Handles attached… another batch of mugs done!!! I’ll let them sit under plastic overnight so they don’t dry to fast. Then tomorrow I’ll unwrap them and smooth out anything that needs to be attended to before I let them dry.

Handles pulled by hand & gently looped over so they can start to set-up a bit. I like them to be malleable, and yet not sticky & squishy when I start to attach them. And by looping them over this way, I can establish 90% of the handle’s curve before they start to set-up… so I won’t be bending “drier” clay too far later!

MAKING MORE MUGS!
Lots of stamping done… before I can trim & add handles tomorrow!

So I’ve been doing a little stamping today… making more mugs with a bunch more stamping!!! So I thought it might be fun to show-off the before & after… and the stamps that did most of the work!

MUG #1 –

MUG #2 –

MUG #3 –

MUG #4 –

MUG #5 –

MUG #6 –

MUG #7 –

MUG #8 –

MUG #9 –

MUG #10 –

MUG #11 –

MUG #12 –

MUG #13 –

MUG #14 –

So for now, they’re wrapped up under plastic… waiting to be trimmed & handled on another day!

In my SURFACE DECORATION class last session, we focused on a different technique each week. One of the projects was MISHIMA… a great technique for “illustrating” on your clay. Leaving fine-line illustrations or geometric lines on your pots.

Of course it helped a bit that I had made a batch of cylinders, trimmed them, and dried them to leather heard just for the demo. You know my students LOVE when I come to class with pre-made class demo pieces for them to work on!!!

After making a plan, my students started by painting a layer of wax resist over the entire outer surface. Once that was layer of wax was hard & no longer sticky, they started to carve through the wax, deep enough to carve into the clay was well. The idea being that the carved lines will be filled with a dark underglaze later… filling in the lines, but the wax will keep it off of the other areas. Some people just worked on a blank cylinder, while others painted an underglaze image first, and then painted the wax over the top of that.

Once they finished carving, they painted the top surface with an underglaze. Most people used black, by Christy decided to get a little “crazy” and went for yellow under glaze to “pop” off of her black painted cylinder.

After filling in all of the carved groove lines, we carefully washed off the top surface… revealing the picture as the underglaze remains in the carved crevasses.

We had some pretty amazing illustrations come out during this process. I love how the designs kinda “disappear” while carving, but then the underglaze filling the patterns makes them “pop”… and kinda looks like a carved wood print.

And who would have thought… that Christine’s carved mishima pattern would pretty much end up being a splittin’ image for my mask?!!!

All glazed & kiln loaded… with some soon-to-be colorful mugs on the bottom layer! Now to get home to start prepping & packing for this weekend’s HINSDALE FINE ARTS FESTIVAL. It should be a beautiful weekend in Burlington Park in downtown Hinsdale… c’mon by!

Just spending a little time cleaning up some crusty bottoms… glaze drips & wadding remains that needed to go!!! Getting ready for this weekend’s HINSDALE FINE ARTS FESTIVAL. Huge thanks to my pals at DiamondCore Tools for their Diamond Grinding Disc. Wet it, spin it, grind it… and that crusty bottom is taken care of in no time!!!

Click here for more information on DiamondCore Tools Grinding Discs!

And while I “should” be home prepping, pricing & packing for this weekend’s art fair… I thought it best to hedge my bets and start making another batch of mugs as replenishment for the next two art fairs!!! I can pack later tonight… or tomorrow, right?!

Thrown on Tuesday night, and trimmed tonight… just minutes before my SURFACE DECORATION class. I can’t wait to see what my students do with these “blank” cylinders… as tonight’s technique is mishima!!! More photos to come…

Last night in class, we finished off Part Two of last week’s lidded jars demo. Tackling the knobs on the lids… with two knobs created while trimming (closest to the jars) and the other two with cute little finials wheelthrown onto the lids from an attached nugget of clay. Always good to have options!