You know how I LOVE my Giffin Grip!
It’s such a wonderful pottery tool that makes centering & trimming so much easier! And I was banking on it for trimming all of the commission mugs! So imagine my surprise when I put it on the wheel and it wasn’t centered any more?!!! Apparently one of the black clips on the underside had cracked from over-use!

Luckily my studio neighbor was there… and tried to fix it for me with some plumber’s putty and a big vise clamp! I know they sell replacement parts, but we’re hoping this might work!!!

So I finally got around to trimming these new textured vases. They’ve been under plastic for quite awhile… as I did this demo with my SURFACE DECORATION class a couple weeks ago! We used some of my textured rollers from MKM Pottery Tools to press the pattern into a straight-sided cylinder… and then expanded them while throwing on the wheel. I’m intrigued by where this little texture journey might go… more to come!

Just a few of the new “wheelthrown-handbuilt-combo” mugs fresh out of the soda kiln! These are just a few of the orange ones… my favorite color! I’m loving the bright, clear color, the flash of soda-white that highlights the textures & the all-around-the-mug texture pattern! Many of the textured patterns were made with hand rollers from MKM Pottery Tools.

Methinks there’s a very good chance that a few of these might just make their “Big Debut” at the HINSDALE FINE ART SHOW this weekend.

And yes, I’m still looking for a clever name to call these new mugs!
Open to suggestions… please…

Tonight in my SURFACE DECORATION pottery class, we’re tackling a little sgraffito!!! I’ve got a couple surprises ready for them… and sharing my collection of DiamondCore Carving Tools for them to play with!!!

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE trimming?! Especially when you get such clean cuts, lines & smooth edges with my DiamondCore Tools!!! Spinning fast, ribbons of clay coming right off the pots… making cool spirals & piles of trimmings!

We’re nearing the end of the month…
and again, I’m looking for a little inspiration!

Trimming some bowls… and then THIS happened!
A wonderful little spiral of clay that curled around my DiamondCore trimming tool. For only a moment… and then it was cleaned off & back to the trimming at hand!

So I kinda forgot about this bowl… trimmed & under plastic… still a remainder from our first night of SURFACE DECORATION class! We started with an ombre’ blend of green & white slips… which could have been enough. But more is more, right?! So I finally finished it off today with some decorative carving using a P1 curved tip carving tool from DiamondCore Tools. So much better now!

Last night in class, one of my students brought in some cool new pottery tools to play with… more fun from DiamondCore Tools !!!

With her new trimming tool… and one of the NEWEST Extruder Tools! We just had to break open that box and give them a little test drive! Thanks for letting us play with your new toys Kate!