So I recently saw the calendar… and realized that it’s later in the summer than I thought!
My summer camp “tour of duty” has come to an end and now I need to get my studio
production back into high gear if I want to be ready for the fall art fairs! So tonight it was
back to the wheel… with another batch of cylinders that will soon become mugs!!!

The weekend weather had been incredible. Sunny. Warm. Rain-free!!!
And I’m been playing more… more… more… outside all day, inside at night!
Including a night in the studio stamping the cylinders that I made Friday night.

After stamping in the studio, I also went downstairs into the classroom and did some
very long-overdue glazing of my class demo pieces. For those who have been around
Lillstreet, many of you have seen my class demo on glazing. And how I tend to bring out
a bunch of my bisque, show ’em how to wax the bottoms… and then end up talking far
too much!!! So much “new” information to share with the Beginners. So many tips.
So many warnings. So much excitement. But after all the fun, I generally only glaze like
one piece during the demo, and then everything goes back onto my teacher shelf. After
a couple sessions, my pile of “unglazed” class demos was taking over my shelf. And with
the new Summer Session starting this week, it was imperative to make room for the new
class. So I glazed… and glazed… and glazed… my least favorite part of the process…

With a crazy storm brewing outside last night, I was tucked away safely inside
my studio trying to finish up my latest batch of mugs… unaware of everything
going on outside until the huge chinks of hail started hitting the windows.
So after I ran downstairs to play in the hail, it was all work until the mugs were done.
Yes… the cylinders I threw quite awhile ago… and stamped quite awhile ago…
and trimmed quite awhile ago… and have been spraying down daily to keep “workable.”
So tonight was the night… hail or no hail.

So I pulled a lot of handles to go onto the “plastic protected” cylinders…
let them set-up a bit and then set out to the attaching. Later that night… MUGS!!!

I had several comments on Facebook when I posted a picture of a class demo oval
that I made with a stamped & fluted rim. So I thought I would go ahead and re-create
the demo in a photo version for those who couldn’t make it into my class!!!

The first thing you need to make a simple oval is to throw a bottomless cylinder.
The the choice is yours… a decorative fluted rim or plain?! For this demo, I chose fluted.
So just before finishing it off, I take a pointed wood tool and literally split the rim
into two equal sides. These two “sides” of the rim will be converted to the fluting.

Once the bottomless cylinders are thrown, they need to set-up a bit before stamping.
These ones I wrapped in plastic overnight, and they were still just a bit stickier than
I would have liked. When I came back the next night, I carefully re-wired them off the bat
and formed them into the oval shape I was looking for. In this case, a nice oval casserole.
Still a little too sticky, but I went ahead… and stamped away with reckless abandon!!!

I then use the spacing of the stamped pattern to determine where the fluting will occur.
I take another stamp with a smoothed edge and literally press it into the outer rim until
it meets and attaches to the inner rim. It’s that easy, as long as your cylinder is still wet
and sticky enough for them to join back together. Make sure your cylinder is still on the
“wetter” side of leatherhard so that when you press the two rims together they will stick.

And if a few stamps are nice, even more stamps are better. So I went even further and
added another row of stamps, this time smaller, to add another nuance to the pattern.

And then, just for fun… I used the same little stamp to create a little interior stamp detail
where each of the fluted sections connected. Feel free to stop stamping anywhere along
the way… if you can. It’s kind of addicting…

So now, you’ve got a decorated oval or two… without a bottom! Set them aside
and let them stiffen up a little more while you move on to the next step.

While your ovals are open to the air and stiffening up, throw a slab of the same clay
and the same thickness as your oval. Then carefully place your decorated oval-cylinder
on top of the slab and “trace” around it with a needle tool. The remove the cylinder.

With a metal fork, I go around and score deeply just inside of the traced line. I also flip
the cylinder over and very carefully score the bottom of the cylinder too. Then it’s a row
of slip on top of the slab scoring. Gently place the oval on top and line up your scoring.
Gently press them together until some of the slip squishes out. I then carefully flip them
back over again and use a thin wooden spoon to “paddle” them together… creating a little
angle on the edge, as well as sealing the seam very tightly.

Once you have the bottom & edge all cleaned up, you can carefully flip it back over again
and smooth out the interior seam. Hopefully you’ve got a tight connection and a clean line
to smooth together inside. As this is a larger oval, I decided to add a handle on each of the
ends of the oval. If someone is going to actually cook in this casserole dish, the handles
will make it more functional and easier to pull in & out of the oven. Again, be sure to
score & slip, press it together and smooth out your edges.

And there it is! A finished oval ready to start drying slowly. I want all of the parts to find
a sort of “moisture-equilibrium” before I let it start drying. So I keep it wrapped under
plastic overnight. Then, I unwrap the plastic loosely for the next couple days. Then it’s
fully unwrapped, drying and ready to go into the bisque kiln.

Good luck with your ovals… and if you have any questions, please let me know!
And remember, the same decorative technique can also be used on other shapes.

Tonight I worked in the studio on some new ovals with the stamped & fluted rim.
The last time I showed pictures of a similar piece on Facebook, there were a lot
of comments & questions about it. So not only have I been making more ovals,
but I’ve also been trying to take step-by-step pictures along the way. The ovals
are in mid-production… but still waiting for the bottoms to be added tomorrow!
Once I get them all put together, detailed & finished off – I promise to do a great
step-by-step blog post for everyone to see. But if you can’t wait… here’s a teaser!

Ready for more drying… Ready for trimming… Ready for handles…
Then more drying… firing… glazing… firing… more… more.. more!

Tonight I worked on the mug cylinders I threw last night…
they were still a little sticky, so I threw some more pieces while they dried up a bit.
But then they were finally ready to be stamped… so I did!

Well, we’re two art fairs into the season… and it’s already time to start
replenishing inventory. So why not start with my favorite?… MUGS!!!
So last night I started by throwing the basic cylinders in assorted shapes.
Every time I try some new shapes, but frequently end up back to the tried & true!
I throw them all on small square bats, and then move them onto ware boards
after they’ve set-up a bit… need to make table space for more work, right?!

Tonight I will so some stamping if they’ve dried up enough to no longer be sticky.
I love the stamping part because that’s when they really come alive with personality!
Then the trimming… handles.. firing… glazing… firing again… and so on…

In “It’s A Wonderful Life” every time a bell rings, and angel gets his wings.

Somehow, I feel the same about my vases.
Once they finally get some flowers in them… they finally become a… well…
err… ahh… they become a “real” vase!

Tonight I brought some more flowers into the studio that I found in the dumpster
at the “glitter gig.” The flowers still have some life in them, and a couple of my vases
needed to have their destinies fulfilled!!! Mission accomplished…

So part of the fun of this weekend is seeing a lot of great pots…
or meeting the artists… being inspired by their talent… their attitude… the pots!
But another great part is being able to buy these great pots by these great potters
and adding them to my already overflowing pottery collection. It’s tough to choose
and limit myself while I’m there. It’s so easy to be swept up in the moment. So easy
to pick up every pot and yearn to take them all home. But I resisted that urge… kinda.

Matthew Metz plate… added to my large Matt Metz collection of mugs, jars & tumblers.

Dinner plates by Jo Severson… because food always tastes better off a real ceramic plate!

An adorable oval vase by Suze Lindsay… love the combination of texture, pattern & design.

A wonderful carved bowl by Ellen Shankin… love the color, and how the glaze pools.

Delores Fortuna finally made it into my “mug collection.”

As did my “new favorite” Ryan Greenheck – whose work is sheer perfection.
Not only is his surface decoration & glazing incredible, but his pieces are so well thrown,
trimmed and he’s paid attention to every detail – even the bottoms!

An I was excited to add Ryan Greenheck to the “mug collection” as well.

Plus… we love supporting potters of all levels… so it’s always a pleasure to stop in a shop
with The Rogue Potters who hang their shingle on the roadside hoping to grab a few shoppers
from the “real tour” to share their wares along the way.

So I added a beautiful, wood-fired shallow bowl by Randal Anderson to my collection…