Tonight’s demonstration in class was how to make bowls on purpose.
Not just a cylinder gone bad… and whoops, look at that, it’s a bowl?!
So my beginners were very excited… and very attentive.

So I made several bowls and demonstrated how to make them each different.
By turning “the same 2-pound” bowl into different shapes & styles.

We also introduced slip as a decorative tool. Nothing too elaborate.
Just a basic primer of what slip is, how to use it, and how it can quickly change a pot.
We painted a solid inside, then dragged a spiral, squiggled through it and chattered!!!
Voila’ – a decorative bowl. Easy. Simple. Any beginner can do it.

Back in the saddle… and back to some good-ol’-fashioned stamping fun!
The mugs I started the other day are now all stamped…
now they need to “dry” to a stiffer leather-hard so I can trim them and add the handles!

Like I’ve said before, it’s kind of tough for me to get back into the studio
and start up the full-production routine again after the holidays. It seems
like I’ve been so busy for so long. And everything at the studio is clean…
empty… not wet… nothing drying… nothing urgent. So why hurry into it?

Well, today was the big kick-off. I finally sat down to do some throwing.
Back in the saddle so to speak. And what to start with?… mugs, of course!!!
We started the holiday season with over 100 mugs at the Holiday Home Show.
And now the inventory needs to be seriously replenished. So I wedged up some clay…
and boy did it feel great to get dirty again.

And then I threw the basic cylinders that will get stamped, trimmed, handled, slipped, dried,
fired, glazed and fired again in the weeks to come! It felt great to be back in the saddle again!

I finally sat down and figured out my Retail Sales Tax.
Another annual tradition…  ouch!

Thanks to all of my customers who stopped by and bought lots of pots this year.
Thanks to everyone who didn’t complain (too much) about the extraordinary
percentage I need to add to every purchase for the Department of Revenue.

But seriously, c’mon… now “logically” I understand that all of that sales tax “money”
I get over the year is really not my money, and never was. It’s just been adding up
and “hangin’ out” in my account for awhile. But it’s still a little painful every time
I have to sit down, calculate some numbers… and then write “that” big check... ouch!

As the New Year begins, it’s always kind of tough to get started up in the studio again.
Everything is clean & organized from the holiday sales. Decorations are packed up.
I haven’t resumed throwing yet… so nothing is wet. Nothing is drying quickly.
Nothing is in urgent need of my studio attention…

Instead, it’s time to start filling in the 2010 calendar and deciding which art fairs
to apply to. It’s time to finalize and pay my sales tax to the Department of Revenue.
It’s time to “start” organizing my storage room… again… and again…

So it’s been a slow start-up… and tonight I started with the annual tradition!
Making new stamps for the New Year!!!

I start by rolling coils of clay. Once I have a bunch of them rolled out, and they’ve set up,
they’re easier to carve. I use various tools to carve both ends of the coils to create different
patterns. It is important to make clear, concise and deep impressions to make effective
stamps. If the patterns aren’t deep enough, you won’t get good impressions when
they are pressed into a pot later.

So I make a lot of stamps. Some of them will work. Some of them won’t.
Hopefully some of them will make it into the “favorites” category and will be seen
on a LOT of pots later this summer on the art fair circuit. Once these stamps are dry, they
can be bisque fired. Then they’re good to go… ready to be added to my “stamping arsenal.”

Another night of stamping in the studio. More pots… more stamps… more fun!
Still working to get some new work ready for the holidays. I have three glaze kilns lined up
in the coming weeks… gotta get the pieces thrown, stamped & trimmed…
and dried in time to get them bisqued & glazed for the kiln firings! Busy, busy…

Stampin’ round & round… quite literally!

One of my ceramic studio “neighbors” was firing a bisque kiln this evening
of her larger sculptural work. She didn’t have enough work to quite fill the kiln…
so lucky for me, I had some pieces that were dry and ready to go! Elena loaded
my stuff in the lower back, and hers on top and in front.

I love how my pieces pack so tightly together – and then her pieces
are so large & abstract in front of them! Nice contrast!!! Great juxtaposition!

One month.
That’s it… shocking, I know. It kind of caught me a bit off guard too.

One month.
That’s how long we have until the annual
“My Home For The Holidays Home Show.”
Mark your calendars… I know I have… and production will soon be in full swing!

Saturday, November 21st – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, November 22nd – 10:00am-6:00pm

A mug is just a cylinder without a handle.
So to make a mug… you’ve got to get a handle on it.

Once my cylinders are stamped & trimmed, I make my handles while keeping
the cylinders wrapped in plastic to keep them from drying out too much.
I prefer to pull my handles separately, let them set up a bit and then attach them.
I start with a small wedge of clay, hold it firmly at the top and “pull” it down with
a firm hand and a lot of water. It’s basically just the friction that does it…
kind of the same motion like milking a cow! As the clay begins to stretch and become
more strap-like, I try to shape it and then bend it over to let it set up. Once they
have become a little stiff, the segment that will become the handle is cut out of the
bent strap. That segment is then attached to the side of the cylinder with a little
scoring & slipping. Once attached, I let them dry slowly to avoid cracking.

A  lot of people avoid making mugs because they are afraid of the making handles.
I actually love making mugs. In fact, if I could only make one form for the rest of
my pottery career, I’m pretty sure I would choose mugs. I love making mugs!!!