Like little soldiers ready to go into battle…
my new salt & pepper shakers are all lined up and ready to be glazed.

And since my soda kiln is loading this Friday night and firing on Saturday…
no better time to get started, huh?

The weather may have been miserable today… too cold & rainy to play outside…
so I had some “quality time” to make some new pots in the studio!
“Hope springs eternal”… or, based on today’s weather… Spring hopes eternal!!!
Either way… Spring is in the air… so it’s time for some new flower pots!!!

They’ve been thrown and stamped… now they just need to be trimmed, have drainage
holes pierced through, slip decorated, dried, fired, glazed and fired again!
Just in time for those summer plants on your back porch or windowsill!

Looking for something fun to do this Spring?
Longing to get your hands dirty – but don’t have a garden to play in?

The new Spring Session of classes starts next week at Lillstreet Art Center.
Mark your calendar as my class starts next Tuesday, March 24th, 2009.
I will once again be teaching my class on Tuesday nights from 7:00-10:00pm.
My class is Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing.
It’s a 10-week class that meets every Tuesday night for three hours. You’ll learn
the basics of wheelthrowing and every step along the way to your finished pots!
Whether you are a complete novice, or an experienced beginner, this is the class
for you. We’re all very low-key, very social and very fun!

Lillstreet Art Center offers some of the best clay opportunities in Chicago!
In addition to your scheduled class session, you also get open studio time at Lillstreet
seven days a week – what a great chance to play inside & practice slinging mud!
So if you’ve ever wanted to play in the mud and make some pots…
it’s still not to late to sign up for classes at Lillstreet Art Center.

Registration is easy – just register online at www.lillstreet.com.
But hurry… my class generally fills up quickly.
Avoid the waiting list… register today!

My niece Taylor turns four tomorrow… and a talented new ceramic artist!
To celebrate the big day, she stopped by the studio today to play in the clay
and make some art. Mom & Dad came with… and they got their fingers dirty too!

We started with terra cotta plates – press molded into Chinet paper plates
as molds. She rolled small balls and pressed them flat into the mold. After
filling the plate and smoothing her edges, it was time to press patterns & letters
into the surface. And then paint it with colored underglazes!

After the plates… she was very excited about trying to throw on the wheel.
I tried to explain that we typically don’t start teaching kids wheelthrowing until they are
eight years old. But she would hear none of it. She was determined. She was on a mission.
She dove right in with reckless abandon unafraid of the mess & splatter!

So once we cleaned up, she opened her birthday presents and we went out for pizza.
As the day wore on, she understandably wore out. It was a big day for our little artist.
Yet a very fun day in the studio for everyone… splash… splatter… and smiles!!!
Even a few “stool races” up & down the hallway outside my studio!!!

Spice it up with textures & tiles…
and trying to combine the two into new salt & pepper shakers!

So I’ve been working on a new batch of shakers that combine the textures
of my tiles, the soda fired colors & flashing – with the functionality of
salt & pepper shakers! They’re still in the works… with trays to come!

Once the shakers are built, I’m applying a thin coat of soda slip on some
of them to give them different colors & flashing effects to be created in the
soda firing atmosphere. Seen below before & after…

Back in the studio… making oval vases again.
First thrown as a bottomless cylinder, then squished into an oval, then
the floor is added… and then ready to be stamped! It’s ovals… before & after!

One of my favorite things to make… mugs!

Many potters despise the process; mostly because of their fear of handles.
But I enjoy making the smaller, personal items that become part of people’s
everyday rituals. The morning coffee, the winter’s hot chocolate, the cup of tea
for those feeling under the weather… or in my case… ice cold grape pop!!!

So I’ve spent the past few days working in the studio on a new batch of mugs.
Nothing fancy – just trying to get back into the swing of things and restock
the “art fair inventory.” And I thought I would try to show you some of the steps
along the way.

First, I start by throwing the basic cylinder shapes. I prefer to work
in “batches” instead of singles. I like the production aspect of it all.
Creating a quantity of something… then moving on to the next.

When they are a fairly damp “leather-hard” I begin the stamping decoration.
I make my own stamps out of a piece of clay. I roll it into a coil, carve a pattern
into both ends and bisque the stamp. One stamp pressed in repeatedly can create
a wonderful pattern around the cups. The trick is to get the pattern to line up
when you get back to where you started!!!

After they are stamped, the bottoms are trimmed. It’s a fairly simple process
where you turn the cylinder upside down on the wheel, center it, attach it,
and then trim away the excess clay while it is spinning. Think of it as very
similar to a wood lathe. Spinning fast, trimming fast. Trimming helps remove
the excess clay where it attached to the wheel, as well as allowing me to trim out
the bottom to create a finished looking foot ring.

After trimming, the handles are pulled and allowed to stiffen up.
Once they are no longer sticky, wet or mushy, I can apply them
to the side of the cylinders to create a “not-quite-so-instant” mug!

To attach the handles, I cut out the section of the strap that I need…
then scratch & slip both the ends of the strap and the attachment points.
The scratching works like Velcro, the slip works like clay glue. Together,
it creates a strong bond when attaching clay to clay.

After attaching the handles, I take a few extra moments to smooth them out
and give them a finished look. I then set the mugs aside and cover them with
plastic to help them dry more slowly. I like to keep them covered for at least a day
to help the moisture level of the mug and handle equalize a bit before full drying.

Once the mugs are done and all handles are attached, I will paint some colored slip
on the mugs that are going to be soda-fired. The colored slip will help add some color
to the final mugs – as well as reacting to the soda environment of the kiln to create
some wonderful flashing effects.

After slip painting, the mugs are allowed to dry slowly. They then need to be bisque fired
to approximately 1850-degrees. This makes them hard yet porous. Next they are glazed,
wadded and fired again. The final soda firing takes around 13 hours to reach the top
temperature of 2350-degrees. The kiln will cool for a full day, and be unloaded the next.

All of that for a simple mug.

As 2008 comes to an end – and people are making plans for 2009…
there are resolutions to be made, resolutions to be broken…
plans to change yourself, plans to improve yourself…
how about making plans to just have some fun & get dirty?!

The new Winter Session of classes starts next week at Lillstreet Art Center.
Mark your calendar – my class starts next Tuesday, January 6th, 2009.
I will once again be teaching my class on Tuesday nights from 7:00-10:00pm.
My class is Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing.
It’s a 10-week class that meets every Tuesday night for three hours. You’ll learn
the basics of wheelthrowing and every step along the way to your finished pots!
So if you’ve never thrown on a potter’s wheel… or are looking to refine your basic skills…
or haven’t touched clay since High School… this is the class for you!

In addition to the Tuesday class session, you also get open studio time at Lillstreet
seven days a week – what a great chance to play inside & practice slinging mud!
So if you’ve ever wanted to play in the mud and make some pots…
or have been forever-enamored by that darn scene in “Ghost”…
it’s still not to late to sign up for classes at Lillstreet Art Center.

Registration is easy – just register online at www.lillstreet.com.
But hurry… my class typically fills up quickly. Don’t be left out with clean hands!!!

Once again, the “Empty Bowls” project at Lillstreet Art Center was a great success.
Thanks to the efforts of Joanna Kramer who organized the event, an astounding $10,865
was raised in just one night. I would like to think that my donation of a dozen bowls
helped make a difference.

“Empty Bowls” is a nationwide philanthropic effort by potters around the country
to raise money for the homeless & hungry in the country. By donating handmade
ceramic bowls, the potters are helping raise awareness and money for the cause.
At the event, people can purchase these “empty bowls” for $20 and then get it filled
with soup & bread donated by First Slice Cafe. They then get to keep the bowl
as a symbolic reminder of their generous support of the cause.

Thank you to all the potters & bowl shoppers who make this event a success nationwide!

So this past weekend was my annual Holiday Home Show.
And I would like all of my faithful customers for making it a rousing success!
It was great to see so many familiar faces hanging out & relaxing in my place.

With pots in every room of my condo, it was a great kick-off for the holiday shopping
season. Some rushed in with shopping list in tow. Others were just there to browse.
Either way, it was great to see everyone having fun & enjoying the holiday ambiance.
Especially those who I’ve met this past summer on the art fair circuit
who finally got to come to my home and see my widest pottery selection to date!
Always more work displayed at the Home Show than I can squeeze into my 10’x10′ tent.
Plus, many people took time to admire my tile wall… all 2,894 tiles of it!

Plus, the ever-popular “Tired Of Shlepping Sale” drew rave reviews by many bargain
shoppers. The shelves were filled with pieces I’m tired of “shlepping” around
to all of the art fairs, plus some class demo pieces… and a few with minor damage
or “kisses” from the kiln – a few drips, a couple chunks from the kiln ceiling.
With great discount pricing, these sale racks are always a big draw! You should have
seen the gridlock surrounding the clearance shelves first thing Saturday morning!!!

Thanks again to everyone who found time to fit my Home Show into their hectic schedule.
And mark your calendar now for next year… it’s ALWAYS the weekend before Thanksgiving!!!