a very happy new year

Happy New Year! 2019 was a full and colorful year. The year was most notable for raising my very high-energy enthusiastic super friendly and funny pup named Bernie. He was able to come to the shop with me, until he grew too big and hairy.

Also new for 2019: the shop hosted many workshops, and a few open studio work sessions. During the summer months, when filling wholesale orders slowed down a bit, I had space to invite students who had taken my workshops to make any project they choose. It's been inspiring seeing student creativity and enthusiasm.

I feel that 2020 is a year of big change for me. I am looking forward to it. I hope it is a good year for you, too.

jungle living

In January through February of 2009, I had the honor of living in the Amazonian rainforest for three weeks. I wanted to repost this blog entry as a reminder of what is being lost right now as the forest is being burned down. My heart is breaking.

02.19.09 For the past two weeks I have been living at a science research station located in the middle of a nature preserve deep in the rain forest. The jungle is rich with inspiration for my ceramics, from the voluptuous trees to the exotic insects and flowers. This is the only place in the Amazon where our little camp and the sister camp a few miles away are the only human dwellings as far as the eye can see. We are the intruders here, nature is quick to disassemble anything we erect. It is truly a humbling experience. I can't even bring myself to squash a cockroach, knowing that I am in his house.

The Inselberg and Pararé camps are well stocked with food and alcohol. A nightly ritual is to enjoy a small cocktail: rum, sugar, and lemon right off the tree. Everyone takes turns cooking dinner. Meals have been buttery, and yummy.



Sleeping in an open carbet (four posts and a plastic roof, no walls) in the jungle is quite the experience: it is never quiet, filled with frog, cricket, bird and cicada calls. The howler monkeys are probably the most startling. They sound like a soundtrack to a haunted house, a howling growling spooky wind. Last night their call sounded so close, as if they were perched on a tree above our carbet. They were incredibly loud. This afternoon they hung out in the trees eating leaves very near camp. The howlers' gentle ways are in stark contrast to their ferocious call.




Surrounded by scientists from all over the world gathering specimens for their Masters degrees and PhDs, the conversations are spectacular. I have learned so much about the insect and mammal world. I will spend months digesting this trip, and exploring it through my ceramic work.

jungle in hand

During my walks through the rain forest of French Guiana, I came upon fascinating flora, the shapes and textures of which endlessly provide inspiration for my work. Here is a small sampling of the incredible diversity I experienced there. All were quickly returned to the forest floor where they were found. Click on the images for a larger view.

behind the scenes

For me, it’s the process that keeps me making. So much beauty happens before the finished piece comes out of the final firing. Here are a few moments from behind the scenes:

The handle of the mugs is attached when clay is in “leather hard” stage, a gorgeous matt finish, which is a pleasure to work with.

After the piece is dry, it is loaded into the first firing, the bisque. I try fitting as many pieces tightly together as possible. In this firing, sides can touch without getting stuck together – there is no glaze yet. Lovely patterns emerge as each kiln shelf is filled up.

I apply wax-resist to the bisque pieces wherever I don’t want the glaze to soak into the surface. Glazing usually takes two days, the insides are glazed first, dried overnight, and then the outside is dipped.

After the pieces are dry, they are loaded into the second firing, the glaze firing. Again lovely patterns emerge as I fit as many pieces as possible on a shelf, sides cannot touch in this firing.

And opening the finished glaze kiln is always a joy. Even if pieces don’t turn out as planned, it is a learning experience. The anxiety and anticipation has not diminished over the years. Which is a good thing. Some pieces will remain with just glaze, and others will have an image applied, and fired one more time.

Lately, I am moving more toward no imagery on my work. I just love the feel of porcelain well-functioning form, with a gorgeous glaze. Simple, with a complex process.

beach dunes and ocean blues

A few years back, I had created a set of beach-inspired vases for an installation in Wellfleet, Cape Cod at my friend Susie’s gallery. The last of these beauties is now heading off to a summer cottage along with a set of ”beach dunes“ cups inscribed with peace, happiness, love, and beauty. Plus a tiny glass bird, hand-blown by my friends at Henrietta Glass, a small woman-owned studio in Pawtucket, RI. Putting together gift sets like these is just so satisfying.

30 years of clay in my life

As I celebrated my 50th this month, I kept thinking how clay (gleena in Russian) has been a companion, muse, and guide for 30 of my years on this lovely planet. From the very first shapes that emerged back in 1988 while I took a hand-building elective at University of Cincinnati:

to building large pinchpots on the kitchen table during my time in NYC:

to throwing 100 pots, each a different form, for an independent study:

to RISD grad school installation of slip-cast pieces that hooked me on the process I still use today:

to an independent studio and shop owner:

Having lived in 5 big cities, 12 homes, and 5 studios, gleena has been a stabilizing constant in my life. I feel fortunate, and grateful.

oh the beauty of west coast nurseries

My friend Lisa and I decided to visit the nurseries of San Francisco on my last day in California. I have been falling in love with succulents for the past few years, and have started carrying them in the shop in greater numbers. I love the variety of textures and colors they offer. And love when they bloom for me. We started our day at FlowerLand, with a delicious latte and scone in hand, it was a joy to walk around the Berkeley neighborhood nursery. The diversity of gardening products gave me a few ideas for gleenashop. I dream of partnering with a coffee shop to be able to offer a similar environment in Cleveland. Maybe some day.

The second stop was Flora Grubb Gardens in the Bayview neighborhood. Nestled among industrial wholesale warehouses, Flora's nursery is an unexpected oasis. Lush spectacular plants line the walkways, and hang from walls and trellises. Entering, I was transported to another country, expecting to see monkeys and colorful parrots in the gently swaying giant palm leaves. Hours can be spent there finding treasures. Coffee and baked goods are also available, and the bathrooms are gorgeous.

For lunch, a delicious All Good Pizza food truck is parked in a lovely courtyard across from Flora Grubb. Looks like the gardeners from FG have done some work there, it is surrounded by pretty plantings of succulents and cacti. The pizza is delicious. What an inspiring yummy day!

a day at the shop

Saturday was such a fun day at the shop.

I had a wonderful conversation with a couple that stopped in after lunch at Melt, they found a perfect addition to their bird-themed wall-hanging collection. The next day I received a photo of their wall, with the new addition perfectly perched.

I met a sweet new customer, in town for a weekend, who exchanged a piece that was purchased for her in Rhode Island. She found three wee cups with her favorite animals on them.

My window-washer came, and excitedly shared that he and his fiancé are pregnant.

A neighbor stopped in, and told me that he and his wife will be moving back to Nashville to be near family. He purchased a candle to make their home smell yummy for showings. I will miss them, and wish them the best.

I love love all these interactions. Being  a shop owner, I have connected with my community on a completely new level. I share in the joys, loves, worries, get to meet the kids, meet the parents visiting from out of town, hear the local news, laugh at silly jokes. Sounds old fashioned, like something you would see in a film from 50 years ago.

After the NY wholesale trade show, I was a bit down. There are just not as many buyers walking the show, and my guess is that a lot of smaller, craft boutiques have closed. I know of a few in Cleveland that just couldn’t compete with online shopping opportunities, a sad loss for all of us. Coming home and seeing familiar faces at the shop was uplifting. I am so grateful that my community values tiny @gleenashop, and I feel fortunate to live, as well as work, here.

What a revelation 2017 had been! Opening a shop was a big risk for this introvert used to working behind closed studio doors.

Thank you Cleveland, for your heartfelt welcome, for the amazing conversations, and for a successful first year. A huge thank you to my online community, you have been my inspiration and support for many many years, thank you for the best gleena.com year to date. The email exchanges I have had with so many of you have been a joy.

And of course I am so grateful to the retailers who choose to carry gleena in their shops. Having a store of my own has shown me the amount of work that goes into putting together a cohesive retail collection.

Wishing everyone a wonderful, light-filled 2018, full of magical surprises.

handmade for everyone on your list

At gleenashop, I am committed to carrying works made by fellow small-studio artists. So I decided to put together a hand-made gift bundle. All the items together are $100, which includes shipping, a wonderful gift to a special someone, or gifted individually to many on your list.

What is in the bundle:
• soap by Keats, made in Cleveland Heights
• porcelain peace bunny, made by gleena
• terrarium pencils by June&December, made in Detroit
• PF Candle incense, made in LA
• porcelain heart by gleena
• LoveWild lavender bath salts, made in Brooklyn, NY
• handkerchief by Bittle & Burley made in Brooklyn, NY
• roundie bowl by gleena

This bundle can be shipped anywhere in the lower US. Or stop into the shop, it smells wonderful full of evergreens! Open Tuesday-Friday noon to 6, Saturday noon to 5pm. Located at 2114 S. Taylor Rd. Cleveland Heights, OH.

or email info (at) gleena.com for more info.