Not quite “inspired” today, and I thought I needed more “kiln filler”… so I made tiles.
This batch is drying and will go into my bisque kiln this Thursday night.
After the bisque firing, they will be soda-fired where the different textures
and slip colors will be accentuated by the soda kiln atmosphere. Once fired, the tiles
will be assembled into my “Clay Quilts” just in time for the upcoming art fair season!

In between all the bike rides… I do find time to throw!… trust me.

This evening I set about to turn the plain flower pots I threw yesterday
into more decorative flower pots with a LOT of stamping & rim fluting.
Some with some traditional stamping, and more with the newer, “bulgier” stamping
with fluted rims. A mix of old & new styles… still not sure how I’m going to glaze these?

Tomorrow I hope to trim them all and paint some slip accents.
And don’t forget to punch the drainage holes too!

We keep waiting for Spring… hoping that it’s around the corner somewhere?!
But as another cold front is headed towards Chicago, I’m in the studio making
flower pots for my early summer art fairs. Just in time for those Spring plantings!
So this afternoon after unloading my bisque, I threw 50-lbs. of flower pots!!!

So I unloaded my electric bisque kiln this afternoon, layer by layer…
and just for fun, counted the number of pieces in that firing.
I included the seven bowls by Karen Patinkin, but not the maquettes
by Lisa Harris… nor did I count my glaze test tiles. I guess I was just
counting the “real” pieces?!… either way, there was a LOT of work in there!

The final bisque tally?… 135 pieces!!!

Today I loaded another electric kiln to bisque my latest batch of work.
And you know my theory… pack it in as tight as possible to get your money’s worth!
So I did. And here it is, layer by layer…

Layer One: bowls, mugs, soap dispensers – and a new oval planter for my windowsill.

Layer Two: bowls, mugs, test tiles and new garlic keeper lids!

Layer Three: bowls, test tiles, garlic keeper plates… and a stack of beautifully
decorated bowls made my my studio friend Karen Patinkin.

Layer Four: a tumbled-stacked pile of fun!… soap dispensers, vases, mugs & more!
Plus a couple hand-built maquettes by Lisa Harris for a show she’s going to be in soon.
She’ll be using them as glaze tests before the finishes off the full size versions.

So the latest “batch” of bowls are now trimmed and drying. I’m really diggin’
the newer “twist” on the stamping adventure. We’ll see where it goes from here!

Let the stamping continue… slightly larger bowls, slightly “bulge-ier” stamping!
I especially love how the reverse-stamp-divots inside the bowls are becoming
even more prominent. And the rims are becoming a little more decorative as well.
A whole new texture inside the bowl. Can’t wait to see what happens after they’re glazed!

So last night I watched Kristen Kieffer’s new DVD about surface decoration.
Chapter One dealt with stamping… which you know I love. But one of her techniques
includes stamping that “bulges” and alters the shape a bit more than I’m used to.
And since I had some “plain” bowls waiting for some stamping… I thought I’d give it a try.
I like the result… however, I really want to make a few new stamps to go a little further
and “explore” the possibilities a little more! Thank you Kristen for the inspiration…

You know how tough it is some times for a potter to actually make something for themselves?
We’re always so busy making pots for shows, art fairs, kiln filler, etc… and never taking
the time to make that thing I’ve been wanting for quite some time now.

Well tonight was finally the night.

Last year I finally got around to making oval planters for my dining room windowsills.
But now I need one for outside my kitchen window. I “needed” it last summer…
and then I’ve “obsessed about it” all Winter. And with a hint of Spring the past couple days,
I knew I had to bite the bullet and take some time for myself.

So I threw the cylinder and turned it into an oval tonight. With some stamping around
the edge, it was “done” for the night. Tomorrow I will add a little “rope” texture along
the bottom and poke some drainage holes through the bottom. Hoping to get it all done
in time to put some plants in it this Spring!