This morning was gorgeous. Everything was covered with a sheet of ice.
The trees. The sidewalks. My car.

While most people were complaining about the hassle & danger…
I was busy appreciating the incredible beauty of it all. Loving the textures
and the way it defracted everything behind the glass of my windshield!

Last night at the studio, I finally got around to adding the textured rims around
the top of my new planters. Coil, attach, texture. Coil, attach, textures. Repeat.

Today I’m headed back to the studio to add feet and drainage holes… and then start
on the water drainage trays that will go with this batch of planters! After the online
discussion about the last batch, the response was mixed as to whether or not terra cotta
planters even need water trays?! So we all kind of decided to leave the first batch
“trayless” and make a second batch with trays. Then we’ll see how they sell…
and if there is a definitive answer after the first couple art fairs this spring?!

After the comments & discussions over the last batch of terra cotta planters,
the consensus was that I should leave the first batch as it was. Tray-free.
And then make a second batch with drip trays! So that’s where I’m at.
Tonight I started constructing the textured terra cotta planters. Walls done.
Bottoms added before I left for the night… finishing details in the next couple days!

This afternoon I unloaded my electric kiln full of terra cotta – and some new stamps!
So my first kiln of the New Year is finally done. And everything turned out great!
I especially love the rustic orange color of the terra cotta and the “antiqued” quality
that the black underglaze gives it.

So here’s my dilemma… In my head these were intended to be planters for outside
on your deck or patio. And I know that I don’t like my outdoor plants to have trays
as they collect water and sit in puddles after it rains. So I didn’t make water trays to match.
Should I have made matching trays?! A couple people at the studio have asked
about the trays – and now I’m kind of second-guessing myself. Keep in mind, that not
everyone would need the tray. But if I were to make trays to match, it not only means
I need to make trays to the correct sizes and keep them together as pairs, but it also
increases the price point by nearly double! Is it worth it?!

So my terra cotta trays & flower boxes are finally bone dry.
So tonight I decided it was time to “stain” them with some black underglaze.
I like the look of the unglazed terra cotta after it has been stained, colored &
antiqued a bit with some black underglaze rubbed into them.

I start with covering the entire piece with water-down black underglaze.
I then let it sit for just a few minutes and then gently wipe off the top surface.
Making sure to to wipe off too much, or too deeply. The idea is to leave some
underglaze in all of the grooves and indentations. Really making the textures
and patterns “pop” without having to cover the terra cotta beauty with glaze

Once they were all stained, I called it a night. They need to dry again completely
overnight. Tomorrow I’ll glaze the interiors with a low-fire brown glaze. They can
then be loaded into the kiln and fired once. If all goes as planned…
they should be done by this weekend. My first kiln of the new year!

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!

It’s been a long time since potter-extraordinaire Amy Higgason stopped by
my beginner’s pottery class for a demonstration night of carvings, textures & patterns!
I posted the pictures from her visit way back on October 19th… go back and check it out!
I had dinner tonight with Amy at my favorite restaurant as she’s hanging out in the
Chicago area visiting with her Mom for the holidays before she heads back up to the
Northwoods. She finally got to see all of “our” collaborative pots… and now so can you!

For those of you who may have missed it the first time, here’s a brief recap…
I started by throwing all of the bowls and trying to get them “dried” enough for trimming,
stamping, carving, sprigging and all of the other fun decorative techniques that Amy and I
like to do to our pots! Our intention was to show how five “matching plain” bowls can easily
be transformed into five completely different bowls with a few decorative techniques.
People have asked if they would get to see the finished pieces… so here they are!

Amy trimmed, carved, textured and sprigged this bowl which was then glazed
in Josh Green and Temoku interior.

And blue carved bowl… without the dots, without the sprigs… with a groovy,
“wave” pattern around the bottom. Glazed in Josh Blue with a light spray of Temoku,
then line glazed with Temoku.

And another carved bowl showing off some of Amy’s more “illustrative & organic” style.
Glazed with Josh Green outside – and a beautiful Shino inside.

Plus, a collaboration bowl where I stamped, she carved, I squared & stamped again…
then liner glazed & inlaid glaze with Temoku and soda-fired for the final effect.

And the fifth bowl that I stamped in my own style then glazed with Josh Blue
and a slight spray-over of Temoku… and a nice, creamy Antique White inside.
Complete with Amy-inspired stylish foot-ring indentations!

So there’s the final chapter in my collaboration class & bowl demo with Amy Higgason.
We’re already talking about future projects. And trying to get Amy back to Lillstreet for
some sort of future workshops & demonstrations!!!

Remember, you can always check out more of Amy’s “solo” work at Pigeon Road Pottery.
www.PigeonRoadPottery.com

Today I did some grocery shopping for party snacks. And then have been making
“ClayQuilts” all day – hoping to finish them and have ’em all dry by the weekend.
Tiles, tiles, tiles. Hundreds of tiles!!!

As I was running in & out today, trying to get out on my bike to enjoy the beautiful
Indian Summer weather, I turned quickly and noticed this dramatic shadow cast across
some new “ClayQuilt” tile boards I recently finished. Amazing what a little light can do…

This afternoon in the studio, I tried to “finish up” all of Amy’s demo pieces from last night.
A little touching-up, a little cleaning, a little trimming – and now they’re drying! I also took
some time to stamp the plate that I made last night as part of my “scheduled” class demo.
So now, that too is drying, but just to the point where I can trim it!