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Janson Pottery Blog

~ Thursday, April 05, 2012

Shaving Creams & Soaps

Oh my, time goes by so fast! Sorry for not posting regularly. I have been busy with lots of orders and working on some new projects. I promise I will share soon : )  I usually post on twitter & facebook most everyday.

Spring arrived with beautifully. We had a couple of weeks of really warm weather and now we are back to mostly normal temperatures which will slow growth down outdoors.

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I had a request for information for shaving creams and soaps for the shaving scuttles & apothecary cups that I have been making. I typically purchase shaving soaps and also like Taylor shaving creams.
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They can be purchased on Fendrihan’s website here. http://www.fendrihan.com/taylor-bond-street-classic-shaving-creams-p-119.html?cPath=116_10
I recently purchased some shaving soaps from Elegant Rose Boutique and I can tell you that they are awesome.
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You can find her soaps here. http://www.etsy.com/listing/74405621/3-pack-of-handmade-shaving-soap-bars
The scuttles & shaving cups that I had for sale in my Etsy shop have now sold, so I am working on more and will have them completed soon.
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I hope it is spring like where you are and have a blessed Easter.
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~ Saturday, March 10, 2012

Creating Your Vision

Many years ago, I read Shakti Gawain’s book, ” Creative Visualization” and it has long since stayed with me. Visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life. There is nothing at all new, strange, or unusual about creative visualization. You are already using it every day. Every minute in fact. It is your natural power of imagination, the basic creative energy of the universe, which you use constantly, whether or not you are aware of it.

In the past, many of us have used our power of creative visualization in a relatively unconscious way. Because of our own deep-seated negative concepts about life, we have automatically and unconsciously expected and imagined lack, limitation, difficulties, and problems to be our lot in life. To one degree or another that is what we have created for ourselves.
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In this book, you can learn to use your natural creative imagination in a more and more conscious way, as a technique to create what you truly want - love, fulfillment, enjoyment, satisfying relationships, rewarding work, self-expression, health, beauty, prosperity, inner peace, and harmony. You can achieve whatever your heart desires. The use of creative visualization gives us a key to tap into the natural goodness and bounty of life.

Imagination is the ability to create an idea, a mental picture, or a feeling sense of something. In creative visualization you use your imagination to create a clear image, idea, or feeling of something you wish to manifest. Then you continue to focus on the idea, feeling, or picture regularly, giving it positive energy until it becomes objective reality. You actually achieve what you have been imagining.

Your goal may be on any level—physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. You might imagine yourself with a new home, or with a new job, or having a satisfying relationship, or feeling calm and serene, or perhaps with an improved memory and learning ability. Or you might picture yourself handling a difficult situation effortlessly, or simply see yourself as a radiant being. You can work on any level, and all will have results.  Through experience you will find the particular images and techniques that work best for you.

Either way, the technique is basically the same. After relaxing into a deep, quiet, meditative state of mind, imagine that you are working in your ideal job situation. Imagine yourself in the physical setting or environment that you would like, doing work that you enjoy and find satisfying, interacting with people in a harmonious way, receiving appreciation and appropriate financial compensation. Add any other details that are important for you, such as the hours you work, the amount of autonomy and/or responsibility you have, and so on. Try to get a feeling in yourself that this is possible; experience it as if it were already happening. Imagine it exactly the way you’d like it to be, as if it were already so.

Repeat this short, simple exercise often, perhaps twice a day, or whenever you think about it. If your desire and intention to make a change are clear, chances are good that you may find some type of shift taking place in your work soon.

To use creative visualization it is not necessary to believe in any metaphysical or spiritual ideas, though you must be willing to entertain certain concepts as being possible.

The only thing necessary is that you have the desire to enrich your knowledge and experience, and an open enough mind to try something new in a positive spirit.

Study the principles, try the techniques with an open mind and heart, and then judge for yourself whether they are useful to you.

If so, continue using and developing them, and soon the changes in yourself and your life will probably exceed anything you could have originally dreamed of.

Creative visualization is magic in the truest and highest meaning of the word. It involves understanding and aligning yourself with the natural principles that govern the workings of our universe, and learning to use these principles in the most conscious and creative way. It is something that you can practice anywhere, anytime for any situation.

What at first might seem amazing or impossible to the very limited type of education our rational minds have received, becomes perfectly understandable once we learn and practice with the underlying concepts involved.

Once you do so, it may seem that you are working miracles in your life and you truly will be.

Physically, we are all energy, and everything within and around us is made up of energy. We are all part of one great energy field. Things that we perceive to be solid and separate are in reality just various forms of our essential energy which is common to all. We are all one, even in a literal, physical sense.

The energy is vibrating at different rates of speed, and thus has different qualities, from finer to denser. Thought is a relatively fine, light form of energy and therefore very quick and easy to change. Matter is relatively dense, compact energy, and therefore slower to move and change. Within matter there is great variation as well. Living flesh is relatively fine, changes quickly, and is easily affected by many things. A rock is a much denser form, slower to change, and more difficult to affect. Yet even rock is eventually changed and affected by the fine, light energy of water, for example. All forms of energy are interrelated and can affect one another.
Thoughts and feelings have their own magnetic energy that attracts energy of a similar nature. We can see this principle at work, for instance, when we “accidentally” run into someone we’ve just been thinking of, or “happen” to pick up a book that contains exactly the perfect information we need at that moment.

Thought is a quick, light, mobile form of energy. It manifests instantaneously, unlike the denser forms such as matter.

When we create something, we always create it first in thought form. A thought or idea always precedes manifestation.

An artist first has an idea or inspiration, then creates a painting. A builder first has a design, then builds a house.

The idea is like a blueprint; it creates an image of the form, which then magnetizes and guides the physical energy to flow into that form, and eventually manifests it on the physical plane.

The same principle holds true even if we do not take direct physical action to manifest our ideas. Simply having an idea or thought, holding it in your mind, is an energy that will tend to attract and create that form on the material plane. If you constantly think of illness, you may eventually become ill; if you believe yourself to be beautiful, you become so. Unconscious ideas and feelings held inside of us operate in the same way.

This is the principle that whatever you put out into the universe will be reflected back to you.

What this means from a practical standpoint is that we always attract into our lives whatever we think about the most, believe in most strongly, expect on the deepest levels, and/or imagine most vividly.

When we are negative and fearful, insecure or anxious, we often attract the very experiences, situations, or people that we are seeking to avoid. Creating a vision board or map for your life can help to gain clarity in your life as well.

 


~ Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals

I have used medicine cards from time to time in the last number of years. Lately, I have been sorting through a lot in my life and have been consulting the cards more regularly.  This divination system is based on the ancient teachings of Native America. The text explains how the cards can be used to receive guidance and healing messages from the animals. Medicine Cards are an great tool to use for personal growth and balanced living. One of the animals that has spoken to me lately has been the moose.
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Moose is found in the North of the medicine wheel. North represents the place of wisdom. Self-esteem is the medicine of Moose because it represents the power of recognizing that wisdom has been used in a situation and that recognition or a pat on the back is deserved.
Moose is the largest member of the deer family, and has great strength. The call of the male Moose is an awesome thing to hear. His pride in his maleness and his desire to share his seed with a Moose cow are displays of his sense of self-esteem. The bellow of a male Moose can be viewed as a positive force, since it represents his willingness to"tell the world” about this feelings. This “tell the world” trait contains a joyfulness which only comes with a sense of accomplishment. There is no greater joy than a job well done. This trait is therefore not a seeking of approval, but rather an enjoyment of sharing because of the spontaneous explosion of joy that comes from the deepest part of one’s being. The wisdom woven throughout this scenario is that creation constantly brings forth new ideas and further creation. Moose is telling us that joy should be shouted with pride. The wisdom in doing this shouting is that the joy is “catching.” In a sense, the bellowing is a way for all of us to lighten up and give ourselves or each other a “well done!” Moose medicine people have the ability to know when to use the gentleness of Deer and when to activate the stampede of buffalo. They understand the balance between giving order to get things done and having a willingness to do things themselves. The wisdom of Moose medicine is akin to the Grandfather Warrior who has long since put away his war paint and is now advising the young bucks to cool their blood. Moose medicine is often found in elders who have walked the Good Red Road and have seen many things in their Earth Walk. Their joy lies in being the teachers of the children, and in being the first ones to give encouragement. This is not to say that Moose medicine people do not use their wisdom to warn as well as to give praise, because they do. Moose medicine people know what to say, when to say it, and to whom.The elders are honored in tribal law for their gifts of wisdom, for their teaching abilities, and for the calmness they impart in Council. If you are wise beyond your years and have the gift of Moose medicine, use this gift to encourage others to learn and grow. There are many facets to the wisdom of Moose medicine. When a moose card comes up for you have reason to feel good about something you have accomplished on your journey. This may be a habit you have broken, a completion of some sort, an insight on a goal, or a new sense of self that you have fought hard to earn. It is a time of feeling harmonious pride, and of recognizing those who aided you in the process. One good exercise in Moose medicine is to write down things that you can love about yourself and your progress in life. Then apply these same things to friends, family, co-workers, and life. Don’t forget to share the findings with others. They need the encouragement as much as you do.

I love Haida Gawai artwork. I came across a beautiful illustration of a moose that spoke to me.
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I have purchased this image and will do a limited run of wall tiles. This one is now available in my Etsy shop.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/93065578/haida-moose-handmade-porcelain-wall-tile


~ Saturday, January 21, 2012

Working with Handmade Buttons

I love buttons. They can make a beautiful piece of clothing or a knitted sweater just pop or maybe to give new life to an old piece. So many things are made by machines or in faraway places. If it all possible, I love to shop closer to home and to buy handmade.
All of the buttons that I make are individually handmade and sometimes glazes in layers of colours. 
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All of my buttons are made by hand forming discs of porcelain. Sometimes I like to stamping them with handmade stamps, put decals on them or impress wildflowers into them. Each piece is made and glazed individually no two pieces are ever identical. High fired porcelain is more durable than you may think. All of these buttons are machine washable.
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Here is a couple of beautiful examples of how it change the look of a piece.
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Checkout my Etsy shop to see a selection of buttons and pendants that I have currently available.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/jansonpotteryextra


~ Friday, January 06, 2012

Back to Work

Monday signals a return to school and for me a return to work. The first week of my daughter’s winter holidays, we had no snow. In the last week or so, we did get enough to toboggan and snowshoe.
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We managed to get together with some friends that we had no seen for a while and catch up.
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Fun was had by all and now it is time to get back to the drawing board and work on new pieces for the upcoming year which I am really looking forward to. It is so wonderful to have a job that I love!
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