What better way to end out the year than with some studio cleaning, de-decorating
and turning out one last batch of reclaim clay?! Here’s to “free” clay in the New Year!!!

This morning started early with some stamping of the porcelain cylinders. Then some trimming… and then handles needed to be attached. So the afternoon was a porcelain process. A little more fidgety than stoneware… but still went pretty smoothly.

I started with nugget cubes of wedged porcelain. I don’t measure things…
I just “guess”, and hope, that each cube will be enough clay for the handle.

Then I take each piece and “slam it” against the table repeatedly. Rotating the piece each time until it becomes a carrot shaped wedge of clay.

Then I pull my handles the old-fashioned way. A bit of water. A lot of friction. And a slight childhood memory of milking cows by my Grandfather’s place in Missouri. As I finish pulling each handle, I like to flip it into a curve shape and set it up on itself. I let them sit like this until the clay sets up a bit. When they are no longer sticky, I can start attaching them.

To attach the handles, it’s a lot of “scratching & attaching.” Always careful not to squish or mis-shape the cup as I’m attaching them. Making sure the handle looks proportionate to the cylinder. And that the attachment is secure and clean. Soon enough… another dozen porcelain mugs!!!

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Full production mode today… stamping… handles… wedging… throwing…
Trying to get as much done as possible. But being held-up with a bit of trimming that’s not quite ready yet. I hate when I “rush” the process and try to trim pieces when they’re still too wet. No good ever comes of it. It seems like it’s always a mess. So here’s a bunch of piece bottoms-up in the studio waiting for their turn to be trimmed. C’mon… dry already!!!

For me, kiln firing days are always filled with studio cleaning & projects… or in my case today, glazing another whole kiln full for a cone six firing tomorrow! Pots are waxed & drying… let the glaze dipping commence!

Green wax you may ask?… nope. Not really. It comes as a clear wax which is always a little tough to see when you wax your pots. But add a few drops of food coloring and it will be a LOT easier to see!!!

Sure, I could have glazed the bowls… but instead I decided to throw more cylinders for another batch of mugs!!! You know how I LOVE making mugs!!! So much better than glazing!!!

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Did a little glazing & wadding in my studio after camp prepping for this weekend’s Three Day Soda-Firing Workshop. My students should be glazing their work too… I just want to be ready with a few extra pieces for kiln filler. Just in case.

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Spent the afternoon in the studio doing some stamping & slip decorating. Thankful that these vases didn’t dry out too much while I was off racing yesterday!

More cylinders. More mugs. More FUN!!!

And then today after Summer Camp, I decided to re-fill my “recently-emptied” reclaim bucket. So I washed it down and started filling it with porcelain scraps. A potter friend in Minneapolis gives me ALL of her reclaim scraps… so I have a lot of dried porcelain to process. This afternoon I started pulverizing, filling my bin and then adding water to help slake it down. A little bit of work to get a whole lot of FREE clay!!!

Yesterday, after summer camp, I turned out a huge pile of reclaimed clay. These are all of my scraps & trimmings from my weeks of art fair production. I broke down the scraps and soaked them in water for a few weeks. The trimmings are nice & gooey. So I mixed it up and turned it out onto a large plaster bat to help absorb the excess moisture. When it stiffens up a bit, I’ve going to have a LOT of wedging to do!!!