I packed up the pottery “starter sets” and shipped them out… anxiously awaiting The Big Reveal on Christmas! With things being as they are this year… the family “got together” to open their presents online!!! Not the best screen-grabs… but you can kinda see the excitement & joy of their new pottery! With the “gift-givers” a bit blurry, but still in the bottom left corner!
And since then… it’s been fun watching them all start using their new pottery collection! Each of them showing off parts of their new collections!
And Matt has already found “space” on his kitchen display shelves… although methinks he’s going to “need” more shelving pretty darn soon!
Another great Christmas SURPRISE… I was also asked to make a couple “sets” of pottery for three different families. The parents who requested these “sets” have QUITE the collection of my pottery. They’ve been collecting my work for years… and probably have TOO MUCH if that’s even possible! I know most of their kids have some “random” pieces… a mug here, a bowl there… but not a good “set” of anything!
So the request was to make two bowls, two mugs and two juice cups in three different colors for three different families. They love the stamped patterns… but didn’t want them to be all “matchy-matchy”… so they wanted the stamps to all be different. Similar, but different.
And to make matters worse… imagine ME not being able to share the photos of these pieces as I was making them!!! I was so careful not to share too much to ruin the surprise! I had fun making the sets… but so tough NOT to show photos along the way!
The “celadon” green set traveled to Kristy & Matt in Wisconsin!
The cobalt blue set went to Karen & Annie in Maryland.
And the green set was delivered to Jody & Ira in Pennsylvania.
And oh, but wait there’s more… I figured since each of the families was getting a nice “starter set” courtesy of their parents… maybe they needed a plate to go with it too??? Especially since I’ve kinda been “adopted” into the family. I’ve even been referred to as “the favorite son”!!!
A title I’ll gladly take… especially since they only have daughters!
With only two flat & two warped soda-fired plates, I knew that these wouldn’t work for this special order of FOUR. Especially since I had already decided that these dinner plates were going to be my friends’ Christmas present!!!
So I quickly threw another set of plates. Center. Compress. Throw. Spiral. Stamp.
This time knowing that a simple glazed firing would be a lot “safer” for warping this time around. Especially with the Christmas deadline closing in!!! This time I also hedged my bets by making five plates… so I would have a back-up if something went wrong!
I went with a “neutral” glaze combo… one of my cone six glazes. A honey-amber tenmoku looking glaze… I then sprayed a tiny bit of blue glaze around the perimeter to help with the contrast of the stamped impressions.
I was quite pleased when they came out of the glaze firing. The glazes melted and “broke” just right in all the right places. Not only were the stamps highlighted nicely… but that spiral?!!! Beautiful.
And now that Christmas has passed… and gifts have been shared… I can let the “secret” out. I decided to give Gerry & Rosene BOTH sets of plates! Starting with the soda-fired set “as requested” in the special order. They LOVED them!!!… and didn’t seem to care so much about the warping. They know all about the process and the inherent risks!
And then they opened the second package… with the “replacement” set of glazed plates… and they LOVED those too!!!
So much so… it brought tears to Rosene’s eyes! What more could you want from your Christmas gifts!
Doing a little holiday baking today… just finished a batch of double-chocolate brownies to share at all of my festive holiday get-togethers!
Oh wait… there are none as we’re abiding by “the rules” and staying safe & socially-distanced. Guess I need to eat all of these by myself?… oh shucks!!!
I’ve been working on these pieces for awhile. And it finally feels GREAT to call them done!
I received a request from a local Chicago customer for a special order last Summer during the shutdown. He owns & runs THE ECCENTRIC CAFE in Kalamazoo, Michigan… a part of Bell’s Brewery. Apparently, the bar has a lot of “visual intrigue”… wonderful collections & things to look at all over the place. In fact, it’s one of the only brewery pubs with NO TELEVISIONS!!!
So the request was that I would make a large “tankard” or stein for his newest collection. I LOVE making mugs… so I was definitely intrigued to tackle them on a much larger scale! He said he was “collecting them” from a few of his favorite potters around the country. So I was HONORED to be chosen to be part of his collection of favorites!!!
The request was that I can make any style, shape or form tankard “in my style”… and they had to hold more than 64-ounces! Knowing that I was going to be soda-firing them, I decided to make a couple extra just in case something goes wrong during the firing… a drip from the ceiling, a splotch of errant soda, or any other random issue that comes up while soda-firing. So here are the three finished pieces seen from both sides. Totally pleased with the finished results… and NO random soda mishaps!!!
Tankard #1 –
Tankard #2 –
Tankard #3 –
As I was making them, I was continually concerned that they wouldn’t be large enough… a minimum of 64-ounces. You know how clay shrinks when it dries… again when it gets bisque fired… and yet again when soda-fired. So I threw them fairly large with the shrinkage in mind… but after each step in the process they kept getting smaller and I kept getting more & more concerned!!! Turns out I was all good… BY FAR!!!… as each of them finished out with a volume of nearly 96-ounces each!!!
When I sent photos of them finished to Larry to choose which one he wanted… I was blown away when he said he loved them and wanted ALL THREE!!! Blown away!!! I was so excited that he loved them so much.
Last night I dropped them off … so nice to complete the commission and pass them off to the client. They will now be on their way to THE ECCENTRIC CAFE in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I can’t wait to see photos of them in “the collection” when they all come together. I know a few of the other potters involved… and it’s sure to be a pretty sweet collection! And then when “things” settle down a bit this summer, I may just need to do a roadtrip to Kalamazoo to see the pottery collection in person!
With snow on the ground this morning, it’s a good reminder that Christmas is quickly upon us… and if you’re still looking for handmade gifts, there are plenty of them in MY ONLINE POTTERY STORE that would make anyone smile when they open your present. Keep in mind, we’re running out of time… so I would order today or tomorrow to make sure they arrive in time for the holidays!!!
Momma Molloy sharing some of her mug collection to help celebrate MUGSHOT MONDAY! I love seeing my pottery being used in people’s homes… making their morning a bit more special.
A touching epilogue from Melissa who won the Silent Auction yesterday…
“I’m so glad you’re happy and that your auction was a success! My mom passed away three years ago and I’ve been looking for the perfect place to memorialize her for myself and for my two sisters. Your work showed up in my Instagram feed under the hashtag “cardinal” and here we are. Right place, right time.”
Amazing what a simple hashtag can do. Obviously things were meant to work out the way they did yesterday. Such a fitting tribute – a full circle moment for this entire “Cardinal Commission” project. It has been quite fulfilling & touching at so many moments along the way. Thank you to everyone who has been along on this journey with me.
‘Tis the season for red & green… as we head into Day Two of my limited-access & socially-distant HOLIDAY HOME SHOW! Wear your mask and buy some pottery for everyone on your holiday shopping list… and maybe a thing or two for yourself as well?! You deserve it… it’s been a rough year!
