Always fun to see some of my new “hybrid mugs” thriving out in the wild… enjoying a picnic on the back porch somewhere out in the woods!!! “Hybrid” being a combination of wheelthrown & handbuilt parts… along with some amazing textures made with my MKM Pottery Tools hand rollers!

Fresh from the soda-kiln… a few more of the new mugs that came out of the kiln last weekend. Loving the colors, textures & random flashing effects. Just in time for the GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR next weekend… and perfect for today’s MUGSHOT MONDAY!

Okay, so I’ve been a little busy with unloading my soda kiln, scraping shelves, kiln washing the shelves, teaching & Summer Camping!!! So here are a few “delayed” shots from Monday night’s unloading. I’m pretty pleased with all of the bright pops of color throughout! So glad that soda-firing does not have to be all gray & brown all the time!

So this is what happens when you accidentally break off a lantana blossom while watering on the back porch… and then you just happen to have the perfect mini vase for it too!!!

Another “sneaky-peek” as start to unbrick the soda kiln. It was tough to wait… but I had Summer Campers all day who had to learn how to throw on the wheel (in three hours?) More fun with them tomorrow… but now they’re gone so I’m hoping to unload before I teach again tonight!!! Fingers crossed… so far so good!!!

Starting off today with a batch of mugs that need to be glazed & wadded. I’ve applied a layer of tenmoku glaze into all of the stamped impressions to help accentuate the textures & patterns. Now to wipe it off… leaving the glaze inlaid in the stamps!

This past Monday night in my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we discussed how to throw with a bit more “intention”… and how to approach throwing “matching sets.” I offered up a few options… as one of their class challenges is to bring two “matching” bowls to our final class as few weeks from now! One of my best suggestions is to throw a few extras that are “similar” and then decorate & trim them to make them match even more… and then pick the two that match the best!!! I went with four… hoping to get two that match!!!

A little stamping… a little trimming… and a few accents of colored flashing slips! One step closer… so far, so good. Looking forward to the “Big Reveal” at ART IN THE GARDEN in mid-September! Mark your calendars for September 9th & 10th in Glenview, Illinois.

“Hybrid mugs” assembled, trimmed & handled… and the MKM Pottery Tools that did most of the hard work. Sure, I might have had a tiny-something to do with it too?! But having good tools always makes it more fun!!!

Looks like it’s TOTEM TUESDAY! And it looks like Gerry & Rosene’s garden is doing great this summer… beautiful flowers all around their totem pole. Stamped & soda-fired pottery is always a nice addition to the garden!