Making some mini vases in the studio today…
and of course, mini vases need mini stamps, right?!

Celebrating a very chilly MUGSHOT MONDAY here in Chicago with another mug with very autumnal colors! Perfect… as orange is my favorite color!!!

Painting colored slip accents & details on my latest batch of mugs!
The color will “magically” transform in the soda kiln firing.

So I’ve been stamping another batch of mugs! A little “something” different as they wre made with a new kind of clay. A tilemaker friend of mine bought some new clay and didn’t like how it “felt” when he started using it. And then when he fired his tiles, they all cracked during the firing. So he believes there might be something wrong with the clay?! He passed it on to me to give it a try… and here I did. I will agree it felt a little goopey & sticky… a little more finicky… but ultimately I made some cylinders for mugs. It was a little tougher to get them to stand up & hold their shape. But I’m sure I’ll get used to it… as he’s planning on passing his “bad” clay onto me!!! Bring it on… CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!

Mug 1 – before & after…

Mug 2 – before & after…

Mug 3 – before & after…

Mug 4 – before & after…

Mug 5 – before & after…

Mug 6 – before & after…

Mug 7 – before & after…

Mug 8 – before & after…

Mug 9 – before & after…

So for now

Another photo entry for Texture Tuesday. In a strange kinda way… the colorful sumac I just posted photos of “reminds me” of this colorful stamped & soda-fired handbuilt vase. I think it might be the nice ombre range of colors?!

Tackling the bottoms of some new stamped platters in the studio today. To trim a clean footring across such a wide expanse, it helps to have sharp trimming tools… like this favorite from DiamondCore Tools!

Just doin’ a bit of stamping again… on another batch of mugs again! Handmade stamps making textures & patterns on handmade mugs!

Another bisque kiln was unloaded this morning… and it had the sixteen “not-so-basic-bowls” from last week’s class demo in it. So here they are… including the basket I added a handle to. So now it looks like I’ve got a bit of glazing to do?!!!

Ugh. My least favorite part.

So after a full day of playing hooky in the perfectly beautiful outdoors… I did feel a tiny tinge of guilt… so I stopped by the studio to do a little stamping… and then THIS happened!!!!

So I just finished stamping another large platter.
One “magical” stamp doing most of the work!!!

Starting with just one line along the perimeter…

And if one line looks good… why not make it TWO?!!!

Two is good… but let’s go all the way with FOUR!!!

And here’s the handmade clay stamp that did “all” of the work!!!

It was the first weekend of October… and a perfect chance to pull out the Halloween Decorations! My friend Chris pulled out all the stops & all the lights… decorating the front of her house in festive spooky glory. Including some huge spiders on her ceramic totem pole!!!

I think I need to go trick-or-treating at HER house this year!