Tonight I worked in the studio on some new ovals with the stamped & fluted rim.
The last time I showed pictures of a similar piece on Facebook, there were a lot
of comments & questions about it. So not only have I been making more ovals,
but I’ve also been trying to take step-by-step pictures along the way. The ovals
are in mid-production… but still waiting for the bottoms to be added tomorrow!
Once I get them all put together, detailed & finished off – I promise to do a great
step-by-step blog post for everyone to see. But if you can’t wait… here’s a teaser!

Tonight I worked on the mug cylinders I threw last night…
they were still a little sticky, so I threw some more pieces while they dried up a bit.
But then they were finally ready to be stamped… so I did!

After I finished up my class demo pieces, it was time for some Texture Fun!!!
So I pulled out my texture tool collection and started making patterns…
which then started turning into a whole new project. We’ll see what develops…

So when got back into the studio today, I unwrapped the not-so-basic bowls
from last night’s class bowl demo. And there were a few of them that still needed
a little help… they needed more details.

So I stamped… and stamped… and stamped… and added a few more details.
Much better.

So we’re in the third week of our new Spring Classes at Lillstreet Art Center.
And my “beginners” are progressing nicely. They’ve tackled the basics of wedging
and centering, basic cylinders and trimming. So tonight we pushed on a little further.
With their new “cylinders with shape,” we trimmed and then learned how to pull
and add handles to make mugs. They’re first mugs ever!!! And it’s only Week Three!

Plus, you know I like stamps… so why not encourage my students to make their own?!
And they did… we sat around the table and discussed stamps, textures, patterns and the
importance of “making their own mark” in the pottery. More fun to come once they’re bisqued.

And snacks… did I mention snacks? We may not have the professional pastry chefs
this session, but we do have some fine snack-makers! Last week we had some brownies
with cheesecake & peanut butter chunks in it from Hanna, plus a wonderful bag of
Garrett’s Chicago Mix Popcorn! My favorite… and SO addicting!!! Tonight we had a
wonderful Strawberry Margarita Frozen Pie Concoction from Sido & Will. So in between
making mugs & stamps… there’s always time for a few snacks!!!

Look at these… they’re simply adorable! And I can’t wait to use them.

I decided that I needed some new stamps…
especially if I was going to be making more Christmas ornaments & miniature vases.
You know smaller pieces need smaller stamps, right? At least in my world.
And these are the smallest ones I’ve made so far!

As I was loading the kiln, I was carefully stacking bowls…
and began to notice how cool they started looking with the rhythmic repetition
of the curved & fluted rims, the details of the stamped details and the great shadows that
helped define the textures. I may have to consider this… and make some new nesting bowls?!

My answer is NO.
I love making small pieces that fit into all of the other pieces in the kiln.
Tumble stacked, piled together, nested, whatever it takes… a full kiln is a happy kiln!
I hate firing a kiln that is not well-packed. I feel like I’ve wasted space if it’s not full.
So the latest set of small bowls were intended to be “filler.” But then tonight I decided
to make even more! And even smaller! This time… I made a full batch of miniature vases!

So I threw them all “off-the-hump” and let them sit for a few minutes.
Then I back-tracked and started stamping the first ones as they were already getting stiff.
So now there’s even more to trim!… and even more to pack into my next bisque!!!

Yesterday I threw bowls. Today they were ready to stamp. So I did…

Now they just need to be trimmed…
and then they can all go into the bisque kiln early next week! One step closer…