Look who will be starting the New Year with some New Pottery Tools!!!
I couldn’t resist buying myself a couple of these beautiful wooden ribs by Troy Bungart. I first met Troy at NCECA 2014, and now they’re selling his tools in the Lillstreet Gallery.

Merry Christmas to Me!

If you need to get a few of these beauties for yourself… click here for Troy’s ETSY Page.

Another batch of bottles… and a couple new vases today!

Another pile of porcelain reclaim pulled out tonight… plopped onto my plaster bat for some drying time. Maybe tomorrow I can start wedging it up. And then I’ll need to figure out what to make out of it?!

Thanks again to my friend Emily for passing along her dry scraps… I love free clay!!!

I started out today with a lot of stamped cylinders waiting to be trimmed. Both tumblers & mugs… kinda the same at this point, really. The mugs are in the front and will need handles attached. The tumblers are slightly taller and will not have handles. Big difference, huh?!

After “a bit” of trimming, the scraps were piling up.
Sure, some might think it’s just a dirty mess.
I see it as more clay to be reclaimed and used again!!!

Wall

A dozen wall pocket vases. Thrown, stamped & squished on one side.
Drying, then bisque firing. A round of glazing & re-firing. Then we’ll have plenty of vases for people to hang on the walls… or perfect for flowers or a cool pencil cup at your home office desk.

When I got to the studio late this afternoon I found a welcome surprise
of fluorescent lights that actually work!!! Whoo-hoo!!! I can see again…
and wow, take a look at the things I made in the dark?!!!

Tonight was a very productive night.
Not only did I stamp a LOT of cylinders…
I also finished up another batch of oval casseroles & vases.
Stamped, assembled, slip accented & ready to dry… still in “studio darkness.”

Unfortunately, I am still working in the darkness.
Replenishing pieces in the warm glow of my task lighting.
Waiting for the ballast on my fluorescent light to be replaced.
Soon I hope… it’s been WEEKS!!!

Bundles of yellow oncidium orchids dressing up the studio. Adding a splash of color in the corner… a reminder that Spring is supposed to be here. Even though it’s still far too cold & wet here in Chicago!!! They even mentioned a chance of SNOW for tomorrow?!!!

So I went back into the studio today hoping to find that my lightbulbs had been replaced.
Sadly, not so much. So it was another day of working “in the dark” with my little task lights. Ike did stop by to check on the bulbs, and he found out that they’re currently out of replacements. So he needs to order more… and I need to wait. Great… just great.

Twenty balls of clay… twenty berry bowl plates coming soon.

Almost done… only one more to go!
And finding that throwing in the dark is somehow more relaxing. Who knew???

Under cover of darkness, I finished throwing the small plates.

I putzed around for awhile, and then realized that that they were drying up pretty quickly. So I decided to do some decorative fluting on the edges before I wrapped them up for the night.