A bit chilly outside today, so I stayed inside taking a bunch of pottery photos with my little “photo booth” set-up… in my kitchen!!!

With this whole self-isolation lock-down thing going on, we couldn’t celebrate Gerry’s birthday together today! Yet I felt somehow “obligated” to celebrate from here… so I “just had to” make some brownies & topped with my favorite ice cream… and a candle just to make it “official.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GERRY… I was there in spirit… and in brownies!!!

Just like something out of “The Wizard Of Oz”…
a bucket of water takes down the Wicked Witch of the West!!!
Well, it didn’t take a bucket… and there wasn’t a witch…
but there was a lot of MELTING!!!

So when I was loading my bisque kiln, I was loading boards full of pieces into the kiln. Many of the boards had been stored in the kiln room for a couple weeks… to dry out… as well as to get them out of my small studio space! Some of them have been there for a couple days… some for a couple weeks.

To my surprise… when I took down a board of twelve mugs from the top shelf… and found that “something” had happened to a few of them. They looked weird, and it took some time for me to process what had occured.

Apparently, there was some sort of water dripping down onto them over time. That’s the best solution I’ve come up with. There’s a electrical pipe running along the ceiling about an inch from the corner. Which I think would lineup with the drip marks on the mugs. Yes… if you look closely… I believe this is “erosion” from repeated water drips falling on them!

It had to be happening for awhile… as you can also see drips on the wall! And the amount of “melting” is kinda crazy… I think this must have been going on for quite some time! And since it was on the top shelf and out of eye-sight… who knew?!

You can actually see where there’s an actual hole all the way RIGHT THRU the bottom of the mug!!!… drip… drip… drip… kinda like Chinese Water Torture during the War!!!

Luckily, the mugs can just be broken up and reclaimed again… IT’S JUST CLAY, right?! And I’ve learned a valuable lesson… no more greenware storage on the top shelf… at least not pushed all the way back… until we find out why water might be dripping from an electrical pipe?! Now THAT doesn’t sound good either, right?!

Desperate times call for desperate measures! So glad to see that my friend Julie has been taking care of herself & staying healthy with a little “retail therapy!” And supporting artists & local businesses at the same time! Thank You so much Julie… we all appreciate it! Distinct bath & body, Bachor pothole art… and ME!!!

Okay, now that that succulent diversion is completed,
back to the task at hand. Packing up some pottery pieces to ship out today… or maybe tomorrow if I trip upon another tangent today?! No promises.

So here I am still showing off some of my pottery collection! Here’s another kitchen cabinet with my Steven Hill dinnerware set. Long story… it’s all here on my blog if you just do a quick search for Steven Hill… I never thought I was going to get it… it was a long time coming… but Steven pulled through, and “surprised” me with these beauties!

Great glazes. Great pottery. Great guy!!!
Thanks Steven!

And let’s not get crazy… while THOSE mugs might be “for show” as part of my collection… I do have PLENTY of pottery to use everyday!!! Some of my own, and a lot of other friends, former teachers & potters I admire!

So it has come to this… yesterday I did my first no-contact pottery delivery! I rode my bike up into Evanston to drop off two mugs for a customer who bought them online. I took all the precautions, wore gloves & my “mask”… we chatted from about 20-feet away… and then I pedaled away! All good, but… I MISS ART FAIRS!!! I miss seeing & interacting with my customers! Some day soon, I hope!

Looks like my friend Pam made herself a healthy & yummy dinner last night while self-isolating… and I’m sure that eating it out of one of my bowls only made better!!!

If any of you have been enjoying my pottery in your new “quarantined life”… I would love to see a photo! Please send a few pics to my email – gary@firewhenreadypottery.com. Thanks, be safe, be healthy!

Okay, so we’ve all become so accustomed to Mugshot Monday…
so let’s try something new… as I’ll be switching it up a bit.
Why not make it a “Mug-SHOP Monday” for this coming Monday?!

Monday morning at 10:00am CST I will be posting a photo album on Facebook with a dozen handmade mugs that are going up for sale! I don’t do a lot of online selling… but I figure right about now you’ve gotten tired of that old, boring mug you’ve been sequestered with. Might be time for a NEW ONE!!!

So check out my Facebook Fire When Ready Pottery page
at 10:00am CST on Monday, March 30, 2020. The first person to claim a mug as “MINE” in the Comments section of each page of the Photo Album will get that mug! Each mug will be $55 which includes shipping & handling within the contiguous United States. Easy enough right?… presuming that USPS plays along and we’re still allowed to ship things out during this crisis!

So here’s a SNEAK PEAK of the twelve mugs going up for sale on Monday. Remember, there is no shopping from this preview…
that can only be done Monday morning on my Facebook page… click here!

Mug A –

Mug B –

Mug C –

Mug D –

Mug E –

Mug F –

Mug G –

Mug H –

Mug I –

Mug J –

Mug K –

Mug L –