While my cousin Kim was sending out a frustrated frost-warning on Facebook, her garden-fresh green beans look extra happy in one of my squiggled-slip plates!

We didn’t get very far… until we stopped at Joe Christensen‘s studio in Hudson, Wisconsin to see some huge pots, vessels & sculptures with wonderful textures, carving, slip patterns & sgraffito. Not surprisingly, larger pots using more clay take a lot more time to dry. So these large vessels have been sitting out for days, and are different stages of dryness. The darker the stoneware clay, the wetter the clay is.

And you thought those ones were big… check out this huge one still sitting on the wheel…

You know how I love texture & pattern… so I knew I had to share these great surfaces with all of you. Some especially wide & deep sgrafitto through the white slip layer.

On the other side of Joe’s workspace are some finished pots. Already glazed & fired.
Now just waiting to go home with a satisfied customer!

For those of you in the Chicago area, Joe and his huge pots will once again be on display at “One Of A Kind” over the first weekend of December. Click here for more information about Joe Christiansen.

Sadly, my cousin Kim’s favorite cat of all time passed away earlier this year. Rudy.
After years of cherished memories & warm nights snuggled together.
Luckily, her boyfriend Don knew that Rudy was so very special in Kim’s life, and that his passing was a momentous occasion in her life, so he had to be cherished, celebrated & memorialized. With that said, Don called me and asked if I would be willing to create a special, custom urn to hold Rudy’s cremated ashes. How could I say no? Although I’m not a fan of custom orders, this one was so touching & heartfelt… I knew I had to say ‘yes.’

I started by throwing two lidded jars. I knew that it would be better to hedge my bets and make two, knowing that at least one of them would turn out fine. There are so many opportunities along the way for a pot to get messed up, especially when soda firing. So I made two. One lower & rounder, the other taller and more statuesque. Each one was stamped with a nice repetitive pattern.

And then, I decided to customize them with some alphabet pasta letters… thanks to my former student Tracey who turned us onto the simple process.

So I separated letters and tried to find all the ones I needed.

Then I started pressing them into the leather-hard pots… okay, they were on the wetter-side of leather-hard. Along the way, I decided to hedge my bets one more time. To make one for “Rudy” and the second one for a more generic “Kitty.” I like the lower rounder jar better, so I was hoping for that one to be the finished piece for Rudy. But if that one doesn’t work out, “Kitty” would still be a viable option.

Once the letters were all pressed into the clay, I covered them with a band of colored flashing slip. A colored slip band across the jar and another one on the lid… with some accents in each an every stamp.

I left the pasta in place as they dried… and again when I bisque fired them. When the pieces came out of the kiln, they were a little scratchy around the letters where the slip had “built-up” around the pasta. A quick bit of sandpaper did the trick to even them out.

I then covered the stamps and letters with temoku glaze. Filling the indentations completely with glaze.

Then with a damp sponge, I wiped off the top layer of glaze to reveal the patterns & indentations now filled with glaze.

After a quick soda firing, both lidded jars turned out great. I’ve had to keep them “under wraps” for a few weeks so as not to ruin the surprise for Kim. The jars were in my last soda firing, but I had to wait until Kim received her gift before I could post them here

So this one now turns out to be an “extra”…
anyone have any ashes in a box somewhere that need a good home?!

And here’s the one that brought my cousin Kim to tears…
I gave the jar to her boyfriend Don during “Art In The Barn.” He proceeded to give it to her in front of all of us… my parents, her Mom, and more family & friends. She was so touched by the gift that she immediately turned into a sobbing mess. So touching. So emotional. So appreciative. Exactly the reaction one would like to get.  And now Kim’s favorite cat Rudy has a fitting resting place. RIP Rudy.

There we go… the last Mummy has just left the building.
And it looks like he’s going to a very happy home!!!

One of the nice things about “Art In The Barn” is that they set a great Fall atmosphere. Bales of hay. Potted mums. Pumpkins. Gourds… and more! Just a quick glance at the mums around us… and a mum visitor!

And oh, but wait there’s more… these are the LAST FOUR mummies!!!
The new Monster was apparently a big hit. Hurry over to snag yours before they’re gone!

They’ve been under wraps for quite awhile now. A new Monster in the mix!
But tonight they finally came out of the the final glaze firing. Yeah!!!
So now these little Monsters are wrapped up, and then wrapped up again in packing materials, and getting ready for their journey to “Art In The Barn” this weekend. This year’s addition to “The Ghouls Collection.” The Mummy.

And he’s got friends… there are more than a dozen of these Mummies… but not two dozen.
Quantities are limited. And once they’re gone, they’re gone! These and the other Monsters – Pumpkins, Skulls, Frankensteins & Vampires!!! And like most “collectibles”… some of these may be “RETIRED” soon! Get ’em quick!!!

Here’s a small sampling of the mugs that will be coming with me to “Art In The Barn.”
I know I’m no good at posting pictures of my finished work… instead, you always see work in progress in my studio. That’s because as soon as the kiln gets unloaded it goes right into a crate. Then it’s priced & packed back into another crate and it’s off to an art fair. I need to build in some time to shoot more pictures of finished pieces to share here. Maybe that’s a good New Year’s Resolution for me?!

Anyway, here’s a dozen mugs that will be up for grabs this weekend in Barrington at
“Art In The Barn.” Yep.. these and a LOT more!!!
Remember, it’s a double booth of pottery fun!!! Lower Barn E4 & E6.

This year’s addition to “The Ghoul Collection” has been a well guarded secret. The identity of which I have kept “under wraps” for a few weeks. I was trying to figure out my Ghoul-ish plan. And I didn’t want to share too much until I knew which direction they were going. Well, now they’re all made & drying. So I feel it’s safe to show off the “new ghoul in town” – The Mummy. Sure, I still need to paint them with underglaze, cover them with clear glaze, dry them and fire them. But I still have a couple days before “Art In The Barn.” Plenty of time, huh?… I hope at least…

As with every “ghoul” in the collection, these will be available in Limited Quantities.
When they’re gone, they’re gone!          At least until they rise from the dead again!