So here’s your first sneak peek at Cory McCrory’s textured beauties for ART IN THE GARDEN! Even without her whimsical colors, these handbuilt flowers are looking INCREDIBLE!!! I can’t wait to see them once Cory adds her fun colors & stains! I’m thinking that maybe these flowers are going to need a fun textured wall vase to hold them… oh wait… I “might” know something about that too?!!!

Well THIS can’t be good?!!!

While I was glazing a bunch of class demo pieces, I went to dunk this flower pot into the glaze bucket using the tongs. And when I pulled it back out, I saw THIS!!! Sure, flower pots should have some good drainage holes, but this is ridiculous. I guess the area where the stamped impressions are was a bit too thin for the pressure of the tongs lifting the pot out of the bucket?!

Shoulda stayed away from that part apparently… well, maybe next time?!

So while I was soda-firing all day yesterday, I also took some time to clean-off my teacher shelves, do a little wipe-down & tackle the piles of bisque! My students all know that glazing is my least favorite part of the process… so my class demo pieces tend to pile up. Sometimes for several sessions! So yesterday I finally glazed everything (except for the platters… let’s not get crazy!) while I was there firing.

Sure, I might not have been too “creative” with my glaze choices… but at least they’ll be done! And making room for NEW demo pots when we start the class session in a week!

So my soda firing went quite smoothly yesterday. I started early in the morning, body reduction early on… then glaze reduction later as I put the soda mixture into the kiln. You’ve gotta LOVE when the flames come shooting out every crack in between the bricks! So exciting. So mesmerizing!!!

Okay, so it turned out to be a late night Friday, but I finally got the soda kiln all loaded & the door bricked up for the night. Then it was home for a quick sleep… so I could return early yesterday morning to start the firing!

It took a couple hours Friday night, but I finally got my pots stacked in the soda kiln. I tried my best and fit “almost” everything in… just a few stragglers that didn’t quite fit in the end. Guess they’ll just have to wait until my next firing in October?!

An empty soda kiln full of possibilities…

Plenty of pots & pumpkins… all glazed, wadded & ready for the soda kiln. The masking tape is just a little “seat belt” to keep everything in place on the shelves as I bring my cart form my studio downstairs on the rickety freight elevator! Spent my Friday night loading the kiln… after the last day of Summer Camp!!!

Beautiful purple clematis blooming in our back courtyard…
a bright spot on a gloomy gray day.

Well, there’s supposed to be a skyline in there somewhere?!!! Apparently not so much today. Dark, cloudy & a little misty in places. Not the best weather for those out riding “Bike The Drive’ this morning… as I was wondering why all of the Lake Shore Drive entrances were blocked off with blue flashing police lights this morning as I started my dark “lack-of-sunrise” ride???