A little glimpse into the care packages… looks like a LOT of fun textures to me!!!

I simply LOVE when surprise care packages arrive in my studio…
especially when they’re new texture tools all the way from Poland!!!

Layered with black slip, and then carved through with a v-tip carving tool
by DiamondCore Tools. Another quick sgraffito bowl in the studio.

Berry bowls here we come!!!
And who doesn’t want to play with power tools in the studio? The quicker & cleaner way to drill holes in bowls is with an actual power drill. Go figure!

So I start by marking where the holes will go with my MKM Decorating Disks. They help even space out the holes so you know where to drill. Then you just let it rip!!!

The clay will fly up and leave behind some burrs which are easy to brush off after they dry a bit. A couple minutes and a stiff paintbrush… and maybe a bit of smoothing.

With a little brushing & smoothing, your berry bowls will be done in no time! So much faster & easier than cutting them out by hand. So much so… that this power drill tip was actually featured in Ceramics Monthly!!! Click here to see the article!

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Swung by my friend Pam’s metalsmithing studio this afternoon.
She’s working on a bunch of pieces… but I’m not quite sure where?!
Quite a different set-up from a potter’s studio.
The one thing in common?… lots & lots of tools!!!

So what does YOUR studio look like?

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So while those freshly-thrown bowls are stiffening up a bit, I thought I’d do a little carving on one of the bowls from my class bowl demo. So with some banded areas of green slip on B-Clay that has dried to leatherhard, I set out with my Zebra Tool from Diamond Core Tools.

This one is my favorite… it’s the #P1 V-Tip Pencil Carver.
Nice sharp blades give clean lines and a beautiful v-shaped incision cut.

Okay, so I’m kinda regretting carving in the center. I think I liked it a lot better before I messed it up?!

Just a “small collection” of wire tools in my studio. You know. Just in case.

And thanks to Jon aka “Joe Bowl-a” for the photo…
and for not mocking me too much!

Just making some new stamps for the next set of pots coming soon. And for the first time, I decided to see what would happen if I tried my new carving tools from DiamondCore Tools for stamp-making?! Huge potential here with these great tools… I just think I need to let the clay stiffen up more & go bigger!!! No time to be timid with sharp Zebra Tools from DiamondCore!!!

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Now I’ve got to say how much I LOVE my pegboard… always have, always will…
but methinks it might be time for a big cleaning to kick-off the New Year.

Is there such a thing as too many pottery tools?!

Christmas seems to have come a bit early with a new set of pottery tools by Diamond Core Tools. I can’t wait to get back into the studio after the holidays to really give them all a test drive! I love my first group of tools… so I have HIGH expectations for these ones too! They’re the sharpest & cleanest carving tools I’ve ever tried!! The perfect Christmas gift for any potter or ceramic artist.

Click here to go to their website for a wide selection of carving tools…
as well as other grinding, smoothing, and finishing tools.