A quick glimpse at the wedding gift I gave to Camden & Kristin yesterday.
A large stamped platter with a bit of “color irony.” My friend and Camden’s mom’s maiden name is Kelly Green!!! Hope they like it… if not, I’m pretty sure Kelly would be more than willing to take it off their hands!

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Today my Summer Campers switched to terra cotta. They threw a bunch of pots, let them set-up a bit and then did some more stamping! Go figure.

My summer campers are doing great this week…
and it looks like I have a few stamping prodigies in the group!!!

And a beautifully stamped surprise in the bottom of Helene’s bowl…  so proud!

A sweet collection of soda-fired bottles…
that have landed on my fireplace mantle as part of my own personal collection!!!

It’s always so much fun to find out that someone out there is actually reading my blog, watching my videos and trying some of my ideas in their own work. I love sharing and story-telling… Good to know that someone is “listening.”

So I got this great e-mail from a “Fan” who is currently living in Japan.
Apparently, they don’t do much stamping in Japan?!

From an e-mail from David in Japan…
“Gary, I have to thank you for your blog and YouTube videos: they’ve been a brilliant inspiration for me here in Japan. Just by copying a few of the things you have done. I’m trying things here that nobody else, even my teachers, have done before. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve just started, but I think I’ll be stamping for quite a while from now. Thanks again!”

I always love seeing my pottery being used in their new homes. Sometimes it’s a serving bowl on the table, a morning cup of coffee… but I must admit THIS one is a first?!!! Not sure it needs any explanation… nor could I even make one up!!!

Thanks for sharing your new mug (and your troll) with all of us Annie!

Spring is the perfect time for s new berry bowl. We’ve got a few sweet ones left here at the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival. It’s a beautiful day for pottery… and a stroll in the park

With just two days until the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival,
it’s my very last chance to get these birdhouses fired in time!

So with a quick coat of clear glaze on the roof tops, they’re headed into a single-fire terra cotta cone 04 kiln. Fingers crossed that they fire okay… and that they’re not still too hot to bring to the fair on Saturday!

With just a few days left, I’ve decided to crank out a few terra cotta pieces for the Schaumburg art fair. My soda & cone 10 kilns are done, but I can still squeeze in one last cone 04 electric kiln filled with once-fired terra cotta pieces. People have been asking about the birdhouses I made a couple years ago… so why not make some more?! They’re textured terra cotta. The sides will be stained with black underglaze to help accentuate the textures, and the rooftops will be colored with bright underglazes and then glazed clear. Just hoping that they dry quickly… they’ve got to get into the kiln tomorrow!!!

Just one of the many mugs that has been inlaid with temoku glaze, wadded, loaded and was fired in my soda kiln Saturday. The kiln has been cooling and now I get to unload tonight. Can’t wait to see how this mug, and all the others, turned out!?