Okay, you’ve asked for it… many times. And I just kept putting it off.

Well, today I FINALLY tackled my first stamping demo video.
While I’m no Steven Spielberg, but I’m fairly pleased for my first attempt.
And I’m pretty sure the next one will be better… or at least shot in a horizontal format?!
Let me know what you think.

Click here to watch my VERY FIRST demo video!!!… which is now also on YouTube!!!

Anyone out there want to see how this class demo platter went from plain to fully stamped???
You’ve been asking… there’s a “very good chance” that there may be a video in the works?!

And the stamps that did most of the “magic”…

Tonight I stamped… and stamped… and stamped…
All of the bowls I threw yesterday were “ready” to be stamped. Sure, again I might be rushing it. And sure, they might have been a bit squishier than I would like. And sure, maybe they weren’t as “ready” as I had hoped. But sometimes when it comes to stamping my pots – I JUST CAN’T WAIT.

So now they’re all stamped and ready to dry a bit more. Next up… trimming & drilling holes. And then I need to make small plates to go with each of the bowls before I can consider them berry bowls sets!

Enough of this Winter. I’m trying to channel my “inner-Spring”… and I’m thinking
these will become berry bowls after some stamping, trimming & hole drilling!

So I’ve got forty cylinders stamped, trimmed and under wraps.
Today is the day they become MUGS!!!

So I started by wedging up some clay from the same mix I made the cylinders from. And then I pulled some handles and flipped them up so they can start to stiffen up in a “looped-almost-handle-already” shape. Gotta wait a few…

And then, one by one… the forty cylinders became forty MUGS!!!
Talking each cylinder and determining handle attachment location, cutting out a part of “the loop” and then scoring & slipping & attaching the handle.  Pressing & attaching. Securing & smoothing. Trying to finish each mug so the handle looks seamless before going back under wraps for the night.

Score… slip… attach… smooth… repeat…
Score… slip… attach… smooth… repeat…
Score… slip… attach… smooth… repeat…

So now they’re all done… and quite honestly, this is my favorite part of the process. This freshly finished, leatherhard and now quite starting to dry yet stage. This “I’ve-done-as-much-as-I-can-do-for-now” stage. So I had to take a couple photos before wrapping them back up. I always wrap up my “freshly-handled-mugs” overnight…. my “theory” being that the handles & cylinders need to even-out a bit moisture-wise. And then tomorrow, I can unwrap them, check each one last time and then let then start drying slowly.

Trimmed. Wrapped. Waiting for handles!!!

Tonight I stamped… and stamped… and stamped some more!
My cylinders were still a little squishier than I would like them to be, yet I persevered.
It was a synchronized rotation of unwrapping some, moving some, re-wrapping some, rotating, testing, touching and stamping mugs as they were dry enough to stamp. Sometimes I like them on a little softer side so I can manipulate & move the clay more. Tonight was one of those times… plus, I just wanted to get them done!

So, after a well-orchestrated evening of stamping, I got them all done.
Ten per ware board. One ware board at a time.

Finally, all four trays of mug cylinders have been stamped. So it’s 40 mugs under wraps for the night while they dry up a bit more to a drier leatherhard. Hopefully, I can trim them all tomorrow… and then add handles to them all this weekend?!

Well, I had a tower of clay to play with. So I decided to start with my “favorite”… MUGS!!!
I attached the tower, cut it into smaller pieces, wedged ’em up… and started throwing!

A few balls of clay later… and my work table was filling up fast. Time to cover them up for the night. I need them to stiffen up a bit, but not too much, so that they are ready to stamp later. Maybe tomorrow???

Well, the soda kiln is packed tight & bricked up for the night.

Now it’s home for a quick “nap,” followed by a quick shower,
then it’s back to the studio in a couple hours to fire it up!!!