With Mother’s Day just over two weeks away, I’m pretty sure people are starting to think about what they should buy for Mom! And what could be better than some handmade pottery… how about a vase or pitcher that could hold that bouquet of flowers you SHOULD be giving Mom on her special day!

So this blog post is just a SNEAK PREVIEW of what’s going to go up on sale tomorrow on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook Page at 10:00am CST.

Plan ahead… pick & choose… I’m showing most of them from both sides as the soda-firing process is often very random and has different glaze & flashing effects on all sides! Once the “official” Photo Album of all these pieces is posted on my Facebook page, it will be a “first-come, first-served, grab-it-while-you-can” free for all!!!

Pitcher #1 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #2 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #3 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #4 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #5 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #6 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #7 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

And oh, but wait there’s more…
Traditional vases… without spouts or handles!
Nothing too grand or huge, just a nice medium-sized vase for a bouquet of flowers!… or even a crock for kitchen tools?!

Vase #1 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #2 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #3 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #4 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #5 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #6 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #7 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #8 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #9 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #10 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #11 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 6.25″
$65 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #12 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 6.25″
$65 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #13 – soda-fired – a little bit larger… 6″x 6″x 7.5″
$75 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #14 – soda-fired – a little bit smaller… 3.5″x 3.5″x 4.5″
$45 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

And then there’s these cuties… from my “Quite White Collection.”
After doing a bunch of soda-firing and colorful cone six firings, I decided to switch it up a bit and try doing the anti-thesis of all that… with pure & plain white! Still thrown & stamped in the same manner… just totally WHITE!!!

Quite White Vase #1 – high-fired porcelain – 3.5″x 3.5″x 4.75″
$45 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Quite White Vase #2 – high-fired porcelain – 4″x 4″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

So there we have it… a lot of options…
vases & pitchers that could be the perfect gift for Mom!!!… `

I will be posting the “official” Facebook Photo Album on my pottery page tomorrow at 10:00am CST. The first person to place a comment of “MINE” on any of the photos within that “official” Photo Album will get that piece of pottery. We can work out several different easy-peezy payment methods and I’ll ship it out to you right away. So you’ll have plenty of time to buy a bouquet of flowers for Mom to go with her new pottery.

Okay… who am I kidding…
You can do it for yourself too… or even surprise someone else!
I know times are tough… days are difficult… and any little bit of brightness & joy can make all the difference as we all struggle through these trying times!

Thank You.

You know I love a good spiral…
and I’m kinda fond of stamped patterns…
so here’s another soda-fired & stamped bowl to celebrate TEXTURE TUESDAY!

When making lidded jars, I always make a few extra lids so I have options in finding the “best fitting” lid for each jar. The “extra” lids each got a little stamping… and now we have some sweet little sauce dishes. A little set of nesting bowls… had I known, I would have stamped the large one to match better!!!

Still working on a bunch of lidded jars in the studio. Good news that the lids all seem to fit!!! Sure, I’ve got a lot of trimming & finishing to do. The lids were thrown off-the-hump… so I still need to pull off that extra “cookie” of clay before trimming.

Just finishing up the latest batch of mugs…
adding handles tonight while self-isolating again in my studio!
It’s kinda weird working in my studio these days. I’m so used to having more people around to play with & to chat with. And these days… there’s NO ONE HERE!!! Kinda scary. Kinda weird!!!

And while I was already in the studio stamping… I decided I might as well just continue & stamp the lidded jars that were already under plastic in my studio. So I did… I mean, I was already there!

Just a quick “tour” while I was stamping my latest batch of mugs… showing the plain mug after throwing, after being stamped, as well as the handmade clay stamp that did the hard work! I was just there pressing…

Mug #1 –

Mug #2 –

Mug #3 –

Mug #4 –

Mug #5 –

Mug #6 –

Mug #7 –

Mug #8 –

Mug #9 –

Mug #10 –

Mug #11 –

So for now they’re all stamped and under wraps for the night. I will most likely trim them tomorrow night, and then try to get handles on the on Monday… what a great way to celebrate another Mugshot Monday than by making more mugs!!!

Looks like Judy has been doing a bit of cooking while quarantined at home. Trying to stay healthy with some colorful carrots & peppers… in a sweet little stamped bowl by little ol’ me!

While everyone is still sheltered-in-place, it’s good to see my friends are keeping up with their Disney Trivia… all the while “fireplace surround-ed” by some handmade, stamped, textured & soda-fired tiles! A little Throwback Thursday to a project I installed a few years ago out in the suburbs!

So I finally finished stamping a new batch of bowls. I’ve been trying to stay productive and get into the studio as often as possible… but with all of the craziness going on these days, it’s tough. Luckily, my studio is very safe & isolated these days. Lillstreet has been closed to the public for weeks now, and I am seemingly the ONLY person there working at night… safely “trapped” in my own little work space… well-isolated from anyone else! And as a potter, I feel like I’m washing my hands ALL the time!!!

So they’ve been stamped… and now they’re all under wraps waiting to be trimmed… and then fired… and then glazed… and fired again! I remembered to take photos of the stamps that did the magic… well, for some of them any ways?!

Bowl A

Bowl B

Bowl C –

Bowl D –

Bowl E –

Bowl F –

Bowl G –

Bowl H –

Bowl I –

Bowl J –

Bowl K –