Prepping, pricing & packing a new selection of stamped & soda-fired mugs in the basement. Fresh mugs for this weekend’s art fair in Hinsdale… hope to see you there!

Last week with my SURFACE DECORATION class, we discussed a lot of glazing techniques & tried to rectify some bad habits. Then I challenged them to “play” a bit more with their glazing… and to try some new techniques on the stamped cylinders I provided for them. I was hoping that they would be more free with their glazing if it wasn’t on one of their own “precious” pots. They all took good step-by-step notes… so now we’re just anxiously waiting for them to get fired in the cone 10 glaze kiln. Fingers crossed for some fun glaze results!!!

So they started as a class demo for my Intermediate Wheel class… throwing parts & pieces for making teapots. But then they “lived under plastic” for quite awhile… with a few spritz’s of water now & again. And lookey here… I just got around to finally assembling them!

With a gray & gloomy start to the day… instead of biking, here’s some “sunrise stamping” to kick-off my morning. One handmade clay stamp… pressed in over & over & over again. Racing a deadline to get these done… seems I work best under pressure?! HA!!!

Another flash of color with some pretty flowers in one of my stamped & soda-fired vases. Just “fulfilling the destiny” of any good vase on another Floral Friday!

I’m pretty sure it’s not pear season in Chicago… but I was still happy to find some on sale at the grocery store! Just waiting for them to ripen… hoping that it’s not all on the same day!!!

I hate when I come home and find broken flowers in my front garden… presumably from someone, or someone’s kids, or someone’s dog…. trouncing through the flowers I’m trying to grow out there. Luckily, I have plenty of mini vases to give them a little “extra life” after being broken off the plant.

So after Tuesday night’s “bowls-bowls-bowls” demo… I took my class demo bowls up to my studio. And there “just might have been” a bit more stamping & detailing done tonight. Just making my not-so-basic bowls even more not-so-basic-er!!! Allegedly…

Single flowers in a cutie-patootie little vase for another Floral Friday! Thanks for sharing Tiffany!

Some soda-fired fun for another TEXTURE TUESDAY! No glaze on the outside, except some tenmoku inlaid in the stamped impressions. All of the color & shine comes from some flashing slips & the soda-firing process itself!!!