Today I unloaded the glaze kiln I shared with Karen Patinkin.
As you may remember, in that kiln were some new glazes I recently made.
I was encouraged by the test tiles that I fired, and couldn’t wait to actually put them
to the test on actual pieces! And of course, I can’t start small with just a couple mugs.
Instead, I glazed a LOT of pieces in this kiln with the new glazes. Luckily… they seemed to
work very well so I gave them names and labeled the buckets! Here’s a very quick preview.

SPRUCE – a beautiful dark evergeen shade that breaks well on my stamped textures.

GOLDEN CRANBERRY – a thicker glaze that breaks golden, but pools with a burgundy tone.

CILANTRO – kind of a yellowy, parsley color… didn’t break as light as the test tile did?!

And the best part?… they look even better on B-Clay!!! And they feel great too!!!
I love how the Spruce Green turns a beautiful shade of blue and yet breaks so beautifully.
The Golden Cranberry shows more depth and pools well in the grooves.
Cilantro is yellower, with a nice clear color that accentuates, but doesn’t fill the stamps.

Guess I gotta start making more things out of B-Clay, huh?!

Last night I finally got around to glazing all of my long-overdue class demo pots.
It’s amazing how they pile up after a couple sessions of “not” glazing them?!
I also glazed a couple for the soda kiln loading that was going on as I glazed.

Then later today, we’re unloading the glaze kiln I just shared with Karen Patinkin.
And I still need to glaze more for the kiln that we’re re-loading today… another glaze
kiln this time sharing with Corinne Peterson!!! I just found out about this one yesterday!
But when opportunity knocks, I’m always glad that I have some bisque ready & waiting!

And oh, but wait there’s more… the terra cotta planters that we made while my cousin
and kids were in town are ready to be underglaze-stained & liner glazed. More fun for today!

I love getting things through the end of the process.
Making room in my small studio to start again making more, more, MORE!!!
Busy, busy… a whole lot of new pots coming soon!!!

Another glazing day in the studio. Getting ready for our Wednesday kiln loading.
Lots of pots. Lots of buckets. Seems like there’s never enough colors. Never enough options.

I felt like it was time for a change… so I mixed up a couple glaze cocktails!
Bu simply mixing a couple existing glazes in different proportions, I found a couple mixes
that appear to be working nicely. I’m always on a quest for nice color glazes that break well
and pool nicely in the stamped impressions without just covering them over! These are
the top three I ended up with… and I’ve glazed a LOT of new pots in them. I hope they
work as well on my pots as they appear to have on my test tiles?! Fingers crossed…

I’m sharing a cone 10 reduction kiln this week with my studio neighbor Karen Patinkin.
So today was the kick-off my glazing! I’ve got a lot of bisqued pieces waxed & waiting
to be glazed. Plus, we’re unloading another kiln tomorrow. And another bisque kiln
means even MORE pieces to glaze!!! Yikes…

Yesterday I spent the day with my cousin Michael from Minnesota and his family.
They came down to Chicago for Spring Break and we had planned a full day of clay fun
at the studio. We started making terra cotta planters with textures – everyone working
on their own planter. They all learned the basics… and set off to work…

And then, unfortunately… the day took a turn!
As we were about halfway done with our planters, I started feeling a little light-headed.
A little dizzy… and the next thing I knew, I was down for the count. Literally. Down.
Drama. Embarrassment. Paramedics. And a trip to the hospital to get checked out.

Apparently, I was dehydrated and my body wasn’t happy with that. They checked my vitals
and everything was fine. Except for the back of my head where it “met” the wedging table
on the way down. So I now have four staples on the back of my head. Yeah, souvenirs!

The doctor said I should get plenty of liquids and bring up my blood sugar level…
so we all went for a wonderful dinner at my favorite restaurant Rose Angeli’s.
And I had plenty of HOT caramel sauce for medicinal purposes!

Tonight at the studio seemed like a “mixed bag of tricks.”
My HGTV knobs are being fired in a cone 10 kiln downstairs.
I loaded my greenware into another kiln to be bisqued tomorrow upstairs.
And I made cone packs for next week’s cone 10 glaze firing with Karen Patinkin.
Seems like I have a lot of “something” going on all over the studio!!!

Well, today was my day in front of the camera. Who knew?…
that my little “addiction” to kiln filler & textures might get me on HGTV?!
That making little textured rattles might get me noticed?! Crazy, huh?!

Let me back up a bit…

A little over a week ago, I was contacted by the Producer of an HGTV show.
You know, one of those shows where they go in and transform an average couple’s
home with cool design. Showing the creative choices, installation, design choices…
all leading up to the “Big Reveal” where the couple sees their new room for the very
first time. Well, this is one of “those” design shows!!! And here’s the host…

Yep… that’s Meg Caswell. Winner of HGTV Design Star season six.
One of those Reality TV shows where they compete in design challenges weekly
and get voted off one by one. Until the last one is standing… and she gets a TV Show!!!

The initial contact came through the Producer who did a search and found my work
on the Internet. Good thing I’ve been keeping my blog up-to-date, huh?! She contacted
me and asked if I would be interested in creating some custom ceramic knobs & door pulls
for the kitchen they are renovating. So of course I was intrigued… and FULL of questions.
We did some e-mailing back & forth, including some samples & “mood boards” being
shared. She also stopped by my studio to check it out, meet with me… which I now realize
was probably also my “audition.” Once we had worked out the details, I was in…
and now facing a production deadline to get all of the knobs & pulls done in time
for the “Big Reveal” taping.

Luckily, we came upon a creative solution… where I would make the knobs in a very
similar style to the textured Relic Rattles I’ve been making for about a year. Handbuilt
stoneware, textured, stained and fired to cone 10… minus the rattles! The plan gave us
different shapes, different textures and different stain colors to play with. I gave the
Producer a few samples that she shared with Meg. Her choice was to go with two shapes,
each with their own texture, and one stain color for continuity.

So I’ve already made the knobs… “squares” for the cabinet knobs, and “horns” for the
drawer pulls. They’ve already been bisqued in my last kiln… look closely, they were the
“still too wet” pieces sprinkled around the kiln… masquerading as simple “kiln filler.”

Today was my day in front of the camera!
Complete with Meg, a full crew, professional lighting, wireless microphones, makeup,
craft services, the whole “shebang”! I guess I never quite expected the full production?!
But there I was, suddenly in front of the camera, with Meg… cameras rolling!

The plan was that we were going to do a little banter, discuss the project, look at a few
rattles I’ve made as samples, do some interactive demos where she plays with clay,
and so on. Everything went really well… despite the fact that it was SO hot in the studios!
No one expected 80-degree days in mid-March… so no one planned on air conditioning.
I’m sure we’re both going to be glistening with sweat. Even though the makeup guy did a
couple touch-ups along the way.

Hopefully they got some good shots of my work and my studio while they were there.
And the witty repartee and banter with Meg will come off well on-screen. Even though
I’m pretty confident that my hours & hours of “brilliant, Emmy-award worthy” footage
will be edited down to a mere 20 seconds or so!

We finished the initial filming – the interactive studio work with Meg… “the Talent.”
Then they left for a short time to do some prep-interviews that will be spliced into the show.
While they were gone, I set up two more demo areas so that they film some B-roll film
that they might intersperse – montage shots of me working on the actual knobs!
Complete with a change of wardrobe to make it “appear” as though time has passed
and the process is well on its way making the actual hardware the homeowners will see
in the “Big Reveal.”

So… that’s the story so far.
I’ve kept it to myself for the most part. It was kind of in the category of “too good to be true.”
I didn’t want to hype the project until I was sure it was going forward. I was afraid that the
plug might be pulled at any time… apparently, not to worry. It was a very professional
production. All of the people were great to work with. And I wouldn’t mind doing it again!

I just hope I don’t look too stupid on screen.
Or too sweaty…

When I find out the air date, I will definitely keep you posted.
I will also do a blog entry about the step-by-step process of the actual pieces I’m making.
Until then… you’ll need to wait for the “Big Reveal” also!!!

Tonight I unloaded my “still-too-warm” bisque kiln… with gloves!
And proceeded to wax the bottoms of everything while I was trying to find
a place to store them until I find a chance to start glazing! Tough to find a
space shelf… things are piling up! Which I guess is a good thing, right?

I love waxing.

Tonight I loaded another kiln full of greenware!
Okay, I must admit that some of it was a little “wetter” than I would like.
Seriously, some of the pieces I made earlier today, with them in front of the fan!
I just hope they “dry” in the kiln before the explode!!!

Layer #1 – ovals, mugs and a lot of kiln filler… you know how I LOVE kiln filler!!!

Layer #2 – berry bowls & plates, soap dispensers and more kiln filler.

Layer #3 – stamped platters & plates, spoon rests, filler… and Nadine’s bug mug.

Layer #4 – stamped bowls, an oval, mugs, spoon rests and a lot of kiln filler!

Layer #5 – spoon rests, small dishes, Karen Patinkin bowls and more kiln filler!
As you can see, some of the filler is a little wetter than it should be! Still dark. Still wet.

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