Back stack packed & loaded… lots of pots already in the soda kiln.
And that’s just the back third of it!!!

Well, my studio cart is all glazed, wadded & full…

…with masking tape “seat belts” in place for the arduous journey downstairs via the rickety old freight elevator! Always hoping for no jumpers or speed bumps!!!

Back to glazing… as I’m nearing the end. Lidded jars glazed… inside the jar & inside the stamps! Next up… soda-resistant wadding on the bottoms & lids.

For my SURFACE DECORATION class last week, my students were going to tackle water etching… so I figured I would start them off right with some small bowls to play with. Thrown, trimmed, dried and ready for them to follow along with the demo to create their own water-etched masterpiece! A little less “pressure” than doing it om their own bowls, right?

Just finishing up a couple more spoons… ‘cuz I’m kinda hooked… even though I still haven’t fired the first batch to see if I even like them when they’re done!!! Might be a problem…

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE trimming?! Especially when you get such clean cuts, lines & smooth edges with my DiamondCore Tools!!! Spinning fast, ribbons of clay coming right off the pots… making cool spirals & piles of trimmings!

Last night I had the pleasure of doing a little ZOOM studio tour & demonstration for the Glenview Art League. They all “stopped by” for some chatting & banter…. then a few demos of throwing on the wheel, followed by some stamping & surface decoration… and more discussion. Hopefully they all had fun… I know I did. After all, it was all about ME!!!… ha!

Such weird times when we’re still showing our studios, artwork & process through a small, non-tactile computer screen. I so look forward to getting back to in-person face-to-face fun! Keep getting those vaccines so we can get some herd immunity and get back to more normal days!

Celebrating with another batch of mugs… this time for a quick special order. My fingers are crossed as the request is to “match” an older mug from a previous firing. Of course I didn’t keep notes on what I did for that first mug… so I’m kinda flying by the seat of my pants and “hoping” that I have the color combos right?! The blue color is a soda flashing slip, and the brown liner glaze is tenmoku. I’m just hoping that these work out… and “match” as much as any soda-fired piece can!!!

Okay, so I’ve done a little touching-up… no more drips running over the edge, and a clean-wiped line around the rims. Next up… wadding and perhaps a touch of colored glazes here & there for a fun pop of color?!!! Who knows? … so many mugs, so many options!

So I’ve finally started glazing these combo mugs! Since they’re going to be soda-fired, I pretty much need to just put a liner glaze inside, and then hope that the soda-kiln atmosphere makes all the “magic” happen! They were all dipped in colored flashing slips before bisque firing… so there should be some fun colors when they come back out of the kiln!