Okay, the bisque is piling up.
My second kiln is cooling… so I started with the pieces from my first bisque kiln.
See how smart I am?

I start with some temoku glaze and a paint brush. Filling the stamped indentations with glaze.

A lot of temoku. A lot of painting. And this is still just the first batch… more to come!

Then I take a dmap sponge and start wiping off the top surface of the pieces. It leaves the temoku glaze in the indentations and help accentuate the textured patterns. Lots of wiping ahead of me…

And

I stopped into a new grocery store this afternoon to pick up some quick lunch. I was struck by their beautiful displays of fruits & vegetables. Someone has taken a lot of time & pride in their produce displays. Sure, I got told that taking photos was not allowed inside the grocery store… but I just kinda laughed it off like they were kidding and kept taking pictures. They weren’t kidding. But look at the great shots I got of their beautiful produce. Although it was killing me… and I so wanted to start turning some of the pieces to hide that pesky little sticker.

Last night in my Beginning Wheelthrowing class we had more sweet treats.
More “specialty” Oreo’s… two seasonal “favorites”… both were yummy!!!

And more homemade macaroons by my new teaching assistant Cynthia.
Of course they were all gone… all the more reason I had to bike again this morning!!!

Very similar. Yet very different.
I couldn’t decide which one was my favorite… so you’re getting all three!!!

Sure, I may be burning the candle at both ends these days.
Working all day. Late nights in the studio. Little time to sleep
At least I still have my priorities right… Bike or Sleep?… I’ll go BIKE.
Especially when the sky treats with a beautiful sky show like this morning!

Rushing to get everything done. I’ve got my next soda kiln firing scheduled for this coming Saturday. Which means I need to load everything Friday evening. Which then means I need to have everything glazed & wadded before then. Looking at the calendar, and counting backwards, I only have a limited amount of time left. So I NEED to push this through a little faster than I would like. I’ve had things in front of fans drying as much as possible. But at some point, I just needed to get them into this bisque kiln. If you look close, you can see the dampness in the darker clay. Not my usual “tight” packed kiln… but I wanted a bit more air space for drying purposes. No stacking & nesting of wet work!!!

Kiln Layer #1 – bowls, tiles and damp mugs.

Kiln Layer #2 – tiles, damp tumblers and more damp mugs.

Kiln Layer #3 – textured salt & pepper shakers, tiles and more mugs!

Kiln Layer #4 – a few larger tiles and the new “round” slab vases.

They’re packed tight, and still a bit wetter than I would like them to be. I’m going to candle the kiln with a slow preheat and fingers crossed. I’m hoping it works. I would hate for these to explode after all this work… although I am “expecting” some varied results. We’ll see in a day or so when I unload this kiln…

Tonight the owner of “Beans & Leaves Coffee & Tea Cafe” stopped by the studio to pick up more mugs for her store. I hope that’s a good sign… and that they’re flying off the shelves!!! So here’s another dozen mugs headed off to Long Grove, Illinois.

Don’t forget to stop by “Beans & Leaves” if you’re out in the Northwest suburbs. Fall is a beautiful time in Long Grove. And if you can’t make it out there, remember that they do sell my mugs online too! Click here for instant access to their online shop.

Beans & Leaves Coffee & Tea Cafe
320 Old McHenry Road, Long Grove, Illinois 60047 – (847) 821-0011
Monday-Saturday 8:30am-5:00pm • Sunday 9:00am-5:00pm

I’ve been working like crazy trying to get everything done in the studio for “Art In The Barn.”
Of course, I’m running a little late...

But I am trying a new form this time. I’ve made textured slab vases for a couple years. Each with a different pattern & color on each side. This time around I decided to try a round vase, with a bit more of a “constructed” feel. These are brand new. And I hope they all hold-up and work properly. And survive the firing.

Of course I should have tried just one prototype to check first.
But that’s just not how I work. So I dove right in and made a full batch.
Two sizes… and I’m hoping they survive.

Especially since they’re still wet and have been under plastic all day. I just added some colored slip accents, they’re sitting in front of a fan… and in just a few minutes will be going into a bisque kiln. Yikes! If they don’t get in, they won’t be out soon enough to glaze them and get them into my soda kiln. And if they don’t make it into my soda kiln… they don’t make it to “Art In The Barn.” And that would be bad… so, fingers crossed…

I’m surprised how fast the days are ticking by… and my kiln dates are rapidly approaching. Like tonight!!! So I had to come into the studio extra early this morning to add some colored slip accents to my mugs.

So now they’re all done and drying in my studio… and now I’m off to the “glitter gig.”
I sure hope they dry… they’re going into a bisque kiln tonight – dry or not dry?!!!

My textured slab vases always have two sides.
A different pattern. A different color.
It’s like getting two vases for the price of one!!!

And with some beautiful ginger blossoms that I pilfered out of the dumpster at the “glitter gig”… I decided to use one of them in my studio.

The striking red blooms are a great accent & splash of color.
But which side is better? Which side shows off the flowers better?
Which side is YOUR favorite? The green side?…

Or the blue side?…

At this point, for now… I think the green side is my favorite.
At least for tonight. I may need to flip it back to blue tomorrow?