Last night I did a LOT of stamping. I have a lot of cylinders working on their way to becoming mugs. I’m working to fill ny next soda kiln. So these are made with soda clay that will get some great flashing & color in the soda atmosphere of the kiln. The stamping is done now… so it’s trimming & handles coming soon!

Plus a couple B-Clay “extras” made from the bottom of the bag…

Playing with porcelain and enjoying the clean contrasts & shadows of the stamping.
Trimming & handles coming soon…

Last Tuesday was my class demo on how to make a basic bowl on purpose. Followed by showing my students some quick tricks & techniques to make each bowl unique. And that not every bowl needs to be precious. That they should play with their clay and try some new things. If it messes up, you just cut it off, re-wedge it and throw it again. It’s just clay!

For the demo I used a full bag of clay and made seventeen bowls. The bowls all came up to my studio where today I did a little more “detailing” with some stamping. I would have loved to save this part for my students too, but I was afraid they would all be too dry in a week’s time. So here the the photos of some of the bowls, freshly detailed… AND the stamps that did all of the hard work making a good impression.

Purple orchid blossoms in a small soda-fired vase.

This large platter came out of the soda kiln beautifully. And PERFECTLY FLAT !!!
I’m so happy that the Kiln Gods watched over it and all went well.

And a quick reminder of what it looked like glazes, but not fired yet…

The second platter has a little bit of warping to it… but then again, it was a LOT thinner from the start. Need to remember that lesson next time. “Don’t throw too thin on soda-fired platters if you want them to stay flat.”

Here’s a tiny treasure that came out of my soda kiln last night.
My smallest vase ever!!! C’mon, could it BE any cuter???

A large stamped & glazed platter being loaded into the soda kiln.
Lots of fresh wadding underneath… pressed flat & securely to the kiln shelves.
Hoping that the Kiln Gods protect it from the evil forces of warpage!!!

These are the two largest platters I’ve EVER made!!!
I’m kind of excited by how they’re coming along. And larger platters require a LOT more stamps. And then each stamp gets a little highlight with colored slip. One… by one… by one…

The latest batch of bottomless cylinders has stiffened up a bit while under plastic… so I did a little stamping!!! Surprise, huh?!

Next up? Slab bottom attachment… so the vases will actually hold water & flowers!!!

I love when you can throw some pieces in the morning,
stamp them AND trim them all in one day!