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?

Always fun to be trimming in the studio with some great pottery tools… like my trimming tools from DiamondCore Tools & Giffin Grip. The perfect combo when spinning & trimming!!!

I realized it’s been awhile since I’ve shown off a loaded bisque kiln. So here’s the one I just loaded tonight… with more MUGS than I thought I had made?! I sort of love when you can get everything in… even if you need to turn things on their side to fit them “just-under” the lid!!!

Layer One –

Layer Two –

Layer Three –

Layer Four –

Layer Four just “under-the-lid”…
with some oval vases turned on their sides so they would fit in!

Just adding a few accents of colored flashing slip to a quick batch of oval vases. They may look white now… but after a soda-firing, these slip accents should turn orange… my favorite color!!!

After playing outside all day, I just had to get into the studio tonight to get a bit of work done. So I’m tackling a new batch of mugs… shocker, I know… but this time I’m trying out a new clay body!!! Sure, I coulda done a test tile or something first. But that just not how I roll. I’m all in!!!

I typically use a lot of B-Clay… but the last time I bought clay from Continental Clay they suggested “B-Clay with Grog.” It threw beautifully, seems to be drying a bit faster… and I can’t wait to see how it reacts in the soda kiln!!!

Finished painting some accents of colored flashing slips on this latest batch of mugs. These color-painted areas will “flash” with colors & soda effects after firing in the soda kiln. But first… they need to dry & be bisque fired.