Not a lot of new stuff in this kiln. A few experiments with some new glazes that I'm happy with.
Glazing a few bigger things goes way faster than glazing a lot of smaller things. This kiln has a lot of bowls, soup mugs, and platters.
My crochet experiment is out of the kiln and I'm really pleased. I do think with the next batch I'm going to go with different glazes that highlight the texture better. I was thinking that all of these glazes break really well over texture, and they do, but they also lose some of the texture as well. I might end up going with underglaze and some celedons next time.
One of the mugs I used a combo that I had seen online to really make the pink pop (neon orange and bougainvillia). While the pink is really neat, it's just too much glaze for this texture. The buttons made the mugs and cups.
The goblets also came out really nice. I need to practice a little making them straighter, but for a first attempt they're awesome. Really wishing I hadn't fussed with the one that I broke so I would have two sets.
Last, but certainly not least, are the baskets. The milk glass one is by far my favorite, but they all came out gorgeous. The long one is a little flatter than I was hoping for, really going to have to make more of a side next time. I need to make a different form than the one that I was using.
One of the mugs I used a combo that I had seen online to really make the pink pop (neon orange and bougainvillia). While the pink is really neat, it's just too much glaze for this texture. The buttons made the mugs and cups.
The goblets also came out really nice. I need to practice a little making them straighter, but for a first attempt they're awesome. Really wishing I hadn't fussed with the one that I broke so I would have two sets.
Last, but certainly not least, are the baskets. The milk glass one is by far my favorite, but they all came out gorgeous. The long one is a little flatter than I was hoping for, really going to have to make more of a side next time. I need to make a different form than the one that I was using.
Apologies for the radio silence I have been buried with work! I did manage to get some glazing in though. I am loving how these baskets look! The new goblets in the back look really good too. Also in this kiln are all my new crochet textures, you can see one just in the bottom corner of this pic.
In my last post I showed the stein I made from the templates I purchased last year. There were two steins, but then there was one.
I actually attempted these two goblets first. However, I bailed on the stem. I really like them as rocks glasses.
The second two worked out well. I think I would make the base just a bit larger next time, but I'm pleased with these. I think I need to keep practicing both of these forms.
Late last year I bought a set of patterns for barware from Studio BDU.
I started with the Stein because that seemed like a good one to start with. I took this picture and look at the two amazing cups! Ok not amazing, but they worked. I learned a lot doing these two. The most important lesson I learned was to not attach the bottom to the cup before doing the stem.
The second most important lesson I learned was not to fiddle with the bottom (it had a wobble) when it was already past leather hard. Bummer.
I have no idea where I found the template for this (or I would give them credit). I printed it probably a year ago and only cut it out over the holidays. It's made with a single piece of clay that gets wrapped around itself to produce this bird. Took me a couple of tries to get the hang of it. And one bit the dust with some over zealous wiping, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I'm going to glaze it white and let the speckles shine through.
Years and years ago I started a ceramic plate door collage. It went up the left side and just stopped. I always intended to keep going and just never got around to it until now. A lot of these plates (and now bowls) are from Michael Harbridge workshops. I also rearranged a bunch to balance things out. Makes me smile every time I see it.
How are we at mid-January already? The older I get the more time flies.
Once again my best seller across all categories is crabs. Aliens came in at a not as distant second. Also, I only introduced some bigfoot stuff in November/December and that had a strong showing. I sold 34 crab mugs this year, down from 48 in 2024. I sold 30 alien mugs in, up from 28 in 2024.
Sales were down 25% from the previous year. A lot of this I think was the economy, people just weren't spending the way that they had in the past. The other factor for me was that I did do a couple less shows. I tried to be more focused in 2025, especially since I'm traveling for my day job every week. As I was looking at my blog post about this from last year I realized that my sales had gone up by 25% in 2024. When I looked back at 2023, I did 18 shows and in 2025 I only did 11. This tells me that I am starting to dial in what the right shows are for me and finding my audience.
I do have a bit more inventory this year than I did last year. Part of that was sales being down. Another part of that was I got behind in making things and had a lot of stuff that I glazed in December with only one show left. I'm not too concerned as this sets me up to start 2026 strong.
By % of sales:
- Mugs 39% (38% 2024)
- Spoon Rests 9% (7%)
- Small Plates 8% (8%)
- Medium Bowls 4% (3%)
- Large or Decorative Ornaments 4% (2%)
- Long Rounded Platters 4% (3%)
- Mugs 192 (261 2024)
- Spoon Rests 86 (99)
- Small Plates 76 (118)
- Trinket Dishes 49 (87)
- Large or Decorative Ornaments 35 (30)
- Ornaments 28 (9)
I'm starting to shape my thoughts in 2026. Creatively I'm trying to figure out how to combine my two passions of pottery and crochet more. You saw recently the crochet imprints which I plan on continuing to experiment with. I also stumbled on another idea of crocheting baskets with a pottery bottom. No clue if that will work out, stay tuned. I'm also going to start exploring oil bottles. No idea why that's been in my head, but I want to come up with a simple hand built option.
In 2025 I unofficially stopped making my cala lily candle holders. While I love them, they are just so awkward to bring to shows and take up a lot of room. I may bring them back at some point if I end up in more stores/galleries. I'm also going to rethink my mushroom jewelry holders for similar reasons. I don't sell a lot and the worm on the top is just so precarious.
I've got applications going for a number of 2026 shows. I am branching out a bit and applied for a couple in VA. I am doing a lot of shows that I did last year, but also having to make some choices as some things are ending up conflicting.
In the very near future I will start to stress about getting ready for spring shows, but right now I'm experimenting. Over the holiday I treated myself to a few Little Chip Extruder Dies.
I played with one of the basket weave dies and made a few baskets. I tried two as hump (over) and one as a slump (inside). Overally the hump was a little easier and it dried faster.
I decided not to put feet on this, but that means I won't be able to glaze the bottom. I think they're too large/heavy to stilt so I may regret this decision later, but I couldn't come up with a foot that didn't look weird. They have to make it to bisque, but so far I love how they've started.
This one was a hump. I have two more forms like this that are bigger that I think I will try next.
This one was a slump. I love the handles.
This one was a hump. I wish I had put handles on it. I thought about it as soon as I flipped it over, but I hadn't saved any clay.
Finally had some time to use my crochet texture plates. I was hoping for a little more definition, but this is definitely headed in the right direction. I'm learning a lot of it has to do with how well I roll in the texture while its on the plate. With this texture I can't really belly out the mugs much so I'm going to experiment with different shapes to see what works best.
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