And hopefully… everyone will want to buy a ceramic berry bowl this Spring!!!
So today I spent the day at the studio turning the stamped bowls into berry bowls.
I trimmed the foot, then pierced the bottom with drainage holes. Once they were done,
I needed to find a place to let them dry… so I used “The Annex.”

“The Annex”… which is my friend Karen Patinkin’s empty studio which I so kindly refer to
as “The Annex” every time I need to “sneak” in and borrow her empty table top. So while
she’s off traveling somewhere in Timbuktu (literally) and won’t be back for awhile. It’s the
perfect place for me to dry the berry bowls! She’ll never know… unless she reads my blog?!

So now that they are drying… I need to make the saucer to go under each one!
Small plates with the same fluted rim treatment – no stamping, just keeping ‘em simple!

Also, I have found another great tool for making the holes in the bottom well-spaced and even.
I used to just guess visually and hope for the best. Some would work, some would be a little
wonky. This simple plastic disc has made all the difference in the world. They come in different
sizes, but this little size works great for me. It came as a set of two… one disc is divided into
even-numbered segments, the other disc is divided into odd-numbered segments. There are
little holes in the plastic to help mark the pot with even spacing before you actually go in
to cut the holes. Evenly spaced every time!

If you’re interested in getting your own disks, they cone from MKM Pottery Tools.
Phone (920) 205-2701 – or e-mail to:  mkmtools@sbcglobal.net

Well, here it is, finally… ceramic artist Kristen Kieffer has created her very first
instructional DVD showcasing her incredible surface decoration techniques.
I’ve been a fan of her intricate work for a long time, and just purchased my DVD
this morning. I can’t wait to get it…

To purchase your own copy, go to FilmBaby.com and search for Kristen Kieffer.
Or just click here!

As the summer art fair season comes looming ever closer, day by day, week by week…
I’m trying to get a head start on my studio production. Focusing on producing more work
instead of lollygagging and letting the days slip by. So tonight I stopped in the studio
to stamp all of the bowls I threw on Wednesday. They were a little damp, but I stamped
anyway… sadly, too wet to trim. That will have to wait until tomorrow…

So… on the first night of my Beginning Wheelthrowing class, I asked my students
what they hoped to get out of class. What they wanted to learn. What they wanted
to make. One of my brand new beginners said she wanted to make a butter dish.
I explained to Abby that they are typically handbuilt, and not wheelthrown…
but I was willing to take on the challenge! Last night, we tackled the butter dish!

But before I could teach it… I had to learn how to make them myself!
I had never made them before and questioned how to make them “my own.”
So with some measurements, some textures and some basic handbuilding skills…
these are the first two! The first “prototypes” now in the drying stage.

By the way… Abby made her first butter dish last night – and was VERY excited!!!

With my bathroom remodeling now complete, it has taken a little time to get used to
the changes. New colors. New tiles. New toilet. New towels. New vanity. New sink height.
New taller shower stall door that I no longer hit my head on when I get in & out everyday!
It’s the little things that make me happy… plus all of the textures to enjoy as well.
Including one of my favorite cups by fellow potter & friend Cory McCrory!

Snow-covered cars… a brief warm-up… a “roll” of snow sliding down a windshield.
Beautiful. Unexpected. And sadly, not going to last very long with today’s temps!

After another great class last night with my “not-so-beginners-anymore”…
where we played with some stamping, faceting, texturing and had some more fun with slip…
we even made slip squiggles in our bowls. So in the studio today, I continued to “squiggle”
and made a few more bowls!

Notice the icicles “sprouting” out along the top of the bike rack at a crazy wind-blown angle!!!

Another scenic stop along the lake… to see a wacky “forest” of colored trees!
Orange on the bottom, yellow on the top! A wonderful winter installation against the snow.
There’s about a hundred of these great trees creating this colorful “forest” along
Lake Shore Drive, just south of Lincoln Park Zoo at the south end of the lagoon!

With the sun shining today, it was a great day for another bike ride along the lake.
A little chilly, but at least the bike trail was relatively dry. So with several layers on,
I set out for a great bike ride along Lake Michigan. Only to find… glaciers?!