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.

While I was working tonight, the fluorescent ceiling lights in my studio began to flicker. Kind of an irritating strobe-like effect. It went on for about 20 minutes. But then, all of a sudden, they went out all together.

So there I was trying to finish trimming & drilling holes in my newest batch of berry bowls… in darkness!!! It was pretty tough working in the small “spotlight” from my table-top task lighting. Good thing my power drill is cordless & battery-operated!!!

Enough of this Winter. I’m trying to channel my “inner-Spring”… and I’m thinking
these will become berry bowls after some stamping, trimming & hole drilling!

So you know when you have  a partial bag of “this” clay, and a partial bag of “that” clay. Some of it is a bit too dry. Some of it is a bit too wet. None of it is ready to go. Not quite enough of any one of them to make much of anything. So why not combine them???

As long as they all have the same firing temperature, it’s pretty easy. You might think it takes a lot of wedging. But not really… it’s easier to let gravity do the work for you! It’s a great little trick I learned from Emily Murphy, a former studio neighbor. And I’m going to share it with you!

So I started with three different kinds of clay. Some fairly dry soda clay (top), some squishy, unwedged reclaim mix (middle) and some stiff stoneware with iron (bottom). I start by cutting thin slices of each clay and making new stacks. I try my best to keep the layers even, and restack them by alternating the clay bodies within each stack.

As you can see, each pile is several layers of each different kind of clay.
Some soda. Some reclaim. Some stoneware with iron. Sliced. Layered. Stacked.

So here’s the stack of clay before I start combining the layers… nothing fancy.

Start by picking up the pile and slamming it down on the wedging table. Let gravity do most of the work. And I find it best to slam it down on the corner of my wedging table directly over the corner leg. Seems sturdier… and doesn’t make nearly as much noise!!!

After a quick slam, cut the clay in half. When you look at it, you can see all of the layers of different clays. I don’t know for sure how many there were… so let’s just say 12 layers for demonstration purposes!

So, after slicing the stack in half, put one piece on top of the other…
and now you’ll have 24 layers in your stack.

Another quick pounding on the table and it squishes together and flattens out a bit.
Cut it in half again, and you can see how your layers have doubled and squished thinner.

Stack one half on top of the other, and suddenly you have 48 layers!

Pound it again, cut in half again… and you’ll see how the layers are getting thinner & thinner.
Just from slicing and dropping it on the table! No power wedging. Very little physical labor.

Stack it back up… slam it down and now you’re up to 96 layers!
Pretty amazing how the number of layers multiplies so quickly… more & more, thinner & thinner!

Slice again. Stack again. Slam again. 192 layers!

Slice again. Stack again. Slam again. 384 layers!

Slice again. Stack again. Slam again. 768 layers!

Slice again. Stack again. Slam again. 1,536 layers!… and almost blended.

One last time… Slice again. Stack again. Slam again. 3,072 layers!
And it’s looking pretty well homogenized after some simple slicing & slamming.

So then I just pounded up the pile a bit and I now have a solid block of clay. The three different clay bodies are well integrated. And the difference in moisture levels has been taken care of. Ready to go. Much better to use.

I tackled all seven of the layered stacks I made from the three different clay bags.
Slice. Stack. Slam. Repeat… Slice. Stack. Slam. Repeat… Slice. Stack. Slam. Repeat…
And now I’ve got a tower of clay ready to go. Sure, the clay still needs some final wedging just before throwing. And now I’ve got to make something with this tower of fun!