Creative Shue families get a kick out of holiday crafts and pottery

DALTON − Carved wooden spoons, fused glass necklaces and ceramic pottery.

Those are some of the handcrafted Christmas and artisan items made and sold every year by the Shue families.

Their sale events have been going on for eight years.

The Shues (brothers Tim and Terry and their wives Jennifer and Kay) host them a few times a year before Christmas and before Mothers’ Day.

“It was the wives’ idea to sell our crafts after our daughters said they don’t need more pottery,” Terry Shue said.

Their next event will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Tim Shue’s barn “The Shudio” in 13618 Arnold Road.

At 9 a.m. sharp at a recent event, Smokey the turkey gobbled to greet the customers, while Kay Shue (Terry’s wife) and Jennifer Shue (Tim’s wife) welcomed them with a warm apple cider.

Several tables featured different crafts for sale. Terry manned his pottery wheel to demonstrate his work while Tim carved a spoon.

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“My parents were both very creative people. They never considered themselves to be artists,” Terry Shue said. “We grew up building things and making things."

Terry Shue and his pottery

Terry Shue is a pastor who works as a part-time director of development at Central Christian School in Kidron.

He embraces pottery as a healing hobby to release stress. “It’s more like therapy to me. I’ve had such stressful jobs before,” he said.

He creates mugs, bowls, vases and plates, mostly during winter in his basement because the kiln heats up the house.

The process starts with an idea of what he wants to create, then the shape appears with the spins of the pottery wheel.

“I let it dry for a week, then wait till the kiln is full and I fire it up to 1,900 degrees,” he said.

After the pottery cools, he glazes it with different colors and fires the kiln again at 2,100 degrees. When the pottery cools, it is finally ready.

“It’s such a great feeling to make something with my hands,” he said.

It's something of a spiritual experience as he thinks of how God shapes lives while he creates pottery. “I sometimes take the pottery wheel and do the sermon while creating a pot,” he said.

Tim Shue and his carvings

For Tim, wood carving is the paradox of his full-time profession.

“I am a musician, and a music teach at the Central Christian High School of Kidron," he said. “I am always with big groups of people, loud situations, so this is the perfect quiet hobby. It’s just me and a piece of wood. What I create is up to me; it doesn’t depend on other people's mood."

Around 15 years ago, he started carving without any instruction. Then about four years ago he took summer carving classes in Massachusetts.

“That was a game-changer and eye-opener. I learned different techniques,” he said.

Tim said the first step is to make a flat symmetrical surface using an axe. “If you do that right, it takes care of itself,” he said.

As he does green woodworking, he uses wet, fresh, soft wood to create his spoons. “When it gets down to a basic shape, it dries out evenly and the wood doesn’t crack,” Tim said.

Sometimes he uses wood from limbs or trees fallen by storms or from neighbors who cut some around their houses.

“Now people know that I do this they bring wood to me,” Tim said.

It takes about three hours to create a spoon; complexity can add an hour.

Creating symmetrical sides is the most challenging step, but he's learned not to be obsessed by perfection. He lets his creativity lead each spoon on its own adventure, making make each one unique.

Kay Shue and her jewelry

This year, Kay Shue added her own line of jewelry.

After retiring last year from her job as a choir teacher at Orrville City Schools, she began creating glass necklaces.

“Fused glass jewelry always caught my eye,” Kay said. “I decided to figure out how to do it. I took one class at Wayne Center for the Arts then I looked at YouTube videos and I started last February. It’s so much fun,” she said.

Dichroic glass reacts to the heat once it’s fused, creating sparkling colors that change depending on the angle and lighting.

Kay cuts the sheets of glass into different shapes then places them in the kiln for about five hours.

“I don’t know what’s going to turn out when I open the kiln, so when it’s done it’s like Christmas morning,” she said.

Once the pendants are cooled, she sands them, glues the bails and adds the chains.

“Each piece is totally unique,” Kay said. “The possibilities are endless.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Dalton's Shue brothers & their wives get ready for seasonal craft sale