Last night I unloaded my soda kiln. It was a long night of unloading, packing and cleaning the kiln. So I had to “postpone” sharing these photos until today. I hope they were worth the wait…

The cone pack shows that were had a hot Cone 10 firing on top,
the bottom was a normal Cone 10 despite being just 12-degrees different top to bottom.

Here’s a couple bowls as they were coming out of the kiln.
So much fun to see the new treasures… after hoping that all went well during the firing.
No glops. No chunks. No funky “kisses” from the kiln.

As always, the Minnesota Pottery Tour was a great time.
A lot of wonderful pots made by a lot of talented artists.
And as always, I did a little admiring… AND a lot of shopping!!!
So here’s where our little online game comes in…

Which three plates did I come home with?
Of the fourteen plates below, I came home with three of them.
You’ve read my blog, seen my pottery & seen my influences.
So how well do you think you know me?… can you pick which three came home with me?

Bob Briscoe                                                    Delores Fortuna

Suze Lindsay                                                 Mary Barringer

Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson                    Sarah Jaeger

Mary Barringer                                            Simon Levin

Ryan Greenheck                                            Matt Krousley

Matthew Metz                                               Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson

Matt Krousely                                                Suze Lindsay

So there they are… the fourteen plate contenders. Once again, the contest…
Which three plates did I come home with?

Place your guesses in the Comments section… and I’ll reveal the results in a week or two!

I hope you’ve made your plans for some great pottery fun this weekend!
C’mon… make it a fun road-trip weekend to Minnesota and play with the rest of us. I’ll be there mingling, admiring, networking, shopping, collecting and hanging out with the rest of the cool kids! You should be one of them too!!! There will be a TON of great pottery up there made by some wonderful potters.

Sadly, I’m not one of them… yet. Dare to dream, right?!

Click here for more information, directions and potter profiles!

Tonight I stamped a few flower pots. Gotta make the water dishes tomorrow.
Sure, you could get one of those plain, old terra cotta pots from Home Depot… but why?!
Your plants would love SO MUCH BETTER in a little bit fancier flower pot.
I can guarantee it.

Flower Pot #1 –

Flower Pot #2 –

Flower Pot #3 –

Flower Pot #4 –

Flower Pot #5 –

Flower Pot #6 –

Flower Pot #7 –

Flower Pot #8 –

Flower Pot #9 –

Mark your calendars… all of the pottery fun begins one month from today!!!
It’s your best chance to meet over 50 talented potters at seven different studio locations…
all within easy driving distance of each other! Three full days filled with wonderful pottery for every taste. Whether you’re more functional, more decorative, or more illustrative… there’s plenty of pots for everyone! Although you’ll need to fight me for the good stuff… as I will be there shopping bright & early Friday morning!!!

St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour
Friday, Saturday & Sunday : May 8th, 9th & 10th, 2015.

Click here for their website with more details, artist profiles, maps & directions.
www.minnesotapotters.com

I’ve been toying with some new pieces in my studio. We’ve talked a lot about spoons around the studio over the past year since NCECA Milwaukee. I must admit that it’s been a lot of talk… and not much spoon-making. Until now.

Here’s my first batch of spoons – still needing some refinement and firing!
So far… I’m kinda digging spoon!!!

So what was in the boxes?… you may be wondering???
Although I’m pretty sure you have figured it out by now…

Well, I met Steven Hill a few years ago and began doing some freelance graphic design for him. We worked together on several projects while he was here in Illinois starting up Center Street Clay. Our plan was always that we would “trade” services… my graphic design for some of his incredible pottery. A couple years have passed… Steven has moved back to Missouri. He’s still making beautiful pots and very busy with his workshop schedule. And I had pretty much written off any chance of getting my pottery “payment.” What I did get was a good friend to chat with… to mock, mimic & give a hard time to about his missing “dinnerware fulfillment” every time I see him. Okay, I must admit that it’s been fun to continually drop “hints” about my dinnerware over the past few years in person and on Facebook!!!

Well… much to my surprise…
the two large boxes contained my Steven Hill Pottery “payment.”
A wonderful surprise. Incredible pottery. Thoughtful & very generous of Steven Hill.
I had pretty much written it off… he is apparently good on his word. Slow, but good.

Thank you Steven!!!

Ta-da!!!… another beautiful Steven Hill pitcher. Fresh on the wheel during a workshop.
You can almost see the onlookers gasping…

Enough about Steven and his workshops…
Sure, he’s a great potter. Sure, he does groovy slip decorations.
Sure, he has beautiful glazes. Sure, he puts on a fantastic workshop.
Sure, his work is coveted by so many all over the place. Sure, he’s “famous.”
Sure, he’s the face or Skutt Wheels in all of the ceramics magazines. Sure… I get it.

But back to me…
Here’s a little glimpse of my new Steven Hill dinnerware set… it’s wonderful!!!

A huge Thank You to Steven.
His work is beautiful… and my Care Packages were filled with his incredible pottery!!!
Such a wonderful gift to unexpectedly receive in the mail.

Steven, I can’t wait to see you at the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour
in May to thank you in person!!! You rocked it!!!

Here’s a few examples of the wonderful glaze effects that Steven Hill is creating on his pottery. His glazes are sprayed onto the piece in layers. Several layers of different colored glazes that blend, run, crystallize and do other magical things to create these incredible results!!! Sure, the forms are great too, not to mention the textural slip decoration.

Here’s a beautiful video created by a wonderful potter Ayumi Horie.
She talks about her thoughts on clay. The beauty of clay. The meditative quality of all the repetitive work we do as potters. A lot of similar philosophies to my own. And you’ve got to love watching her add some textures & patterns into freshly thrown clay!!!

Click here for Ayumi Horie’s video on YouTube.
For more about Ayumi Horie and her pottery, click here for her website.