Just a quick reminder that this Sunday is the second Sunday of the month and that means it's time for the Belle Aire Market from 9-2. We were rained out last month, but this weekend the weather is looking a lot better. I am going to be doing a Seconds Sale this weekend for the first time. I have a bunch of pieces that just aren't what I envisioned for various reasons. I'm not going to price them, just going to let people make an offer for what they think they'd want to pay.

I just updated my Favorite Glazes Page. I realized I haven't updated it in 2 years and I have discovered a ton of glazes since then. I went through all my glaze pages that document every combo I've done and as I saw one that I loved I pulled it in. So this is completely from scratch. I will do better about adding to it when I find new combos in the future. My glaze pages document every combination I've done sorted by brand in the Pottery Menu.

In my last kiln opening I had these really cool tests that came out using glaze chips. I've added them here are the tests again in case you missed them. These came out amazing and the process was really simple. Each thing you do in this process will be different since the glaze chips will always be slightly different. I chose a white background because I wanted to really make it pop, but you could use any base color that you wanted. I did have one place where it was a bit of a sharp edge, but it sanded down nicely.



Mayco White Opal x3, Glaze chips





Left: Opulence Marshmallow x3
Right: Opulence Eggshell x3
Glaze chips

The glaze chips came from glazes that were almost empty, but just not quite. I left the bottles open near the kiln and let them dry out.




Once they were dry I rolled the bottles on the table and the glazes broke into chips.




I just dumped them into a large plastic ziplock bag.




I just took a pinch of glaze chips and arranged them on the plate after the glaze had dried.




For the two spoon rests that looked identical except for the glaze test, I did one left to right and one right to left.

There is nothing in this kiln that I don't love. The mushrooms! OMG the mushrooms! They came out so very perfect. I think if they sell and I make more I'll add a flange, but aside from that they are just absolutely perfect.

My glaze chip tests are also awesome. I used 3 different white glazes to try to figure out which one I liked best. The Opulence Marshmallow is definitely my favorite, although I do like the Mayco White Opal as well.

The Witches Brew mugs were tests that could have come out terrible, but they absolutely work and work amazingly well.

Laguna 60 Bottom: Mayco black ug wiped back in the crevice 2167 clear Top: Mayco Red gloss or Blue gloss x3, Mayco white gloss x2 Worm: Mayco Sour Apple x2	I ended up deciding to give the insides a pop of color matching their tops
Mayco White Opal x3, Glaze chips	Left: Opulence Marshmallow x3 Right: Opulence Eggshell x3 Glaze chips
Brown Bear Clay Mayco black ug wiped back Inside and Rim: Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2 Mayco stroke and coats: NOTE to self Mayco BlueBeard does not show up well (see fish on right)	Brown Bear Clay Mayco black ug wiped back Rim: Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2
Brown Bear Clay Mayco black ug wiped back Rim: Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2	Brown Bear Clay Mayco black ug wiped back Rim: Laguna Power Turquoise x3 Night Moth x2
Laguna 60 Coyote Oatmeal x3	Laguna 60 Coyote Oatmeal x3
Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Raspberry Mist x3 Amarylis x2 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Raspberry Mist x3 Peppered Plum x2 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Green Opal x3 Blue Hydrangea x2 2167 clear Handle Amaco Dark Green x3	this was a refire for a few spots Amaco Smoke x3
Laguna 60 Coyote Pam's Blue x3	Laguna 60 Mayco Black ug wiped back Mayco Norse Blue x3 Light flux sweeps Hot Tamale x2
Laguna 60 Left: Clayscapes Nutmeg x2 Middle: Amaco Tangelo x3 Right: Coyote Papaya x2 Hydra Scale x2	Laguna 60 Mayco Black ug wiped back Hot Tamale x2 Cotton Tail x2 2167 Clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black ug wiped back Hot Tamale x2 Cotton Tail x2 2167 Clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black ug wiped back Hot Tamale x2 Cotton Tail x2 2167 Clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black ug wiped back Hot Tamale x2 Cotton Tail x2 2167 Clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black ug wiped back Hot Tamale x2 Cotton Tail x2 2167 Clear
Mayco black ug wiped back Clayscapes Oribe

Can you see the mushrooms? How awesome do they look?! Still worried that for some reason they won't pop open, but I waxed and wiped them really well so it should be ok. I'm so excited for these. The worms came out exactly like I wanted them too.

Further down in this kiln is my experiment with glaze chips. Fingers crossed those came out as well.

I made a cork wreath a few years ago following a tutorial online. Every tutorial I've found uses a hot glue gun and that's what I used the first time. However, the sun on my front door is hot enough (even in winter with the glass screen door) to re-melt the hot glue. I decided to try again with e6000.


What I've learned with the e6000 is that it doesn't set as quick as hot glue. That meant I had to do only a few at a time when they were at weird angles and I had to support them.




This ended up taking about 2 weeks. Every time I walked path after a few hours had passed I would add another couple of corks. This was pretty messy and sometimes I would have to go back and add a bit more glue if something feels too loose.

I've had this GIANT rhubarb leaf from Michael Harbridge at Learn Fired Arts for a few weeks that's been burning a hole in my table. My first attempt at making this bird bath failed, but this second attempt has gone much better.


My lessons learned (two of the 3 are in Michael's video on Facebook that I rewatched) are to use a 1/2 inch slab, reinforce the vein with a coil, and to use a less severe mold. The first mold I used was a planter and the second was one that I made off of a wok. I do wonder with the 1/2 inch slab if I could use the first mold and may try it again.




I used a puzzle mold from Michael as well to build what I hope will work as the base. I won't be able to test it out until I bisque it. If it doesn't work it will make an awesome floor vase.

I had a fun afternoon making pumpkin gnomes - pumpkin body, gnome hat. I don't know if anyone else is going to like them as much as I do, but I love them.