Perseverance Giveaway, Ends 4/30/21

Almost 2,500 years ago, ancient Spartan warriors fought in the Battle of Thermopylae. These warriors were outnumbered by their challengers – just 300 Spartan warriors to an invading army of millions.

The Spartans had to utilize ingenious survival tactics to stay alive, one of which being a simple drinking cup, a ‘Kothon’, to strain off and trap elements of dirt and silt from mud puddles when drinking. When met with a challenge, even as simple as finding a way to hydrate, the Spartans persevered.

Author Steven Pressfield writes about the culture and battle techniques of the Spartan warriors in many of his books, including The Warrior Ethos. In collaboration with Steven,  Joel handcrafted a modern-day Kothon Mug style, inspired by the fearlessness, discipline, and perseverance of the Spartan warriors.

Today, we may not drink from mud puddles or need to forage under combat conditions. But we all face our own obstacles and internal battles – pain, injustice, even death.

Being able to persevere through these obstacles is where real success is found. For the Spartans, and for us, too.

We hope you enjoy this Perseverance Giveaway. Good luck!

 

March Free Pottery and Book Giveaway, Ends 3/31/21

 

We’ve been enjoying some warmer weather here in Central Minnesota and soaking up the sunshine. So, for this month’s free pottery giveaway, we’ve picked pots with bright glazes that really pop when in the sun.

This month, 3 winners will receive a beautiful pot paired with one of our favorite books. These books have guided the work of Joel as an artist, business owner, and individual, as well as the members of our team.

Enjoy a preview of these inspiring books:

“Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.” – Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

“When I force myself to utter the awkward phrase, “I am grateful,” I actually start to feel a bit more grateful…It’s basic cognitive behavioral therapy: Behave in a certain way, and your mind will eventually catch up with your actions.” – A.J. Jacobs, Thanks a Thousand

“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.” – Bob Burg, The Go-Giver

Do you have a piece of Cherrico Pottery with a Cosmic or deep blue Nuka Cobalt glaze? Try taking your piece out into the sun and watch the many bright colors and tones come out. And we’d love if you shared with us – take a picture of your piece in the sun and tag us @cherricopottery on Facebook or Instagram!

Hope you enjoy, and good luck!

February Pottery Giveaway: Free Pottery and Inspiring Books, Ends 2/28/21

 

 

Inspiration for Cherrico Pottery comes from many sources. Whether it be podcasts, books, or TED Talks, our team is always learning and looking for ways Cherrico Pottery can grow. Many of the books we read don’t just apply to our business, but to life, too. They provide a source of inspiration and motivation for the everyday.

Alongside some of our best pots, this month’s giveaway includes two books that have guided how we approach our art, our business, and our life.

Amanda Palmer, author of “The Art of Asking”, has a unique story in the world of asking, giving, art, and love. Her 2013 TED Talk also titled, “The Art of Asking” has been viewed over 10 million times around the world. Check it out here:

“Asking for help with shame says: You have the power over me. Asking with condescension says: I have the power over you. But asking for help with gratitude says: We have the power to help each other.”   -Amanda Palmer, The Art of Asking, p. 48

 

Derek Sivers is a professional musician and entrepreneur who sold his multi-million dollar e-commerce company to assist creative people in overcoming the everyday burdens of their work. “Your Music and People” is “a philosophy of getting your work to the world by being creative, considerate, resourceful, and connected.”

Derek has also presented multiple TED Talks. Check out this one on “How to Start a Movement” here:

We hope you enjoy our February Pottery Giveaway. Good luck!

Blue Pottery Giveaway: Cobalt Blue in Contemporary and Historical Art

Newer and Bluer Pottery: $600 Giveaway

The future of Cherrico Pottery is looking beautifully blue. Joel has been refining his craft and it’s visible in the newest Cosmic Mugs. Meticulous attention to detail by adding a fifth layer of glaze has resulted in amazingly colorful surfaces in his latest batch of pots. These new mugs are all about brilliant blues.

These aren’t the only Cherrico Pottery mugs to show the wonder of deep blue. Cobalt is a common glaze element to decorate bare pots. Cobalt blue gives special surfaces to many of our pots, including the Nuka Cobalt, Blue Moon Mugs and Mountain Mugs.

What’s So Great About Blue?

What do you think of when you see a Cosmic Mug? The goal is to resemble nebulae as shown in the left image. Hubblesite.org tells how it was created by ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from several young stars. Sounds like a rather complex and distant topic. Can we not also see the references to everyday life in these abstract blue drips, like rain collecting on a window, as shown in the right image?

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson helps us realize commonalities between outer space and everyday life: “Every one of our body’s atoms is traceable to the big bang and to the thermonuclear furnace within high-mass stars. We are not simply in the universe, we are part of it.

Blue hues in Cosmic Mugs come from Cobalt. It is a rare earth element that is mined all over the world. Five pounds of raw cobalt powder would form just a small pile in your hands, yet it costs hundreds of dollars. It’s the rarest element Joel uses. He combines low percentages of cobalt with other ceramic glaze chemicals like feldspar and silica. After firing to 2400 degrees F. the glaze drips cool and result in deep blue hues.

Don’t worry if you’re a bit confused- so are we. We don’t entirely understand what’s causing these colors, but they are stunning.

Joel’s cobalt blue pottery is also inspired by notable achievements in art history. These artists championed the color blue in their own unique ways:

  • Yves Klein invented a new hue of blue and used it in large bodies of work that captivated audiences with their brilliance and simplicity.
  • Picasso created essentially monochromatic bodies of work in various shades of blue during what is called his ‘Blue Period’.
  • Van Gogh used nearly ten thousand blue brush strokes per painting without blending in his skies, communicating movement and emotion in unique, new ways.

We want you to feel our love of cobalt blue through our special blue pottery giveaway.

The Big Blue Mug Giveaway

Enter our giveaway for the your chance to win some of our best blue pottery: a brand new deep blue Cosmic Mug, Lunar Cobalt, Nuka Cobalt or Mountain Mug might be in your future. Five winners will be chosen randomly for $600 total worth of pottery. The giveaway ends on November 8th at 5pm. Enter now so you get more time to post the contest to your Facebook and Twitter to gain extra entries.

Random Cosmic Mugs

Our giveaway isn’t the only good deal for you. The Cosmic Mugs in our Random Sale were also brought back from the farthest ends of the galaxies just for you. Stock is going down, so get yours now while they’re still available.

“Blue is the color of longing for the distances you never arrive in, for the blue world.”

– Rebecca Solnit, Author, from the creative nonfiction piece The Blue of Distance

Photo credit: Charles Kremenak

Photography by: Nicole Pederson

Have you caught any of our Facebook Live videos?

In just a few months, over 100,000 people from all over the world have tuned in to see the inner workings of my pottery process. Subscribe to our Facebook page here if you want a sneak peak into my studio, where you can ask questions in real time, all from your Facebook.

The next video will be tonight at 7pm CST. Hope to see you tonight! I’ll be unloading a fresh load of Cosmic Mugs and Lunar Mugs from the kiln, as well as some glaze tests of random cups. You get to see them before anyone else on the planet.

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Guinness World Record Pot #1 is also available on eBay, now with the lowest possible reserve price ($160). It might sell for less than the value that the pot needs and deserves ($500 retail) but it’s more important to get it out into the world and into the home of a happy pottery collector. Plus, 20% of all profits are going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I would rather give them even a small donation than none at all.

Just to sweeten the deal, I’m throwing in one of my best Lunar/Moon Mugs included absolutely free to the highest bidder.

World Record Planter #1 / 159 and Certificate of Authenticity 

+ One FREE Moon Mug

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With your purchase of this World Record Planter, you will be directly supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in their clear cut mission: “Finding Cures. Saving Children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all family should worry about is helping their child live.”

That is a worthy cause. If you were considering buying a GWR planter, please consider placing a bid on this planter so your money has a bigger, better impact on our world.

$15 “Grab Bag” Pottery Cups: 100 Available

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If you’re interested in getting a great deal on a pottery cup, you’ll love this deal. You might get a Nuka Iron Cup or a porcelain cup with green or blue. You might even get a Cosmic Cup! If you’re okay with being totally surprised by a completely random cup, letting us bypass individual photography to give you whatever cups I happen to have fresh from the kiln, then we can give you this great $15 deal:

$15 “Grab Bag” Pottery Cups: 100 Available

Here’s my favorite Instagram series, with a painting by Clyfford Still that I’ve been pondering:

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95% of Clyfford Still’s artwork is currently stored and displayed at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado. After working alongside Jackson Pollock in New York City, he retreated from the public spotlight and kept the vast majority of his artwork hidden from the world. The fact that he produced such an astounding body of artwork in private gives valuable insights to what can come from a life devoted to following your own artistic voice.

“If your goal is to be universally liked and respected and understood, then, it must mean your goal is to not do something that matters.”

– Seth Godin, Author, from The Paradox of the flawless record

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