Some fun new stamped & glaze colored mugs for this weekend’s HOLIDAY HOME SHOW! Still looking for some new “names” to call each glaze color?! I think I’ve settled on “aubergine” for the purple one. I’ve jokingly been saying if we call it “purple” it’s one price, but if we call it “aubergine’ with a pompous verbal flair then it costs twice as much!!!

Color name suggestions anyone???

Putting the finishing touches on… a layer of clear glaze. Starting with the interiors & bottoms. The exteriors will be sprayed to cover with the shiny clear glaze… which when applied looks strangely like chocolate chip mint ice cream?!

Last night I brought studio cart down to the kiln room to start loading the soda kiln. I like to use these masking tape “safety belts” to keep my pots from jumping off the shelves while heading down in the rickety freight elevator.

Looks like Cory McCrory is in the final stages here… with some clear glaze in all the right places! Yes, that mint green color is actually a low-fire CLEAR glaze! So it will make all of Cory’s underglaze colors a lot more vibrant. And it will make the terra cotta areas darker & shinier than the “raw” terra cotta areas. Can’t believe ART IN THE GARDEN is this weekend already… but it is good to know that these are already in the final kiln firing. So I think Cory has timed it perfect… although they might just be “a little warm” when they come out of the kiln just in time for this weekend’s art fair!

So last Friday night, I rolled my studio cart down to the kiln room… via the jenky freight elevator… yikes! Everything arrived safely and I was all glazed & wadded… ready to start loading the soda kiln. The challenge is always to “squeeze in” as many pots a possible… while still leaving enough open spaces for proper air-flow through the kiln so the soda atmosphere can make its way though to hit all of the pieces! Here we go…. giddy-up!

Doing some glazing tonight for my soda kiln firing this weekend. Like these “hybrid mugs” that have been dipped in a flashing slip & now have a layer of tenmoku glaze rubbed in to highlight the textures. You know how I love making mugs… and I love these textures made with MKM Pottery Tools. The perfect combination!

Last night in my Beginning Wheel class, we did another “trading-exchanging-stealing game” to celebrate our last class of the session… with a category of “Not-So-Basic Bowls.” After several rounds, I came away with this cutie by Allison. Underglaze dots… and a beautiful crazy-crazed clear glaze! Lillstreet has been reformulating some of their glazes… and I think this was made with one of the test batches!

Fresh from the kiln… for another Mugshot Monday! For tonight’s final night of the session for my Intermediate Wheel class, our “white elephant trading stealing exchanging game” was a set of four matching mugs! Of course I had to play along… and I made two sets! Giving myself options to pick out my favorite set of four… with a few “extras” to choose from.

And wait… what is that? A new glaze color??? Yes!!! The very first pieces out of the kiln in the new chambray blue color. I’m not quite sure yet. I like the green so much better… but the blue might grow on me?!

You tell me… Do we like it or not???

Just a little early morning glazing to start the day! These flower pots won’t quite be done in time for Hinsdale this weekend… but will definitely be ready for the Northern Illinois Pottery Tour on June 8th & 9th.

Last week with my SURFACE DECORATION class, we discussed a lot of glazing techniques & tried to rectify some bad habits. Then I challenged them to “play” a bit more with their glazing… and to try some new techniques on the stamped cylinders I provided for them. I was hoping that they would be more free with their glazing if it wasn’t on one of their own “precious” pots. They all took good step-by-step notes… so now we’re just anxiously waiting for them to get fired in the cone 10 glaze kiln. Fingers crossed for some fun glaze results!!!