A couple new pottery aprons have been added to the inventory!
My Mom has been busy making a couple more in her spare time.
Click here to see the full inventory and full purchasing details.
And as always, you can click on the Handmade Pottery Apron page in the top right corner!

Here’s a quick peek at the new aprons…
But remember, you’ve got to send me an e-mail to claim your apron, not just comment here.

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Another colorful day of Summer Camp fun.
Painting sculptures with acrylic paint…
although I’m not totally sure what color they were trying for here?!

A simple arrangement of summer blooms in a textured ikebana vase.
Thanks Kim for sharing some beauties from your garden!

We’re just a week away from ART IN THE GARDEN.
A great grassroots art fair in Glenview, Illinois. A merry band of artists & talented friends pulling together to put on their own show in the backyard of master metalsmith Amy Taylor. It’s a beautiful setting for a cozy, intimate art experience where you really get a chance to see some great artwork, talk with the artists and relax in the garden. Plus, it’s the perfect chance for some of the artists to collaborate on a few projects together!!!

Mark your calendars… next weekend September 19th & 20th, 2017.

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Another cloudy start to the day. Good sunrise potential that was never quite fulfilled. All those gray clouds never quite finding their time to shine in a blaze of sunrise colors. So close

The Chicago Skyline looked pretty great though…

Food-safe, dishwasher-safe… just not gravity-safe! A nearly vintage mug from my earlier days when I was a bit more timid about stamping. After years & years of use, Julie’s mug finally took a tumble… and took a “classic” out of the cupboard… and out of circulation!

ART IN THE GARDEN is right around the corner…
and some fun collaborations are in the works again this year!
My talented friend Cory McCrory and I are “spicing things up” and working on a new collaboration for the folks who come to the Garden!!! More to come…

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You know how I love seeing my pottery being used in people’s daily lives. So it was a great surprise to get these photos of George & Joan’s orchid collection… all looking very happy in their stamped & soda-fired flower pots! Thanks for sharing!

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So I’ve been playing with a new a new method making a handbuilt lab mug. I’ve made many slab cups before with my Summer Campers, but there were always a few “issues’ I needed to resolve. I’ve never like the flat slab bottom. Nor the untrimmed & unfinished bottom. I also don’t like the “non-round-ness” that a slab cup frequently has. Nor the sharp, freshly cut rim they typically have. So I decided to combine some textured slab handbuilding skills with some wheelthrowing!!! The best of both worlds, right?!

So I start by throwing some simple “thick” discs on a bat. I keep them centered and do not wire them off the bat quite yet.

While those set-up, I throw out some slabs on my wedging table. I then use my stamps, some rollers I’ve made, and some great texture rollers from MKM Pottery Tools. After texturing the slab, I cut one of the long edges straight with a ruler.

Then I put the bat with the thrown clay disc “bottom” back on the wheel. I use my needle tool to cut it down tho the bottom diameter that I want my cup to be.

Back at the slab, I do some quick scoring along the straight-cut edge.

Then I take the slab with that scored edge and carefully wrap it around the base that has also been scored & slipped on the outer perimeter edge.

Cut off the excess clay while just a little overlap. Carefully press your edges together to create a nice seam. I like to cut each edge on a beveled angle so that there is more surface area to scratch & attach for a good secure seam.

After attaching the slab and closing the seam, you can use the needle tool to cut off the excess on top… determining how tall you want your textured slab cylinder to be. You can also “bulge out” the belly of the cup a bit by pressing outwards from inside while spinning… just don’t touch the outside or you’ll blur the textures.

Finish the rim by compressing the edges and making sure it is nice a round. This is a good chance to make sure the cup is nice and round, as well as smoothing out that freshly-cut slab edge. Remember, someone is going to be drinking out of this!

And a little wet chamois to help smooth out the rim… a little wheelthrowing trick!
And thus refining one of my “issues” with handbuilt cups.

Here are a few different designs of my assembled slab-wheel combo cylinders from a few class demos. Still on the bats, ready to be wired off.

After they’ve stiffened up, usually overnight under loose plastic, I carefully flip them over and begin to trim a nice footring onto the bottom. This is a great chance to give the cup a well-designed foot helping force the “illusion” that it may have been thrown on the wheel instead of handbuilt.  After trimming, I make sire to burnish all of my trimmed surfaces to smooth them out, and sign the cup when I’m done.

SIDE NOTE : Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my Giffin Grip?!!!
Possibly the best and most useful pottery tool ever… at least in my studio.
Besides my wheel.

And voila’… another one of my “issues” with handbuilt cylinders resolved. A nice footring.

Then I add handles with the same traditional method I use for adding handles to my regular wheelthrown mugs. Little nuggets of wedged clay pulled with a bit of water and a lot of friction!

After they’ve set-up overnight under plastic, I wax the bottoms of the mugs.
Why you may ask?… because I’m going to be dipping them in slip, and I don’t want slip on the bottom of my cups… maybe it’s just me.

After the wax has dried, I dip the exterior of the pot into a thin flashing slip.
Not only does it give a nice layer of color that will flash & “pop” in the soda-kiln,
but it also sort of cleans up and smooths out some of the seams & edges.
And with the wax… no slip on the bottom of my cups!

So for now they’re “done” while I wait for them to dry…
and then be bisque-fired and eventually soda-fired.

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Today is one of my favorite holidays…
and if you’ve got it, toast it, squish it, goo it… and do it again.
Go ahead… have s’more!!!

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