On a freezing cold Chicago day, it’s great to see a hopefully burst of Spring. Thanks to Terri for sharing a picture of her yellow daffodils in one of my stamped porcelain ikebana vases.

Fun flashing colors on a stamped & soda-fired porcelain mug.

#mugshotmonday

My first mug of 2016 for Mugshot Mondays… with plenty more to come!!!
A stamped porcelain mug with a cone 6 green glaze for a fun pop of color!

Some pots travel far, some stay fairly near.
It’s always fun to see where my pieces have traveled to. Where they now call HOME.
Like this stamped & soda-fired bowl  and ewer who have a cherished display place right next to some beautiful antique heirlooms in Maryann’s house in Baltimore.

So I did the MUD…
and now Amy Taylor is figuring out her METAL side of the project. We decided to do a little collaboration for our “MUD & METAL” Collaborative Holiday Home Show. We’ve been trying to keep it under wraps… but I can’t resist. So here’s a quick glimpse of my part of the project. And I can’t wait to see what Amy does with them…

Mark your calendar for this Saturday 12/12 at my place for the Big Reveal.
MUD & METAL :  A Collaborative Holiday Home Show
Saturday, December 12th from 10:00-6:00pm.
At my condo : 1353 West Rosemont #3, Chicago, Illinois 60660

Okay, so here are the details we’ve all been waiting for…
Tomorrow is the kick-off of my one & only, annual online sale.
Celebrating good ole’ St. Nick… and his wonderful spirit of gift-giving.

By now you’ve probably figured out that I don’t do many sales online… no Etsy, no website ordering. Really no easy way to get my pots unless you’re in the Chicagoland area. I do quite a few art fairs, home shows & studio sales. But not much for those of you who follow so loyally. So here’s my annual online sale just in time for holiday gift giving!!! Whether it’s a gift for someone on your list or, even better, just for yourself.

St. Nick’s Day Online Sale : Saturday, December 12th, 2015
The whole thing will take place on my pottery Facebook page.
The sale goes live at 8:00am Central time. First come, first claimed.
Once I post the event on Facebook, the first person to claim a mug gets it.
Just be one of the seagulls in “Finding Nemo”… MINE!   MINE!!   MINE!!!
This online sale will end on Friday, December 11th at noon.

I will post pictures of the twenty mugs & ten wheelthrown ornaments in a Facebook Photo Album so as not to flood your News Feed. Just scroll through the Photo Album to do a little shopping. Comments that accompany individual photos will count. Comments on the whole Photo Album would be nice, but it won’t get you a mug or ornament!

Mugs & ornaments will be $50 each which includes shipping & handling.
Contiguous US only please.

Mug #1 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior.

Mug #2 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior. Dramatic soda flashing – one side orange, with a great transition to a more soda-covered other side

Mug #3 – Soda-fired porcelain with green-ish brown slip, Temoku glaze interior. Beautiful hints of greens flashing evenly around the mug.

Mug #4 – Soda-fired stoneware, Temoku glaze interior. Mostly brown with some beautiful soda ash build-up on one side.

Mug #5 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior. Vibrant orange on one side with a wonderful soda transition to a creamy white on the other side.

Mug #6 – Soda-fired stoneware and splash of green glaze, Temoku glaze interior.

Mug #7 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip & blue glaze, Temoku glaze interior. Deeply banded rim with pearly creams, light blues and a hit of orange.

Mug #8 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior. Bright orange on one side and a LOT of soda build-up on the other. Some people will LOVE the dramatic build-up!!!

Mug #9 – C0ne 10 reduction stoneware with a burgundy-brown glaze… cleanly highlighting all of the stamps. Very smooth to the touch.

Mug #10 – Soda-fired stoneware with ash glaze accents, Temoku glaze interior. Natural browns on one side, and beautiful soda ash build-up on the other. You can definitely see which side of the mug the kiln flames hit.

Mug #11 – Soda-fired porcelain with blue flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior. The blue seems a little “blurry” but it actually has some beautiful mottling & “crystal-like” formations.

Mug #12 – Soda-fired stoneware with hints of green glaze, Temoku glaze interior. The soda ash build-up is green-ish and still appears to be wet.

Mug #13 -Soda-fired stoneware with some wonderful teal  & green glaze accents around the mug, Shino glaze interior.

Mug #14 -Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior. One of my favorites with the dramatic soda “kiss” on one side and beautiful orange around the rest.

Mug #15 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior. A shorter mug with a wide range of colors & heavy soda build-up.

Mug #16 – Soda-fired porcelain “little cutie” with orange slip & green glaze accents, Shino glaze interior.

Mug #17 -Soda-fired porcelain with blue glaze accents, Temoku glaze interior. A lot of color variations around the mug. A little “dryer” around the bottom.

Mug #18 – Soda-fired stoneware with a dark orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior. Pretty even soda ash build-up showing great flashing marks around the banded rim.

Mug #19 -Soda-fired B-Clay with green glaze accents, Shino glaze interior. The whiter side has some beautiful “glassy greens” still dripping down the sides.

Mug #20 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip, Temoku glaze interior.

And oh, but wait there’s more… ORNAMENTS TOO!!!
$50 each includes shipping & handling.

Ornament #1 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip.

Ornament #2 – Soda-fired B-C;lay with orange flashing slip & blue glaze accents.

Ornament #3 – Soda-fired stoneware.

Ornament #4 – Soda-fired stoneware with glassy green soda build-up.

Ornament #5 – Soda-fired stoneware.

Ornament #6 – Soda-fired stoneware.

Ornament #7 – Soda-fired B-Clay with blue slip & blue glaze accents.

Ornament #8 – Soda-fired stoneware.

Ornament #9 – Soda-fired stoneware with flashing slip accents.

Ornament #10 – Soda-fired stoneware with orange flashing slip.

Okay, so there it is. Thirty pieces up for grabs starting at
8:00am Central time on Sunday, December 6th.
Happy St. Nick’s Day!!!

Remember that you need to “claim them” in my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page. Be the first to leave a “claiming” message in the Comments section for each photo. Comments on the entire Photo Album will be appreciated, but won’t gt you the prize!

Here’s a quick peek at the mugs that will be going up for sale this Sunday 12/6/15 to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. I will post better photos here on my blog in a day or two so you can see both sides of each mug. But then early Sunday morning I will open up the sale on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page. It will be first-come, first-claimed. Feel free to comment on these photos, but don’t even try to claim them ahead of time. Have fun looking, choose your favorites, and then shop on Facebook early Sunday morning to snatch-up your mug.

So remember, there’s no pre-sale calling of dibs. No “claiming” of the mugs ahead of time here on the website. Only the Facebook Comments to claim them on Sunday morning after I place the official sale kick-off on Facebook,

More details to come… but in the meantime, click here for my Facebook page and hit FOLLOW… so you’re all ready to go on Sunday!!!

Mark your calendars for this Sunday…
Celebrate St. Nick’s Day with some great gift ideas for your family & friends…
or even yourself for that matter!

Here’s a quick glimpse of some of the mugs that will be part of the online sale.
St. Nick’s Day Online Sale : Sunday, December 6th.
Images & descriptions will be posted here on the blog, but the sale itself
will start early Sunday morning on my Facebook Pottery page.
Click here, then hit “Follow” and get ready for the Sunday Sale.

At this point I think it’s going to be twenty mugs and a few wheelthrown ornaments.
First come, first “claimed”… and when they’re gone they’re gone!
More details to come…

The latest batch of porcelain mugs… trimmed & handled yesterday. A few small bowls too!
Drying today. Anxious for the kiln.

Not a bad evening in the studio. Some quick porcelain cups thrown & stamped.
I’m hoping to trim and add some handles tomorrow!!!