Once the kiln cooled off enough, I started unloading. Layer by layer. Shelf by shelf. By the time I was done, I was excited about the new assortment of berry bowls, mugs, tumblers, soap dispensers, bowls, tumblers, tiles & more!

Just in time for my next art fair in a couple weeks.
Evanston Lakeshore Art Fair on Saturday, August 3rd & Sunday, August 4th.

And here’s a quick peek at the latest batch of glazed mugs…

I’m especially fond of this blue-ish glaze on mugs thrown with B-Clay. I like how it pools, puddles and accentuates all of the stamping! Pretty sweet if I do say so myself.

The kiln loading went well today. I’m sharing the cone 10 studio kiln with my studio neighbor Karen Patinkin. We’ve both ben glazing for a few days. Mine is more dipping, Her’s is more fastidious painting. Either way, we both kind of came together in the end and had a very efficient kiln loading. We were both surprised to see how early we were finished loading this evening.

Unfortunately, I got so carried away packing, loading & finishing up the kiln loading that I absolutely forgot to take some final pictures of the final stack?! So I guess we’re all going to have to wait to see the “after” photos as I forgot to take the “before”???

The glazing has begun. My mind is getting glazed over. And it’s starting to “spread out” all over my studio. It’s amazing to me how neatly stacked piles of bisqued bowls can suddenly take over my small space once they’re glazed and no longer stackable?! Crazy. And it’s also crazy to me to see just how much bisque I have piled up in my studio… I had NO IDEA that there were so many pieces in there waiting to be glazed!!! Crazy!!!

Did my own pseudo-triathlon today.
Rode my bike 35 miles.
Then ran another 5 miles.
Followed by an evening marathon of glazing in the studio!!!

Okay, so I’m not sure that last one counts…
as I also finished off 1/2 a bag of Oreo’s!!!

As much as I hate glazing, you’ve got to start somewhere. So I’m getting ready to pull out the buckets, stir ’em up and start the dipping! Let the glazing begin…

So there’s been a lot of “stray” bisque piling up in my studio. Lots of leftover pieces that didn’t fit into my last firing. So I’ve decided to share a cone 10 glaze kiln this coming week. Now I’ve got a lot of glazing to do… and most people know how much I hate glazing!!!

Tonight I finally got to unload my soda kiln. You don’t know how tough it is to wait. You’ve worked so hard to make the stuff, waited for it to dry, fire it, glaze and then fire it again. You want to see it as soon as possible!!! But of course, the kiln decides to cool off at it’s own speed… and you can only open it when it’s good and ready. So finally… after waiting all day… I finally opened it… revealing the treasures inside brick by brick!

A little closer examination of my pots… and some kiln posts?!!!

So now everything is unloaded, packed up, piled into my car and shlepped into my storage room. Now I need to find some time to unpack everything, do a little prepping, cleaning, pricing and RE-packing to get ready for this weekend’s art fair in Schaumburg!

So I’ve been glazing a lot. Getting ready for my upcoming soda kiln. Glazing. Cleaning. Wadding. Getting them all ready for their trip downstairs to the soda kiln. At this point, I have one side done of my rolling cart. It’s a LOT of the smaller pieces. The ones that seem to take so much more time. But the good side is, that once my rolling cart is full of glazed work, I know that it pretty much equals a full soda kiln load. So I have one side done… more glazing & wadding tomorrow!!!

And yes, I’ve once again added on my masking tape “safety belts.” As I need to roll my cart down the hallway, take it down the rickety freight elevator, and then roll i tall the way onto the kiln room, I have found that some pots like to “jump off” the cart if you’re not careful. So a few “safety belts” help keep everyone safely in place!

So I pulled out all of my bisque today to start the glazing process. Which I must admit is my least favorite part of the whole process?! Every time I start I keep thinking that I need to find someone to do this for me?! Ha… like that will ever happen?!

And this is just the first half…
there’s another bisque kiln firing that I still need to unload & glaze as well!

I’ve know Steven for several years now. And I’ve loved his glazed textures even longer.
When Steven moved from Kansas City to Sandwich, Illinois, my friend & incredible ceramic artist Cory McCrory introduced us. We ended up working together as I did a lot of graphic design work for him while he was opening up Center Street Clay. He has since moved on, and moved back to Kansas City, Missouri. It’s always so much fun to see Steven on the Minnesota Pottery Tour at Richard Vincent’s studio location. Not only does he bring a lot of gorgeous pots, but he’s also a lot of fun to talk with and make fun of!!! And if you ever run into him somewhere… remind him that he still owes me a bunch of dinnerware!!! I know I remind him EVERY time I see him. And frequently on his Facebook too!!!

For more information and details about Steven and his work, click on his website here www.stevenhillpottery.com or from the list of LINKS in the right side column of my blog.