Speaking of class demos… here’s my first bowl using the water erosion technique! Remember, I used shellac to paint on the pattern and then wiped away the surface of the background… leaving the protected areas a little raised from the background. I then glazed it in a forest green celadon glaze that turns blue when the soda atmosphere hits it. So the wide range of colors that go around the bowl are all from the “magic” of the soda kiln firing… not me!!!

Here’s a quick glimpse at some of my new “handbuilt-wheelthrown-combo” mugs… fresh from the soda kiln! I did a couple demos for my classes this session that “sparked” my need to make more of these textured mugs! Sure, some of them are a bit larger than maybe they should be… sometimes a class demo can get a little out of control. But I am loving how these turned out… so I’m sure I’ll be making another batch or five!

Rippled glass block sunrise in the studio!

One of my students has been working on some small handbuilt vases with a brick pattern. But she was frustrated as she was limited in size to the texture mat she was using for the brick pattern. So I offered up some of my textured rolling pins from STODOLA as an option. Rikke chose this grid pattern… and is so excited to make larger versions of her small vases now that she can roll larger slab textures! So excited that she’ll be ordering her own custom brick pattern rolling pin from STODOLA soon!

Click here to go to the STODOLA website!

After spreading some “good fortune” for the New Year by hiding twenty-one fortune cookies for an “Illinois Beach State Park Scavenger Hunt”… I figured it was time to replenish the inventory a bit. So much fun to make these little cuties. This is just the first batch… I’m sure there will be more to come!!!

We’re kicking off DAY ELEVEN of my TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS POTTERY SALE featuring twelve soda-fired & two-sided square vases. With a different texture “picture” on each side of the vase… it’s like getting two-in-one. Get tired of one side, just turn it around!

Just scroll through the “official” Photo Album on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page and if you see a square vase you want, be the first person to put a Comment of “MINE” in the Comments section of that one! I will then follow-up with a confirmation & a Facebook Message with further details. It’s that easy!!!

Click HERE to go to my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page.

So start shopping… be the first to claim your square vase… and then come back each day for a different pottery selection. Each of the twelve days will feature a different “category” with twelve new pieces up for sale first-come, first-serve only on my Facebook page… with a very SPECIAL event TOMORROW to celebrate Day Twelve!!!

At the end of each of the “12 days”… any unclaimed pottery will be added to My Online Pottery Store on my website … so you can still shop anytime, even if it’s on the “wrong day” of this pottery sale!!!

LARGE SQUARE VASES – 6.75″ x 6.75″ x 1.75″

MEDIUM SQUARE VASES – 5.25″ x 5.25″ x 1.75″

SMALL SQUARE VASES – 3.75″ x 3.75″ x 1.75″

The sun is streaming into the studio and hitting these cute little star ornaments. Sure, they really need a bit of glaze and wadding… but the sun is shining in?! Which “kinda means” that I might just NEED to go outside to play on my bike again this afternoon? I mean… we don’t get these glorious 70-degree days very often in November in Chicago!!! I gotta take advantage of them… and quick!!! So my loading might be a smidge later than planned this evening… shucks.

After making a batch of ten basic bowls last Tuesday night… and showing them how to do some quick alterations to the rims to make each one unique. But then again, you know my mantra… MORE IS MORE!!! So I did some more!!! Some stamping & indenting of rims, adding patterns & textures… just to make them one small step over-the-top!

Here’s a few of the bowls… and the some of the tools I used to make the magic!

So for now, the ten bowls have all been “accented & detailed” a bit. They are back under plastic for the night as I hope to trim them tomorrow night.

Making another TEXTURE TUESDAY happen in the studio.
Just stamping that “replacement” piece I had to make after Sunday’s ZOOM debacle!

You know I love rusty metal, and good patina here & there. Let alone the stunning craftsmanship on so many of the doors of the monuments & mausoleums at the cemetery yesterday! So yes, yesterday was beautiful day for some visual inspiration!!!