After unloading my soda kiln, I just needed to take a moment to enjoy a few of my new favorite mugs! Fun colors, fun shapes… always stamped!

Two-thirds of the way through unloading… you get a second “reveal” when you take out the front two layers of shelves… and it reveals the third stack in the back. Again, excited that pots look well coated with soda, with some nice bright colors… and still no blasted grayness!!! Lots of fun new pots to share at my next couple art fairs!

When the kiln door is finally unbricked, it’s always nice to take a step back, take a deep breath & admire the work for a second. Appreciating that the firing was a success… that I got some good colors throughout the kiln, and NOT a ton of blasted grayness! Enough admiring… now it’s time to start unloading layer by layer, shelf by shelf, pot by pot…

One of my favorite “unbricking moments” was when I go the door about halfway down… and found a full pumpkin patch sitting right there… ripe for the harvesting! Pretty excited about how they turned out. Can’t wait to bring some to ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend… as well as some to ART IN THE BARN at the end of the month!

It took a couple hours Friday night, but I finally got my pots stacked in the soda kiln. I tried my best and fit “almost” everything in… just a few stragglers that didn’t quite fit in the end. Guess they’ll just have to wait until my next firing in October?!

Apparently a BIG yellow flower needs a special stamped & soda-fired vase of its own!!! Thanks for sharing this beauty Rosene!

So in the creative world of collaboration projects… I gave these tiny stamped & soda-fired “cutie-patooties” to metalsmith extraordinaire Amy Taylor a little while back… with the anticipation that she’ll do something really cool with them!!! I have a clue… but can’t wait to see them in-person at ART IN THE GARDEN on September 10th & 11th in Glenview!

This weekend is the GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR… in a new location at Attea Middle School. It’s a nice art fair with lots of local artists, each very talented in their own media. Hope you have time to stop by to chat, see some art & to support local artists.

Attea Middle School
2500 Chestnut Avenue, Glenview from 11:00am-5:00pm.

There will also be another art fair going on at The Glen…
however it’s a large “conglomerate” art fair of artists brought in from all over the country. A “stable” of artists that travel in a group kinda like Corporate America doing an art fair. I’m sure their work is beautiful too… but if you need to make a choice, please SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS.

It seems like I’m ALWAYS making mugs… as they are my all-time favorite thing to make!!! Also pulling some more together for the GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR in two weeks… and celebrating another Mugshot Monday at the same time!

Looks like my friend Rhonda is brightening her weekend with a beautiful floral arrangement in one of my stamped & soda-fired square vases! Those yellow calla lilies look great in there! Thanks for sharing Rhonda… it’s always great to see your work “living” in someone else’s home!