After stamping, trimming & adding handles… I added some colored flashing slip accents to the latest batch of mugs! The band along the top with a smidge on the stamped impressions… and these slips will change colors during the soda firing!

There’s a whole lotta scoring & slipping going on as I continue to add details to the latest addition to The Ghouls Collection. Getting cuter & cuter with every piece I add on!!! Just hope they all get done in time for ART IN THE BARN?!!!

Made some good progress on the newest Ghoul today.
Still have a LONG ways to go… but for now, they’re under wraps for the night!

So now the soda kiln is empty once more… although I do still have some cleaning to do! Ugh. Gotta scrape the shelves, re-kiln wash them, clean the fire box & tidy up the kiln room. Ahhh… the glamorous side of soda-firing!

A beautiful firing in the new Lillstreet soda kiln! So excited with the colors, the glazes & flashing effects throughout the kiln. No dry spots. No gray “dolphin skin”. No glops from the soda. Just a lot of pretty pots… many of which will be going to ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend! Now I just need to clean ’em, price ’em & pack ’em!

So Friday night I loaded the soda kiln… layer by layer… brick by brick… pot by pot. It always takes longer than I think it will. But it’s important to think it through while loading to allow some air space & flow through the kiln for good soda exposure… while at the same time getting in as many pots as possible! The more pots you squeeze in, the more pots you can divide the kiln costs over. Can’t wait to see how these turn out… as many of them will be going to ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend!

Looks like Cory McCrory has started adding a splash of color to her pieces in her studio! Can’t wait to see how these get finished… and how they’ll work together with my parts of this collaboration project. One of the best parts of ART IN THE GARDEN is the collaborations between a bunch of talented friends! A fun grassroots art fair in Glenview, Illinois… coming soon on September 11th & 12th.

For more info in ART IN THE GARDEN… https://www.grassrootsartfair.com/

Working in the studio tonight after Summer Camp. Trying to get caught-up on a bunch of pieces that have been sitting around under plastic for awhile. Finally got around to stamping this platter that was a class demo piece last week. It”s always amazing to me to see how just one handmade stamp can make such a difference!

So now I’ve wiped off the top layer of tenmoku glaze so you can see the geometric shapes even better. I’ve also added the liner glaze to all of them. The request was for the colors to mimic the colors of the wedding… which is based off of a “fig.” Yes, the fruit. So we decided that the liner glaze would be a purpleish-plum color. Fingers crossed that they look good after the soda-firing!

So here’s a sneak peek at some of the commission mugs with geometric shaped stamps! Looks like I need to do a little more cleaning up on them as I start to set them out to dry… but then they should make it into a bisque kiln in the next couple days!!!