Today I tackled my ware board full of salt & pepper shakers.
First I paired them up, then stamped the matched pairs. Then I trimmed the bottoms and punched the bottom “fill ’em up” holes.

I then set out to drill the shaker holes… and by “drill” I mean POWER DRILL!!!
Yes, so much easier to use power tools to do the work than any other hand tool.
Cleaner, quicker, easier! Gotta love POWER TOOLS!!!

After drilling the shaker holes, I painted the pairs with colored flashing slips on the tops and stamp accents. Occasionally the shaker holes would fill in with slip… but a quick puff of air through the bottom hole would easily clear the slip out of the holes!

And now they’re drying for the night…

Last night I threw twenty salty & pepper shakers. And then wrapped them up for the night. When I came back into the studio this evening, I found the typical condensation inside you’d expect. But I was intrigued by the little one spot on the plastic that had no moisture?! What gives?!

Upon closer inspection, I found that there was a teeny-tiny little hole in the plastic right there in the middle of the “dry spot.” Go figure.

Generally, I’m not a fan of the Chicago Air & Water Show.
It just gets in the way of my bike riding with millions of yahoos all over “my” lakefront bike trail. But I must admit that seeing this bit of clever up in the sky today did make me laugh out loud.

Who are we kidding?… I love “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
One of my all-time favorite movies… and I’ve always thought there should have been a sequel. Ferris stuck in a cubicle in Corporate America and ready for yet another “Day Off.”

My studio neighbor Karen Patinkin forwarded this photo to me today from the Crimson Laurel Gallery Facebook page. She knows how much I “enjoy” a well-packed kiln… and this one gives me something to aspire to. This kiln looks incredible!!! Challenge accepted!

Apparently, only twenty fit on my ware board. So that’s where I “had to stop” for the night. Next up, some stamping, trimming, slipping and hole punching to turn these into a new batch of salt & pepper shakers!

New ring holders… getting ready for my next soda firing in a couple weeks!

So this week I’m teaching a Wheelthrowing Summer Camp.
And for some reason, there’s still a sign on the wall in the wheelthrowing room
from a previous teacher that seems to “sum it all up.”

I know we all have different teach styles… but I have no idea what the other teachers are telling their kids?! I prefer the straight-forward approach… wedge, center, open, compress, throw, pull, compress, remove, repeat. I guess I don’t see the reason to make a nursery rhyme-ish, haiku-ish poetry slam that seems to have little to do with pottery?! Maybe it’s just me?!!!… but if anyone can explain it to me, please do!