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.

Don’t forget that you can always follow along on Facebook!
Just click on the link to get to my pottery page… and then click LIKE.
www.facebook.com/firewhenreadypottery

You’ll get posts from my studio, updates, photos, process shots and an occasional
biking sunrise photo along the way. Never junk mail. Never stupid jokes.
It’s immediate pottery fun on your Facebook News Feed. But remember that
my blog always has more information, more stories, more photos, more fun!
So don’t stop coming to my blog… but LIKE me on Facebook too!

Trying to keep busy… replenishing the inventory on some of the “basics”!

Well, tonight was the last night of our Winter session at Lillstreet Art Center.
The students are busily finishing up their class projects… and sharing some potluck
fun during the class. So while we were all hanging out, I noticed Nadine busily
carving away on a few of her pieces. She’s been in my class for a few sessions and
has recently become quite prolific. She’s a full-time lawyer looking for some fun
creative escape.  I think she would love to  make a change… and with her latest
carving & decorating adventures, I think she might be well on her way!

I especially love these sculpted pieces. Instead of carving patterns & textures, Nadine
decided to add some sculptural pieces on these cups. The frog mug is wonderful with
an amphibian on each side. I’m so excited to see these beautifully carved frogs on her pots…
instead of the mold-pressed, detail-free, same-old, same-old frogs that have been on some
other pots around Lillstreet for far too many years! At some point, I would have expected
those mold-pressed frogs to evolve into something better. Apparently not. But I am
SO EXCITED that Nadine is on a much better track already with her wonderful frogs!

I LOVE how that one frog is hanging on to the top rim of the mug!
And I can’t wait to see how she decides to glaze them! Hop to it Nadine!!!

More clay. More throwing. More pots. More fun in the studio.
Stamped and waiting to be trimmed! I love when you can throw ’em and dry ’em
enough to stamp them all in one day!

By now you should know that I love making ovals… so here’s the latest batch!
First as simple bottomless cylinders… then shaped, bottomed & decorated.

I’ve often thought that there had to be a better way to put holes in my berry bowls.
It finally dawned on me to bring in my power drill to do the holes. Yeah, it took me
long enough to figure that one out, right?!

With a little planning and some simple marks for spacing, the power drill was so much
quicker & a whole lot cleaner!!! When I used to push the hole punch tube through the
leatherhard clay I would always get these crazy burs and rough clay edges.
With the drill… not so much. I can’t believe it took me so long…

One of the worst parts about throwing 30 cylinders to become mugs…
is that at some point you need to pull 30 handles and attach 30 handles.
Today was the day.

Score. Slip. Attach. Repeat.
Score. Slip. Attach. Repeat.

Tonight was week #9 of my beginning wheelthrowing class. Only one more week!
They have all of the basic skills and are busy working & making pots!

So tonight I thought it would be great to surprise them all with a wonderful surface
decoration demonstration by my friend & potter Amy Higgason. Amy has been in town
for the weekend, and after her Trunk Show on Friday, we thought it would be fun for her
to do a demo for my class. So Amy threw a few pots last Friday, trimmed ’em today
and set off carving them tonight! A special treat for my students.

Amy started her demo with a discussion of the tools she uses… a few simple tools
that make a wide range of textures & patterns. Some of them actual ceramic tools,
while others are found items like a broken TV antennae! She then started in on her
demonstration of how she decorates a simple bowl.
Yeah, well it started out simple anyway…

Suddenly, not so simple of a bowl any more!!!

Then she moved on to a small creamer pitcher. A quick trick of cutting a vase shape to make
the spout. A little wetting, sponging, finessing and shaping to create the spout. After the spout
is formed, she then set in to the carving & decorating of this piece.

Amy then showed my class how she makes her leaf-shaped handles out of a slab.

And then in Amy World, a pitcher can’t be just a pitcher… it needs a saucer to sit on too!
And not just any saucer, but an over-the-top, decoratively carved plate!!!

And then to close out the evening, I surprised Amy with a birthday cake
to help celebrate her big day. Nothing says birthday like a big chocolate cake!!!

So let me send out a quick Thank You again to Amy Higgason for sharing her talents
& creativity with us. I’m sure my students were inspired and will be incorporating some of
her techniques into their work. I know I enjoyed Amy’s time here this weekend,
and I hope she had some fun with us celebrating her big birthday!