Oh, and one more… possibly my favorite of the bunch! It’s one of my new “hybrid mugs” which is a combination of wheelthrown & handbuilt techniques. I’m loving the pattern, and the way the glaze is running, dripping & breaking in all the right places. Huge thanks to MKM Pottery Tools for making great textured hand rollers that make great patterns like this!!! Crisp & clean textures perfect for rolling on slabs. Who knows… this one might be a “keeper”?!

You know by now that MUGS are my favorite thing to make!!! So of course there were plenty of them in this recent soda firing. Here’s just a few of them… headed to an art fair soon! Some will go to ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend… while others will go to ART IN THE BARN for the last weekend of September!

So Friday night I loaded the soda kiln… layer by layer… brick by brick… pot by pot. It always takes longer than I think it will. But it’s important to think it through while loading to allow some air space & flow through the kiln for good soda exposure… while at the same time getting in as many pots as possible! The more pots you squeeze in, the more pots you can divide the kiln costs over. Can’t wait to see how these turn out… as many of them will be going to ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend!

All done & drying… spouted, stamped & slip-painted… ready to go… currently cooling in the soda kiln! Okay, another belated photo posting. Now they’re almost ready for ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend in Glenview. These might “allegedly” be part of a collaboration project with my friend & “cohort in collaboration” Cory McCrory!!!

So I’ve been quite busy in the studio, what with full-day Summer Camps & evenings in the studio! So I’m a bit behind on posting photos… especially of these water carafes for ART IN THE GARDEN. They’re coming along quite nicely… and even further along now… actually in the kiln… as these photos were from a week ago! … oops!!!

Just a couple more of my “hybrid mugs”… combined wheelthrown & handbuilt mugs… ready to go into the bisque kiln tonight. Loving the textures… and their “oversized-ness” as requested by a customer who bought a HUGE hybrid mug at the Hinsdale art fair and now wants another one!!! Perfect for another Mugshot Monday!!!

Just finishing up another batch of stamped oval vases quickly before the Chi Tri tomorrow. Hoping these dry while I’m outside sweating tomorrow so they can make it into my bisque kiln Monday, and my next soda kiln on Friday!!!

With this being the hottest weekend of the summer, I’m tagged & ready for another Chicago Triathlon tomorrow! It’s going to be a sweaty race… as I’m currently in the studio sweating & racing to finish a new batch of oval vases. We’ve had no air conditioning on the second floor of Lillstreet for over a week now!!! Not good during the heat wave hitting Chicago this week! Just trying to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate…

Fresh flowers in one of my stamped & soda-fired square vases. Looks like Rhonda’s latest visit to the Farmer’s Market has helped fulfill the destiny of this two-sided vase! Thanks for sharing Rhonda… and for brightening our day!

With ART IN THE GARDEN coming so quickly… many of the artists are working together to make some special collaboration pieces. Working with each other to create something fresh & exciting. I’ve got a few collaborations in the works… and these have got to move along in the process! Drying flat… and soon into a bisque kiln!