A beautiful firing in the new Lillstreet soda kiln! So excited with the colors, the glazes & flashing effects throughout the kiln. No dry spots. No gray “dolphin skin”. No glops from the soda. Just a lot of pretty pots… many of which will be going to ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend! Now I just need to clean ’em, price ’em & pack ’em!

So Friday night I loaded the soda kiln… layer by layer… brick by brick… pot by pot. It always takes longer than I think it will. But it’s important to think it through while loading to allow some air space & flow through the kiln for good soda exposure… while at the same time getting in as many pots as possible! The more pots you squeeze in, the more pots you can divide the kiln costs over. Can’t wait to see how these turn out… as many of them will be going to ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend!

So it’s been a very busy couple of weeks… finishing up Summer Camp AND throwing & glazing a lot of pots. I loaded the soda kiln late Friday night after the final day of camp. My studio cart travels from the second floor to the first floor kiln room on a rickety freight elevator. So I use a lot of masking tape as “seat belts” so none of them jump off along the way!

All done & drying… spouted, stamped & slip-painted… ready to go… currently cooling in the soda kiln! Okay, another belated photo posting. Now they’re almost ready for ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend in Glenview. These might “allegedly” be part of a collaboration project with my friend & “cohort in collaboration” Cory McCrory!!!

So I’ve been quite busy in the studio, what with full-day Summer Camps & evenings in the studio! So I’m a bit behind on posting photos… especially of these water carafes for ART IN THE GARDEN. They’re coming along quite nicely… and even further along now… actually in the kiln… as these photos were from a week ago! … oops!!!

Okay, so maybe we’ve re-learned that important lesson that I was pushing too far to the brink?… and maybe you CAN’T throw something on the wheel in the morning, finish it in the afternoon and then put it in the kiln that some evening. Looks like an 11-hour production time frame might just be a little too quick???

Maybe?…
I mean, I did have more that survived than those that blew up. So maybe next time I need eleven and a half hours??? HA!!! Ya’ learn some, ya’ lose some!!!

As I was pondering my bisque kiln load for tonight, I kinda figured I might have some extra space. So I quickly threw some new pieces before camp & turned them into pumpkins after camp! Not too shabby for a one day project, huh?! Trying to dry them quickly… at least enough so they don’t blow-up in the kiln!!!

Just a couple more of my “hybrid mugs”… combined wheelthrown & handbuilt mugs… ready to go into the bisque kiln tonight. Loving the textures… and their “oversized-ness” as requested by a customer who bought a HUGE hybrid mug at the Hinsdale art fair and now wants another one!!! Perfect for another Mugshot Monday!!!

Just finishing up another batch of stamped oval vases quickly before the Chi Tri tomorrow. Hoping these dry while I’m outside sweating tomorrow so they can make it into my bisque kiln Monday, and my next soda kiln on Friday!!!

With this being the hottest weekend of the summer, I’m tagged & ready for another Chicago Triathlon tomorrow! It’s going to be a sweaty race… as I’m currently in the studio sweating & racing to finish a new batch of oval vases. We’ve had no air conditioning on the second floor of Lillstreet for over a week now!!! Not good during the heat wave hitting Chicago this week! Just trying to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate…