​Come see me this weekend at the Maryland Home and Garden Craft Show. 

Look at the big vases! They look so awesome!

When loading this kiln I "thought" I was done and then I realized that I was off by like a centimeter for the taller vase and had to go back and fix it. That was fun. Next time measure better.

The rest of the kiln was definitely more colorful than those top couple of pieces and I love them. I'm feeling good about the Maryland Home and Garden Show this weekend. If you're local I hope to see you either this weekend or next.

I'm hoping that the garden stakes are popular. I love mine.

Kiln is already running again and I have enough for a third not tightly packed one. Not sure if I'll do that before or after the weekend. We shall see.

Coyote Parakeet x3 Mayco Tuxedo x3	Coyote Firefly Garden x3 Mayco Tuxedo x3
KY Mudworks Brown Bear KY Mudworks Jade Moss x3	KY Mudworks Brown Bear KY Mudworks Tortuga x3
Various stroke and coats outside Mayco Lavender Mist x3 Muddy Waters x2	This was a reglaze. The first time the Mayco Orange a Peal and 2167 clear bubbled. Just with refiring it smoothed out
KY Mudworks Brown Bear Various stroke and coats outside Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2	KY Mudworks Brown Bear Various stroke and coats outside Mayco Lavender Mist x3 Muddy Waters x2
Left: Spectrum Autumn Purple x2 Middle: Spectrum Sangria x2 Right: Spectrum Kimchi x2	Left: Amaco Smoke x3 Middle Left: Amaco Weeping Plum x3 Middle Right: KY Mudworks Hydra x3 Triton Right: Amaco Lavender x3
Left Top and Bottom: Spectrum Autumn Purple x2 Top Right: Spectrum Sangria x2 Bottom Right: Spectrum Kimchi x2	Left: Spectrum Autumn Purple x2 Middle: Spectrum Sangria x2 Right: Spectrum Kimchi x2
Left: KY Mudworks Triton x2 Right: Opulance Emerald x3	Mayco black ug wiped back KY Mudworks Morning Glory
Mayco black ug wiped back Left: Amaco Smoke x3 Right: Amaco Poppy x3	Mayco black ug wiped back Left: Clayscapes Oribe dipped Right: Opulence Emerald x3
Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Cotton Tail, Hot Tamale 2167 Clear	Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Cotton Tail, Hot Tamale 2167 Clear
Left: Georgie's Tidal Pool x2 Middle Left: Georgie's Lavender Lupine x2 Middle Right: Georgie's Northern Lights x2 Right: Georgie's Cherry Fizz x2	Top: Georgie's Halo Purple x2 Left: Georgie's Galaxy Blue x2 Middle Left: Georgie's Orange Neon x2 Middle Right: Georgie's Purple Velvet x2 Right: Georgie's Rose Gold x2
Left: KY Mudworks Triton x3 Right: this was a refire Laguna 60 The Ceramic Shop Sea Glass Blue - and I added 2167 clear and it's much better	Amaco Lavender x3
2167 Clear These are price markers for shows

This kiln has the first batch of garden stakes and a lot of sponge/soap holders. I need to remember to take pictures of how I stilted them (assuming it worked) because I had to get creative. I didn't have a lot of small stilts so I improvised with the bigger ones. Fingers crossed there's no disasters.

I spent almost all weekend glazing. The first set of things that I was working on last week is in the kiln and cooling now. While the kiln was going yesterday I glazed another whole kiln load. This is the last bit to get ready for the Maryland Home and Garden show the next 2 weekends March 3-4 and 10-12.

I didn't actually realize that the second weekend was 3 days, it's not a big deal other than I thought 4 days was going to be a lot and now it's 5!! I believe I have enough made for the show. This week will be about packing and taking inventory so I know what I have.

I wanted to show my vinyl decal process. It's super easy, but I've seen a lot of questions about it on social media. In my last post I put the vinyl down. I check them all again before applying the glaze just making sure the vinyl is adhered everywhere I want it to be.

First thing to remember - you only want to use a very very stable glaze that won't move. If your glaze moves at all then your picture will be fuzzy. Unless you want that then only use a glaze that will not move. This is Mayco Stroke and Coat Tuxedo. Put on however many coats you would usually use for this glaze. I want this to be super shiny black so this is 3 coats. Normal process applies - wait till each coat is dry before applying the next coat.

After you apply your last coat - watch the pot. You're looking for it to not be slick looking but still be a little wet. It will still look wet on the vinyl - so you have to be watching the negative space.

This one is too wet.


You can see here that the birds don't look like a slick wet any more, but the vinyl is still wet. This is the time to remove the vinyl. You do it while its still wet so it's not flakey. If you wait too long you'll get jagged edges when you take off the vinyl.

Pull off the vinyl slowly. No racing. Don't worry if it tears - you can only use the vinyl once anyway.




Some designs are more complex. If you're looking for the smaller pieces you need to weed out - look at where it still looks more wet.




Voila! Simple but effective. These will go in the kiln this weekend and I'll have pictures next week of the finished product.