anyone, anyone?

i recently helped my friend move out of her circa 1960-70 ranch and i came across this bizarre piece of ceramic. now, i know i watch too much antiques roadshow, but i just have a feeling that this piece is important. but, what it is, i don't know. i am hoping someone out there can help me figure it out. only one other woman owned the house and she left a strange curled elephant foot sculpture on the front porch and a gazillion arts and crafts magazines among other things. all which lead me to believe that the previous owner had a history with art.

the artist stamp is on the top and resembles a figure eight, or a squared off letter "B". there is a hole that goes through the entire piece. it is roughly 7 inches wide by 3 inches high. it has a brown glaze that reminds me of the trim color on my childhood dishes.

please help!

(don't worry jaime, i will remember you when the cash starts rolling in)

athens, ohio

this past weekend, i went back to my youth - back to athens, ohio / ohio univeristy. i have been a southern transplant for over 10 years now. there are some things i love about atlanta, like not having to own a scarf, outdoor restaurants and dogwood trees in the spring. however, with the first step off the plane in ohio, i can smell my youth, i can smell the crumpled fall leaves, i can smell the chill of fall. can someone please bottle this smell? things seem simpler here, the sky is closer to you here. i want to go back to the days where it has snowed too much to leave your house, and you don't feel one bit guilty about doing nothing. i want to see the amazing colors of the turning leaves. i want to wear sweatpants to the grocery store, because people definitely do not do that in atlanta! somehow this old life is embedded into my DNA, i can't escape it and i never want to forget it or how it makes me feel.

shakerag festival

a big thank you to everyone who came out to support me at my first festival. the weather was great, the food was wonderful, however, the ponies behind us needed a bath!

i was so excited when this chandelier sold. it is absolutely gorgeous and just dripping in crystals. part of me didn't want to let it go, but i put on my brave vendor face and cashed the check. the chandelier was rescued from a local thrift store with about twice as many crystals as you see here. i painted it and added the tiny shades which are adorned with handmade red crochet flowers. it takes a special eye to buy a yellow chandelier and i am glad someone loved it as much as i did.