This show was held November 9, 10 and 11 2007 -I invited 6 other artists to show their wares at my studio along with my pottery. We had food, cider, holiday decorations and lots of fun!

Guests were:

• Janice Addison -watercolour painter from Seagrave, ON



• Morris Young -woodturner from near Bobcaygeon, ON



• Suzi Silhanek -artistic lampmaker from near Bobcaygeon, ON



• Sally Wells -french beading artist from Woodville, ON



• Meg Silhanek -bead jeweller from near Bobcaygeon, ON



• John Poole -photographer from Fenelon Falls, ON

I'd love to try my hand at embedding a link to their work but not a single one of them is online!

Instead I'll tantalize you with a few photos of their displays at my studio during the sale:

Janice Addison

Meg Silhanek

Suzi Silhanek

Morris Young

...and our Christmas tree completely decorated in ornaments handmade by us!

Now why on earth would I tell you about all this after it is all over?!? Simply this, if you would like a snail or e-invite to the 2nd Annual StudioÉLAN Christmas Art Sale to be held in November 2008 just let me know -we'd love to have you!