I was very excited to get an e-mail the other day from Kristen Kieffer.
Not only did she announce that she will soon be publishing her first instructional DVD…
which I will need to add to my collection as soon as it’s published. But it also
said that she’ll be coming to the Chicago area for a two-day workshop in September!

It’s already on my calendar. I can’t wait to see her working and showing off her technique.
She’s the queen of elegant stamping, beautiful slip trailing and other surface decorations!
Still a summer away, but something great to look forward to – September 22-23, 2010.

As I was writing the past couple posts, I was reminiscing about some of the potters
I’ve met over the years. In particular, the workshops I’ve attended that were taught
by “famous” potters. Being kind of new to the clay scene, I was impressed that the people
teaching were also the one’s showing their work in the gallery at Lillstreet Art Center.
Let alone, the potters you see in the pages of Ceramics Monthly. Clay rock stars!

Each workshop takes on a different tone – based on each artist and their perspective.
The very first one I went to was also left the biggest impression – Julia Galloway.
I had seen many of her pieces in the gallery, very detailed, elaborate and intricate.
Beautiful formed porcelain, altered, attached, carved, inscribed, drawn, glazed, etc.
I thought it a bit little too-“foofy” for my personal taste, but amazing & inspiring nonetheless.
So I signed up for the workshop… a little apprehensive because I thought it would
all be WAY over my head. I was still just a beginner.

But as soon as she introduced herself and started her shpiel… I was mesmerized!!!
I’m always intrigued & inspired by people who are truly eloquent, passionate about life
and can express their personality through the words the choose. Julia is one of those!
The workshop was incredible – a little beyond my skill level, but I could have just sat there
and listened to her talk. I had my first pottery crush.

So a few years later, when I found out that she would be coming back to Lillstreet for
another workshop, I was right there, the first one volunteering to be her workshop assistant.
So not only did I get to hang out with her, listen to her musings, assist during her workshop,
but I also got to help her set-up her gallery exhibit – and go out to dinner! But I digress…

The coolest part of her gallery exhibit was her new “installation” of tumblers.
A not-so-simple grid of 112 tumblers. Each placed on the right shelf. Each in its place.
Here’s the cool part… when they were all in place, and you stepped back to look…
it created one large glazed image on all of the tumblers. And oh, but wait there’s more…
if you turned all of the tumblers around 180-degrees, the same image would appear
but this time in a simple line drawing, not colorfully glazed! Crazy, I know…

As I have been cleaning, organizing & labeling my collection… I’ve been reminiscing
about the potters I’ve met. Some of the “Clay Rock Stars”… Julia Galloway being the first.
One of the favorites. And I got a couple of her beautiful tumblers as a souvenir…

As many of you know, I have been collecting mugs for several years now.
All handmade, one-of-a-kind ceramic masterpieces!!! Never been used…
Yes, sad, I know… but it makes for a fun collection. And for the word “mug”…
I use a loose interpretation that includes, cups & saucers, teabowls, tumblers, etc.
I’m not a mug snob… any one can play!

During my recent bathroom remodeling project, my mom and I took some time
to clean & organize the kitchen… which includes the mug collection shelves.
So we went through, dusted the shelves, washed the mugs… and labeled them all too!

Mugs made by my “talented friends.” Mugs by former teachers & studio mates.
Mugs from workshops I’ve attended. Some I’ve just purchased because I loved ’em!

From top to bottom, left to right…
Amy Higgason, Julia Galloway (2), Jeff Oestreich, Kathleen Guss & Stephen Robison,
Steve Lee, Kristen Kieffer, Christa Asaad (2), Suze Lindsay, Allison McGowan, Matt Metz,
Allegheny Meadows (2), Autumn Cipala, Julie Johnson, Shannon Blakey, Ellen Shankin,
Michael Corney, Margaret Bohls, Aaron Nelson, Simon Levin, Matt Metz, Jeff Oestreich,
Ellen Shankin, Katie Biderbost, Xiaosheng Bi, Steven Hill, Sam Clarkson, Cynthia Siegel,
Steve Lee, Cheryl & Ron Husby, Ernest Miller and Malcolm Davis.

Now don’t get me wrong… this is by no means the entire collection!
For those of you who have been to my place, you know that there are lots of “things”
everywhere to see. Things here… things there… a collection here… a collection there..
I have hopes of some day soon installing a new shelving system in my living room
that would hold around a hundred mugs. Until then, some mugs have been “displaced”
and forced to “live” somewhere else… over doorframes, fireplace mantle shelves, etc.
And still… there’s always room for more!!!

With the mugs drying on my rolling cart, my studio worktable was empty.
The perfect chance to spread out some of my reclaim clay to let it dry up a bit
on a large plaster bat. So here it is… my big gooey pile of clay!

All of my trimmings & dried clay scraps are stored in a large bin covered in water.
Over time, the dried clay pieces absorb the water and “slake” down into a slimey sludge.
Mix it up a couple times, add some more dried clay scraps, some more water. Waiting for
the time when my worktable would be clear for the plaster bat. The sloppy clay is scooped
out onto the plaster bat which will help absorb the moisture.

So this big mound of gooey mess will sit for a few days until it is back to clay consistency.
The a little wedging… okay, a lot of wedging… and I’ve got a lot of new clay again!!!
Ready to make more pots with my newly reclaimed, recycled & ready-to-throw clay.

After a lengthy “hiatus” from the studio while remodeling my bathroom…
the mug cylinders I had thrown before renovation began had “a little bit of a wait”
for handles & slip. Going in just to spray them now & again… trying to keep them
feasible… keeping them moist so I could finish them off. For about three weeks!!!

The bathroom project is finally finished… and tonight I finished the mugs!
Now they just need a couple days to dry… then into a bisque kiln…

Tonight’s class ended with one of my favorite projects… STAMPS!
A lot of my students have taken an interest in textures & stamping… go figure.
So tonight we made stamps that will be bisqued fired and then they can start using them!

Back in the saddle… and back to some good-ol’-fashioned stamping fun!
The mugs I started the other day are now all stamped…
now they need to “dry” to a stiffer leather-hard so I can trim them and add the handles!

Like I’ve said before, it’s kind of tough for me to get back into the studio
and start up the full-production routine again after the holidays. It seems
like I’ve been so busy for so long. And everything at the studio is clean…
empty… not wet… nothing drying… nothing urgent. So why hurry into it?

Well, today was the big kick-off. I finally sat down to do some throwing.
Back in the saddle so to speak. And what to start with?… mugs, of course!!!
We started the holiday season with over 100 mugs at the Holiday Home Show.
And now the inventory needs to be seriously replenished. So I wedged up some clay…
and boy did it feel great to get dirty again.

And then I threw the basic cylinders that will get stamped, trimmed, handled, slipped, dried,
fired, glazed and fired again in the weeks to come! It felt great to be back in the saddle again!

Today was another kiln firing day.
I got all of my glazing done over the weekend, loaded last night with Karen & Marian…
and lucky for me, Marian was willing to start the kiln early this morning and Karen
was able to finish it off. My part of the kiln project is the big unloading on Thursday night!
Which let me just say is the best part… like Christmas finding all of the new treasures!
More pots for the weekend’s Holiday Home Show.

It’s that time of the year again… time to kick-off your Holiday Shopping Season!
And there’s no better place than my own “My Home For The Holidays” Home Show.
It’s the perfect place to find a handmade gift for everyone on your list…
including yourself.

Feel bad splurging on yourself?… well here’s a coupon to take care of that.
A little something for you. Keep it for yourself. Or give it as a gift. It’s up to you.
Just think of it as my holiday gift to you!

If you can’t see the coupon on your computer… for some strange reason…
I’ll let you know that the coupon is good for one free mug with a purchase of $50 or more.
I will have a few “extra” coupons printed out and ready for those of you who can’t get it
to show up on your computer. I’m not sure why it doesn’t show up all the time?!
Limit one per customer. Only valid during the two-day Holiday Home Show