This kiln sneak peak is an interesting one. Do you see how the bark texture is two different colors? When I put the 2167 clear on top I don't worry about being perfect because its clear and doesn't usually change anything. Except this time it's definitely lightened the rootbeer. I was at the very bottom of my 5 gallons when I did this so maybe at some point I didn't mix it well enough and there was extra of something. I actually think it adds depth to the bark so I like it, but I'd love to know the chemical that causes that.

Over the weekend I mixed up a new batch of the clear and did a test tile, but I do have 3 pints left of the old batch. I was lazy and did not sieve. I did a test tile and if it looks weird I'll go back and sieve, but otherwise I'm just going with it.




I couldn't resist and extra look at the grapes. From this angle it looks so awesome!

I decided to make these birch vases have different views on each side. One side is more of a sunrise view with the bright yellows at the top and the other is more of a sunset view with the deep purples and reds at the top. Glazing these takes a good bit of time and patience, but the result is worth it.


All the glazes are Mayco. The trees are Cotton Tail and the Cardinals are Hot Tamale. The sunris/sunset is Fruit of the Vine, Candy Apple Red, Jack o Lantern, and Sunkissed. The tree bark is Root Beer.

I needed to make a couple more birch vases. I made the first one and then when I went to make the second I was thinking about the large pillow vase form that I haven't used yet. I decided to try it out with that. I really like how much more surface area there are for the birch and cardinals.




Here they are together for size comparison.

I was making little plates this weekend with my hexagon cutter from De La Designs and 6.5 inch GR Pottery form. I got the cutter from De La Designs to make it faster than having to outline the hexagon with my needle tool and make the corners sharper.

Well I got a little carried away because it was so fast. I only have 6 of the 6.5 hexagons and I cut out 8. At first I was going to wrap them in plastic and use them later, but then I thought I'd just make a little baking dish with my hexagon wallie. Usually when I make those I put the wallie down first and then drape the clay over and compress. However, I was making press plates so I just pressed this without thinking and I accidentally made this cute little star dish. I love how they turned out so I kept them this way.

Writing this blog post and staring at the picture, I just realized that these are in the shape of a Star of David. I'm thinking about what I could make as Hannukah dishes or maybe a Seder plate. Something to consider.

A while back I was asked to make some custom candy bowls and an accessory plate for my massage therapist. She already had a plate in one of her rooms that I made her years ago to hold accessories and she wanted a few more. She gave me complete creative freedom to do what I wanted. It took me a while to decide what to do and then took me a few more weeks to figure out how to do what was in my head.

She has these custom walls that she's done in both rooms that has black lines and then different colors between them. You can see the bowl against the wall in this first picture. I like this picture because you can see that the silver color of the wall and the bowl both have glitter!




Here is one of the bowls with the fishy plate next to it. In addition to having that amazing wall, she also has a fish tank in one of the rooms so the fish plate seemed necessary to go along wih the the theme. The bowl and the plate will end up on the opposite side of the room from the accent wall, but will help tie the room together nicely.




Now what I didn't do is take pictures of this process along the way so I will just have to describe it. First, I used the large 6# square cutter from De La Designs. I intentionally made the sides a little round because I wanted to be able to take the lines around the sides easier.




When it was chocolate texture leather hard I waxed the sides and then used a Diamondcore Tools X2 fluting tools to cut lines on the four sides. Then I used the new Mayco black engobe to fill in the lines, the top rim, and the bottom. I made sure to wipe away any extra engobe that got outside of the lines.




I explained the glazes when I pulled this out of the kiln, but the inside is Midnight Ceramics Sexy Mermaid and the outside is Mayco White Opal, Silver Lining, Butter me Up, Sour Apple, Blue Yonder, and Bluegrass




Once it came out of the kiln I used 2 thick coats of Mayco Glittering Silver over the Silver Lining letting the first coat dry overnight before adding the second. This wasn't required, I just wanted it to dry completely and I did the first coat close to bed time. This non-fired product makes this non-dishwasher and microwave safe, but since it's a candy bowl that didn't matter.




This was a fun process and I'm thrilled with the results as was she!

The Poinsettia is amazing! I glazed the star for it months ago and somehow didn't lose it and was able to just put it on top. I had a few leaves that had broken off that I fired separately on stilts, but I'm not sure that I need them at all.

I'm also really happy with the bowls that have all the different colors in them. This is a commission that I'll write more about soon. I wish I took more pictures along the way, but I failed to. I still have one more thing to do to these before they're done.

Coyote Really Red x3 Dots of Mayco Sunkissed Opulence Emerald x3	Laguna 60 Did a mishima technique when leather hard and filled in with the new Mayco black engobe Colors on the outside of the bowl are 2 coats of White Opal, Silver Lining, Butter me Up, Sour Apple, Blue Yonder, and Bluegrass Inside Midnight Ceramics Sexy Mermaid x2
Laguna 60 Georgie's Cherry Fizz x2	Laguna 60 Georgie's Twilight Blue x2
Laguna 60 Birds Mayco Hot Tamale x2 Dandelion on the beak Kentucky Mudworks Hydra	Laguna 60 Birds Mayco Hot Tamale x2 Dandelion on the beak Left: Midnight Ceramics Sexy Mermaid x2 Right: Midnight Ceramics Aloha Antifreeze x2
Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine Inside and Rim: Midnight Ceramics Boxed Wine x2 Sexy Mermaid	Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine Inside and Rim: Mayco Rasberry Mist x3 Amarylis x2
Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine, Blue Yonder Inside and Rim: Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2	Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine Inside and Rim: Laguna Power Turquoise x3 Mayco Night Moth x2
Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine, Blue Yonder Inside and Rim: Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2	Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine Inside and Rim: Mayco Rasberry Mist x3 Amarylis x2
Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine Inside and Rim: Laguna Power Turquoise x3 Mayco Night Moth x2	Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear On Stamps: Mayco Hot Tamale, Orange a Peal, Sunkissed, Java Bean, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Fruit of the Vine Inside and Rim: Midnight Ceramics Boxed Wine x2 Sexy Mermaid
Laguna 60 Amaco Smoke x3	Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3
Laguna 60 Opulence Emerald x3	Laguna 60 Georgie's Cherry Fizz x2
Opulence Emerald x3 Mayco Hot Tamale x3 Mayco Tuxedo	Opulence Emerald x3 Mayco Hot Tamale x3 Mayco Tuxedo
Mayco White Opal x2 Tuxedo x2 Watercolor Bluebeard on the eyes	Mayco Tuxedo x2, Orange a Peal x2, Java Bean x2
Both: Mayco Tuxedo x2 Orange a Peal x2 Left: Mayco Blue Yonder Bluegrass Right: Mayco Sour Apple	Left: Midnight Ceramics Marsh Mellow x5 Right: Might Ceramics Trash Can x3 (you can't see how shiny metalic it is, but it's really cool)

This was a refire because there was pitting inside. On this one I added a little 2167 clear and its gone	On this one I added nothing and its gone
This is what the pitting looks like, going to have to refire this mug too :(