And now that my reclaim bucket is empty… it’s time to start filling it up again! A little while back one of my students was cleaning off her shelves and brought me her bag of porcelain scraps asking if I wanted them to reclaim. Of course the answer is ALWAYS yes!!! Even better, her last class was a print-on-clay class, so all of her reclaim had already been rolled out into thin slabs. So I just broke them up, spread them out and I’ll let them dry out overnight.

Then I’ll crush them down to small little pieces with a rolling pin and into the reclaim bin they go. Thanks Katie for kickin’ off my next batch of FREE CLAY!!!

Another New Year tradition in my studio is pulling out the latest batch of reclaim clay. I figure it’s been slaking down all through the holidays and is now good & ready! Goopey, sloppy & messy… and my favorite FREE CLAY for the NEW YEAR!!!

And yes, if you look closely, there are a couple different kinds of clay mixed up in there. I don’t really care too much what goes in my reclaim bin… as long as it’s CLAY!!!… and a high-fire clay body. I figure it will all mix up to be some kinda good clay… and best of all FREE!!!

So the ice has melted, and the shirts have sat in place for awhile to let the dye seep in. Now it’s time to start opening them up to rinse out the “extra” dye. Always fun when the Big Reveal happens… after the rubber bands are snipped… as you pull open the folds & twists to see the patterns & colors!

Unfortunately, these still need to be rinsed out… and then washed.
This is where I have the most trouble with tie-dying. The colors are so clear & vibrant now. But it always seems when I rinse them out, that the colors seem to blend even more… and too frequently, the white areas all get “stained” a different color… and don’t stay white?!!!! I think I need to do a little research on this!

So I’ve added the powdered dye… some right on top of the shirts, others on top of the ice. Some will drip right through the white plastic grate, while others will sit in the “muck” puddle for a longer time. The longer in the muck the better the saturation… I believe?

It’s kinda like glazing pottery… you add the color and hope for the best. It’s out of my control at this point. But like I tell my students… “Just because it’s not what you expected, does NOT mean that it’s bad.”

It’s another MUGSHOT MONDAY… and to celebrate tonight my “Mugshot Mondays” students finished their 3-week class by glazing all of their mugs. And we all know that a good glazing session begins with a good waxing session! I’m not really a “fan” of glazing… ugh… but oddly, I do LOVE WAXING the bottoms?!!!

Good morning packing peanuts!!!
Kinda looks like it snowed overnight?!

After letting all of the ice melt, letting the dye set-in… it’s finally time to take off the rubber bands and to open up my new tie-dyed shirts. There’s always a moment of anticipation as you start to open it up and the pattern begins to reveal itself. So here they are… four shirts before & after… wrapped & unwrapped!!! Loving the results so far… and I might just need to make more.

You know, MORE IS MORE – even when it comes to tie-dye!!!

My students cranked them out last night!!! That’s a lot of work trimming & adding handles for just a three hour class! Making mugs, mugs & MORE MUGS with my three-week MUGSHOT MONDAY pottery class at Lillstreet Art Center!

Last night in my MUGSHOT MONDAY class, my students assembled their mugs!!! It’s just a quick three-week class all about making MUGS!!! My favorite!!!

Last week they threw cylinders, this week trimming & handles… next week glazing! Very quick & lots of mugs!!! By the end of class tonight, they were “complaining” less about making handles than when we started. So I’ll call that progress… and they were all excited when they saw how many mugs they had cranked out in just a three hour class!!!

Another afternoon with the shipping boxes piling up on the back porch. Looks like it’s time for another trip to the Post Office! Me & postal clerk Chaundra are getting to be like “best buds” these days! It’s like we have a little standing date every afternoon!

Don’t forget that you can always shop at MY ONLINE POTTERY SHOP on my website. Lots of pieces listed there ready for packing & shipping to you!

See… one of these packages could be YOURS one of these days!!!
Just click here!