Shoshona Snow Ceramics Saturday Giveaway

I've been looking at pottery lately, admiring the beautiful colors and smooth surfaces and wondering how I could convince Andrew that what I really need around here is a pottery wheel and a kiln in our basement. Who needs an entertainment center when there's pottery to be made?

Well regardless I recently came across Shoshona Snow Ceramics and was instantly impressed. Her pieces are unlike anything I'd seen before, her dark and light backgrounds remind me of natural textures such as animal skins but make a pleasing contrast against the accenting contemporary colors. Some of her pieces have a modern, industrial shape, such as the teapot to the left (my favorite item in her shop) and others have a more flowing, natural design--rather like a gourd--such as the decanter to the right.

You might think that the black and white background pattern is a painted glaze but it's really a technique called sgraffito (Italian for "scratched") The porcelain piece is coated with slip, or liquefied clay, allowed to dry and carved with a tool so that the white porcelain underneath shows through. It is then fired, glazed with both clear and colored glazes, then fired twice more.

You might have seen sgraffito in African art where it is popular, which further enhances that natural-modern contrast that I find so appealing. But enough about her techniques, you'll have to visit her store and look for yourself--she's having a sale right now.

I have today, courtesy of Shoshona Snow herself, a beautiful mug with all the patterns and colors I've been describing, guaranteed to perk up your morning cocoa (my not-so-secret addiction). It's free for one lucky entrant, just follow the steps below to try your hand at winning it. But don't forget, you can always buy your own here.

Here's how to win:

Before 12 am Monday go to the giveaway entry form on this page and enter your name and email. I will pick one of the names at random, contact the winner via their email and publish the winner's first name and home town in next Tuesday's post. See the bottom of the entry form for more details.

I'm sorry but this is open to those with a United States address. Thank you for all your wonderful notes and comments in your entries, I love reading each and wish I could respond individually.

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Have you entered the Write-Away Contest this month? The topic is collections and it's going to be great--The Moose's Tooth has given me a genuine Moose's Tooth t-shirt as this month's prize.

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