And speaking of filler pieces… I’m spending a few extra hours glazing up my spiral holiday ornaments. I had made plans with a friend of mine who was going to come over Thursday night to be my “glazing assistant” and these ornaments were going to be her job. I was really looking forward to spending time with her, chatting & glazing, and getting them done at the same time. However, Nancy got stuck late at work and couldn’t make it. So… I’m glazing them tonight – pushing my glaze & loading time back a couple hours!!! I think I need to find a more reliable assistant… I’m just sayin’.

And now that they’re all glazed, now I need to go back to wipe the glaze off the top surfaces to leave the glaze only in the stamped indentations. This might take awhile. I guess I made more of these than I thought?!…

More glazing… and now the second side of my studio cart is full. Just a few more filler pieces and I should be ready to start loading.

And I must admit… I’m kind of excited about my new teapots! I haven’t made any for far too long. I just hope that they turn out as well after the firing. They’re too much work for them to get “ruined” with a bad glaze job!

It was a long & productive evening in the studio. I’m loading the soda kiln tomorrow night… and I still have a LOT of glazing & wadding to do. Tonight I filled the front half of my studio cart… tomorrow I tackle the other side. When the cart is full, I know I’m pretty close to a full soda kiln!

Gotta start glazing. I’m loading another soda kiln Friday night, and I’ve got a LOT of blank bisque waiting for some color… no such thing as too many mugs, right?!

Well, I’m working pretty much right up to the last minute. I’m firing another soda kiln this coming Saturday. Which means I’ve got to load Friday night, and get everything glazed before then. Fine, right? Except I’ve been working to make more work to fill the kiln… including some freshly thrown pieces from Saturday, stamped & trimmed on Monday, drying not quite fast enough… and going into this kiln a little on the damp side tonight!!!

Kiln Layer #1 – bowls, salt & pepper shakers, mini vases…
and a bisqued bowl being re-fired to get rid of some run-away wax resist!

Kiln Layer #2 -bowls, brie bakers, ring holders and mini vases.

Kiln Layer #2-1/2 – another brie baker, ring holders and soap dish drainer inserts.

Kiln Layer #3 – bowls, teapots, salt & pepper shakers and two lidded jars.

Sure, it may not be my tightest kiln loading ever… but I used so much kiln filler in my last bisque kiln that I had nothing left to “fill” this one with. And I was more concerned with finishing everything in time to get this kiln fired up!!!

So I unloaded my bisque kiln… and it covered most of my studio work surfaces.
Problem being that I’m still trying to finish some more pieces for another bisque kiln tomorrow. And I am quickly running out of room to work. So… necessity was the mother of invention… and now I’m stacking my work in progress! Yes, it’s come to this. Yikes!

So I’ve assembled all of the teapots and decided that some of them needed a little more attention. A little pop of color here & there with some colored flashing slips.

Teapot #1 – slip painted accents on lid & each stamp.

Teapot #2 – just stamped… I figure this one will be glazed with a light coat of temoku.

Teapot #3 – slip painted accents on lid & each stamp.

Teapot #4 – slip painted accents on lid & each stamp.

Teapot #5 – just stamped… I figure this one will be glazed with a light coat of temoku.

Teapot #6 – slip painted accents on lid & each stamp.

So now they’re all assembled & slip painted… and wrapped overnight one more time so they can “dry together” a little bit slower. One they’ve settled in together, I’ll unwrap them tomorrow night so they can start drying… so that they’re ready for my upcoming bisque kiln!

It’s been quite busy in my studio over the past couple days… weeks even. So today was my first chance to load a bisque kiln, with another one right around the corner. I’ve scheduled my next soda kiln firing for next Saturday… and I’m scrambling to get everything done in time. Racing up to the last moment as always!!! So while these pieces are dry and going into the bisque kiln, I’ve still got some brand new, freshly thrown pieces wet in my studio?! Hoping to get those done in time too!!! Yikes!!!

Kiln Layer #1 – mugs, mugs, and lots of mugs!!!… you know they’re my favorite!!!

Kiln Layer #2 – bowls, creamers, soap dispensers, ornaments and more mugs!!!

Kiln Layer #3 – creamers, soap dispensers, test tile, soap dishes, ornaments & more!

Kiln Layer #4 – oil lamps, yarn bowls, mugs, soap dispensers and more ornaments!

So close to the top… you know how I love to pack a kiln as tight as I possibly can. It’s always a little “iffy” when you get this close to the top. Will the kiln lid close?!… without cracking anything?! All goes as planned… it’s a snug fit. And things will shrink during the firing, so everything’s good.

With so many ornaments going into the kiln, I had to be especially careful with these fragile ones. I didn’t have room to lay them all flat individually on the shelf as I would have liked to… but I’m hoping this careful stacking will work for me too?!

As part of my “big” production day in the studio, I threw five more serving bowls with soda clay. I let them set-up for awhile and had the opportunity to stamp them today. Usually I do it the next day, or even two days later. But since I was cranking things out today… it was great to be able to stamp them today!!! I’m kind of rushing to fill a kiln next weekend. The “faster” I can get things done, dried and into a bisque kiln the more time I’ll have to glaze & wad.

Bowl #1 –

Bowl #2 –

Bowl #3 –

Bowl #4 –

Bowl #5 –

So now they’re loosely wrapped up for the night… and I hope to trim them tomorrow.