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.

Not wanting the excitement to pass too quickly… I slowly started to open the boxes.
You’ve got to love surprise Care Packages… and the great friends who send them!!!

And it started with LOTS of styrofoam peanuts… which tumbled out everywhere!!!

And then there were more boxes “floated” inside the bigger box…

Lots of bubble wrap… lots of peanuts… lots of shrinkwrap… all incredibly well-packed…

Soon enough, some of the pottery began to reveal itself…

Last night I received two large cardboard boxes at the studio. I knew I hadn’t ordered anything lately so I was pretty intrigued. A close look at the return address, and I had a pretty good idea that a LOT of beautiful things were waiting inside…

So I got an e-mail yesterday from the folks over at Pinterest…

Hi there,
Pat yourself on the back: You got 13,356 clicks
to www.firewhenreadypottery.com from Pinterest in the past 30 days!

That sounds pretty overwhelming to me?!
And I don’t quite know what to do with that news, that number.
How do I process that information? What does it really mean?!
I’m not well-versed in the world of Pinterest, but it sounds pretty cool to me!!!

Click here for finished Fire When Ready Pottery pieces on Pinterest.
Click here for Fire When Ready Pottery TEXTURES on Pinterest.
Click here for Fire When Ready Pottery STAMPING on Pinterest.
Click here for Fire When Ready Pottery MUGS on Pinterest.
Click here for Fire When Ready Pottery TILES on Pinterest.
Click here for some of my BIKING SUNRISES on Pinterest.

And then start pinning to your heart’s content!!!

We’re nearing the end of my Facebook Challenge, so it’s back to basics. With a couple stamped vases, pitchers and a teapot. Plus, another thank you to ceramic artist Cory McCrory & metalsmith Sarah Chapman for nominating me to take the Challenge!