After a lot of floral over-stimulation at the Garden Show,
I made it back to my studio… my own little garden! Yes, my holiday poinsettia
is still doing really well in the studio. A little dusty, but still bushy & blooming!

First off I attached handles to the latest batch of mugs… and drying slowly.

Next up, I threw some new bowls which will eventually become spring berry bowls.
As they were firming up, I was unsure what to throw next… especially as I was quickly
running out of table surface space. So?… what to throw?… fairly small that doesn’t take up
too much space?…. well, more ornaments of course! This time, a batch in B-Clay,
and another in Porcelain. Another 37 ornaments closer to Christmas!

By the time I finished throwing the ornaments, the bowls were ready for shaping & altering.
I covered them up for the night… hoping to trim them in a day or two, punch the drainage
holes and make the drip plates to finish the set. Sadly, I was too tired to remember to take
pictures… it had been a very long day of flowers, stained glass, mosaics & pottery!!!

Yesterday, my studio “neighbor” Karen Patinkin asked if I would be
interested in splitting a cone 10 reduction kiln with her. Of course I said yes.
Unfortunately, I’ve been focused on my next soda kiln… and not cone 10.
So I asked her when she would like to fire and when I would need to have
my pieces ready to go. She mentioned two weeks!!! Yikes.

I’m always up for a challenge. So I started the production process today with
several hours of quality studio time. I used about 75 pounds of clay making some
of the “standards” I know I’ll need for the upcoming art fair season. Mugs, bowls,
soap dispensers, tiles and more! So I’m thinking that tomorrow I’ll be faced with
a LOT of stamping!!!

And if a day of throwing weren’t enjoyable enough… tonight was also
the PBS broadcast of the “Les Miserables” 25th Anniversary Concert!
So I got to play in the clay and hang out with all of my favorites… Eponine, Fantine,
Cosette, Jean Valjean and Javaert. The concert was great… even if it was on my
small, dusty & splattered studio TV! Didn’t matter… still completely enthralling!

And now that I’m home for the evening, how “convenient” that the second broadcasting
of “Les Miz” is currently playing on my larger & much cleaner living room TV.
It’s all so much bigger, brighter and more beautiful on a better TV. Looks like I may
be staying up a little longer than expected this evening. Shucks!

Is it so bad that I polished off a full box
of Thin Mints for dinner???

With the temperatures dropping down to single digits, and even colder with the wind chill,
it was the perfect day to bring some tropical fun into the studio! And after some quick
“dumpster-diving” at my part-time special event gig, I had a bucket full of white hydrangeas
and monstera leaves thanks to last night’s event. Some when into my vases… while others
went home with my studio neighbor Karen Patinkin!

Plus a few extras in a smaller vase. Meanwhile… my pots are too wet to trim!
As much as I wanted to trim them, I had to wait. I couldn’t force it like I did the stamping!

So I spent tonight at the studio stamping pots… okay, squishy pots.
I was kind of in a hurry and wanted to get them all stamped tonight.
For some reason?! Not sure why… I could have done them tomorrow?

Typically I stamp when the pots are a “damp” leatherhard. But since these
were some of the pots I threw yesterday, they were wetter than I would have liked.
So I unwrapped them, let them sit out for a little while and then stamped them
as they slowly stiffened up a bit. But I couldn’t wait.

So instead, I stamped very cautiously!!!

Today is SuperBowl Sunday…
so I went into the studio to make some “Soup”-er Bowls!

And then somebody mentioned
that there was a game of some sort on TV???

Tonight I made it back to the studio with one primary focus… handles!
The stamped cylinders were all trimmed and ready… waiting for tonight.
So I came in and quickly pulled all 27 handles – and setting them up so they could
stiffen up a bit. The key to attaching “clean” handles is waiting for them to be
a soft leatherhard, bendable, yet not squishy. Luckily, by time I made it to the end
of pulling all 27 handles… the first ones were already stiffened a bit and ready to go!

So I started attaching handles… score, slip, attach, repeat…
but then I had to take a quick break. My friend & fellow potter Emily Murphy is
in town this weekend and visiting Lillstreet… her former pottery home! And by the way,
she’s huge!!! Very pregnant. Very cute. Looking like she’s ready to pop… but still has
a couple months to go! So after a very quick visit, it was back to attaching handles…
score, slip, attach, repeat… And after a lot of scoring… handles are now in place
and all cylinders are now mugs! Under wraps while the moisture-level balances out
until I can make it back in to add some colored slip accents.

So tonight I was in the studio trimming the stamped mug cylinders and
cleaning up my studio a bit. Typically not the most fun… the cleaning part…
but it becomes a whole lot funnier when you throw in some of your
all-time favorites from “Seinfeld.” Still one of the funniest TV shows ever!
My personal favorite… The Soup Nazi. Plus other favorites… The Close-Talker.
The Backwards Indian Wedding. Muffin Tops. Sponge-Worthy. The Pirate Shirt.
Man Hands. Rhymes With A Female Body Part. Bizarro World. Shrinkage.
Master Of My Own Domain… not that there’s anything wrong with that!

And in case you’ve forgotten anything… here’s a quick reminder!
YouTube – 100 Seinfeld Quotes – Episode One

And since there are a LOT more than 100 funny Seinfeld quotes…
here’s a hundred more! Guaranteed to make you laugh again & again!
YouTube – 100 Seinfeld Quotes – Episode Two

Elaine was always my favorite. The dancing. The shoving. The sarcasm.
And here she is in the best Seinfeld Blooper ever!!! I still can’t watch
this blooper scene without laughing out loud. Still…
YouTube – Elaine Benes & Frank Costanza Blooper

You know I love making mugs.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… If I could only make one shape or form
for the rest of my pottery career, I would choose mugs. I love making mugs!
So tonight was a fun night as I opened up a bag of my newly reclaimed clay
and set out to make a “bag’s worth” of mug cylinders… which turned out to be 27.

It was extra fun tonight as my friends Pam & Pat just came back from a very long holiday
in Hawaii. They both came into Lillstreet tonight for a potluck, to see some friends
and so Pam could get back to making more pots… to finally get her hands dirty for
the first time this year!!! And since her husband Pat doesn’t work in clay, he came up
to my studio to chat and to watch me throw. I had a small challenge to see how quickly
I could throw all 27 cylinders. Turns out I can throw 27 wedged balls into “mug cylinders”
in about 90 minutes… which also included talking to Pat and watching part of a movie
while I was throwing!!! Not bad. But I’m sure the stamping, trimming, handle attaching,
drying, firing, glazing, firing, etc. will take a LOT longer!!!

It was also fun tonight as I finally got to give Pam her “belated” surprise Christmas present.
A couple weeks ago, Amy Higgason and I had dinner together and we decided to give one
of the bowls we made during our collaboration workshop to Pam. We had made five bowls
together. So Amy kept two, I kept two… and we thought Pam would love the fifth!!!
Pam has been in my class for the past couple sessions and was quickly enamored with Amy
and her techniques during the demo. We knew Pam would be thrilled… and she was!!!

Today was another day of terra cotta fun.
I made a couple long trays last week to fulfill a commission.
And as those are drying, I started making more pieces to help “fill the kiln.”
I can’t stand firing an “unpacked” kiln. I couldn’t bear to fire “just” the trays!
So today I worked on making some terra cotta flower planters. Textured on
all sides of the boxes… who wants a “normal” flower pot?!… NO ONE, that’s who!!!

And while I was working in the studio… playing with terra cotta… and textures…
I also spent several hours with several episodes of “LOST” Season Two!!! I’m rewatching
the entire series. Hoping to see if there were “little hints” along the way… and if there are
any other connections that make more sense now that we all know how is ended! I’m to
the point where “Henry Gale” has entered the Hatch and is now playing mind games
with Jack & Locke. Oh, how I’ve missed my Losties!!!

So glad that I have four more seasons  of “LOST” to rewatch…
So glad that I have a TV with a DVD in my studio!