“Hybrid mugs” assembled, trimmed & handled… and the MKM Pottery Tools that did most of the hard work. Sure, I might have had a tiny-something to do with it too?! But having good tools always makes it more fun!!!

Always fun to be trimming in the studio with some great pottery tools… like my trimming tools from DiamondCore Tools & Giffin Grip. The perfect combo when spinning & trimming!!!

Getting ready to tackle another batch of “hybrid mugs” with some of my favorite MKM Pottery Tools. Great hand rollers for making textured slabs before I turn them into fun mugs!

After the class discussion & demo about sgraffito, my SURFACE DECORATION class set-off to decorate their own pieces. The goal was to get crisp clean lines & patterns carved through the dark layer of slip or underglaze to reveal the lighter clay body. They really enjoyed using my collection of DiamondCore Tools to get some crisp & clean carving lines. The perfect way to let their creative expressions reveal themselves!

For my SURFACE DECORATION class last week, we tackled some sgraffito… decorative carving through a contrasting color layer to reveal the lighter clay body color below! We talked about a few techniques & tricks… and then I started carving a couple of my platters as a demo… and soon enough they were ready to tackle their own pieces! Good thing I had my DiamondCore Carving Tools ready for some crisp clean lines… that also made some pretty cool “zebra” layered clippings!

Sparkly & clean… brand new sgraffito carving tools from DiamondCore Tools. Thanks for making such great tools with sharp edges & comfy handles. I’ve been “hoarding” these new tools in my studio for a little while… but figured it was finally time to break them out to share with my SURFACE DECORATION class. They all assumed they would be doing sgraffito with their own regular trimming tools… but it was a great surprise for them to give these fantastic tools a test drive!!!

And another nice little “perk” from the nice folks at DiamondCore?…
all of their carving tools come with an “extra” spare blade!!!

Last Thursday night seemed like the “perfect” night to break out my newest batch of DiamondCore Carving Tools! Even more perfect as I got to share them with my students…

After stamping the stacked vase, I had to do a little trimming on the bottom. Thankfully I have my Giffin Grip which helped support the vase upside-down while I was trimming!

Time to make some berry bowls… so much easier with a power drill to do the “heavy lifting”!!! Plus, the range of drill bits gives you a good selection of hole diameters!

Trimming some bowls with the perfect combo of trimming tools… my favorite trimming tool from DiamondCore Tools & my Giffin Grip. One holds ’em tight, and the other trims them smooth. Makes my job easy… even when my trimming tool blade is wearing thin. One of the benefits of DiamondCore Tools is that they remain sharp even while wearing down… and oh, but wait there’s more.. they even send you a replacement blade to switch out when this one eventually dies. But I still have a good amount of trimming with this one before that happens…