Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Sweet Pickles: The Art of Melanie Millsap


Melanie Millsap is a Shreveport resident. Find her products at www.sweetpicklespottery.etsy.com.

What is your process like? (Do you make the pottery yourself or do you order it ready to paint on?)
I select a piece of bisque I want to paint. (I used to start from greenware but its so time consuming. Now I use only bisque.) I paint my piece and let it dry overnight. I glaze it, let this dry completely, then into the kiln it goes. It's fired at 1,800 degrees, which makes it food and dishwasher safe. But most pieces I still wash by hand to preserve the beauty and keep from any accidental chipping. I just started playing with clay to form my own pieces. This is still a work in process for me.

Tell me about your products. Do you stay within a line of work such as tea sets and serving ware?
I paint what appeals to me usually. I guess I do tend to stay in the lines of children's and serving pieces because this is what I like. However, I am always thinking of new things I want to paint. My mind runs constantly with ideas.


Have you had formal art training?
No formal art training. I took a couple of art classes way back in high school. My dad is an artist so maybe this is where I get it from.

Do you sell your work from a physical store?

Right now I don't sell any of my wares at a "physical" store-- through a Web site only. Although I do sell on occasion to locals who have found me through Etsy and of course I don't usually mail these items to them. I do sell my tea sets through a tea party company in Virginia. The Web site is teapartytreasures.com.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

What a lovely feature interview on one of my favorite shops! I have some cupcake magnets and some flipflop magnets on my fridge from Sweet Pickles Pottery! And that tea set is on my Christmas wish list for my daughters. Her shop is fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Works of sweet pickles is absolutely beautiful. I ordered a wedding plate from her before, as a result, the recipient of the plate was crying when she saw how beautiful the plate is.

randi said...

Every single piece is so adorable I've just been drooling over them! They're just so HAPPY! What a sweet artist!

randi said...

...oh and Sweet Pickles...precious name- I love it!!

Anonymous said...

My customers go nuts over Melanie's adorable little tea sets. I am so honored to sell them in my online store! And she's a sweetheart on top of it. My site is www.TeaPartyTreasures.com if anyone would like to have a look!