I was originally planning on loading my soda kiln on Tuesday night after class.
And I wasn’t looking forward to starting after 10:00pm for the long process. With all the
pieces and hundreds of tiles… it takes quite awhile!

But then I found out that the classroom kiln before me fired a day early, and was therefore
being unloaded a day early. So lucky me! So I glazed a little faster. Wadded a little quicker.
And then went down to load my kiln… err, maybe I should say “pack” my kiln! It’s a little
tighter than usual. Let’s hope that the soda vapors can find their way around the kiln?!

I’m a little apprehensive though about my new ornaments and their support tripods.
In theory I think they’re pretty cool… I just hope the “volatile” soda atmosphere doesn’t
knock them over during the firing. I don’t want to find wayward ornaments glaze-fused
to the insides of bowls and stuck to the sides of other pieces?!

Tonight I continued glazing… with still more to go!
This time it was inlaying glaze into the stamped textures on some new bowls
and taller slab vases. Tomorrow, I’ll do liner glazes and sprayed color accents.

It’s looking like the soda class’s latest kiln firing might be unloaded tonight?…
so I can actually do some loading of my kiln tonight too? Which would be ideal
to have more time to load “strategically” instead of rushing through it Tuesday
night after teaching class. Either way… my firing is on for Wednesday!!!

Technical difficulties resolved… and now retroactively catching up!

Tonight I tackled my new holiday ornaments.
Again, starting with inlaid glaze in the stamped textures, gently wiped off…
and some iron oxide painted onto the “caps” of each ornament. Then a bit of glaze
sprayed on some of them and some fun in the soda kiln… and voila’… ornaments!!!

Also this evening, I unloaded another bisque kiln! Which, according to the calendar,
will be my last batch of new work for the Holiday Home Show… which is now just
two weeks away! So, with new bisque coming out nice & warm… more glazing to come!

Technical difficulties resolved… and now retroactively catching up!

With my soda kiln less than a week away, I’m now in “full-on glazing mode.”
Luckily, since it’s a soda kiln, glazing is pretty much inlaying glaze into my stamped
textures. So I paint on a layer of temoku glaze, then gently wipe off the top surface with
a damp sponge – leaving the temoku in the recesses of the stamps. I find assembly-line
is my favorite method… thanks to the brilliant Henry Ford!

Then a quick liner glaze, some sprayed on glaze color accents and they’re good to go.

Oh yeah… plus some small pieces of wadding glued onto the bottom to keep the pots
from sticking to the kiln shelf during the atmospheric firing.

Technical difficulties resolved… and now retroactively catching up!

After an INCREDIBLE morning bike ride, it was back to the studio to continue
production for the holidays. After a few days of drying (or a few hours if you’re
a mask) it was into the electric kiln for another bisque firing. Luckily, I had some
extra time which allowed for a few hours of preheating before the kiln kicks into
full firing mode. So it will give the “ever-so-slightly-so-damp” masks a chance to dry!

Layer One: Two new masks, ornaments and a lot of tiles “protecting” the masks
from drying too quickly by the electric elements.

Layer Two: Two more masks, more ornaments and more “protective” tiles!

Layer Three: Bowls, mugs, votives, and a few more ornaments here  & there…

Layer Four: Bowls, tumblers, wall pocket vases and some tripods!

Tripods you say?!… what are they going to be for you may ask?
Well, my plan is to bisque them, dip the tips in kiln wash and then “perch” my ornaments
onto them in the soda kiln. Hopefully, they will give me some good exposure in the kiln
on all sides of the ornaments without needing to wad each of them individually. At least
that’s my plan… we’ll see…

Technical difficulties resolved… and now retroactively catching up!

So I spent my Halloween evening making clay masks… not wearing one!
After a day of designing & ordering, and updating mail lists – I needed to touch clay!

One step closer to holiday ornaments…
Tonight I added the textures, patterns & hanging loops to my new clay ornaments!

With a just a few small slip accents, they are now ready to dry. Then bisque… then glaze…
Then they’ll go into my soda kiln which I’ll be firing on Wednesday, November 10th.
And I’m kind of excited about them… so I starting making another batch last night too!

So I’ve been working on a “new” item for the holidays…
somewhat “traditional” wheelthrown, soda-fired Christmas ornaments made out of clay!
I’ve been working on a batch of twenty… and I’m not sure if I’ll have time to make more
OR if this batch is even going to work?! It’s still very much a “work in progress.”
So at this point, it’s looking like these 20 may be considered a “limited edition.”

So I still need to decorate them more, add the tops to hang them by… and figure out
how they’re even going to be placed in the kiln for firing?! Still a lot of work… and still
VERY much a work in progress! But I’m excited… and hoping to have them ready
in time for my next soda kiln… which is firing off two weeks from today!

After a beautiful (yet windy) afternoon of riding…
I went back to the studio this evening for some more fun… and more stamping!
Including another batch of mugs, this time made with B-Clay for the back of the kiln!

And there’s never enough bowls, right?
But don’t ask my Mom, she already thinks I have FAR too many bowls in inventory!

Plus, after a lot of stamping… I also cleaned my studio. Long overdue.
Okay, let’s not get crazy. There’s still a LOT to do. But I did make some good headway.
And, prepared another great surprise for my class this coming Tuesday night.
It’s going to be a big night of demos catching up from last week’s impromptu night
with Amy Higgason. So it’s going to be a night of plates, ovals and lidded jars!
And a special surprise “treat”…

As I was running in & out today, trying to get out on my bike to enjoy the beautiful
Indian Summer weather, I turned quickly and noticed this dramatic shadow cast across
some new “ClayQuilt” tile boards I recently finished. Amazing what a little light can do…