After a long day of glazing & wadding yesterday, I finally had my studio cart filled and ready to roll downstairs to the kiln room. As the freight elevator is not the smoothest of rides, I always use some masking tape “safety belts” to keep any stray pots form jumping off the cart during their travels!

Stamps inlaid with glazes & wiped clean… now to add a liner glaze of tenmoku to match!

Starting off today with a batch of mugs that need to be glazed & wadded. I’ve applied a layer of tenmoku glaze into all of the stamped impressions to help accentuate the textures & patterns. Now to wipe it off… leaving the glaze inlaid in the stamps!

You know it’s my least favorite part of the pottery process. But it’s got to be be done. So I’ve been working the past couple days trying to make some headway through my bisque… as I need to fill a soda kiln this weekend! At least this accidental “smiling sponge” made me happy this morning to kick-off another day of glazing!!!

Trimming some perfect spirals with my DiamondCore Tools! Always fun to see how the trimmed ribbons pile up, fly off or trickle down the sides! Even with a “thinned-over-time” trimming tool, this Diamond Core Trimming Tool stays sharp & still does a great job… but I think I might need to replace the blade soon!!!

A little stamping… a little trimming… and a few accents of colored flashing slips! One step closer… so far, so good. Looking forward to the “Big Reveal” at ART IN THE GARDEN in mid-September! Mark your calendars for September 9th & 10th in Glenview, Illinois.

Fun little flakes scattered all over my latest sgraffito platter. My DiamondCore Tools make nice crisp carving lines… but this platter is already a little drier than I’m used to, so the flakes are everywhere!!!

Throwing some enclosed forms today in the studio… working on something new!!! Sure, I coulda done one prototype to see if it works… but no, I’m more of an “all in” kinda guy!!! Fingers crossed…. more to come!

After assembling, I dipped the exterior of my “hybrid mugs” in some thin flashing slip. After soda-firing, these colored slips will change colors & accentuate the stamped textures!

Sure, the sides of my “hybrid mugs” might be handbuilt… but the bottoms of the mugs are trimmed on the wheel for a cleaner & more professional finish. Now I just need to figure out something to make out of these “rings” as they get trimmed off?