After a couple days under plastic, the enclosed forms were stiffened up a bit…
but just enough to trim, stamp and squish. I hadn’t planned on working on them tonight.
But I checked the after class and realized that they were at the right stage of dryness.
I was a little afraid to leave them another day for fear they might dry too much.
If they get too dry, they don’t squish so much as crack when flattened.

So I trimmed some of the edges, then stamped the rim – and squished!
And now, it’s late, I’m tired… and these will have to wait for another day under plastic.
Next up – some slip decoration and a hole pierced through the back for hanging.
Then they’ll be ready for drying, bisque firing, glazing & firing again.

This evening I set about to turn the plain flower pots I threw yesterday
into more decorative flower pots with a LOT of stamping & rim fluting.
Some with some traditional stamping, and more with the newer, “bulgier” stamping
with fluted rims. A mix of old & new styles… still not sure how I’m going to glaze these?

Tomorrow I hope to trim them all and paint some slip accents.
And don’t forget to punch the drainage holes too!

Okay… so one of the studio potters at Lillstreet moved out of his studio
a few months ago. In his wake, he left a lot of mess, supplies, and buckets of glaze!
Now since I already have enough supplies & mess of my own – I claimed the buckets
of glaze! Sadly, I’m not really sure what they are, and I definitely don’t have
the recipes to make more. But free glaze is free glaze!!!

So… tonight I made a batch of test tiles for these “mystery” buckets of glaze!
Complete with stamps & textures to see how the glaze would work on my own
textured work. I’m going to test the glazes in both cone 10 reduction and the
soda kiln. I want to find out if any of them do really cool things in the soda kiln
atmosphere?! Or if they do really terrible things BEFORE I start glazing
a kiln full of work. Wouldn’t that be a bummer?

So the latest “batch” of bowls are now trimmed and drying. I’m really diggin’
the newer “twist” on the stamping adventure. We’ll see where it goes from here!

Let the stamping continue… slightly larger bowls, slightly “bulge-ier” stamping!
I especially love how the reverse-stamp-divots inside the bowls are becoming
even more prominent. And the rims are becoming a little more decorative as well.
A whole new texture inside the bowl. Can’t wait to see what happens after they’re glazed!

So last night I watched Kristen Kieffer’s new DVD about surface decoration.
Chapter One dealt with stamping… which you know I love. But one of her techniques
includes stamping that “bulges” and alters the shape a bit more than I’m used to.
And since I had some “plain” bowls waiting for some stamping… I thought I’d give it a try.
I like the result… however, I really want to make a few new stamps to go a little further
and “explore” the possibilities a little more! Thank you Kristen for the inspiration…

While I was working in the studio tonight, I was also watching Kristen Kieffer’s
new DVD about surface decoration. It’s a very informative DVD with twelve chapters
on twelve different techniques. Chapter One was of course my favorite… all about stamps!!!
All in all, here techniques are very informative and encouraging for all skill levels. I really
liked how her presentation style was very calming & professional. She demonstrates each
of the twelve different techniques – making them each look relatively simple and accessible
for everyone. From stamping to slip trailing, from sgraffito to mishima, from banding to
her own slip technique she refers to as “Dairy Queen.” Something for everybody!
Of course the key is making it “your own” instead of just trying to reproduce her work!

Next up?… I need to make some new stamps! Her method of stamp-making is different
from mine. And I’m looking forward to creating a few new ones with her technique to see
how it goes. Her personal pottery “design aesthetic” seems to be much like my own…
precise, repetitive, patterned, textured. Sound familiar?

So here’s the deal… if you like her style, or if you’re just looking to learn some new surface
decoration techniques – this is the DVD for you!!! Check it out and order your own copy.
Go to www.FilmBaby.com and get your own Kristen Kieffer DVD today!

As the summer art fair season comes looming ever closer, day by day, week by week…
I’m trying to get a head start on my studio production. Focusing on producing more work
instead of lollygagging and letting the days slip by. So tonight I stopped in the studio
to stamp all of the bowls I threw on Wednesday. They were a little damp, but I stamped
anyway… sadly, too wet to trim. That will have to wait until tomorrow…

Back in the saddle… and back to some good-ol’-fashioned stamping fun!
The mugs I started the other day are now all stamped…
now they need to “dry” to a stiffer leather-hard so I can trim them and add the handles!

As the New Year begins, it’s always kind of tough to get started up in the studio again.
Everything is clean & organized from the holiday sales. Decorations are packed up.
I haven’t resumed throwing yet… so nothing is wet. Nothing is drying quickly.
Nothing is in urgent need of my studio attention…

Instead, it’s time to start filling in the 2010 calendar and deciding which art fairs
to apply to. It’s time to finalize and pay my sales tax to the Department of Revenue.
It’s time to “start” organizing my storage room… again… and again…

So it’s been a slow start-up… and tonight I started with the annual tradition!
Making new stamps for the New Year!!!

I start by rolling coils of clay. Once I have a bunch of them rolled out, and they’ve set up,
they’re easier to carve. I use various tools to carve both ends of the coils to create different
patterns. It is important to make clear, concise and deep impressions to make effective
stamps. If the patterns aren’t deep enough, you won’t get good impressions when
they are pressed into a pot later.

So I make a lot of stamps. Some of them will work. Some of them won’t.
Hopefully some of them will make it into the “favorites” category and will be seen
on a LOT of pots later this summer on the art fair circuit. Once these stamps are dry, they
can be bisque fired. Then they’re good to go… ready to be added to my “stamping arsenal.”