One of my students gave me a “gift” tonight. So thoughtful.
She has quickly become aware of my penchant for Oreo cookies – and figured I REALLY had to have this wonderful new cookie “appliance.” Unfortunately we didn’t have milk in class tonight… but…

And I’m really not sure how I feel about it looking more like an oversized dental flosser than a fun tool to help me eat even more Oreo cookies!!!

Before class tonight I had a bit of time to add some flashing slips
to my latest batch of salt & pepper shakers.

These are handbuilt with clay slabs… and I call them “textured tile” salt & peppers because they are similar to the textured tiles I make. Just a bit larger, a bit “puffier” and will someday be filled with spices! After class, I drilled the shaker holes with my power drill… and now they’re drying overnight as I’m loading them into a bisque kiln tomorrow night!

Time to make more oval casseroles!!! So I started by throwing the side walls on the wheel. I let them sit-up so that they’re not squishy & sticky.

Once they get to a good “wet” leatherhardness, I carefully wire them off the bats, and curve them into the oval shapes I like. Then I go around and stamp the patterns… one stamp at a time!!! Then I wrapped them up and let them stiffen up even more.

When I came back the next day, I made some nice slabs of clay and attached them to the thrown oval sides. A lot of scoring & slipping, a little paddling to make a tight connection, and a lot of good smoothing & blending to make it appear as though it was all one piece.

I also added handles and then set them aside… trying to keep them out of my way. It’s getting more than a little crowded in my studio these days!. “Real estate” and shelving are getting very important.

Once I had them all constructed & handled, I did a little bit of slip decorating before I set them off to dry. I’m always concerned with warping as these larger, handbuilt pieces start to dry. So I’ve placed them on elevated plastic grids with a sheet of paper on between. My thought is that the paper will help draw the moisture out, and the elevated grid will allow air circulation around all sides of the pots.

Once these are dry, they’re going to go into the bisque kiln.
Okay, who am I fooling… I need these to be dry FAST so they can get into Wednesday night’s kiln loading. Let’s hope they dry quick… and flat… and crack-free!!!

While I’ve been busy in the studio, I’m still trying to get out on my bike as much as possible. The weather has finally warmed up a bit, although this morning the sunrise was a no-show!!!

Celebrate however you see fit… be creative with your favorites!!!

You know how much I LOVE kiln filler!!!
As I’m replenishing my inventory, I realized I needed to make some more salt & pepper shakers. So I made a few more sets… which will also make wonderful kiln filler.
A double-whammy!!!

So the bowls I threw yesterday are already trimmed & slipped. Yeah me!!!
I love when a plan comes together and everything’s going smoothly.
Especially when I’m in high-production mode” getting ready for my next soda kiln…
which is coming up really soon!

Let’s recap… sunrise bike ride, throw a bag of clay, afternoon bike ride,
throw another bag of clay, stamp, oval, stamp some more, and pizza!!!

Okay. I love marshmallows. Don’t judge.
Especially the new huge oversized ones.

Tonight I was “snacking” in the studio and came upon the biggest one ever!!!
It was like I had won the Marshmallow Lottery!!!

Tonight I finished up stamping, trimming & detailing another batch of flower pots.
A bit smaller than the first batch… but still great fun playing with my power drill
for the drainage holes.