So tonight while I was in the studio, I checked the bowls we threw last night
during my Beginning Wheel class demo. They were protected under plastic
and drying slowly. Luckily, with a little patience, they were ready to stamp a
few details into a couple of them. If you want to compare them to the original,
check the blog post from yesterday… you’ll the difference a little stamping can do!!!

Bowl #2 – Flanged… and now stamped!

Bowl #3 – Flanged, Fluted & Flopped… and now stamped!

Bowl #4 – Wide Flange… and now stamped!

Bowl #6 – Divided, Pinched, Squared… and now stamped!
Once this one gets trimmed, I’m also planning on adding some little “balls” on top
of the four pinch points. I’m not really a fan of the “pinch marks.” So I think they’ll
need some “creative camouflage.”

Tonight I stamped…and stamped… and stamped some more!
With twenty-four mug cylinders to stamp,  I started stamping and thought you might
like to see some them… side by side! Along with the stamp that did all the hard work!!!

Next up?… trimming, handles and some colored flashing slips.
Looks like tomorrow might need to be another productive day?!!!

Tonight in class we tackled two of my favorite things… MUGS & STAMPS!!!
My students trimmed their cylinders from last week, pulled handles and attached
them to make their first mugs of the session. Pretty good since it’s just Week #3.

And then, when their mugs were completed, we sat down for an interactive,
and somewhat chatty, demonstration on making clay stamps. We discussed how to
make them, fire them and use them. I tried to explain how they need to think about
their designs in reverse. How the high points on the stamps make the low points in
the impressions. And visa versa. How letters and symbols need to be carved in reverse.
That they just need to make a LOT of stamps and find the ones they love to use…
and then make more! Once these are fired, my class will have their own stamps to use!

By now you should know that I love making ovals… so here’s the latest batch!
First as simple bottomless cylinders… then shaped, bottomed & decorated.

After yesterday’s productive day of throwing…
Today was another productive day of stamping & trimming.
And yes, all bowls & mugs are stamped. As well as another 25 pounds of freshly
thrown pieces that I did this morning that are also now stamped & trimmed.

Next up… looks like I need to make a few handles for the mugs, huh?!
As well as punching drainage holes to make these into berry bowls.
Oh, and then they need small drip plates too… always more work to do!!!

Well, Tuesday night one of my students requested another plate throwing demo.
Who am I to disagree?… so I threw them a 7-pound platter demo for them.
And what’s a good platter without some fun stamping?! So here we go…

We always start with a plain platter and a smooth flange waiting for texture!
Then I root through my tool boxes full of stamps to find the one I want to use.

Some simple repetitive stamping with the same stamp creates a nice border.

And if one row of stamps is good, would more stamps be even better?!

And then, to accentuate the pointed design, I used a smaller stamp to make a tiny
indentation at the bottom of each point.

All the way around to make a nice repetitive pattern. A little fluting around the edge
and the platter is done for now. Now it needs to stiffen up a bit and dry enough to be
considered leatherhard – ready to trim! And there’s another platter done!

I think that the small flower pots I threw yesterday are going to be the perfect little pot
for window herb gardens! For some reason, they look a little larger than life in the photo?!
So the pots I threw yesterday before my bike ride are now all stamped, slipped, trimmed
and sitting on my rolling cart ready to dry.

Which was all part of my master plan… and time crunch.
I knew I had to make something that I could finish fairly quickly so that I could
get everything onto my rolling cart – and out of the way!

My friend & fellow potter Amy Higgason is coming in tomorrow to set up her work
for her Trunk Show in my studio. It was questionable for awhile whether she was
even going to make it to Chicago?! She was snowed in with over 3-feet of snow and
couldn’t even get out of her driveway. But she shoveled and drove south!!!
Can’t wait to see her and her new pots fresh from her kiln!!!

After my bike ride break… I was back in the studio trying to finish up some new pieces
I’ve been working on. After the Julia Galloway workshop, I realized that I have never
really made sugar & creamer sets. So why not give it a try… and use her inspiration
to make them with my own twist. So far so good… now they’re drying and waiting
for some flashing fun in the soda kiln. I’m pretty pleased… but a lot can still happen to them?!

While Tuesday may have been the sweetest evening for many… I spent the night with my
beginning wheelthrowing students. Who let me just say are moving along quite nicely!!!
We’re now more than halfway through the session and tonight we tackled ovals.
Some of my returning students have enjoyed making ovals, so they asked for them again!
And I am always more than willing to make more ovals!!!

So here’s the first oval demo. Yes, it’s basically just a straight-sided cylinder with no bottom.
Then, once it stiffens up a bit, I remove it from the bat, move it onto a ware board and
shape it into the final oval shape. And this is where we start the photos…

Then, it’s time to pick the “perfect” stamp from my toolboxes of hundreds!

Carefully pressing one stamp at a time, all the way around the cylinder.

Then I felt that the rim was a little bit heavy and “chunky” looking. I felt that it needed
a little splash of fun too. So I pulled out a square-ended chopstick and started
“denting” the rim.

Then, from the inside of the rim pressing outwards, I used a round dowel rod to add
some curve divots to counter-act the sharp edges of the dents on the outer edge.

And here it is… the “now-stamped-and-decorated”  cylinder walls. Next up, it’s time
to add the bottom to the cylinder so it appears seamless as though it has always been
part of the pot. Then, handles will be added and the drying can commence!

Then here’s the second oval in the works!
It started as a bottomless cylinder just like the first one. This time I used more clay
for this demo – so the cylinder is a bit larger and taller, plus we added some voluminous
curve to the walls. Next, I slice it off the bat and move it onto a ware board while
stretching it into the oval shape!

Again, it’s time to choose a stamp trying to picture the how the final texture will turn out.

Then it’s systematically stamped one-by-one all the way around the pot.

And here it is… the oval cylinder with finished stamping. Both inside and out!
Yes, I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive and can’t help myself from using the smaller stamps
to add tiny little textures and details even inside the oval dish!!!

This one is now in the same place as the first.
Ready for the bottom to be attached, then handles!
Still working on them both… step by step. Unfortunately, my students don’t always
get to see the steps every step of the way. We discuss the steps… and I hope they get it.
If not, they know they can check here for photos & details.

Also on Tuesday, one of my students said she had missed the plate demo… of course
I was more than willing to do the demo again. She appreciated it… and made her first plate!
Here’s my demo platter… and the stamping that followed!

Again, it’s just one stamp pressed in over & over & over again… all the way around!

When the stamping was complete, I felt it need a little bit more… so I fluted the rim
with gentle curves all the way around to accentuate the stamped design.

Here’s the second oval demo… a little larger, with a little curve to the sides.

So the plates that I threw last week as part of my class demo were finally at the right
leatherhard stage for stamping. It’s always tricky… can’t be too dry, can’t be too wet.
Got to get them right when they’re wet enough for good impressions, but not too wet
as to be sticky or squishy. Tonight they were ready for stamping!

So here goes… The first plate is a large dinner plate. Thrown with about four pounds of clay.
When I’m ready to start, one of the toughest decisions is “which stamp”??? I have hundreds
to choose from. So the possibilities are endless. I try not to dwell on it… just grab a favorite!

So here’s the lucky stamp chosen to tackle the rim of this plate…

Then, that one stamp rhythmically pressed in over & over & over again…

And the rim suddenly has a whole new texture. So much more fun than the plain,
old smooth flange that the plate started with!

Now plate #2 is a bit larger. Thrown with about six pounds of clay. The rim is plain,
but the center “food area” has a dramatic, concentric circle design created on the wheel
as I was finishing the throwing demo.

So again, which stamp gets to come out to play?… this one apparently!!!

Around & around, this time developing a nice scalloped pattern around the edge.
This pattern is also quite conducive to a fluted edge. So I did…

And there it is… a scalloped pattern of stamps with another small detail stamp
at the points, as well as on the tips of the fluted edge “high points.”

So now, both plants are back under plastic drying some more. I’ve got to wait for them
to dry to the right stage for trimming. I always tell my students that throwing plates is easy.
It’s the drying & trimming that is difficult. So now I wait… for the difficult part!