I couldn’t stop…
Becky Lloyd is like my “pottery kryptonite”!

I mean… look at the sgraffito detail on the crazy tiny pot!!! I just couldn’t resist!!! And that’s the last of my haul from the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR. A wonderful weekend up north in Minnesota… and some amazing new pieces to add to my pottery collection!!!

Amazing craftsmanship!!! The smallest & most detailed sgraffito carvings I have ever seen! And another addition to my pottery collection… from sgraffito genius Becky Lloyd. White porcelain pottery covered with a black terra sigilatta… and then carved through to reveal some miniature masterpieces! Quite possibly my favorite “treasure” from the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR.

Back to the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR…
and some of the beautiful pots that came home with me!!!

Like this sgraffito cup by Matthew Metz. I especially love the addition of the textured walls under the slip color & under the sgraffito carving. And yes, this is black clay with a colored slip dip… and the carved through to reveal the black line illustrations! Just amazing as always… and another beauty to add to my Matt Metz collection!

So while I’m out of town… my SURFACE DECORATION class tonight is still going on! I secured them a great sub teacher with a great demo! And I might have done a little “pre-prep” work so they have pieces to work on tonight. Thank you Catherine Tweedie for covering my class… and for sharing all of you Water Etching secrets with them. I can’t wait to see their results when I get back!!!

Last week in my SURFACE DECORATION class, we tackled carving & sgraffito. The colored slip on my platter was just a little too wet to sgraffito carve the full demo. So I brought it back to my studio… and continued later when the slip had stiffened up more. A fun carving session… especially with a great sgraffito tool from DiamondCore Tools.

Swirls of ombre’ blended slip…
and then some geometric sgraffito carvings.over the top.
A quick textured rim & a layer of clear glaze… voila’!!!

Cute critters with curious cravings carved in clay! Fresh out of the kiln… now I just have to get them all cleaned, prepped, packed & priced for this weekend in Glenview for ART IN THE GARDEN! No dibs… it’s always “first-come, first-served” at ART IN THE GARDEN.

For more details & location info… www.grassrootsartfair.com

And speaking of “laboring” on Labor Day… now that metalsmith Amy Taylor has finished her part of our collaboration with all of her sgraffito doodles on my porcelain pieces, I can now get them into a glaze kiln quickly so they’re done & out in time for next weekend’s ART IN THE GARDEN! This one of the best features of ART IN THE GARDEN… several of the artists work together on different one-of-a-kind collaborations that will only be available next weekend in Glenview. And they’re all limited editions, so you might need to get there early!!!

Here’s a quick glimpse of a little “sumthin-sumthin” going on in Amy Taylor’s world. Just a little scratching, a little doodling, a little sgraffito-ing! Yes, metalsmiths can play with clay too… especially when it comes to collaboration projects for ART IN THE GARDEN!!! More to come… and mark your calendars for September 7th & 8th!!!

Time for another collaboration project for ART IN THE GARDEN. A few porcelain pieces with some black underglazed rims… getting ready for metalsmith Amy Taylor to do some sgraffito “magic” on them! Can’t wait to see the cute critters she carves into them this year!