So the dinnerware pieces came out of the kiln… still a little toasty. Waiting for them to cool before we bring them into the class for our Summer Campers.

When they were cool, I brought them into the room and the kids were thrilled. We separated the pieces by kid and started to assemble their sets. Then I assembled their clay handles with the metal forks, knives & spoons they had made. One step closer to finishing their Camp projects.

My Summer Campers finished building their themed dinnerware sets today. With their terra cotta, they’ve made plates, platters, bowls, cups, mugs, handles and more! Today we also glazed them with a once-fired colored glaze palette. Right now everything is in front of a box fan trying to dry as fast as possible… and we load them into the kiln tomorrow morning. Can’t wait to see all of their pieces come together on Friday!!!

And yes, my Campers learned some “valuable” lessons on how fragile dried terra cotta can be. And that painting “too hard” can break things. Of course, I also had to point out a few times how “I was right” when I told them to score & slip everything… and that “just squishing it together” won’t work!!! Luckily, they had time to rebuild a few pieces as needed.

Today was the last day of Chess Camp. With the deadline looming, the kids did a wonderful job staying on task all week. They created all of their Chess pieces, painted them with underglazes & painted a chess board with acrylic paint. It was a great week for me with great Summer Campers!!! I just wish I knew more about the video games their chess sets were based on… whew, I must be old?!!!

It’s always so fun to watch the kids paint their pieces. To see them really come to life. And more “apparent” as to what character they are in their themes. Of course I’m still struggling with some of these video game characters!!!

By the end of the day we had quite a few pieces all lined up. Worksheets checked off. Pieces labeled with initials. A few “spares” made. And ready to go!!!

Rows & rows of little “soldiers” ready to go into battle…

And now all of the pieces are “safely” set aside on a rolling kiln cart… waiting for a sprayed coating of clear glaze and a trip through the kiln!

You know how I love to hear from my blog & Facebook followers. It’s a nice affirmation that someone out there is actually reading my endless ramblings and enjoying my photos. Sometimes you wonder if “anyone” out there is even listening. And then you get a sweet e-mail like this one. And once again, everything is good in the world. Thank you Sonya for sharing a picture from your Special Needs Class. I’m glad I could be an inspiration… your birdhouses look fantastic!!!

Hi Gary,

You sound so enthusiastic and generous in your blog! You also seem to genuinely want to hear from folks that benefit from it. So, I am sending you a picture of some Gary Jackson inspired birdhouses that were made by my special needs adult class. They are super excited about these and can’t wait to get them glazed! One student plans to give her birdhouse to a friend as a bereavement gift (her friend lost her mother recently).

Cheers from Kentucky,
S. Penn

And for those of you who might need a quick refresher, here’s a couple shots of my terra cotta birdhouses from a couple years back. Sadly, I don’t have any currently in my inventory, but this may be a great reminder to make more!!!

I stopped into the studio this morning to check on my kiln. My cone 04 kiln was “almost’ cool enough to unload. So I waited a few minutes while I put on gloves, and then tackled to warm kiln. I just couldn’t wait to unload my latest batch of terra cotta planters. These will be making their way to the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival this weekend.

Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival
Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center
201 Schaumburg Court in Schaumburg, Illinois
Saturday, May 24th & Sunday, May 25th, 2014 – 10:00am-5:00pm

And the other kiln was still firing… my cone 6 kiln was near the top temperature and the peeps were glowing orange!!!

With the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival drawing close, I’m in the final stretch and trying to squeeze in as much as I can. And at this point in the game, you gotta love low-fire terra cotta projects that can be fired once in an electric kiln. So it’s down to the wire… make, make, make… trying to make as many as I can, and get them dried in time to get them safely into the kiln… and back out in time for the art fair next weekend. The sides are set for this batch, next up… bottoms & rims! Then onto another batch!!!

In my last bisque firing, I finally fired the terra cotta mugs that AJ & Lizzie made when they were in my studio a couple weeks ago.

I feel bad that it took so long to fire them… I’m sure the anticipation is killing them!!! I think they turned out great, and they should be thrilled to get their mugs!!!

Tonight I had two little visitors stop by my studio.
My friend Kristen brought her two kids for an afternoon of clay fun. We decided to make mugs with AJ and Lizzy. AJ has played in the studio before so he was incrdibly excited to be coming back. This was Lizzy’s first trip in, but was quick to jump right in. We started by throwing ourt some slabs, and then they “refined” them with rolling pins… and such focus!!!

We then decided that they should press their names into the clay. AJ had done a clay project at a birthday party a couple weeks ago. And when he got his mug back after firing, it wasn’t his!!! Apparently, someone had written the kids names on the bottoms of the mugs before firing, and goofed up. He got someone else’s mug with is name on it. So this time, we were confident to NOT make that mistake again.

After they had stamped their names into the clay, it was time for other textures, patterns & details. Each of them worked very hard & stayed quite focused on their slabs.

Cute how they “almost” work together… with Lizzy always watching what AJ is doing!!!

Once their slabs were all decorated, it was time to turn them into cylinders. So a little scoring & slipping and we pressed the together.

AJ was a bit concerned that it might not hold together…

And when it did… the true AJ showed up again!!!

Then he scored & slipped the bottom of his cylinder so he could attach the mug’s bottom.

While Lizzy was a bit concerned about getting dirty.

Much better after a bit of handwashing!!!

After handles were attached, it was time to start painting. It’s a special underglaze-glaze-combo that is great for kid’s projects. You can paint it on leatherhard clay, let it dry, fire it once and you’re done!!! So they continued to focus as they painted with great detail.

When Lizzy thought she was done painting her mug, apparently she thought it was time to start painting her fingers?!!! Not so concerned about being dirty anymore, huh?

So here they are… two masterpiece mugs!!!
Of course, they could use a bit of touching up and a bit of cleaning around the bottom. But they were thrilled… and now very anxious to get their mugs back after firing!!!

Here’s AJ’s mug…

C’mon… just look at AJ’s tiger!!! Adorable!!!

And here’s Lizzy’s mug!

Nothing like waiting for the last minute… err, day of the month.
That’s my Sarah. Waiting to the last minute to finish her ornament for the month. But once again, it was definitely worth the wait. Here’s Sarah Chapman‘s entry in our monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge. With just two hours left of September, she made it in “just” in time!!!

According to Sarah, “It’s a fringy bell for September!
Polished copper ribbons curled and held together with a wee bit of sterling silver.”

Meanwhile, back in my studio, I’ve been making a lot of gingerbread men for my September entry on the Holiday Ornament Challenge. They’re made out of terra cotta with some white underglaze & low-fire glazes. They’re pretty thin so I dried them on plastic grid so they would be less likely to warp.

And for the first time, my ornaments are actually DONE & FIRED before the end of the month!!! In fact, those of you who made it out to “Art In The Barn” have already seen them… and had a chance to purchase them already!!!