After a little splash of clear glaze… and nice electric firing…
my niece Taylor’s handmade set of dinnerware is all done! And ready for her
to cook us all dinner and serve it up on her new dishes! Shhh… don’t tell her…
I want them to be a surprise. She doesn’t know they’re done yet…

This afternoon after camp, my 5-year old niece Taylor stopped by the studio
to play in the clay along with my sister Jen (her mom), and my parents. It was
a special afternoon as she was working in clay, creating her own plates before she
heads off for her big adventure into starting Kindergarten! Taylor has been learning
to cook in the kitchen and loves to have people over so she can make lunch. So I
decided that she needs her own set of plates & bowls to serve her food on. We all worked
hard to make an 8-piece set of textured terra cotta plates & bowls. I made the slabs,
she did the textures, my mom helped slump them into the molds and my dad trimmed
off the extra clay. They all worked on the smoothing & painting… all with Taylor’s
design guidance and insistence!!!

And I’m sure you’ve already noticed… how adorable my niece & sister look in their
vibrant tie-dye shirts! You know how I loves me tie-dye!!!

After the plates were finished & painted, we had another quick tour of Lillstreet,
chatted with a few of my previous students (thanks Patrick), and looked at the kilns
and my studio. Then we headed off for dinner at Superdawg. Followed by a not-so-quick
18-holes of miniature golf. Considering it was only her second time golfing, she did
extremely well – and remained relatively focused & alert during the game!

After stocking up on clay, tools & supplies, Amy and I decided to stop by
Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis. It’s kind of their version of Lillstreet.
They have a wonderful gallery full of beautiful pots – and a great reception desk
made with some beautiful bricks that have been “colored” by years of firings
in a soda kiln. We oohed & aahhed… touched, fondled, caressed… and drooled.
Ultimately, Amy made a purchase of a sweet little vase by Ron & Cheryl Husby.
I ended up leaving empty-handed… more on that disappointment to come…

We admired a lot of pots in the gallery, and then went back and checked out their
classrooms, kilns and studio spaces. Along our tour, I found these wonderful cups.
Now known as “the cups that got away”… the studio artist wasn’t there, the cups
weren’t priced, the neighboring studio artist didn’t know anything… and we weren’t
even sure they were for sale?! So I left my contact information with the “neighbor”
in hopes that she may call and tell me I could come back to purchase the cups later,
or on Sunday. Sadly… I never got the call… no e-mail… no nothing…
But you can see why they were the “perfect” cups… that now I just have to have!!!

So today after camp, I stuck around and worked in the studio.
At first I was planning on going for another bike ride between camp
& my evening adult class, but it was far too hot & humid outside…
and my studio has air conditioning! So made the easy decision to stay
in the cool air and finish up a dozen mugs that were waiting for handles!

Tonight in class we focused on making bowls on purpose…

…and not a cylinder gone bad. So I demonstrated how to make a basic bowl.
Followed by throwing eight bowls, then demonstrating some quick techniques
for simple designs, patterns & styles to make their bowls special. Anyone can
make a plain round bowl… but it’s more fun when you make it your own
with a little design along the way! Texture… pattern… slip… fun!

After a couple days under plastic, the enclosed forms were stiffened up a bit…
but just enough to trim, stamp and squish. I hadn’t planned on working on them tonight.
But I checked the after class and realized that they were at the right stage of dryness.
I was a little afraid to leave them another day for fear they might dry too much.
If they get too dry, they don’t squish so much as crack when flattened.

So I trimmed some of the edges, then stamped the rim – and squished!
And now, it’s late, I’m tired… and these will have to wait for another day under plastic.
Next up – some slip decoration and a hole pierced through the back for hanging.
Then they’ll be ready for drying, bisque firing, glazing & firing again.

After a week of kid’s camp on the wheel, it felt great to get back behind my wheel
and actually make some new stuff in the studio… with my newly reclaimed clay!!!
Replenishing the supply just in time for the next art fair.

So I threw a series of enclosed forms – that will later be transformed into more
wall pocket vases. It felt great to be throwing again, and not having to stop
every 8-seconds to answer a kid’s question! Love ’em dearly, but seriously…

One of the most frequent questions asked at every art fair, including this weekend…
“How long does it take to make this?”

And there’s never an easy answer. I try to explain that it is a “process” and that
I frequently have several pieces all going at the same time, at different stages
in the process. This season I’ve created a picture postcard to handout at the art fairs
to help illustrate the pottery process in just 12 easy steps! Here’s quick preview…

1. Wedging

2. Throwing

3. Stamping

4. Trimming

5. Attaching

6. Slip Decorating

7. Bisque Firing

8. Glazing

9. Kiln Loading

10. Firing.

11. Admiring

12. Marketing

As for marketing… no one’s going to do it for you if you don’t do it for yourself.
Luckily, I have many years of corporate retail advertising & marketing experience
prior to my pottery career. I think that experience definitely helps any artist
who is trying to make a go of it as a full-time, self-supporting artist.

For a more informative description of the complete “process,” be sure to check out
the “Pottery Process” page on this website – see the top right corner to find the tab!

Trying not to focus on smashed pots… but instead, appreciating the new ones!
Just got home from the studio with some new pots hot out of the kiln!
I’m especially pleased with the latest batch of berry bowls which will all be coming
to the art fair tomorrow. As well as these cute little circular & rectangular dishes!

With the Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival right around the corner…
and final preparations, pricing & packing well under way, I decided to add one
more kiln just to add a little more pressure into my already hectic week?!

So today I helped load a cone 10 reduction kiln with a few more pieces for the show.
I’m sharing the kiln with two other studio members who are getting ready for their
art fairs the following weekend. The back stack of shelves is all Marian’s, while the
front is a mix of mine , Karen’s and Marian’s.

So the kiln is loaded and will be fired all day tomorrow… cooled on Thursday…
and unloaded on Friday just in time to come to the art fair – without a moment to spare!
Glazed, stacked, packed and ready to go… after Karen makes one last check!