Whoo-hoo!!!
Half of the mugs were “claimed” in the first ten minutes!!!
Still a few more mugs & ornaments looking for good homes!
Click here to get to my Facebook page to check it out quickly!!!

Happy December Online Sale!!!
To “claim” any of the mugs or holiday ornaments, you need to go to my pottery Facebook page and comment on the piece you want to “claim” it. Click here to get there quickly!!!

So here’s the “shopping list” of pieces that I’m offering up for my one-time
“Happy December Online Sale.”

DO NOT use this list to try and purchase any of these mugs or ornaments.
At 7:00pm Central time tonight, I will post the same pieces on my Facebook page.

We’re doing a first come, first served, old-school style “sale.” Keeping it simple.
The first person to “claim” the piece by leaving a Facebook Comment on the photo gets it.
NOT a Comment on the entire photo album, but each individual piece.
NOT by a Comment on this blog post.

So use these photos as a “sneak peek”… to create your “Wish List”…
and then watch for the official launch of the Sale on my Facebook Page at 7:00pm tonight!!!

MUG #1 – cone 10 reduction glazed B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #2 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #3 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #4 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #5 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #6 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #7 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #8 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #9 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #10 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #11 – cone 10 reduction glazed B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #12 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

And now…

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #1 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #2 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #3 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #4 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #5 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #6 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #7 – cone 10 reduction glazed B-Clay stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #8 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #9 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #10 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #11 – cone 10 soda-fired porcelain.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #12 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

So here’s the plan for later today… we’re going old-school on this one.
I’m currently taking photos of the chosen pieces. I’m thinking 12 mugs and 12 wheelthrown ornaments. When I get the photos ready, I will post them all on my blog ahead of time so you can see what’s coming up. And then I’ll post the photos again here on Facebook at 7:00pm Central time. The Facebook photo album will be the “official” sale page. First come, first served… and we’ll go by the first to comment on each photo – NOT the entire photo album post. So you can scroll through, see if anyone beat you to it, and if not, tell me you want it. And then I’ll confirm and we can work out the details later! So get ready… and keep checking my blog for the preview photos. And then back here at 7:00pm Central time. Good luck!!!

We’re nearing the end of the year… and quickly approaching the Holiday Season!
And it’s hard to believe that Sarah Chapman and I have been doing our Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge for eleven months now. Only one more to go!!! Unfortunately, Sarah has been a little too busy making work for the coming weekend’s “One Of A Kind Show” here in Chicago. So we may need to give her a pass on the November ornament? And if you’d like to stop by and see here at “One Of A Kind Show”,
click here for a link to get your FREE PASSES!!!

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on my ornaments for November. They’ve been done for awhile… kinda waiting for Sarah’s entry before I posted. But today is the last day of November, so here goes…

This month’s entry is a layered terra cotta ornament.  A simple snowflake on a contemporary textured circle. Here we are in “production mode” making a full batch of ornaments.

When they were dry, I added a thin wash of black underglaze to add some dimension to the textures on the back circle.

Then I painted the snowflake disc with some low-fire white glaze. A single, low-fire electric firing and these ornaments should be done and waiting for a golden ribbon.

NOTE – – – – – – – – – –
So, some of you may have gotten a “sneak peek” at this month’s holiday ornament during my Holiday Home Show. And a few of them may already have them hanging on your tree. Just pretend that these are “new” for this post. Don’t ruin the illusion for the others.

Besides all the mugs, there will also be hundreds & hundreds of holiday ornaments at the Holiday Home Show. Come see all twelve month’s worth of the Holiday Ornament Challenge. As well as this “curtain” of wheelthrown & soda-fired ornaments.

Now that the kiln has been unloaded, I have a “box of fun” that all needs with be wired & ribboned to turn them into Christmas ornaments. A couple different months worth of ornaments from the “monthly holiday challenge” finally fired and ready to go! I’ve got a LOT to do before next weekend if I want them to be ready for the Holiday Home Show!

It’s another month… and we’re rushing to the “end of the month deadline.”
Another month means another ornament. Metalsmith Sarah Chapman and I have been doing this monthly ornament challenge for ten months now – only two more to go! She’s been making metal ornaments, and I of course have been using clay.

Sarah’s October entry is a curved brass ornament etched with an Art Nouveau feather design. I don’t know a lot about metalsmithing, but I’m pretty sure there was a hydraulic press in there somewhere. Beautiful…

For my October ornament, I started by texturing some thin slabs and then cut out some holiday pieces & parts.

I assembled the pieces so the star “floats” over the rounded backside of the ornament.
Score, slip, attach, smooth. Repeat. Score, slip, attach, smooth. Repeat.

I slip painted the back side of the ornaments… a couple different clay bodies and a couple different flashing slips.

So now they’re drying and ready to go into the bisque kiln. My plan is to fill in the texture pattern with temoku glaze and fire them in the soda kiln so the flashing slips on the backside can do their magic. After firing, I think I’m going to paint the inside of the star with a shiny gold paint before I string them with ribbon. One more month “done”… two more to go!

Nothing like waiting for the last minute… err, day of the month.
That’s my Sarah. Waiting to the last minute to finish her ornament for the month. But once again, it was definitely worth the wait. Here’s Sarah Chapman‘s entry in our monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge. With just two hours left of September, she made it in “just” in time!!!

According to Sarah, “It’s a fringy bell for September!
Polished copper ribbons curled and held together with a wee bit of sterling silver.”

Meanwhile, back in my studio, I’ve been making a lot of gingerbread men for my September entry on the Holiday Ornament Challenge. They’re made out of terra cotta with some white underglaze & low-fire glazes. They’re pretty thin so I dried them on plastic grid so they would be less likely to warp.

And for the first time, my ornaments are actually DONE & FIRED before the end of the month!!! In fact, those of you who made it out to “Art In The Barn” have already seen them… and had a chance to purchase them already!!!

One of the nice things about “Art In The Barn” is that they set a great Fall atmosphere. Bales of hay. Potted mums. Pumpkins. Gourds… and more! Just a quick glance at the mums around us… and a mum visitor!