The next challenge for The Pottery Olympics was to throw the tallest cylinder on the wheel using three pounds of clay in ten minutes. Sounds simple enough, right?! Except the real challenge was that the team members had to switch positions taking turns throwing every minute!!! Sixty seconds… switch… sixty seconds… SWITCH!!!

he first “event” of our Pottery Olympics last night was to have each team cut certain weights of clay off the big block. They had like nine different pieces to cut… but the twist was that they could NOT use a scale!!! They had to do it “logically”… or some tackled it “analytically”… but it was amazing how close they all got to the correct weights!

Which we did double-check with a scale before awarding points for first, second & third places!

Here’s my December chain for the 2021 Monthly Chain Challenge… stamped, glazed & painted. It’s gone through a few variations, but now it’s gold & done!!! So much fun to finish the monthly challenge… the brainchild of my friend Sarah Chapman. Originally intended for metalsmiths, but FUN for me too!!!

#chainchallenge2021 – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

I decided that the unstamped rings of my chain were a little too plain… so I decided to add a little shine to them!!! A little bit of metallic glimmer can only help make my “final” chain of the year-long challenge a bit more special!!!

#chainchallenge2021 – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

Here’s my December chain for the Monthly Chain Challenge.
Cute, but I’m thinking it still needs a little “more”…
as we all know MORE IS MORE!!!

Gotta keep working on it… I’ll post finished pictures tomorrow!

#2021chainchallenge – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

Eleven out of twelve… only one to go… so I’ve been working on my “last” chain for the Monthly Chain Challenge. This is what it was looking like while I was constructing it in my studio.

#2021chainchallenge – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

Celebrating the end of October with another entry in monthly Handmade Chain Challenge! This time with a handbuilt soda-fired hexagon chain that now lives on the side of a patio deck… draped, swagged & interacting with the plants. Can’t wait to see it drifted with snow… sadly, these plants aren’t going to last much longer!!

#2021chainchallenge – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

Well, here it is… stamped & soda-fired… and my September “entry” in the MONTHLY CHAIN CHALLENGE! I’ve been working on it for awhile now, and I’ve been waiting to share it here. I think the original intention of the challenge was for metalsmiths to show-off their handmade metal chains… but you can make CLAY chains too! And I did… so there!!! HA!!!

#2021chainchallenge – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

After bisque firing my chain, I started adding some inlaid glazes into the stamped details. After soda-firing, the chain should be toasty & shiny with some stamped textures & patterns!

#2021chainchallenge – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

Soon enough the extruded coils started becoming a large chain… complete with some stamped details on every other link & some colored flashing slip accents to boot!

#2021chainchallenge – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021